It was already past midnight when Sara slipped out of the house, careful not to wake Nathan. Every step was calculated, her weight evenly distributed to keep the floorboards from creaking.
She touched the talisman hanging near the door and felt the cold of the object. For a moment, she almost stopped.
But then the voices caressed her mind again, sweet, reassuring, relentless.
She took a deep breath, slowly opened the door, and let the cold night air rush in, raising goosebumps along her skin. Then she stepped outside to carry out the plan she believed was the only way to save the ones she loved.
The voices guided her, whispering which path to take so she wouldn't be seen. The creatures who noticed her, standing motionless in the shadows, smiled at her with those wide, unnatural grins, then ignored her completely, as if she were invisible.
Sara stiffened every time one of them turned its head in her direction. Every muscle in her body screamed run, but the voices whispered you're safe.
She forced her feet to keep moving.
"What should I do now?" she asked when she reached the area near the clinic, her voice trembling into a whisper.
"Look for a large stone and throw it at the glass with all your strength," the voice instructed calmly, with precise certainty. "Then you can run back home."
Sara began searching for a suitable rock, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Some of the creatures stood nearby, waiting, their lips stretched into that familiar, unnatural expression.
When she found a stone of the right size, she braced herself. Her hands trembled. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
She threw it with all her strength at the large window on the side of the building.
The explosive sound of shattering glass echoed through the streets near the clinic, waking nearby residents.
The creatures began moving slowly toward the broken window. But when they reached it, they climbed inside with brutal agility, unconcerned with the shards of glass, slipping through the shattered opening with a speed that contradicted their usual lethargic posture.
Sara didn't stay to see what happened. She turned and ran. She didn't look back.
Nathan, still at home, woke up startled by the noise. Thinking to check on Sara, he approached her bedroom and noticed the door was open. He looked inside and saw no one, assuming she might be in the bathroom.
But when he reached it, the bathroom door was open, and the lights were off. He turned the light on and searched the dark space. Nothing. A knot of unease formed in his chest.
"Sara, where are you?" he called out, searching the house again. Nothing.
As he stood near the front door, listening, he heard the sound of someone running and the door opening abruptly.
Sara rushed inside, drenched in sweat and trembling.
"Sara, what happened? Why were you outside at this hour? Don't you know there are monsters out there? Have you lost your mind?" Nathan's voice shook at the thought of his sister being out there with those things.
"It was nothing, Nathan... I just—" Her voice broke. Her hands shook so badly she hid them behind her back. "I just forgot something outside."
The lie was so weak that even she didn't believe it.
"Don't give me that," Nathan snapped, leaving her no escape. "If you don't tell me everything, tomorrow I'm telling Kristi so she can examine you. I've been watching you, and you haven't been okay for a while now."
"Alright. I'll tell you everything," Sara said quietly. "But you can't tell anyone."
After he nodded, she began to speak. And the more he heard, the wider his eyes grew. When she finished, Nathan didn't respond right away.
The silence that followed was colder than the night outside. He stared at his sister as if she were a complete stranger.
Whether the voices were real or just in her head, they had just caused the deaths of everyone inside the clinic.
And Sara couldn't be absolved of blame just because of the voices. If people found out, they would put her in the box.
The box. The place reserved for those who broke the rules. Who killed.
Sara was all he had left. His only family. His only constant in a nightmare with no end.
He pulled her into a tight embrace, feeling her tremble against his chest.
Outside the house, the creatures continued to walk through the shadows. And inside, the siblings held a secret that could destroy them.
---
Boyd lay on one of the clinic beds, maintaining the light sleep he had learned during his time in Iraq. Always alert. Always ready.
The sound of shattering glass made him leap from the bed instantly.
He rushed into the hallway and saw Kristi running toward him, her face pale.
"What happened?" His question was sharp, commanding.
"I don't know, I just heard the noise!" Kristi gasped. "It sounded like it came from the room where Tobey was. Gina is in there with him!"
A woman's scream tore through the silence.
They ran.
They saw the creatures climbing through the window. One was attacking Gina, who screamed and tried to fight back. Another was on top of Tobey, hands tightening around his throat. Their wide smiles were gone, replaced by grotesque expressions.
Kristi froze, paralyzed by horror.
Boyd reacted instantly, grabbing her and yanking her toward the basement door. "MOVE!"
Down in the basement, those who had been sleeping woke to the sound of breaking glass.
Except Jade, who slept like a rock.
Daniel stood up and immediately activated his ability to see what was happening. On the map, he spotted a red dot rapidly moving away from the clinic. As the distance increased, it shifted color, turning into a neutral white dot, while other, slower red dots began entering the building.
