Part Two

Edward Walker's heart was racing as he opened the door to the Council Chamber. He burst in, and then sagged down, catching his breath. The elders hastily rose to their feet and quickly ran over to Edward. He was gasping, trying to regain his normal breathing pattern, obviously to no avail. He was not a young man. He was well into his sixties. He stood up straight, and without saying a word, motioned for the elders to follow him. They did so silently, not questioning him. He couldn't possibly run this time. Instead he walked, rather slowly, to Christop Crane's house. He paused questioningly, and then opened the door.

Lucius was staring intently at the ground, clutching his arm again when Alice Hunt raced over to the bed. He barely noticed her, only peeling his gaze from the ground when she lifted up his head. His gazed was forced right on her face. He stared, searching her face for a sign of anger, but could find nothing but fear and despair. Edward hadn't told her yet. Would Edward want him to tell them? Lucius wasn't sure if would be able to tell her, face to face. The rest of the elders filtered in, and Lucius broke his gaze from his mother toward them. He knew he wouldn't be able to tell all of them. He breathed in deeply. The calming air rushed down his lungs. He exhaled it, letting fresh air seep into his lungs. Edward crouched at his side. He looked at Lucius, trying to read his emotions. It was not that hard. Lucius was an obvious wreck. His eyes were red and tear stained, he was breathing irregularly, and his eyes were so wide it looked like he had just seen a ghost. He had probably seen worse. Edward sighed deeply and turned to the elders. Some of them had their heads tilted, trying to figure out in their mind just what was going on. Edward turned and nodded to Lucius. He knew exactly what that meant. He fought back another wave of tears. Edward could immediately see that it would take every ounce of will power Lucius had in order for him to force the words out. He placed a hand on Lucius's shoulder and nodded confidently. Lucius breathed in deeply.

"I......" he started, clasping his palms together. They were drenched with sweat. He swallowed hard. His throat was dry. "I, um. . . . What I'm trying to say is, I, uh, went into the woods." There was a collective gasp among those in the room. Alice turned her head sharply, her jaw slack with the surprise.

"I saw one of 'them'," Lucius coughed nervously. The room was dead silent. The expressions on the elder's faces were dead serious. Lucius had to look at the ground to escape their piercing gazes. "It chased me for sometime and stabbed me with its claws," he motioned to his bandaged arm, "When it headed for me the second time, I stabbed it in the arm and it ran off into the darkness." This was the second time Lucius had to relive his terrifying experience, and it had thoroughly drained him. He lay back on the bed, bringing his uninjured arm up to his forehead, wiping off a thick layer of sweat. The room was dead silent for several minutes. All eyes were on Lucius, who was backing up as far as he could onto the bed. The looks expressed a vast number of emotions, some anger, some fear, and some sympathy. Edward's was a mix of all three. He was obviously trying to suppress his anger, and it seemed to Lucius that he had succeeded. The furious light in Edward's eyes faded, and the soft light of understanding took its place.

"Why?" August Nicholson's voiced chimed from the back. Lucius looked up toward him, shoulders sagging from his guilt.

"I," Lucius wet his lips with his tongue, "felt we needed to face our fears." August had an offended look on his face.

"So, you think we're cowards, is that it?" August looked deeply disappointed. Lucius rubbed his eye brows.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "I think we would be better off if we showed these creatures we're not afraid of them. It's natural to be afraid, but I don't think we should be. They're obviously feeding off our fear, taking advantage of it. We should stand up to them, show them that we're not afraid any longer."

Edward turned, almost surprised that someone would suggest such a thing. He had great admiration for Lucius, and a grin cracked across his face as Lucius spoke. August turned to Edward and gave him a questioning glance. Edward shook his head. He slowly rose to his feet, and turned to the overwhelmed faces of the elders. He raised his hands signaled for them to leave. They stood for several minutes, mouths gaping, and then the command sunk in. They filed out slowly, each of them taking one last glance at Lucius, who knew judgement was nigh. Crane was standing by Edward. He turned to Crane and whispered to him, telling him to leave. He nodded understandingly, and left hastily, sneaking one last look at Edward.

Lucius stared at his fingers wordlessly. There was much for him to say, but he felt he didn't need to say it. He didn't like to talk much, anyway. He would talk when he was prompted to, otherwise, he would stay silent, trying to avoid Edward's gaze. He looked up at Edward when he sat down next to him on the bed. He placed a hand on his shoulder. Lucius braced himself for the bad news. Edward breathed in deeply.

