Dark knots formed in Ricky’s bowels. The contents of his bladder curdled and lurched.

Ten minutes earlier, he’d been sent up to get ready for bed. He’d just slipped into his pajamas when it all went terribly wrong.

It started with a BOOM! followed by a flash so bright he was blinded for a moment. Problem was, his door was closed and his curtains and blinds shut tight. The light came through the walls, the ceiling, the floor. It came from everywhere. Then all went black.

He heard his mother’s screams followed by a grinding sound, a gnashing then a choking gurgle. “John, get Ricky. You know what to do!” Snap.

Footsteps pounded down the hall. Ricky could hear something heavy chasing the footsteps. The house lurched. His bedroom door crashed open. His father, white with fright, grabbed him and opened the closet door. His father pulled down on the clothing rod and a trapdoor opened in the floor and he shoved Ricky through.

The last thing Ricky saw was his father’s eyes, full of love and fear.