I. Never enter the woods. That is where they wait.
II. Heed the warning bell. For they are coming.
III. Let the bad color not be seen. It attracts them.
IIII. One man should hold post in the tower each night.
IIIII. The safe color should be worn upon approaching the Forbidden Line.
It was cold, colder than Lucius Hunt could ever remember it being. He was outside. His yellow cloak covering his head and it overshadowed his face. He was standing just at the edge of Covington Forest. He watched his breath condensate in the chilling cold. The wisp of his breath disappeared as fast as it had appeared. He turned his head and stared at the yellow flags slightly moving with the breeze. Yellow, the safe color, was draped everywhere along the tree line. There were no traces of red in the entire village. The color red was immediately buried if seen, for it attracted evil. The trees of the Forbidden Line moved with the wind, and it seemed to Lucius that even the trees trembled from the secrets of the woods. He knew that "Those We Don't Speak Of" would soon be out. He felt a shiver down his spine, in spite himself. He knew there was nothing to be afraid of. The creatures hadn't breached the Forbidden Line in many years. Still, there was an ominous feeling about tonight, and he knew he should go indoors. It was getting colder, after all. He moved toward Covington slowly, while taking peeks over his shoulder at the woods. He wasn't afraid.
Ivy Walker stood outside on her porch. She stared blankly out into space, with a sudden awareness that Lucius was approaching. She continued to stare sightlessly. She reached beside herself to fetch her walking stick. She reached out, grabbing air and fumbled trying to find it. Lucius picked it up and held it out to her.
"Thank you, Lucius," she said with a slight smirk on her face.
Lucius looked surprised and Ivy seemed to sense it.
"How-" Lucius said before Ivy cut him off.
"How did I know it was you?" She laughed gently. "I may be blind, but that doesn't mean I can't see. I can see faint sparks of color in every person."
Lucius looked at her with interest. He deeply breathed in the crisp air.
"It's cold," he said and he saw her shivering. "Shall we go inside?"
Ivy nodded at him and entered the house. He slowly followed, sneaking one last look at the woods. He saw nothing, and disregarded his fussing as false fear. Inside, he saw Ivy's older sister, Kitty Walker, sitting quietly by the fire. In the opposite corner, he saw Noah Percy, also sitting, but fidgeting terribly. He looked back at Kitty and noticed she was calm and silent, probably taking in the quietness of night. Lucius didn't see how night was calm. It was filled with the fear of the creatures. Again, that thought in the back of his mind tugged at him. Could they breach the Forbidden Line tonight? Of course not. He disregarded his fears again. He pushed them as far back in his mind as he could. He turned to Ivy, who was now at Noah's side.
"Ivy," Noah became excited, "let's play a game!"
"Well, what shall we play?" Ivy talked to him as if he were a child.
He had a defect that inhibited him from learning normally, so in a sense, he was still a child.
"Race!" Noah returned happily.
"Oh, Noah, it is much too cold for that." Ivy said in a soft tone of voice.
Noah looked disappointed.
"What can we do, then?"
Kitty looked out the window. Lucius snapped around to see what she was looking at.
"It's becoming late, perhaps we should just get some sleep," Kitty said between yawns.
Noah frowned disapprovingly.
"That isn't any fun," he whined.
"She's right," Ivy yawned as well.
Lucius twisted his gaze from the window. He assured himself that his fears were false. One thing still tugged at him. Why was he so afraid? He never normally fretted about the woods, so why now? He felt he knew the answer to that question, but kept it inside. He buried deep beneath the skin, and shut it out. He stood slowly, and Ivy turned in his direction.
"I am going to return home. It was nice seeing you, Ivy, Kitty, and Noah." He addressed them each slowly and exited the house.
He was out in the brisk cold again. He put up his hood and stared at the guard tower. He could see a figure huddling at the top. He felt sorry for whoever had to watch the Forbidden Line when it was this cold. He continued walking, his back facing the woods. He felt as if he were being watched, but he continued to suppress his fear. He entered his house and shut the door hastily. Tomorrow he would learn that his fears were false. He laid down on his bed slowly and shut his eyes. Tomorrow. . . .