"What should I do, Lucius? I'm at a loss," he asked. This was not what Lucius was expecting. He looked at Edward helplessly. He was tapping his fingers against the bed frame, clearly at a loss.

"I... I'm sorry I've caused such trouble to Covington," Lucius's voice cracked with the words.

"It's all right, Lucius," he replied. "They would not dare cause harm to the village." Lucius returned his kindness with a beaming smile. Edward patted him on the back.

"You go home now. I will explain everything to the elders. I admire you, Lucius," he said and Lucius looked up, astounded. "You have more courage than any in Covington. It's just, many can't recognize that and respect it." Lucius nodded and they both rose to their feet. They left, side by side, feeling better about themselves in their own ways.

Lucius Hunt was collapsed upon his bed, staring at the wooden ceiling, when Finton Coin burst through the door. He had a wide grin upon his face, and he clumsily stumbled over to Lucius.

"Is it true?!" His eyes glimmered with fascination. Lucius slowly nodded his head.

"Lucius! You went in the woods!" Finton jumped up, not sure what else to say. "How did you ever force yourself into doing that? That's incredible!" Lucius just shrugged and lay back. Finton noticed his bandaged arm.

"What happened?"

"I don't wish to talk about it anymore."

"You saw one, didn't you? It did that to you, didn't it? Just like I saw one in the tower last night."

Lucius turned to Finton, eyes full of hurt. He stared at him long and hard and Finton crouched next to him.

"I'm sorry, Lucius. I didn't mean to cause you any pain. After all, I owe you my life. If you hadn't come to the tower last night, I'd be dead right now," Finton said gratefully. Lucius turned to him and smiled. He smiled back, happily.

"Finton, you're my best friend. You owe me nothing," Lucius stretched back with these words, obviously exhausted. Finton patted him on the shoulder, and exited the room quietly. Lucius was already asleep.

Lucius was engulfed in thick darkness. He looked around slowly. Everything was empty. It was like he was suspended in time itself. He turned, looking in all directions, wondering how he was able to stand. There was nothing, no ground, no sky, no color, and no light. He closed his eyes and met the same, empty darkness. He opened his eyes and saw two red eyes of one of the creatures. He gasped, and watched the eyes intently. They didn't blink. They just stared on. Lucius gulped and tried to take a step back, but he was fixed in the darkness. He stood, suspended for several minutes. It was so quiet he thought he might have gone deaf. Then, he heard a soft growl. Since he had heard nothing for the longest time, he jerked abruptly. The eyes shifted and edged forward a little. Lucius tried to move away from the eyes, but he couldn't. He was still suspended in absolute nothingness. The figure became illuminated. It was a creature. Its long claws gleamed and Lucius gulped. This couldn't be real. It had to be a dream.

'Tuuuuurn awaaaaaaaay,' Lucius could see the creature's mouth move slowly with each word. Turn away. What did that mean? The creature shifted and lunged forward, which surprised him. Lucius tried to move, but the darkness bound him tightly. He struggled to move away as the creature tilted its head, wondering what he was doing. It took small shuffles forward. He was seized with terror as the creature became increasingly closer. He grasped at the thick darkness and tried to haul himself away to no avail. The creature obviously knew its advantage over Lucius at this time, for it was steadily striding toward him. It was not in any hurry, because it knew Lucius could not go anywhere. It finally reached him, and they both stood face to face, creature to human. He was barely breathing. The creature shifted from side to side in its sprawled stance.

'Never enter the woods,' it hissed and with a sudden jerk it stabbed its long claws into Lucius. He looked down and saw his stomach was impaled.

Pain, stabbing pain. . .

Lucius awoke in a cold sweat. He sat up, and clutched his stomach to see if it had actually happened. Nothing. He sighed deeply and relaxed back down onto his bed. His arm ached as he wondered what he should do. He couldn't sleep, and he couldn't just lay there. The thoughts flooding his mind were too painful. He got up and slowly exited his house. He knew the elders were discussing what to do now. He had to be there.

Ivy Walker turned toward the door sharply. There was a great commotion outside. Something big had happened or was happening. She reached for her walking stick clumsily and hurriedoutside. The elders were gathered, conversing amongst themselves. Ivy reached out for a hand, hoping someone would see her. They didn't. They continued talking, some yelling. She heard the frantic voices. Something bad had obviously happened, and they were deciding what to do.

"Father!" she yelled, reaching out for his hand. Edward jerked at the voice of his daughter and grabbed her hand. He pulled her along back to the meeting house for the elders. Everyone burst through the door and collapsed down into their chairs. They all exploded into talk at once. Ivy was overwhelmed. She had no idea what was going on. She either thought that 'Those We Don't Speak Of' had crossed into the village, or that someone had gone into the woods.

