"Sooo, how's Steph?", I asked Evan when he came into the kitchen. We went back to Evan's place after our adventure at the hospital and Stephanie (or Damsel as she goes by on her blog) was tired so Evan let her sleep up in his room. The rest of us were at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee for Evan and Jeff and a empty glass for me to dump to ash from my lit cigarette.

"She's fine. Said she was just tired and wanted to lie down for a bit", Evan said as he sat pulled a chair out to sit on. "So, what now?"

"Well, we'll ask her about the problem and see if she can be of any help", Vince said.

"And what if she can't? And we can't just leave her. For all we know the cops might be looking for her", Evan told him and I nodded in agreement.

"He's right Vinny. She's gonna have to stay with one of us untill the cops cool it. Or at least just have her rotate between the four of us, or at least two of us".

"Well, we'll wait 'till she wakes up and we'll ask what she wants. It's only fair", Jeff said with a simple shrug.

"That's true", I mumbled. "I mean, we did kidnap her".

"No we did'nt!", Evan argued. "We just...liberated her. Like the whale from that movie".

"'Free Willy'?", Jeff asked slowly at Evan's random comparison.

"Yeah", Evan nodded and we stayed silent for a moment before I asked,

"Evan... Are you comparing Steph to a whale?"

"No, I'm not!"

"Calm down kids", Vince told us. "First, I think we need to talk about some other stuff. See if we can think of what to ask Steph".

"Well, I personally think we should ask ourselves first, 'why did Witch post that video'?", I stated seriously. There had to have been a reason, and I want to know why.

"Who knows. Maybe she's on our side secretly?", Vince suggested. Cue me and Evan snorting.

"Dude, she killed chickens and put them on your lawn. Hell, one of my neighbours had chickens and they apparently went missing around that time", I argued. "Not to mention she posted a video of her pulling a dead body on camera and punched me in the stomach before kicking me. That bitch has got to be working with Slendy. For all we know, she only wanted us to get Stephanie because it's all part of some complicated plan".

"Look, whatever plan this is part of, Witch has it now so we might as well countinue from here and hope it does'nt lead to anything bad", Vince mumbled.

"Yeah. That seems to happen a lot now", Jeff muttered.

"Well, speaking of trouble. What're we gonna do about the cops?", Evan brought up, and he had a pretty good point there. I was surprised that Evan of all people thought of that.

"He's right", I said, rubbing my face a little. "I mean, lets face it. There's no doubt the law won't smile at us about this. At least not in our favour. It's bad enough we broke into a hospital and...", I did finger quotes as I through a look at Evan. "...'Liberated', Stephanie. But me and Jeff did attack that guard, albeit Jeff really only tackled him. But the two of us are still more likely to be in trouble".

"Just-just calm down", Vince held his hands up. "Look. It's true we're not likely to get off easy for this, but I think if we just lay low for a couple days, a couple weeks at the most, then we'll be fine".

"What about the security footage?", Jeff asked and I felt my heart stop for a moment.

"Oh shit", Vince said, realization of that problem dawning on him. "I guess we were so busy with everything else we forgot about that".

"I can't beleive we did'nt think of that", I groaned. "What should we do?"

"Well, I could go in and-"

"NO!", we all shouted at Jeff, who nearly jumped at our answer before Evan slapped the back of his head and muttered, 'idiot' under his breath.

"Wha- I'm jus-"

"Dude. You just broke into the place you work at!", Vince told him, stressing on the words, 'place' and 'work'. "If you go, they are immediately going to sic the cops on you, and all of this would have been for nothing!"

"But I-"

"No, Jeff", I told him sternly. "If not for yourself think of Alex. Do you really want him to spend Christmas without you because you had to be reckless?" I did'nt want to bring that up, but it was the only thing I could think of to convince him to not do anything. It seemed to work since Jeff sighed in defeat.

