This road is too dark to be safe. Emily Marie thought to herself as she maneuvered her small car on the only path that led to Windrake Falls. It was dirt, and unless you knew what to look for, the turn off onto this damn death trap was impossible to see.

Rabbits leaped out from no where, deer would dash in front of her headlights, and from time to time it seemed as though a tree would sprout from the ground directly in her path. It felt as though the road was telling her to turn back, to leave and never return. Of course, she couldn't do that; there was work to be done ahead and Emily was not about to let a dirt path dictate her actions. She drove on through the night that engulfed the woods surrounding her.

I wonder what those two boys are like now, she wondered to herself, attempting to take her attention away from the eerie feeling radiating from every tree trunk she could see. It's been six years since I've seen Wes...not once have I even met Ethan.

She sighed and continued her drive. It was taking longer than she had expected.

I wonder what he looks like, her mind wandered again, probably the same as Wesley.

A few minutes later, the road began to even out. The path was wider, allowing her to relax and enjoy the rest of the drive. She had always loved taking long trips, ever since her husband passed away, all she had been doing was traveling. It may seem sad, but on her own she was finally able to do everything that she never could, starting with seeing the world. In all her travels she had come across a multitude of different kinds of people. Those whom she would forever hold near to her heart and those that she didn't particularly care for...but there were two people that she would always remember. A man in a black cloak and a purple haired woman.

She recalled what she had seen that day, even now attempting to brush it off as her imagination.

She had been visiting Venezuela at the time and decided to go for a walk through the expansive forest region. It was breath taking. As she walked, she found a small overhang which she sat under to enjoy her lunch. From here she could enjoy the nature around her without being seen by the small animals that captured her interest. She stayed absolutely still and watched as creatures ran all around, playing games with each other and foraging for food. Then from out of nowhere a man jumped down from the overhang that she was sitting under and landed facing away from her. He was carrying a massive...almost cannon over his shoulder. He slowly rose from the ground and began to walk away from her hiding place. She held her breath.

"Will you put me down already? We collected the soul and I'm tired of being in weapon form!" A metallic sounding voice came from his direction, but Emily could not see the woman who was speaking. She watched as the cloaked man set the cannon down, and her eyes widened in surprise as there was a small flash of light, and the cannon transformed into a young woman. She stood and stretched. She was wearing yellow shorts and long black socks with matching yellow and black shoes. She wore black leather gloves on her hands and a black leather jacket to match. Her purple hair was long and pulled back into a braid that hung just above her waistline.

Emily kept herself still, and held her breath as they continued to descend the small mountain they were on. They walked, the woman with her arm snaked through the mans, and then they were gone.

Ever since then, Emily had chalked the entire ordeal up to the fact that she was tired from hiking and delusional from the humidity, but now she wasn't so sure. If what Lila told her was true...then could Ethan be like that woman? Could there be more people out there that had the ability to become weapons? It made her head hurt thinking about it...but anything is possible. Right?

She pulled into the drive way of her daughters' home. Everything looked exactly how it did 6 years ago. The outside of the house was painted red, and the roof was gray. Emily chuckled, recalling how obsessed Lila and Charles had been about those two colors. They were exact opposites when it came to physical traits. Lila was born with her mothers gray eyes and red hair, and Charles had gray hair and red eyes. It was funny really. Everything they owned had been based on the color scheme of their genes. She approached the small home, and pulled out the key that she had taken from Lila before leaving her house in Laketown. She opened the door and stepped through the threshold. The floor was made of cherry wood and the walls were painted grey. The living room had white carpeting and a red couch pushed up against the back wall. The piano was sitting gracefully in the corner directly opposite of the couch. She continued walking and peered into the kitchen. It was a mess! The boys had learned to cook simple things but had no patience to clean up their messes in the past few days.

She made her way down the red carpeted hall and opened the first door to find Lila's master bedroom. A circular bed sat in the middle of the room, a red comforter thrown over the top of it. The carpet was-you guessed it-gray and the walls were painted scarlet. The obsession covered everything.

She moved on and opened the first door to find Wesley's room. Everything in it was lovely. A cherry wood bed frame with a white comforter and red pillows, a matching desk, nightstand, and dresser...but no Wesley.

Maybe they are in Ethan's room...she thought to herself.

She opened the next door and was surprised to find that not only was no one in it, but it was nothing like the rest of the house. Everything in it was white. A small mattress lay haphazardly on the floor. A tiny white throw covered it, but barely. There was one small chest sitting in the corner, and she opened it to find some clothes, most of them full of sloppy stitches to close up holes. She guessed that the sewing was done by Ethan. A tear ran down her cheek as she understood that these were all of Ethan's belongings. He had nothing else. Bile rose from the back of her throat as she thought of her daughter.

Despicable. How could any mother treat her own son this way?

