Penelope waited for a scream, a crunch, something... But there was nothing.

Just silence.

Frozen in place, all she could do was watch as the stranger closed the cell door and latched it. He lingered at the cell's edge; he didn't seem to be afraid of whatever it was inside. In fact, he leaned forward, closer, so that his head was pressed right against the bars.

Then he spoke. "You led them here, didn't you?"

There was no response. The low buzzing, like the frantic rubbing of insect wings, had returned. Was it flies? Or was it...

The stranger just clucked his tongue, like he was a disapproving parent. "Then it's all your fault," he said. "You know I don't want to do this. But if you keep bringing them here... Well, then, I'll keep doing what needs to be done."

He spun around, turning his back to the cell. As the lantern light flashed across the bars again, Penelope caught another half-second glimpse of the cage's resident. The cage's interior looked no different than before. There was no sign of Xander. There wasn't a single scrap of flesh, a splash of blood, or even a shred of clothing.

He was just... gone.

The light faded as the stranger headed back across the cellar. He stomped up the stairs, leaving Penelope and Liam alone in the darkness.

Almost alone.

Once again she felt the press of eyes on her, only this time she knew where exactly it was coming from. She turned to gaze into the cell, back at her observer. It was too dark to even see the bars of its cage, but she knew they were looking back at her. The buzz in the air continued, like static.

That is... The Raven, she thought, staring at the cell. Her thoughts were slow and thick, like tree sap, as the realization slowly took hold... That's the Raven!

And that guy... whoever he is... is feeding people to it.

That thought was enough to snap Penelope out of her daze.

She felt around in the dark for any sign of Liam and found his hand. As she took it in hers, she realized that it was trembling. He must've seen it, too.

"We have to get out of here," she mumbled.

"H-Huh?" Liam whispered back, his voice shaking. He sounded like he was in shock.

The buzzing in the room increased, ringing in her ears. Upstairs, there was more muffled talk... More shouting... Penelope thought she could hear Daevon's voice.

He could be next.

They could all be next.

"We have to go!" she hissed, leaping to her feet, pulling Liam with her. "We have to go now!"

She pulled him through the room, heading for the stairs. They scrambled up them, as Liam's plan from before echoed in her head. Get upstairs, climb out a window, and run... There was no reason to change the plan now. The sooner they were out, the sooner they could get help.

As soon as they reached the back room, Penelope and Liam headed again for the windows. They tried each one, pushing on their frames, but every single one was stuck. As Penelope took a closer look she realized that they were nailed shut.

"We've got to break them!" Penelope whispered.

"They'll hear," Liam whispered back, glancing over his shoulder at the door to the main room. They could still hear the sounds of the others and the stranger arguing.

"There's no other option," she snapped. She scanned the room, looking for some blunt tool to do the job. If there was nothing, then she'd have to use her fist—

Her eye caught on something in the corner. Lying amongst a pile of broken cups and twisted cutlery, was an old, dented tea kettle. Perfect. She snatched it up and, without hesitation, swung it at the nearest window.

There was a shattering crash as the kettle sailed through the glass.

Behind them, a shout came from the main room.

"Oh, yeah, they definitely heard that," Liam muttered.

Penelope tightened her hoodie sleeve around her arm and used it to clear stray shards of glass from the frame. "It doesn't matter," she replied, no longer bothering to whisper. "We don't have time to be stealthy! Now let's go!"

She took hold of the bottom of the frame and heaved herself up. She tumbled through the window and crashed into the piles of trash below. Thankfully, it wasn't anything sharp, just a stack of pallets that broke her fall. She rolled off and landed on the ground relatively unscathed.

Liam followed right after. The window was small and it was a tight fit for his broad shoulders, but he could just squeeze through—

Then he froze. His eyes went wide... And he was yanked back into the room with a scream.

"LIAM!" Penelope cried. She clambered back up onto the pallets, back to the window. She could barely reach the edge, just enough to peer over the edge...

Inside, the stranger had found Liam. He had his arms tight around Liam's middle and was dragging him towards the cellar stairs...

"NO!" Penelope screamed. She tried to pull herself back through the window, but it was no use—she couldn't reach.

But her cry was enough. The stranger's head turned towards the window, giving Liam the opportunity to slam his heel down on the guy's foot. The stranger swore his grip loosening, allowing Liam to free his arms and launch his elbow back into his face. The stranger staggered around, holding his nose and swearing more.

Liam leapt for the window, but the stranger wasn't done yet. As Liam tried to scramble over the crates, he took hold of his leg. Liam kicked back with his other foot, hitting the stranger in the face again. It sent him stumbling, towards the open stairs. His foot slipped on the first grimy step and sent him tumbling down into darkness.

Karma, Penelope thought, before she called to Liam. "Come on!"

Liam reached the window and began to push himself through. It really was a tight fit. But then he stopped again.

"Fuck!" he growled.

"What is it?" Penelope said. With Liam blocking the window, she couldn't see what was happening. Was the stranger back?

"S-Something's caught!" Liam cried. He twisted and thrashed, but it was no use.

No. Penelope took hold of his arms, trying to pull through but he was right—he was stuck and stuck good. She heard something rip, but not give. Some part of his clothing had caught on something.

"Go back, go back!" she said, pushing on him now.

Liam did as she said, pulling back through the window. As soon as he was free, they saw that the edge of his shirt had gotten twisted around the exposed head of a nail...

But the stranger was back and standing right behind him.

"LIAM!" Penelope cried.

But it was too late. The stranger was already swinging something at Liam's head. It landed with a dull thud and Liam fell back, crumpling into the stack of crates, knocked out cold. The stranger dropped it... It was a mossy stone, pulled from the cellar wall.

"NO!" Penelope screamed.

The stranger looked back at her through the open window. In his fall down the stairs, his hood had been pushed back, finally exposing his face. The bridge of his nose was bruised and his brow was folded over his ice blue eyes—eyes that when they met hers, burned with rage.

Gunnar.

They stared at each other for a long, frozen moment, before Penelope let go of the window and took off running.