"We're serious man", Evan told him. "If you even think-"

"I won't, okay?", Jeff snapped at us. "I just- I just... Forget about it".

"Okay...okay", Vince mumbled as I blew smoke from my mouth.

"So, now that we've decided what we're gonna do about the cops, what should we do now?", I asked as I tapped my cigarette on the rim of the glass.

"Well, we could-". My phone then rang interrupting Vince and I quickly looked at it. "Sorry, it's my mom. Gotta answer it".

"Wonder what she'll talk about this time?", Evan joked lightly.

"Maybe it'll beat the last one", I mused. "Last time she called she said congratulations on having a baby".

"You have a great pregnancy figure", Vince joked.

"It's my clothes. They're magic", I laughed lightly before I walked over to the stove and answered the call. You might think it rude of me to be laughing about my mom's interesting conversations, but none of us are laughing at her, just the stuff she comes up with.

"Hi mom. How are you?", I asked as the others countinued on with plans.

"I was just having tea with Catherine and Heathcliff", my mom answered sweetly. She really liked the book 'Wuthering Heights'. In my opinion, it's a kinda a Victorian version of 'Twilight' when you compare them.

"Really? And how are they?", I asked, going along with my mother's insane mind.

"Catherine is as lovely as ever, and Heathcliff is still a charmer. He was asking for you actually. I think he's trying to make Catherine jealous".

Me and Heathcliff. An abusive man who's revenge plot does'nt even envolve murder and only marries Isabella to make Catherine jealous even though Catherine is kind of a two timing skank who wants her cake and eat it too. Yeah, not happening.

"Well, I'm already dating Seth I'm not available".

"That's a shame", mom commented. "By the way, a man was here earlier. He wanted me to say you did well tonight". My face dropped and the cigarette nearly fell out of my mouth before I quickly took it out.

"What do you mean?", I asked seriously.

"He just said that, and that he'll leave a present in the basement".

"What?", I felt pale now.

"Claire? Everything okay?" I ignored Jeff and quickly told my mom,

"I have to go now. Love you". I ended the call and smushed my cigarette in my glass before I asked Evan,

"Evan, do you've a weapon close by?"

"Well in the drawer-"

"Preferably not a knife", I quickly added. I wanted defense, not to kill someone for God's sake.

"Not including knives... Nothing", Evan said. "Why?"

"Mom said a guy visited her, and that there would be a 'present' in the basement", I told the guys.

"Shit, you serious?", Evan asked, looking pissed at the prospect that someone broke into his house a second time.

"Well, she did'nt who's basement", I corrected. "But, we should probably check yours. Just incase".

"Better safe then sorry I guess", Vince said as Evan pulled a drawer out and grabbed a cleaver.

"Let's go", Evan said, using a fake deep voice.

We made our way carefully, Evan in the lead. The only sounds were our footsteps as we went downs the stairs and onto the basement floor. Everything seemed okay and untouched.

"Maybe your mom was just being, y'know, herself?", Vince suggested before he paused and sniffed. "Do you smell that?"

"Smells like something died down here", Jeff commented as he wrinkled his nose a bit. "Are there rats here or something?"

"I doubt it", Evan muttered before he stopped as he looked behind one box.

"Erm, Claire...your cats were er, those kinda greyish kind of cats with black stripes. Right?"

I did'nt bother asking him why he would ask something like that and quickly stepped to his side and looked behind the box. The second I took a sharp, almost squeeky sounding gasp and spun around as I put my hands up to my mouth.

Behind the box was a tabby kitten. It had been cut from the navel to it's throat and some of it's tiny organs pulled out and made into a make-shift pillow for it's head where it's ears had been cut off and laying beside it along with a small eye. Its' tail was cut off and tied around it's throat with blood slowly pooling around it.

"Shit...", Vince mumbled when he and Jeff looked as well.

"Oh God. Oh God. Oh shit. Oh fuckin' shit", I repeated under my breath over and over. I still could'nt get the grisly image out of my head.