Finton Coin breathed in deeply. He shut his eyes to close out the fear. He was huddled in a corner, yellow cloak wrapped around him tightly. His long, blonde hair peeked out slightly under his yellow hood. He would have drifted into an uneasy sleep if not for the extreme cold. He moved up onto his hands and knees. He heard something, a rather faint growl. He heard another one, only this time it was louder and more threatening. He jumped up and turned around. He looked down below the tower. He saw nothing, not one slight hint of motion anywhere. He turned to the woods. He surveyed it, but saw nothing but the branches twitching with the breeze. He gulped down his fears and sat on the ground again. He pulled the cloak closer to him this time and began muttering calming things to himself. Scratch-scratch-scratch. Finton's eyes became wide. Was that the sound of claws against wood? Were they in the tower? Finton rose to his feet slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of the creature. He pivoted all the way around, but saw nothing, not that faintest hint of motion. The creature was cunning. It was already in the watch tower. Finton could feel it in his heart, as it increasingly began to beat louder. He sank to the ground and pulled the cloak tight against his body. Finton twisted his head awkwardly in his ball position. He stared straight ahead of him. The bell, he had to ring the bell. It seemed so far away. How could he possibly reach it without being heard? He positioned himself on his hands and knees again. He slowly began to crawl over to the rope, as silently and as slowly as possible. His hood fell back and his face was revealed to the cold. He was too frightened to care. Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak. Finton winced with this sound. He had shifted his weight awkwardly and caused the boards to creak. He gulped again and tried to breathe normally. He heard soft growling, probably in response to the creak. THUMP! Finton cried in surprise. The creature knocked onto the trap door, which Finton was on. It was obvious the creature knew he was there and he scrambled to his feet. He stumbled clumsily and fell. He reached out for the rope as he did, but missed it and fell flat on his side. The creature snorted and began to bang loudly on the door. Finton did not move. He lay there, groaning and crying.
"No . . . no . . . no . . ." he groaned in pain and fear. His ribs ached from where he had fallen. The banging against the door got increasingly louder. He could hear the creature snarling in disgust as it tried with all its might to get into the watch tower. Finton figured it was over for him. He gathered that he didn't have enough strength to get up and ring the bell. The banging stopped, and a clawed hand reached up from the trap door. It felt around the door, seeing if it had something to grab onto. Finton wondered if the creature had left and managed to get to his knees and turned around. His eyes became wide with dread and he froze with terror. He locked up with shock. It was like his mind had stopped working. The hand rose more and he could see the cloaked arm work its way up. Another clawed hand appeared, scratching and digging into the wood. Finton stared on and it finally sunk in, ring the bell! Finton felt total comprehension again and he snapped into action. After all, this was his job. He could not fail Covington. He dashed for the rope, footsteps falling hard on the wood boards. The creature growled with fury and pulled itself up. Finton didn't look at it; he just rang the bell. He pulled down with all his might. He rang it three times before collapsing from the tension. The creature snarled with distress and disappeared back down the door and into the woods.
Lucius awoke sleepily. His vision was blurred as he sat up and curled his position to the side. He heard great excitement outside and wondered what the matter could be. Then, the thought resurfaced and his eyes became wide. Only if the Forbidden Line was breached would such commotion be caused. He grabbed his yellow cloak and stumbled outside.
Ivy was outside, helplessly flaring her arms out in all directions.
"Father!" she yelled, "Father, where are you?!"
She felt someone grab her hand.
"Lucius!" she managed to gasp.
He pulled her along toward her own house. Kitty was inside frantically moving about.
Noah was laughing in his chair yelling "They're coming, they're coming!"
Lucius shook his head and shoved Ivy inside.
"Stay here," he mouthed to her. She nodded and turned to Kitty. She was moving to the trap door in the floor. She motioned Noah in and reached for Ivy's hand. She took her sister's hand and began to descend underground. Lucius began to run out of the house and he barely noticed Ivy yelling after him.
