Evening passed without incident, as did that night. My sleep was plagued with nightmares where Elsa was dressed in the bloodstained lab coat, eyes unseeing and skin almost translucent. I woke up uneasy. I had made sure that the coat didn't go anywhere near Elsa the day before, but what if it happened today? Or what if she was infected by something else? There were too many variables, too many chances to lose it all.

Elsa gave me a tour of her house while her dad was in town. The entire time, something felt wrong. It wasn't until she had started her afternoon chores that I realized what it was. Throughout her entire house, there hadn't been any sign of her father's supposed lab.

Where was it? Her father had mentioned it as his workshop, and Elsa from the future had told me to go there because it was where the cure was. How was I supposed to stop the cure if I couldn't even find it?

I circled the house, keeping my eyes peeled for Elsa, but there was no sign of her. I had no idea where she did her chores. I couldn't wait until she came back to ask her about the lab, because if I waited then her father would come home. Something told me he wouldn't be happy with me poking around.

"She'll hate me if she finds me going through her house," I murmured. But it would be even worse if I didn't find the lab in time to protect her. Some risks were worth taking.

I opened the front door. It felt like I was crossing some invisible line. I walked into the kitchen. The house was eerily quiet. I opened the cupboards, looking for any secret passage, but there were none. The living room was next. I opened the closets and even pulled out each of the books one at a time in case they triggered something. Nothing.

The rest of my search went the same. I skipped her father's room. The chances of a secret lab being in there was low, and I didn't want to invade his home more than I already had. I skipped Elsa's room as well. There was no way there was a lab in there.

I regrouped back in the hall. Where was it? Where was the lab? Where was the cure? I was running out of time. Elsa could get infected any day, and there was nothing I could do about it from here.

A quick glance out the window revealed that the sun was setting. I could hear Olaf barking downstairs. Elsa would be finishing her chores any minute and her father would be on his way home. It was time to go.

Olaf scrambled up the stairs and pounced on my legs, barking furiously. I reached down to scratch his ears.

"I'm a good guy, not a bandit," I promised. He snapped at my hand and I jerked it back. "Hey. What's that for?"

He growled and sank his fangs into my pant leg. He started tugging me toward the stairs with all the strength his little body had.

What was wrong with him? He hardly ever barked, and I'd never seen him bite before. Something must have been really bothering him. My heart started to beat just a little faster. He let go of my pants as I hurried down the stairs and outside.

The sky was bleeding the last bit of red. A brisk wind had started to pick up. I could hear the barn creaking on the other side of the house. Olaf bolted around to the backyard. I followed as quickly as I dared in the fading light.

A long, drawn out howl shattered the silence of dusk. The hair on the back of my neck rose.

"Olaf?"

I could barely see him at the foot of the barn. He wasn't alone. There was something next to him, a heap on the ground.

"ELSA!"