"Um... What should we do?", Jeff asked softly.

"Claire?", Vince asked me. I swallowed and I answered but did'nt turn around.

"Well, there were five kittens. So maybe they're..." But I could'nt finish what I could'nt even believe myself.

"Look, um...", Vince paused to think briefly before continuing with, "look, Evan you stay here with Steph. Me, Jeff and Claire will go to her place to check everything's okay there and if it is we'll check our places too".

"Right, right but er, what do we do with the body?", Evan asked. "Do er, you want me to wrap it in a towel and put it in a box for you or something?"

"Y-yeah. Thanks", I mumbled. I did'nt really care as to how Evan referred to one of my dead kittens as simply a body. I was just glad he was willing to take care of the body so I would'nt have to look at it again.

"Well... Here we are", Vince said as Jeff parked in front of my garage. "Y'know, I still have the spare key to your house, so we could just look ourselves if you..."

"No, it's okay", I said from the back. "I... I'll be fine", I assured them as I stepped outside with them and together made our way inside my house.

Everything seemed fine as we looked around the house from the second floor to the basement. Everything seemed okay, and there was no smell of death so far.

"Well, maybe they only killed one?", Jeff suggested when we came back to my kitchen from the basement. "And they choose Evan's place because they somehow knew we'd be there".

"That's a bit of a wild guess though, is'nt it?", Vince questioned. Him and Jeff countinued talking as I looked through my sliding glass doors and squinted my eyes. I could have sworn I saw something on the doorstep. I unlocked the doors and slid them open and saw a box with a bow on top and picked it up before looking at the tag.

'Merry Xmas'

I would have made a inward comment about it being to early for presents if it was'nt for the fact that one of my cats was dead. I opened the box but what I saw inside made me shriek and drop the box and move back so quickly I fell on my rear and as I clasped my hands to my mouth for the second time that night.

"Claire, wha-oh holy shit", was what Vince said when he and Jeff saw what was inside the box. It was Matilda.

Or her severed head more like. Placed in the box with cotton under it with some fresh blood stains and her jaw slightly open.

I stood up, shaking as Jeff helped me up.

"Wh-who would...", I could barely say the words as I slowly walked up to the door. I was starting to feel nausea from all the blood and gore I've been seeing tonight.

"I don't know man. I don't know", Vince murmured. I looked through the doors to the back yard and gulped. It was dark so I could'nt see what was outside, but I think I did see something, so I turned on the light switch for the back lights and what I saw made me cry.

There were remains of my dead cats all across the grass and even some entrails hanging from the trees. It was clear that their deaths were horrible and slow.

I felt weak in my knees and gripped onto the doorframe as I struggled to keep my dinner down as both my friends swore.

"You going to be okay, Claire?", Seth asked me as the both of us, Vince, Jeff, Alex, Stephanie and Evan stood in the snowy woods at the grave we had dug for all six of my pets that was now covered in dirt. The morning after we found the horrid fates of my cats, Vince, Jeff, Evan and Seth got together and gathered the remains. I would have helped but Seth insisted I stay in my room while they took care of everything and put the remains in a box. I considered calling the police, but with everythng that was happening lately, I doubted they would be of any help.

"Ye-yeah", I murmured as Seth put a arm around my shoulders. I was better then I was two days ago, but that did'nt mean I was feeling totally well.

"Thanks for the help by the way", I told Vince and the others.

"It's nothing", Vince said. "Um, do you want us to stay? Because we honestly don't mind-"

"Y-you guys can go, I'll be fine here", I told them as I looked back at the grave.

"I'll stay with her", I heard Seth say to the others and the sounds of their footsteps fading away was the next thing I heard besides the others saying goodbye. Seth moved behind me and hugged me.

"It'll be okay", he murmured before kissing my cheek.