"Everyone! Everyone!" Edward Walker stood up, trying to quiet them. The room fell silent and all eyes were on Edward. "We will deal with this problem now. We will think very rationally. I do not think there is need for rash moves." The elders all nodded and Ivy knew now that someone had gone into the woods. She tapped her father on the shoulder. He bent down and Ivy whispered in his ear.

"Has someone gone into the woods?"

Edward nodded, and Ivy gasped. Who would do such a thing?

"It was Lucius," he whispered and stood back up. Lucius?! she thought, but he always thought out things before he did them. How could he have possibly done this? Her mouth was gaping. Lucius had gone into the woods. She had to see him.

The door burst open and everyone snapped their head in its direction. Lucius Hunt was standing in the doorway, looking like a train wreck. He walked slowly to a chair and sat down calmly. Everyone in the room cast their stare upon Lucius. He shifted uncomfortably with the weight of the gazes.

Ivy recognized that color. She had seen it many times. She had felt safe around this color, for it had always meant a lot to her. This color was that of Lucius. She shifted her head to his direction as best she could. She could feel his sadness, for it was heavy in the air. She wanted to lift this weight off his shoulders and let him become the shy, quiet man he used to be. She daydreamed and knew it could never really happen. She stared longer at the color and began to slowly think that the color was dimmer, almost sad. She turned away and longed to talk to him, but what would she say? So she sank down in her chair sadly and waiting for Edward to return to his speech. He cleared his throat, trying to peel the gazes off Lucius, to no avail. Everyone continued to unwaveringly stare on.

"I believe we should patrol the borders more strictly. Also, I think we should add more yellow to the Forbidden Line to keep 'Those We Don't Speak Of' away," Edward began to speak anyway. All eyes were on him now. August stood up.

"I agree! Who else?" he exclaimed and there was a resounding, "I do!"

Edward turned an walked slowly to Lucius. He hung his head in shame as Edward approached.

"You shall help with the effort," Edward said, bending to look Lucius straight in the eyes. "Do not fret. You are young, and brave. Do not use that bravery to your misfortune." Edward looked at Lucius one last time and exited the room in silence. The rest followed except for Ivy, Noah, and Lucius. Noah came prancing up to him happily.

"You saw them!" he said giddily. Lucius nodded slowly. Noah jumped with excitement. He grabbed Lucius' arm to pull him up. Lucius jerked away and winced in pain. Noah looked horrified and touched Lucius' arm.

"They hurt you," he said with a child-like innocence. Lucius nodded again. He didn't speak, just stared at the floor, wishing to be alone. Noah backed up, kind of hurt, and ran out of the room. He could not contemplate this. Lucius was hurt. Why?

Ivy slowly approached him, not really knowing what to say. She didn't even know if she should approach him. He was in much grief and she thought that he might just be better off left alone. Lucius sat in mournful silence not knowing that Ivy was contemplating what to do behind him. He would have loved her company if he knew she were there. He wanted so much to tell her how he felt about her. How could he do that now, after he had been so foolish? She must hate him now, for being so selfish and not caring what happened to any of the other villagers. How could he even talk to her?

Ivy Walker took several forced steps toward Lucius. Her footsteps fell softly upon the floor. Lucius did not seem to notice. He was too caught up in all the thoughts racing through his mind. She stood behind him and placed a hand softly on his shoulders. He jumped, startled. He turned and looked into the beautiful, sightless eyes of Ivy Walker. He took her hand and guided her to the chair next to him. She sat and they both were left in uncomfortable silence for several minutes.

"Ivy, I...." Lucius stopped, "I feel so foolish. I thought I could help us all, and in my blind stupidity I went into the woods. I thought if we stood up to 'them', we would show them we weren't afraid of them and they would leave us alone; however, the creature tore through my arm like it was nothing. It would have killed me if I had not stabbed it. They could easily kill all of us if there were enough of them. I fear things are now in motion, and I have caused all of it. I was so selfish and so stupid." He turned away from her. He knew he could not look her in the eyes.

"You had good intentions," Ivy tried to comfort him.

"Some of the worst thing imaginable started with good intentions. I should have seen that. I was so blind that I couldn't see anything."

"You couldn't have possibly foreseen what happened. Do not be so harsh on yourself. I'm sure nothing will happen."

"I wish I could be as optimistic as you," Lucius said and placed a hand on Ivy's shoulder. She felt as if he was happier, like part of the guilt was lifted off his shoulders. They both exited the room, holding each other's hands.

