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The girl knows how to hide. She knows how to stay quiet. When the monster is angry, you do not run; you do not make a sound.

The door bursts open. A beast steps into the room—a beast with the shape of a man, and antlers springing from his temples—and she screams—

But it’s only Liam. Not the monster at all.

“There you are, love. Come on. We have to go,” Liam says, but she’s too scared to move. He looks terrifying, half his face masked with fresh blood that flows from a gash at his temple. He leans down, grabs her wrist, and hauls her upright. He starts to pull her toward the door. She flings herself back and he stops, panting for breath. His eyes are filled with worry, but he drops to one knee and puts his hands on her shoulders.

“Listen to me, Teddy. I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?” he asks. The girl nods. “We have to run. We have to run and not stop until I say so. Don’t look back and don’t slow down. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she whispers. Then, “Where’s Mama?”

His hand rises from her arm, lowers again, a helpless gesture. “Let’s go” is all he says, and then he’s drawing her out into the snow. I don’t have my coat , she wants to tell him, but she sees the look on his face and swallows down the words.

The snow is deep enough to catch at her legs. She has to take three strides to every one of his, and his grip on her wrist yanks her along, but she presses her lips together and doesn’t make a sound. His head swivels constantly. “This way,” he mutters sometimes.

The girl is getting tired—but it’s his steps that slow first. He stumbles, catches himself against a tree. He shakes his head, straightens up.

“Have to keep moving,” he says, and takes two steps.

And then he falls.

He tries to rise once, pushing himself up on one arm only to collapse again. He lies in the snow, face down, head turned to the side so she can see his eye, open only to a slit.

“Mr. Liam?” the girl says. “Mr. Liam. We can’t slow down.” She grabs his arm. She tugs on it. Tugs again. He isn’t getting up. She sinks down, kneeling beside him. She looks around. There’s no one else here. No one to tell her what to do, where to go.

The sun is almost gone. The woods are getting dark. Dark, and oh so cold.

She lies down beside him and waits for him to wake.