"Book?" Jody asked, confused.

"Yeah." Bradford said. And that's when he started to explain the whole thing. How where they were was some 'in-between-world' and how the Babble Book could be used to jump to other worlds to save kids that were being hunted by Mr. Cherrywinks the Clown and the evil circus.

Bobby waited for the story to end for adding wryly "You guys moved all that stuff to cover up the hole, but April waited to turn on the light."

"I don't come up here all of the time." April quipped. "No one has ever gone through the roof before."

It was getting clear to everyone that April was getting tired. Tired of Bobby's constant quibbling and nit-picking. Tired of kids coming through the roof and walls. Tired of having to explain everything. Tired of making sandwiches.

With the attic being lit, Henri poked around looking for anything that might make serviceable weapons.

Henri rummaged through the moth-ball smelling box in the attic. Inside, there was an old but well-kept baseball bat. It said 'Louisville' on the side of it.

It felt firm in Henri's hands.

"Hey, I know you." Jody said to Henri.

Then with more quickness in her voice.

"Hey..hey...have you seen my brother? Since the rest stop? Hey, he's been missing. I need to find him." She started  to cry all of the sudden, tears falling down her face and catching the light of the attic.

Bradford, who was halfway down the staircase, began to make his way back up.

Shawn sat down rather heavily on some random piece of attic detritus. This was a lot to take in; killer clowns, sure, but soul stealing demon clowns out to rebuild some sort of evil circus, with some book being the key to stopping them? It was almost too crazy even for the movies!

He tried to think about what to do next. These kids wanted to go rescue other kids, which seemed like the right thing to do, but at the same time, there was a selfish little part of him that wanted to seize this temporary bit of safety he'd found and never let go. He was so tired after everything he'd been through...

After making sure the hole was at least somewhat safe, Ron climbed back downstairs for the tail-end of the conversation.  "Shawn and Jody just got here, so maybe it's best if they stay and rest up while the rest of us go ahead on our mission."  He shrugs.  "That way, if something bad happens, they can come and maybe rescue the rest of us."

"You betcha!" Bradford agreed. There were more kids now. And because of that the cabin felt less stark and lonely.

Sure, the walls were still a dark brown, the wood having aged. The smell of old clothes still filled the house and the interior light was anything but bright. Still, with the amount of new kids in the house, there was a growing sense of comfort and safety. The cabin began to take on a cozy feel.

The only ones who didn't appear to sense the renewed energy in the house were Jody, Shawn and April.

"Ughhh.." April groaned. She took the moment to give Bobby a nasty look.

"I'm so used to being alone. I forgot what it was like to have a bunch of friends around. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you guys are here, but at the same time, its overwhelming." She admitted, candidly.

Instead of responding to April or even following Ron down the stairs, Jody clutched desperately to Shawn.

"We made it." She said, her voice welling with relief. She quavered, but ultimately regained her sense of equilabrium, resting on Shawn's shoulder.

"I can't go anywhere right now." She said. "I think I just want to stay here. I'm not sure I ever want to go anywhere ever again." she said.

It was clear that Jody was too upset to have listened to Bradford's explanation of where they were or Ron's suggestion that they stay behind for a mission of some kind.

Then, as if finally realizing that she and Shawn were no longer in the cave, she suddenly said:

"Where the heck are we?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Bobby consoled. And then, "You're in the presence of an undercover G.I. Joe that's about to lead his troops into battle. Everything will be alright, you'll see."

"And this kid right here." He said, pointing at Henri "is a real American hero." He smiled.

"He survived an attack and other things. And he punched his way through the wall like the Incredible Hulk."

He let Jody and Shawn take that information in for a moment. Then, he finished by saying:

"Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."

"I really want to help you rescue the other kid, you're right, Ron. I'm dead on my feet, I wouldn't be any use at all.." Shawn was lying, of course - he wanted nothing more than some water and a chance to sleep a while, but he didn't want the others to think he was a coward. He tried to sound reluctant, like he hated having to stay behind.

"You'll be alright." Bradford comforted, completely taking Shawn for his word. "That's sort of what happened to us. We all made it here somehow or another. And after sleeping, we're feeling somewhat better."

"That's probably all you need. A good night sleep. Some rest. Time to think things over. And of course, water."

"If all that fails, when we get back, we'll help you out with the Book."

"The Book helps heal you if you're really injured too." April clarified for the new kids.

"Here, why don't you lay down. I'll get you both some water." She said, referring to Shawn and Jody.

"Also, I'll make you some sandwiches."

At that, Bobby wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Thank you." Hearing the offer, Shawn smiled for the first time in what felt like forever, a genuine one, at that, but he could feel the fatigue catching up with him as the adrenaline faded. "I think I just...need a rest."

Jody collapsed on the floor which was covered with pillows and blankets, falling asleep instantly.  The exhaustion, and the final relief and sense of survival wrapped itself around Shawn and held him in a comforting embrace.

By the time April made her way to the kitchen, Shawn was already practically asleep.

OOC: Shawn Joins thread - Shawn's Dream (Group 1): A Haunting Proposition

Shawn woke with a start, rolled over, and groaned. He wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but he still felt bone tired. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around for Jody.

OOC: Storyteller is rolling secret rolls.


Shawn looked around at the huddled mass of blankets. The pillows were bundled over in one clump on the far side of the center of the room. He palmed his hand around and felt nothing. Outside, the wind howled and heavy raindrops could be seen through the windows coming down outside in a torrential downpour.

Shawn tried to get up and look around. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

April came back into the room holding a tray of sandwiches.

"What?" She asked Shawn and the others, with a puzzled look on her face.

"Did you fall asleep already? You pour thing. You must be so tired. Here I was gone for only a second and you fell asleep. You don't have to eat these sandwiches now. You've been through a lot. We all have." She seemed to be  vacillating between pure annoyance that so many kids were in the house, and understanding empathy at what everyone was going through.

She sighed.

"I'll just set these down here. When you're ready,  you can have a bite to eat and a drink."

Shawn looked around and noticed that most everyone was there.

"Wow!" Bradford exclaimed. "He really is out of it. Good thing you're staying here." Bradford comforted. "Hey Henri, this might be worse than when you came through the wall!"

"I say, I say, I say, I say--he's out of it!" The Book mimicked.

To Shawn, this was a shocking sight. A large book in the corner of the room. It's tongue lashing about. And it was speaking. It was actually speaking.

Shawn could feel the pen with the black feather gripped in his right hand.

Shawn shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Right! Right. Sorry, I'm a little...it's been a really long day. How long was I asleep?"

Then he jumps as the book starts talking. He'd been warned about it before, but it was a completely different matter to actually seeing and hearing a talking book. "Umm, hi, are you the Babble Book?"