Lucius awoke to Ivy's face. She was shaking him as softly as she could. He got up sleepily and looked at her with a questioning glance. Edward was behind her and he had a look of panic on his face. He did not hide it. Something horrible had happened. Lucius felt the guilt return to him, and he sunk with its weight. He slowly walked outside, and Ivy and Edward followed. At first everything seemed normal. He turned around to Ivy and Edward and tilted his head at them inquisitively. Then he noticed something, something that filled him with fear. His eyes widened and he blinked to see if he were seeing things correctly.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a red slash on his door.

He turned and saw that his house was the only one to bear the horrific marking. Panic ran through him and he turned to Edward, searching for some comfort. Ivy reached out for his hand and he took it, squeezing it to make sure it was real. He was not caught up in some horrible dream. This was all really happening. Ivy led him back into his house, and he stumbled behind her, grief stricken. They were coming, and they were coming for him. Who would be next? Ivy? He winced at the thought of her being hurt. The pain inside grew. He could never let her be hurt, ever. Ivy laid him down upon his bed. He took a deep breath, trying to make the pain leave. It would not. It sunk into him like dead weight. His face was full of pain and Ivy could sense it. He closed his eyes and Ivy stroked his forehead. He immediately relaxed and was lulled into sleep. Finton Coin had heard the tragic news and hastily entered the room and sat next to Lucius. Finton wondered if this was the last time he would see Lucius alive. He kicked himself mentally. No, never think that again, Finton thought. He's my best friend. I owe him my life. Right then and there he decided that he would stay with Lucius to prevent any harm from coming to him. Ivy would stay too. She could not leave him now. Edward urged Ivy to go home when night fell. She reluctantly agreed.

Darkness slowly engulfed the day and Ivy went home, grieving for Lucius, hoping that he would survive the night. Somehow, she knew in her heart that he would. He had confronted a creature before, he could do it again. Plus, Finton was there, so what could possibly happen? She laid down in her bed and tried to sleep. She couldn't. Thoughts of Lucius flooded her mind and she tossed and turned with the agonizing thought of him being hurt.

Lucius heard a soft growl. His eyes popped open and he looked out the window. It was pitch black outside. He slowly lifted his head up. At first he thought he was just paranoid and it was his imagination. Another growl. His eyes widened. This was definitely real. He slowly got up from his bed, as to make no sounds. The creature growled again and Lucius was plagued with the painful thought that he would die this night. He looked down. Finton was on the floor, asleep. Now he was endangering Finton's life too. This was too much to take. More torturous thoughts came. Finton would die because of him. No. He forced his fear down and slowly moved towards the door, as to not make a single sound. He looked around for some sort of weapon. His mind was racing yet seemed blank. He couldn't think and he shook his head to clear it. He then remembered he had several knives on his desk. He had to wake up Finton. He shook Finton softly and he stirred and opened his eyes.

"One is outside," Lucius mouthed silently. Finton's eyes became wide and nodded with comprehension. Lucius slowly helped him up. He was shaking and the ominous feeling in the pit of Lucius' stomach grew. He slowly made his way to the desk and picked up two knives. He motioned for Finton to come to him. Finton nodded and walked toward him. Creeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaak. The floorboards creaked long and loud. Finton winced and was openly mad with himself for not being careful enough. The creature hissed loudly. Lucius handed both knives to Finton, who held one in each hand. Then Lucius picked up two for himself. They would make a stand and fight this monster off.

THUMP!!

The creature began throwing its weight against the door. Both men jumped at the sound, but then regained themselves and waited. The wait was agonizing. With each second both men became more tortured with the thought that their death was lurking just outside the door. Finton almost broke with the pressure. Lucius was breaking, but did not outwardly show it. Both men suppressed their fears and readied themselves to fight for their lives.

CRACK!!

The creature shoved its claws through the door. This was the first time Finton had seen the ferocious claws on the creature. They dwarfed their knives. He gasped with the sight, but Lucius remained silent and still. This was nothing new. The creature peered through the hole in the door with its red, emotionless eyes. They both gasped with the sight. It snickered when it saw him and punctured the door again with its claws. It then stuck both hands through the holes and began to try to pull the door off. It almost tour it off when it stopped abruptly. Both men looked quizzically at the door. Why would it stop now? They heard sounds outside. It almost sounded like talking. How was that possible? The creatures could talk? Preposterous. Both men were drowned in confusion. They heard the fleeting, scraping footsteps of the creature as it left. They also heard different footsteps that were obviously not made by a creature.