"Now I lay me down to sleep." "I pray the lord my soul to keep." "Thy angels watch me through the night and keep me safe till morning light." "Amen." "Amen." "Night, monkeypuss." "Daddy?" "Is mommy coming home?" "No, honey." "She's spending the night at the hospital with your sister." "Hey." "You sleep tight now." "Yeah, you probably missed something." "That's why." "Dude, I ran lexisnexis, local police reports, newspapers." "I couldn't find a single red flag." "Are you sure you got the coordinates right?" "Yeah, I double-checked." "It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin." "Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy." "Well, I'm telling you, I looked, and all I could find was a big, steamy pile of nothing." "If dad's sending us hunting for something, I don't know what." "Well, maybe he's gonna meet us there." "Yeah, 'cause he's been so easy to find up to this point." "You're a real smartass, you know that?" "Don't worry." "I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing." "Yeah?" "What makes you so sure?" "Because I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right." "No, it doesn't." "It totally does." "Well, that the local freemasons are up to something sneaky, but... other than that, nobody's heard about anything weird going on." "Dean, you got the time?" "10 after 4:00." "Why?" "What's wrong with this picture?" "School's out, isn't it?" "Yeah." "So where is everybody?" "This place should be crawling with kids right now." "It sure is quiet out here." "Yeah, it's a shame." "Why is that?" "You know, kids getting sick." "It's a terrible thing." "How many?" "Just five or six, but serious, hospital serious." "A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious." "They think it's catching." "Dude, dude, I am not using this I.D." "Why not?" "Because it says "bikini inspector" on it." "Don't worry." "She won't look that close." "Hell, she won't even ask to see it." "It's all about confidence, Sammy." "Hi." "I'm Dr. Jerry Kaplan, in the center for disease control." "Can I see some I.D.?" "Yeah, of course." "Now, could you direct me to the pediatrics ward, please?" "Okay, just go down that hall, turn left, up the stairs." "See?" "Told you it would work." "Follow me." "It's upstairs." "Dean." "Thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hydaker." "Oh, I'm glad you guys are here." "I was just about to call the CDC myself." "How did you find out anyway?" "Oh, some G.P..." "I forget his name..." "He called Atlanta and... must have beat you to the punch." "So you say you got six cases so far?" "Yeah, in five weeks." "At first I thought it was bacterial pneumonia, not that newsworthy." "But now..." "Now, what?" "The kids aren't responding to antibiotics." "Their white-cell counts keep going down." "Their immune systems just aren't doing their job." "It's like their bodies are..." " wearing out." " Excuse me, Dr. Hydaker." "You ever see anything like this before?" "Never this severe." "The way it spreads..." "That's a new one for me." "What do you mean?" "It works its way through families, but only the children, one sibling after another." "You mind if we interview a few of the kids?" "They're not conscious." "None of them?" "No." "Can we talk to the parents?" "If you think it'll help." "Yeah, yeah." "Who was your most recent admission?" "I should get back to my girls." "We understand that, and we really appreciate you talking to us." "Now, you say Mary's the oldest?" "13." "Okay, and she came down with it first, right?" "And then..." "Bethany, the next night." "Within 24 hours?" "I guess." "Look, I already went through all this with the doctor." "Right." "Just a few more questions, if you don't mind." "How do you think they caught pneumonia?" "Were they out in the cold, anything like that?" " No, we think it was an open window." " Both times?" "The first time, I don't..." "I don't really remember, but the second time for sure, and..." " I know I closed it before I put Bethany to bed." " So you think she opened it?" "It's a second-story window, no ledge." "No one else could have." "You know this might not be anything supernatural." " It might just be pneumonia." " Maybe." "Or maybe something opened that window." "I don't know, man." "Look, dad sent us down here for a reason." " I think we might be barking up the right tree." " I'll tell you one thing." "What?" "That guy we just talked to..." "I'm betting it'll be a while before he goes home." "You got anything over there?" "No, nothing." "Yeah, me neither." "Hey, Dean." "Yeah?" "You were right." "It's not pneumonia." "It's rotted." "What