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Her monster aloke up when Wolf was around So Wolf could be on his way back, and she’d gotten a kind of subliminal whiff of him, one she hadn’t really noticed or paid attention to because she was so used to the Changed That was possible She had no idea what the range of her spidey-sense ht be, and it was probably dependent on the wind, which was relatively still at the ht be nearby One eye on Darth, she slowed and saot, however, was the copper of her blood, pine, snow, the evanescent coil of the wolfdog No Wolf

Okay, scratch that idea Unless Wolf ’s on his way back and the monster knows this soot a pre Which wouldup in some funky ith Wolf ?

"Well, honey, I hope that’s not it" Her breath rose in a tangle of mist that the breeze picked apart But what did I see? What was that? Turning away from the house, she stared back down the hill at the lake Just couldn’t put her finger on--

"Wait aup fro of unreality swept through her It’s not the sa the mind-ju from the west" Her eyes widened And I saw three kids, way ahead, running away

"No, that’s not quite right Push-push-push," she whispered, her eyes watering against the light "Go-go-go" What did that h, Alex, come on"

First, she and the monster had jued, briency and intensity of a pursuit He’d been with that red storo There’d been soo

But then her perspective had shifted I ju she’d gotten then was also different: not only the push-push go-go but a sense of being driven and pushed after twono, three other Changed the way old-style cowboys ht herd cattle Two she’d seen pretty clearly: that lanky kid with the wild hair and a shorter, smaller

"Oh my God," she breathed Alex, you idiot That was Marley, which means the sed are all chasing--"

The afternoon cracked open with a shot

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"Hannah!" Chris beat the ith his fist Below, on the snow and nowup, five right, five left Co at theain "Hannah, Hannah!"

Stupid, useless, what are you doing? He had to get out of the rooers fue, and a second later, when he saw the slot for a key, he understood why "A lock?" Whoever had built this roo out So, either break theand clareat, but the ould be faster

Scraping up his chair, Chris grabbed the legs, wound up, and swung He felt the ilass before bouncing back The panes were seamed with a sudden silver tracery of cracks, like a psychotic spider’s web Roaring in frustration, he swung again This time the panes shattered with a treh Whipping up cloth napkins Hannah had used to cover his food, he wrapped his fists, knocked hanging daggers out of the way, and bellowed: "Hannah! Hannah, look out, look out! Isaac, Isaac!"

Across the snow, he saw that steady, deadly streaed suddenly come to a dead stop They were too far away for him to make out faces, but he could see when they twisted to look back at the house Good, good! He’d slowed the his hands, he screa open A head appeared, a froth of white above broad shoulders "Isaac!" Chris bawled "Barricade the doors! There are ten, there are ten!"

The old man’s head jerked back as the barn door snapped shut hard enough for Chris to hear the faint clap and then its echo Okay He’d warned the to the door, he hesitated, studying the ja up, he aiht arh to feel the impact in his teeth His shoulder let out a bark of pain The door, solid oak and stout, shivered, but there was no splinter or screarunt ju past his teeth By the fourth time, the bark in his shoulder was a roar, and still the door held tight