Confused, he knew he had to act fast.
Kenny calmed his father and hurried toward the door with Father Khatri. Jim wanted to follow, but Tabitha grabbed his arm, shaking her head, terror in her eyes.
Daniel rushed after Kenny when Julie called out to him.
"I'll be right back," he said without looking behind, continuing up the stairs.
Julie watched him go, biting her lip.
In this situation, Daniel wasn't as anxious as the first time he had seen the creatures. He knew from the series that talismans also worked in vehicles or enclosed spaces.
He could go back to the basement, buy a talisman, and hang it on the door handle.
"Well, if the people upstairs die, the only thing I can do is observe a minute of silence."
[What a hero. You really only care about yourself, don't you?]
"This is called survival."
As they climbed, they saw Boyd coming down, dragging Kristi with urgency. His face was tense but controlled.
"The creatures somehow got into the clinic," Boyd said, cutting off any questions.
"What do we do now?" Kenny asked, tense, his hand already on his weapon.
"I have an idea, but I don't know if it'll work." The sheriff pulled a talisman from his belt.
The creatures began forcing open the door that led to the basement stairs.
"Boyd, aren't you going to invite us to the party?" Smiley appeared, the red-haired creature grinning disturbingly as it pushed the door.
"Everyone inside, now!" Boyd shoved them into the basement, slammed the door shut, locked it, and in a desperate, abrupt motion, hung the talisman on the handle.
"Will this work?" Father Khatri asked skeptically.
"We'll see," the sheriff replied, eyes locked on the door.
It made sense that Boyd had tried this. He had probably considered it before, but never had the chance to test it. In the series, Boyd had also been the one who wanted to test whether the talisman would work in a vehicle.
Daniel watched, knowing it should work. But as Smiley stepped closer and closer, his heart began to race. What if it doesn't? The thought burrowed into his mind like a parasite.
Jim, Julie, and Tabitha, who hadn't gone upstairs, approached to ask what had happened. Before anyone could answer, they saw the creatures through the door's glass.
They turned pale.
Jim instinctively pulled Tabitha and Julie back, placing himself between them and the door. Disbelief turned into pure terror.
Smiley spoke, his smooth voice passing easily through the barrier. "Very clever, Boyd. You win this round."
The creature turned away, still wearing that disturbing smile. Footsteps faded upstairs.
Jade woke then, sitting up and blinking in confusion. "What happened? What was that noise?"
Boyd explained quickly, his voice heavy. "I woke up to a sound... when I checked, the creatures were coming in through a broken window. They got Gina and Tobey."
Jade's breathing stopped. He blinked, trying to process it. Reality hit him slowly, painfully, but when it did, it wasn't just grief. It was adrenaline and denial.
"No..." Terror twisted into a frantic impulse. "Not Tobey! He has to be alive! He needs me!"
Jade sprang from his blanket and lunged for the stairs, reaching for the door without caring about the talisman or what waited on the other side.
"JADE, NO!" Boyd roared, reacting with a soldier's reflexes.
Before Jade could touch the handle, Boyd grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arms around his chest and hauling him back. Kenny released his father for a moment and rushed to help, restraining Jade's flailing arms.
"LET ME GO! HE'S UP THERE!" Jade screamed, his voice breaking as tears streamed down his face. "TOBEY! TOBEY!"
"Look at the door!" Boyd shouted near his ear, forcing him to see Smiley's silhouette through the small window. "If you open that door, we all die in seconds!"
Jade's body suddenly went limp. The fight drained out of him as if a plug had been pulled. He collapsed to his knees, still supported by Boyd and Kenny.
The family watched with wide eyes, unable to believe that someone they had just seen alive was now gone.
The horror wasn't just the creatures. It was the realization that nowhere was truly safe.
Kristi stood in silence, still stunned by Gina's death.
"You said they couldn't enter if there was a talisman," Jade said, staring at Boyd with accusation.
Boyd held his gaze, exhaustion weighing on his shoulders like lead. He didn't look away.
"The talisman protects the space, Jade. But the space has to be sealed," the sheriff explained calmly. "It's like a circuit. Break the glass, and you break the circuit. The talisman becomes just a rock hanging on the wall."
"So the creatures broke the glass?" Jim asked stiffly, trying to understand what else they were capable of.
"I don't know. They've never done that before. Tomorrow we'll investigate what happened." Boyd ran a hand through his hair. These past few days have been relentless.
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Daniel mentally replayed everything that had happened since the glass shattered. The red dot that had turned white and fled the clinic resurfaced in his thoughts.
Something was already off script.
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