Alex awoke to silence, but it was a silence that felt thick, as if the house itself were holding its breath. The night had left an imprint on him, a residue of terror that clung to his skin and mind. murk dallied indeed in daylight, pooling in corners where sun should have driven them down. He rose cautiously, his body paining, branches stiff from hours of hunkering and fleeing in the garret. The whispers were subdued now, faint vestments of sound that brushed at his knowledge. Yet he knew they were noway truly gone.