the hell leaves a handprint like that?" "All right." "You know the drill, Dean." "If anyone calls, you don't pick up." "If it's me," "I'll ring once and then call back." "You got that?" "Don't answer the phone unless it rings once first." "Come on, dude." "Look alive." "This stuff's important." "I know, it's just, we've done it like a million times, and you know I'm not stupid." "I know you're not, but it only takes one mistake." "You got that?" "All right, if I'm not back sunday night..." "Call pastor Jim." "Lock the doors and windows, close the shades," " and most important..." " Watch out for Sammy." "I know." "All right, if something tries to bust in..." "Shoot first, ask questions later." "That's my man." "I know why dad sent us here." "He's faced this thing before." "He wants us to finish the job." "So what the hell is a shtriga?" "It's kind of like a witch, I think." "I don't know much about them." "Well, I've never heard of it, and it's not in dad's journal." "Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about 16, 17 years ago." " You were there." "You don't remember?" " No." "I guess he caught wind that the thing's in Fitchburg now and kicked us the coordinates." "So wait, this..." "Shtriga." "Right, you think it's the same one dad hunted before?" "Yeah, maybe." "If dad went after it, why is it still breathing air?" "Because it got away." "Got away?" " Yeah, Sammy, it happens." " Not very often." "I don't know what to tell you." "Maybe dad didn't have his wheaties that morning." " What else do you remember?" " Nothing." "I was a kid, all right?" "King or two queens?" "Two queens." "Yeah, I bet." " What'd you say?" " Nice car." " Hi." " Hi." " Checking in?" " Yeah." "Uh, do me a favor." "Go get your brother some dinner." "I'm helping a guest." "Two queens." "Funny kid." "Oh, yeah, he thinks so." "Will that be cash or credit?" "Do you take mastercard?" "Perfect." "There you go." "When's dad gonna get back?" "Tomorrow." "When?" "I don't know." "He usually comes in late, though." "Now, eat your dinner." "I'm sick of "scabetti-os. "" "You're the one who wanted them." "I want lucky charms." " There's no more lucky charms." " I saw the box." "Okay, maybe there is, but there's only enough left for one bowl and I haven't had any yet." "Do you want the prize?" "Sir?" "Thanks." "Well, you were right." "It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right." "A shtriga is a kind of witch." "They're albanian, but legends about them date back to ancient Rome." "They feed off of "spiritus vitae"." " Spirit what?" " Vitae." "It's latin." "It translates to "breath of life", kind of like your life force or essence." "Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" "It's a thought." "You know, she takes your vitality, maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold." "Anyway, shtrigas can feed off anyone, but they prefer... children." "Yeah." "Probably because they have stronger life force." "And get this..." "Shtrigas are invulnerable to all weapons devised by god and man." "No, that's not right." "She's vulnerable when she feeds." "What?" "If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought irons, buckshots or rounds I think." "How do you know that?" "Dad told me." "I remember." "Oh." "So, uh, anything else dad might have mentioned?" "No, that's it." "What?" "Nothing." "Okay, so, assuming we can kill it when it eats, we've still got to find the thing first, which ain't gonna be a cakewalk." "Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting." "What kind of human disguise?" "Historically, something innocuous." "It could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which may be how" " the witches-as-old-crones legend got started." " Hang on." "What?" "Check this out." "I marked down all the addresses of the victims." "Now, these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead center..." " the hospital." " the hospital." "When we were there, I saw a patient, an old woman." "An old person, huh?" " Yeah." " In the hospital?" "Better call the coast guard." "Well, listen, smartass, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall." " Good night, Dr. Hydaker." " See you tomorrow, Betty." "Try to get some sleep." "Who the hell are you?" "Who's there?" "You trying to steal my stuff?" "They're always stealing around here." "No, ma'am, we're maintenance." "We're sorry." "We thought you were sleeping." "Ah, nonsense." "I was sleeping with my peepers open." "And fix that crucifix, would you?" "I've asked four damn times already." ""I was sleeping with my peepers open"." "I