It took me 3 weeks, but I'm finally back with this story...

Silence had once again transcended on the shores of the lake. Any sounds of arguing or fighting or even talk have ceased, within the camp that the siblings had been staying at there was only an atmosphere of grief, sadness and deathly silence.

What had happened after they heard that howl? Lincoln wasn't too sure, as his memory wasn't so vivid. The combined wave of grief, shock and fear that had consumed him when he and his sisters were first faced with the revelation that their father had gone missing and that they were trapped on this lake, with no means of communication and at the mercy of a wild animal that could attack them at any moment, had made everything seem blurry. To everyone, besides Lana, the implications for their fathers absence became clear and to the children they were nothing short of heart wrenching and sole crushing.

The flood of unpleasant emotions that had engulfed him had dulled his external senses greatly, feeling numb and stunned Lincoln only vaguely recalled how each of his sisters had reacted to the situation. Lana hadn't left the tent ever since, her cries of grief and anguish were very audible, and understandeble as Taylor had bluntly pinned the blame for their fathers disappearance on her, and she believed it. Trying to pull together what rational thought he could, Lincoln had no clue on how to comfort her after she had indirectly caused this predicament. Lincoln understood Lana`s agony, how could someone deal with this kind of bagage, especially a 5 year old, this event might as well scar the formerly happy-go-lucky girl for good. Lincoln didn't blame her of course, she was just a toddler wanting to explore her surroundings, it was only trough a seriously sick and unfair twist of fate that a litte kids callousness could have such drastic consequences.

Lynn was in a similar situation, she was the one whose little bout of forgetfulness had resulted in them having no means to call for help. Lynn knew that, she didn't try defending herself, but she did react the only way she knew how, aggressively shunning away everyone who tried to talk to her, crying at them to leave her alone and hid into the van, to grieve and deal with the anguish that was tearing trough her. Again the boy thought that it was a cruel and unjust stringing of fate to have such a seemingly minor mess up result in such major problems.

Lincoln couldn`t recall much more, Lisa was crying, Luan looked like she was about to collapse from anxiety and at some point both of them retreated into whatever tent they did. Taylor had also disappeared from sight, having apparently wandered of even further, not that Lincoln really cared about it. Lincoln was left alone, with Lucy embracing him, her head snuggled into his chest, at some point her sobbing had stopped, almost like her otherwise rarely used tear sacks weren't prepared for this kind of task and had dried out. The scene was nothing if not an image of fear, disorganization and grief, emphasizing the plight and horror the kids felt knowing that their father might never return.

Lincoln and Lucy were sitting on the beach, the boy was starring at his distraught reflection in the water, something he had been doing for a while now. His father, his dad, the only other man in his family, he couldn't possibly be gone. It just seemed so unreal, like a twisted dream, just a few hours ago they were still on their camping trip, enjoying themselves, fooling around, Luan pranking Lynn...but then they were here, crying, wallowing in despair, grieving about their father.

What would they do now? How would they break this to their mother or to the rest of sisters. Lincoln felt a burning anguish tearing trough his mind, still keeping the deathly quiet Lucy in his arms, he once again gazed down at his reflection. He saw another tear slowly sliding down his cheek until it hit the water, creating ripples that distorted the boys image.

The faint sound of thunder diverted his attention, looking towards the distant mountains, Lincoln saw a cluster of dark clouds forming on the horizon. This also made him realize how the wind had slowly, but noticeably picked up speed and the once crystal clear sky was starting to display more and more clouds. Bad weather was coming, but to Lincoln this barely meant anything anymore, he was too numb and striken with grief to care.

His face was starting to twist with anger and bitterness, the world wasn't fare, first half of his family leaves them and now their father may never return for good.

Little Lucy shared the same thoughts, she was already experienced and jadded with lots of previous sorrow, unjustice and disappointment, but this here was a whole new level of pain. Her father was dead, taken away by the same monster that nearly took her own and Lana`s life. She was convinced that she was cursed, the same curse that made her the freak she was, that made her schoolmates treat her like she was a monster, that made her mother leave them and now took away her father in the most horrible way possible. With fresh, new tears forming she sobbed and clung on to the only person that truly mattered to her now.

"Please don't leave me Lincoln..." she blurted out in a muffled voice "...I...I...c...ant..loos... you too..." . His face softened and Lincoln gently rested his head over Lucy, not wanting to let go of her, like something would snatch her away at any moment.

