Chapter Four
--1--When they awoke the house was empty. They never heard Him in the mornings as they dressed and prepared for school. But as they silently descended the stairs to the kitchen, they could always feel Him breathing on the second floor as they passed. They knew He was there, watching, preparing to strike. It wasn't the same as when they were in the basement and could hear Him walking in the spheres above them, but they knew with the same certitude that He was there. He was always there. He was the central presence in their lives, surrounding them like the thump and stink of the sea. He was implacable, irrational, and unable to be reasoned with. And now He was gone, absent but still present, not there and yet behind any door, within any wall. His spirit hovered over the house l
