Before Jude could question him further, a loud crash came from the shared house.
The front door slammed shut.
Every window turned black.
Then the bell rang again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A pale light appeared in the windows.
The women outside began backing away.
Susan called, "Jude!"
He turned.
The house had begun to change.
Its wooden walls stretched upwards. The roof rose above the surrounding trees, and the windows multiplied until there were dozens of them.
The structure was no longer the house they had built.
It was becoming something much older.
A vast wooden building stood where their home had been.
Its walls were covered in roots.
Its roof was tangled with branches.
And from its upper windows hung hundreds of little wooden birds.
Jude stared.
"Everyone, get away from it!"
The women hurried towards the central path.
The ground beneath the house cracked.
Thick roots emerged from the soil, spreading across the garden.
They moved slowly, searching.
