Pete finished his notes and said his goodbyes . He shook Jamieson ' s hand once more , feeling a certain finality in the act . He tossed the notion out of his head as he drove home .
Marjorie loved to investigate things on her computer . When Pete told her Jamieson ' s story , she immediately began googling cities along Jamieson ' s route . In mere minutes she discovered the most perplexing news stories . Forests were cropping up overnight in Muskogee and Springdale , Oklahoma , and in Plainview , Texas . Pete felt goose bumps pebble his skin as he read the screen . It supported Jamieson ' s insane story , but then the delusional man could have looked this up as easily as Marjorie , right ? The doorbell interrupted the chill running through his bones . It was Dane , arriving earlier than expected . Pete ' s troubled mind was soon distracted with entertaining an old friend .
In the morning , Pete returned to the Hobbs jail with Dane in tow , but it was already too late . Jamieson was dead . " Damnedest thing I ever saw ," said the coroner . " Seventy percent of his skin was removed by something hard and rough , like tree bark . He was disembowelled and his skull was crushed like a grapefruit ." The chubby man shook his head . " Still can ' t figure how all that wood got into the cell ."
Pete spent the next few hours numbly answering the Sheriff ' s questions and signing reports . He copied his notes for Dane before seeing him off . He left the jail in the afternoon , feeling numb . Pete paused to look at the trees perfectly aligned with the side of the building . One stood out , away from the tree line . Two trunks merged into a single trunk higher up , like a tree with legs . In the rough bark where the branches reached out like giant arms , he thought he could see a face . A lined , twisted face of fury staring at him with menace .
He couldn ' t help it when his mouth fell open . Pete ran for the parking lot , tripping and falling in the safety of the concrete . He looked back . The tree wasn ' t there anymore . Feverishly , he searched but couldn ' t find the horror anywhere . He rushed into his car and raced out of the parking lot .
24 The Ghouls' Review