Luca swiftly picks her up, holding Eve against his chest. He gives the monster a wide berth, while Rowan and Tate provide distraction with their arrows and saws. Flash. Eve spots Martin biding his time behind them. He pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, a move Eve is all too familiar with, and she sees that Martin is holding two pulsing orbs. His hands squeeze, tattoos brighten, and the orbs start pulsing faster, and faster.
“I have her, let’s move!” Luca orders, not waiting for their response. Still holding Eve to his chest as he runs toward the threshold, she peeks over his shoulder. Tate and Rowan are not far behind, but she watches as Martin kneels down, rolls the orbs toward the howling beast, and sprints to join their retreat. The orbs don’t move in a straight line, but curve and randomly turn, frustrating and distracting the creature until they stop at its feet.
Eve misses the rest as they hurry down the stairs. From within her room, there is a boom and another bright flash. An unearthly, piercing howl, and darkness once more.
Arriving at the landing, there’s a guy standing there who Eve assumes to be West. She fills with relief, spotting Maggie behind him.
Squinting in the darkness at West’s glowing tattoos, Eve also notices that Maggie is holding an ax.
“Martin, how much time?” Luca rasps, quickly setting Eve down.
“Twenty seconds. Thirty if we’re lucky.”
A strong grip roughly turns Eve to face him. Luca. He bends over, his intense eyes inches from hers.
“Do you think you can run?” he questions, urgently.
Eve nods.
“Good. Go.”
Eve doesn’t move.
“Go!” he yells.
And this time, she does.
Grabbing Maggie’s hand, they rush out the front door, across the porch, and down the driveway. Eve hardly notices the sharp rocks cutting her feet. She doesn’t know where they are supposed to go—it’s so dark, even the moon has been frightened into hiding.
West and Martin swiftly pass them, their odd tattoos thankfully illuminating the way as they turn, heading toward the Quinn home and the empty clear-cut field.
“Faster!” a male voice exclaims from behind. Rowan? Eve doesn’t dare turn to look.
And then she hears it.
First inside the house and then out the front door, gaining ground, the boogeyman from within is out.
And it’s coming.
Even with the adrenaline, Eve’s legs start to tire, her lungs beg for her to stop, but they are almost there. For whatever reason, she knows they need to make it to that field. To the tall poles with the mounted panels and bulbs, which she now knows most definitely have a purpose.
Fifty feet.
Twenty-five.
Less than ten away, Eve’s ankle connects with a rock and she trips, crashing to the ground.
“Eve!” screams Maggie, terrified.
Rolling onto her back, the eldest Abbott sits up and freezes.
Her eyes adjust. In the darkness, she makes out the creature from her bedroom.
And it is right in front of her.
“Close your eyes!” Luca yells from somewhere behind her. This time, Eve listens. Shutting them firmly, the entire world beyond her lids goes bright.
First, there is howling. Then the creature’s blood-curdling shrieks—the noise is like nails scratching the inside of her skull. She covers her ears, eyes squeezed shut, and prays for all of it to stop.
Silence.
The world goes dark again.
Too afraid to look or remove her hands, she remains curled in a ball, shaking.
A callused palm squeezes her shoulder.
She jumps.
“Shh, it’s okay. It’s gone,” Luca whispers.
Slowly opening her eyes, the huge light panels in the field emit a soft glow. Martin, holding a tablet, seems to be in control of their operation. A rotten stench, like overcooked meat, is wafting from the pile of ash in front of her. Panicking, she crawls backwards, desperately needing to put some distance between herself and…whatever that was. Only then does she get up and finally get a good look at their group.
Everyone is dirty. Small cuts with dried blood. But they seem to be mostly intact. Maggie’s ax rests in the dried grass at her feet. She has her arms around West, who is holding her protectively. Maggie’s racking sobs are buried in his chest. Her little sister has never been a crier; even when their parents’ fate had been revealed, she had only pulled further into herself.
Eve’s heart breaks, seeing her strong sister crumble.
Burning.
Her cheek is burning.
It feels like acid is eating into her flesh as she reaches for her cheek, but Rowan grabs her wrist, stopping her.
“Martin, get the pack!” he orders. Taking the bottom of his shirt, he rips off a strip, moving swiftly in front of Eve. Luca steps to the side, clearing the way, as Martin locates a black case in a duffel bag next to one of the lights, and heads back toward her.
The burning increases. Eve’s fingers shoot toward her cheek, but are stopped again by firm, callused hands.
“Don’t move,” Luca warns, holding her wrists as Martin pulls out a vial.
She watches as Martin dumps the contents onto the black cotton strip from Rowan’s t-shirt, now firmly wrapped around his fingers. Eve instinctively tries to pull pack as Rowan brings it toward her face, connecting with the wound.
Pain. Anguish beyond anything Eve has experienced. She struggles to break free as Rowan firmly holds his wet rag to the infected area.
Then it stops. Tears of torment turn into tears of blissful relief.
Relaxing, she shuts her eyes once more only to feel a firm tug on her neck. The sounds of a chain snapping and a loud hiss.
Eyes flying open, Eve sees her grandmother’s necklace tossed in front of her tattered feet.
Boots. More running. A cloud of dust. Before Eve knows it, she is surrounded.
The Quinns form a circle, weapons raised, with Eve in the center.
“What the heck?” she squeals.
Looking into their hate-filled faces, she halts. When Luca speaks this time, it is low. Menacing.
“The necklace. Who are you working for?”
His boot comes smashing down on the pendant, crushing it into a thousand little pieces.