The leaves fell from the trees, and it felt like the earth was shaking. Though I realized after a second that it was just me, shaking so hard that I was making my own personal earthquake.

"We have to leave. We have to go. Move!" I yelped, jumping up from the forest floor and hauling Jake's ass through the woods.

It felt like we ran for miles, ducking and barreling through the trees. After a while, we ran through what looked like an abandoned little cemetery, and I refused to look closer as I held Jake's hand tighter and bolted toward a now visible stretch of road.

We tripped over ourselves when the rental car came into view, and I threw open the drivers side door with such relief I could sing. Jake hurled himself into the passenger side and stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Do you-" He began.

"Shush it! Driving!" I cried in a shaky gasp.

I screeched down the street, zooming over the speed limit toward the hotel. My only goal was safety for the both of us, and I didn't care about anything else. When we reached the hotel, I skidded to a stop messily in one of the parking spots and shut off the car so quickly that the engine stuttered.

Throwing open the car door and still racing at top speed, I made it to the elevator with Jake on my heels in record time. When I had pressed the button for our floor 10 times and the doors finally had a chance to slide shut, I clutched my knees and knelt forward to catch my breath. Panting, I turned my head sideways and saw Jake huddled in the corner and holding his hand to his chest.

"Can... we... talk about it now?" Jake huffed breathlessly.

I stood up, my heart still pounding furiously, and leaned against the railing on the wall. "I don't know, Jake. Seriously, I don't know. I mean, what the fuck? Didn't we just exorcise this mother fucker? How... how the fuck is he back? How did he find us? Did you see that shit? He was there in broad fucking daylight! I- I don't even, I mean... Wh- what the fuck does that even mean? Is he getting stronger? I- I don't..."

Jake took a shallow breath, and then he looked down at the floor. "I think... this might be just the beginning..."

"Meaning?"

"Well..." Jake paused as the elevator stopped on our floor and then said, "Let's just continue this in the room."

We made our way to the room at a walk, and Jake immediately went to sit on his bed when we got inside. I sat down next to him, a horrible sinking feeling in my gut. The last time Toto had shown himself, he had been inside Jake during an exorcism. I had been there. I had seen the insane and nearly deadly battle. I wouldn't have believed any of it if I hadn't. The bright white light that had filled the room, the warm feeling of safety that had come after. I had felt so sure it was all over. That Toto was no more, that he couldn't be. But now? I was questioning everything. How could he be back? Why had he shown up at our parents house? And what was all the talk about being reborn? Could demons even do that? How much didn't we know? Just what kind of a battle was this? Had our parents lived this same way? Fearing for their lives, and ours, every day? Was that why they had been so reclusive about their work, and kept so many secrets? For the first time since learning the truth, I wasn't angry with those who had hidden it. I envied the lack of knowledge I had once had.

"This... thing..." Jake said, continuing our conversation from the elevator. "It's a whole lot bigger than us. And... I'm afraid... Reag... we have no idea what we're doing, or just how many people are playing in this... game... or whatever it is."

"You read my mind," I replied sardonicly.

"Yeah, well," Jake half-grinned and raised his hand, revealing that mine was now holding it tightly.

"What? But... how is that possible? Every time we connect, or whatever it is, it hurts like hell, and there's that awful ringing."

"Remember what Toto said? He called us twins and mentioned figuring out how to use our powers. I think... I know how this sounds, but... I think he was right. It scared him, Reagan, I mean, you felt that, didn't you? That wasn't rage, it was fear. He's terrified that he's going to lose something. That we might actually be the key to destroying him."

"So, the more we use our powers?" I hedged.

"The better we can understand them and control them!" He finished eagerly.

I nodded, hearing for the first time the rain that had started up outside. I pulled my hand from Jake's and frowned as I stood up and started pacing. If he was right, then maybe we could stand a chance. It was such a long shot that I didn't know how to, but I desperately needed some kind of hope. Worse still was the knowledge that even if we did, it hadn't brought us any closer to saving Jake. Nor did I feel up to any kind of fight when I could barely keep my eyes open and yet truly didn't want to sleep.

