Caine had been able to sleep in Diana's bed, but nothing more. Diana had fallen asleep quickly, but Caine had too much on his mind to do the same. He couldn't raise a child. He was only fifteen, and he hadn't exactly had good parents to model himself after. If he remembered correctly, Diana hadn't either. After all the adults disappeared, the two of them had barely been able to keep themselves alive. How were the two of them going to successfully raise a child?

What happened if he got angry and lost control of his powers? Caine didn't think he could live with killing his own baby. Even if he could, Diana would make sure that he didn't. Plus, what did the kid have to live for? Starving to death in a tent? He had to leave. He loved Diana, but he just couldn't do this.

Caine couldn't just leave her, though. He knew how miserable it was to be left for dead. He could write her a letter, or leave a message with somebody who lived by the oasis. Maybe Caine could go back to Perdido Gulch, take over, and then have somebody bring her baby clothes or something so she knew that he still cared about her.

Caine took one last look at Diana. She was truly beautiful, even in the darkness. Not long ago, she had unconsciously wrapped her arms around Caine in her sleep. He reluctantly and carefully freed himself from her embrace. A sad sigh escaped his lungs as he stepped out of bed. If anyone else had been around, Caine would have been embarrassed by how long it was taking him to accomplish a task as simple as walking out of a tent. He didn't like to believe that anyone, much less Diana, had this sort of power over him. He started searching for a light and something to write a letter with, but he didn't find anything. Caine was almost out the door when Diana mumbled something in her sleep.

"Caine."

The Battle of Perdido Gulch

Midnight. That's what the grandfather clock in the mayor's bedroom read. Albert Hillsborough couldn't sleep. He had no sheriff, and no sheriff meant no order. No order meant nobody working, and nobody working meant no money. Without a thriving economy, Perdido Gulch would become the ghost town of all ghost towns. Mayor Hillsborough doubted that it would actually happen, but he hoped that one day the strange, inexplicable barrier surrounding the town would come down and he would be able to show the world how he had singlehandedly kept the economy alive and kicking. If Sheriff Gaither didn't get back soon, all his hard work would disappear like last week's table scraps. Albert could not, no, would not have that.

CLUNK!

What was that noise? Albert wondered.

"Nothing," He said to himself, "It's absolutely nothing."

What had gotten into him? Albert never believed in magic, the paranormal, or anything of that sort. It was just some sort of animal, but what if it wasn't? No, Albert couldn't let himself think that way. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to slip into the wild frontier known as dream land, but sleep couldn't come fast enough.

Ca-lunk, ca-lunk, ca-clunk.

The noises were softer now, but they didn't sound like they were going to stop anytime soon. Whatever was making that terrible noise was inside of Albert's house. Worse than that, it sounded like it was making its way down to Albert's room.

Ca-lunk, ca-lunk, CA-LUNK, CRASH!

Whatever this creature was, it sounded like it had destroyed one of the many expensive vases in Albert's house.

"Ouch!" The creature exclaimed, muttering indistinguishable curses under its breath. Judging by its voice, the creature wasn't a creature at all, but a girl.

"Whoever you are, you best be getting out of here!" Albert called into the darkness, "I'm the mayor!"

Albert wanted to pretend like he had sounded brave, but he couldn't even fool himself. There was no denying the terror in his voice.

Ca-lunk, ca-lunk, ca-lunk, creeeaak…

The intruder had pushed open Albert's door and was ca-lunking her way through his room. It was too dark for Albert to see who she was. So, he hopped out of bed and tripped through the darkness over to the ornate dresser that stood against his wall. He had a candle and some matches over there. He was halfway to his destination when a cold bony hand reached out and grabbed him around the ankle. Albert cried out for help as a very strong arm pulled him down onto the carpet.

A/N: Alright, y'all, question time:

First of all, do you like question time?

What was your favorite perspective in this chapter?

Do you know who the intruder is? (I was trying to make it easy to guess.) If you do know, when did you know and what do you think they want with Albert?

Finally, did you like the cliffhanger ending?