"Terrible analogy there, you idiot..." he scolded himself inwardly.

"I won't..." he said hoarsely "...I promise youn that.", his words didn't sooth the 7 year old, who Lincoln felt trembling.

"How can you say that? When you know that we all could die at any moment?" Lucy said bitterly, the boy hesitated to reply.

"Because I`ll protect you, we`ll all be having each others back..."

"And why would that mean anything? Dad`s dead and that monster will go after us..."

"Lucy please don't say it like that, there's still a chance...", suddenly Lucy tore herself out of their hug and glared at her brother, her eyes red and her face dripping with tears.

"You`re wrong! Why Lincoln? Why are you lying to me too? Just to make me feel better?" her tone was raised, but her voice was filled with hurt. She blinked tearfully at her brother.

"And for what? Just so I can have some shred of hope before I die. Or worse, until I see you being dragged away by that monster...", more tears escaped her eyes and she shuddered at the image of her screaming, battered brother being dragged of by the wolf .

Lucy nearly fainted from the stress, but backed away when Lincoln tried to reach her. Lincoln sighed.

"Lucy, do you need to rest?" he asked her worriedly. She shook her head.

"Why? So I can sleep trough my death, no thank you." he answered with a tad of solemn sarcasm.

"Lucy that's enough, now listen to me." he said sternly and pushed himself closer to his sister. He placed an arm around her and looked her in the eye with understanding.

"Lucy, you should know that I wouldn`t lie or talk down to you. I know you're very smart for your age, you`re more sensible than most of our siblings and I respect you for that. You have every right ro be convinced in what you are. But you have to understand..." Lincoln stopped as he wiped away one of Lucy`s tears with his finger.

"Understand what?" she asked meekly. Lincoln stayed solemn and quiet for a bit.

" It is possible that...(sigh)...you know what I'm talking about, but until we find concrete evidence for it we can't just write it of like that. Dad has been missing and things aren't looking good, you understand that..." Lincoln stopped again in order to wipe away a tear from his own eye.

"...but we don't know for sure. Maybe he did encounter the wolf, but he could have escaped up a tree or maybe he`s hidding in cave and he can't leave because of the wolf, there are many possibilities and we have to give them all the benefit of the doubt until we learn for sure..."

Lincoln wasn't sure what his main reason behind that speech was, was he just in denial now? Or was he being blindingly hopeful? Was he truly trying to be rational and opened minded or was he indeed just making a noble lie in order to lift Lucy`s spirit? Maybe it was a bit of all of them?

"I want to believe you..." Lucy spoke solemnly "...but I just can't.", her eyes were watering and she bit her lip.

"I understand that, but we need that hope now if we want to make it out of this?" Lincoln told her reassuringly.

"That still sounds like a lie to me..." Lucy muttered, Lincoln sighed, seeing that she was, in a way, right.

"That is one way to see it I guess, the line between hope and denial is very thin and blurry..." he admitted before looking at Lucy.

"But sometimes that`s the only way to give people the hope they need to achieve a greater good."

"A greater good?" Lucy was confused, she saw Lincoln`s expression, it was seriously, hardened. The boy knew that it was time for a difficult decision.

"Yes Lucy, as much as it may hurt, we have to forget about dad for now. Crying won't do us any good, we have to pull ourselves together and act, we have to get out of here." he told her firmly, Lincoln knew their safety was on borrowed time now. He was determined to try anything in his power to make sure that he and his sisters would never even meet the wolf, but unfortunately he could think of one feasible plan.

Lucy knew that her sisters, especially Lynn, were gunhoed on waiting for their father to return, but Lincoln was right, the time for that had run out. She still had 5 siblings who were here and alive, but for how much longer? They were family, they promised to always look out for each other, to assure that the others were safe, which included stopping them from making rash or harmful decisions.

"You`re right Lincoln..." she suddenly hugged him "...thank you for always staying smart when everyone else panics." she said affectionately. Lincoln felt a bit flattered, but pushed the thought back. No time to praise himself now.

"So what do you think we should do?" the goth asked straightforwardly.

"Okay Lucy we need to get everyone together on this and fast..." he instructed her before looking towards the sky "...not only is that wolf roaming about, but the weather is going to make a nasty turn, we need to act quickly.", Lucy understood the urgency, but one vital question was still hanging over her head.

"But how are we going to get out of here? We don't know how to drive, we can't just walk trough the trail where we came from on foot, because..."

