He had no plan, no thoughts. Nothing except this: to get to Virginia and get rid of whatever that was on her back. She lay on the snow next to the path with that black mass crawling on her. When he reached her he directed all his force into a kick at the black thing. His foot made contact with something hard and he heard a sharp crack, as when ice breaks up. The black thing was thrown from Virginia's back and landed in the snow next to her.
Virginia lay completely still, there were dark stains on the white ground. The black thing sat up. A child.
Lacke stood there staring into the prettiest little child's face imaginable, framed by a veil of black hair. A pair of enormous black eyes met his.
The child got up on all fours, cat-like, preparing to lunge. The face changed as the child drew back its lips and Lacke could see the rows of sharp teeth glow in the dark.