For a full two seconds, she and Aiden both believe him. Then the lights flicker.

Jodie lets out a little gasp and shoves herself back against the headboard. Her eyes dart around the room before finding Johnny's. "They're coming! The monsters!" They don't care that Johnny's here, they're coming for her anyway. He can't protect her. No one can.

Something shoots through the wall, something black and amorphous, blink and you'd miss it. But then there's another, and another. One rises from the floor like some deep-sea terror, wraps a black tentacle around Jodie's ankle, and jerks her out of the bed like a ragdoll.

She doesn't scream for help. She just screams.