Sam looked at me with confusion. Just hours earlier, I had said it was too dangerous and that Sam should leave the others alone, but now I was saying the exact opposite.

"I thought you said it was too dangerous?" he questioned.

"I know, and it is, but after what I saw tonight…" I began, squeezing my eyes shut. "I'm willing to take the risk."

Sam crossed his arms over his chest. "What's the plan?"

"I'll go back to the cave while you get the Frog Brothers. Bring Michael with you so he can get Star and Laddie out. Once they're safe, I'll show you to the others," I sighed, shaking my head. "But you have to be quick because once they wake up, there's no telling what they'll do to you."

Sam grabbed my hands in his. "Why don't you just stay here? We can all go together."

"I can't," I said, pulling my hands away. "It's bad enough I didn't come home last night. If I don't come home tonight, they'll be even more suspicious. We need to keep them as unaware as possible. Otherwise, we'll fail."

"Dawn … about that kiss earlier … I,"

I appeared in front of him and cut him off with a kiss, his tense body relaxing under my touch. I could feel the hunger building within myself, but if things went poorly, I had to make sure he knew how I felt.

When I pulled back, Sam was out of breath and flustered, making me smile. "Call the Frog Brothers, and I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," Sam repeated with a dopey grin.

I flew out the open window and into the sky. I could tell the sun was beginning to rise so I picked up the pace and got inside the cave just as the first rays of the sun began peeking over the ocean's waves.

I fixed my jacket and headed into the main cave. I walked in to find Star and Laddie sitting next to one another. I got halfway across when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Well, well, well, look who's home." I turned to find David standing with the others, arms over his chest. "Where were you?"

"I lost track of time and didn't have a chance to get to the cave before sunup, that's all," I said with a shrug.
"You've never had that problem before," Paul pointed out.

I glared in his direction. "There's always a first."

David suddenly appeared before me, looking me up and down with intrigue. His gaze returned to mine as his hand shot forward, grabbing my throat and lifting me into the air. Star tried to run and help me, but Marco held her back with Dwayne holding Laddie. I grabbed at his hand, trying to rip it away, but he was much stronger than me, especially when I wasn't at full strength already.

"Now, I'm going to ask you again. Where were you?" David asked with a raised brow.

"I already … told … you," I gasped.

David laughed a loud. "You're a terrible liar."

"I have … no idea … what you're … talking about," I gasped.

"Your heart is beating wildly in your chest, Dawn, and I know you saw what we did last night … I could smell you. Like I can smell…" David began, taking his other hand and digging his finger into my shirt over the bandage where my wound was. "Your blood."

He dug his finger into the wound, pain shooting up my spine. If I could breathe, I would've screamed.

"Leave her alone!" Star yelled, struggling against Marco.

"Who did this to you, Dawn? Mhm?" David asked, ignoring Star's comment. "You were out all night and show up with a wound like this. I highly doubt you tried to stake yourself, so who did this, and what is their name? I'd love to pay them a visit."

"No one."

David sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He threw me across the cave into one of the walls. As my body hit, a loud crack echoed through the space. The rock behind me crumbled to pieces.

I collapsed to the floor with a thud, David appearing beside me before I even had time to breathe. I sat against the wall, looking up at him. He looked down and smiled, slamming his foot on my leg; the bone audibly cracking.

This time I screamed, and I screamed loud. Star began to cry just as Laddie did, wanting more than anything to come to my aid, but knowing they didn't have the strength to do so. I tried to keep the tears at bay, so I didn't look entirely weak in front of the monster.

He crouched in front of me, grabbing my chin so I would look at him. "You did this to yourself, Dawn. If you hadn't lied, I wouldn't have had to use force."

"Go to hell," I spat, spitting on his cheek.

He wiped his face clean, backhanding me. "I've put up with a lot of your crap, Dawn, but I am losing my patience. Hopefully, by tomorrow night, you'll be more open to talk."

"Unlikely," I muttered.

David nodded, moving closer to whisper in my ear. "I applaud your bravery Dawn, but it's going to get you nowhere. You may be able to put your bone back in place and heal from your stab wound, but it will take time … a long time. The only way to truly heal is to drink blood."

"Then I guess I'm going to have to wait," I said.

David rose to his feet and motioned for the others to follow. Marco and Dwayne let go of Laddie and Star before following David into their cave with Paul. As they crawled through the small entrance, Star and Laddie ran over to me, crouching to my level.

I looked Star dead in the eyes. "Pop the bone back in place.

"What?" Star exclaimed, her eyes going wide. "Dawn, I don't know how to do that! Even if I did, it'd hurt, wouldn't it?"

"It's better than having a broken leg," I admitted with a nod. "Just do it. I trust you."

"Dawn, I don't know-"

"Please."

Star saw the pleading behind my eyes. She wasn't thrilled with the idea, but she wanted to help and take as much of the pain away as she could, putting her hands on either end of my right leg.

As she did, Laddie put his hand in mine, squeezing it. "You're going to be okay."

Laddie rarely talked, and so his words made me smile. I nodded, squeezing his hand back as I looked at Star to tell her I was ready. She counted to three and pushed the leg back in place; I gritted my teeth with scrunched eyes.

Once it was back in place, I sighed in relief, even if it still throbbed in pain. Normally, a doctor would put a cast on it, but I didn't have the money or the time. If I drank blood the wound would already be nonexistent, but I wasn't going to do that either.

Star sighed. "What happened, Dawn? Who hurt you, and where were you yesterday?"

"It's a long story, but I have a plan," I muttered, looking toward their cave entrance to make sure we were alone. "To make us human again."

Laddie and Star shared a look filled with hope and concern. Star returned my gaze with a furrowed brow. "How are you going to do that?"

I explained the entire plan, including those involved. Star wasn't happy about the plan, but she had a feeling it would work, and so did I. If we could pull this off, we would be human by the next day and having hope was freeing.

Star helped me to bed as Laddie followed suit. She laid me down as the pair sat beside me. They promised to stay until I fell asleep so I wouldn't be alone.

A few hours later, I heard a raucous at the entrance as loud footsteps followed. I stumbled out of bed to find The Frog Brothers and Sam helping a weak Michael. The brothers went for Star but stopped when Michael yelled at them. They shrugged it off and headed to the other side of the cave.

Sam let go of Michael the instant he saw me. Michael went for Star and Laddie as Sam ran over to me. Just as he reached my side, my legs gave out, and I fell into him.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Let's just say David wasn't happy when I got back, but I'll be fine, don't you worry," I said, looking up at him with a forced smile.

The Frog Brothers found their way to the entrance of the other's sleeping chamber, Edgar yelling back. "Sam, I think we found something!"

I could see the guilt in his eyes as I got back on my feet, doing my best to hide the pain. "Go with them. I'll help Michael get the others out."

"But-"

"Go be a hero," I said, leaning up to give him a peck on the lips.

Sam's face turned cherry red as he ran over to the Frog Brothers. They motioned to the entrance and crawled through. Sam looked back at me one more time before crawling in after them.