They had to be close now. They spent another night in the cold, this time Laura had the knife in her hand and the gun by her side. She kept jerking herself awake, afraid of waking to Ben pinning her down with a monster in his eyes. She shook with exhaustion as they trudged along, her energy almost depleted. The baby took any reserves she had left. She swayed on her feet and Ben grabbed her arm then took in a sharp breath. A shot of adrenalin rushed through her as a building thrust itself before them, forbidding in its immense octagonal shape. They stopped and huddled behind a massive oak tree. Music floated to them. It moved slow in tempo then rose in a frenzied pounding. Chanting voices clamored with it. Laura gripped her knife in one hand and Adrian's whip in the other and closed her eyes. What she saw sickened her. Images of Charlie mind bending, slashing and healing, then killing a poor rabbit. Worse was that her son enjoyed it. Then a crowd flowed around him.
