“I didn’t come up with it.  Father Billy did.  And he seemed a little touchy about it, to tell the truth.”

“Oh.  Sorry.”

“I think I was supposed to stay on the road.  I think there was somewhere else I was going to go.  Now I think I’ve missed it.  I’m not entirely sure, but I have a feeling I might’ve gone around it instead.”

“Do you think you’ll need to go back?”

“I don’t think so.  I feel like it’s more important to get to the cathedral.  But I’m not sure anymore.  Father Billy thinks I need to stay away from the cathedral.”

“Maybe he’s right.”

“Maybe.  I don’t know.  He saved my life back there.  Twice, actually.”

“I like him already.”

“Yeah…  I lost him, though.  I’m not sure what happened to him.”

“You think he might be dead?”

“It’s possible.  I don’t know.  I hope not.”

“Me too.”

“Whatever happened, it’s done now.  I can’t go back.  He told me to keep going.  No matter what.  He’s not the kind of person you care to disobey.  And who knows if I could get back there even if I tried.  The path might not lead back there anymore.”

“That’s so weird to think about.”

“I know.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah.  Just…  Tired.”

“I should let you catch your breath.”

“Yeah.”

“And you should call your brother.”

“I should.”

“Call me back and let me know he’s okay.”

They said goodbye and hung up.  Eric made his way to the far side of the field and climbed another fence.  There, he stepped onto another dirt road and found that it was familiar.  He’d been here in his dream.  He was back on the path.

He wondered what he missed by taking his detour by the church.  Hopefully it wasn’t anything important…

He dialed his brother’s number and continued walking.

Paul answered on the first ring.

“Where are you?”

“I’m at that Gold Sunshine place.”

“Still?”

“Yeah, still!  I’m hiding in one of those little cabins.”

“From what?”

“I don’t even know!  Absolutely no idea!  Damn thing came out of the corn!  Looked kind of like a little bitty rhinoceros…”

“Rhinoceros?”

“Lots more teeth, though…  Funny little legs, too.  No bigger than my dog…  Came charging right at me!  Mean little bastard!  Bit me!  Tore my pants leg all to hell…”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.  Just a few scratches.  But I almost didn’t make it to this cabin!  You didn’t tell me about those things!”

“Mutant mini rhinos are a new one to me.”

“Grunting and snarling…  Scared the holy hell out of me!”

“I warned you it wasn’t safe.  Should’ve listened to me.”

“I know.”

“Is Kevin on his way to pick you up?”

“Not yet.  Him and Damien were still looking for this place when I called him.”

“And you haven’t worked up the guts to go back out so you can make a break for the driveway?”

“Can’t!  Stupid thing’s standing guard out there!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!  I’m looking at it right now, through the window!  It’s just sitting there, dozing in the grass, waiting for me!  Little freak!”

Eric laughed.  He couldn’t help it.

“It’s not funny!”

“It’s exactly what you deserve.”

“It’s still not funny!”

“Well it’s got to go away sometime.”

“You’d think…”

“Well, as long as you’re safe…”

“Safe, yes.  Free to leave this smelly old cabin, not so much.  Hot as shit in here, too.”

“Should’ve gone home when you had the chance.”

“I know…”

“Keep an eye out for Taylor.  He was there when I went through.  Maybe he can help you out with your little…rhino-thing.”

“I haven’t seen anybody all day.”

“Well keep your eyes open.”

“Right.”

“Could be worse.”

“I’m sure it could.”

“At least it wasn’t corn creeps.”

“Corn creeps?  What the hell’s a corn creep?”

“About a hundred times scarier than a mini-rhinoceros.”

“I’ll have to take your word for that.”

“Yes, you will.  Did you get a picture of it?”

“About twenty of them.  Not much else to do in here.”

“Send it to Karen.  Let her know you’re safe.  She’s worried about you.”

“You told her I’m here?”

“I did.  She’s pretty pissed.”

“Well, shit.”

“I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Let her know.”

“I will.”

“I’ll check on you again later.”

“Okay.  Chances are I’ll be right here.  Stupid…whatever the hell it is…”

Eric hung up and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.  He had to admit, it gave him a chuckle to think of Paul being held prisoner in one of those little cabins by a pint-sized rhinoceros.

He gazed around at the surrounding pastures.  No dwarf rhinos were charging him.  No corn creeps were stalking him.  There weren’t even any coyote-deer watching him.  He seemed to be alone except for the cattle, and so far they seemed to be nothing more than ordinary cows.

Hopefully it would stay this way for a while.  He needed a break.

He kept wondering about Father Billy.  Was he okay?  Had he escaped the golem?  He hated to think that his untimely arrival had brought tragedy to any man, much less one with such a unique relationship with God.

His phone rang again.

When he checked the number to see who was calling, he found it blank again, like it had been when he received the broken call in the church.  Curious, he opened the line and pressed it to his ear.  “Hello?”

“Eric!  I think I finally got the hang of this!  Sorry I cut off before.”

“Who is this?”

“It’s me, silly.  Isabelle.”

Eric stopped walking.  He was shocked.  “Isabelle?”

“Yeah!  I got out!”

“Away from Altrusk?”

“Yeah!  Well…  Sort of…  I mean I’m definitely well away from Altrusk.  He’ll never find me now.  But I’m still kind of stuck.”

He couldn’t believe it.  He’d honestly believed that he’d never hear the girl’s voice again.  “How?”

“Remember that room I told you about?  The one with the door I was afraid of?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I did it.  I went in.  It didn’t let me out, like I’d hoped.  And it hurt really bad…but it sent me somewhere else.  Apparently, there’s lots of places out there like Altrusk’s house.  And I guess I can move between them.”

“That’s…kind of cool.”

“I know, right?  After you left, Altrusk was insanely mad.  He couldn’t really hurt me—he’s already done all he can possibly do to me—but I decided I had to do something.  So I went to that room with the door and I just went for it.”

“That was very brave of you.”

“Thanks.  But…I have you to thank for that.”

“Me?  I didn’t do anything.”

“Yeah you did.  You were my friend.  I needed a friend.  Plus…  Well, this is kind of weird, but do you remember how I told you I had that connection to my family?  I could feel them?  I was in their thoughts?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, after you left, I realized I have that with you now, too.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.  So I’m kind of in your thoughts now.”

“Oh.  That’s…”

“Weird and kind of creepy?  Yeah.  I know.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“I know you weren’t.”

“Okay, yeah, it’s weird and kind of creepy.”

“I know.  But hey, I may not be able to get back to my family, but I can at least move around.  And I found out I can talk to you.”

“Yeah.  How exactly are you doing this?”

“I found a way to hop into the phone lines.  And since I’m in your thoughts, I know your number.  I’ll be able to talk to you any time I want, as long as you have a phone.  Any phone.”

“That’s…cool,” he replied.  And he meant it.  After assuming she was lost, it was incredible to actually be able to talk to her again.

“In fact, even without a phone, you can always talk to me.  I’ll always be able to hear you.  And I think I can help you, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  I’ve learned a lot after all these years of being stuck in Altrusk’s house.  I have all that he knows, for starters.”