Unspeakable Horror!

Terence watches his 3 best friends run into the mouth of the cavern.

Terence can see the throat of the passage coated with the thick white skin, not white like the snow on the ground.

The 3 best friends run into the mouth of the cavern to investigate.

Terence pleads with them to return -- he shouts through his scarf. They refuse to hear him.

Terence runs home. The unnatural white color of the cavern frightens him -- not white like the snow on the ground -- the whiteness of a marshmallow.

Terence tells the 3 old women who run the compound, but they have no time for stories -- the soldiers might return.

Terence's older brother is one of the soldiers, but Terence refuses to believe his brother works for the dismemberment squads.

Terence is too young to remember when the bombs fell, but the 3 old women tell the children by the fireplace. Once the 3 old women gave Terence a stale marshmallow to roast in the fire, but he shudders to think of it now -- the horrible white throat of the cave.

Terence watches from the attic window when the 3 best friends return in the middle of the night -- their stocking caps pulled over their faces. They make the wailing noises to bring someone outside.

Mr. Johnson turns on the generator and runs out to help them -- confused. When he tries to pull off one of the boy's stocking caps, the 3 best friends remove their mittens and touch their marshmallow hands to Mr. Johnson's arms and neck.

The 3 best friends kill the generator.

They drained out the blood -- that's why Mr. Johnson screamed like that, explains an older boy the next morning as they look at the corpse. They steal a look while the 3 old women dig the grave.

Terence looks at the blood-clot handprints on Mr. Johnson's chest and throat.

At dusk when it starts snowing, Terence's older brother arrives on foot.

Terence meets him at the gate -- they don't allow the soldiers inside.

Where are the soldiers?

His older brother tells Terence the marshmallow people came in the night to the soldier's camp -- they burn up in the daylight, he says -- so they always come at night. They don't have faces, you know, and their marshmallow hands make the blood come spilling out when they touch you -- the hands absorb it like a sponge. They drink that way.

Did they kill the soldiers?

His older brother nods.

The older brother wants to bring Terence back to his tent for the night, but Terence wants to stay with the 3 old women in the compound.

Come with me, he pleads. I'll keep you warm.

Is it near the cave?

No it's not near the cave, he says.

Terence refuses.

We need to help Mr. Johnson -- he can't breathe down there -- he's thirsty.

Terence turns toward the house.

His brother removes his gloves.