"The raft! Lynn`s raft." Lincoln revealed.

"Lynn`s raft? How will we all fit in there?" the goth asked worriedly. They both looked towards the raft, which was parked on the beach, not far from the van.

"It quite big, though the conditions might be cramped, but it will have to do.", Lincoln turned back to the goth.

"And this is my plan, Lana and Taylor said how they were sweeped away by a river, which in turn flooded into the lake. So I figure we could paddle our way up that river, out of reach of any animals and... hopefully that river will lead us out of the forest or at least it might help us come across someone, other people, who can help us."

After hearing her brother out, Lucy nodded underlying "Okay you talk with Lynn, you're the only one can bring some sense into her, I`ll get the others.", Lincoln nodded back with a small, hopeful smile forming on his lips.

"Lynn`s going to be stubborn as usual, but hopefully she'll listen to me. But frankly I`m more concerned about getting her out of wallowing in self-pity, as she's probably doing now, than...", a crack of thunder once again diverted their attention towards the mountains, where they saw the cluster of clouds growing bigger and bigger.

"Come on, we don't have much time..." Lincoln urged his sister, but she suddenly pointed up.

"Look at that!" she exclaimed and Lincoln looked up to see a few black birds circling above them. These weren`t eagles, like the one he saw before, but turkey vultures. He was no animal expert, but Lincoln knew that the presence of these carrion feeders was an ominous sign, that death would soon come to this beach.

"Those are vultures, the messengers of death, the reapers of the deceased..." Lucy spoke, her voice had a strange mixture of fear and morbid awe "...when they come, it signals that the place of their arrival will be someone's toomb.", she grabbed her brothers hand, who meanwhile had his eyes locked on one vulture who was perched on a nearby tree, starring at them. The presence of these birds felt almost taunting to Lincoln and he felt his anger rising. He grabbed a rock.

"I know what they are Lucy, but I don't know why they're here..." his voice rose with frustration "...cuz there ain't any dead people here yet...and there won't be!" he threw the rock at the bird, but missed by a mile. The vulture`s gaze briefly followed the rock before looking back at the kids.

Although the bird retained it's blank expression, to the boy it felt like it was mocking him for his poor aim. The frustrated Lincoln stomped the ground and quickly led Lucy away as more vultures started perching around them.

...

Elsewhere, the beach sported a barefooted trackway, left by Taylor. He was wandering aimlessly, no destination, no goal in mind, he was just walking, not looking back or to his sides, just walking ahead and kicking away any driftwood that was in his path. His wounds still stung, especially the one in his thigh and he realized that those wounds might get infected or he may have even caught some disease, like rabies, from that wolf. How long would it take for the symptoms to show up?

Taylor snorted "What a stupid question, it's not like I`ll get the time to even feel that, I`m doomed to be torn apart in no time, so why even bother?", he abruptly stopped and turned to his left after hearing some rustling, only to catch a fleeting glimpse of a raccoons striped tail.

Taylor groaned with frustration, "Great, not only am I going to die, but nature is going to toy around with my bloody nerves, why won't that fucking wolf just come already and get this over with! How hard can it be for that flee bitten cur to track an unwashed, sweaty and bloodied kid limping around in plain sight on the beach!"

The boy became bit unnerved at what he was thinking, he was wishing for death now, but then his face wouldn't he wish for that? He was going to die anyway, the best possible outcome right now would be for his misery to end as quickly as possible, instead of being slow, agonizing and drawn out like if he was sitting in a dentists waiting room.

Abruptly Taylor made a small, morbid laugh, the dentist or the hospital used to give him frights? They seemed insignificant compared to what was in store for him now. But that brief moment of levity ended once he remembered what there was in store for him. Feeling sick Taylor imagined being attacked by the wolf and, subconsciously, his hand moved and held into his neck, that would be where the wolf would strike to finish him, clamp his huge, fang filled maw around his throat and shake it violently until he tore it out, or maybe clamp them tight until the boy lost all oxygen to his brain. Taylor shuddered, nearly throwing up, that was going to happen to him no matter what. He kept walking until he stumbled across a small grove which was carved inland, into the lakes shore and was surrounded by trees and several large boulders, to the boy the place looked like a little oasis and he decided that this would be as good as place any to rest and await the inevitable.

