Grant sighed. “I can’t make you go. Only you can make that decision. But you need to understand that this is important. Without you…he wins.”
Again with the “he wins” stuff.
“And what?” Eric pressed. “The world ends? We’re plunged into eternal darkness? The Packers start a hundred-year losing streak? What? I mean, who is this guy? You guys are talking about him like he’s the devil or something.”
“I don’t know who he is. I don’t know what he wants. But he’s bad. And he’s trying to get to the cathedral right now.”
“But even if I get to the cathedral first, you can’t even tell me what I’m supposed to do.”
“No, I can’t. Only you know that.”
“No, I don’t. Remember? I’m the one who doesn’t know anything about what’s going on here? I’m the one who just walked into that house and almost got eaten by Anti-Narnia?”
“You saw it in the dream that brought you here.”
“Oh. Well that’s convenient, since I can’t remember that dream!”
“Don’t you?”
“No! Or…” Eric looked back toward the barn. “No. I did remember some of it…”
“It’ll unravel itself as you go,” Grant explained. “By the time you reach the cathedral, you’ll remember it all. That’s how you’ll know what to do when you get there.”
Eric stared silently toward the barn, considering. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he could recall seeing this second barn in his dream as well. In fact, he even remembered meeting Grant…except there had been no tractor involved in their meeting…because he’d never gone inside the house… They met in the yard, instead.
“And if you turn back,” Grant added. “I can’t promise you the dream will ever stop recurring. Even long after it’s too late.”
Eric met the old man’s eyes and saw the depth of his emotions. He was truly sorry to have to say these things.
“This might be your only chance to be free of it.”
Eric sighed. Continue this insanity or never sleep through the night again. He’d had better options given to him. But the choice seemed pretty clear. The whole reason he came here in the first place was to try and rid himself of his recurring dream.
“Okay,” he said. “Show me where to go next.”
Chapter Seven
Grant led Eric across the overgrown yard.
Along the way, Eric noticed that there were at least a dozen various bird houses displayed around the lawn. Some were mounted to tree trunks, others to freestanding posts, some dangling by chains from potted plant hangers. There was also a heavy-looking, concrete bird bath standing in the yard.
Whoever the former owners of this house might have been, they were obviously bird lovers.
Birds seemed to be the theme of the day. He even noticed that there was a lone hawk soaring high overhead, as if to punctuate the point.
He followed Grant through the tall grass, past the driveway and behind a little tool shed. There, he found another narrow dirt path, not unlike the one he’d followed through the cornfield.
“This will take you about a quarter of a mile into the woods before it becomes completely overgrown. At that point, there’s another road out there. It’s not easy to see, but you can make it out if you’re looking for it. Does it look familiar, yet?”
It did. Peering down this path, he was sure that, like the barn, he had seen it in his dream.
“That’ll be a clue. I’m betting that dream of yours was showing you what you were going to do if you got up that first night and came straight here. But it’s two days later now and it looks like that other guy’s trying to slow you down. Things are different. And where they’re different, things are going to get dangerous.”
“Like in the house.” Eric remembered realizing at the last moment that he didn’t recall seeing the house in his dream. The realization gave him pause and he decided to leave. He wondered now if making this decision before the wardrobe flew open might have bought him an extra second or two, perhaps making all the difference in his escape.
“That’s right. And just like in the house, watch out for those residual ghosts. They’ll probably be trying to lead you into trouble.”
“Right.”
“And you’ll have your cell phone signal back, too.”
Eric checked his phone and saw that he did, in fact have a couple of bars. He also had nine missed calls and a text message.
“That’ll be useful too. You don’t want to stray too far off the path. If you lose your way, use your phone. When you go too far into that border world, it’ll cut out. As long as you have a signal, you’re still home.”
“Good to know.”
“I can’t come with you. But you’ll meet Taylor up ahead. He’ll take care of you.”
Eric nodded. “Taylor. Cool. Listen, though. Can I really catch up to this guy if he has almost a whole day’s lead on me?”
It was impossible to miss the deep look of concern on Grant’s face. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “I sure hope so.”
“Well then…” Unable to think of anything more to say, Eric gave Grant a wave goodbye and then started down the path.
With each step, the signal on his cell phone grew stronger. According to Grant, this meant he was still on earth.
And to think he came here with the intention of proving he wasn’t crazy.
He checked the text message. It was from Karen, of course, and simply read: CALL ME.
He didn’t like using the cell phone. He didn’t even want to carry the stupid thing. He just wanted to throw it away. He rarely called her and almost always let her call him. He didn’t want to call her now, either. And if the nine missed calls were any indication, he wouldn’t have to.
And he was right. He had walked less than twenty paces when it began to vibrate in his hand.
“Eric!”
“Hi.”
“I’ve been trying to call you!”
“Yeah. I just got your text. Didn’t have a signal for a while there. But I’m okay.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s…um…” He glanced back the way he’d come. He expected Grant to be gone, but he was still standing there, staring after him. He waved. Eric waved back. “It’s complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… It’s a little crazy, so… I really need you to open your mind for this, okay?”
Karen was quiet for a moment. He knew he had her attention now. Finally, she said, “Okay.”
Eric told her everything that happened after he disconnected their last call and approached the barn, beginning with finding the eagle mounted over the doors. He told her about the impossible interior of the barn and the freaky chickens. He described the pitiful monstrosities he’d seen in the stalls. And he told her about the farmhouse and the monster that came out of the wardrobe. Finally, he told her about his conversation with Grant.
He couldn’t say how he expected her to react to these absurd things he was telling her, but she only listened patiently. And when he was done, she only said, “So you’ve really got to find this cathedral, then.”
“Yeah. I do. So you believe me, then? You don’t think I’ve gone nuts?”
“You’re no liar, Eric.”
“I didn’t ask if you thought I was lying. I asked if you thought I’d gone crazy.”
She didn’t answer.
“Of course you think I’ve gone crazy,” Eric answered for her. “I’d think you’d gone crazy if you didn’t.”
“Well, that sounds sensible enough, I guess.”
“Let me hang up and I’ll send you the pictures I took.”
“You have pictures?”
“I had to prove I wasn’t nuts, didn’t I?”