Meret? It’s about time. Are you sure you’re not coming?” Maya asked outside her room door.

Meret sighed. She didn’t want to attend the party. Yes, there would be fun and all that, but it wouldn’t be fun with her and her friends acting weird—and not just that.

She hadn’t come out for days now because she kept seeing the monster at intervals. Everything scared her.

Each time she saw it, it grew taller and more terrifying. Its eyes were wide and wild, and it was always approaching ...