Once he had arrived there, he moved towards the water and bent down to look at his reflection, to get one final look at himself. There he was, as ugly and unkept as usual, and now with the addition of those claw marks that were edged across his cheek. Taylor sighed, this would be it, the end of the road, possibly the last look he would get at himself. He sat down and and slouched, he remembered, once again, what Lynn had told him this morning, how ironic, he never would have guessed that this would be his eulogy.

"And this is where it ends, I`ll die all alone and nobody will care about it, hell most kids will probably celebrate about it..."

He imagined the kids holding a big party, with a big banner announcing his demise and kids shouting stuff like "No more Taylor" and "The douche is dog food". Taylor let out a subdued growl, but remained calm.

"...and my family? They probably won't care much either, maybe they`ll be bumed out for a bit, but they`ll get over it, it's not like they would think about losing me with the same severity as losing Rene or Roy, at least I hope they`ll take care of Marceline, but then again she`s a tough and durable feline, she can take care of herself...oh and Lyle? Wherever he might be now, that idiot will probably be dancing with joy, nothing he could have done to me or the Louds could have possibly compared to what`s going to happen to us. Guess juvie or not, he`ll have the last laugh, it's not fair, but when was the world ever fair?"

Taylor sighed and his mind drifted to the last people, or more specifically person who had any impact on his life as of late.

"...and Lynn, pity that I didn't get to know her better, I really wanted to, but I guess there was just too much bad blood, so we could only part the way we meet, with our fists, kind of poetic...in a very sad and stupid way. Shame that she and her family are going to get their lives cut short as well, I hate to admit it, but for a bunch of freaks it was kind of admirable how they stuck together no matter what, maybe they were somewhat better than most people in this damn hellhole of a world? Maybe Lynn was worthy of more respect than I was willing to give her? Guess I'll never know for sure."

He paused, thought things over again and like a crumbling wall his ego finally broke down, "Who am I kidding, I fucked everything up like an idiot."

With nothing to lose anymore, with no need to keep a facade of aloofness and indifference, Taylor managed to let go of any stubborn pride he had left and looked at his actions the way they were. He had been unfair to Lynn, no that was an understatement, he was an asshole to her and her family, he was a bully and had repeatedly let out his own frustration on other people and used all his wit or manipulation to twist things in his favor, and this was no different, there was a fine line between teasing and bullying and he already it crossed on their first encounter. He remembered their first fight and deeply regret it, but he couldn't change that now, he couldn't change any of his past actions.

"Why do I keep doing this! Why can't I stop..." he lameted mentally while grabbing his hair, seeing himself for the way he was, it wasn't even like he was ever truly unaware of his misdeeds, he simply blocked it out of his mind and pretended like whatever crap he came up with to defend himself was true, it was simply easier than confronting reality.

Taylor suddenly felt oddly at peace now, in hindsight his life was pretty meaningless, he was a miserable fuck up who never did anything of value, maybe, after all of he had done he deserved what was coming to him, maybe it was for the better. Against his will, a tear escaped his eye, but then, suddenly, a screech shifted his attention towards the sky. Taylor saw a flock of vultures flying in the distance, his eyes slowly moved downwards until he saw a black figure walking along the beach bellow the flock, maybe 100 yards away from him, it was the wolf.

Taylor froze and gazed at the animal, the wind was blowing towards him and the wolf was unaware of his presence, perhaps the trees and boulders were helping to obscure him from the wolfs view. Taylor felt tense, he was afraid and didn't move, the thought crossed his mind to simply yell and reveal himself, to just get it over with, but he couldn't find the courage to do it. The wolf appeared near the entrance to the grove, he was only about 40 yards away from Taylor, only because of the direction of the ever increasing wind did he fail to pick up the boys sent. Taylor , knowing he was upwind, instinctively started stepping backwards, further behind the cluster of trees, when, all of a sudden, the wolf moved onwards.

Taylor couldn't believe his eyes, the wolf just missed him, feeling a confusing mixture of relief and frustration Taylor broke out of his hidding place and followed after the wolf. Once he was back on the beach, he saw that the wolf was far gone, the beasts tracks going into the opposite direction of his own. Taylor looked up and made out the wolfs tiny figure in the distance, the speed of his gait increasing until he was running. Taylor soon realized where the animal was aiming to go.

"The camp...", Taylor thought, confused and conflicted on what to do now. Go and try to warn the Louds?

