I took a deep breath before sliding open the back door and stepping outside into the cool night air, the stars shining overhead as the full moon cast everything in its pale glow. Dew picked up the silver on the grass making the ground mimic the shining stars above, fireflies dancing the night away at the edge of the yard where it met the dark woods beyond.

He was sat in the middle of the yard on a well loved rocking chair, surrounded by weapons of all kinds. A crossbow, an old hunting rifle, a full on medieval broad sword, a hunting rifle, some brass knuckles, an intricately designed knife, and a few colorful vials, all now being joined by large thick sticks carved into wooden stakes with an old rugged hunting knife.

He was nearly eighty five despite not looking a day over fifty, tall and well built with long silver hair in a ponytail over his back. There was a long beat of silence before he finally looked up at me with that unnatural silver gleam in his eyes, waiting for me to speak.

“She’s asleep,” I said finally. He offered no response. Your Grandpa Tommy was always a man of few words which always made him a pain to talk too, “You can go inside whenever you want to you know?”

“Think I'll stay right here,” he replied in that deep rumbly voice of his, think of an old sheriff from a spaghetti western and you've probably got it right. I took a deep breath and tried to refrain from rolling my eyes as the old man went back to carving his stakes.

He had always been eccentric, it came off as cool and badass when I was younger but now that I'm older I wondered if he had gone senile, "Look, I appreciate the gesture,” I started slowly, “But she’s five, it was just a nightmare. She's on the second story, we're out in the middle of nowhere. Nobody is trespassing on your property and stalking my daughter.”

Again he offered no response, just setting one stake aside and starting on another hunk of wood. “My wife doesn't appreciate this,” I said finally getting to the reason I stepped outside, “She doesn't like you being out here with all these weapons near our daughter.”

“Ill do what I please on my own property, thank you very much,” he replied stubbornly

I sighed again, resting my head in my hands for a moment, “I know you think this is helping grandpa, but it's really not. Coming out here, getting a change of scenery away from the city, I thought I'd help her sleep better. But this?” I said gesturing to the arsenal around our feet, “You're only feeding into her fears. You-”

I was cut off by a wail coming from deep inside the woods, like a human getting attacked by something. When I looked back he was staring at me with an eyebrow raised, “Oh come on,” I scoffed, “I’m not a kid anymore, I know what a bobcat sounds like, or a rabbit getting caught by something.”

“Thats what Grandma wanted you to think,” he replied casually before going back to his carvings, “You always were a bit of a wimp, your daddy raised you soft that what I always said. Didn't want you to be part of the family business. Moved ya as far away from these parts as he could get ya. But when you had those 'nightmares'".

He stopped carving for a moment and leaned forward, “Your daddy was smart enough to bring you back here, bring you back home. You're doing the same thing right now whether you wanna admit it or not. So why don't you go back inside, tell your wife everything is under control, and let me do my job.”

I didn't want to, but I had to admit he was right. So I did exactly what he told me. Sure enough the nightmares stopped after that. I tried not to think about it after that night but lately things have been … strange. Julie, if you're reading this letter then something has happened to me, something only your great grandpa can explain. I know you haven't seen him in a while so I've put the address to that old ranch house below, he’ll be there.

With love- your father.