"No!" Evan screams as Slappy's menacing laughter echoes through the cemetery. The ground continues to rumble beneath his feet, and Evan nearly drops the containers of Monster Blood he's currently holding firmly to his chest, protecting it as if it were an infant in his arms.

"Fe fi fo fum. I smell the blood of my next slave!" Slappy taunts.

The dummy has fully embraced his new gigantic stature just as Evan imagines anyone who's given too much power often does. Evan waits to meet his end, for Slappy's boot to squash him like a bug. He imagines what it would feel like. Would his death be instantaneous? Would his body get splinters? He cringes at the idea.

Evan doesn't get the chance to find out as Slappy suddenly recoils back, having been hit in the face with a rock. And then another. And another. Before long, Slappy is being pelted by a barrage of stones. Evan turns to see Andy, currently picking up whatever rock she can find on the cemetery ground to chuck at the dummy, who is only growing angrier by the second. His eyebrows narrow menacingly and Slappy lurches down, staring down at them with two massive blue eyes, swiveling back and forth. From this close up, it's easier to see all the details in the dummy's face. Evan notices cracks along the surface of his skin he hadn't noticed before. Dark brown freckles cover his rosy painted cheeks. Evan feels as if he's watching one of Andy's shitty horror movies. Attack of the 50 Foot Dummy.

"Maybe I'll start with YOU!" Slappy shouts at Andy, reaching his hand out as if to grab her.

In response, the other teens begin aiming their flashlights at Slappy, shining the bright beams in his eyes in an attempt to catch the dummy off balance. It works, and Slappy stumbles backward, covering his eyes. Slappy lets out an agitated scream and slams his fist through a tombstone, shattering the heavy gray stone to pieces.

"I'LL CRUSH YOU ALL!" Slappy yells.

"Guys! You need to get out of here!" Evan instructs. "Run to the meeting hall and free our parents. I can handle Slappy!"

"Are you crazy?" Jerry asks. "That's like diving straight into the hornets' nest! Do you know how many more of those things will probably be hiding there?"

"Would you rather deal with HIM?" Evan asks, motioning to the gigantic dummy.

"Truthfully, yes!" Jerry answers. "It's what, one dummy versus TWO THOUSAND ZOMBIES?"

"I think dummies are creepier than zombies," Conan says.

"Just go!" Evan snaps. "Amanda! You can take care of them, can't you?"

She nods. "Of course."

"Good. You want to be a leader? Now's your chance."

Evan's not quite sure why he trusts Amanda. Considering his time travel shenanigans, he's only known her for an hour, if that. And yet she seems so hardened. So determined. More than the others, and certainly more than him. That's what happens when your childhood is stolen from you, Evan thinks, and he can't help but feel that his sudden trust for the Benson siblings is out of empathy for them. Just the fact they came back to Dark Falls proved they had courage.

"What are you going to do?" Andy asks him.

"I'm going to make Slappy pick on someone his own size," Evan tells her, raising one of the plastic eggs.

Andy doesn't have to ask what means, the mental conversation between them already exchanged. Evan half expects her to discourage him, but instead, Andy just nods.

"You sure you don't need me to stick around?" she asks.

Evan shakes his head. "No. You need to get out of here. The Reality Police told me that somehow I can control the Monster Blood. I need to see if they're right."

Evan sounds so confident he almost fools himself. Really, he's terrified at the thought of consuming Monster Blood again. It's something he told himself he'd never do. Not since the incident at Kermit's that summer when he'd been chased by the entire police and fire department. Evan glances up at Slappy, who's currently causing mass destruction in the cemetery, knocking down tombstones and even crushing a few zombies beneath his shoe. It was one way to get rid of them.

I'm the one cursing the Monster Blood. Evan repeats those words in his head. Does that mean he's the one giving Slappy the power to grow? That his own anxiety is fueling the destruction in front of him? If that were the case, then Evan could stop the Monster Blood's effects, couldn't he? He can get both himself and Slappy back to normal size through whatever sort of witch magic currently pumping through his veins. It's a good idea in theory, but there is still so much he doesn't know about Monster Blood. It's the biggest risk Evan has ever taken.

"Good luck," Andy says. "Don't do anything stupid."

Evan laughs. "It's me. I always do something stupid."

Evan watches as the rest of them run off to the meeting hall in the distance, marked by a massive fallen tree that has collapsed through the roof.

"Jesus christ, he really is going to eat that stuff, isn't he?" Evan hears Ricky say in disbelief. "He's so fucked."

