And the dark was already closing back in.

The phone in Daniel’s hand kept ringing, the vibration buzzing against the cold air.

He did not answer it.

We just stared at the empty road.

The third child.

The rattle.

The nightmare was not over.

It was just beginning.

And the truth we had fought so hard to find was suddenly a lie.

The phone buzzed one last time.

And then, the screen went completely black.

We were alone in the yard.

And the fog was rolling in.

I looked at the empty driveway.

The rattle lay on the wet gravel.

Glinting in the pale light.

Waiting.

For me.

To pick it up.

And find the rest of my family.

No matter what was waiting in the dark.

The front door of the house creaked behind us.

Ruth stood there, her face pale.

“They are inside, Daniel,” she whispered.

“They are already inside.”

The security lights of the mansion suddenly flickered.

And then, they went completely black.

Plunging the courtyard into shadow.

The chase had found us.

And there was nowhere left to run.