Once Elaine was dressed for bed, she chose a book and settled down. Her eyes soon grew heavy, so she marked her place and turned out the light, exhausted from the day of arrival.

It seemed impossible that this was her first day in the Matherly house.

She was soon dreaming, a rare dream: it was the night before Christmas. She no longer believed in Santa Claus, so why wait? One of the presents was a large red and green box. She wondered what anyone could have gotten her that was so big, and chose it first. She pried the lid off, peered inside… and tried to look away. She could not move. She opened her mouth and sucked air and finally screamed…

She woke, perspiring.

But the scream continued.

It was not her scream any longer, and not the scream of a nightmare. It was real; a woman's voice; the cry of a woman in the most terrible agony…