AN: I think this is the shortest chapter yet, but I wanted to get this story updated today. Why? Well, today marks the five month anniversary for this story! I started it exactly five months ago today. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed and read for getting me this far. :) This chapter is also special for another reason. My longest story before this one was seven chapters, and this story is now twice that many and still ongoing. That's a big achievement for me!

Thank you for reading, and enjoy!

Simon wasn't claustrophobic, but when he woke up, packed in a dark, small space with his body bent into an unnatural position, he couldn't help but panic and feel as though the 'walls' were closing in on him.

Where was he? What was this...a..a suitcase? It felt like a suitcase. It took all of his willpower not to let his instincts get the better of him and cause him to struggle and attempt to break free of this prison. Instead, he waited in silence.

It seemed like hours since he awoke. Still, he was silent. He was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe in the small area, but he stayed still anyway. By this time he had figured out that he was no longer moving and being dragged around on the suitcases wheels. He had no idea what to do, nor did he have a clue what was going to happen to him. All he could do..was wait.

The constant questions Alvin was being asked were getting more and more upsetting for the young chipmunk. He knew there was no way for him to charm his way out of this situation, but he still attempted to do so. It caused him to be faced with tons of dirty looks from the policemen that barged into his room during several hours of the day.

The days grew longer and longer. It had been three days since anyone had seen Simon, and essentially they were back at square one. Theodore had been staying with The Chipettes, but most of his time was spent at the hospital with his older brother.

The two of them had grown closer than they had ever been before. They would sit there in Alvin's hospital room and just talk for hours. That is, when they weren't attempting to figure out where Simon had gone off to.

The police were looking for Lillian DeVille, but so far had found no clues of her whereabouts. It was like she had completely disappeared from the face of the Earth, and had taken Simon along with her.

Jeanette had long forgotten what sleep was. She hadn't even come near her bed since the day Simon disappeared. Everything was happening so fast. She didn't understand how it was possible that the police hadn't found a single clue that pointed to Lillian's whereabouts.

She had a feeling they weren't even trying. She knew it was insane and a terrible mindset, but she couldn't help but think that the police were working against them and were on that dreadful woman's side throughout this entire event.

By the time Simon heard a single sound from outside his tiny prison, he had started to doze off. He didn't know how long he'd been in there, but he had a feeling it had been far longer than 24 hours. He was honestly surprised he could still breathe inside of this accursed thing.

The sound he heard was the dreaded sound of high-heels clacking against a hardwood floor. He'd heard the sound many times throughout the past few years, and he always dreaded when it came. This time the footsteps sounded far angrier than they had ever sounded before.

The sound of a zipper being unzipped came next. The sound reached his ears rather slowly, as if the person that was causing it was taking their sweet time in releasing him from the inside of the terrible object he had been put in.

The light reaching his eyes was quite painful, and it made him assume his sensitive eyes hadn't seen anything but darkness for days on end. The thought of that scared him, and made him wonder just how long he had been away from his family this time.

The face that he saw when the light entered his vision was the one he expected to see, but also the one he wanted more than anything to forget.

Thanks for reading!