"I have faith in Evan," Carly Beth says, "You should too."

"You really like to see the good in everyone, don't you, Carly Beth?" Ricky asks.

"Somebody has to."

Evan holds the plastic egg to his mouth, before he notices Amy Kramer has seemingly refused to follow his orders, standing still beside him despite the rest of the group taking off into the cemetery. In the dark cemetery, her bright pink jacket and boots stick out like a sore thumb.

"I'm not going anywhere, Evan," Amy says. "Slappy is my monster, remember? You were the one who said we had to face our fears, so I'm not leaving until I face mine. That dummy has haunted my dreams long enough."

Evan is about to argue until he realizes it's futile. He can't help but admire Amy's sudden boldness.

"Isn't that nice?" Slappy laughs. "So you do still think about me! You know, Amy, you always were my favorite slave! So easy to manipulate!"

Amy grits her teeth. "Shut up!"

Slappy finds this hilarious. "You know, you've put on some pounds since I last saw you. Give it some time, and you'll be as hefty as your mother! Ouch. That combined with your father's less than stellar looks, and I'll definitely be the attractive one in our relationship!"

"SHUT UP!" Amy screams, a loud shriek which carries into the rotting trees around them.

Evan places a hand on Amy's shoulder to get her to calm down. "Don't listen to him, Amy. He's trying to stir you up."

"Hey, haven't you heard of tough love, carrot top?" Slappy asks. "I just want to catch up with an old friend. So, Amy. How is the family, anyway? Your sister still an artist? Jed still a little BRAT?"

"We're doing much better without you," Amy tells him.

For Amy, this was only a partial truth. It had taken years for the family to get over what happened with Slappy. Even despite seeing the dummy move for themselves, Amy's parents still struggled to believe that Slappy had truly been alive the whole time. Their weekly family sharing night practically became therapy sessions. It seemed not a single member of the Kramer family could sleep without seeing Slappy in their dreams. Amy gave up ventriloquism for good, sealing her old dummy, Dennis away in the closet. She didn't want to look at him anymore. Meanwhile her sister, Sara, found herself trapped in an artistic block. Though she tried, all Sara could paint on the canvas were horrifying renditions of Slappy, sneering back at the family as if he really had come back to haunt them. Even Jed, the family jokester, had lost his sense of humor. It had taken a long time for things to get back to a state of "normal", whatever that meant, and for Amy's parents, the town of Dark Falls was the next step in getting their lives back. Instead, Slappy really had come back, and now Amy can feel her whole world falling apart again.

"I'm going to kill you," Amy rasps.

"Making threats? Why, Amy, I'm so proud of you!" Slappy cackles.

"Enough," Evan says.

Opening the small plastic egg, Evan scoops up a small sampling of Monster Blood onto his finger as if it were peanut butter. The slimy substance feels cold on his finger. Evan exhales and pops his finger into his mouth, tasting the Monster Blood as it hits his tongue. When Evan first saw the slime back when he was 12 years old, he expected it to taste of lime jello. After all, the color and consistency were similar. Instead, Monster Blood resembles a chunk of cold pork fat, especially in regards to how surprisingly chewy it is. It doesn't go down like a liquid. As for taste, it's hard to deny the plastic flavor as it slides down Evan's throat into his stomach. All the while, the foul odor, that stench of raw sewage stings his nostrils like nothing else. Even when the Monster Blood is gone, the terrible aftertaste remains. Evan wants to gag, feeling his heart beat loudly in his chest. This is how it starts, Evan thinks, the fear, the dread. His mind races with images of destruction, of the Monster Blood consuming everything in its path. This is how it starts, Evan thinks once more, it's my own mind which has made this thing an uncontrollable monster. But Evan can't stop. He can't soothe the anxious thoughts in his head, nor the furious beating of his heart. He pockets the three remaining containers of Monster Blood for later.

For once, let me be a monster, Evan thinks, speaking to the Monster Blood currently sitting in his stomach. You don't control me, I control you, Evan tells it. So come on, grow. Grow. Make me a monster like you.

At last, the Monster Blood obeys his commands, and at once, Evan feels the agonizing pain of his bones growing to fit the sudden change. It always looks so easy in the movies, Evan thinks, all the superheroes who can grow and shrink at will. In real life, Evan knows, it hurts like hell, every muscle stretching beneath his skin, a horrible ache like no other. Evan looks at Amy, watching as she becomes smaller and smaller, the whole cemetery around her becoming miniature as well. It's as if he's looking from a bird's eye view. Soon, Evan has reached Slappy's height, and finds himself staring into his plastic eyes. Slappy smirks, looking pleased to have a new challenger in front of him.

