It was night in the Drummond household. Arnold was asleep. He was having a dream. In the dream, he heard a knock. He answered the door, and saw a face of a man he had hoped never to see again. Mr. Horton! "Hello, Arnold," Horton said evilly. Arnold began backing up, horrified. "I escaped. I'm back. You're mine, punk!" Horton growled. He ran for the stairs and up, but all doors were locked. In terror, Arnold spun around to see Horton slowly advancing. "You're not going anywhere," he snarled, coming closer and closer. Suddenly, it all vanished, as Arnold shot up in his bed, screaming. To his shock, yet relief, he realized it had only been a nightmare. He glanced at the clock. Three in the morning. He sighed, then got out of bed, and padded to the stairs, and just sat on them, staring blankly into the darkness. "Arnold?" a gentle voice asked. Arnold glanced, and saw it was his older sister Kimberly. Or rather, his stepsister, since Mr. Drummond had adopted him and Willis, but his sister nevertheless. "Arnold, are you okay, sweetie?" she asked. She sat beside him on the steps, with an arm around him. Arnold sighed, "Yeah, just a bad dream." "Let me guess. That bicycle man, Mr. Horton?" Arnold could only nod. "Oh, sweetie." She hugged him, and said, "He's in jail and guarded, where he can't get to you. And what happened was not your fault in any way, shape or form. Or Dudley's. It was Mr. Horton's alone. You know that, right?" "Yeah..." Arnold started. She continued. "Mr. Horton is just a sick, twisted man, who fooled us all." Arnold relaxed. He felt so blessed and lucky to have a caring sister like Kimberly. "When you and Dudley testify against him in court, he'll be put away where he can never do this again. I'm proud of both of you," she said firmly. Arnold felt better with her words, knowing she was right. "And you won't be alone during this. Or Dudley. Remember that. Think you can sleep again?" she asked. "Yeah, I think I can, thanks Kim." She put an arm around him, and led him to his room, and stood by the door until he fell asleep, much more easily this time. She was enraged at this man for violating her dear brother's innocence, but she was proud of her brother for having the courage to do the right thing. She counted her blessings as she returned to her own bed and slept easily also the rest of the night.
