"Something's in the house," Anne simply said to Alexi, her entire body shivering. She wrapped her arms around herself and quietly watched Gideon.

-

Gideon pressed his ear against the door and listened silently. He couldn't hear anything inside the room. It was completely silent. If he hadn't followed the tracks, he would never have guessed there was something inside. There was something strange going on, however. He didn't know what it was, but he simply had to investigate. It was a sudden, unwarranted feeling. He [i]wanted[/i] to leave, but he simply couldn't. He had to see what it was for himself. He gripped the knife tightly. Sweat started beading on his brow. He wiped the sweat off his brow and took a deep breath. He set down the candle near the door to give him an open hand and gripped the doorknob. He twisted it and swung the door open.

[i][color=red]He[/color] was right there. Gideon's entire body froze. He heard rather than felt his knife drop from his hand and clatter to the ground. He could hardly react. He barely managed to take a quivering step back. [color=red]He[/color] crawled forward, slowly raising himself off the ground. He stood there in front of Gideon, just out of sight of the others. He stood there like some kind of hideous shaven dog, standing on his tiptoes and his bony back hunched in some kind of half crouch.[/i]

Sudden clarity hit Gideon. He felt sad for the creature. This... Rake. He knew now. He understood. He felt his body slump slightly as he gave up. The creature tilted its head at him curiously, then it lunged.

-

Anne screamed louder than she had ever screamed before. Her heart hammered in her chest. She gasped for air at the sight.

Gideon lay on the ground, blood covering his torn body. The creature sat hunched over him, its back towards the others. It was curled up, simply staring at his lifeless body, almost in a sad manner.

Anne struggled to breath. She lost her balance and fell back. The sound of her collapse quickly attracted its attention, as it hadn't noticed them earlier. It turned and stared at them with its cold, dead eyes.