Carol Anne was sitting on a swing at the playground. She was alone. The wind blew leaves gently through the air. The swing made squeaky sounds as she swung back and forth. Carol Anne whistled a tune, trying to keep herself company. However, she didn't realize just how alone she was until she saw the sky.

It had turned black. The wind picked up and whipped across the young girl's face. She shielded her eyes, taking another look at the angry sky. For a moment, she expected to feel rain coming down but there was no rain. This was tornado weather.

Then she saw a man coming towards her.

The man was dressed all in black. He looked very old.

Carol Anne stared at him. She didn't move a muscle. She was an extremely perceptive child and could sense when there was danger.

The man came closer. He was singing:

God is in his holy temple,

Earthly thoughts, be silent now,

While with rev'rence we assemble,

And before his presence bow,

He is with us now and ever,

When we call upon his name,

Aiding every good endeavor,

Guiding every upward aim...

"No…it can't be you," Carol Anne said.

But it was him…it was the beast himself.

Henry Kane.

Carol Anne grew confused and terrified. She thought he had gone away, but he had somehow returned.

Kane looked right into the little girl's eyes. He grinned creepily and held out his hand.

Carol Anne got off the swing and tried to run away but she tripped and fell on her face. She looked at her feet and realized that they had been chained together!

"Come on, come on!" she told herself, struggling to take the chain off.

"Don't be afraid, darling," Kane said.

Carol Anne whimpered. She couldn't get the chain off! It was tightly wrapped around her ankles and knees, fastened with a lock.

"Come with me, honey. I won't harm you."

Carol Anne began to crawl away on her hands and knees, scooting across the ground like a wounded animal. Kane was right behind her. She could feel his hot breath on her back as the smell of rotting meat filled the air around her. He stretched out a boney hand and touched her buttocks.

"Stop it!" she shouted, trying to kick him.

Kane groped her butt some more. He chuckled at her weak attempts to get away from him.

"Come with me, honey. I can show you all kinds of wonderful things…"

"NO!" she cried.

Kane scooped her up into his arms and held her in an iron-like grip. She struggled and protested to no avail. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of razor-sharp fangs. Carol Anne gazed up at him in horror.

"STOP IT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed, fighting him with her small fists.

Kane buried his nose in her blond hair. "Sweet child…sweet, beautiful Carol Anne…do not be afraid anymore. I will keep you safe and sound. We belong together…forever."

Carol Anne woke up in her own bedroom. She was out of breath and shaking uncontrollably.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Carol Anne looked around the room. None of her toys were moving or behaving strangely. Everything appeared to be normal. It had just been a bad dream. Kane was someplace else now and he wasn't going to torment her anymore.

She got out of bed and went downstairs to get a drink. Her throat felt dry and parched.

I must have been yelling in my sleep, she thought.

She descended the stairs very quickly because she was worried that something might attack her from the shadows.

"Hello?"

No answer. Of course there was no answer. Everybody else was sleeping.

Carol Anne walked into the living room and saw a man sitting on the couch. He had a kind face and wise eyes. He held out a glass of water.

Carol Anne smiled. "Taylor."

He smiled warmly and handed her the glass. She jumped onto his lap and hugged him.

"I missed you," she told the aging shaman. "But what are you doing here? I thought you went away."

Taylor kissed her forehead. "I can feel it in my heart whenever you are in distress, Carol Anne. You needed my help, so I came back. I'm here to keep you safe."

"It was just a bad dream," Carol Anne said, taking a sip of water. "It was about…him."

"Him? Do you mean Kane?"

"Yeah, that's right. He came back to get me. I was by myself at the playground…usually my mommy is there with me but I was alone this time. I was swinging. I love the swings. Then the sky…the sky began to change…"

Taylor could feel the child trembling in his arms. He held her close and stroked her back. "Now, now, you don't have to tell me about it…not if it upsets you too much."

Carol Anne finished her water and put the glass down. She took a deep breath. "I'm safe now. I can talk about it."

She continued to talk about her dream as Taylor cradled her in his arms. "The clouds got all dark and blackish, and then the wind got real strong. I saw…Kane…walking towards me. He was looking right at me with his mean eyes. I tried to run away but I tripped because somebody put chains on my feet." At this, she gasped and looked down to check her bare feet.

