“Isaac, the barn is on fire!” my wife yelled as she burst through the bedroom door.

“Aw shit, are you sure?” I jumped up.

“Look!” She ran to the bedroom window to the left of the bed, above the oak dresser and low and behold, the old barn was ablaze. The 1876 barn was ablaze.

“Fuck! Megan! Call 911! Hurry! Get the kids up!” I screamed as I bolted out the door.

“What about the animals?” She cried.

“I’ll take care of that, just call 911 and get the kids up” I commanded firmly.

“Okay, okay.”

She ran out the door, down the hall towards the bedrooms and I ran down the blue carpeted stairs to the back door. I grabbed our large hose at the edge of the old farmhouse and turned on the water, running towards the barn as fast as I could. I could feel my heart pumping into my chest to my throat, my palms covered in sweat, my legs and feet were shaky, my stomach in knots, I thought I would lose control of my body.

I ran up to the barn with the end of the hose exploding with water and began to spray down the barn. It was so hot that even being near it made my skin burn. I sprayed down the door so I could control the flames enough so I could get in there to help the animals escape. The two story farmhouse was starting to crackle and pop as the flames grew in size. The cows, horses, chickens, pigs, goats, and other animals cried out of fear and terror.

“Shit, come on! Work, work!” I yelled, fighting for the lives of the innocent livestock.

I continued to spray the hose on the burning barn, but the flames still continued to grow larger. A large plume of flames burst through the door of the doors of the barn, pushing me far back. Splinters from the barn cut my face and hands.

“No! No no no!” I sat up.

Animals began to run out of the barn, and yet it was a truly awful sight. Some were on fire, some were charred beyond belief, some were covered in splinters, and others were covered in bloody slashes. Only a few came out unscathed. A loud screech could be heard from the barn. It was something I have never heard in my life before, something from a nightmare. A pair of bright white eyes were visible in the open window on the top front on top of the barn. I turn around and see two fire trucks pull up behind me. I look back up to the window and the eyes are gone. I feel myself growing faint, things started to go dark. I just couldn’t fight the feeling.

My body collapsed to the ground.

The next thing I know I wake up in a hospital bed with bandages on my arms and forehead.

“Whoa, why am I in the hospital?” My wife and two adult children and two preteen child was there.

“Megan, David, Lily, Joseph, Hannah! Ah! You’re all here. Even Grandma and Grandpa are here!” I felt a sense of warmth and relief as I saw them here with me at the hospital.

“You suffered some third degree burns and inhaled some of the smoke from the fire, causing you to pass out. You’re going to be okay! You just need to rest for a little bit.” My wife said with her sweet voice.

“That was really scary Daddy.” Hannah said as she ran up to me and hugged me. Her blonde hair spilled onto my arms as I held her.

“We’re glad that you’re okay son, you gave us a little bit of a scare going out there so close to the barn.” My dad said. My dad aka grandpa rarely expressed his emotions, so this really meant a lot to him if he said something like this.

“So, what happened to the barn? Has it burned to the ground?”

“Well, at least 65% of it is gone hun. We’re going to have rebuild most of it.” My wife said in a pitiful tone.

“What caused the fire?” I scratched my head and wondered why it could’ve been because the barn was up to code.

“It’s still under investigation, but what the firefighters did find was the gas line was slashed.” My wife nodded.

“What about the animals?” I asked anxiously. “Did any of them make it?”

“Well, there’s a serious issue with that. None of them made it.” My wife was somber.

“What?” My jaw dropped. “How is that possible? I could’ve sworn I saw a few escape unscathed!” I yelled. Everyone looked at me, startled by how loudly I yelled.

“I’m, sorry.” I sighed. “How did it happen?”

“Well some of the animals burned to death as you know, some of them died from penetration of the splinters or inhalation of the smoke, others died from these gashes and cuts that no one really knows where they came from. Someone thinks that maybe a bear or maybe even a timber wolf or coyote might’ve gotten to some of the animals. However, I have never seen gashes like this before.” My wife kept pondering on how the other animals died.

“It wasn’t a bear, nor a wolf or coyote, it was The Wendigo.” An elder man in Native American garb walked into the hospital room.

“Dancing wolf!” Hannah ran to the man known as Dancing wolf and gave him a hug. He smiled and hugged her back.

“Dancing wolf.” My wife said.

To be continued…