Surprise, I actually came back home late yesterday, so now I'm writing this today. Man, I can say, since it was my first time actually going camping, that I never want to do it again. Even though it was beyond beautiful and the morning were a nice 40 degrees, the afternoons were hot and there was this ONE bee that would not leave us alone. It was there every morning and afternoon, I swear! I was also glass that I managed to get a little bit of internet connection on my phone to catch myself up on what was going on; messages that needed to be answered, comments, etc.

"We've been walking for hours!", Wayne complained, "I thought you said we were almost there."

"One: it's only been twenty minutes. And two: we are", Shawn rolled his eyes at the child.

"Where did you pull that number out from?"

Shawn brought up his orange sleeve and stuck his wrist upward, showing Wayne, who was a good 9 paces behind him, his watch.

"They let you have watches in the prison?"

"Of course...the guards will lend you anything for a good enough bribe."

"What did you give them?"

"Uh...it's not important...the bottom line is that I value my sanity and keeping track of time is a good start."

"I don't know if I trust that..."

"You don't have to. Anyway, I have good news for you.", the prisoner said, suddenly stopping in his tracks and almost causing Wayne to crash into him, "We've arrived at our destination."

Wayne's eyes followed the man's pointing finger to the manhole cover above them.

"What's up there?"

"That would ruin the surprise.", Shawn tsked.

He got down on one knee in front of the boy, lacing his fingers together and holding them at an arch.

"Get up there and lift the cover."

"What!? Why me?"

"Seriously? You can do it faster and quieter than I would, not to mention that I don't trust my foot in your hands."

Wayne growled and suddenly shot up from the water, slamming into the cover and causing it too crack the asphalt when it landed. Shawn stood speechless below, watching as Wayne approached the hole and looked down at him expectantly, an elbow resting on his knee.

Shawn shook himself from his trance and, maintaining a determined look, jumped and pulled himself out.

"Great work, but you know you could've helped...", he grumbled to the boy.

"I know.", Wayne smirked, "Where do we go now?"

"I said we're already here.", the man gestured to the house next to them.

"What do we need here?", Wayne asked as Shawn trotted up to the door, kicked the "welcome" mat out of the way and picked up a silver key.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? You can't just go breaking into other people's houses!"

"This is my house! Or at least it was until I got sent to prison and Mallory left with Cecil.", he said, tapping the unlocked door open with his foot.

"Why isn't anyone else living here?"

"The people here are more interested in watching paint dry than they are watching their neighbors."

"Well that's...", true. Sure, there were a handful of smart people in the city, but the rest of them could be ridiculously oblivious!

"Well, while you think of what you want to say, stay here and I'll be out in no time.", he began to step inside.

"Wait!, How do I know you won't try to escape?"

"You're just going to have to trust me. Besides, I want Syx back just as much as you do. That and I want to talk to Mallory without a guard watching my words."

Syx pulled against the thick leather straps around his wrists, ankles, and throat. He stared at the disheveled woman that loomed over him. He barely recognized her at all; her sloppy claws, wild hair, her naked face and hands, and the flared look in her eyes.

Her eyes...the things he'd immediately noticed and loved about her, were now cloudy and almost two dimensional compared to the zesty detail he'd seen so many times. He was somewhat glad that not all of it was fake; her smile was still clean and bright and he was sure that he'd smile too if the lips that surrounded them weren't otherwise curled into a sick smile.

"It seems that I've been most unfair to you.", she began, "In my previous adoptions, I never hid anything from the children...If they wanted to snoop, I let them snoop. What I didn't tell them is that it would come at a price."

"At first, it was fun to watch them stumble about, cry out for the mothers that were long gone. But, it soon became annoying, oh so very annoying!", she clenched her hands into fists.

I knew I couldn't give them back...so, I had to do what any good caretaker would do; get rid of them.", she grinned as Syx's expression changed from intrigue to horror.

"The drive was long, much longer than I had anticipated. There aren't very many forests around here anymore, you know, the closest one isn't for seemingly endless miles! Afterward, I came back and played the 'poor adoptive mother whose children have been kidnapped'!", she laughed.

"It took them weeks to find the bodies, I wasn't stupid enough to dump them all in one place. Of course they questioned me, but I studied law for years before becoming an Ophthalmologist, so I knew what to expect from them. I didn't make the mistakes other people who killed their children did."

"I waited a year. That was when your name came up. Shawn told me almost everything he knew about you and, I have to say, I immediately fell in love. You were smart, kind, and most importantly, submissive, he said."

Damn him...Syx thought.

"But enough about me, we need to get to work.", said the woman, stretching out an arm to pull over a small supply table.

She suddenly stopped.

"Oh! But first, we should make sure you have company other than me.", she walked to the door in long strides, stopping only to look back at him, smile, and say:

"Now don't you move."

This is late again, but it's up! I feel like a broken record what with how many times I apologize for these things. But, I think it's polite to offer one no matter how many people don't want it:) Please review, I love reading the speculations you guys have!