“Your door was open a little while ago, Aaron,” Amber said. “It was open a crack, but there were clothes piled in front of it. How did you leave the room with clothes in front of the door?”
“I don’t know what to tell you. It was nothing I did on purpose,” he said.
“It’s not impossible to have clothes fall in front of a door,” Ricky said.
“It was more than that,” Liz said. “The windows were open and the blankets were strewn everywhere. It looked like there had been a struggle.”
Aaron stood up straight and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say. There was no struggle. The windows were open—Jennifer said that she was hot and couldn’t get the room to cool down. It was nice, being under all those blankets in a cold room. Cozy.”
“Messiness isn’t a crime,” Ricky said.
Nobody said anything for a moment. Amber leaned back against the wall.
Aaron said, “If you haven’t seen Jennifer, could you help me look for her? With the six of us, I’m sure we’ll find her right away. And would you mind not shining that light right at me?”
Amber tightened her grip on her stake again when he said that.
“Why did you say that you didn’t think it was safe out in the hall?” Amber asked. “What did you think you saw?”
“Sorry?” Aaron asked. “What?”
Aaron looked to Ricky, like he would clarify the question.
Ricky didn’t come to his aid.
“Yeah, you did say that,” Ricky said. “On the other side of that door you practically begged us to let you in. What were you afraid of?”
“And why aren’t you afraid to go out there now?” Nick added.
“Who said I wasn’t? Just because I want to go look for Jennifer, doesn’t mean I’m not freaked out,” Aaron said.
Over the next few seconds, tension in the room grew in the silence.
Alan stood up. “Okay, everyone take a step back. We’re all on the same team here.”
“Are we?” Amber asked.
Alan frowned at her.
“We’re all on the team that wants everyone to be safe until we go our separate ways in the morning, right?”
Amber took a slow breath and then nodded.
“I have to find Jennifer,” Aaron said. “She’s my top priority.”
“Of course,” Ricky said.
“Good. Thank you,” Aaron said. “Amber, can I borrow one of your sticks and the flashlight?”
Amber pulled her arms closer to herself, guarding her possessions.
“No,” she said.
“You can’t expect us to go out there without any protection,” Aaron said.
“You’re welcome to whatever you can find in this room, but I only have one stake on me. I’m keeping this stake and this flashlight.”
“Fine. Will you take the lead on our search party then?” Aaron asked.
“Hold on,” Amber said. “I’ll agree that we all want everyone to be safe. That doesn’t mean I agree with going out there. We know that something is out there. If you want to go out, that’s your decision.”
“I’m going,” Ricky said. “Jennifer might need our help. Hell, Riley might be out there somewhere. I’ll go with you, Aaron.”
Liz spoke for herself and her husband. “We’re staying put with Amber.”
Ricky and Aaron looked over to Nick. The stress of the decision was written in the wrinkles on his forehead. Nick looked back and forth between Amber and Ricky. She was confident and strong. Ricky was altruistic and brave. Nick looked like he couldn’t choose which option he liked least.
Finally, he shook his head.
“Okay, I’ll go with you guys, but we have to find something to defend ourselves with.”
# # #
As soon as the three men slipped through the gap, Amber, Alan, and Liz went to work securing the door again. They grunted and shoved until the bureau was wedged back into place. When they were done, the door didn’t budge.
“We don’t let anyone back through that door. Not until sunrise,” Amber said.
“That’s not a decision we have to make now,” Alan said. “Let’s discuss that when the time comes.”
“No,” Amber said. “Just to be clear—this is not something we’re going to vote on. This is my room. If you choose to stay here, you have to understand that I’m the one who is going to make the rules.”
She pointed her flashlight back and forth at the faces of Liz and Alan.
“Fine,” Liz said.
“Agreed,” Alan said with a sigh.
“Good,” Amber said. “There’s a little coffee maker. I’m going to make some coffee if the water is still working.”
“There’s no power,” Liz reminded her.
“Soda then,” Amber said. “I guess soda will have to do.”
Amber raided the refrigerator and handed around cans. Liz declined. Alan finished his can in three big gulps.
“Tell me what happened to you guys,” Amber said.
“When?” Alan asked.
Amber clicked off her flashlight. The battery on the emergency light was almost dead. The bulb gave off a faint blue glow. Amber set her can down on the table. After the clink of metal on wood, the silence seemed to spread around them, filling the room like a fluid until she broke it again.
“You said you had a story for another time,” Amber said. “This is another time.”
“I’m not sure that…” Liz started to say.
Amber cut her off. “Something about October. You’re both frightened to talk about it, but you said there was a reason you wouldn’t go near your house in October.”
Liz and Alan didn’t say anything. The room fell into complete silence once more.
Finally, Liz said, “It happened several years ago.”
Alan picked up the story from there. “It was my fault that it all started.”
“As much as it could be anyone’s fault,” Liz said.
“True,” Alan said with a sigh.
“Are we sure we can talk about it?” Liz asked.
“It’s not October and we’re miles and miles from home. I think it might be okay.”
They went silent again. Amber was about to prompt them again when Alan finally started the story.
“Where our house sits, there are things that move through
