“Yeah,” Beth said as she sidled up behind him, using him as protection from the elements, “Seeking the light in the darkness is great for comfort but lousy for hiding.”

He let that comment go and asked gravely, “Heard from Simon?”

“Not since around noon,” Beth offered with a shrug, “You still worried about your, um, nightmare?”

Matt answered through clenched teeth, “It’s not just a dream.”

“Okay, okay, your not-a-dream giant bone monster. You really gotta’ wait out in this dretch?” She paused, then, “The lighthouse locked?”

Matt’s shoulders slumped, “It should be. Simon said it’s been shut since…”

From the now open door of the lighthouse Beth called, “Simon is an idiot. Come inside before you catch pneumonia or syphillis or something.”

Matt didn’t answer. He just stared out into the swirling mess of sea, sky, and weather. Madness taunted from the corner of his mind. The beast mocked him from every shadow. It felt as though a generation’s sins and debauchery were coming to be answered upon his head.