“I left out shoes and a jacket for you,” he said. “Are they okay?”
Liz shook her head and pulled him into the room.
“They’re gone,” she said. “We checked pretty thoroughly. All the windows were open and it didn’t look like anyone had left through the door.”
Amber was on her knees, crouching down to point her flashlight under the bed. When she got up, she stabbed the pile of sheets and blankets with her stake. There was nothing under there either.
“The balconies are close together,” Alan said. “They could have jumped to the neighbor’s, or… Did you check the bathroom?”
“Yeah,” Liz said.
“Both of you go together?”
Liz nodded.
“They could have left through this door when you were in there.”
“I don’t think so,” Liz said.
“Or snuck out when we were checking the balcony,” Amber suggested. “The door got shut somewhere along the way, right?”
Liz folded her arms across her chest.
“Well,” Alan said with a sigh. “I hate to say it, but it’s not our puzzle to solve. We should get going.”
Liz took one more sad glance around and then nodded.
“I hate to think that I’m leaving when she needs my help, but if she’s not here, I don’t know what we can do for her.”
Alan opened the door and the two of them began to leave.
“Hold on,” Amber said. “Let me tell you a couple more things that might make you safer getting to your car.”
“Okay,” Liz said. “Out here in the hall though. It’s too cold in here.”
Amber followed them.
Eight: Plan
“The tapping that woke me up,” Amber said. “That makes me think that maybe there was something on my balcony that was the same as my neighbor. If that’s true, you have to be careful of the eyes.They’re hypnotic.”
Liz nodded. Alan took it in without judgement.
“They’re good at camouflage, and they have this OCD thing going on. You saw that sunflower seeds on my floor? That’s how I managed to not get killed the first time. You throw down seeds or rice and they’ll have to pick it up. It’s a compulsion. Then, if you can’t get away, go for the eyes.”
Amber gestured with her stake.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Alan said.
“Hope?” Liz asked. “Honey, we can’t just hope.”
“Light,” Amber said. “That’s the other thing they really hate. If you can shine a bright light in their eyes, it might not stop them, but it’s going to slow them down.”
“The parking lot is well-lit. We have that going for us,” Liz said.
Alan nodded. “Okay, you’re right—we can’t just hope. We find something sharp to carry. Maybe we get some rice to throw, and we stick to the light. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Liz said.
“I have more sunflower seeds, and another stake, but they’re in the trunk of my car. Doesn’t really help.”
“If we can find a wooden-handled broom, maybe we can snap it in half?” Alan suggested.
“What are you going to do?” Liz asked Amber.
Amber held up her stake and flashlight. “I’m going to hide out in my room until morning and then go back to my uncle’s.”
“Stay safe,” Liz said.
She and Alan grabbed their bags and headed for the elevator.
Amber went back to her own room and looked at the door for a second before she let herself in. If they came tapping again, she didn’t want to hear it. Sleep was out of the question, so she could turn on the TV to create some background noise. One of her neighbors was already checking out. If the other one had a problem with the sound of the TV, they would have to deal with it.
The seeds were still scattered, both near the door and over by the sliding glass door. Amber closed the door and put the latch on. She pulled all the curtains as well. The puzzle of Jennifer and Aaron kept trying to return. There was no use in thinking about those two. She didn’t have any way of knowing what had happened to the newlyweds, so it wasn’t worth worrying about. Still, she couldn’t helping imagining them being dragged through their windows and out into the night by lizard creatures.
After getting dressed, Amber sat on the edge of her bed and closed her eyes, letting the sound of the TV wash over her.
It had taken the entire autumn for Amber to convince herself that the events of last summer hadn’t really happened. With the stress of her uncle dying, and her neighbor committing suicide, she decided that she had invented the lizard creature in order to give herself power over the situation. By making herself the hero of the story, she had no longer thought of herself as a victim.
“I’m not going to be a victim,” she whispered. Amber pulled her legs up onto the bed and sat cross-legged with the spear on one side and flashlight on the other. All she had to do was make it to morning by staying put. Then, in the light of day, she could figure out what happened to Jennifer.
The cold pit in her stomach had faded. She was in a safe place. Amber let her eyes close—not to sleep, but just to meditate. It couldn’t be more than four hours until dawn. That would be simple. It was a shame that Liz and Alan had insisted on leaving. The three of the them might have stayed up together or even slept in shifts.
Amber shook her head at the idea. She was more comfortable alone. She understood how to take care of herself. If other people were there, she would just feel responsible for them as well. Liz and Alan seemed perfectly competent and intelligent, but Amber really only trusted herself.
The TV shut off and Amber’s eyes flew open.
The only light in her room was from near the door—it was an emergency light, powered by batteries.
Amber leaned over to reach for the bedside phone
