Not finding Sam at the cabin, Esk looked in the next logical place for him—the diner. Julian snatched Esk out of the way of the window from behind, slapping his hand over Esk’s mouth so he could not make any sound. Esk struggled as Julian dragged him behind the diner. Once out of sight of the front windows, Julian released Esk, who whirled around and was about to shout when Julian put his hand over Esk’s mouth again.

“Shhh! Don’t make any noise. Sam’s a hostage to the psychopath inside the diner. There was nothin’ I could do. Oh, forgive me, Mr. Esk….”

“What? A hostage? No. My friend will not be a hostage. Um… what is a hostage?”

“Aw, Mr. Esk, I know angels prob’ly dunno what hostages is. Sam’s bein’ held up pris’ner by that psychopath with a knife. Can ya’ help ‘im?”

Esk began to glow. The silver light was so bright that Julian had to shield his eyes and look away. Esk strode toward the front diner door and slammed it behind him. The psychopath knew exactly who he was faced with. Flinging the knife aside, he fell to his knees before Esk and pleaded for his life. Esk picked him up by his collar and held him off the ground. The suffocating psychopath whined and whimpered, spitting and sputtering, trying desperately to breathe while clutching Esk’s arm with both hands. Sam could see only a silhouette of the man who had held him at knifepoint moments before against Esk’s glow.

“Esk? Esk, buddy. Don’t kill ‘im. Jist….”

Before Sam could finish his sentence, both Esk and the psychopath disappeared with a flash. Sam was left temporarily blind. Eosin had escaped down the psychopath’s pant leg during the scuffle and was hiding in a dark corner of the diner’s kitchen behind dusty pots and pans that were seldom used except in culinary emergencies.

Seconds later, the guard saw a brilliant flash of light at the prison. He radioed the incident in. No one gave it much thought until they discovered the security cameras were compromised. Somehow, the escaped psychopath had ended up in solitary confinement, muttering incoherently about aliens. The warden did not know what to make of it.

Severius’ phone rang and buzzed in his pocket, startling him. He and the Reverend were still standing in the forest where they were told to stay. Neither had spoken a word. The two men stared at one another. They had not moved a millimeter from where Esk left them.

“Ya’ gonna answer that?” the Reverend asked.

Severius looked terrified. Initially, he shook his head. The noise persisted. Thrusting his right hand into his pocket, he produced his phone. The caller ID indicated the prison office was calling. The psychiatrist looked at the Reverend, as if for guidance. Reverend Bandersnatch simply nodded toward the phone.

“Doc… Doc-tor Severius… speaking….”

“Severius, where are ya’?” the warden’s gruff, impatient voice asked on the other end of the line.

“I’m, um, I’m… indisposed at the moment. Could you call back?”

“Severius, I need ya’ here. Now! Or Esk. Better yet, send Esk. He’ll know what ta’ do. Where’s Esk?”

“What’s going on, Warden?”

“That psychopath that escaped. He’s here. He’s in solitary, babblin’ nonsense and sittin’ in the corner with ‘is knees up rockin’ back n’ forth. The guy won’t talk sense. I need Esk. Oh, never mind, Severius. Esk jist walked in.”

Click. Dial tone. The Reverend asked what was going on and Severius, not knowing how much the clergyman knew, kept the conversation to himself.

“Just some prison business. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“Yeah, right. I know ya’ better than that, ya’ coward. What was that a-bout?”

“None of your business, Reverend.”

“Oh, really? This from the guy I been standin’ in the middle a’ the forest with and peein’ in front of fer hours on end now b’cause we were told by a who-knows-what named Esk not ta’ move? We’re already violatin’ the no-talkin’ order he gave us. Might as well spill it, there, Doc.”

“It’s called a ‘gag order’, and Esk will kill us both.”

“Esk ain’t gonna kill nobody.”

“How do you know?”

“I jist know.”

“Oh, so the preacher knows everything now, huh? Well, then you can tell me what that conversation was all about, too, and I don’t have to tell you. You sure think you’re important around—”

Severius never saw the Reverend’s fist hurtling toward his chin. He felt the impact of it, though. Yes, he certainly felt it connect with his jaw.

Esk returned to the forest to find the two men beaten, bloodied, and unconscious. The Reverend only had one shoe on, Severius’ suitcoat was missing a sleeve, and both looked like they had fought their attacker valiantly. The scuffle was intense from the looks of things—a pinecone stuck in the Reverend’s ear, drag marks drawn in the dry needle bed on the ground, twigs from low-hanging branches broken….

Who attempted to kill both Lod and the Reverend? Who even knew they were here? What creature could take on two adult men, and why would it leave them without finishing the job? I must find the culprit. It could be watching me right now as I stand here. Hide!

Esk found the safety of the nearest tree… except he did not know which way the enemy would come from or in what form. He let go of the tree and backed up, giving it a hard stare up and down. Esk rubbed at a sticky amber-colored substance on his hand where he had touched the tree. Tree blood!

“All right, Tree! Confess! Yes, you. You are alive, and even if it was not you specifically who did this thing, you know which one of you did. Tell me! I command you as a superior being!” Esk declared.

The wind began to blow, bothering the treetops of the forest and bending them in a united front toward Esk. A powerful gust hit him and knocked him off balance. Esk knew he must flee for his life or suffer certain death amongst the trees. He ran as fast as he could to the edge of the glade where the trees ceased to venture.

“I will be back, and when I return, I demand the safe return of both Lod and the Reverend.” Esk scampered off to Sam’s cabin, considered a safe place. Perhaps Sam would know what to do… if he was home from the incident at the diner.