Blowing on his cold hands, Lester stopped and peered into the black. The path he’d been following through the woods had vanished again, and he stood still, squinting at the leaf-covered ground, trying to pick it up once more.

Off to his right, a faint glow danced into view in the distance. Giving up his search, Lester plunged into the dense undergrowth toward it. Bare branches slapped and pulled at his skin and clothes as he made his way, but he fought on. It was almost as if the forest itself was trying to prevent him from reaching his goal.

At last, he broke through a thick wall of thorns and stumbled out onto an empty field. A swirling wind blew the hair from his forehead, and the newly formed scratches on his face and arms stung under its icy touch.

After parting ways with Amanda and Mae, Lester had followed Thorndike Street nearly to the end but had seen no sign of Ben or Thomas. Admittedly, if they had passed this way, any trace of them would have been lost in the rapidly falling snow. A few flurries on Halloween weren’t unheard of, but a full-blown storm at the end of October was unprecedented.

Lester had been about to give up when a light had appeared through the trees by the school. As he watched, it had disappeared, came back on, and disappeared again. Deciding it would take too long to return the way he’d come, he instead followed an old unkept trail into the woods. It turned out to be unkept for a reason, and he had quickly found himself lost when it came to an abrupt end.

Now, finally having made it out the other side, Lester saw the light bobbing its way in the direction of the lower sports field.

Sliding down a grassy slope, Lester stretched out his arms as though he was riding a surfboard and arrived at the edge of a wide marsh. A thick wall of cattails lined its banks, and their tall stalks, topped with brown hotdog-shaped spikes, swayed above him as he made his way to a narrow opening.

A floating walkway stretched out across the murky water, the exit at its other end obscured by several twists and turns through the dense reeds. During the day, dozens of students darted back and forth across the wooden path with ease. But in the dark of night, the passage through the marsh took on a distinctly more treacherous appearance.

Lester stepped cautiously onto the slippery planks. They wobbled and sloshed under his weight. Looking down to keep his balance, he noticed a trail of footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Inching along, he followed them.

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Despite his careful progress, Lester nearly toppled into the water several times, but luckily managed to stay dry. After what seemed an eternity, he finally saw an opening ahead and, a moment later, emerged onto the school’s baseball diamond. The square rubber bases marking the infield looked like oversized marshmallows under a blanket of white. Lester was reminded of the cars in the blizzard photograph hanging on the wall of The Marine Society.

Movement near one of the dugouts caught Lester’s eye.

A frightened-looking Thomas, aided by the light of his smartphone, was frantically walking along the high fence surrounding the field, pushing against it with his black gloves.

“They lock the gate at night,” Lester said, approaching slowly. “There’s no way through from this side.”

At the sound of his voice, Thomas spun around.

“You!”

“It’s okay.” Lester held both hands up to show he meant no harm and to shield his eyes from the light now pointed at him. “I’m not trying to hurt you.”

“Oh, yeah?” said Thomas. “Then why are you following me?”

“Because — someone else may be.”

“Would that someone happen to be your father?” asked Thomas accusingly.

“Yes,” Lester said and lowered his head.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Thomas said, “or what kind of freaks you all are, but I’m not sticking around to find out. So just stay away from me!”

He returned to scanning the gray metal fence for an exit.

“You’re right to be scared,” Lester said, keeping his distance but following along behind. “They are dangerous. But I’m not like them.”

“And I should just take your word on that?” asked Thomas. “I don’t think so.”

They had moved behind home plate, and Lester now had a view up to the school. “Darn it, Amanda,” he mumbled to himself. “Where are you?”

Thomas paused. “Did you say, Amanda?”

“Yes,” said Lester, sensing an opening. “She should be here any minute. She was very worried when I told her you needed help.”

“Really?” asked Thomas, and despite his obvious distress, a hint of a smile crossed his face.

“How about this?” Lester said. “You don’t have to come with me, but what if we wait here together until she shows up? Then she’ll take you somewhere safe, just the two of you.”

Thomas didn’t need long to think before nodding his head in agreement.

“Excellent,” said Lester. “One more thing. You might want to douse the light.”

“Why?” Thomas asked, suddenly suspicious.

“It’s how I was able to track you.”

“Oh, right,” Thomas said, understanding. He gave his smartphone screen a tap with a gloved finger.

Everything around them went from color to black and white. The nearly full moon shined down through the falling snow, and they stood silhouetted against the tall fence.

“Wait,” said Thomas. “Without the light, how will Amanda be able to find us?”

Before Lester could reply, another voice answered.

“The same way we did.”