Neither slept. They laid in bed, listening for sounds underneath the whine of the window unit and the box fan. No matter how they lay, only part of them felt cool, the other half languished in heat. If one shifted, the other worried it would somehow alert what waited in the dark. How was it then, Erin wondered, that so long ago people slept in caves and dwellings, with saber-toothed cats on the prowl? They took being at the top of the food chain for granted it seemed. Ry tried to formulate plans of escape, could they flee out a window on the back side of the trailer while the creatures caved in the front? Could they make it to a vehicle and speed away? Creatures, he thought. They are creatures, aren't they? Just like Jackson said.

Independently, both kept an eye on West Donaghy, curled upon at the foot of the bed. He didn't stir, that should have been relief enough.

"You asleep?" Erin asked.

"No, cuz monsters."

"Could it have been a bear?"

"I don't think so. I don't know," Ry said. "Sure didn't act like one. It was like it was messing with us, trying to scare us. What animal does that?"

"That's something people do."

"That's a big goddamn people, then." Ry laughed. It was not a joyful one.

The silence resumed, the window unit rattled. Outside, the cries of insects resumed. Sounds resumed. Normalcy, it seemed, resumed.

"Hey," Erin said. "Would you love me if I shaved off my hair?"

"Of course. Also, you've done that a couple times now."

"Right. Hey, what if I quit teaching and became an influencer?"

"It would eat me up inside but yes, I would still love you."

"What if I transitioned?"

"Duh."

"Even if I had a penis?"

"It wouldn't be a penis, it would be your penis."

They laughed. When a tire blew out, they could feel defeated. When one of them lost a job, they could feel angry. But when the threat felt overwhelming, when they crested the edge of true despair, they laughed. The greatest coping mechanism in nature.

They dozed, off and on, waking with a start and glancing at the other in the dark. With the first bit of light cresting the horizon, they debated on who would make coffee. West Donaghy stretched, paced in a circle, and returned to sleep. They both stumbled to the kitchen, bleary eyed and stiff. The danger passed.

"Jesus!" Erin cried, jumping at the sound of her phone ringing.

"They've learned how to use phones!" Ry gasped.

"It's the school, dummy."

Ry smirked and added spoonful after spoonful to the coffee maker. Better be strong. He glanced as the door. What would he find outside? Tracks, like Jackson showed them plaster molds of one time? More things taken from their porch? Maybe whatever it was made off with his truck?

Erin sighed and sat the phone down on the counter. They needed her for a field trip, another teacher called in sick. She hated the whine in the secretary's voice as they pleaded for Erin to come in, as if Erin had a real choice in the matter. The perky "thank you" at the end of the call only added to her irritation.

"It's the Avery's Adventure Camp field trip, and Chuck called in."

"Oh no," Ry said. "You gotta go in?"

"Six hours in the sun, watching kids run around like lunatics."

"So." Ry said. He cleared his throat. "Last night."

"I forgot, for a second. Isn't that crazy? I thought about work and forgot all about something trying to knock the damn trailer down."

"I distracted myself with coffee. Want a cup? It's ridiculously strong."

"I don't know, I still feel pretty shaky. What was that?"

"It was big. If it's what I saw before. It's real big."

"You find out there are monsters, and you still have to go to work. You have to make sure the bills are paid when you find out the world is much, much weirder than you thought."

"We should get an existential crisis day every now and then. Just to grapple with it and drink."

"I say we tell no one," Erin said. In the movies, she would be yelling at the screen. Run! What is wrong with you? In life, fleeing meant hotel fees, on top of what they owed on utilities here. Running meant having the first and last month's rent somehow, it meant a deposit for West Donaghy, it meant restocking a fridge and a longer commute, which meant more gas. You could contact family, and then admit the life you clawed out for yourself failed, and let the despair hollow you out as you creep around a house that isn't yours, trying to make it feel like home. There's only so much laughter can do, isn't there?

There's the monster in the dark, then there's the system stacked against, both very willing to take your future from you at once.

"Agreed," Ry said. Tell no one. Not even the police."

"I can stand around and say 'sorry, nothing we do' just as well as they can, no need to trouble them," Erin said.

"When you go, I'm going to talk to Jackson."

"He has one rule, Ry. Stay away."

"Something is up, what's he gonna do, evict us?"

"Yes. That's exactly what he said he would do."

"Then we'll have no choice. We have to kill him."

"Ry, please."

Ry poured a cup. "Steal the trailer, Erin. Go on the run. Blast our way across the southwest."

"I will never agree to this."

"Eventually, we die in a massive shootout. But we're gonna take the bastards with us, Erin. I promise you that."

"Ry, you said that when our last apartment raised the rent. When the car needed a new starter. Oh, and when the gas station stopped carrying those Dinosaurs Attacks cards three decades after everyone else did."

"It's a solid plan!"

"We can't run away from our problems, babe."

"I don't know, Erin. Dealing with them head-on hasn't exactly worked out. Might be time to try things my way." Ry shrugged, leaned against the counter, and brought the cup of coffee to his lips, and burned himself at the first sip. He cried out and then tried to strike his relaxed pose again, raising a cup to Erin.

"You beautiful idiot," she laughed.

* * *

Outside, they both stood at the edge of their porch and looked down in the dirt at the bottom of the step. Sweat beaded on their foreheads and neck from the heat, but still a chill ran down them. They could make out prints in the earth, barefoot and large. They could also catch symbols, purposefully scrawled in the ground with a stick, maybe a finger. Nothing familiar, but it was clear a message was being sent.

"Ry," Erin said. "I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Wait for me before you go into the woods. This is weird. This is really, really weird."

"You got it," Ry lied.