“See, I’m exactly where I said I’d be,” Greyson stated. Cox, his face and body soaked, reached out for the doc’s hand and shook it as he spoke again. “Can we hang up our phones now?”

William felt like a new man. “Yeah, doc. Sure.”

“Are you feeling ready for step four?” The doc held up four fingers as he spoke.

“I-I think so,” Cox agreed.

“Great, Billy,” Doc Greyson replied.

Billy?

It was odd; no one had called him Billy in years. Just as that thought crossed Cox’s mind, Greyson slowly lifted the umbrella.

“No,” Cox whispered in confusion and disbelief.

The good doc – he didn’t look right. His face was long and skinny, and his eyes – one of his eyes was blue - and one was red; fire and brimstone.

He looked right into William’s eyes, as if he was seeing his soul itself – and then he whispered three words Cox would never forget as long as he lived:

“Ride with me.”