"Do not take another step," it said.
"Look, I don't like to pick on… whatever the hell you are, but you're scaring my friend here," Kyle said. He tensed his body, already planning his move. He would knock the thing down, then grab Isabel.
He bent his knees, pushed off with both feet, and tried to rush the creature only to find himself frozen in place.
"What the…?" he said.
"Like I said, you're not going anywhere," the creature said.
Something had grabbed Kyle's feet and was holding him to the floor.
I'm caught, his mind supplied. Caught.
There was a tightness in his chest. This thing was doing something to him. It had him, the same way it had Isabel.
"Isabel, I'm sorry," he said. He had blown it. He should have waited for Max or Michael. They would have been able to handle this better than him.
"Oh, Kyle," she said, fighting back tears and looking miserable due to her uncharacteristic helplessness.
"Kyle," the creature said, looking him over. There was something in its gaze that bothered Kyle, scared him more than the ruined and rotting flesh of its face. Was this a monster? A ghost?
He looked at Isabel, and it angered him to see her so scared. Whatever it was, what right did this thing have to do this to her? To her of all people? Kyle met the creature's gaze and when he spoke, he was surprised to hear his voice firm.
"I have to say, you don't look so good. I mean, you really look like hell," Kyle said. For a second, the creature seemed to be taken aback. Kyle continued, feeling his defiance rising. "I mean, you might really want to get that rash checked out."
Then the creature did something that surprised him. It smiled, with the side of its mouth that still had lips… the other was just teeth showing through ragged flesh.
"That was funny, Kyle. Go ahead and laugh, because I don't think you will find anything that happens from here on to be very funny," it said.
Max raced out into the hallway in bare feet. Michael was out an instant later.
"You heard it too?" Michael said.
Max nodded, and then he saw that Isabel's door was open. He was aware that Liz was behind him, but he was already racing down the hallway to his sister's room. He saw a pillow and blanket on the floor outside her door and ran inside with Michael behind him. They searched the room quickly.
When they came back out, Liz and Maria were waiting.
"No sign of Kyle or Isabel," Michael said.
Then Max noticed that Liz was holding out his sneakers, jeans, and a T-shirt. Maria was holding out Michael's clothes as well. Max realized he was only in his sleeping shorts. He quickly threw on the clothes, as Michael did the same.
"Something's wrong," Michael said. "Kyle said that something happened to Isabel. He must have gone after her."
"I think he was standing guard," Liz said, pointing to the pillow and blanket on the floor. Max nodded. That explained why they hadn't heard whatever happened to her, but Kyle did. He cursed himself for not following his instincts. They should have all stayed together tonight. Isabel had insisted on sleeping by herself, and now something had happened to her.
"You girls stay together, and Michael and I will…," Max began.
"No way," Maria said.
"Max, we can't;" Liz said, her voice tight.
Max thought quickly… taking them would be dangerous. And so would leaving them. Better to stay together. And there was no time to argue.
"Michael and Maria, you head down these stairs," Max said, pointing to the rear stairs near Isabel's door. "We'll head down the front stairs and meet you in the middle. Call out if you see anything."
As they raced down the hallway, Max kept Liz in his peripheral vision. He saw that she had put on jeans and a T-shirt… one that he had never seen before. That was sensible, like bringing his shoes. They opened each of the
bedroom doors and gave the rooms a quick scan. Nothing.
They hit the stairs, Max making sure that he was in the lead. He was especially wary because this was the place in Liz's vision where Maria had gone over the railing. But they made it down the stairs without incident and were in the front of the house. Keeping close together, they searched the front rooms. Then they moved to the center of the house, through the ballroom, and into the dining room, where Michael and Maria were waiting.
"Nothing," Michael reported.
Max nodded. They could not have gotten far. Kyle had been knocking at their door maybe three minutes ago. They could search the house more carefully, checking every closet and looking under every bed, but that would cost them precious time if Isabel and Kyle were outside. Still, they didn't have much choice.
"We'll start in the kitchen," Max said, realizing that he had fallen into his old habit of taking charge. Well, there was no time for long discussions and voting. Isabel might not have that time. For now, she'd be depending on him to do the right thing. Like she depended on me once before, Max thought. It had been another time on another world, and he had failed her then. He had failed her, and Michael, and himself.
He pushed those doubts out of his mind as they reached the kitchen. He looked around. Nothing was out of place. Then the door to the walk-in freezer caught his eye, and he raced over to it. Pulling it open, he looked inside. Nothing.
"Start trying doors," Max said.
He saw Liz open the pantry and head to the mini-hospital
they had found earlier. It was empty. He had just turned back when Michael called him over to the open door next to the pantry. Max could see the light from inside and immediately knew what he was looking at. Of course. How could he have missed it before, when they had first arrived and were searching the house?
Sloppy. Foolish and sloppy, he thought. And Isabel might pay for his mistake now. "Let's go," he said.
They all raced down the basement stairs. Before he could take another step, however, the light in the kitchen went out. Then the basement light went out as well. Max spun around and saw the light in the hallway go out as well. He grabbed Liz's hand. Then the rooms beyond went dark one by one.
A moment later, the light in the kitchen popped back on. Maria gave a startled cry, and Max could see Michael standing by the light switch.
"I don't like this," Michael said.
Max nodded. He didn't either.
Then there was a loud crashing sound from upstairs. Max felt Liz tense up, and then Maria let out a scream. The noise was followed by a loud banging sound that seemed to start from directly above them and travel toward the front of the house.
"Come on," Max said, already heading for the house's back stairs. This was the first definite sign of someone else being in the house. Someone, or something, he thought. Either way, Max decided he was ready; whoever was making that noise was no doubt involved with whatever had happened to Isabel and Kyle.
Racing up the stairs, Max immediately saw all doors
were closed, even though he and Liz had thrown all the doors open when they did their quick search on the way downstairs. Someone must have run through the hall, slamming the doors.
"Someone closed them," Max said, when the others had gathered next to him. Motioning his friends to stay back, he tried the first door, turning the knob and throwing it open. The room was empty.
He heard Michael and Maria try one across the hall. He grabbed Liz's hand again, and then went down the hallway, opening doors as the other two did the same on their side. At the end, Max threw open Isabel's room, which was also empty.
"Someone's playing with us," Michael said, echoing Max's own thoughts.
"Someone?" Maria said.
"What?" Michael said.
"Do I have to spell it out? Do I have to be the only one who's willing to consider the obvious?" Maria said.
"You mean ghosts," Liz said.
"Well, big spooky house, missing people, loud noises. This is not brain surgery," Maria said.
"Maria…," Michael began.
"No, listen to me. Is it really any stranger than half-alien teenagers with cosmic powers?" she said.