"No. What good would that bring? I would just be throwing myself into the massacre!" he told himself while watching the wolf disappear. Wait? He had, by some miracle, stumbled across a golden opportunity, the wolf missed him and was going after the Louds, this could be his chance to save himself.

"I have a chance...to survive?", with a glimmer of hope growing within the bitter and pessimistic boy he turned and tried moving into the opposite direction, but he suddenly stopped to a holt. Taylor looked back, a storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions crossing trough him. He was letting those guys die to save himself, that didn't feel right? But should he care about it? Life was never fair and what could he possibly do to help them? He would just get himself killed.

"Don`t be an idiot Ryan, there's nothing you can do, it's hopeless, there's no point in you dying for a futile cause, just save yourself and don't look back, they brought this on themselves, you owe them nothing..." he aggressively commanded himself and pushed onwards, his face determined and steely. But it soon crumbled and Taylor caved in.

"Oh who am I kidding, I don't deserve this chance and what`s the point of saving my worthless life? Who would care about it and why should even I?", feeling defeated he looked back in the direction the wolf went.

Taylor sighed with dread "You can still do something right, better once than never..."

...

"Good luck Lincoln, you know how difficult she is when she's upset.." Lucy told her brother before going to assemble the others. Lincoln gave her a nod and went towards the van, trying to ignore the pesky buzzards that were eyeing him. Little did he know that these weren't early birds, as most of them had already noticed a figure stealthy moving trough the bushes and conifer trees.

With a deep sigh, Lincoln moved the door of the van and entered it. He immediately found his sister in the far back seat, as he expected she looked forlorn, drained of all life, not a spark of energy visible in the usual lively athlete, she merely gave him a brief, miserable glance before looking down again. Lincoln slowly walked towards her.

"Eh..hey Lynn." he started softly.

"What is it Lincoln..." she answered monotonously, with no anger or anxiety, just with no sort of energy.

"Well she isn't telling me to go away, I guess that's a good start..." Lincoln thought dejectedly and without another word, he sat down next to her. She remained quiet and kept slouching against the window, avoiding eye contact with her brother.

"Lynn, do you want to talk?" he started.

"What`s there to talk..." she replied emotionlessly "...I know that I messed up, we're all in danger because of me...and...dad..." she didn't finish as she sniffed and wiped of a small tear from her eye. Lincoln felt his heart shattering, against all his willpower he simply couldn't not think about his father, but he had to be strong.

"Lynn, we still don't know what happened, maybe..." he stopped when Lynn suddenly looked at him, her face filled with grief and despair.

"Please Lincoln, don't try denying it now..." she said weakly, her voice cracking "...I did it and it only made it hurt more once I started thinking clearly, these things can't be coincidences, wolf shows up, dad goes missing..." try as she might, Lynn couldn't restrain herself from sobbing any longer. Her brother started shedding tears as well, once again facing the grim reality.

Without any more words, the siblings embraced each other for comfort, Lynn was breaking down and sobbed on Lincoln`s shoulder.

"Lynn, please don't blame this on yourself, you did nothing wrong, you just forgot to recharge some phones, this should not have been a major problem at all, but.."

"But it did.." she sobbed "...and if I had just let Lana come along, none of it would have happened at all...", she whimpered into his shoulder and Lincoln petted her on the back calmingly.

"Look, none us could have predicted that this would happen, none of us could have expeted a damn wolf showing up, none of us could have known any better and the matter is that thing would have showed up here no matter what..." Lincoln let out a long sigh.

"And it did show up last night, it was stalking us from the get go and you know how Lucy had two close run ins with it...and yet by some miracle, it left her alone. ", a small smile crept on his face, if briefly, for the fact that his little sister was spared of the horrible fate that she was, in hindsight, so close to.

Lynn stopped crying and remembered "She...she...tried to warn us, but...we"...Lynn cringed, feeling even more guilt piling up inside her councense "...but we ignored her."

"We did..." Lincoln admitted solemnly "...as much as we tried not to, we ignored her again and we finally payed the consequences for it.", Lynn let go of her brother and looked at him bitterly.

"And how is that supposed to make me feel any better, it just made me remember what a lousy sister I always was."

...

Unberknownst to either of them, they were being watched. The wolf stood not far from the van, concealed by the thicket of the forest, staying absolutely still and scanning his surroundings. He detected two voices from the metal contraption.

"Lynn, for the last time, you're a good sister, you may have your faults, we all do, but that doesn't make you a bad person..."

