She started up again even before we got close to the school:

"When we get to Midwich, we just go straight past the school, ok? Straight past. No detours."

This was getting ridiculous, but I kept my cool. Best I could: "I know, I know. Christ, Kate, you think I'm deaf?"

"Just checking we're both on the same page here."

"Yeah, no problem," I sighed, "same page, same paragraph. Chapter twenty-two, line whatever, 'As Kate and Nathan approached the school...' yadda-yadda. Trust me, kid, I got it.

"I hope so."

We went on along the street, passing the Storefront Poseables place again on our way. My gut tightened, and I worried that Kate would ask about the gaping hole in the window. If she saw the hole, she'd wanna know why it was there, and that woulda led to questions I didn't wanna give answers to. I looked over and saw that... the hole had gone. Kate frowned as we passed, but said nothing. Better that way, I figured. Safer.

As Kate and I approached the school, I got a weird sense from it. Not just a weird feeling - I'd had that since the fog fell in the woods - but some sense of, I dunno... inevitability... from it. Like it was calling to me, pulling me toward it. Everything else faded out and all I saw was that red building, barely feeling Kate's pull at my arm as I drifted along.

Then I saw her. Lisa, looking so much like the nurse in that vision. Same name, too. But, not that nurse. My wife, left behind back home when I had stormed out but now somehow... here? I remembered seeing her in the park before I got chased into the mall, but I had just dismissed it. A trick of the light and my fear.

Now, though, she was there. At the window, watching me. Waiting for me.

I stopped dead, and everything faded except for the window, drifting towards me slowly, bringing the building closer to me. Or me to the building. And still that blonde head, those piercing blue eyes. The face I had fallen in love with and married stared at me out of the dark, and I found it was closer and closer. The pathway leading up to the building had almost slid under my feet when -

"NATHAN!" A sharp smack! as a hand slapped me hard across the face. The rest of the world flooded back, street, fence, lampposts. And now the pain, a sharp stinging as I saw the kid in front of me, shaking the life back into her hand. "K- Kate?" I asked, stunned.

The realization of it hit me : Lisa was here with us! In this screwed-up little town crawling with those... those things! I had to get her out, somehow had to convince Kate to help me.

"Did you see?" I asked her frantically. "Did you see her? I saw her in the school! She was at the windows!"

"Who?" she yelled, "who was in the school?! The windows are empty, dark. Look for yourself!" She pointed furiously at them. The cold, blind windows. Watching me. But I couldn't have been wrong, couldn't have been mistaken. I'd seen her there!

"Y-yeah, I see. They're empty. Now. But she was there, Kate!"

"Who? Who was there?"

"Lisa. Lisa, my wife…" It had been her. Must have been. No-one else moved like that.

Kate stared at me, her eyes wide in shock. "Your... your what?"

Of course, I'd never told her. I'm not that stupid. "Yeah, you heard." I shrugged. "I guess I don't act like a married man should, huh?" Ohhh, Lisa, I thought. If you could see me now, after everything I did. Hell, maybe you can.

My blood ran cold as I remembered the face I had seen in the window, and that beautiful slim figure earlier in the fog... Lisa... could you really be in this town? I stopped myself there. No time for those thoughts, not now. The look on Kate's face was clear enough even for me to see.

"Well, hell," I said, "I… it's not like you go through surgery or anything to make you the perfect married man, ya know?"

"Married and no ring?" she asked, eyeing me up real suspicious. Suddenly I remembered her blasting at me in the park, what felt like a lifetime ago. And she had picked up another gun since then. My inner survivor piped up at me. How about you don't tell her why you keep your ring finger bare, old man? Remember how she got when she thought you were eyeing up Angela? My gut turned at the memory of that gun barrel pointed right at it. Pretty blonde schoolgirl this kid was, sure, but really goddamn dangerous with it "it" being...?.

I shifted my weight, pretended to be unhappy and embarrassed. Well, more than I was. "Yeah, well, ya know… jewelry's for chicks and fags. Not my thing. But look, she was – " A movement behind Kate caught my attention, and I could just see a flick of blonde-red hair pass along behind the windows. "Ah! There she is! Look!"

Kate spun to look, but too late. The windows were all empty again. My heart fell right down inside of me, the disappointment bitter and poison. Gone again.

"Ah shit, she moves too fast," I said. "Look, I know what he said, but…" But what? I asked myself. How could I forget what Jeff had said, any of it? He had been right about everything else, and even back at the school he had never really lied. Not the same as honesty, of course, but... I thought, decided on my move. "I can't just leave her there!" Whatever the hell else, I couldn't leave Lisa in there.

