Once Marko had Allen safely beside him, the parents and the sheriffs stood frozen.
Panic spread across every one of their faces.
Marko almost laughed.
After everything they had done to him…
Now they were the ones who were afraid.
"You'll get what's coming to you," he muttered.
As Marko and Allen walked away, the chanting grew louder.
More mysterious.
More powerful.
"Grass Man…"
"Grass Man…"
"Come…"
"Come…"
"Come…"
The wind roared across the mountains.
Allen turned around.
The trees behind them bent toward the police station as if an invisible force was pulling the entire forest in one direction.
Branches cracked.
Trunks groaned.
It looked as though the woods themselves were closing in.
Marko didn't even look back.
"It's for everyone's own good," he said. "They're trapped… for now."
Allen stayed quiet.
He still hadn't told Marko about the glowing metal door beneath the police station.
Something told him to keep it a secret.
He still didn't know who he could trust.
The Sheriffs…
Or Marko.
When they reached the top of the mountain, Mimi, Kyler, Jack, and Jeff ran toward Allen.
The four of them hugged him tightly.
Allen smiled.
He understood.
They had been terrified.
Just like he had.
Marko waited until everyone had calmed down.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said.
"But we need to talk."
The children gathered around him.
"I'm sorry this happened to all of you."
He looked toward the town below.
"But none of this happened by accident."
"The sheriffs want to create things that should never exist."
"Inhuman creatures."
"They want to control them."
"And they can…"
"…because this is their world."
The children listened in stunned silence.
"I was thrown into this place years ago."
"When I first arrived, there were only houses."
He pointed toward the town.
"The place where I entered suddenly became a police station."
"I know it sounds impossible."
"But it's true."
He lowered his head.
"And there's something else."
"I'm looking for a metal door."
"I've been searching for it ever since it disappeared."
Allen's heart pounded.
He knew exactly what Marko was talking about.
The glowing door beneath the station.
But he kept quiet.
He still didn't know why Marko wanted it.
Marko took a slow breath.
"I was one of their experiments."
"They made me into what I am."
He looked at each of the children.
"I know you're probably afraid of me."
No one answered.
The silence was enough.
Marko closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, they were filled with sadness.
His voice trembled.
"I…"
He took one last breath.
"…I am…"
The wind stopped.
The forest became silent.
Every child stared at him.
"The Grass Man."