You curl in close to yourself, hoping that whoever, or whatever, is making that noise just goes away. You hear another sound, a whining sound that at first you think could be the barn door sliding open. You close you're eyes tight, certain you're about to the staring down the barrel of a shotgun, but then you realize the sound is the "rowwwllll" of an annoyed cat. Its coming from above you, and you open your eyes in time to see a long-haired cat jump down from the loft. It walks over to you and sniffing. It seems friendly enough, but it clearly lives outdoors. So not a pet, but not totally unused to humans. You can make out its tortoise-shell fur and glowing eyes. The cat sits down just out of your reach, assessing. It makes another noise, "Rowlllowlllowlll," as it stands up and starts to walk toward the barn door, glancing back at you. "Rowlllowlllowlllaaah." It says, stretching up and digging its claws into the door, then circling before sitting down. "Rowlllowl-"

"Alright, ok I get it," you interrup the cat. "I'll let you out, god damn." You stand up and stretch, asking the cat, "Was it really just you making that crazy banging noise? I'm sorry I locked you in but jesus christ." The cat sees you reach for the door and rewards you by rubbing against your leg. It bolts forward as soon as the door opens. You're not sure, but it looks like the moon is full. You can see the field pretty well and watch the cat run off into the field, right toward the scarecrow you saw earlier. Except it's definitely not where it was before. You feel a little sick - how could it move? Then you realize that there probably really is a farmer around here somewhere who just picked it up and moved it. The cat stops at the scarecrow's feet and makes a noise again - it wants you to pay attention. Partially to humor the cat, and partially to reassure yourself that there's nothing weird about the scarecrow, you walk out. You feel silly, but you know you won't be able to sleep again until you see for yourself. The scarecrow is facing you, its painted on smile now looking a little more sinister than it did a few hours ago. The cat is sitting at the base of the scarecrow with its tail wrapped around the pole body. Its quiet, except for the sound of nighttime bugs. Fireflies flicker near the tree line.

You reach the scarcrow in just a few steps. You look around, but don't see anything immediately wierd. The cat is staring up at you and you reach down to pet it, but it runs off into the field. You turn to watch it run and just then hear a voice, right next to you, say "Hello." The voice is a man's, but light rather than deep. The tone is friendly but in a bored way, like someone greeting a cashier when they finally get to the front of the line. You whip your head around, but don't see another soul. The scarecrow, however, seems to have shifted a bit, leaning a closer to you. Is its smile wider?

"I said hello," The scarecrow says in the same tone. Its painted-on smile is definitely growing bigger as you look at it.

You make some kind of whining sound in the back of your throat, eyes wide.