I remember a dream I recently had of my unbroken tooth falling out. It felt so real, from its loosening to the weight difference on the sides of my face. But if this is still also a dream, the wind and fright and voices laughing in my ear are all as real as could probably be. Just minutes ago I was marveling quietly at having the feel of my full left tooth back, but now my life is flashing before me as I don’t know what’s on the other end of this green gust.

The vortex is pulling Sly and I up and up, then it somehow curls down, and we both after about twenty seconds fall on our backs, out of the vortex…somewhere dark.

We groan and rub our backs. “You okay, Junior?”

“I think so…I’ve fallen off of worse…I think.”

“Give me your hand.”

I help him up. “Where did we get sucked to?” Sly wonders. “Murray?!” he calls. “What happened?! …Murray?!”

We hear no response except crickets. Looking around, I see we’re standing on a road late at night. No cars seem to be coming or going. And I have to say, this road looks oddly familiar. It’s giving me chills.

“I don’t like this, Sly,” I say. “We gotta figure a way out of here.”

“Look, I see a mailbox, just there. There’s a house up down that driveway, maybe we…we can…”

Sly’s finger starts shaking. Up through some trees we see a house.

It takes a minute to realize where we are. But that’s only because not only have I not been back here in ages, but ever since I saw this place with its windows shattered and crime scene tape with someone’s body wrapped under a sheet, I’ve tried my best to get the memory away from my head, but there’s no denying this is it.

We’re back at Conner Cooper’s home.

“I…” I can’t blame Sly for feeling frightened of seeing his childhood home. “I haven’t been here since I was…five years old. I…I couldn’t actually come back here if I tried. I was too young to remember the address…I thought I’d never see this place again.”

“Me…Me too.” All of a sudden I can’t help but wonder who lives in this house now, if they’re home, if there’s something someone is trying to show us. 

“Jim?”

Sly and I turn. Someone is walking back from the woods. He’s holding a pipe in one of his hands. And we both freeze.

“C-Conner?”

“D-d-Dad?”