They were in the back of it, crouching down the wolf moved foward trough the bushes, silently sneaking trough, until he was moving parallel to the van.

"And you say that after me being nothing but a selfish, inconsiderate bully for years..."

Keenly aware of the humans positions, the animal crept towards the back of the van, making sure that no one was seeing him. There were no more humans in sight, but their odor told him they were within their shelters. Now the only matter was were to strike.

...

"Is that what you want to hear? Okay then." an irritated Lincoln said. Lynn tried to hide the hurt she was feeling. Wasn't this what she wanted to hear? But it was still crushing to hear it.

"You were certainly that, key word being "were", but you've change since then, we all did and for the better. Would a bad sister spend so much time mopping and being self-aware of being one?"

Lynn didn't answer and Lincoln smirked softly, "No, she wouldn't, if anything you're becoming too worried about being anything less but the opposite."

"Alright, are you trying to make me feel better or worse..." she asked annoyingly, but soon grew solemn again "...but you don't get it, it's one if I changed, but I can't just forget about all the years were I have treated you guys badly, it still hurts knowing that..."

"I understand that..." Lincoln said gently "...we all wish we could just wipe away our past mistakes, the girls and me too. You guys may have acted out of control, but I was no better by being a spineless doormat who didn't have any guts to stand up to his own sisters. In the end our actions ended up ruining our parents marriage and we`ve been paying the price for it ever since, crummy new home, bullies, but..."

"But what?" Lynn asked meekly.

"But you know how the old saying goes, the benefit from making mistakes is that you'll finally learn to do better. And we did learn, a lot. We learned to face our fault, to have better communication with each other, to make compromises for each others sake, to support and hear each other out about our problems and to give dad the respect he always deserved. We may have lost a lot recently, but we have also been closer and more stable as a family than ever before."

Lynn finally smiled a little at her brothers speech, but it soon dropped once he had brought their father into the discussion.

"But what about dad? How in the world will this help us learn anything?" she asked him, tears forming, "If this is supposed to be some kind of...more karma, how does it make any sense? He didn't deserve it!", tears poured down her face as they did on Lincoln`s, who looked away for a moment.

Lynn wrapped her arm around him and he looked back at her, "No he didn't..." the boy sniffed " but that's why I came to you. If you lose something dear to you, you need to save whatever you have left."

Lynn quickly understood "The others? We have to get out of here.", Lincoln nodded and Lynn grew a determined look.

"So do you have a plan? That was always your specialty."

...

Lincoln was explaining his idea to Lynn, neither of them noticing the wolf quietly placing his front paws on the trunk of the van and rearing up on his back legs, watching them trough the back window. They were completely oblivious to his presence, as if they were blind, deaf and had no sense of smell, they were such easy targets, but there was one problem. He couldn't find any way to reach them, they had concealed themselves into this metalic, moveable shelter, now the predator had assessed the situation and his mind was clear.

...

Lucy, meanwhile had rushed into the tent that she had been sharing with Lisa and Luan, she found the oldest of the siblings, sitting and looking over Lana, who was hidding beneath a blanket.

"Leave me alone!", Lucy heard Lana`s muffled and barely audible cry. Luan looked dejected and ready to give up, her head hung low and her eyes were teary. Lucy approached her, the goth could deduce what was going on and quickly cut to the chase.

"Guys, you have to come with me." she said urgently, only to hear the teen groan.

"Not now Lucy, can't you see I have enough on my plate already..." Luan grumbled frustratingly.

"But Luan, this is important!" Lucy argued.

"And can't you see that I'm trying to convince her that she didn't freaking kill her own father!" the comedian snapped, immediately regretting her reaction upon seeing the goths shocked expression. But before she could apologize, Lucy`s face hardened.

"Well obviously you aren't very good at it, let me try." she pushed past the teen and kneeled in front of Lana. Luan was surprised by her reaction, but still felt awful about letting her frustration get the better of her.

"Lucy, I`m sorry about yelling at you." she said sadly.

"Nevermind..." the goth replied indifferently, the truth was that she wasn't too upset about being yelled at, she simply needed to get everyone together as fast as possible, and obviously Lana needed more convincing than anyone. Sighig, Luan looked at her sister.

"Lucy, please try to be gentle, she`s very upset and..."

"I know..." Lucy replied calmly as she gently shook the tomboy "...Lana, please get up."