Lucius ran through Covington rushing people inside, even if it wasn't their house. He searched everywhere for Edward Walker, but couldn't find him. He figured he was already inside somewhere. He made sure everyone was safely inside when he turned and stared at the guard tower. Whoever who had rung the bell could be still up there. Lucius began running toward the tower with all his might. At first, all he heard were his own footsteps harshly hitting the ground. The sound was almost deafening, but then he realized the loud booming could have been his own heartbeat. He wasn't sure, nor did he care. He had his mind fixed on making sure whoever was in that tower reached safety. Shortly, he became aware of new sounds. The were scuttling sounds, like the sounds of great claws scraping the ground. He instantly knew what the sounds were, and he held back his fear. He had heard they could smell fear. It could have just been some silly tale, but he was taking no chances. He repeated in his mind firmly I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid. . . . He even began to mumble it out loud to himself. Presently he heard screechings coming from the woods. They sounded dangerously close. Lucius pushed himself to speed up his pace. He began to breathe heavily and knew soon he would not be able to push himself anymore. He couldn't fall prey to them. Lucius was in luck; the guard tower was close. He grabbed the ladder and climbed up with all his might. He thought he saw two red eyes staring at him from the darkness of the woods, but it could have just been his imagination. The door at the top was already open and he pulled himself through hastily. He saw a form laying on the floor, motionless. He turned it over and recognized the face instantly. It was Finton Coin. He picked him up carefully and tried to wake him.
"Come on, Finton," he muttered to him imperatively.
Finton stirred slightly and Lucius shook him softly. Finton's eyes slowly opened and focused on Lucius.
"What-" Finton began to speak in confusion, but then the memory snapped back and all became clear.
Finton pulled himself up, knowing they had to leave instantly. Lucius helped him up, and both men raced down the ladder as fast as they could. They could see shadows shifting uneasily in the woods. Figures, which they both assumed were the creatures they were dreading. They fled back to the village, hearing scraping footsteps chasing them. Finton's heart was beating so fast he thought he would explode. Lucius ignored everything except Finton and getting to safety. Finton was clutching his side oddly and Lucius turned to stare at him, wondering if one of the creatures had injured him. As he turned, he saw a red cloak out of the corner of his eye. Two red eyes stared out at him, emotionlessly. Its mouth was gaping and he saw rows of yellow teeth. It stepped to the side and shred part of Finton's cloak. He gasped, and fumbled slightly. Lucius turned back and would have shut his eyes to block out the fear if he had not been running full tilt. He did not wish to run blindly into one of them. Finton was gasping in breaths and Lucius wasn't sure if he would make it. Don't give up, Finton, Lucius yelled to him in his mind. He repeated it over and over again as hope to himself. He reached a hand back to Finton and he immediately grabbed it. Finton was now being pulled along by Lucius, who was very close to his house now. He grabbed the doorknob and swung his body around, and Finton was jolted around too. He exhaled deeply as he pulled the door open and shoved Finton in, who was whimpering. He turned to look to see if they were still being followed. The creature reached out with its long claws toward Lucius. He could feel the creature's breath on his neck as he pulled himself inside and shut the door. Lucius immediately began to pile furniture in front of the door and sighed deeply. He searched the ground silently for the trap door. He finally found the hook and pulled at it with all his might. He hadn't had to use it much and so had basically forgotten about it. Finton dived in and Lucius came next. They shut it tightly and held it closed. They heard the creature throwing all of its body weight on the door. They heard it pounding for about fifteen minutes, and then it ceased. Lucius went to open the door but Finton stopped him. He was shaking uncontrollably. His face was fixed with fear and Lucius wasn't sure if his eyes could get any wider. He was still clutching his side.
"What happened?" Lucius pointed at Finton.
"Oh, uh . . . I was trying to reach for the bell. One of them had already gotten the door open. It was pulling itself up when I dived for the bell. Unfortunately I missed and took a bad fall," Finton forced the words out. His voice was shaky, and Lucius took notice. Not that Lucius thought of him as a lesser man, if Lucius had gone through that, he would have assuredly been just as impacted if not more so. Lucius nodded his head in acknowledgment.
.
"We have to go out, Finton," Lucius explained, "you need to see a doctor."
"It's not that bad. Can we at least wait a few more minutes?" Finton gulped.
Lucius nodded and wrapped his cloak around him. They both huddled in the cold and darkness. The minutes passed like hours for Lucius, but they passed like seconds for Finton. Finally, Finton gathered all his courage.
"All right," he breathed shakily. Lucius nodded silently and slowly opened the door. It creaked slowly. The door hit the floor like dead weight and both men took in the air. It was not the musty and stale air they had been breathing for a half hour. Lucius slowly moved the furniture out of the way of the door. He was obviously in no haste. He strewn chairs, tables, and even his bed every way he could. He finally got through all of the furniture, and turned to Finton. Both men exchanged silent gazes, and Lucius grabbed the handle of the door. He twisted it slowly, and pulled it toward himself. The door creaked open, the night becoming more and more plain to both men. The door was fully open, and all they saw was the emptiness of night. They both sighed with relief and went to tell their fellow villagers that the terror was over, for now.
