Part 1

The moment she walked into the house she knew something was wrong. A moment when you walk into a room or a place and just know something happened. Something bad. One of those moment where you're filled with dread, fear, or sadness but there is no logical reason why you should feel that way. You just do. That's what she felt the moment her hand touched the doorknob. An icy chill ran down her spine and goosebumps speckled her arms when she opened the door.

Her eyes scanned the living room wearily. A dream like feeling peeked her senses while simultaneously sharpening. She gently put her backpack down next to the small space between the door and couch that was directly right of her. The TV was on; displaying a video game paused half way through a doubles campaign. There where a couple of plates on the living room table. She walked over to see that their contents, nachos, where only half eaten. A bottle of Coke and diet Coke accompanied them on the table; also only half gone. The nachos where cold; made evident by the thin layer of grease cheese got when exposed to the air for to long. She turned her head towards the door that lead to the kitchen and then to the hall leading to upstairs. She didn't hear anyone; no one was there to great her. Which was odd. Living in a house with 5 others there was hardly a time when there wasn't someone home to say hello to. Didn't seem to matter what time a day you got home there was allays someone.

"Derek? Simon?" She called. There was no reply. There was no sound at all. A deafening silents that made her forcibly control her breathing. She walked into the kitchen/dinning room. The mail was spread across the table along with some half written bills. One was the tuition bill to the local college all of them 'kids' where all attending. Worry filled her eyes, "Aunt Lauren? Dad?"

She wasn't calling out to her real father. Her real father, after learning what she was, had disowned her. A event that had been very bittersweet to the young girl. Loosing the man who had raised her after her mothers death while at the same time gaining the privilege to stay with her new found family of supernaturals. A family who, over time, started calling Lauren Aunt and Kit Dad.

Again there was no reply, just the silents that was starting to burn her ears. She ran upstairs calling out again only louder, "Tori?"

She opened the door to the witches room and called her name again, "Tori!". It was empty of human life. But seeing the room made the feeling of panic build in the pit of her stomach. Every thing was ajar and the dresser had been emptied. The clothing had been mostly packed. Obviously done is a rush; in a panic. But from what? From who?

"Simon!" She yelled again running to the sorcerers room. It too was in a rushed mess. "Dad! Aunt Lauren!" again there rooms where a mess, "Derek!" More of the same.

"Anybody!" Tears started to fill her eyes as she ran back down, through the kitchen and the laundry room attached to the garage. The car was gone. Skid marks where all that was left in its place. Slowly this time she wandered back up into her own room. Unshed tears started to create a film across her eyes. She looked up into what had been her room for close to three years now. It was also a mess. A deception, a strategic counter measure, to make it look like all of them had left, and no one was left behind.

But one was.

She sat down on the bed and held her head in her hand as tears filled her eyes.

'What the hell happened?' She thought, 'Where is everyone? Where's my family?... They wouldn't just leave like this. Leave me behind. Not unless they didn't have time...But time before what? What would of made them panic like this?'

Something that shined on her desk caught the glance of her eyes. It was necklace she had never seen before. Picking it up she placed the pendent in the palm of her hand. It was ruffly the size of a half dollar coin and just as curricular. Inprinted on it's surface was a paw print and a skull and cross bones. Their symbols. Upon further examination she saw that it doubled as a locket, so she opened it. A folded piece of paper fell out and a picture had been placed inside the locket. One of herself and the were-wolf she had fallen in love with. The lid part of the locket could also hold a photo, but it currently held nothing.

Reaching down she picked back up the slip of paper and unfolded it. It was quickly written and nearly too sloppy to read, but the hand writing was obviously Derek's:

I'll find you, Chloe, I promise.

I love you.

Chloe choked back a sob, refolding it and putting it back into the locket, before putting the locket around her neck. It made a clinking noise at it shared it's space with her mothers old necklace. She placed her hand on the pendent and looked around again, contemplating what to do. She didn't feel the need to hide. What ever had happened had already happened. Whatever that happened might have been.

A numbness started to fill her as her feet started to walk. What was she going to do? What was there to do?

The thought of going out and finding them filled her mind. But it didn't last long as the cons of that plan came rushing through. She had no idea where they went, which direction. Plus they had the car. Who knows how far away they where. If they where being followed they wouldn't be able to stop, not for very long at least. Nor would they be able to turn around for her.

She found herself in Dereks room. Sliding onto his bed were she was instantly greeted by his sent. She pulled a pillow under her head and was able to get a better smell of pine trees and outside.