"That's what I've been telling myself since '08, but each year something fucked up happens", I mumbled. First, Eve hung herself. Then dad died in that hunting accident. Mom's at the funny farm, some guy is fucking with me and the others, Jessayln's gone, Ryan's dead, Jeff and Alex's parents are dead and now some sicko brutalized my cats", I said, listing off all the deaths or messed up things that have happened in the span of two years for me. "Why does everyone I come in contact with die?!"

"That's not true", Seth cooed. "I'm still here, and so are our friends and your mom still has a chance", he tried to assure me.

"I know but sometimes I just feel like...", I trailed off as I looked at the grave.

"Feel like...?"

"...I feel like I should just throw in the towel", I barely whispered. It was quiet, and I thought maybe Seth did'nt hear me untill...

"Don't you EVER, say that again", Seth told me firmly. "Your stronger then that. You've lasted this long, so what's to stop you?"

"I know, but the fact someone actually did this to innocent pets-"

"Claire, your strong", Seth told me as he tightened his hug. "You've survived up to now, and I know you can keep going. Just don't let life win. Demand to see life's manager when they give you lemons, and threaten to use the lemons to burn their house down!"

I could'nt help but laugh at that. This was what I loved about Seth. He somehow always managed to pull me out of my depression whenever I felt it.

"Good, your laughing", he said in a cheerful ton. "Jusy keep that smile on for tonight".

"Why?", I asked as I looked over my shoulder at him.

"Welllll...", Seth grinned as he talked. "I know you've nothing else on tonight, and it so happens I know a thing or two about ice skating".

"You mean..."

"Yeup. We're ice skating tonight under a moon that matches your skin tone".

"I did'nt know you knew how to skate", I commented.

"I was the co-ordinator of... whoever won the skating events of the last Winter Olympics", Seth said in a dramatic way and I laughed again.

"You don't even watch the Winter Olympics let alone know who won!"

"Does it really matter now?", Seth questioned as he spun me around in a hug.

"I guess not", I giggled and we smiled at one another.

"...I love you, Claire", Seth murmured.

"Love you too, Seth", I murmured before pecking his lips.

"Now let's not start making-out outside. Our lips might freeze together in this temperture".

For the rest of the day I felt a lot better. Seth really could'nt have picked a better way for me to cheer up. But the next day, Jeff called us over to tell us something.

The day after we, 'liberated' Stephanie, Jeff had gone back to the hospital (to which I responded by slapping the back of his head). But strangely enough it seemed like no one even knew about the incident at the hospital. But, there had been a tragic accident. Aparently a housekeeper at the hospital had been moving tanks, and possibly put more over the limit in a room (during which a security guard had been walking by), and one of the tanks busted and created an enclosed fire, in which both people were killed.

But then it gets weird.

Aparently, a certain girl that should have been around that area at the time had been discharged earlier that week, and should'nt have even been there. That and the incident happened at around five to six that night, but we checked the timestamp of the camera footage we had when we were there and it shows we were there at around six.

So either the time on the camera is wrong, or there was some sort of time loop bullshit.

I want to say thanks to Nyx for the last review. To be honest, I don't really mind that you ship Clevan XD Though to be honest, in my story canon Evan and Claire are just friends. I must admit I am kinda tempted to just pair them together, but Stephanie and Evan's baby might have an important plot device in future entires. True, I could just make it so that Claire get's pregnant instead, but with the plans I have for Claire, it probably would'nt be a good idea for Claire to be pregnant. BUT, I might do a one shot to make up for this :3

Also, since you seem good with creating names, care to come up with a name for Noah and Rachel in my TribeTwelve story? I think Timbecca is a good enough one for my Marble Hornets story.

Also, while I'm here I just want to say that I've changed 'The Marble Hornets Sketch Show' to 'The Slenderman Sketch Show', and it's now going to include Everymanhybrid and TribeTwelve. In fact the latest chapter feature the crew, Claire, Corenthal and Habit singing :D And on my Deviantart account I've done rough blueprints of Claire's house. Because I can.