I sat down on my own bed, staring out the window to the pouring rain. Jake came to sit in the chair he'd left by the window, watching me idly. When I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing, he held up his hand to speak first.

"I just think we should take turns keeping watch. For tonight, at least. Who knows if he'll come back..." He shivered, and I kept my mouth shut against any argument I might have had to make.

"Ok, Jake..."

He smiled softly in appreciation and then turned his head to look outside. I curled up on my bed, watching the storm build up with him as the night steadily came. By dusk, the storm was raging, with thunder and lightning crashing the silence every few minutes. I could feel the weariness creeping up in me in stronger bouts, but I tried to fight it until I realized that if I was going to help keep watch, I'd need my rest.

When I woke, the time on the clock said 4:52am. I yawned, stretched, and then sat up. Jake had fallen asleep in the chair, his head drooping onto his shoulder. I got up, walked to his side, and shook him gently.

"Hey," I whispered. "I think it's time to trade."

He jerked awake, gazing blearily at nothing for a moment, and then rubbed his eyes before he responded.

"Shit," He groaned quietly. "How long was I asleep?"

"I don't know, but I'm guessing long enough to establish we must be safe. For the time being..."

We both shook a little with these words, but it was true. If Toto had somehow come back, then anything could be possible. It changed our status on the endangered species list by a lot.

Jake stretched, stood up, and then went to his bed as I took the chair to stand watch for the remainder of the night. I settled into the chair, wished Jake good night, and then prepared myself for a few hours of waiting for sunrise. At the very least, it would give me time to think. And there was plenty to think about.

Suddenly, I was jolted awake by the sound of hissing voices coming from the dark. I turned around, trying to discern where they were coming from and what they were saying. All the while, another part of my mind was trying to make contingency plans. How would I protect Jake? What was the safest exit for us to escape?

I slowly got up out of the chair, preparing to grab Jake and bolt, and the voices seemed to get louder. Finally discernable.

"Reagan," they were whispering. "Come find me..."

Trembling deeply, I made my way past Jake's bed and to the source of the noise. The bathroom.

As I reached it, I saw the light flick on, and I gasped. I reached my hand out, pushing the door all the way open, while a hundred voices laughed around me. And even stranger, a white mist seemed to cover the floor and swirl out of the bathroom.

It was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen. Worse even than Toto himself. This being, this bone-white, scraggly, skeletal being with threads of shining grey hair clinging to bits of bone, clung to the wall with both its arms, while its feet were perched on both ends of the bathtub. But the worst thing was its face. It's wild skull of a face, with a grin so mad and wide that it made the Joker seem rational. And it's eyes. Huge, dilated pupils that protruded out from their sockets and seemed to quiver as though filled with tears.

"Hell... o..." it said, that same awful, terrifying voice of hundreds coming from its mouth.

I fell backward onto the floor, backing into the wall as the creature, bones cracking and protesting against every movement, so tall that its head touched the bathroom ceiling, came toward me.

"Found... you..."

I screamed, so scared that my mind felt foggy. I was locked in place, unable to move even if I had the willpower to, and the creature hopped lithely to the ground as it made its way closer.

I clapped my hands to my mouth to silence the shriek and then sprang into action. Crawling as quickly as possible, I tried desperately to get to Jake's bed for help.

"Jake!" I sobbed. "Jake, help me!"

The mist that had been seeping out of the bathroom was now crawling across the floor with the creature, and it twisted its head 360⁰ before moving toward me so fast that it was so hard to keep my eyes on it. I slipped backward and then got to my feet. I ran to the chair, planning to throw it at the monster, and that's when I woke, finding myself on the floor with the chair toppled over beside me. My chin and the floor in front of me were covered in drool, and Jake was knelt above me, shaking.

"Are you ok?" He choked out.

I was breathless, disoriented, and frightened. And yet, the overwhelming relief that I felt to see his face was so strong that I grabbed him into a crushing hug and started sobbing.

"Jake!"

"Hey," He chuckled in a strained tone.

After a few minutes, I cried myself out, and Jake helped me up and onto my bed. I wiped my face as Jake started rubbing my shoulder comfortingly.

