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transforming harmless wildlife into gruesome and violent freaks of nature. 
    Why did it have to be a cornfield ?  Aliens loved cornfields.  They were drawn to them like toddlers to coloring books. 
    He stepped up his pace to a near jog and soon the corn began to grow taller again, but the queer deepness remained. 
    Something rustled in the corn again.  Something big.  Something definitely not restrained to his imagination.  He turned to face it, ready to defend himself, but he could see nothing.  He was standing in an open strip of stunted stalks, completely exposed, searching the taller corn farther out. 
    “Hello?  Is someone out there?”
    Of course there wasn’t.  If there was, it would be someone with a chainsaw and a shirt made out of human faces.  Why would such a person reply to a stupid question like that?  It would spoil all the fun. 
    Eric began to run. 
    The corn grew taller and his visibility dwindled.  He thought he could hear things moving all around him.  An odd, chittering noise rose from somewhere nearby.
    Then everything abruptly became normal again.  That strange depth was gone from his surroundings, the chill vanished and everything seemed once more to be perfectly fine. 
    He turned and looked behind him, but there was nothing there.  It was just an ordinary dirt road winding through an ordinary cornfield.  Again, the only thing out of the ordinary was the sickly-looking corn. 
    The cell phone buzzed to life in his hand, startling him so badly that he almost dropped it. 
    He took a moment to curse at the stupid thing before answering it.
    “What happened?” asked Karen.
    “Nothing.  I just lost the signal for a minute there.  Like I told you would happen.”
    “That was kind of scary.”
    “Just a lost signal,” he repeated.  He had no intention of telling her about hearing something in the corn.  He didn’t want to worry her.  Besides, he still had no idea what it was or how much of it had only been his imagination.  It was probably nothing more than a deer hiding in the field. 
    He turned and began walking again.  Ahead of him, the road was curving to the right and beginning to slope a little downhill. 
    Despite the chill he felt when he was in the strange area with the sickly corn, he now found himself sweating a little.  It was going to be a very warm day.
    “How goes the cake?” he asked.
    “Still cooling.  I’m getting ready to whip up the frosting.  Strawberry pies are done.  I have three caramel apple pies just about ready to come out of the oven and two blackberries ready to go in.”
    “See, it’s probably good I’m not there.  I can’t behave myself around your blackberry pie.”
    “It does have an effect on you.”
    He followed the road around the curve, his eyes still searching the corn for signs of movement.  Why didn’t he hear it anymore?  Where had it gone? 
    “I kind of wish I’d come with you.”
    “You have pies and cakes to make.  And you hate long car rides.  They make you sick.”
    “I know.”
    “I don’t think you’d like cornfields, either, actually.” 
    “I guess I probably wouldn’t.”
    “Besides, I’m on an adventure, remember.  You can’t expect me to take a girl on an adventure.”
    “Oh, right.  What was I thinking?”
    Eric emerged from the corn into a wide, weedy clearing and stopped, his eyes fixed on the structure that stood before him.  All at once, the mysteries of the field were forgotten. 
    “Karen…”
    “Huh?”
    “I just remembered something from my dream.”
    “You did?  What?”
    “A barn.  A big, red, wooden barn with peeling paint and a sagging roof.  …And I’m looking at it right now.”

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
    He recognized the monstrous red structure as soon as he saw it.  It was not merely a vague recollection, but was instead perfectly vivid in every detail.  It was exactly as he had seen it each of these past three nights, right down to the gaps between