The next thing she checked was the basement. She walked down the stairs carefully, not being able to see very well in the dim light. She felt her way around and noticed a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. The cord was high up, but she could barely reach it. She tugged on the chain and the light illuminated the room. She turned and stared at the wall beside the stair case. She held her hand up to her mouth to hide a gasp. There was old dried blood in random places down the stairs and at the foot of them. There were tally marks all over the walls, so many that she couldn't even guess the number. Tears flowed freely now as she imagined what had happened in here. A part of her knew that this room was for Ethan. The cord way too high for a child to turn on the light, blood from every time he had been thrown down those stairs...tallies for each time he had been locked in this room.

She couldn't stand it anymore and ran from the disgusting basement. She slammed the door shut and leaned against it, only now seeing the lock that had been hastily attached to the outside. It made her sick. She ran to the bathroom that was directly next to this prison and retched up all of the things she had eaten during the day. She stayed there for a while, unable to move.

After calming down, she slowly stood from her position near the toilet bowl and made her way back into the living room. She plopped on the couch wondering what she should do next. If the boys weren't here then where could they be? She sighed and decided she would have to go and ask the neighbors. It was already nearing midnight.

She walked outside and looked around, searching for any clues. She spotted a house across the way and a few houses over that still had lights on and decided that she would go there first.


Phew! Grey thought to himself, taking care of three kids sure is a hassle.

He sunk down into his sofa and began reading a magazine. After he fed the rascals, they were left with more energy than he had hoped for, and it had taken them a solid hour to settle down enough to go to sleep. He had pulled out some old mattresses and laid them out next to Angela's bed for the boys to sleep on. After reading them a story and tossing blankets over them, he still had to clean the kitchen and put away all of the things the kids had selected to use in their games. It felt good to relax.

Grey let his mind wander back to Ethan. Why would Lila lie about him for so long? What was so wrong with this boy that she hid him from the world and kept him inside for his entire life? Nothing seemed wrong with him, truthfully.

His train of thought was interrupted by a soft knocking on the door. He looked over his shoulder into the kitchen and read the time on the stove. It was 12:01.

Damn, he grumbled as he forced himself from the couch, who's here at this ungodly hour?

He opened the door and was shocked to see a small woman standing in front of him. He knew that she was nearing fifty, but her presence radiated a youthful glow. Something about her looked familiar.

"Hello," she spoke, a dignified air hung about her, but there was pain in her strong voice, "My name is Emily Marie Cordelia. I'm sorry to bother you at this time, but I am looking for my grandsons. They don't seem to be home and I was wondering if you have seen them around anywhere? Their names are Wesley and Ethan Evans."

He immediately saw the resemblance. Same eyes as Lila. This must be her mother.

Grey smiled, "Hello Mrs. Cordelia my name is Grey Cross. The boys are in here, but they are fast asleep. Would you like to come inside?"

Relief washed over her. She found them. What luck that this was the first house she had come to?

He walked into the house and stood in the living room that was placed just beyond the entry.

Grey walked up behind her and gestured towards the couch, "Won't you please sit down? Would you like something to drink?"

"Whiskey if you have it." She groaned and let herself fall into the warm couch.

Grey chuckled at her choice and poured two deep glasses of the spirits.

He sat down beside her and took a long pull from his drink. Emily sat up and followed suit, not reacting as the familiar liquid warmed her belly.

"Thank you young man."

"Of course."

They sat in silence for a while, sipping their drinks in turn. Each wanting to ask a question, but neither comfortable with what the answer may be.

Emily broke the silence, "You're probably wondering why I'm here?"

"In a way," Grey spoke, "I wanted to know why Lila left and why she has a son that she never told me about."

She watched as he grimaced slightly.

"So I'm not the only one who found out about Ethan today." She sighed and began to tell Grey what had happened to make Lila leave. She explained to him the boys' condition and how it terrified Lila to almost insanity.

"Grey, how long have you known my daughter?" She asked once she was finished telling the story.

Grey took a healthy swig from his glass and wiped his mouth, anger in his eyes, "Since she moved to Windrake Falls. Charles and I became fast friends and my wife Carrie was very close to Lila. We were all friends." He almost spat the word.

"And this whole time you knew nothing of Ethan?"

He hung his head, almost in shame, "No. The day that Charles disappeared he told me that Lila was pregnant, but she told me that she miscarried their second son. I just met him today."

"Grey I think there is something you should see. Follow me."

Emily lead him outside and Grey locked the door before following her to the Evans house. He hadn't been inside for six years.

Huh. Not so much of a coincidence I guess. He thought.

As they neared the front door, Emily turned to face Grey.

"Now what you're going to see is...disturbing. Please try to prepare yourself."

He nodded and they made their way into the house. Lila would never be the same in their minds after tonight.