"Go away. Leave me alone..." she heard the toddlers muffled voice beneath the blanket, her garbled tone betraying the fact that she had been crying excessively. Without warning, Lucy grabbed the blanket and tried to pull it of Lana, who in turn held on to it, but the older sister eventually managed to pry it off her. Lana quickly shielded her face and continued sobbing.

"Please...leave...me...be..." she said desperately between sobs, ignoring her wishes Lucy crawled down and lied next to her.

"Lana, please look at me..." she said compassionately. The little blonde slowly peaked trough her arms with her bloodshot eyes. Lucy edged closer to her and extended her arms, with some hesitation, Lana accepted the gesture and hugged her sister.

...

"Okay Linc I`m all for it, if it means getting all of you to safety I`ll do anything that's necessary."

"That`s good, the only problem is that I don't know where that river will lead us exactly..." Lincoln deflated a bit, knowing the uncertainties surrounding his rescue operation.

"We don't have a choice, sometimes you just have to take chances Linc, it's better than doing nothing..." Lynn placed an arm on his shoulder.

"Like with any sport I played, sometimes the only way to get things done is not to think, but act. And if that wolf or any other mangy animal tries anything, I`ll make sure that they'll regret it." she finished sternly. Her brother went wide eyed.

"Don`t think about doing anything stupid Lynn. This isn`t a game or a fight with some random bully, this is a wild animal and if you tangle with one you won't get the chance for a rematch." he warned her.

"I know that, but if it comes to it I won't hold back if it means protecting you guys, I`m your big sister and that's my duty. You can't change my mind on that." she stated firmly.

"Well don't worry, cuz we won't be meeting that wolf, I promise you that." Lincoln reassured her. Little did he know that this promise had been broken before it was even made.

...

While Lana kept sniffing, Lucy remained quiet before finally speaking.

"Do you feel better now?", in hindsight the goth knew this to be a dumb question, but it felt like the most appropriate way to start.

"No..." Lana sobbed softly "...I ruined everything, I`m so, so sorry...I know you all hate me now", she felt Luan`s hand being placed comfortably on her.

"Lana, I already told you that no one blames you for anything..." the teen said gently "...you did nothing wrong."

"She`s right, you were just exploring, you had no ill intentions..." Lucy chimed in, but her demeanor quickly became more gloom"...fate sometimes throws you bad luck, a cruel twist, and there's no way you could have known what would happen. But we will always love you no matter what." , Lana sniffed sadly and didn't let go of her sister.

"But Taylor said..."

"Oh screw Taylor!" Luan exclaimed two younger sisters sat up in surprise.

"What does that idiot known, he was just being a prick as usual and pointed fingers at others, he was just sore about his ego getting cut down a peg after someone more powerful got the better of him. He was just pissed because he got what was coming to him", the comedian crossed her arms bitterly while Lana went wide eyed and gasped.

"But Luan? He...he was attacked by wolf! How can you say that?"

Luan shrank back a bit, realizing that Lana was right. Even though she felt nothing but contempt for the bully, it still wasn't right to wish something as horrible as a mauling to anyone, not even the worst of people like him or Kathleen.

"I know, I`m sorry..." Luan admitted begrudgingly "...but my point is that you shouldn't listen to any of the crap that jerk said, he was just angry and he had no right to yell at you like he did.", Lana blinked, unsure what to say next.

"But what about dad? He still hasn't come back and...", hearing Lana talk made Lucy remember Lincoln`s words from earlier. She knew what she had to do and reluctantly did so.

"Yes he`s still missing and we're all worried, but there's no reason to think that he's...you know." Lucy swallowed a huge lump having to say that, something she perceived as nothing but a comforting lie. Nevertheless, she continued.

"We don't know for sure. Maybe he did encounter the wolf, but he could have escaped up a tree or maybe he`s hidding in cave and he can't leave because of the wolf, there are many possibilities and we just don't know."

"So you mean dad might still be alright?" Lana asked hopefully, with a heavy heart Lucy nodded. Luan, feeling a bit puzzled by the goths sudden optimism was about to interject, but stopped when Lucy spoke up.

"Yes, very much, but we can't stay here waiting for him anymore. It's too dangerous with that wolf out there and Lincoln said we have to leave this place immediately."

Luan remained quiet, but it all suddenly made sense to her and she noted the apparent pain that her gothic sister had exhibited saying what she said, but it now became clear why, and as hard as it was for her, Lincoln`s demand made complete sense, they had to save themselves somehow, it was her duty to be the responsible one and it became apparent that staying here was practically suicidal. She quickly voiced her agreement.

