The shift had been long enough that I wanted nothing from the house except a dark room and a locked door. I dropped my bag in the hall and turned on the bedroom lamp. On the carpet, near the dresser, sat a small cluster of pale oval shapes. They looked soft, almost organic, and they did not belong there. My first thought was that someone had been inside. My second thought was worse and less specific. I did not touch them. I stood in the doorway and felt the tiredness leave my body all at once, replaced by the sharp attention you get when a familiar room stops being familiar.

I took photographs from a step away and sat on the edge of the bed with my phone. Search results were not comforting. Forums filled with guesses. Pests. Droppings. Things that hatch. Every headline made the cluster look more deliberate. I checked the window latch. I checked the closet. Nothing else was moved. That should have calmed me. It did not. Hours passed while I compared pictures and talked myself out of calling anyone who would have to come into the room.