"Nope…no chains on these feet," Taylor said, holding her small foot in his huge hand.

"I'm glad it was only a dream," she said.

"Dreams," Taylor began, "can seem very real at times."

Carol Anne was silent for a moment. "Do you think Kane will ever come back?"

Taylor sighed. "I don't know, darling, but what I do know is that you will always have people like me around who love you and will help you."

"I don't like putting people in danger," she replied, lowering her head. "Whenever I think about bad things happening to my family, I get this awful sick feeling in my tummy."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes I get sick in my tummy too," Taylor said.

Carol Anne looked down at her stomach and frowned. "Can you rub it for me?"

"If it makes you happy," he chuckled.

Carol Anne smiled. She was feeling much more relaxed than she had been earlier. Taylor put his strong but gentle hand on her stomach and rubbed the area with loving care. He did this for a few minutes, soothing the young girl's spirit at the same time. He was happy now that she was feeling better. At one point, his fingers dug a little too deep into her belly and caused her to yelp.

"Oh, are you alright? Did I hurt you?" Taylor asked, concerned.

"No, I'm fine," she answered. "You just tickled me."

"I did, huh?"

She nodded. "Be careful, okay?

Taylor chuckled. "Sure, honey." With that, he started rubbing her stomach again.

"H-hey! Stahahahap that!" she giggled, nearly jumping out of his lap. He was poking her stomach playfully.

"It's nice to hear a few giggles from you," Taylor said, smirking. He poked her stomach some more, eliciting squeals of laughter from the young girl.

"No, don't! NO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she howled, trying to get away from him.

Taylor scratched at her ribs with his large fingers. Her laughs were shrill and adorable. Soon her cheeks became flushed and pink.

"HEEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEE STOP IT!" she shrieked, out of breath.

Taylor did stop and he released her.

"I'm sorry, honey, but you really looked like you were enjoying that," he said, grinning.

Carol Anne leaned on the couch as she caught her breath. "I guess…it was…kind of fun."

She wasn't annoyed that Taylor had tickled her. After all, he was almost like an uncle to her.

"Are you sleepy yet, hon? We don't want to wake your parents."

"Oh no…I'm not going back to bed yet," she said, boldly. "We have a score to settle."

"What do you mean, Carol Anne?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Get on the floor."

"What?" he chuckled.

"Lay down on the floor," said Carol Anne.

Taylor did as he was told.

Carol Anne sat on his chest and smiled impishly. "Are you ticklish, Taylor?"

Honestly, Taylor had no idea. He didn't remember ever being tickled before. Not many people go around tickling a shaman…but Carol Anne was about to.

"I…I don't know," he answered, giggling nervously.

"I'm going to tickle you!" she teased, digging her fingers into his stomach.

Taylor burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You are ticklish! I knew it!" giggled Carol Anne.

"OOOOOOH PLEASE THAT TICKLES! HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Taylor laughed, writhing around on the floor. He tried to control himself so he wouldn't accidentally hurt her.

"Tickle tickle tickle!" she said, scribbling her fingers all over his belly.

Sadly for Taylor, Carol Anne wasn't nearly as merciful as he was. She kept on tickling him even when tears started falling down his cheeks.

The little girl had completely forgotten about her nightmare. She was having such fun tickling Taylor into hysterics. She tickled his stomach for a few minutes, and then she tickled his neck and under his arms.

"Do you give up? Say uncle!" she demanded.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! UNCLE! UNCLE!" he screeched.

Carol Anne grinned and stood up. "Hehe, I'm the winner!"

Taylor sat up and wiped the tears off his cheeks. "Yes, yes, you are…"

"I'm so glad you came back to visit me," she said, happily.

"I'll always be your friend, darling."

Carol Anne yawned. She was getting sleepy now. Taylor scooped her up into his strong arms and carried her upstairs to her bed. He covered her with a blanket and tucked her in.

"I love you, Taylor," said Carol Anne.

"I love you too," he replied.

Carol Anne fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. She dreamed only happy dreams for the rest of the night.

The End