almost smoked that old gal, I swear." "It's not funny." "Oh, man, you should have seen your face, Dean." "Oh, yeah, laugh it on, man." "We're back to square one." "Hang on." "Hey, what's wrong?" "My brother's sick." "The little guy?" "Pneumonia." "He's in the hospital." "It's my fault." "No, come on." "How?" "I should have made sure the window was latched." "He wouldn't have gotten pneumonia if the window was latched." "Listen to me." "I can promise you that this is not your fault, okay?" "It's my job to look after him." "Michael." "Well, turn on the "no vacancy" sign while I'm gone." "I've got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with the rooms." " I'm going with you." " Not now, Michael." " But I got to see Asher." " Hey, Michael." "Hey." "I know how you feel." "I'm a big brother, too." "But you got to go easy on your mom right now, okay?" " Damn it." " I got it." "Thanks." "You're in no condition to drive." "Why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital?" " No, no, I couldn't possibly..." " No, it's no trouble." "I insist." "Thanks." "Be good." "We're gonna kill this thing." "I want it dead." "You hear me?" " Hey." " Hey, how's the kid?" "He's not good." "Where you at?" "I'm at the library, trying to find out as much as I can about this shtriga." "Yeah, what do you got?" "Well, bad news." "I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said dad was there." "And?" "Same deal." "Before that, there was Ogdenville." "Before that, north Haverbrook and Brockway." "Every 15 to 20 years, it hits a new town." "Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitchburg." "In all these other places, it goes on for months, dozens of kids, before the shtriga finally moves on." "Kids just... languish in comas, and then they die." "How far back does this thing go?" "I don't know." "The earliest mention I could find is this place called Black River Falls, back in the 1890s." "Talk about a horror show." " Sam?" " Hold on." "I'm looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed." "One of the doctors... is Hydaker." "And?" "And this picture was taken in 1893." "You sure?" "Yeah." "Yeah, absolutely." "Don't worry." "Your son's in good hands." "I'm gonna take care of him." "So what's the CDC come up with so far?" "We're still working on a few theories." "You'll know something as soon as we do." "Well, nothing's more important to me than these kids." "Just let me know if I can help." "I'll do that." "We should have thought of this before." "Doctor's a perfect disguise." "You're trusted." "You can control the whole thing." "That son of a bitch." "I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there." "Yeah, well..." "First of all," "I'm not gonna open fire in a freakin' pediatrics ward." "Good call." "Second, it wouldn't have done any good because the bastard's bulletproof unless he's chowing down on something." "And third," "I wasn't packing, which is probably a really good thing 'cause" "I probably would have just burned a clip in him off of principle alone." "You're getting wise in your old age, Dean." "You're damn right." "'Cause now I know how we're gonna get it." "What do you mean?" "The shtriga..." "it works through siblings, right?" "Right." "Well, last night... it went after Asher." "So tonight, it's probably gonna come after Michael." "Then we got to get him out of here." "No." "No, that would blow the whole deal." " What?" " Yeah." "Then you want to use the kid as bait?" "Are you nuts?" "No." " No. forget it." "That's out of the question." " That's not out of the question, Sam." "It's the only way..." "If this thing disappears, it could be years before we get another chance." "Michael's a kid, and I'm not gonna dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook." "Dad did not send me here to walk away." "Send you here?" "He didn't send you here." "He sent us here." "This isn't about you, Sam." "I'm the one that screwed up." "It's my fault." "There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me." "What are you saying, Dean?" "How is it your fault?" "Dean." "You've been hiding something from the get-go." "Since when does dad bail on a hunt?" "Since when does he let something get away?" "Now, talk to me, man." "Tell me what's going on." "Fort Douglas, Wisconsin." "It was... the third night in this... crap room, and I was climbing the walls, man." "I needed to get some air." "Hey, kid." "We're closing up." "Get out of the way!" "Sammy." "Sammy." "You okay?" "Dad, what's going on?" "Are you all right?" "What happened?" "I..." "I just went out." "What?" "Just for a second." "I'm