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"The little girl."

I followed her gaze. There was no one outside. Only the lawn, the bird feeder, and the line of trees beyond it. "What little girl?"

"The one crying."

A chill slipped beneath my scrubs. "I don't hear anyone."

"She's been crying all morning." Mrs. Jenkins lowered her voice. "Poor thing must be lost."

"I'll check."

"Tell her not to go into the woods."

My fingers tightened around the bed rail. "Why?"

Mrs. Jenkins frowned as if I'd asked an obvious question. "Because something in there is awake."

The call bell chimed again. I forced a smile I didn't feel. "I'll take care of it."

Room Fourteen belonged to Mr. Alvarez. He was standing at his window when I entered, one palm pressed against the glass.

"Mr. Alvarez, you need to sit down before you fall."

"The birds are gone."

I moved beside him. The feeders were empty. That wasn't unusual by itself. Birds came and went. Except the trees were empty too. No fluttering wings. No shadows moving between branches. Not even the soft chirping that usually drifted through the open courtyard.

"They'll come back."

"No." He shook his head. "They know."

"Know what?"

His fingers slid down the window. "To leave."

Another call bell. Room Seventeen. Mrs. Callahan hadn't pressed hers. She was asleep when I entered, her face turned toward the wall. Her lips moved. I approached carefully.

"Mrs. Callahan?"

A whisper escaped her. "Cold."

I pulled the blanket higher. "Are you cold?"

"Lonely."

I stopped. "What's lonely?"

Her eyelids fluttered but didn't open. "Underneath."

My pulse kicked. "Underneath what?"

"The trees."

Her face crumpled. For one terrible second, the expression didn't belong to a sleeping eighty-nine-year-old woman. It looked young. Lost.

"Can't find the door," she whispered.

Then her features relaxed. The room went still. I backed away from the bed. Nope. Absolutely not. I checked that Mrs. Callahan was breathing normally, pulled the door nearly closed behind me, and looked down the hallway. The nurses' station sat at the far end of the building. Azaren would still be there. He'd told me to stay within thirty-three yards.