For now, she supposed, she would rest. She hadn't expected to sleep deeply, nor through the night. There had still been the last of the days light when she'd come home, so its understandable that her mind did not register the predicament as she awoke once more.

Chloe covered her head with the pillow as she heard the alarm clock going off. She murmured something incoherent in her half asleep state. She felt sore all over; she so did not want to go to school today. But alas she knew she had to. She could practically already hear Derek saying 'Don't be stupid Chloe. Being a little sore is no reason to ditch.' Even if it was said in his playful manner she would glare at him and roll over further into the bed. At which point Derek would pull the bedding off. Derek could be so irritating...

Chloes eyes then snapped open.

Derek! Simon!Tori!Aunt Lauren!Dad!

She bolted up in bed: hoping, praying, it was all a dream. A very, very, bad dream, and that everyone was home. Everyone was safe. That Tori and Simon where currently bickering over who took longer in the bathroom while Kit and Lauren where down stares reading the morning paper and making breakfast. Derek would walk through, steel a piece of bacon out of the pan before running up the stairs. Taking only a few bounds, snapping at Tori and Simon to shut it as he passed by, and coming to see if she awake. He would come in, great her with a kiss, and ask what was wrong. She would tell him all about her horrible nightmare. He would kiss her again and whisper in her ear what she needed to hear before taking her hand and leading her downstairs for breakfast.

She looked down to see her legs tangled in the black blanket that wasn't hers, looked up to see a room that was a rushed mess, and knew. Knew as the pine sent of who the bed was suppose to belong to filled her breaths.

Her hand came up and gently touched the necklace that was there. The one that held the promise of her seeing them again. She held onto it, while also clutching the bedding beneath her with the other hand; chocking back a wave of sobs that wanted to be released. She closed her eyes tightly not wanting the tears to fall.

'Crying wont solve anything.' She thought to herself. She took several, shaky, breathes, before looking around again. Her features became a cross between sadness and a blank look as he felt slightly sick. A lump growing both in her throat and the pit of her stomach. She untangled her legs from the blankets, from his blankets, before standing. Feeling numb, she walked out of the room, went to the bathroom to do her business, before walking down the stares; slightly slipping on the last step.

She looked around again. The living room the same as it was before; the nachos and drinks still sitting on the table, a new addition of flys around it. The numbness grew as her body took autopilot. Taking her into the kitchen, getting a simple breakfast of cereal and milk, before cleaning the dish and putting everything back the way she found it.

That was the first thing her brain manged to come up with as it re-suppressed the numbness. She must leave everything as close to the way she found it when she came home as possible.

"If who or what ever scared the others off comes back there needs to be no evidence that I was here after the fact." Chloe stated out load. Mostly to rid herself the silents that was so unnatural to the house. She felt herself sigh. She remembered a time where being alone didn't faze her very much, but that was years ago. Before they started college, before they took down cable, before the Lyle house, before they had all met. Back when she didn't have a clue the supernatural world was real, or that she was one of them. Back when she lived with her real father. If one could call the living with someone; how he would always be away on work related trips. Leaving her to be raised by nanny after nanny.

But that had changed. Oh, how it had changed! Now she had become accustom to the low roar of a constantly busy household. Having people with drastically different personalities made it so that there was hardly a moment of quietness. Derek with generally quiet demeanor; only saying something to shut people up or to give advise. Simons constantly upbeat attitude; always willing to listen and to say something to make you smile. Tori being the queen witch; her sarcastic, crude, comments usually covering how much she really cares. Kits laid back technique to parenting; making it obvious where Simon got his traits from. Lauren the stability in things; always one for rules and guidelines, but surprisingly lenient at the same time.

Chloe shook her head to clear away the thoughts. She needed to concentrate on what she was going to do. It had been sometime from the last time their little family had been apart, but this wasn't the first. They always found each other before and now was going to be no different. She had to keep a level head.

"Right," She said sitting down at the dining room table, "you need to think, Chloe. I need to leave everything as close to the way I found it as possible. There needs to be no evidence that one of us was left behind. If who ever they're running from is anything like the EG and Cabal then if they find me they'll use me as bait to lure out the others. Can't have that... I need to stay safe, to stay hidden, to help the others."

Chloe stood and started to pacing a little between the stove and sink to help better her thinking. "Now that I've decided that I need to make the decision of what I'm going to do." she paused in her pacing and looked around, "If the others are able to come back for me they'll do it as soon as possible... A week. I'll stay here for a week. If nothing happens in that time I'll have to leave. I'm not sure where I'll go, but... Anything in the house that's on or off I should probably leave it that way. I should also make an emergency pack. One I can hide outside just encase." Chloe chuckled to herself as she ran a hand through her hair. Her hair was longer now, mid back, and was once again strawberry blond with red strikes. "I've been with Derek way to long. I'm starting to think and plan like he dose."

