Blood trickled down Rachel's arm. A sharp, stabbing pain echoed out in her head. Multiple wounds dotted her body. But all she could do was grit her teeth and stare ahead at the laughing man, holding her best friend's bloodstained body in his cold and eerily clean hands.

"Oh, Rachel," he said. "Look what you've gone and messed up now. You've known Owen since, what, preschool? Earlier?"

Rachel gritted her teeth harder to strain herself from yelling at him. "It doesn't matter anymore," she muttered.

"You're right," the man said, dropping the body and walking up to Rachel, whose hands were tied to the top of a loose rafter. "What does matter is you. You and all your dirty, little secrets."

"What kind of use do you have for my secrets?" Rachel hissed. "There's no value in them, at least not now."

"Sure there is," the man said, dramatically stepping away from Rachel. "Maybe not to me, but there's plenty of things out there who would love to get their hands - or grabbers, or paws, or suckers, or tentacles or anything else that might come to mind - on your secrets. Money is everything in this world, Rachel, you should learn that."

"I'm not saying anything," Rachel said defiantly.

"Then I'll hunt down everything in the world you've ever known and kill them one by one, slowly, painfully, until you give in." The man laughed again.

"Who says I'll let you?"

"Well, obviously, because you're tied there and you can't get out."

"Well, I've got something you don't - an ally."

"No one knows you're here."

"Then why is there someone behind you?"

"Wha-"

Before the man knew what was happening, Rachel was smiling and the body who had been presumably dead had risen and knocked him out. It was a boy, about 22, wearing a bloodied hoodie and some jeans. His face was clearly painted with a kind of stunned expression.

"Well, come on now, Owen, get over here and untie me!" Rachel laughed as the boy ran over and quickly untied her. "Sorry for taking so long," he joked.

Rachel was in no condition to run, so Owen put her on his shoulder and went outside. They had been in a barn next to a cute farmhouse. Owen staggered up to the door and knocked.

An old man wearing overalls appeared at the door, and had begun to ask what was the matter, but he was cut off when he saw the state of the two. "M-madge!" he called shakily. "Come here.. q-quick!"

His wife came to door, muttering something about tomato soup, and gasped when she looked up. "Come in!" she said. "Right away! Richard, call an ambulance!"

Owen suddenly panicked. If they saw that Rachel wasn't human, they'd undoubtedly capture her and he - or anyone else - would never see her again. "That's not nessecary," he said quickly.

"Are you sure?" Madge said, signaling Richard to put down the phone. Owen nodded. "We'll be fine on our own," he told her. "But you better check the barn," he added.