As I stood there in the pitch black, I began to hear the sound of crickets once again. Except this time they were real crickets -- I could tell the difference -- these weren't the bug sound effects they had played during the show.

I felt a breeze and knew that I'd somehow left the theatre and was outside in the open air -- transported like Spock off the Enterprise into a new reality.

A hazy light began to appear. And again, just like the beginning of the show, the moon came into view, and I could see around me.

I was hiking on a mountain trail, a rocky climb in front of me, and who knows what behind me. Logic told me to turn around and go back down the mountain to safety and civilization, but my heart told me otherwise as I pushed ahead, climbing towards what I hoped to be the truth.

I saw a small pond to my right. And then, on the left just off the trail, the remains of an old house. The crumbled remnants of a chimney and fireplace that had once been attached to a house that stood here in the deep woods.

As I stopped to take a breather, I noticed a pungent odor, growing stronger by the second, filling my nose and lungs and making me gag.

A neon-blue ball of light suddenly appeared and hung up above the old house like a cloud. It then turned into a face -- Scumbini's face -- and then expanded into a big, blue fluorescent head suspended in the air.

This ghastly vision now looked right at me, burst into hysterical laughter, and spoke. "The dark man will tempt you. You will be intrigued by him…and what he has to offer."

The talking head continued, "You will try to resist him. But ultimately, you will have no choice. He will make you see what he wants you to see."

"Who is the dark man," I yelled as I picked up a rock and threw it right at Scumbini's balloon-like noggin. It went right through his nose and Scumbini laughed harder and louder.

"He'll call for you when he's ready…and meet you at the crossroads" replied the head, as it continued to laugh. And then suddenly, it disappeared.

I wondered what kind of sick hell I had walked into, as I resumed my hike up the mountain road. After what seemed like miles of uphill climb, I came to a lookout perched high above a valley, with a vast lake down below in the distance. I thought about turning back, but knew that someone had pointed my nose up this mountain for a reason and trudged onward.

Now I don't know if you're one that believes in heaven or hell, or in alien abductions, ghosts, or the Loch Ness monster, but I knew that I was smack dab in the middle of some unexplained phenomenon. This wasn't a dream and was even harder to accept as a reality. I thought to myself, "Toto -- we ain't in Vegas anymore."

I'd been walking now for many miles, my body bruised and tired, my legs heavy, and my heart pounding at twice its normal speed. Just when I thought I couldn't take another step, the trail brought me to a beautiful small lake, a jewel of fresh water set into the green forest.

I walked down onto a rocky point that jutted into the lake, knelt down, cupped my hands, and drank some of the cold, clear water.

I felt like I had been there before. There was something friendly and familiar about this place. It calmed my soul and protected me in some way from an impending evil that was becoming ever more real.

No, this was not a dream. This was my destination. And it was time for a showdown.