"Now we're talking!" Slappy shouts.

"Kick his ass, Evan!" Amy cheers.

Slappy turns his head to look down at Amy. "I wouldn't be so confident, slave! You have a ringside seat to the death of your precious little leader!"

Slappy puts up his wooden fists as if preparing for a boxing match, and Evan follows suit. Without hesitation, Slappy lands a heavy blow into Evan's face, causing him to stumble backward. Evan's not sure what he expected Slappy's fist to feel like, but given that it's made out of wood, it feels as if he's been struck by a massive 2x4. Evan feels a trickle of blood drip from his nose. It feels warm against his skin.

"Come on, Evan!"

"Yes, come on, Evan, FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!" Slappy taunts, "Or else I'll show you how I got the name, SLAPPY!"

At this, Slappy slaps Evan with an open palm across his cheek. Evan feels the sting almost instantly, especially against the cold night air of the cemetery. Even when Conan used to pound him on the playground, he was never slapped around this hard.

"It's okay to laugh, Amy," Slappy tells her. "People getting hurt always makes me laugh! IT'S CALLED SLAPSTICK COMEDY!"

Slappy gives Evan another strike across the face, leaving his cheek raw and red. Even places a hand to that side of his face. It feels numb. He prays that Slappy hasn't broken anything.

"I've had about enough of you," Evan tells Slappy, and this time, it's his turn to drive his fist into the dummy's face.

While Slappy's punch felt like getting struck by a wooden board, actually hitting the dummy feels like Evan is punching that board himself. It seems to have had an affect, however, as Slappy lets out a cry of pain as the blow is dealt. Evan stares into Slappy's face, hoping that his hit has left some kind of crack across the dummy's wooden skull. It hasn't. The dummy drops his crimson smile and bares his teeth, his beady blue eyes full of rage.

Like Andy before her, Amy begins to pelt rocks at Slappy in what feels like an attempt to even the odds.

Evan doesn't wait for him to get in another strike, delivering another punch into Slappy's jaw. While the pain is still present, the satisfaction is more than worth it. Evan looks for blood. Can a dummy bleed? Slappy just pants, eyeing back and forth between Evan and Amy.

"Really, Evan? Fighting me with your shoelaces untied?"

"Huh?"

Evan looks down at his giant red converse shoes, and it's at this moment, he realizes he's been tricked, as the dummy sticks out his own shoe to trip Evan, sending the giant boy tumbling to the ground. Evan screams as his back lands on a hard tombstone.

"Made you look!" Slappy laughs.

The dummy continues to cackle, stomping Evan with his heavy wooden shoe. Evan lets out a gasp of pain. Gasping for breath, Evan finds himself face to face with more names etched on graves. Thomas. Jude. Nicole. Names of Dark Falls residents who have long since passed on. Evan shudders, realizing he could himself become one of those names. Dying in a graveyard? How pathetic would that be? No, Evan refuses to die here, he tells himself.

Cuddles. The word runs through Evan's head like it's been planted there by some higher power. Cuddles, of course. He knew he brought the hamster here for a reason. Back in that first school year, the original Cuddles, rest his soul, had nearly destroyed the entire school. The memory, once a source of many nightmares for him, now gives Evan an idea.

"Amy.." Evan manages to choke out to her. "Please, get me my hamster!"

"What?"

"AMY, GET ME MY HAMSTER!" Evan shouts.

Amy nods and runs off, her face still full of confusion, leaving Evan lying on the ground as the giant dummy stares over him in victory.

"Aww, want to say one final goodbye to your beloved pet?" Slappy asks."Maybe before I kill you, I'll wring his tiny little neck and MAKE YOU WATCH."

Evan spits. "See, the thing about my hamster? He BITES."

Slappy sneers. "So do dogs, and I've strangled plenty of those!"

"I've got him!" Amy yells, out of breath from having run all the way through the cemetery and back. "What do I do?"

Evan takes one of the other eggs of Monster Blood and rolls it across the soil. It lands right at Amy's foot. The uneven ground causes the egg to crack open, spilling a tiny puddle of Monster Blood onto the dirt. This is all part of Evan's plan.

"Let him out of his cage," Evan says, "Cuddles will know what to do."

