The first man entered the courtyard through the ruined outer archway without attempting to conceal himself, while a second appeared near the northern wall and three more emerged from different directions until five figures had spread themselves across the open ground between the chapel, the well, and the surrounding adobe buildings.

Clara had expected monsters after everything she had witnessed during the previous nights, yet the five figures spreading through the courtyard looked disturbingly human, which somehow made the knowledge of what they actually were considerably worse than if they had arrived with monstrous faces that announced the danger before they ever reached the walls.

Had she encountered any one of them beside a road during daylight, she might have offered water before wondering whether she should be afraid.