Jay stumbled into his house, a soda can in his hand. His little sister, Tulip, squeaked with excitement and raced towards him. Jay set down his soda and embraced her. Tulip was only nine. "I missed you!" She squeaked, then grabbed his arm and drew on it with red marker. Jay laughed.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"This is your number!" Tulip said happily. "5123!"

Jay laughed again. "What's it for?"

"Our talent show! When I call your number, you come up to the stage!"

Jay smiled. "I just got back, Tuli. Maybe in a few days. I'm exhausted."

Tulip simply smiled. "Yeah, okay!"

Jay's mother walked out of the kitchen. "Jay, hun! You're back! Do you want some beef stew?"

Jay nodded. "Well, then come eat, hun!" She exclaimed. "Penny! Alexander! Food!"

"Coming, ma-ma!" The twins called, racing into the kitchen.

The five of them sat at the table. The silence was awkward and all Jay could do was sit and stir his stew.

His mother cleared her throat. "So, Jay, how was Camp Phoenix?"

"Great, mom," Jay lied. It hadn't been great. It had been stressful. Very stressful.

His mother smiled. "Great, dear! Did you have fun?"

Jay nodded. "Yeah, it was really fun!" He tried not to wince, guilty about lying to his own mother.

She smiled even wider. "Oh, I'm so happy to hear that! Did you make any friends?"

Jay forcefully nodded, clenching his jaw.

She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Well, tonight's movie night!" She said happily, clapping her hands. "What movie should we watch?"

"Air Buddies!" Penny said quietly. Alexander and Tulip nodded in agreement. Their mother glanced at Jay.

"Air Buddies is fine," he said with a smile.

"Great! Air Buddies it is!" She said loudly. Alexander and Tulip cheered, while Penny kept calm. "Jay, do you want to finish your stew while we watch?"

Jay nodded. "Yeah."

The other four left before him, but Jay continued to sit in his spot for a second, stirring it more.

"Jay?" Penny whispered, standing in the kitchen doorway. "Are you coming?"

Jay smiled. "Yes, Penny."

Penny looked behind her, then edged closer to him. "You didn't really have fun, did you?" She asked, her large blue-green eyes focused on his face.

Jay shook his head.

Penny shuffled her feet. "We made you muffins," she says quietly, her voice scruffy, almost masculine sounding.

Jay raises his eyebrow. "Oh? What kind?"

"Chocolate chip. They're still your favorite, right?"

"They always will be," he says with a large smile, ruffling her hair.

"Was Camp Phoenix scary?" she asked.

"Yes, Penny, it was. It really was."

~o~

"Jay, help me!" Penny screamed as she was dragged into the darkness.

"PENNY!" Jay shrieked as he ran forward, trying to help her. He grabbed her hands, looking her in the eyes.

"Jay, why didn't you help me when you had the chance?"

"I tried," Jay whispered. "I really tried..."

~o~

Jay awoke with a start, in a cold sweat. Where did that dream come from? He thought. He slipped out of the room and quietly went into the kitchen. 3:35am. He got a tub of strawberry ice cream out of the freezer. He ripped the lid off and started shoveling it into his mouth, practically inhaling it. He wiped his face and went back to devouring the ice cream, until the kitchen light came on. Startled, he looked up and noticed his mother standing there. She pulled the spoon out of his hands and put it in the dishwasher. She put the lid back on the ice cream, popped it back into the freezer, then grabbed a chicken salad and a fork, setting it down in front of Jay.

"You shouldn't eat sugar on an empty stomach," she said softly, sitting across from him.

He stabbed his fork into the salad, stuffing it in his mouth.

"Stress eating?" she murmured, an understanding look on her face. Jay nodded, a sad look on his face. "Maybe doing soccer this year will help you get your mind off it?"

Jay shrugged. "Maybe," he murmured.

She rested her hand on his cheek. "Can you at least try? For me?"

Jay reluctantly nodded. His mother kissed him on the forehead. "Great...and remember that school starts the day after tomorrow..."

Jay nodded again, finishing his salad. Him and his mother walked out of the kitchen together, heading to their separate rooms.

~o~

Jay woke up again at 10:12am. He got to his feet, stumbling into the kitchen. His mother looked up. "Good morning, Jay! We made hash brow-" she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Jay offered. He opened the door to find a black-haired woman.

She spoke in a thick Russian accent, "I am looking for my daughter, Anastasiya. Have you seen her?"

Jay felt like something was wrong. Her calm demeanor, about her missing daughter? It didn't seem natural. "Uh, n-no, ma'am, I'm sorry."

As he was closing the door, she put her palms on it and forced it open. "She went missing when she was a baby. She has black hair, much like that little girl back there."

Penny, standing behind Jay, took a step back, her eyes wide.

"Oh, Anastasiya," she called with a large grin on her face. "Come to mommy!"

Jay slapped her and forced the door shut. He locked it immediately. The woman pounded on the door for six minutes before she finally left.

He went and sat at the table with Penny. "Mom, when can we move out of this damn neighborhood?"

"Soon, hopefully," His mother said with a sigh.

Their neighborhood was strange. People went around claiming to be someone they weren't and it was...creepy. That woman was most likely a kidnapper. Jay then remembered the reports of a Russian woman convincing a little girl that she was her long-lost daughter...and successfully kidnapping her.

Jay shuddered. Even monsters would be better than these...creepy people.