Van De Kamp Ranch - Fox Canyon, WY 

Will grabbed his duffel bag from the van and closed the hatch. He gave a quick wave to Lewis and his mother as the vehicle moved back up the mile long driveway. 

His paint horse, DC, was in the corral next to the barn. Will ran to him, dropped his bag on the ground and climbed up to straddle the heavy pipe fence. DC responded appreciatively, resting his head against the boy as Will scratched behind the horse's ears. 

"Hey there. How you doing, boy?" he spoke softly, moving his hand along the sleek brown and white neck. "We'll go out later. I want to see Mom and Dad first." 

Staying only a moment longer, Will swung his leg back over the fence, jumped down and ran towards the house. He couldn't believe the past three weeks had already passed. Camp was always a blast, but he looked forward to seeing his folks. He especially looked forward to his mom's cooking. Camp food paled in comparison. 

Taking the porch steps two at a time, he wondered where Cinch had gotten off to. That fool dog was almost always underfoot but seeing as the day was on the warm side, he expected to find the dog lying on the tile floor beneath the kitchen table. It was Cinch's favorite spot in warm weather... at least until his Mom scooted him out the back door. 

"Hey, I'm home!" Will shouted, glad to be among familiar surroundings. 

Entering the house, his blood froze. Images from his nightmares swam into reality. A step forward, Will dropped to his knees at the body of his lifeless Border Collie, lying in a pool of blood. 

"Cinch?" he whispered, touching the body and then straightening up, muscles tense. 

Being a ranch kid, he'd experienced life and death. The warmth of Cinch's body told him that his faithful friend had died only recently. Alerted by the lack of rigor, dread washed over Will. The shadow men were close by. He could sense them but right now, a bigger fear moved in on him as his gaze rose to the staircase.  

How could he bring himself to go upstairs when he knew what he'd find? He blinked at the mist filling his eyes. Anguish filled his expression as he struggled with his emotions. He had to go to them - to his parents. His mom had something that would help him. What it was, he didn't know, but he knew exactly where it was. The image of her cold, bloody hand flashed in his mind. Feeling sick to his stomach, he covered his mouth to keep from vomiting. 

A noise on the porch left him no choice but to set him in motion, the thought of getting sick, instantly gone. Adrenaline pushed him up the flight of stairs. Just past the landing, he halted at the partially opened door of his parents' room. Not wanting to enter the room didn't change the fact that he must. He didn't want to learn the fate of his parents, although he knew their fate already. He knew their mutilated bodies were in that room - the room where they had gone to seek refuge. 

The front door buckled and splintered under the force thrown against it. Will peered around the edge of the landing and watched breathless as two men stepped inside. He'd seen them in his dreams, but this was real and at any moment, they'd be right behind him. 

As quietly as he could, he slipped into his parents' room and closed the door. Not that it would help seeing as a hole the size of a basketball had been blasted away from the frame, but it gave him a sense of control. Immediately, he brought his hand up over his nose, which did little to filter out the sickening smell of death. He gagged, swallowed hard and forced it down. It was hard to ignore what was left of his parents; the sight of them taking shape within the edges of his peripheral vision. 

Heavy footsteps on the staircase moved him to the open window, but it was there that he stopped short. Was it really necessary? Did he really need whatever it was? By the time he made it to the side of the bed where his mother's body lay pinned to the floor by the bedpost, the shadow men stood just outside the doorway looking in at him. As fast as he could, Will reached down and grabbed the piece of paper from his mother's hand. No sooner was it in his pocket, the remainder of the door shattered. 

Fear followed him out the window. Sliding down the metal roof on his backside, he caught the corner of the trellis, over-grown with morning glories and scampered down it, hitting the ground at a dead run. Upon reaching the corral, he looked back just in time to see the two men jump off the roof - a twelve-foot drop that didn't phase them in the least.

Will scurried through the pipe fencing and started up onto DC's back. This is where his dreams always ended, where he always woke up. It was probably better that way. He didn't really want to know how these men were going to kill him. 

With one boot in the stirrup and the saddle horn in hand, he started up onto the horse's back but a pull from behind landed him onto the hard-packed dirt. Startled, DC kicked his hind feet at the intruder, giving Will time to scurry around the front of the horse. Running for the opposite side of the corral, he came up short, skidding to a halt at the sudden appearance of the other man.

They were no longer shadows in a nightmare. They were real, and their hate-filled eyes bore down on him. Worse than that, however, was the feeling of pure evil that seemed to drive them. Will sensed it. In fact, he could smell it on the light breeze as it blew towards him. Glancing around, he knew there was no escape. 

As the men advanced, a unfamiliar feeling overcame Will. He looked at the men, squinting in the sunlight as they moved a step closer. He tried to stay focused on them, but a monotonous drone filled his head. His ears popped as the sound intensified. The men continued towards him. A dozen steps away now, the sound wavered and took shape. Silent words formed thoughts... their thoughts. He could hear them - could hear what they were thinking, and then he knew the truth. They're afraid of... me! They hope I don't know it, but I do. 

The barn prevented him from backing up any further. With nowhere to run, he simply stood there and stared at the men until their forms began to wash away. A glaring white light filled his head. It disoriented him at first until he became a part of it, losing all sense of self, rendering his fear useless against him and shifting it outward into power, incredible power that was unleashed with fury. It thrust the men backwards twenty feet towards the pipe fence, but the fence didn't stop them. It completely severed them, sending pieces of flesh, bone and metal to the far side of what remained of its rails. 

For a moment, a loud whooshing sound centered between Will's ears. Dizzy and nauseous, he fell to his knees and grabbed his head as the landscape before him spun about uncontrollably. When the world came back into view, he found himself on his back, staring at the bright blue sky, his chest heaving, his body fighting a cold chill. 

His head lolled to one side, his eyes distant but coming into focus upon the mangled fence and beyond where pieces of bloodied flesh lay scattered about. Rolling onto his side, he rose to his hands and knees, doubled over and lost his lunch on the dirt floor in front of him. 

Nearing exhaustion, he caught his breath and spit the foul bile from his mouth. Rising slowly on shaky legs, he grabbed his duffel bag and led DC out of the corral. His first thought was to get out of there as fast as he could but at the last minute, he crossed in front of DC and stumbled up the porch steps and into the house. Within a short time, he emerged, mounted up and disappeared into the heart of the ranch. 

Had he hesitated and not left when he did, Will would have witnessed exactly what he was up against. Slowly at first but increasing in speed, the individual body parts moved towards one another. The scattered flesh took on a life of its own, crawling towards and reconnecting with the metal, bone and blood. Within minutes, the regeneration process was complete. 

The shadow men stood up, brushed themselves off and started looking for Will.