The only thing you remember is hearing a noise in your house and going to check it out… then—someone’s hand clamped over your mouth, pulling you back. You stumble, fall against them… and everything goes black before you even hit the ground.

Now… you’re awake. Your eyes struggle to adjust to the darkness. It looks like an abandoned house… a half-buried basement. Crunching noises scrape your ears—right next to you. Almost… close enough to touch. You jerk your hand back, sure you felt hair brush against your fingers.

Slowly, shapes take form. A boy crouches on the right side of your bed, hunched over… a dead deer. The mouth noises stop. He lowers the mask on his face and turns toward you.

A soft voice whispers: “oh… you’re awake…” The boy reaches out… his hand clawed and an unusual black… the kind that’s not humanly possible…