I am about to brave the far-reaching and untamed region of Ashlyn’s closet. Oh, yes it’s wild. It’s scary. And of all the expeditions I’ve embarked on in my life, this is one that turns my hands to ice and sets my feet trembling with fear. Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine so electric that it could light a small city. It’s not just that I am afraid of what I might encounter, it is that I am afraid I won’t ever return. B will have to send search parties, who may not return either. Years from now, a bespeckled man in a safari suit would stumble upon and announce, “Kat Groshong, I presume?

The temperature hovered just below freezing, yet it felt as though it were sub zero. And aside from the occasional gust of wind and irregular snow flurry that floated to the barren ground, the night was still. Inside and out, it was quiet, too quiet for my liking. That alone should have been the first and last indication that something was in the mix. Unsuspecting as I was, I peered around the corner into my bedroom, my sanctuary. The darkened room and the television’s soft glow lulled me to a false sense of security. Then, all at once I was taken off guard. “Aiieeeya!” She pounced.