The news of the useless phone and Devynn's assumed death made even Brian silent.

The only thing that interrupted were the slowly decreasing slams against the walls. They'd stopped hitting the door, but Phoebe was moving from window to window trying to get a headcount. There was still the one antlered by the lake, but she was beginning to recognize the different looks of the others. She'd been scribbling furiously in a notebook when Graham and the others returned to the living room.

She'd counted five plus the one with the antlers. They'd been taking turns watching the exits while throwing themselves at the walls. "That one hasn't moved, not once. It's like he's just staring at the sky," Phoebe whispered.

"Who cares what the freaks are doing," Scarlet snapped. "There's no phone, no signal on the roof and those things want us dead. How are we going to get out of here?" The questions were directed at Nora who only shook her head. Another bang hit the wall and Scarlet screamed in frustration. She slammed her hand against the wall they'd just hit.

A screeching roar sounded outside. Answering screeches sounded from all sides of the cabin. The sound came and went in a horrible chorus until a final roar. Everything was silent inside and outside of the cabin.

"What are they doing?" Gio asked Phoebe. The question was too loud, shattering the silence that not even their breathing had disturbed.

The curtain fluttered as Phoebe tried to gently shake it aside. She made a choking sound and fell back. "He's right there." Her voice shook so much her voice was almost unrecognizable. One trembling hand pointed up at the window she'd been watching. She took Graham's outstretched hand and pushed herself into his side. "I don't think he saw me."

"What does it matter? They know we're in here," Moira muttered.

"We should run out and kill them all," Brian shouted. His following scream was muffled by Mike's hand clamping down on his mouth.

The door knob rattled.

"We can't stay here," Cass decided. He pushed himself to his feet with Nora. "So it's time to stop the arguing and come up with a plan that doesn't end with everyone dying."

"The guy across the lake has a radio. Even if the phones aren't working he can use it to get help," Nora explained. The others slowly gathered around except Graham who stayed near the door. The knob had rattled a few more times but stood silent now.

Bit by bit a plan came together. If they could get across the lake in the motorboat it was only a small sprint up to the front door of the other cabin. The lake stretched out far enough to either side to slow their chase on land.

The problem came with getting to the boat without being grabbed. They'd taken to just circling the cabin in an endless circle. Their shoeless footsteps overlapped until they couldn't tell one from the other. They had no concrete way to distinguish exactly where they were at all times anymore.

"One of us could run the other way to distract them," Mike suggested. "If we ran out the back door they might follow."

"There's a shed out back. If I can get through the yard and inside I can lock it from the inside," Nora said. She was already standing at the back door stretching her legs. Back home, the shelves of her room had always been lined with second place trophies from track. At every match she'd been beaten at almost every race. One shelf, the central one, was specially reserved for the gleaming gold medals, the only race she'd won without equal for every year she'd been in competition.

There was no one who could outrun her in the 100 meter dash. Scarlet had always been hot on her heels but there was always something in Nora that pushed her the extra tenth of a second faster. Nora looked back over her shoulder now and smirked at Scarlet who had opted to go for the boat. "Just another race, right?"

"Yeah, no biggie," Scarlet answered. Her breath was steady now, calmer than it had been since they'd all piled into the cabin.

"Nora, let me go. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you," Cass begged.

She shook her head and hugged him tightly. "With that knee? You won't make it, love." When they pulled away she pressed something into his hand. "I'll be back for that, I promise." In his hand was her engagement ring.

Graham and Scarlet moved to the front door while Phoebe stood watch at the window. They were still circling outside. Each time they passed the front, Phoebe listed called out which had passed. The patterns were random to a point, but it only took a few passes for them to begin noticing recurring laps.

At the back window, Spencer was calling them out in a similar way. He held a hand out to Nora to keep her from running out. "I haven't seen antlers move yet," he muttered.

"Do you think he'd move if we threw stuff?" Mike asked. He glanced at Brian and then helped him up. "We'll go up to the balcony and get his attention. What can I throw?"

Reluctantly, Nora pointed at the cabinets. "Throw the cups. They're solid and they'll hurt. As soon as he moves for you two come back in and I'll go for the shed."

The two men loaded their arms with the heavy glass cups and sprinted upstairs. It all seemed to take seconds after that. The balcony door upstairs slammed open and Phoebe held up a cautionary hand. She turned and nodded at Spencer. "He's going for them."

They heard the doors upstairs slam closed and Nora burst through the door yelling at the top of her lungs. The circling footsteps all changed direction together. Graham didn't have a chance to see how far Nora made it. Scarlet flung the door open after Phoebe's all clear and they sprinted for the boat.

Dirt and twigs sprayed out from under their shoes as they ran. They were silent except for the pounding of their footsteps. Nothing stood between them and the docks. Scarlet reached the boat first and flung herself into the boat, hands scrambling for the engine.

They noticed them then, the antlered standing among the trees watching them. Instead of running they moved towards them with slow steady steps. The boat engine revved but didn't start.

"Scarlet, get it going." Graham braced his hands against the side of the boat and he pushed off the dock with his feet. For a second he was stretched over the water between the boat and dock. The wooden planks vibrated with the heavy footsteps that inched towards him. He gave one final push with his toes and pulled himself into the boat, soaking his trailing foot.

The motor roared to life and they shot forward. Scarlet looked back at him and laughed nervously. "We did it, I can't believe we actually did it." Her face went pale as she looked to either side of the lake. Just as they'd expected, they were following as quickly as they could. "We'll just leave the boat going and run inside. As soon as we can convince that perv to call we can just hide out there."

Graham nodded and tensed his legs and locked his eyes on the approaching shore. The distance shrank faster and faster. Water gave way to damp earth as the boat ran aground. No word was spoken between them. They let the momentum carry them and hurtled the metal edge, landing on the ground and making a dash for the door.

It opened easily under Scarlet's hands and she slammed it closed as soon as Graham had skidded inside. The awful screeching started up again and they turned, prepared to confront the man who's home they had just invaded. They found an empty house echoing silence back at them.

Furniture was tipped every which way across the living room. The windows were intact, something they were grateful for as they saw the shadowy figures sprint by. They peered inside with their faces pressed to the clear glass.

"Why aren't they trying to get in?"Scarlet whispered as she regained her breath.

"It looks like they've been in here," Graham said. He moved around slowly checking under the flipped couch. All he found was blood. While he continued to search the room, Scarlet started opening doors, checking for hidden surprises that may have been awaiting them. "Are you getting the feeling he's not here anymore? Scarlet?" He repeated her name when she didn't answer.

Scarlet was standing dead still in the doorway at the back. Panting breaths tumbled out of her mouth faster and faster until it sounded like she might hyperventilate. Among the shaky inhales he could hear horror filled whispers. "He knew about them, Graham. He knew." She pointed into the darkroom that lay ahead of her.