Nightfall by Ellen Connor Page A

stomach, leaning half over the side, Jenna extended her Remington into the pit. “C’mon, Bob. Grab it!”
    Mason slung his weapon across his back and found Angela kneeling on the hard, bloodstained ground. She called Penny’s name, low and controlled. This woman was stronger than she looked, or it might be all show for her kid’s sake. Either way, he appreciated it.
    â€œTru, get up here!” he called.
    When the kid hustled up, he took in the scene and whispered, “Twisted.”
    â€œI need you to watch our backs.” Mason scanned the area, but that strange buzzing sense of seeing outside himself had faded. The woods had gone deathly still again, but he didn’t trust it. “I need to help Jenna haul them out.”
    Angela touched his arm. “Penny’s down there.”
    â€œFocus on the woods,” he said to Tru. “If it moves, shoot it and yell for me.”
    The kid reloaded, his hands steady. “Won’t need you, Pops.”
    Mason approached the pit. Stink he could practically see wafted up. An unholy place. But he’d recognized that three years before—in Indiana.
    He slid alongside Jenna on his belly. She vibrated next to him, her mind a raging repetition of images and words. He didn’t know what to make of those sensations, feeling what she felt, glimpsing things through her eyes, but he took comfort in them. They were in hell, but they weren’t alone.
    Jenna leaned farther over the edge and urged Bob to try again. His slick fingertips grazed the tip of the barrel, but he couldn’t grab hold.
    Mason tried. Still no good. “I hope this thing isn’t loaded.”
    â€œCan’t remember how many rounds I used,” she muttered.
    â€œStack bodies, Coach,” he called down. “That’s the only way we can reach you.”
    Jenna made a sound in the back of her throat. “Where’s Penny?”
    His heart stilled, then double-timed its rhythm as he watched Bob, seeing what Jenna recognized. As the coach piled mutated corpses, he did so while wearing an empty sling.

ELEVEN
    Mason slapped a hand across Ange’s lips before she could panic. “Quiet or they’re on us again.”
    Jenna turned away and shrugged out of her backpack. Mason wouldn’t hurt the woman—at least she didn’t think so—and they had to focus on finding Penny. From inside the pit, Coach muttered imprecations beneath his breath. Couldn’t worry about him either.
    Where the hell is the girl?
    They must have lost track of her when the final wave came at them. Penny could have slipped free during the fight, nimble as a monkey. He’d been distracted. Understandable.
    Jenna circled the perimeter with a cupped hand, calling softly. “Penny, where are you? We need to get out of here. This is a bad place, sweetie.”
    Tru snorted quietly behind her. “She’s not gonna answer. There’s something wrong with her brain. Haven’t you noticed?”
    â€œJust keep watch,” she snapped.
    When she came to a tangled thicket, she saw a small gap beneath. Kneeling, she peered into the shadows. A pale triangle of a face peeped back at her. Penny lay on her stomach, protecting the stuffed bear with her tiny body. Jenna didn’t know whether that was brave or heartbreaking. The way her chest felt must mean some combination of the two.
    â€œYou can come out now. The monsters are gone.”
    The child didn’t answer, but she wriggled out on elbows and knees, careful not to leave the bear behind. Jenna took her hand and led her the fifty yards back to her mother. Angela’s blue eyes went wide, shining with tears, and she snatched Penny into her arms.
    â€œBaby, I was so worried. It was clever of you to hide, but please, please don’t scare me like that again.” She stroked the girl’s moon-pale hair with shaking fingers.
    Now that the immediate threat had passed, Jenna let her