Kyle called out for her again. Though he was worried about Isabel, he felt the focus and concentration he had on the football field come to him. Even in the high-pressure games, Kyle had always kept his cool. Now, he was grateful for whatever his dad had passed on to him that let him keep his head.
He was trying to decide where to search first when he heard a squeak. He saw a doorway hanging slightly open near the pantry. Throwing the door open, he looked down an old staircase, into what he guessed was the basement.
He raced down the stairs, guessing that Isabel had come this way because the lights were on both in the basement and in the stairwell itself.
Maybe she just got locked in down there somewhere, he thought. Maybe they would be able to laugh about this in a few minutes, when he got her out. It was a possibility, but not a good one, because it didn't explain the scream.
Isabel would call out if she were trapped, but she had screamed.
His feet hit the basement floor, and he heard the door at the top of the stairs slam shut behind him. He ignored it.
'Isabel, are you here?' he called out, racing around the
basement, dodging furniture as he went.
'Kyle,' he heard, but the sound was remote. Then he saw another open door with another well-lit staircase. He was sure that Isabel was down there. With any luck, she had just locked herself into a room in a sub- basement. He reminded himself to prop open any doors so the same thing didn't happen to him.
Kyle headed down the stairs and saw they were cut out of the bedrock. At the bottom of the stairs was a small landing, and a closed door. 'Isabel?' he called out.
The reply was immediate and so clear that it surprised him. 'Kyle, run! Stay away from him. Get the others and get out of here!'
She sounded scared, desperate. It must be the Special Unit, he thought. It was the only thing he could imagine evoking that kind of response from her.
'Noooo!' he heard Isabel scream, and he rushed for the door and yanked it open, surprised that it opened easily in his hand.
Game on, he thought as he raced into the room. Maybe he could rush whoever was there and catch them off guard. He saw two people at the end of the hallway. One was Isabel. She was just standing there. She looked scared, but unhurt. 'Kyle, stop!' she yelled.
He came to a stop just a few steps away from Isabel and…
A thing.
No, he realized, it was a hunched-over… person, but there was something wrong…
'Kyle, get out,' Isabel said, and her voice immediately drew his attention back to her. She was very still, as if she couldn't move.
'No, please stay,' the thing said. Its voice was male, but it didn't look human. Correction: It looked like a human who had lived hard, and then died a while ago.
He took a step toward Isabel and said, 'Come on, we're getting you out of here.'
'You aren't going anywhere,' the stranger said.
'Let him go, he has nothing to do with this,' Isabel said.
'Step away from her, creep,' he said, wondering how the figure could even be alive.
Then he realized that maybe it wasn't. Either way, he and Isabel were getting out of here now.
'Do not take another step,' it said.
'Look, I don't like to pick on… whatever the hell you are, but you're scaring my friend here,' Kyle said. He tensed his body, already planning his move. He would knock the thing down, then grab Isabel.
He bent his knees, pushed off with both feet, and tried to rush the creature only to find himself frozen in place.
'What the…?' he said.
'Like I said, you're not going anywhere,' the creature said.
Something had grabbed Kyle's feet and was holding him to the floor.
I'm caught, his mind supplied. Caught.
There was a tightness in his chest. This thing was doing something to him. It had him, the same way it had Isabel.
'Isabel, I'm sorry,' he said. He had blown it. He should have waited for Max or Michael. They would have been able to handle this better than him.
'Oh, Kyle,' she said, fighting back tears and looking miserable due to her uncharacteristic helplessness.
'Kyle,' the creature said, looking him over. There was something in its gaze that bothered Kyle, scared him more than the ruined and rotting flesh of its face. Was this a monster? A ghost?
He looked at Isabel, and it angered him to see her so scared. Whatever it was, what right did this thing have to do this to her? To her of all people? Kyle met the creature's gaze and when he spoke, he was surprised to hear his voice firm.
'I have to say, you don't look so good. I mean, you really look like hell,' Kyle said. For a second, the creature seemed to be taken aback. Kyle continued, feeling his defiance rising. 'I mean, you might really want to get that rash checked out.'
Then the creature did something that surprised him. It smiled, with the side of its mouth that still had lips… the other was just teeth showing through ragged flesh.
'That was funny, Kyle. Go ahead and laugh, because I don't think you will find anything that happens from here on to be very funny,' it said.
Max raced out into the hallway in bare feet. Michael was out an instant later.
'You heard it too?' Michael said.
Max nodded, and then he saw that Isabel's door was open. He was aware that Liz was behind him, but he was already racing down the hallway to his sister's room. He saw a pillow and blanket on the floor outside her door and ran inside with Michael behind him. They searched the room quickly.
When they came back out, Liz and Maria were waiting.
'No sign of Kyle or Isabel,' Michael said.
Then Max noticed that Liz was holding out his sneakers, jeans, and a T-shirt. Maria was holding out Michael's clothes as well. Max realized he was only in his sleeping shorts. He quickly threw on the clothes, as Michael did the same.
'Something's wrong,' Michael said. 'Kyle said that something happened to Isabel. He must have gone after her.'
'I think he was standing guard,' Liz said, pointing to the pillow and blanket on the floor. Max nodded. That explained why they hadn't heard whatever happened to her, but Kyle did. He cursed himself for not following his instincts. They should have all stayed together tonight. Isabel had insisted on sleeping by herself, and now something had happened to her.
'You girls stay together, and Michael and I will…,' Max began.
'No way,' Maria said.
'Max, we can't;' Liz said, her voice tight.
Max thought quickly… taking them would be dangerous. And so would leaving them. Better to stay together. And there was no time to argue.
'Michael and Maria, you head down these stairs,' Max said, pointing to the rear stairs near Isabel's door. 'We'll head down the front stairs and meet you in the middle. Call out if you see anything.'
As they raced down the hallway, Max kept Liz in his peripheral vision. He saw that she had put on jeans and a T-shirt… one that he had never seen before. That was sensible, like bringing his shoes. They opened each of the
bedroom doors and gave the rooms a quick scan. Nothing.
They hit the stairs, Max making sure that he was in the lead. He was especially wary because this was the place in Liz's vision where Maria had gone over the railing. But they made it down the stairs without incident and were in the front of the house. Keeping close together, they searched the front rooms. Then they moved to the center of the house, through the ballroom, and into the dining room, where Michael and Maria were waiting.