She smiled a moment before it returned to it's previous frown. With a sigh she headed back into the living room and picked up her backpack from where she had set it yesterday. "Emergency pack." She mumbled to herself. She took a glance at what the bag was already holding. Her college homework, some text books, and a few more books she had checked out at the library. She pulled one of the library books out and looked at it. The Effects of Motion Pictures on the Social and Political Worlds; it was the reason she hadn't been here. She had been at the library looking for a book to help here with her directors class at the school. This book was the reason she wasn't with them. With Him. Her hand tightened its grip on the inanimate object. It was the reason! The reason that she might not see them again.

"Stop it!" Chloe yelled at herself placing her hand on her forehead. Dropping the backpack into the crook of her inner elbow, "I'll see them again! We've always managed to find each other in the past. This time is no different. I need to stop thinking like this."

'Except this time you have no idea whats going on.' Her thoughts said, 'In the past you've always been on the run with at least one of the others. Usually Derek. In the past the only time you where separated from everyone else, when you where alone, it was because that's what was agreed to be the best thing. And you always had a meeting place. This time there's non of that.'

Chloe shook the thoughts away again as her hand went to the necklace, "Besides, when was the last time Derek didn't keep a promise?"

She walked into her room and strategically placed the contents of the backpack around the trashed room to make it look like it had been there the whole time. She then replaced it with things she would need. Some clothing, but not to much to save on space. As much non perishable food item she could from the kitchen. Being on the run usually meant not knowing when you where to eat next, something she learned from personal experience, so this is what mostly filled the bag up. Luckily, do to the fact that there was usually four still growing teens in the house -one being a were wolf, there where plenty of snacks around. All packaged and wrapped up for long term storage. Not the healthiest of foods, but that wasn't her biggest concerns. The last thing she needed was money.

She wandered through each bedroom checking for any cash that might have been forgotten in the rush. A $20 in Simon's room under his bed, a $10 in Tori's night stand, a surprising $50 in the back pocket of one of Dereks dirty jeans, In Kits room she managed to pull together maybe around $100, and lastly in Lauren's room there was about $50. Usually she would never just waltz into their rooms and take money, but in this case she was sure the others wouldn't mind. She counted the money to do a mental note. If she rationed, spent wisely, and got only the things she needed she would be able to stretch it to make it last a few months. It wasn't a lot of breathing room, but this was for survival.

She put the cash she found into a black plastic jar, placed it into her backpack, and slipped the back pack onto her shoulders. She considered looking in 'the box' to see if there was any money in that. Even after they had manege to take down both the EG and the Cabal, Lauren and Kit had agreed to keep a stash of cash handy encase some thing ever forced them to run again. The Box was a small box they kept hidden in the garage to keep it in. It was for scenarios jut like this one. Her first assumption was that the others would take it, but in an after thought there was the idea that sens they knew they'd have to leave her behind that they would leave at the least some of it. She walked into the garage and pulled herself on-top of the work desk to reach the back of the top shelf. She had to push her hands behind several jars of stored screws and nails before she manged to get a hold of the, silver, metal box.

Sitting down on top of the desk, Chloe opened it and let out a small sigh and a smile. At first glance it looked like they had left about a third of it. Which equated to about a few thousand dollars in small and larger bills. She noticed something under the bills. Pushing the money aside she found a zip-lock baggie. She was surprised, but after a moments thought she knew she shouldn't be. Taking them out of the bag she looked at each fake ID intern. There was ten of them along with other false identity paper work. Each with her picture, her general info, and birthday. Five kept her first name, but all had different last names and different cities.

She understood the tactic. The easiest way to get away with a lie was to mix in truth. Keeping her birthday the same on each and keeping her first name on half would make it easier to remember and stay 'in character'. But if that became a problem she could go by the different names. Who made them? Kit and Lauren had many connections, probably way more then the many she knew of, but Derek was easily smart enough to make a ID as real as any. The dates on the Ids where relatively new. How long or how often where the fake Ids made?

She read the names:

"Chloe Smith, generic. Abby Black. Tabitha Milton? May I not have to use you. Chloe Lockheart, better. Chloe Merts. Chloe So-" She set the others down and held the one up. "Chloe Souza."

She placed the other IDs back in the box and re-shut it before slipping the box inside the bag next to the jar. As for the ID still in her hand, she pulled at the caller of her shirt and slipped it in against her chest.