It began as something so small it almost felt silly to be afraid of it. Lily was the first to notice them. She was eight years old, small for her age, with a habit of crawling under her bed to hide toys she didn’t want her younger brother to touch. That afternoon, she slid onto her stomach and reached into the shadows—and froze. Lined up against the far wall, half-hidden by dust bunnies and an old shoebox, were a dozen pale shapes. At first, she thought they were ping-pong balls. Then she thought they were rocks. But when she touched...
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