No. The mouse was part of the dream. I’m still half in my dream, half awake, Evan realized, blinking his eyes. He shook himself hard. Shook himself awake. The mouse faded slowly, then vanished. And Evan stared at the window, stared at Andy outside in the darkness. Tapping on the glass. Tapping so urgently. Evan jumped from the small foldout bed. His legs were tangled in the blanket. He stumbled and had to grab the edge of Kermit’s dresser to catch his balance. One foot had fallen asleep. He dragged it, limping to the window. He silently pushed open the window, careful not to wake Kermit. Kermit snored away, glugging and whistling. He had kicked his blanket to the floor. He had fallen asleep with his glasses on. Evan leaned out into the darkness. A gust of cold wind made him shiver. “Andy—what are you doing here?” he cried out. “Get dressed,” Andy ordered. “Hurry, Evan. I have to show you something.” “Huh?” He glanced back at Kermit’s clock radio. “It’s almost midnight!”
