Charlie’s fleet of 11 condors flies towards the army of what must be a thousand dark demons. 

Justin is dangling limply from the talons of one of the demons, but it’s his nightmare that’s bringing about the demons. 

Charlie raises his hand and the sky fills with clouds. 

“I’ve never seen him like this!” I whisper. 

“He wants to be like me,” Joy says matter-of-factly. 

I look at her for a second. “How do you know?” 

She shrugs. “He tells me all the time.” 

“I don’t like it,” Suzy says nervously. “He shouldn’t go against a grownup. He shouldn’t be going to war. That’s not for kids.” 

We look ahead, as suddenly lightning comes out of the clouds - dozens of lightning bolts come at once, striking demons, burning them, causing them to fall to the ocean below.

The demons screech and attack. The condors fly at them fearlessly. Lightning comes again, hitting a dozen more demons. 

Charlie, on top of the condor in the lead, flies up, as the other condors engage with the demons. The condors tear the demons with their talons and beaks, but the demons soon overwhelm them and tear three of the condors apart. 

The wind grows into a storm, and hail appears everywhere, striking at the demons and throwing them off the condors. A gust of wind hits the demons, and it must be so cold, because ice forms on their wings, and many of them begin to fall. 

By the hundreds, the demons fall, unable to fly. The wind annihilates all the demon army except the one holding Justin.

Joy gasps. It seems Charlie has won! 

Suddenly, a demon appears out of nowhere in front of Charlie. It screeches in the boy’s face, and grabs Charlie by the neck. 

All the condors disappear at once. The wind and the clouds disappear as Charlie screams a scream so horrifying I become afraid for his life. This scream will haunt me for the rest of my life, and I am afraid that what’s to come will be even worse.

(To be continued…) 

—Told by Grampa Walt