"It's weird being on this side of things..." He noted uneasily. "I must've put you through hell..."

I laughed a little and shook my head. "You didn't. I already told you, it wasn't your fault."

"Still... I finally understand. I've never been so scared..."

"Jake... I'm not-"

"We can talk about it later," He insisted. "Somebody called while you were... um..."

He sighed uncertainly and then handed me my phone. I felt my brows furrow, and navigated to the voicemail. The message was from an unknown caller, and it was 45 seconds long. It started out with slow, heavy breathing, but that turned into a harsh, bitter, maniacal laugh and then a voice that I didn't recognize spoke through the laughing.

"You're too late! Too late! Soon the boy will be mine! Count your fucking days, for soo-"

The message cut off with an odd static and gurgling sound, followed by the sound of the phone being dropped. Jake and I looked at each other, our faces locked in an identical mask of confusion. After playing the message again, my face fell with fear and disappointment. No new clues, no hidden hissing with words in the background, and no static to distort the voicemail to oblivion. And that meant it was no help at all. Just a cold and threatening mystery caller who didn't get us any closer to solving anything.

"Reagan..." Jake's eyes were startled, and for a second I fearfully looked around the whole room thinking that he'd felt something that I'd missed.

"What? What is it?" I asked as I looked wildly around.

"No, not us! Him!" He grabbed my arm. "Think! Who's the one person that we got involved in this that he could threaten us with!"

"Stephan!" I panicked.

As fast as I could, I dialed Stephan's number. I didn't care that it was 5 in the morning there, according to the hotels little digital clock, and I definitely didn't care about waking him up. All I could think was that I wouldn't be able to calm down until I heard his voice again and knew he was safe. As the phone rang, all I could keep whispering was please pick up over and over again.

"Hello?" He answered drowsily.

"Oh! Stephan... thank God. Listen, are you ok?"

"Um... yes? Why?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"No reason..." I replied casually, making up an excuse on the spot. "I was just... worried that you... might've been having... uh... some trouble sleeping... you know, after such a long day working..."

He snickered. "And you called to check up on me at just after 5 in the morning?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I must say, Reagan, I'm touched. But, couldn't this have waited until the sun was up? And it wasn't so early in the morning?"

"I needed to hear your voice!" I blurted out, shutting my eyes and clenching my teeth, ashamed of myself.

He didn't respond right away, and the more seconds that ticked by, the worse I feared that I had just fucked up any chance with him for good. Finally, he responded in a tired but light tone, softened in a way I'd never heard him before.

"You... called just to hear my voice?" He asked.

"Yes," I breathed.

"That's... well, that's... really sweet,"

"No... embarrassing is more like it..." The worry I felt for him was so strong that I tried to get out a warning to him in as many words as possible without telling him too much. "Just... be careful, ok? You might get an unexpected and very unpleasant visitor soon... so just... please be on the lookout, ok?"

"Jesus, Reagan, what'd you do?" He sounded alarmed.

"Nothing!" I assured him. "Nothing, I just... I think I may have involved you in something I shouldn't have..."

"Does this have something to do with that article we read in the library?"

Instantly, I was on alert, my senses shouting that something was off.

"What makes you say that?" I asked suspiciously.

It sounded like he shifted the phone, and then he answered. "Reagan... um... there's something... hmph... nevermind."

"What? Tell me!" I insisted.

"After that day, I did a little digging. I found more information about a little diary that was floating around... something I reckon you kept from me?"

At those words, I didn't know what to say. I sat in silence for a solid minute, and he seemed to take my silence as the only thing he'd get.

"Look..." He went on. "I think... maybe you guys should do the same digging, when you get home. Christ, you should read these things, I mean, the articles this guy published. Stuff would give anyone nightmares. Anyway, on and on he went about this research that he was keeping hidden safe in a diary... and... well... the book you guys had on the table... I'm guessing it wasn't yours or Jake's."

Tears spilled from my eyes as it hit me. It might really be too late, just like the voice had said. He already knew too much. Was this how it had felt for Jake? When he'd seen me reading the very same thing?