Icy fear penetrated the room as the group looked at each other, an intense, agonizing fear washed over them. Violet dropped the piece of paper and watched as it slowly drifted down to the floor. She knew that everyone was thinking the same thing as her. Who had wrote this and when? Should they take heed and do as it said or should they stay and continue to try and find their daughters? She raised her eyes to her friends. "What do we do, what do you wish to do?" No one answered right away. It was Joe who first spoke. "Ain't nobody running me off. I don't care who they are. My wife and I stay." Everyone there heard him talk but in his voice was the unmistakable cowering apprehension of a man literally scared to death and too afraid to admit it, for fear he would be ridiculed and laughed at. But no one answered, for everyone in that room felt the same growing fear that Joe Sever felt. "Very well then," said Viloet, "we stay and we find our husbands as planned." They all nodded in silence. It was then that they heard the howls of the dog again and it seemed closer. Joe looked out the window but could see nothing. There was a dense fog and the sun had disappeared and night time was now a dreaded reality. The cry went on and on, rising and falling in pitch. It seemed to echo and hover in the night air, sending cold chills and shivers up and down the spines of those that heard it. Joe felt his heart leap in to his throat as the haunting sound filled his ears. He remembered something he had read somewhere, a quote that made his heart skip a beat and in a half whisper he felt the words tumble out and over his quivering lips. 'Darkness belongs to the dead, the ungodly and the demons that lurk in our mind.' The group left the room in search of the others, looking in to the other rooms. They found nothing or no one. At the end of the hallway there was another stairwell, winding up through a narrow hall. They started up the steps, single file, the only sounds they heard were that of the dog and their own beatiing hearts, unsure what they might find as they neared the top of the stairway. As they drew closer, they heard a different sound and the sound was unmistakable. It was the sound of a faint echo of a thumping heart beat and the sobbing of a little girl. As they stood in the large room at the top of the stairs their eyes searched for the little girl. In the corner, sitting in a rocking chair they saw the ghostly figure, a young girl with long, flowing hair, hollow, sucken eyes gazing back at them. Some of the women screamed while others could barely choke out a sigh. It was Brenda who moved quickly to the front of the group, her heart racing, tears spilling down her cheeks, her arms reaching out as one word escaped her trembling lips. "Mindy?" As she moved closer, Joe grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "No," he yelled. It was then that the young girl flashed a hideous grin, throwing her head back as an evil, paralyzing laugh filled the room. The terrified group of people looked on as the little girl vanished before their eyes and Brenda Sever fainted in a heap at her husband's feet. While Joe attended to his wife they heard footsteps pounding on the stairs leading up to the room they were in. The frightened ladies moved to the back wall of the room, unsure what fate awaited them. Their bodies trembled in fear, silent prayers for their safety, for their very lives, rang through the room as tears flowed openly. Their prayers did not go unheard as Hank, Frank and Ollie ran in to the room. "We heard screams, is everyone ok?" Hank asked. It was then that he saw Joe holding his wife and fanning her with his hand. Again Hank spoke. "What happened?" Joe filled him in on everything, the note, the dog, the little girl and Brenda's fainting. Hank nodded and drew a deep breath as he said, "Yeah, I saw Cassie as well, here in this room a little earlier, sitting in that same chair." Brenda looked up, "You saw Cassie? Is she alive Hank?" Hank turned a ghostly white as he looked in to his wife's questioning eyes. "I wish I knew baby; I wish I knew." And with that he pulled his wife closer to him, as they all watched as Brenda Sever came around.