No further convincing was needed after Clarice woke up screaming another hour later.

   "What's the matter?" Ed asked, running to the room at full speed,  with Lorraine in tow.

   "There was a man in the room!"

   They both knew that it had to have been an apparition, yet Ed took to checking the windows just in case it wasn't. "There's no one in here," he told Lorraine, who had busied herself with calming Clarice down.

   "What did you see?" she asked her.

   "There was a man standing over my bed, holding a knife. It looked just like Norman Tyler!"

   "Who is Norman Tyler?"

   "He's the landlord. Johnathan and I have been renting this place from him since we were married. His wife passed away right before you got here; I haven't seen him since."

   Lorraine seemed alarmed. "You stay here," Ed told her, "I'm gonna go check this place out--"

   "I can't let you do that," Lorraine said, trying to follow him.

   "Lorraine, your cousin is frightened. She needs someone to stay with her--"

   "But you don't know the land like I do, Ed. If something's out there, you're not going to see it. I don't want you to get hurt."

   Ed sighed, knowing that there was no way he'd talk Lorraine down. "Fine. Just make sure Clare knows that we plan to go out."

   "What am I going to tell her?"

   He paused, "Tell her that we're going to check outside and make sure that nothing's been touched. Tell her that if we're not back within a half hour, she needs to call the sheriff."

   "I don't want to scare her."

   "Then don't. Just tell her what I told you. Everything will be fine."

   Lorraine did as she was told. Clare didn't argue, but advised that the two stay close together in the event that something bad happened. "We will. If we're not back within half an hour, you can call the sheriff for us."

   "Please be careful," she told Lorraine. "If your mother finds out that I let you alone with that boy and something happened, she'd have my hide."

   Lorraine nodded. "I'll be fine," she assured, sounding more like she was talking to herself than Clarice.

   The two left on horseback. Lorraine advised that they take Rain. Even though she was smaller than Midnight, she was much obliged to take a stranger on her back.

   "Have you ridden before?" she asked, putting a bridle on the horse.

   "Hardly."

   "I'll lead."

   The idea might've seemed quite amusing, but they would definitely make time quicker on horseback. They galloped down the back yard towards Norman's house; Ed knocked on the door but received no answer.

   Lorraine pulled herself off the horse. She crept over to one of the little windows on the house and peeked in.

   Everything was dark; she saw nothing.

   "Lorraine," Ed whisper-called, "There's a shed out back. It's open."

   "Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked, pulling away from the window.

   "I guess that depends on what we're looking for."

   "I should be able to tell on approach if there's something in the shed," she informed him.

   Rain stayed put. Ed and Lorraine crept around to the shed, doing their best to avoid mud from the consistent showers they had in the past few days. When they got there, Lorraine grew faint. "Are you okay? Do you feel anything?"

   "She's speaking to me. I think we need to go inside," she said, wobbling towards the wooden structure.

   Ed grabbed her hand. "Careful," he took her waist in one arm, helping her into the little shed.

   "Oh, goodness..." she sighed, holding her nose.

   "What is that?" Ed asked, his voice muffled.

   "It smells like death," she commented, climbing up a ladder into the higher loft. A gray cat hissed at her and she jerked away, nearly falling.

   "Cat?" Ed questioned.

   "Yeah." The dark figure stalked away. Blood dripped from its muzzle. "It's killed something," she said, pulling herself into the hay-filled loft.

   "Probably just a mouse."

   Lorraine shifted in the loft. The hay moved along with her, and she grew puzzled upon seeing something white underneath. She extended a hand out to the mound of hay gingerly; when she pulled a bundle from it, a disturbing image could be seen underneath.

   She stopped herself just short of a scream, placing her hands over her mouth. Her voice came out in gags and sobs. Lorraine turned to Ed with eyes as round as saucers, muttering something incomprehensible.

   "What's wrong?" he asked, pulling himself towards her.

   "There's a body in the hay," she cried, leaning into him.

   "What?"

   "There's a skull up there...with flesh still attached."

   "Are you sure?"

   "I felt it, Ed, it's on my hands--" she lifted her usually graceful hands towards him. Specks of blood stuck to her cheeks and palms.

   "We need to get out of here," he said, "call the police."

   Her eyes darted to the door. "Ed...look..."

   The shadow of Norman Tyler could be seen at the door of the shed. In his hands was a rusted shovel.

---

   "They went out a little over a half an hour ago. I thought I'd seen a man standing in my bedroom, and I suppose they thought that it'd be good to check around the house. They told me that if I didn't see them again in thirty minutes, I should call you."

   "And you're sure this isn't some sort of prank?"

   "Oh, no, officer. Lorraine would never do anything like that."

   "And the boy?"

   "He seems to be quite the gentleman. I don't believe he's pulling my leg, either."

   "And you thought it would be a good idea to leave these two alone together?"

   "Lorraine didn't want Ed to go alone. I can't say I blame her. If something happened to him, we would both be stuck."

   The deputy sighed. "I'll go check around your house for anything out of the ordinary. Frankly, I'm sure the children will be back by morning. They're probably just making out in the barn," he muttered under his breath.