"Gran'pa! GRAN'PA!" Mordecai ran towards the farmhouse as fast as he could, his heart rushing, a million horrible possibilities rushing through his mind.
He came to a hard stop. He was much closer now, and he could see that the farmhouse was entwined in flames, like a massive bonfire.
"Gran'pa?!" Where are you?" Mordecai called out, running towards the flames.
"Do not approach, young man!" one spirit warned. "There might still be Skinwalkers surrounding the area!"
"I don't care! I need to find my gran'pa!" Mordecai continued to run towards the burning farmhouse. "GRAN'PA?!"
A figure emerged from behind the house. It was Ken, safe and sound, albeit covered in bruises, blood and dirt, walking with limp and clutching his arm.
"Gran'pa!" Mordecai rushed over and hugged him tightly. "You're alright!"
Ken chuckled. "I told you I would be fine. As I said before, I fought the Skinwalkers back in the war."
"Gran'pa!" another voice in the distance called out. Menard's.
"He's right here!" Mordecai called out. "He's okay! Just a bit injured!"
"Imala!" She turned to see Avaron and Bella running towards her.
"Are you alright?" Bella asked.
"We thought, that...you know!" Avaron joyfully embraced her sisters, worried and joyful tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm fine. Just shaken is all." Imala assured.
"Those spirit people saved us," Bella said. "They scared off those things!"
"They saved Mordecai and me, too." Imala hugged her sisters tighter.
"Gran'pa," Mordecai began. "You will not believe who saved us."
"Yeah!" It was the desert spirits! And to think that they were just fairy tales to put us to sleep!" Menard pointed towards the spirits.
"I see..." Gran'pa Ken stood himself up, and limped over to a spirit floating in the front of the group. "Hendo," he greeted.
"Hello again, Kenneth." the Spirit bowed his head with respect. "Long time, no see."
"Wait, do you know each other?" Imala asked.
Hendo and Ken ignored her question, staring at each other with awkward silence, as if they had never expected to meet each other again.
After what seemed like forever, the Spirits took another bow of respect and floated off into the night.
"Gran'pa?" Mordecai asked. "Do you know them?"
"Everyone, gather a pail and help me put out this fire," Gran'pa Ken ordered, completely dodging his grandson's question.
Mordecai and Menard looked at each other, both suspecting something was off. The Moon sisters did the same.
"What are you waiting for, everyone?" Gran'pa Ken asked. "Are you just going to let our farmhouse burn down?"
The grandsons and the Moon sisters quickly got to work, searching the ruined remains of the charged and destroyed farm for something to put the fire out.
But even as they were putting all their energy towards completing their tasks, both groups could shake the feeling that Gran'pa Ken had something he wasn't telling them.
Only, they would probably never find out, till it was too late.