Night had fallen on Convict Grade as Tigg, Hammond, Bailey and Sara parted ways for the evening.  With feelings of unrest they set off for their respective homes.  Tigg walked silently as a cold wind now blew through the rain soaked town and brushed eerily across his cheeks.  Time seemed to stand still.  There was no sign of life anywhere.  Tigg began to walk faster, unease building in his mind. �Where are all the animals?� He thought to himself as he crossed the street.  In the six years he had been walking home this way he had never felt such a deafening silence.  All Tigg could think was �the darkness was alive.�...

As he walked, he thought about how different he and Sara were.  She was from a wealthy family, homecoming princess and head cheerleader.  An only child, doted on by her parents. He was the youngest of four. His father worked at the mill and his mother stayed home and kept the house.  There was never enough money to go around, especially when Tigger�s older sisters had still lived at home. The three girls had shared a bedroom, he remembered, and they hated it. All of them were gone now, through college and leading productive lives.  He was never close to them.  He came along when Katie, the youngest girl, was twelve.  He�d always felt like an outsider with his family.  They all loved each other though, and that was what counted...

Tigg stared at his feet as he made the slow trek home.  He was not a proud man; in fact, ....Hammond.... was about the only one he could look in the eye.  The rest of the time he spent staring at his boots.  As he thought about the three hundred dollar boots that Bailey probably wore, a small smile threatened his lips.  Suddenly, he realized that the pavement should have ended about a block ago.  Tigg looked up to see a very familiar scene; he was right back where he started.  �What the�?�  Tigg shouted out loud in surprise.  He began to saunter back in the direction that he had believed he had already gone. Looking carefully where he was going. Tigg once again turned to the direction of home.  He kept his eyes on the road ahead of him this time trying to concentrate.  One by one, the streetlights that stretched alongside the street flickered out...

As if Tigg was not nervous enough, he began to feel an ill-omened presence stalking him in the darkness.  �I wish ....Hammond.... were here,� Tigg thought as he deliberately hastened his footsteps.  The darkness enveloped Tigg and he was forced to slow down due to his inability to make sense of direction.  He heard footsteps closing in behind him in the darkness.  Fear began to tear at Tigg�s already strained sanity as he realized, with cold sweat beading on his brow, that someone was standing next to him.  Tigg turned with a start and he realized that his fear was unfounded, as he found himself staring at his own reflection.  A laugh began to trickle from his throat.  Tigg made faces at his reflection, mocking his utterly ridiculous fear.  Something caught his eye.  The reflection was not laughing back.  Suddenly, he stopped.  What was staring back at him was wrong.  There was something missing.  The reflection had no eyes.  Where the eyes should have been there was a bleeding emptiness, a ..midnight.. sky devoid of stars.  With a scream stuck in his throat, Tigg turned away, and came face to face with this thing�this demon...

Tigg just stared as he looked at the sallow, gray rotting skin. �Wh�who are you?�  Tigg stuttered.  The absolute horror of what he was taking in engulfed his senses...

�We are the embodiment of your insecurities, and fears, and hatred of your fellow man.  We are the one composed of many.  We are you.�...