Amy opens the cage, allowing Cuddles to scurry out onto the ground. With Evan's giant stature, the hamster looks like no more than a furry dot. Cuddles walks up to the slimy green puddle, sniffing it with great curiosity. The hamster squeaks.

"Cuddles, buddy. I need your help right now. I know I've told you never to eat anything you're not supposed to, but I need you to eat that green gunk, okay? I need you to become a monster for me, because this giant dummy is about to kill me, and I would really like for that not to happen!"

Cuddles squeaks and obeys, eating up the Monster Blood with a ferociousness that surprises even Evan. Despite being a tiny critter, Cuddles has an insatiable appetite, and before long, the hamster's two big teeth are coated in thick green slime. The once small squeaks have turned into low growls, and Evan watches in glee as the hamster starts to grow before their very eyes.

"Yes, that's my boy, Cuddles!"

"It doesn't matter what size he is, he's still got the brain of a hamster!" Slappy says.

Cuddles growls, opening his jaws wide. The Monster Blood coating the inside of his mouth drips from his two front teeth, hot breath pouring out. His paws have become slender, sharpened claws, sharp enough to tear human flesh to ribbons, and hopefully sharp enough to do some serious wood carving.

The hamster looks at Slappy with hatred in its tiny black eyes, continuing to grow until he's the size of a small grizzly bear, with big fluffy ears to match. Stay away from my Evan, Cuddles thinks to himself, or at least that's what Evan imagines him saying. He hopes his hamster has as much drive to protect his owner as a dog would.

Evan isn't sure if that's what causes Cuddles to suddenly dive at Slappy, or if it's just his monstrous new attitude kicking in. He sinks his claws into the dummy's chest. Cuddles has as much strength as one would expect a giant hamster to have, which is to say, a surprising amount. It doesn't take long before the dummy and the hamster are in a wrestling match, Slappy holding Cuddles in a tight chokehold as the hamster squirms to get free. At last, Cuddles breaks Slappy's hold and knocks him to the ground with a brutal headbut, letting out a terrifying roar, as if establishing his dominance over the dummy. Crawling over to the dummy's body, Cuddles gets up close in Slappy's face. His warm breath creeps into Slappy's nostrils and the dummy makes a noise of disgust.

"Look at those buck teeth! And that horrible breath!" Slappy cries. "So UGLY! How could ANYONE want a pet that's this ugly?"

Cuddles slams into Slappy like a charging bull, causing the dummy to groan in pain once more.

"You heard what I said about you, didn't you?" Slappy says to Cuddles. "You're just a STUPID, UGLY hamster! You're too stupid to realize I'm insulting you!"

Cuddles opens his jaws wide, ready to bite down, and now Slappy's expression changes to one of panic.

"STOP! WAIT, DON'T, I SWEAR I DIDN'T MEAN-"

Cuddles doesn't listen, chomping right through Slappy's arm with his massive teeth. With a loud crack of breaking wood, Slappy's right arm falls off his body, and Slappy reaches out with the one arm left to try and strangle the hamster, but Cuddles suddenly collapses onto Slappy's body with all his weight, crushing the dummy beneath his large, furry body. As the hamster starts to snore, Evan finds himself laughing. Amy starts to laugh too. It's Cuddles' naptime.

"You did good, Cuddles," Evan says. "You're a good boy."

"God, I hate hamsters! Almost as much as I hate YOU, carrot top!" Slappy yells, just before turning his head to look at Amy. "Come on, slave! Help me out! I promise things will be different this time. I even promise not to smack you around anymore!"

"Oh, shove it!" Amy snaps. "So, how the hell do we get you all back to normal size?"

Evan gulps. This was the part he was worried about. Okay, maybe not as much as the actual eating and growing part of the plan, but trying to find a way back worries Evan too. If he can use his witch magic, or whatever the hell it's called, to grow, then maybe that same magic can shrink the three of them back to normal. Evan takes a deep breath. For a moment, he places himself in Sarabeth's shoes, trying to imagine how she must have acted back then, when she instructed the Monster Blood to kill her enemies. How did witches talk? All high and mighty, Evan imagines, with lots of rhyming.

You did your job well, Monster Blood. You have done as I asked, Evan speaks in his head, "I no longer need you to be a monster. I rid you of your curse, of all your magical effects. Please, restore me, Cuddles, and Slappy. I rid you of your curse!

