“So you think there’s…,” said Meg.

            “More than one monster here,” said Paul. “Three of them, to be exact. It was something that started to nag in the back of my mind tonight. And now that I’ve heard everyone else’s stories, I’m almost certain.”

            Meg nodded. It made sense. She should have picked up on it right away. Jackson’s description of the monster didn’t match at all with what they had seen. So that was how it could be in multiple places at once. That meant things were much worse than they planned for, though. One unstoppable monster was bad enough, but three? Things were beginning to look hopeless.

            “So the first one is the guy I saw, right?” said Johnny. “The huge, eyeless man.”

            “Right. And the second one is the crazy lady that went after Meg and I,” said Ash.

            “And the third one is… what?” said Meg.

            “The wild card,” said Paul. I think that’s the one that can make these hallucinations and things. I don’t know how he does it, though.”

            “I don’t think it’s just hallucinations,” said Meg. “He can actually alter reality in some ways, like turning the floor into quicksand.”

            “It looks like a baby,” King added. “But it can move and crawl around like a rabid animal.”

            “Really? You’ve seen it?” said Paul.

            “Yeah, Tuesday here actually managed to catch it.”

            “Well, that’s a good sign, right?” said Paul.

            “Not really. It got away. Chewed through solid bedrock like it was nothing. And earlier tonight I heard its laughter. Whatever these things are, I’m pretty sure they can’t be hurt, at least not permanently.”

            “Yeah,” said Johnny. “They don’t even have blood. Cut off a limb and they don’t even seem to mind.”

            “So what do we do? We can’t just wait around here for them to kill us. We have to do something,” said Ash.

            “Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way. I mean, they have to want something, right? They didn’t kill Ash’s dad, after all; they kidnapped him. That means they were trying to lure us here for some reason,” Meg said.

            “I figured it was because we pissed them off by coming here the first time,” said Johnny.

            “Yeah, but why? What is it about this place that they’re so obsessed with? They went on a rampage here fifty years ago, and now they’re killing people in town. Why?”

            “It’s all connected to this place, just like Grandpa Tuesday said,” said Ash. “Hey, Mr. FBI agent, did the previous victims have anything in common? Like did they have some sort of connection here?”

            “Well, I only had a few days to investigate the disappearances,” he said. “They all seemed disconnected. Most were locals who barely knew each other, and one was new in town. It didn’t seem to make any sense at the time.” He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. “Though actually, there was one thing. It was pretty far down my relevant list of information at the time, but now that I think about it…”

            “What is it?” she asked.

            “Well, the guy who was new here, Mike DeHaan, the house he lived in had just been built as part of a new development project on the outskirts of town. The fact that this hospital was hit just weeks after it was built…”

            “Do you remember the names of the other victims?” asked Paul.

            “Yes, of course. Tommy Nickels, Len Wise…”

            “Hold on, there’s a kid in our class with the last name Nickels,” said Johnny.

            “Hey, you’re right,” said Ash. “Wait, doesn’t his dad own a construction company?”

            “A construction company? It has to be the only one in town. If they built the hospital and the new housing project...” mused Paul.

            “Then it is all connected,” finished Ash. “I’ll bet anything the other victims are involved in it somehow, too.”

            “But what does it all mean? What, someone really has this big of a grudge against construction work?” said Meg.

            “Not someone,” realized King. “Three people. A man, a woman, and a laughing baby. A family was killed in the process of this hospital being built. Now they’re taking revenge on anyone who was involved, or even loosely connected to those involved.” It was only a hunch, but he thought it was a good one. After all, it all seemed to fit. Why else would they look like that?

            “Real ghosts,” said Johnny. “It would be interesting if it wasn’t so freaking terrifying.”

            “That’s horrible, though,” said Ash. “How could something like that happen?”

            “I’ll bet it was covered up,” said Paul. “You said the police were able to hide the yearly disappearances due to their sacrifices.”

            “Damn, if it wasn’t for their corruption, I’ll bet this might have been stopped years ago. Instead, they hid the truth, and now the consequences are boiling over,” said King.

            “But we weren’t involved in any of that stuff,” said Johnny. “We came here by accident. What are they so obsessed with us for?”

            “It doesn’t matter. We were trespassing too,” said Meg.

            “That’s right,” said Paul. “When you think about it, there’s only one type of person that they’ll kill: anyone who steps foot outside of town. That’s why they killed Mike DeHaan, the construction guy, the hospital patients, the people Jackson sent here, and now us. They don’t seem to discriminate; anyone who trespasses is a target.”

            “They think we want to hurt them,” said Meg. “Maybe if we can somehow convince them we’re not a threat…”

            Just then, the door leading out of the room, the only entrance and exit, shuddered with a bang, as though someone or something had rammed against it. The whole group scrambled to their feet as they all faced the door, backing up nervously. The thing slammed its weight against the door again. King quickly put himself in front of the rest of them, spreading his arms protectively.

            “Looks like we’re out of time,” he said. “Listen up, all of you. I’ll distract whatever comes through that door. The rest of you try to lose them in this room, then head for the exit. Meet in the lobby; I’ll be right behind you.”

            The door crashed open, and a person stumbled through, clutching their face. They looked to be in immense pain. It was a middle-aged man, wearing a tailored suit that had been torn in multiple places. He ran toward them terrified, looking behind him like he didn’t even notice the group standing there. As he got closer, the reason he was holding his face became clear. One eye was missing, as if it had been torn out. Blood ran between his fingers as he winced in pain. He was completely unfamiliar to most of the occupants of the room. Except one.

            “Dad!” Ash cried.