CHAPTER FOUR;

THE WHOLE STORY:

"Welcome to our humble abode." Edward spoke, as they entered the house.

He shut the door behind him. Julie, Chasity, and Nick all three jumped off of the couch, and ran up to them. Julie grabbed a hold of Alley's shoulders, and shook her. "Are you alright?! Are you broken?!"

"I will be, Jules, if you don't stop shaking me." Alley laughed.

Julie let her go, then smiled, embarrassed. "We were worried." Chasity spoke. "It scared us to death when Edward told us about the accident."

"Yeah, Al! What happened?" asked Nick as everyone settled into the living room.

"Oh, I uh. I just lost concentration, and I hit a big oak."

"Did someone try and pass you? Were they going to fast? I tell you, it's these highways." Nick spoke, annoyed. "Omaha's dangerous when it comes to driving. No courtesy."

"We'll have to pick up your car tomorrow, Alley. Where in Omaha is it?" Edward asked.

Alley laughed, nervously. "Um. you see, this is the thing."

"I'm not going to like the way this ends, am I?" asked Edward.

"Why would you say that?" Alley questioned.

"Cause I'm not liking the way it began. Finish. What's the thing?"

"Well, you see. my car isn't in Omaha. It's just outside of Gatlin."

His expression changed from confused to even more confused. "Gatlin? Where in the hell is Gatlin?"

"Oh my God! You've never heard of Gatlin?!" exclaimed Chasity.

"Exnay!" shouted Alley.

"No, Chasity. Tell what's in Gatlin." Edward urged.

"I-it's a town. I-in Nebraska."

"I'm not buying it. You!"

He turned on Micah. Micah jumped, startled. "Huh?"

"What's in Gatlin? No one moves, until I find out what's so important about Gatlin, that you, Alley, would risk an accident to go there."

"How about me? I'm innocent." Nick spoke.

"No one. I'm waiting, Alley."

"Fine." She sighed. "Gatlin is a town where the kids killed their parents."

Micah, and Zeke winced at 'kids killed their parents'. "What?" asked Edward, shocked.

"I-I was curious. Bailey told me about it, and I just wanted to see for myself."

"A couple o-or."

"No, Edward. All of them. The whole town. They've tried to rebuild, but."

"Alley, why would you go somewhere like that?! What on earth would possess you?!

"I-I don't know. I just."

"Nick, Jules, and everyone else, will you please leave my sister and I hear to talk?"

Nick, Julie, and Chasity made their way up stairs, but Micah, and Zeke stayed where they were.

"It's okay. You two can go up, and ask Nick to show you our guest rooms."

"No." Micah replied.

"No?" asked Edward, confused.

"It's our fault." Zeke explained.

"Your fault?"

"We're not drifters, Edward. I think it's time we told you the truth, and both of you the whole story."

"Truth? Story?"

"It all started in Gatlin, with a boy preacher named Isaac." Micah began. "And a being called He Who Walks Behind The Rows."



"And That's the whole horrible, grouling story." Told Zeke.

"From top to bottom, front to back, and beginning to end." Micah spoke.

Both Alley and Edward were wide eyed, and quiet. "So what you're telling me is." Edward began, "is a demon possessed you two, had you killed, Alley brought you back, and. it all started because of some preacher kid, and his cult of killer kids?"

"That's right." Zeke answered.

"You. you were just nine years old when they killed your parents?" Alley asked.

Micah nodded. "I had no choice but to. after my parents died, I had to make them think I was listening, or they would've killed me. I never killed anyone while I was myself. After Isaac was thought to be dead, I felt free. But that wasn't. that wasn't the case."

"I never knew Isaac. All I was doing was walking through a cornfield on a rainy night. It got me out of no where." Zeke told the two.

"Well." Edward sighed. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't believe us?" Micah asked.

"I didn't say that."

"You do believe us?" asked Zeke.

"I didn't say that either."

"So what are you saying?"

The four of them looked toward the stairs. Nick, Julie, and Chasity had been listening to everything. "Like Jules asked." Chasity began, "what are you saying?"

Edward sighed. "I'm saying. you hit me like a ton of bricks. Alley has never lied to me, though. I have to think about all of this, and pull my mind together. Alley, go show um to the guest rooms. Then, you go get some sleep yourself. We'll talk more about this tomorrow."

"Okay, Edward." Alley agreed.

"Omaha. One of the biggest cities in Nebraska. A lot of young minds, just waiting for a role model like me." Gabriel smiled, as he, Chuck, and five of his teenage followers stepped off of the bus. "Let's get started right away. I say we split up. I'll get us all a room in that fleabag motel over there. Meet me back here in. lets see. it's one A. M. two hours with all of the info you can dig up. Don't let me down."

"Don't worry, Gabriel. Everything is going to go your way." Chuck smirked.

"Of course it is. But you see that is does, okay."



Alley woke up to horrible screams. She got out of bed, and tried to decide where the screaming was coming from. It was Micah's room. "Oh, my God!"

She ran to Edward's bedroom. She shook him awake. "Huh? Alley? What's going on?"

"Can't you hear."

But the screaming was gone.

"Micah was screaming."

Edward pushed the blankets off of him, and got out of bed. "He's stopped, but we'd better go and check up on him anyway."

The two walked down the hall to Micah's room. Even though he'd stopped screaming, Alley was still worried. Edward turned the doorknob, and opened the door. Micah was sitting up in bed, and Alley could tell that he was crying. He looked up suddenly, surprised to see them. He wiped his eyes. "Uh, hey. I, uh. I'm okay. I just, uh. I had a bad dream. That's all."

"So. you're okay?" asked Alley.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Go on back." Alley whispered to Edward.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

Edward stumbled sleepily back to bed. Alley walked into his room, and sat down on his bed. She looked at him, sympathetically. "It doesn't look like everything's okay."

"No, I promise. I'm okay, Alley."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?"

He sighed. "I'm terrified. I mean. how do we kill something like that? I'm sorry, Alley."

"For what?"

"For waking you up. I'm sorry for bothering you. You should go back to bed."

"No, Micah."

"I'm sorry. It's just that every time I close my eyes, I dream about my last minute. Just before that big machine swallows me whole. Just before. I die."

"Now it's my turn to be sorry." She smiled, sympathetically. "I really am sorry."

"I'm worried about. about you. I'm worried about your family. you shouldn't get anymore involved in this."

"He doesn't know about Jules, Chas, Edward, or Nick. He only knows about me. And I want to be involved."

"I don't want you getting hurt! Maybe you should've just ignored the dreams."

"I couldn't do that. I'm glad I brought you back."

"Why?"

"Cause he murdered you, Micah!"

"Maybe I deserved it!"

"What?!"

"I didn't stop Isaac! I just stood there like a child!"

"You were a child! You were nine!"

He closed his eyes. "Just go back to bed, okay. I don't deserve your kindness."

She sighed, then smiled. "Okay, I'll go. But. I don't care what you did. When you were nine, or what you did when he possessed you. It's what you do now that counts to me. And I'm not going to stop being nice to someone, just because of a little past trouble. You have a chance to start over. And I would never ruin it for you by judging you now."

He opened his eyes, and stared into hers.

"Hey, besides. You and Zeke. you're my heroes. I couldn't turn my back on someone who saved my life."

She got up, and headed toward the door.

"Sleep. Try, at least. And if you can't, there's a book shelve in the closet, full of books. I'll see you tomorrow."

She exited, closing the door behind her. He laughed in spite of himself. "Well, I'll be. She wants to be my friend."

He got out of bed, and opened the closet. He chose a book from the hundreds, and he read for the rest of the night.