Evan waits, looking down as his massive shoes, expecting that at any minute, he should be shrinking back. Now Evan is really panicking. He takes a deep breath. It's my fear which fuels the Monster Blood, Evan reminds himself, I need to be calm. But how calm did he need to be? Yoga instructor level calm? Thinking about that reminds him of the times his Aunt Dee would meditate in her living room while he babysat Kermit, trying his best to get his cousin not to blow anything up while his aunt didn't have a care in the world. Did he have to speak the words aloud?

I'm not afraid of you, Evan thinks, before he realizes it's a lie. Okay, I AM afraid of you, Monster Blood, but that's okay. Everyone fears something. Fear is what keeps us alive. Sometimes we need to look at what we fear and say, I fear you, but I also respect you. That is what I am doing now. I understand now your destructive power, and I guess, the destructive power that lives in me. I rid you of your curse.

"I RID YOU OF YOUR CURSE!" Evan shouts, causing Amy to jump in surprise.

At last, Evan realizes he's shrinking again, as he looks to Cuddles, he sees they too are slowly returning to normal. The shrinking process is no less painful than growing, but at least it seems to fade quicker. As Evan gets back to his feet, he scoops up Cuddles, still asleep, and softly strokes the hamster's fur, telling him once again he did a good job. With one hand, he places Cuddles back in his cage.

Turning to Amy, he watches as the girl grabs Slappy from the ground with force. The dummy looks properly beaten, covered in dirt and wear, cracks emerging on his forehead and paint chipped in various place. Nevertheless, he manages to crack a red-lipped smile as Amy brings Slappy to her face, holding him tightly by his suit collar.

"Who's the dummy now, motherfucker?" Amy asks.

Slappy raises a wooden eyebrow. "Me?"

"You're goddamn right." Amy answers.

She throws Slappy to the ground and with a single bright pink converse, she stomps her foot right through Slappy's face, breaking his wooden head almost in half. What remains is a large, craterous hole on one side of Slappy's face. Evan thinks he resembles the Phantom of the Opera, the way the large crack acts now as a kind of twisted mask, permanently scarring the dummy's appearance.

"There, " Amy says, "I've officially broken up with you."

Amy laughs, it's a cackle full of pent-up rage that chills Evan to the bone. He can't deny it's satisfying to see Slappy beaten like this, though deep down, he fears for Amy's sanity.

"Let's get out of here and to the meeting hall," Evan says, "He's not going to be doing any walking or stalking anytime soon."

"Good," Amy says.

Evan picks the limp dummy off the ground and drags it along with him as the two of them make their way to the meeting hall. A long, gnarled root cuts through the ground beneath them like a massive serpent, or an arrow pointing them the way to danger, no doubt once connected to the now fallen tree. The path there declines the further they walk. Evan is careful not to trip and roll down. It's not long before the two hear the familiar whispers of the undead. Evan is more than a little scared to see what lurks behind the door, and as he does, the wooden door creaking open, he finds himself stepping into a cramped, dark room.

"I feel like we're walking into a trap," Amy says.

"We'll keep our guards up,"

Andy rushes over to him, examining Evan curiously. "So, you can really do it? You can REALLY control Monster Blood?"

"It's looking that way, yeah, but I'm still learning."

"Rad."

Evan finds the rest of the teens waiting for him, albeit with the exception of Amanda and Josh. It gives Evan a nervous feeling.

"Hey, he lived!" Ricky cheers. "I didn't have any doubts."

"You guys made it back just in time," Carly Beth says, "We found our parents, they're- they were tied up in here by those things. But well-"

"You did? That's great! Where are they?" Evan asks.

"I didn't finish," Carly Beth says, "I-I don't know how to put this but-"

"We have a bit of a problem. Or, well, another problem to add to the pile," Andy says

Evan's heart sinks. "What now?"

"Amanda and her brother have totally lost it!" Jerry says, "They've gone, like, full RAMBO or something!"

Evan follows Andy deeper into the meeting hall, stepping over several dozen undead corpses lying on the ground. Like the ones in the cemetery, their faces have been melted away to reveal their pale skulls beneath, staring back at Evan with two pitch-black eyes. Amanda must have burned a trail right through the horde, Evan thinks.

Andy leads him to a corner of the room where Amanda and Josh are currently interrogating a small handful of undead. As Josh has one in a chokehold, Amanda holds her flashlight up to the ghoul's face, fully prepared to turn it on at any second.

