“Mom!” Lizzie cried out, running to the door and trying to open it.
The doorknob turned under her hand, but she wasn’t able to open the door. It was almost as if something was holding it shut.
She ran to the window to peer out into the yard, looking for her mother, but she wasn’t in sight. Running to the back of the house, she looked out of the window overlooking the backyard but didn’t see her mother.
Running back to the front door, she was finally able to pull it open. She ran out onto the porch and looked around wildly.
“Mom?” she called out, then froze as she heard a yelp coming from behind the house.
She ran down the front steps and ran into the backyard. Seeing nothing there, she pushed through the bushes into the small forest behind their house.
Once through, she look