It was at times like these when Ivy Walker wished she could see like everyone else. Tense times, when everyone was screaming in terror from hideous beasts or some other form of horrors. She wished she could see what everyone was frightened about. All of "Those We Don't Speak Of" she could see, was a faint splash of red in the darkness. Huddled underground, she could see nothing, just the plain darkness. She could hear Kitty breathing loudly with fear. Noah was stifling laughs, trying his hardest not to upset Kitty and Ivy. She was breathing normally, unlike her sister. Her thoughts dwelt on Lucius. Why had he left? He could be in danger right now, right as she was sitting here, too caught up in her own fear. She fought back tears and sunk down to the ground.
"Ivy! Kitty! Noah! Are you there?" Lucius yelled and looked in a window. Ivy's heart leapt.
"Open the door! Open, open, open!" Ivy said and both she and Kitty pushed the trap door open. Ivy was the first one to emerge, running to the door frantically and opening it up. Lucius basically collapsed inside. Finton came in next, stumbling in, the pain of his side finally sinking in.
"Are you hurt?" Ivy asked Lucius frantically. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, trying to calm her.
"No," he replied, "but he is." He pointed and Finton, who had collapsed onto a bed. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and prolonged. He was trying to calm himself, and he had seemed to have succeeded so far.
"I'm going to bring the doctor here," Lucius said, waiting for the Walker's approval. They both nodded their heads simultaneously. Lucius nodded back and ran out to find Doctor Crane.
He called out to each and every house "They've gone! Come out now! They've gone!"
Slowly, the unsure residents of Covington emerged from their homes, peering out before stepping their feet outside. The night was over. With the day came hope. With the night came fear.
Finton was checked and heading home when Lucius Hunt approached the Forbidden Line. His yellow hood was bent so much over his face that he was unrecognizable. He stared into the woods for a long time, thinking things over slowly in his head. He had no fear, the only fear he felt was when he was around Ivy. He knew why he was afraid around her, too, he just didn't want to hear it. He stared blankly out into the woods, not seeing it, just seeing his thoughts play out in his mind. He turned back and looked at Covington. Never enter the woods. That is where they wait, he thought, but it was not his voice. It was that of Edward Walker, the one who made the five rules. It was the first rule, and it haunted him as he stood just barely out of the woods. He knew he was disobeying everything he had been taught if he entered the woods. The truce would be broken. He knew all this, as he took a deep breath and ran into the woods.
Lucius stopped running after several minutes and took a deep gulp, and all his fears were buried deep down. Face your fears, he told himself. Everything that he had ever been afraid of was in here; even the trees frightened him. They stood still, only moving every couple minutes, twitching awkwardly. He felt they were watching him, like silent assassins. He knew the woods had secrets, but what kind? He knew the creatures hid here, but what other things lay deep, hidden within the woods? Scatter-scatter-scatter. Lucius turned, startled. He saw a dark shape move off. It scuttled against the fallen leaves, totally aware that Lucius knew it was there. It stopped moving, and turned its head ever so slightly in the direction of Lucius. He could see its two red eyes, gleaming slightly in the sun. It snarled, and shifted a little, observing how Lucius would respond. Lucius did not dare to move, so he stood motionless, hoping it would keep moving. It didn't. It continued to stare on, still and silent. It was making plans in its head. It had Lucius right where it wanted him. He didn't move, and that's just what the creature was expecting. It side stepped a little, and Lucius could make out the red cloak. Its arms were bent up toward its head, hands curled downward toward its chest. It stopped for several minutes, hoping that he wouldn't notice what it was going to do next. It didn't make any sudden movements, just began crawling slowly toward Lucius. It took little steps forward, trying not to startle him. He looked down at the creature's feet. It stopped and snarled softly. It was semi-crouched, that's all Lucius could tell because of its cloak. He looked up, straight into the creature's face. He could barely see its teeth. He noticed they were a vivid yellow. He took a slow step backwards. The creature turned its head sharply and snarled. It bent its arm forward showing its long claws. Lucius stopped with this one step, and tried to think up a cunning plan. He knew he was outwitted, the creature knew exactly how to deal with him. Lucius began to take more steps backwards, becoming rapidly faster. The creature pivoted and poised itself. It