AN: Sorry this took so long. The Bird and the Worm was one of the Lost Documents, BUT I update every time I get a good idea, so no material was actually lost. *thanks Writerly Gods for small favours*.

Christineoftheopera-She was never very bright. She's lucky we didn't meet, I'd have taken her eyes out. So violent. You could have drowned! I didn't. She'd have deserved what she got.

The Puppeteer Patient 120402-There's words. But none of them are very nice. Kitty, please stop talking, you sound like death. Blame Batman. I do blame Batman, now be quiet before you damage your voice.

Just-Me-and-My-Brain-They were dealt with. Carefully, of course, Arlen's residents usually being prone to shoot at things. Not even Gothamites shoot at things! They might live longer if they did. Very true.

Sherry sits on the porch in the wee hours of the morning, looking at the woods behind her house. A thick fog makes everything look dreamlike and she's near to dozing.

She's been here for half an hour or more, just thinking, and her arms are growing numb. She should go back in, but she just can't sleep.

She'll apologise to Jonathan on Monday. Slip a note in his locker or something. She'd apologise now, but his grandmother is a crazy lady and won't let anyone on their property. Really, it's no wonder that Jonathan's such a weirdo.

She leans back in the rocking chair and kinda wishes she'd let Bo in after all. She could do with the stress relief.

There's a movement out of the corner of her eye and her head snaps up. Farmer Andy's dog has been missing for months and there's been rumours of it being rabid.

It's not a dog. It's a person, but she can't see who it is because of the fog. She strains, comes up blank, and calls out, "Hello?"

They don't answer. They don't move, either, and Sherry gets up.

"Is someone there?"

She steps off the porch and now she can recognize the skinny figure.

"Jonathan?" He doesn't do anything. "What are you doing out here?" She goes a little closer. "Look, I'm really sorry about earlier, we had no idea you couldn't...are you okay?"

He does not answer her. She wonders if maybe something's wrong, if he hit his head or something. They wanted to spook him, not kill him, and she really didn't like the whole thing to begin with.

"Jonathan?"

Now that she's closer, she can see that he really isn't very steady on his feet. Something's wrong, oh god...

"Jonathan." She starts towards him, intending to take him inside and ask her parents to take him to the hospital. "Come on, it's gonna be okay..."

The closer she gets to him, the more he backs up, until he's scarcely visible in the fog.

"Wait!"

But then he's gone, and when she darts towards where she last saw him, there's no sign of him.

Sherry shivers, the dew soaking into her slippers, and wonders if the guilt is making her see things. She should go back, see if he's still there...

There! By the woods, just at the edge.

"Jonathan," she says, starting towards him, "don't move, it's gonna be okay."

He looks in her direction and then just...vanishes. Like smoke.

Or a ghost.

When she reaches the spot where he was standing, she finds nothing but a handful of wet straw.

THE END