"HOW DO YOU TURN THEM BACK? ANSWER ME OR I SWEAR TO GOD-" Amanda snaps,

"I told you, Mr. Dark has control of their minds, he's the only one who can restore them!" The undead man says.

In response, Amanda drives her knee into the ghoul's stomach, causing him to spit up black blood.

Evan winces at the sight.

"Amanda! What are you doing?!" Evan yells. "This wasn't part of the plan!"

Amanda looks back at him with an icy glare. "Oh, yeah? So what, it's all good to kill them, but this is one step too far for you, Evan?"

Evan grimaces. "Take a look at what you're doing!"

"I AM," Amanda replies, "These things ATTACKED us, Evan. You remember that, don't you? Do you know what these creatures do? They cannibalize entire families to keep themselves alive, parents, little kids, they don't care. They'll spill any blood they can if they can drink it. They're MONSTERS, Evan! They almost took my family, and now they have your family."

"What?"

"Take a look, Evan. Go say hi to Mommy and Daddy. They'll tell you."

"Wait, Evan!" Andy calls. "Be careful!"

Evan isn't listening, walking to the side of the room where he finds a group of adults engaged in a deep conversation, as if nothing horrible has happened at all. Among them is Evan's parents. Evan feels a wave of relief wash over him. Though it's only been a few days, it feels like so much longer since he's laid eyes on them. He's glad they're safe. As Evan rushes to embrace his mom and dad, he's met with frigid indifference from the both of them.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Evan says.

Evan's parents glance at each other in confusion.

"Okay?" Mr. Ross asks. "Well, why on Earth wouldn't we be?"

Now it's Evan's turn to look confused.

"Don't you remember?" Evan asks. "You were kidnapped by zombies, they- they brought you here and tied you up! This whole town is full of the undead! You know the guy who owns Dark Falls? Mr. Dark? He's a monster! He's lured you here, lured a bunch of families because he wants to take revenge on us kids and turn the whole world into monsters like him!"

As the words leave Evan's mouth, he sees the confusion has not faded from his parent's faces. All of a sudden, Evan is back to when he was twelve years old, trying desperately to get his parents not to drop him off his Aunt Kathryn's, or trying his damndest to convince the kids in his class that Monster Blood was for real. Evan grows silent. His words are once again that of a child's.

Mrs. Ross glances at her husband, a scowl on her face. It's a look also plastered onto the face of Evan's father.

"I don't believe this," Mrs. Ross says, "I mean, seriously Evan, how old are you? 17 and you're still talking about MONSTERS? Let me tell you, I've heard enough about you and your goddamn Monster Blood. For the last time, IT DOESN'T EXIST."

"Your mother's right," Mr. Ross says, "You really need to grow up. For once in your life, BE A MAN, for god's sake. There was a time you were a happy little kid, now look at you, Evan. You're a paranoid wreck! I always told your mother she coddled you too much as a baby. Every time you screamed about monsters, she'd rush over to check in the closet and under the bed. I'm here to tell you that not everyone's out to get you I promise.."

"I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!" Evan yells.

His parents look at him in anger. "Don't raise your voice at me, young man!" Mrs. Ross yells. "You really are still such a child, Evan. We thought moving here would help you, but I guess it turns out you can't be helped, can you?"

Mr. Ross sighs. "You really are a spoiled brat. We move all the way here, all the way across the country to start a new life, and you had to ruin everything for us. Because you're still afraid of monsters. Frankly, I'm disappointed in you, Evan. You knew how important this move was for your mother and me, and you had to go and ruin it with your make-believe stories. Why do you have to act so selfishly?"

"Why couldn't we have had a son that was normal?" Mrs. Ross asks.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Mr. Ross laughs. "Then maybe I'd have a son I could be proud of."

Hot tears stream down Evan's face. "You really don't believe me, do you?"

"Not a word," They say in unison.

"Frankly, we never should have let him hang out with that Andy. She was bad news from the beginning," Mrs. Ross says, "And now look at all the ideas she's planted in your head."

"Don't you dare talk about Andy like that!" Evan snaps.

He turns to Amanda.

"Now do you understand?" she asks.

"I don't get it," Evan says. "Why are they acting like this? So- so cruel?"

"Because they're not your parents, Evan," Amanda says, "Mr. Dark is controlling them like puppets."

"How do we get them back?" Evan pleads. "Please, there has to be a way!"

"I'm sorry, Evan," Amanda replies. "It's too late. I'm afraid they're going to stay like this… forever."