Midwinter's Eve
- Will and James are walking outside their house to feed the chickens, talking about—what else?—the weather.
- It's cold and Will really wants it to snow. There's been a sprinkling here and there, but he wants a big blanket of thick snow, pronto. He hopes they get snow on Christmas, which is only four days away.
- Then his brother James reminds Will that his birthday is tomorrow, so maybe he'll get his wish.
- When they reach the rabbits, Will notices that they're all jumpy around him. Usually they huddle around when he feeds them, but today they back off.
- James says it's no biggie when Will points the rabbits' behavior out. They're rabbits—what do they know?
- Will figures there must be a fox lurking around and vows to tell his mom. One time, some foxes got into their chicken pens and carried away six hens before anyone noticed. Will's mom was livid.
- On the walk back to the house, Will notices someone lurking in the shadows by the River Thames, watching them. When he mentions it to his brother, James just brushes it off. Who cares? (We care, that's who.)
- As they get home, James goes into the barn while Will hangs back to say hi to Mr. Dawson.
- The guy seems neighborly at first, making small talk about the weather and the snow that's coming, but then he randomly claims, "The Walker is abroad," whatever that means.
- As if that weren't creepy enough, Mr. Dawson says that tonight will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining. Dun dun dun…
- In any case, Mr. Dawson remembers that Will's birthday is coming up and gives him a gift.
- When Will opens it, he finds a black ornament in the shape of a circle with a cross on it. Um, thanks?
- Ever the polite young man, Will thanks Mr. Dawson even though he's not sure what the heck the guy just gave him. The farmer tells him he'll understand soon enough, though, after the snow comes. Whatever you say, dude.
- Will feels a bit weird after this. It's almost like he's dreaming, except he's awake. Sure, he can talk to people, but he's really only half-aware; his brother talks to him about animals and traps on the farm, but Will doesn't really listen.
- As they go inside the house, the radio sounds wonky. It makes a bunch of screeches and howls all of a sudden, but Will's not sure why.
- Will's mom asks him what he wants for dinner the next day. Of course he wants liver and bacon—the guy doesn't even need to think about it.
- James complains but one of his sisters stands up for the youngest brother of the bunch, pointing out that it's his birthday dinner, for crying out loud.
- Will turns eleven tomorrow, but his siblings recognize that he's pretty mature for his age. It's almost like he's ageless…
- Max comes inside and announces that it's snowing, which makes Will's ears perk up. Real, fresh snow? Perhaps his birthday wish is coming true after all.
- Later on, Will goes to bed in the attic, which is his personal space. He loves it up there. The only problem is the wind is howling and it's hard to sleep.
- Will has a tough time sleeping because his mind is racing. What did Mr. Dawson mean about the Walker? Why is everyone joking around about him being ageless? And what's the deal with the black ornament Mr. Dawson gave him earlier?
- His mind is racing and he's scared. Fear comes into the room like a thick presence Will can almost see. Yep, you read that right.
- He shrieks and his brother Paul comes to check on him.
- Will doesn't want to be a big baby but he's really scared, so Paul says his bro can sleep downstairs and Paul will take the attic tonight. Will is super grateful.
- Then he remembers what Mr. Dawson said: Tonight will be bad, but tomorrow will be worse. Yikes.