Deanna: "Sorry about that. Is everyone still in the car?"
James: "Where the hell did you learn to drive like that?!"
Deanna: "My older brothers were way too into street racing when I was younger. Guess I picked it up from them. Abigail, are you all right?"
Abigail: "More than all right, don't hold back on account of me."

Deanna nodded and plunged the accelerator to the floor, pinning James back in his seat. She thought she heard Abigail laughing from behind her, but didn't chance taking her eyes off the road to check for sure. The neighborhood was familiar, and it soon dawned on her where they were headed. Within seconds Deanna had the car at a full stop in front of Andrew Stone's house, its interior ominously dark.

James: "Now why am I not surprised by this?"
Deanna: "You either?"
Abigail: "Despite how it looks, I can assure you this was not intentional."

James: "How can you be sure? The two people who trust Andy the least are currently in the Underworld. Maybe they've gone mad from death and saw an opportunity to get some revenge. Or something."
Abigail: "The Keres generally travel in packs of three. We've seen only the one. Whatever Mary and Tristan were doing, they didn't purposefully release the creature. We should be able to stop it."

None of them made a move to get out of the car. Deanna cleared her throat and looked up at the house anxiously.

Deanna: "I don't mean to make wild assumptions here, but… none of us really trust Stone either, do we? I mean if we're really honest with each other…"
Abigail: "The man is a viper."
James: "I'm a bit iffy on him myself, but I just can't stand by and do nothing while he gets torn to shreds by something we had a part in bringing into this world."

Abigail: "That is what separates you from the darkness. Don't lose that in the coming storm, James. Keep that light close to you."
Deanna: "Well, I suppose we can't be beacons of hope or whatever if we just talk about it instead of actually getting out of the car and doing something.

James: "Right. Let's go. Abigail, you might be better off staying-"
Abigail: "Not a chance. When we find the Keres you'll need me with you to banish it."
James: "Well, let's get on with it then. I don't want to waste too much time out here on this."
Deanna: "Agreed."

They cautiously approached the house, all three of them on full alert for any sign of the either Andy or the creature after him. They walked slowly up the walkway to the house, stopping midway when James's feet crunched on broken glass.

James: "This doesn't look good."
Deanna: "This is obviously where the creature got in… unless Andrew had a visit from some particularly pushy Jehovah's Witnesses…"

Deanna's voice trailed off as the three of them stepped through the door and into the chaos of the living room beyond. She was instantly struck by the scent of blood, though while still quite strong had already dried to a sickly deep red. She kneeled down, lightly touching one of several large drops of congealed blood.

Deanna: "This has been here for a while, at least an hour. This happened before Tristan and Mary even left. The trail of blood leads from that broken window. Seems someone was having a bad night."
James: "I guess we keep looking."

Deanna stood up and surveyed the area. She couldn't hear any sounds in the house at all; no muffled breathing, not even the creak of a floorboard.

Deanna: "I don't think there's anyone in the house anymore. Should we check the garage? Maybe see if there's even a car out there or something?"
James: "It's as good a plan as any."

Before they'd taken two steps in the direction of the garage several gunshots rang out, shattering the silence of the night. James, Deanna, and Abigail instinctively dropped to the ground, unsure if they were the ones being fired at. Moments after the cascade of shots ended, they heard the sound of maniacal laughter coming from just outside the house.

The three of them exchanged worried looks before cautiously standing up and walking over to where Andy leaned against a wall, the bullet-ravaged Ker flying off a short distance before first dropping to the ground and then actually sinking down into it.

Andy: "I've seen things you wouldn't believe, but this… this I'm not even sure I believe."

He wavered slightly as he turned to face them, a slightly crazed look in his eye that was slow to vanish.

James: "Andy, are you ok?"
Andy: "For the time being."
Deanna: "Good thing you have such an extensive arsenal."
Andy: "And they act like being paranoid is a bad thing…"

Abigail: "The Keres cannot be defeated by bullets, you've merely bought us some time. It will return, and very quickly. I will be able to banish it, but it will take me a few minutes to summon the power necessary. How many more bullets do you have left, Mr. Stone?"
Andy: "One or two in this gun, but my other three are fully loaded. I also have more ammunition back in the house."
Abigail: "Not enough time, I can already feel its return. Keep it distracted."

Abigail's eyes went distant, glazing over before closing completely. She was muttering strange words, hardly audible in the crisp night air. Deanna took a deep breath and steeled herself for the coming battle.