My complete silence said everything I was feeling.

“I know it is hard to comprehend. I have tried to warn you that our enemy is nothing like you expected. They have no visible substance to them, no tangible body to wage war against. Their evil Shadow Ka swoop in and prepare their next victims, frightening them, lulling them into a never-ending sleep that at first seems like an escape from the horrors that beset them. But then they are taken in their dreams to a place where the Stompers hold them forever.

“There, they live the rest of their existence in a world of terror, a world of pain, a world where every one of their worst nightmares is manifested—except they can never wake up again. Their fear is food unto the Stompers. It is their sustenance, their well-being, their livelihood.”

Farmer collapsed to the ground, putting his head into his hands.

“Oh, Jimmy, it is a horrible, horrible thing.” He began to weep, something I had never seen him do before. No words came to me—I was in a state of complete and unbreakable shock, trying my best to understand something that seemed impossible.

“You are our only hope, Jimmy—you are the first one in countless worlds to reach a point where you have a chance to defeat them, to save an entire world from their ruthless terror and hatred, however small that chance may be. And then, if you are successful …”

He trailed off, looking into the distance.

“No, we can only take one step at a time.” He stood back up and regained his composure.

“I am sorry for becoming so emotional. I have just seen too many worlds fall to their evil, to their malice. So many good, wonderful beings, fallen under the Stompers’ spell. But you can save your people, Jimmy. That is why we must hurry.”

He walked over to me and indicated that I should stand. I did so, and he motioned to the door.

“You must go now, and find the Dream Warden.”

“I think Joseph said something about … him, or her, or whatever.”

“Yes, Joseph knows a little about the Warden. The Dream Warden is the only one who can put into play the final piece of the puzzle, the Fourth Gift. I cannot do it.”

“Who is it? Where do I need to go?”

Farmer walked to the door, and I followed him. We stopped directly in front of it.

“I can only tell you that you must go to a place where there is no north, The Northless Point. There, in exactly three weeks from this moment, you will see a Ripping of the Black Curtain, one that we have planned just for you. The Rip will only stay open for fifty-six minutes, precisely.”

“I have to go back into the Blackness?” I asked, dread filling me.

“Yes, and it is vital that you find what is needed and make it back to the Rip within the fifty-six minutes, or you will be stuck there for quite some time. The lady in the white dress, the Lady of the Storm, is there, through the Blackness, waiting for you. Our Ripping will take you to a place near the gateway to her world.”

Farmer rubbed his temples, as if to fend off a headache. “When you go into her world, there is something you must remember. A host of Shadow Ka will be waiting for you. Now, we both know they cannot hurt you, but they can do something even worse.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The gateway inside the world of the Lady of the Storm is very fragile, as you will see when you get there. The Ka know you must go to that world, and they will be waiting, so that they can destroy the gateway after you have arrived. If this happens, you will be stuck there, in that world of storms, forever.”

“Forever?”

“Yes, forever. But don't worry, I think you will be okay, because of your Shield—just not in the way you expect.”

“Huh?” I asked, sounding like the dumbest kid in a class on how to count to one.

“I've told you before that you have not yet realized the extent of the Shield's powers, and it will have to help you in a new way when you go to the world of the Lady of the Storm. I will get back to that if we have time, but let's move on.

“Once you reach the Lady, she will reveal unto you what needs to happen in order for you to find the Dream Warden, who will in turn reveal to you how to obtain the final Gift. If you do not make it to this place, all will be for naught.

“Everything depends on the Dream Warden. Everything.” As he said these last words, I noticed that it was getting darker, rapidly. I looked to the west, or the direction I thought was west, where the sun had been dipping to the horizon the last time I noticed.

A darkness was coming at us. I felt the blood drain from my face, and Farmer saw my skin turn pale. He followed my gaze.

A wall of black, writhing goo was fast approaching. It was ten stories tall and hundreds of feet wide, rolling along the ground toward us like a dust storm, picking up speed. It looked exactly like the substance that had chased me out of the place under the door in the woods back home.

“We should have known it was too good to be true,” Farmer said. “Our enemies are never far away in these places. Quickly, now, through the door you go.”

My questions dissipating like smoke in a stiff wind in light of the coming wall of death, I didn't argue. I pushed on the handle of the door.

It didn't budge. I pulled, even though I knew that to enter the desert world I had pulled the door into the wet cavern. Nothing. Looking behind me, I pushed and pulled again.

Death in the form of black goo was fast approaching.

And the door would not open.