She saw the hand first. It gripped the door frame, sinewy, big; and pale in the light of a torch or candle that was out of sight. Then the face, a white man's stark, commanding face with deep-set eyes that were just holes under frowning brows. No beard, a gash of a mouth. It looked at her, the man looked at her, and she knew he was making up his mind. She could expect no mercy, no pity. Whatever he wanted, he would do it, he had no limits.
The face and the hand, disembodied, stayed there motionless: longer than Heidi thought she could bear. She could have heard their owner breathing, if he breathed at all. Then they withdrew, disappeared, and the footsteps sank down into the pit again. Heidi sat up, staring into the dark, her hands pressed to her mouth so hard it hurt.

What'll I do? she thought. What'll I do if he comes back?

Nowhere is Safe

There is no protection