sorry." "I told you not to leave this room." "I told you not to let him out of your sight." "Dad just... grabbed us and booked," "dropped us off at pastor Jim's about three hours away." "By the time he got back to..." "Fort Douglas, the shtriga had disappeared." "It was... just gone." "It never resurfaced until now." "Dad never spoke about it again." "I didn't ask." "But he, uh..." "He looked at me different, you know, which was worse." "Not that I blame him." "He gave me an order, and I didn't listen, and I almost got you killed." " You were just a kid." " Don't." "Don't." "Dad knew this was unfinished business for me." "He sent me here to finish it." "But using Michael..." "I don't know, Dean." "I mean, how about one of us hides under the cover?" "You know, we'll be the bait." "No, that won't work." "It's got to get close enough to feed." "It'll see us." "Believe me, I don't like it, but it's got to be the kid." "You're crazy!" "Just..." " go away or I'm calling the cops." " Hang on a second." "Just listen to me." "You have to believe me, okay?" "This thing came through the window and then attacked your brother." "I've seen it." "I know what it looks like 'cause it attacked my brother once, too." "This thing... is it, like... it has this long, black robe?" "You saw it last night, didn't you?" "I thought I was having a nightmare." "I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real." "So... why are you telling me?" "Because we need your help." "My help?" "We can kill it, me and him." "It's what we do." "But we can't do it without you." "What?" " No." " Michael, listen to me." "This thing hurt Asher, and it's gonna keep hurting kids unless we stop it." "Do you understand me?" "Well, that went crappy." "Now what?" "What did you expect?" "You can't ask an adult to do something like that, much less a kid." "If you kill it, will Asher get better?" "Honestly?" "We don't know." "You said you're a big brother." "Yeah." "You'd take care of your little brother?" "You'd do anything for him?" "Yeah, I would." "Me too." "I'll help." "This camera has night vision on it, so we'll be able to see you as clear as day." "Are we good?" "Hair to the right." "There, there." "What do I do?" "Just stay under the covers." "And if it shows up?" "Well, we'll be right in the next room." "We're gonna come in with guns, so as soon as we do, you roll off this bed and you crawl under it." "What if you shoot me?" "We won't shoot you." "We're good shots." "We're not gonna fire until you're clear, okay?" "Have you heard a gunshot before?" "Like in the movies?" "It's gonna be a lot louder than in the movies." "So I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears, and do not come out until we say so, you understand?" "Michael, are you sure you want to do this?" "You don't have to." "It's okay." "I won't be mad." "No, I'm okay." "Just don't shoot me." "We're not gonna let anything happen to you." "I promise." "What time is it?" "3:00." "You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?" "Consecrated iron rounds." "And yeah, it's what dad used last time." "Hey, Dean, I'm sorry." "For what?" "You know..." "I've really given you a lot of crap for always following dad's orders." "But I know why you do it." "Oh, god." "Kill me now." "Wait, look." " Now?" " Not yet." "Michael, down!" " Mike, you all right?" " Yeah." "Just sit tight." "Dean!" "You okay, little brother?" "It's okay, Michael." "You can come on out." "Hey, Joanna, how's Asher doing?" " Have you seen Michael?" " Mom!" "Mom!" " How's Ash?" " I've got some good news." "Your brother's gonna be fine." " Really?" " Yeah, really." "No one can explain it." "It's, uh, it's a miracle." "They're gonna keep him in overnight for observation, but after that, he's coming home." "That's great." " How are all the other kids doing?" " Good, real good." "A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days." "Dr. Travis says the ward's gonna be like a ghost town." "Dr. Travis?" "What about Dr. Hydaker?" "Oh, he wasn't in today." "He must have been sick or something." "Yeah, he must have." "So did anything happen while I was gone?" "No, same old stuff." "You can go see Ash." " Now?" " Only if you want to." "I better get going before he hot-wires the car and drives himself." "It's too bad." "No, they'll be fine." "That's not what I meant." "I meant Michael." "He'll always know there are things out there in the dark." "He'll never be the same, you know?" "Sometimes I just wish that..." "What?" "I wish I could have that kind of innocence." "If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could, too."