"If you go in there, you're going in alone, pal." Kate's face was set. No way she'd change her mind. "I stuck with you back in the mall, but this…"

"The mall!" Now I saw again how I'd gotten separated from Kate as we crossed the park. In my mind I saw that same blonde-red hair in the fog, just ahead, and then disappearing. "I saw her there, too! Well, on the way there. Remember we got separated? I was… I went…" I trailed off, not sure of anything now. Had I seen her? Really? I had seen someone for a second in the park as we crossed it, but...

"Sure," she sneered, "you went chasing after your wife who might not even have been there, and then-"

I wanted to slap her stupid face for that, pissing on a guy's hopes, but I kept my cool. Stayed calm."Wait," I asked, "how do you know she might not have been there?"

"You weren't expecting anyone but me, I know it, and you sure as hell weren't expecting to see her. Remember, you followed me through the woods? You've been seeing things, man."

"No, I was- I was just out for a walk in the – " But I hadn't been. And she knew it somehow, knew that I'd been following her, watching her, wanting her.

Fuck.

She was cool, though, that pretty little schoolgirl. Told me she could understand why I had followed her, understood that a man had needs. And while she told me I somehow saw it all fresh. The appeal, that is. Why I had followed her. Oh yeah, I saw that. She wasn't that much the innocent after all, then, I could see that. Not bad.

But I stayed with it, though. My resolution. I couldn't leave without getting Lisa outta there. So I stood there, my back to the school, and watched Kate Morgan walk away back to her place. Disappearing into the fog, leaving me behind. She had invited me to go with her, to relax on the 'nice soft sofa' back at her place. But I couldn't follow.

I remembered again, there. That day me and Lisa went to the park, got caught in the rain over our picnic. The rain had caught in her beautiful dark hair , shimmered like jewels in velvet before sinking in, drowning in the darkness. And she had laughed, had loved it. No, I couldn't -

I couldn't give in, couldn't follow Kate and her softness. No matter how much I wanted to, and oh how I wanted to. No, I had to go into the school. Back to that old world of books and desks, so familiar, and so alien. I turned to the doors with a sick feeling in my gut. Guilt at leaving Kate alone? Or guilt at wanting to desert Lisa in the school? Didn't matter anymore now, though.

I started towards to the school again, starting on that pathway long and gray against the front lawn, the fog suddenly obscuring the building itself. So heavy now, so heavy I could just barely make out my hand in front of my face and the ground at my feet. No wonder I tripped and stumbled over... something. I bent to inspect the thing at my feet. A pink bicycle, about the right size for an 8th grader. What the hell? I'd seen these things back when I was teaching in Brahms, but that'd been for kids so very much older than elementary school age, so what was this?

Well, whatever. I had enough to worry about. Probably just left behind by some kid picking up her sister. I shook my head at the fog, my clumsiness, and carried on slowly up the path towards the doors. Which were blocked.

As I got close enough to see the doors, I could make out a dark shape sat low off the ground, blocking my way in. My fingers tightened on the gun trigger, that damn dog! Well, now we could get even, and no-one to stop me. But I couldn't risk fucking up the shot, so held my fire and walked closer still. No dog, though. No, this figure I recognized alright. Damian, that freak. He sat cross-legged leaning against the one door, the other free of any block. His bare katana lay across his knees, gleaming with traces of blood that he hadn't completely wiped off the steel. He raised his head as I got closer, and smiled into the muzzle of my gun before looking up at me.

"You're not much good," he said, "on listening to good advice, are ya, Crawley?

"What the hell? What's it gotta do with you, anyway?" I asked angrily. Good advice? When had this guy ever done anything useful for me?

He raised his sword and I jumped back, Uzi raised. He grinned at me, and swung the tip in a lazy arc, pointing to the door on his right. "That's one place in this little burg you really really don't wanna go, old man." The point swung back around, pointing into the town proper. "But that way, you might just make it out in one piece. Maybe."

"Ah, whadda you know?" I sneered at him. "I've gotta get in there, I saw my wife, she's around here somewhere, around this school! I can't let her stay with all these, these things!"

Now I had his attention. Probably he'd never understand it, I told him, he'd probably never know what things like love and loyalty were. Or caring for someone enough that you'd fight and kill and die for them.

He smiled again, shook his head slowly. "Ohhh, you have no idea."

