Andrew stands at the top of a snow covered gravel driveway and watches dejectedly as the chimera tears through the house's front door and tries to force its massive body inside.

When he heard the gun go off and watched the beast recoil in pain, he wondered if it might give up and make him take it to a different house where it could feed on someone less trigger happy. Nobody that they had encountered today had put up much of a fight, and while it was certainly ferocious looking, Andrew wasn't sure how the monster would react to resistance. Looking down at it now, he has his answer.

From the corner of his eye, Andrew sees a figure dart into the trees behind the house and realizes that the homeowner must have escaped out the back. Though he can't get a good look at her, Andrew recognizes something about the fleeing person and feels a twinge of emotion. He almost starts to question what he's been doing all day, almost begins to consider the terrifying ramifications of helping to take so many lives. But, before he can think about the subject any further The Voice tells him not to lose focus.

"Call the beast and follow her," she hisses, "it must keep feeding."

Doing as he's told, Andrew puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles loudly.

There's a sound of more wood splintering and glass shattering as the beast pulls itself from the wrecked house and sets off toward Andrew. In the same way that he hasn't questioned why he's been leading it around all day, he doesn't think to question why it's so obedient to him. Instead he takes ahold of the rope still tied to its ever growing neck and leads it toward the forest.

------------------------------------------

The sun outside has set and Linda is lying in bed reading a pulpy romance novel by the light of a battery powered lantern. The book isn't exactly high art, but it's entertaining enough to keep her occupied for a little while.

Beside her, Charlie is sprawled out on his back and snoring softly. He's dreaming that it's summer time and that he's chasing a herd of deer out of his yard. There's no awful snow freezing his paws, the air is warm and calm, and the sun is shining brightly in the sky. It's as good a dream as any dog could have.

Just as she's skipping past another asinine sex scene between the book's two leads, Linda hears something and looks up. She can't quite tell, but it almost sounds like a voice calling from outside. She strains her ears and listens intently, but the only things she hears are the howl of wind and Charlie's soft snores. After a few seconds, she's about to continue reading when she hears the sound again, this time louder than before.

Concerned, she sets the book down and gets out of bed. This wakes Charlie up and he looks at her in irritation. He watches as she picks up the lantern from her bedside table, and though he's tired and a little cranky, decides that he'd better get up and follow her when he realizes that she's headed for the bedroom door.

With Charlie close behind, Linda heads out into the dining room. The house is dark, and the lantern in her hand illuminates the space in a ghostly white glow.

Her plan is to go to the kitchen, grab a flashlight that casts a longer beam of light than her lantern does and then use it to check outside for the source of the sound. She knows that most people in her position would probably just ignore it. They'd figure it was their mind playing tricks on them, and refuse to acknowledge that anyone could possibly be outside in this weather. But, even if she is just imagining the sound, she's still got to check. The thought of ignoring somebody who might be in trouble doesn't sit right with her.

As she's about to set foot into the kitchen, Linda is startled by a bang on the sliding glass door behind her and whirls around so that she's facing the direction of the noise. Yipping excitedly, Charlie races off toward the door while Linda squints and lifts her lantern up to get a better view of what's going on.

A pale figure leans shivering against the glass.