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It’ll be okay

Frolass shattering, wood splintering Outside, the cacophonous uproar resuan druuttural snarls, unnatural howls, and piercing screams united in relentless dishar dawn Kendra had to constantly fight iaret the apparition out of her h the lady was outside, Kendra had felt certain there would be no escape

Late in the night, the furor finally began to relent, replaced by an to cry beyond theagain, calling for ma children pleaded for help

Kendra, please hurry, they’re co!

Seth, Seth, open up, help us! Seth, don’t leave us out here!

After the cries went ignored for a while, snarls and screa supplicants

Then a new batch of solicitors began begging for ad hen Grandpa was inviting the! Come on, Lena cooked hotcakes

Hoe know you’re our Grandpa? Kendra asked, more than a little suspicious

Because I love you Hurry, the food’s getting cold

I don’t think the sun is up yet, Seth replied

It’s just a little cloudy this

Go away, Kendra said

Chapter Fourteen

Just let

Our Grandpa never kisses us, you sicko, Seth yelled

Get out of our house!

The exchange was followed by vicious banging on the door for a solid five ht wore on Kendra leaned against the headboard as Seth dozed at her side Despite the noise, her eyelids began to feel heavy

Suddenly she jerked awake Gray light was seeping through the curtains Goldilocks wandered the floor, pecking at kernels fro uned Seth He looked around, blinking, then crept to theand peeked out

The sun is officially up, he announced We o downstairs, whispered Kendra

Everybody’s fine, Seth said nonchalantly

Then why haven’t they coone easy on hi the ere brutal enough without placing blauments And Seth had really acted re to his idiot self

Kendra glared at hiht have killed the with sobs He buried his face in his hands They’re probably fine, he squeaked Dale had a gun and everything

They kno to handle the that Seth clearly orried too She went to hi He shoved her away Leave me alone

Seth, whatever happened isn’t your fault

Of course it’s ested

I mean, they tricked us I sort of wanted to open the too, when I saw those wolves charging You know, in case it wasn’t fake

I knew it ht be a trick, he sobbed But that baby looked so real I thought they ht I could save hi She atteain

Don’t, he snapped

I didn’tlike you didn’t even care

Of course I care! You don’t think I’o down there and find out what I did?

You didn’t do it They tricked you I would have opened theif you hadn’t

If I would have stayed in bed none of it would have happened, Seth laht And they let ato be Grandpa

Maybe they had to hide down in the base He picked up a doll and used her dress to wipe his nose I hope so

Just in case so bad did happen, you can’t blame yourself All you did was open aIf thosebad, it’s their fault

Partly

Grandpa and Lena and Dale all know that living here is risky I’m sure they’re fine, but if they aren’t, you mustn’t blame yourself

Whatever

I’m serious

I like it better when you’re funny

You knohat I liked? Kendra said

What?

When you saved Goldilocks

He laughed, snorting a little through his stuffy nostrils

Did you see how bad the salt burned that guy? He retrieved the doll and wiped his nose again on the dress

It was really brave

I’lanced at the door and then back at Kendra We should probably go check out the dae

If you say so

Aftermath Kendra kneould be bad the es furrowed the walls of the stairwell Crude pictogra with an abundance of less orderly nicks and scratches Near the base of the stairs, a crusty brown substance was s so around the bed and filled his hands and pockets with the salt that had scorched the intruder the night before

When Seth rejoined her, Kendra started down the stairs The steps creaked loudly in the quiet house The hall at the bottoely raked by claws The bathrooes and had three splintery holes of different sizes

Patches of carpeting were burned and stained

Kendra moved down the hall, appalled by the afterht fixture A table reduced to kindling And at the end of the hall, a gaping rectangle instead of a

Looks like they let others in, Kendra said, pointing down the hall

Seth was exaed hairs in a damp stain on the floor Grandpa? he yelled Anybody!

The silence was an ominous answer

Kendra descended the stairs to the entry hall Sections of the banister were gone The front door hung askew, an arrow protruding fros marred the walls, some scored, others scrawled

In a trance, Kendra roautted Almost all the ere destroyed Battered doors lay far froled carpeting

Shredded drapes dangled in tattered ribbons Chandeliers lay in shattered ruins Half of one charred sofa was entirely

Kendra wandered to the back porch Wind chiarden

A broken rocking chair balanced atop a fountain A wicker love seat protruded froe

Back in the house, Kendra found Seth in Grandpa’s office It looked as if an anvil had fallen on the desk

Pulverized ’s trashed, Seth said

It looks like a deeharenades Seth indicated where tar appeared to have been slopped against the wall Is that blood?

It looks too dark to be human

Seth picked his way around the splintered desk to the eot out

I hope so

Out on the lawn, Seth said Is that a person?

Kendra approached theDale? she shouted

The prone figure did not e

Kendra followed him out the front door and around to the side of the house They dashed over to the figure lying supine near an overturned birdbath

Oh, no, Seth said