growled threateningly and took long strides toward him. He turned and began running. He wondered if he had enough strength to out run it. The creature screeched and lurched forward, lashing out with its claws. It grabbed a corner of his cloak and shred it. Lucius tripped slightly but regain his balance and continued running. He realized he could be running deeper into the forest, but didn't care at the moment. All that mattered was focusing all his energy on running. He sneaked a look over his shoulder and met the creature eye to eye. It was almost caught up with him. Lucius cried out in terror and quickened his pace. He could hear the creature take raspy, deep breaths right in his ear. It was so close to him now, so close that Lucius could feel its evil presence, just behind him. The creature reached out again and grabbed his arm. It dug its long claws into his arm, trying to get a good grasp upon him. Lucius yelped in pain as the creature began to pull him backwards. It had stopped moving, and Lucius realized he was not either, at least not in the direction he wanted. He kicked his legs, struggling to return to his feet and run. He tried to pull his arm out of the creature's deadly grasp, but it was a futile effort. He thrashed with all his might to no avail. He thought he heard it snicker at him. The creature turned Lucius in the direction of its face and grabbed him by the throat. The creature hissed menacingly and shoved its claws deeper into his arm. He winced in pain and tried not to cry out. The creature made a raspy sound almost like a laugh.
"Tuuuuuuuuuuuurn awaaaaaaaaaaay," it hissed at Lucius. He blinked and wondered if he had actually heard it speak. The creature took its claws out of Lucius and pivoted him away from it. It brought him closer to it and then threw Lucius with all its might. Lucius cried out in surprise as he was hurled in the air. He fell hard on his stomach. He curled almost into a ball like position and shoved himself over on his back. The creature stood motionless, waiting for Lucius to get up. He didn't. He lay there trying not to think of his throbbing stomach. The creature shrieked loudly, trying to scare Lucius into getting up. Lucius payed no attention. He turned and looked at his arm. It was bleeding terribly, but it didn't hurt. He was numb all over. The creature shuffled itself around, feeling impatient. Lucius knew that he had to get up soon. He flipped himself on his stomach again and waited several minutes before launching himself into the air. The creature jerked abruptly and turned in Lucius's direction. He was now at his feet and didn't move a muscle. He had his arms spread and knees bent, like he was going to make a run for it any minute, but he didn't. He stood there, waiting for the creature to move. It shifted its weight uneasily and hissed. Lucius had a plan now and the creature knew it. It took a step forward and stopped nervously. Lucius didn't move, just continued staring intently. The creature was growing restless, and he could see it in its eyes. It darted for Lucius, screaming horrendously. He knew that he had to act to act quickly or the creature would have him. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small knife. He felt as if he were moving in slow motion from the tension. Just as the creature reached its arm forward at his injured arm, Lucius stabbed its arm with all his might. It screeched and wrenched its arm back, taking his knife with it. It curled its arm into an unusual position and turned and ran. It screamed horrendously the whole way back into the darkness. Its back was covered in intimidating looking spikes, and it dragged a long tail along the ground that flicked every couple steps. Lucius snapped out of observation mode and began to flee, hoping he would reach the edge of the woods. In about twenty minutes he saw the familiar yellow flags draped from the trees surrounding the woods. He dashed through the trees and stared at the sky. He hadn't been able to see it in the woods. He continued to stare, clutching his bleeding arm. The numbness wore off slowly, and Lucius felt the full pain of his wounds. He stumbled over to his house and collapsed onto his bed. He lapsed in and out of conciseness for several hours.
Lucius woke up to a blur. He began to move his arms to rub his eyes, but one burned with pain when he tried and sunk back down into its position. Lucius turned to look at his arm and saw it was covered it blood. He then realized what had happened. He swallowed hard. How was he going to explain this to the villagers? What if he set things into motion that could not be undone? He sat up, and his arm fell to the side like dead weight. He stood up slowly and felt the pain in his stomach. He had to see a doctor. He slowly trudged to his door and reached out with his undamaged arm. He swayed a little with his weakness. He was dead tired and he felt like it took all his energy to turn the doorknob. He shoved it opened slowly and supported his shredded arm with the other.
