Part 37

The rear of the house was a tiny, open area that emptied into a single bedroom. David followed the sound of Fenton's boots and found him scrambling out through an open window.

David paused, unsure for a moment before he remembered that Fenton could not see, hear or, most importantly, TOUCH him. He was as much a ghost to this image as it was to him... even more so.

He ran up behind Fenton as the older man slipped outside. There was a thump-

-then a scuffle-

-then a THUD as something outside struck the wall.

Had he found them already? Surely Angela and the boy had gotten further away.

David darted for the window. He reached out-

A scream stopped him.

A loud, high wail of agony from BEHIND him... from back in the other room, where David's father had Maga and Thomas. The scream ended in a muffled choke, and then another shout, this one male... and it wasn't Thomas's voice. Lowell Vern shrieked in pain, and then there was more fighting. The unmistakable sounds of fists, boots, bones, and furniture impacting in various combinations almost drew David back into the room.

Had Thomas gotten free? Was he going to rescue the children-

-the children!

Remembering Thule's order, David went to the window and started to climb-

-his fists clutched at empty air, and he fell through the ethereal wall, landing face-first on the solid ground outside. David could almost hear Gravious Thule chiding him. Just because Fenton Barney had to climb out didn't mean that HE had to. He was the ghost here, after all. Sort of.

David rose-

-and started when he looked down. When he'd fallen he'd landed almost on top of... almost INSIDE of... an unconscious Fenton Barney. There was blood on the side of the man's face.

David frowned in confusion, then realized that the boy... or the girl... had waited by the window and struck Fenton when he climbed out.

Smart. HE certainly wouldn't have thought of that.

But where had they gone after that?

David stared out into the darkness. He saw two landscapes clearly... one was the past, and one was the present. Both were empty.

"Uh-oh," he said. There was no sign of the children, or of the other shapes he had seen through the open door before. Had they been real? Were there more monster-people out here?

David took a few tentative steps away from the house, unsure of how far he should go. Could he get lost in the past? Could Thule's magic leave him trapped as a ghost if he wandered too far from it? What should he do?

Behind him, the house had fallen silent The fighting had stopped, and no other sounds has risen to replace it.

Fenton twitched beside David's foot... but he didn't wake up.

David took a few more steps and paused once more.

Nothing. They'd vanished. The children had not only escaped from Fenton, but from his as well. Now they were gone, along with any chance he had of finding what Thule needed to save him.

David signed and turned back toward the house. As he did, his eyes fell across a familiar shape.

The barn.