The fire crackled in Dally's room while rain pattered against the window. Johnny and Dally had gotten out a pile of the photo albums from the bookshelf and were looking through them. Johnny lay stretched out on his stomach, pointing out different people he could now recognize and telling Dally some of the stories he had learned. Dally sat cross-legged and listening intently, curious about all the photos and this branch of Johnny's family tree he had known nothing about, and somewhat amused to hear Johnny just chatter on about something. He'd never hear him talk so much. Coal was sprawled out comfortably between the two of them, leaning against Johnny's shoulder and chewing on a sneaker. "...and this is Grandpa Cade teaching Will how to shoe a horse." Johnny paused suddenly and glanced back at the door. He lowered his voice to a whisper and said, "You wanna see something creepy?" Dally raised his eyebrows. "Sure." Johnny glanced back at the door again and reached for a different photo album. It looked older than the others. He opened it up and pointed to a mean looking old man. "This was Grandma Cade's first husband. Charles Hamilton, or something." Dally picked up the album and studied the picture more closely. He started to say something, but Johnny had opened up a newer album and was continuing his story about Grandpa Cade's horses and the history of the farm. Johnny had gotten a chill looking at that picture. And he remembered the picture of the boy. He had purposely not pulled that album off the shelf. He didn't want to see that picture again. "So, what else do you know about this guy?" Dally finally asked still studying the picture. "Huh?" Johnny looked up and yawned. "Nothing really. Grandma said it was her first husband and I didn't ask anything else." Dally's brow furrowed. A thought was trying to form in his head, but he was too tired to concentrate. He closed the book and stretched out on the floor next to Coal. He picked up another album and flipped through the pictures. It wasn't long before the warmth of the fire, the hypnotic tapping of the rain and his exhaustion from his long trip started to affect him. His eyes grew heavy and turning the pages became more and more difficult as though each one were weighted down. It was several minutes before he realized that Johnny wasn't talking anymore. "Johnnycake?" he asked closing the album. He turned to look and saw that Johnny had fallen asleep. Even Coal had given up on the sneaker and was starting to doze off. Dally shook his head and thought about either waking Johnny up and sending him off to bed or at least getting him a pillow. I'll just close my eyes for a minute before I wake him up, Dally thought. And with that, he was out cold. It was about an hour later when a loud sound woke Dally. Grogilly, he opened his eyes and fire had burned down to a pile of glowing embers and the rain was pouring down outside. Johnny was still asleep. Coal lifted his head and thumped his tail a few times upon seeing Dally awaken. Dally patted his head and got up to get some blankets and a pillow. He brought them over to the floor and covered Johnny up. Then he gently started to lift his head to put the pillow under him. As soon as he touched him, Johnny gasped and sat up, his eyes wide with fear. "Easy, kid! It's just me," Dally whispered laying a hand on Johnny's arm. Johnny's eyes were closed and his breathing was ragged. Even in the dark, Dally could tell that all the color had drained from his face. He had seen him scared like this before, more than once. "Hey... what's the matter, buddy?" Johnny started to speak, but at that moment Dally was suddenly made aware of what the loud noise was that had woken him up moments earlier. Lightning light up the room so brightly that Dally could see everything. Coal scurried under the bed and Dally waited, knowing what was coming. The thunder sounded like a gun shot inside the room. Johnny jumped and squeezed his eyes shut. Even Dally drew in a quick breath. He patted Johnny's shoulder. "That was sure a loud one, huh?" Johnny swallowed and nodded. "You OK, kid?" "Yeah," Johnny nodded. He was not about to tell Dally that he had been dreaming about a ghost. "I didn't mean to wake you up, I just thought you might need a pillow. The floor's kinda hard." Dally said, rubbing at the kink in his own neck. "It's OK. I should probably go get in bed," Johnny mumbled sleepily. "All right." Dall stood and helped him up. "Boy, that rain sure is coming down." Dally walked over to the window and looked out over the yard. Johnny followed him, somewhat unsteadily from being half awake. He was curious to see the rain too. But when he looked out the window, he wished that he had just gone off to his room. Lightning flashed again and as it lit up the darkness, he was sure that he could just make out the image of a ghostly white figure standing by the edge of the woods towards the back of the yard. It was pointing towards the trees and looking right at him. The thunder crashed and Johnny shut his eyes. When he opened them, all he saw was a dark back yard and rain pouring down. Johnny drew in his breath and gripped the window sill. "Johnny?" Dally looked out to the yard, following Johnny's gaze. Seeing nothing, he quickly turned back and took Johnny by the shoulders. "Johnnycake? Hey... kid, you're shaking! What's wrong?" "Nothing," Johnny said shaking his head, trying to forget what he'd just seen. "Nothing, I'm OK." "Don't tell me you're OK, you're scared to death!" Dally demanded. He was getting frustrated and more than a little concerned. He knew Johnny hated thunderstorms, but he seemed more shook up than usual. Johnny looked pleadingly at him, begging him to just drop the subject. "It's nothin', Dal. Too much Halloween, stuff, you know?".Dally studied him for a minute, remembering that he'd just watched a horror movie a few hours ago and probably just felt a little embarrassed about having nightmares. "Mmm. Too much Halloween candy, probably. All right, look. Why don't you just stay in here tonight. I don't think your dog is coming out from under the bed anyhow." Johnny felt a rush of relief not to have to leave the room. He wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid to go into the hallway. "Are you sure?" he asked, hoping Dally really didn't mind. "Yeah, I'm sure!" Dally said gruffly, picking the blankets up off the floor. "Now lie down and get some sleep. Your aunt's gonna kill you for bein' up so late." Johnny climbed into the huge bed. The second he did, Coal came wiggling out from underneath the bed and hopped up beside Johnny. He looked expectantly at Dally carrying the blankets. "Oh, you too?" Dally asked. "Fine. Maybe we should see if any of the cats need a place to sleep tonight too. Or the ducks." Johnny glanced at him to see if he was really annoyed. He decided he wasn't and satisfied that Dally was just "being Dally", Johnny laid back and closed his eyes. Coal waited on Johnny's pillow while Dally put the blankets back on the bed. Then he plopped himself down right in the middle and stretched out like he owned the place. Dally shook his head and layed down too. He looked over at Coal. "You're getting awful bold, dog." he said. Coal looked at him for a minute and then licked him on the nose. "Uuugh!" Dally made a face. "I can't believe he likes you so much," Johnny mumbled slowly, trying to form words as he began to fall asleep. "Yeah, it's just great," Dally said sarcastically. But inside, he smiled. It was neat that Coal had taken to him right away. He really liked the little mutt. Coal yawned and, with a contented whine, stretched out beside Dally. Certain that Johnny was sound asleep, Dally reached over and stroked the dog's ears. "You're a good dog," he mumbled softly. For a moment, as his eyes were starting to close, he watched Johnny sleeping. He was safe and warm and well fed. He was surrounded by people who loved him and protected him. With a sinking heart, Dally let his eyes close. He knew that when he went home, he would be going home alone. This is where Johnny needed to be.