Yeah, right, I told him, no idea how much of a cold murderous kidnapping bastard you are. Fuck you, I told him, I'm going in, to do things you can't imagine for a thing you can't dream of. And I yanked the door open, the entry hall spare and empty in the cold and pale light.

He rose quickly, silently except for the faintest rustling. "You'd be amazed."

And he grinned, raised his sword and stepped forward. I was faster, though. If I didn't wanna go into the place, but if I had to, I sure as hell didn't want this freak there too. I slipped forward and around him before he could enter, and ran through the doorway, swinging the door closed behind me as I went in. But no closing slam came, only a splintering and then a thumping against the door .

A low chuckle behind me. "You think it's that easy?"

I turned in horror, and saw the door hadn't closed. Jammed in the gap between door and frame, the katana was wriggling the wedged door gradually open, splintering away at the wood. The thumping had given way to a fanatical laughter as he kicked against the door, as though something kept it closed against him. Standing halfway across the lobby, I knew the door should just fly open, nothing was stopping it.

Nothing I could see.

"You think it's that easy to keep me out?" he yelled, "to stop me from doing this? You know I won't give up. You know I can't give up."

He was following me! I could feel it! The place itself groaned in fear and pain. Even the possibility of a monster like him coming to a place for children was against the nature of things, even the plaster and wood of the place knew it. Almost as though the door was resisting him, trying to keep him out, from defiling the place.

The air shuddered, I could feel how bad it'd be if he got in, how terrible. But what could I do?

I turned and ran across the lobby. If I could lose him in the school, maybe I could make it out again with Lisa without him getting us.

Maybe we could survive.

Maybe.

I turned, looked back at the main entry doors, my hand rested on the handle of the other door, leading outta the lobby into the school itself. That blade stood out horribly sharp from the entrance door, and the wood groaned against it. The fear grabbed my heart cold and sudden, and I shoved the hall door open, slamming it closed behind me just as I heard the first door give up. A yell sounded behind me as the wood crashed open and I cowered down, back hard against the door in case he tried to charge it.

I braced against the coming impact. Which didn't come.

Nothing but silence. And the hallway stretched out cold and empty on either side of me. The fog rolled against the glass of the doors across from me, leading into some kinda courtyard.

Rising slowly, still braced against the door , I controlled my breathing, tried to think. He was definitely there, behind me. Waiting for me to leave. He'd know I was blocking it. He'd wait to hear me go, and then when my back was turned... I had to decide. Run forever or stand and fight.

Taking a deep breath I turned round, keeping a foot braced against the door, and put my hand out to the handle. Waited with hand above metal. No sound, no rattle on the knob. Nothing.

I sighed in relief. Maybe he had given up. And I slowly brought my hand to the handle.

NOW it rattled! In my hand! I jerked back and stumbled away, my gun remembered now, pointing at the door. I kept my distance carefully, if he decided to stab through that wood, I'd be plenty fucked-up. And now a shout from beyond the wood, echoing flat and empty in the hall.

"Crawley? Crawley, stop fucking around!" He sounded scared. What would scare him ? "Lemme in!" This wasn't good. "Let... let me... It's... She... No, not here." Sounding panicked now, so so close to panic.

The handle rattled as he tried it again, banged the door trying to get out. The door would not open. My heart beat furiously as I watched it, gun still raised. Ready.

"Stop... " From here I could hear him so clearly. Ragged breath. His and another. So high, so clear. So close.

"Stop fucking around..." He sounded really panicked now. "No... Stop there!"

A bang against the door, and I jumped back again.

"No! You were... This place..." A frantic scratching, scrabbling against the door. The wood banged again.

A sudden scream, and then silence.

The doorknob turned slowly, back to its start. A sudden loud CLICK! as it unlocked made me jump, two slugs whined into the wood as my trigger finger jerked. The door swung slowly open. I held my breath, heart sinking into my gut as I watched to see what would be on the other side now. The lobby was empty, the door scratched and scarred on the other side. Where he had stood.

The entrance doors were closed, the air breathing into the hallway cold and dead from the lobby . I reached out to grab the door beside me, slam it closed on the empty entrance, against whatever had scared even him, and in a sudden gust of air a paper flew up into my face.

Sputtering frantically, I spun, ripping the paper off my face. As I came to rest I saw the paper. A map of the building.

The doors swung closed behind me with a bang, and the radio in my pocket began to hiss.

Hissing so, so quietly in the empty dark.

Somehow I wasn't surprised.