Doctor Crane was seated peacefully by his fire when Lucius Hunt stumbled in. He looked at Crane helplessly as he rose from his seat. He collapses onto the floor, his injured arm hitting the ground the hardest. Doctor Crane rushed over and pulled him up onto his bed. He frantically raced over to his desk and pulled out his glasses. He raced over to Lucius and propped him up with a pillow. He groaned and turned his head somewhat. Crane lifted him up slowly and softly. He gently pulled off his shredded cloak. It looked like great claws had ripped into it. Crane was filled with dread. Would he be foolish enough to go in the woods? he wondered. No. He shook his head. No one is that foolish. He looked at the arm wound carefully. It looked as if something lengthy had been shoved into his arm. The wound was exceedingly deep. Crane rummaged around in his supplies in clumsy nervousness. He pulled out some white cloth bandages and began to wrap it around the wound. He finished wrapping it and then began to look for some medicine to put on it. He pulled out a bottle with a clear liquid in it and began to poor it on the bandage, letting it seep in slowly. Lucius winced in his in his unconscious state. Crane tapped his fingers against his chin wondering what to do next. He heard the door open and turned to see who it was. Edward Walker entered.
"Hello, Christop, I had a horrible-" Edward stopped in the middle of his sentence. He stopped moving and stared straight down at Lucius. He was muttering something intelligible in his sleep. Edward's head turned downward to Lucius's cloak. It had long tears through it. Edward immediately knew what happened.
"How bad is the wound?" he said, crouching at the side of the bed.
"It is incredibly deep," Crane said with a sigh. "You don't think he. . . ." Christop stopped. He didn't dare say anymore. Edward nodded barely. Christop sighed.
"I applied some medication," he said, "he should be up and able to tell us what happened soon." Edward observed the bandage, picking up Lucius's arm gently, checking all sides of it.
"No blood," Edward said, turning to Crane. "Christop, how long has he had this wound?" Chrsitop shook his head to show he wasn't sure.
"When he came in the blood was already crusted and dried all down his arm. I'd say he's had it for quite a while." Crane yawned a little. Lucius stirred in his sleep. He tossed a little, and Edward place a gentle hand upon him.
Lucius slowly opened his eyes. His vision was a blur of many different colors. His vision slowly focused into the faces of Edward Walker and Christop Crane. He lay for a few minutes, not moving, taking in everything that happened. It finally all seeped in, and Lucius sat up abruptly. He clutched his arm in pain. He turned and looked Edward straight in the eyes. Edward searched his face and only found despair. Lucius used every ounce of energy he had to fight back tears. Edward slowly reached out an arm to his shoulder.
"Tell me everything," Edward almost whispered. Lucius swallowed hard. He coughed nervously, for his throat had become raspy.
"I-I-I," Lucius stammered. He was extremely shy and introverted. He didn't talk much. He mostly kept to himself. "I, um," he swallowed again, "I went into the woods." Edward shook his head in disapproving disappointment. Lucius hung his head in shame.
"I saw one of them," he revealed, voice quaking from the memory. "It was obviously playing a game with me, one which I returned hastily. It was rather intelligent, in fact, I think it even spoke to me. It hissed at me, 'Turn away.' I wish I knew what it meant. It chased me and rent my cloak and my arm. The second time it lunged for me, I stabbed it in the arm and it ran off into the woods, shrieking." Edward stared on in disbelief. Lucius had injured a creature, something none of the villagers had ever done. Lucius was tearing up, and he was trying to hide it. Edward saw it anyway, but wasn't sure what to say. Covington was in obvious danger. Maybe the creatures would be sympathetic, but they were not known to be. He placed a hand on Lucius's shoulder. He looked up, tears running down his face. Edward didn't say anything, just continued to stare straight into his eyes. Lucius felt his gaze pierce him, and turned away. He couldn't look him in the eye any longer, knowing how much danger he put the village in. Edward turned away from him and mouthed something to Crane. Lucius turned back to see Crane's response. He shook his head and Edward sighed.
"Stay here," he advised tenderly. He turned and slowly opened the door and raced outside. Lucius stood, and Crane motioned for him to sit back. He had a feeling he might be in deep trouble and he stared at the floor, many thoughts crossing his mind. He stared at his fingers nervously. He tapped his feet against the ground, trying to get the nervousness to pass, but another wave came, stronger than before. He picked up his head and searched the room, trying to find something to focus his attention on. In the end, he was back staring at the ground, suppressing his emotions.