fact.
For a long moment, the only sound was the refrigeratorâs compressor kicking on. Then they all jumped at the sudden knock on the door. It was one lone pounding, and they sat immobile, waiting for more. But it didnât come.
Mandalay saw Claudia and Elgin exchange a look. It wasnât hard to read: Whoever or whatever was out there, it wasnât a guest expected for dinner. And it was far too soon for it to be Mandalayâs father.
Elgin picked up a shotgun from the corner and walked to the door. âWhoâs out there?â he called.
They all listened. Over the wind, they heard what sounded like fingers scraping on the other side of the wood.
âMommy,â whispered Lukeâs other sister, Deetzy.
âHush,â Claudia said softly but emphatically. Still, she took the little girlâs hand.
Mandalay moved slowly around the table. There were things, she well knew, that lived near the Tufa, unseen and unseeable except in rare instances. Most of them were harmless, but not all. Some were both terrifying and incredibly dangerous. Given who she was, Mandalay should have been able to sense what was out there, and thus know how to respond to it. But nothing came to her.
And of course, none of that would matter if, on the other side of the door, waited a fully human maniac who had randomly chosen to slaughter everyone in this particular house.
More scraping sounded through the wood. It couldnât be an animal; the sound was unmistakably fingerlike. And as she approached, Mandalay could tell the sound came from low on the door, from a small childâs height. If a child were lost in this weather, as she had beenâ
âOpen the door,â she said.
Elgin looked back at her. The fear and weakness in his face almost made her angry. âNo fucking way.â
âOpen ⦠the door,â she said, using the same tone sheâd used to stop him before.
âBarton,â Elgin said to Lukeâs older brother. âHold this gun. If itâs anything that looks dangerous, shoot it in the goddamn head.â
âYou think itâs a zombie ?â the boy asked. The gun barrel waved in his unsteady grip.
Elgin looked at Mandalay with mixed contempt and fear. âIt could be. It could be anything.â
He slid back the dead bolt, took a deep breath, and threw open the door.
It slammed into the wall. That startled Barton, who yelped and fired the shotgun. The noise was like standing right next to a thunderclap. The two younger girls screamed.
The blast went through the open door, harmlessly over the old man sprawled on the porch.
Elgin snatched the gun from Barton and slapped him so hard, it knocked him to the floor. âYou goddamned retard!â he shouted, his voice cracking.
âStop it,â Mandalay said. She knelt by the old man and turned him onto his side.
They all gasped when they saw the face of Rockhouse Hicks.
None of them spoke. Only the wind made any sound, whistling through the door and moaning in the cold sky outside. It tousled the old manâs disheveled white hair and sent ripples along his clothing.
âIs he dead?â Deetzy asked.
No one moved to check. At last Elgin said, âMy daddy told me this story once. These three fellas were coming across the mountain going to Kingsport, and one of âem got tired. He told âem he was gonna sit down on this here stump for a while, but heâd catch up to âem. They went on into Kingsport, and on their way back they found him still sitting on that stump, froze solid.â He nodded at Rockhouse. âJust like that.â
Then Barton said, âYâall, look at his hands.â
Mandalay lifted the hand that must have clawed at the door. The wound where his extra finger had been sliced away was scabbed and swollen.
He was too big for her to move on her own. âHeâs not dead,â she said. âGet him out of the snow.â
âNo,â
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