"Lincoln`s right, we need to move, but how?"

"Lincoln says that we have to use the raft to go up the river to find help, it's the only safe way." Lucy explained, avoiding to look at Lana who was growing a hopeful smile in regards to their fathers well being.

"The raft? Kay, it might be a bit of a cramped cruise, but I suppose it will work. Okay, what are we waiting for let's go.", Luan and Lucy were ready to go, but Lana stopped them.

"Wait?" she waived her arms for attention, her sisters stopped and looked at her.

"What if dad comes back any moment now and we`re all gone? Won't he be worried sick about us?", Luan and Lucy exchanged grim glances, before the teen lifted her hand up, signaling to Lucy that she`ll be handling this. Forcing a smile, she looked at the tomboy.

"Yes he will, but we can't wait for him any longer..." seeing Lana`s worried expression Luan sighed inwardly and continued "...but don't worry, he`s an adult and they can take care of themselves, once he comes back he`ll take the van and get out of here, while we go on the river to do the same and find help."

Lana`s face slowly brightened up "And then we`ll all get back together, right?"

Her sisters silence made her smile falter, "Well, won't we?" she asked naively.

"Of course we will..." Luan said awkwardly "...it will be one happy reunion.", she cursed at herself inwardly for saying that.

Lana perked up,"Okay, if that's so I won't disobey you again, let's go."

"Finally." Lucy thought with bittersweet satisfaction and was ready to go, but then Lana stopped them again.

"Wait? What about Taylor?" she suddenly asked.

"What about him?" Luan asked flatly, her brow falling into a scowl.

"Well, won't he come with us?" Lana asked naively. Luan sighed in irritation, why was Lana still worried about that guy.

"Lana, Taylor ran away, after you ran into this tent him and Lynn had a big fight, and then he ran of, saying he wanted nothing to do with us. I`m sorry, but we have no time to look for him now...not that any of us even care to." Luan mentally added.

"But we can't leave him here, the wolf will get him." the little blonde argued with deep concern. Lucy watched them quietly while they all failed to notice a shadow moving past them.

"Sorry Lana, but that's final, now come on. We have to get Lisa and Lynn and go." Luan said sternly and took Lana`s hand, the 5 year old realized from her sisters tone that she wasn't changing her mind and so Lana pouted and looked down. Lucy saw the teen leading Lana towards her and she too turned around, only to holt in her tracks. A mere second latter Luan and Lana did the same.

They all froze in place, wide eyed and agape, but none more so than Lucy, who felt shivers run trough her stiff body as she came face to face with the monster from her nightmare, only now she saw him in full detail.

The head of the wolf was peaking trough the flap of the tent, his one yellow eye focused on the girls, the animal had no other readeble emotion on his face while he slowly crept foward, do to his large size he was barely half way into the tent before he had the girls completely cornered.

Sweating bullets and her heart beating a mile a minute, the petrified Luan saw that Lucy was in front of her, frozen with fear while locking eyes with the canine. Without a thought Luan grabbed Lucy by her arm and pulled her back. Before anyone could react the wolf lunged foward and Lucy let out a bloodcurdling scream as the beasts jaws grabbed her around the waist and pulled her foward.

Within the van, the scream made both Lincoln and Lynn jolt in surprise, both recognizing whose scream it was.

"Nooooo!" Luan schrieked in horror while trying to pull her sister back, but the wolf effortlessly dragged her foward as well. Lana screamed, while Luan scrambled to her feet and tried to pull Lucy free, but her head hit a pole and the tent suddenly collapsed. Luan and Lana got buried under it, and the latter, to her horror, felt Lucy`s arm slipping out of her grasp.

From within the van, Lynn and Lincoln had little time to register what had happened, they saw the tent collapsing and the following image would be burned into their minds forever.

The large, dark colored wolf was starring back at them, and hanging from his mouth by her waist, like a slab of meat, kicking, squirming, screaming and crying, was Lucy...

Creative blocks are always a pain, that's why this took longer to post than it should have and I'm not sure if I'm happy with how this chapter turned out, I can only hope that this creative hurdle will be over by the time I write the next chapter.

And what a morbid cliffhanger to end this chapter on, as you can tell no one is going to have any plot armor to keep them out of harms way because they`re children, that much I can say ahead...