The icy crystals clung to Meghan’s skin, stinging like a thousand bumblebees. She pulled the light jacket tighter. It was almost dark. She should be home by now, locked safely inside.She searched for her house, but even the street no longer looked familiar. The houses had bolted doors and dark windows. They had yards, but no grass—only weeds and flowers that had turned a rusty brown. She was lost. She had to get back to her own street.She tried to run, but the roots of a spiny tree reached out to trip her. Her feet entangled in the spiky clumps and she fell face-first into the mud.Laughter filled the night, but when she looked up, she saw nothing. The people who mocked her were hiding behind the dark windows. They were safe. She was the only one left out in the cold.Wind gusted through the trees with such force that she had to grab on to the trunk of a towering tree to keep from being blown backward. Thunder rumbled. She had to find her way home before it was too late.Too late. Too late.
