While Sheriff Johnson was recovering after fainting, Sheriff Angie couldn't stop the questions racing through her mind.
Why is this happening?
Why did all these children return at the same time?
Why haven't they aged?
A chilling thought crept into her mind.
What if none of this is real?
What if I'm dreaming?
No… this can't be happening.
Jack and Jeff, the twins, looked at Angie with frightened eyes.
"Where are our parents?" Jack asked.
"And where's our home?" Jeff added.
Mimi and Kyler exchanged worried glances.
Angie sighed.
"You don't know anything yet."
The room grew tense.
"What do you mean we don't know anything?" Mimi asked.
Angie rubbed her forehead.
"None of us knows what's going on. I can't just throw you into your parents' arms until we understand what's happening. I still can't explain why all of you are still children. It's… unnatural."
Silence settled over the room.
Allen suddenly spoke.
"I started hearing something while I was on the trail… then I saw Mimi."
He turned toward Kyler.
"Kyler, you said you saw someone take Buddy."
Kyler nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"What did he look like?"
"He was really tall. He wore something green, brown, and black. At first I thought it was made of leaves… but it looked more like a suit woven from grass."
Kyler swallowed hard.
"He kept chanting."
Everyone leaned closer.
Kyler's voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"Grass Man… Grass Man… come… come… come…"
The moment the final words left his mouth, every light in the station began to flicker.
Buzz…
Buzz…
Buzz…
The temperature dropped so fast that everyone's breath became visible.
The police radios erupted in loud bursts of static.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Then…
The front door creaked open on its own.
A towering man stepped inside.
He was so tall that his head nearly brushed the top of the doorway.
Sheriff Steven had just arrived.
The room relaxed for only a second.
Then everyone noticed something…
There was something horribly wrong about him.
He didn't blink.
He didn't smile.
He simply stood there, staring.
The longer anyone looked into his eyes, the more their stomachs twisted with dread.
It felt as though he wasn't looking at them…
He was looking through them.
And for reasons no one could explain…
Every instinct in the room screamed the same warning.
Run.