Rushed by Brian Harmon

strain of Tourrette’s and wouldn’t want to eat him anymore, he answered the damn phone. 
    “How goes the quest?” Karen asked. 
    “Peachy,” he replied, his heart still pounding from the fright. 
    “You okay?”
    “For now.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing.  Just jumpy.”
    “Where are you?”
    “Not sure yet.  Another cornfield.  I see some buildings up ahead.  I’m going to check them out.”
    “Be careful.”
    “Obviously.”
    “Don’t go near any more wardrobes.”
    “You don’t have to worry about that.  I’m over Narnia for good.”
    “I prefer Hogwarts anyway.”
    “Me too.”
    “Paul called.  He said you asked him to pick up the PT Cruiser.”
    “I did.”
    “He said he’ll be over in a little bit to pick up my key.”
    “That was fast.”
    “He was concerned.”
    “I’ll bet.  He probably thinks I’ve lost my mind.” 
    “Well you are wandering around in a cornfield.  Again.”
    “True.”
    Karen fell silent. 
    “Do you think I’ve lost my mind?”
    “No.”
    “Really?”
    Again, she fell silent.  Eric waited it out.  Behind him, the creatures still hadn’t emerged from the woods and he grew paranoid that they might try to circle around through the corn instead. 
    “I really don’t think so,” she decided at last.  “I mean, you sent me the pictures.  Unless you’re playing a really elaborate prank on me—which I really doubt you’d be dumb enough to do—”
    “That does sound like a stupid thing for me to do.”
    “Yes.  It does.  But if you’re not…then I don’t know how else to explain it.  Either this is all real…or…you’ve gone completely nuts.” 
    “And that’s the simplest explanation,” Eric concluded. 
    “You said you were seeing creatures that don’t exist.  Monsters.  You said you jumped fifty miles by walking through a barn.”
    “Well…I was told fifty miles.  I don’t actually know it was fifty.  Could have been just one.”
    Again, Karen fell silent. 
    “So did you tell Paul I was going crazy?”
    “I told him about your dream.  Not about…all the other stuff.”
    Nothing rustled in the corn but a faint breeze and the half-coyote-half-deer things had not emerged from the forest.  He was still not halfway to the safety of the buildings and he did not even know for sure that those structures actually equated civilization and therefore safety.  For all he knew, the buildings had been abandoned years ago and since claimed as dens for the very creatures he sought to escape.  In that case, Karen might not be the only one getting her lunch delivered to her home. 
    On the other hand, he didn’t know for sure that these things wouldn’t hesitate to follow him right up to someone’s door and disembowel him right on the welcome mat.
    “He was worried.”
    “I know.”
    Something rustled in the corn.  Was it just the wind?  A rabbit? 
    “I think you should send him those pictures.  Let him know what’s going on.”
    “You think so?”
    “Just consider it.  Maybe he can help.”
    He searched the corn, but could see nothing. 
    “Maybe.  We’ll see.  But listen, I need to hang up again for a little while.”
    “Okay.  Call me back.”
    “I will.”  Although he knew perfectly well that she’d call him long before he’d get around to it. 
    Eric hung up and looked back the way he came.  The absence of the creatures was worse than knowing they were following him.  It was far too easy to imagine an entire pack of them gathering under the cover of the corn, stalking him, preparing to pounce. 
    But nothing showed itself as he made his way to the far end of the field and around the curve. 
    Ahead of him, the buildings loomed silently.  Six small structures and one much larger structure were clustered around a center courtyard.  Even before he reached them, he could tell they were no longer in use and his heart sank at the realization that this might not be the safe haven he was hoping to