At the bottom of the stairs there was another door.

A light shone from underneath. More spirits were here. A lot more. I counted nine. Many were appearing and disappearing through the door. A few looked back at me.

"This is it," I said, whispering.

"How do you know?" said Sherbet.

"Trust me."

It was all I could do to control myself. Yes, I've had cravings in my life. Sugar cravings. Food cravings. When I was pregnant with Tammy, I had ice cravings.

This...this was no craving.

This was a hunger. A yearning. A need. I shielded my thoughts from Sherbet. No man should hear such thoughts, especially a man I liked and respected.

So much blood, so much blood...

So fresh, fresh, fresh...

Truth was, I had never been so close to so much blood. So much fresh blood. So much fresh human blood.

I heard Sherbet's thoughts as clear as day. He was wondering why they would dump the bodies when the bodies could be disposed of down here. He had just decided that perhaps the killers enjoyed playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police when we both heard a noise from behind the door. The sound of a man grunting. Perhaps lifting something. Sherbet cocked his head, listening.

And that's when a girl screamed.

Sherbet jumped backward, startled. I didn't jump. I kicked. I lifted my sneaker and kicked in the door as hard as I could.