Now I'm sorry the last chapter was 'boring'. But not every chapter can have 'suspense' in it. Atleast...not in mine... Blame writer's block. Plus I'm getting to the end of this story... Like 3 chapters left (not counting this one) and making an end to a suspence story is very,very had. Atleast for me it is.

But... Here's a chapter starting out from Lucius's PoV.

Ivy sat on her daughter's bed, which still had not been made. Her hands covered her face as she sobbed. Lucius sat beside her, his hands folded together, his eyes staring down to the wooden floorboards. He hadn't any clue what he could say to his wife to comfort her. Nicholas sat on his own bed, staring at his parents, wondering about his sister. He had many question, but he knew it wasn't the best time to ask them, so he stayed silent.

Taking a deep breath, Lucius put an arm around Ivy's shaking shoulders, "It'll be alright." He told her, "Anna's like you. She's strong. She'll be alright."

"But Lucius, she's only fourteen years old!" Ivy cried to him.

"She'll be fine." He said softly, though he was not completely sure. Lucius felt guilty. He had a gut feeling earlier last night, but for some reason, he didn't know why, he dismissed it as nothing. What could possible go wrong? But in a single night, his son had nearly been attacked, his only nephew had been killed by those the villagers do not speak of, and his daughter was lost in the woods, were they reside.

Lucius slowly looked to Nicholas, who was still sitting on his bed, staring at them. He gave his son a

pleading look, and Nicholas seemed to know what it meant. He got up slowly, and crossed the room to his mother, "Mama," He said barely above a whisper, "I'm very hungry...Do you think...You could make me something?"

Ivy dropped her hands into her lap as her eyes lifted to his face, "Of course, Nicholas..." Her voice was still shaky from crying, "You haven't had anything to eat yet..." Slowly, she stood up and softly held his hand, leading him out of the room. Lucius knew that Ivy knew that this was a way to try and take her mind off of Anna, even if only for a moment.

Lucius watched them go and he bowed his head down again. Now that his son and wife were gone, tears escaped his eyes, but he was careful not to let out a sob or cry. He had to be strong. Taking a deep breath, he forced the tears to stop as he looked around the room. He rubbed his forehead as he heard Nicholas's quiet questions, and Ivy's muttered replies.

Slowly he stood up and walked out of the bedroom and into the main room of the house. His eyes flickered to the small wooden bench that had a yellow cloak draping over it. Biting his tounge bitting his teeth lightly, his fingers pulled at his shirt. He knew that the elders, or anyone else in the village would let him go alone. There were talks of searching, but only in groups of five to ten people. That was too much. It would take too much time. It'd be quicker for Lucius to go alone but... If a creature came, he was as good as dead.

Dead.

What if a creature came upon his daughter? Would she even have a chance? Even if the creatures didn't find her, there were other dangers. There were other animals in the forest. Coyotes and bears just to name a few. Now, that it was fall, it got very, very cold at night, with chilly gusts of wind. She could freeze. All she had on was her nightgown, not a coat, or cloak. Just a nightgown... She could get sick from the cold temperatures, and get a very bad fever. The kind that would make anyone feel like they couldn't get up to do anything.

No, he couldn't let that happen. No.

In a swift single motion, he had the yellow cloak under his arm.

"What are you doing?" Ivy asked, looking in his direction. She always knew what was on his mind, so she must certainly know this time. His son also looked at him, "Papa?" Nicholas mostly called him Father, it was rare when he used 'papa'. He only used it when he'd been scared, or when he was a desperate state for something.

His eyes dropped to the floor in guilt. What if something happened to him? He'd leave Ivy and Nicholas alone...

"Lucius?" She asked again and he lifted his eyes to her.

"I must go out and find Anna, or at the very least try to."

"But-"

"But nothing. She's in the forest alone. You've made it through the forest for me, and I must do the same for her." He said in a gentle but in a 'I am going no matter what' way.

"I- I do understand, but it's just..." She faded off and looked down.

Lucius nodded and hugged her, "I'll be fine. I promise you." He kissed her lips and hugged her again. He looked down to Nicholas and ruffled his hair a bit before kissing his forehead. "I'll be back very soon. Before you even know it." With a last weak smile, he quickly left the house before any doubts could come into his mind.

He keep his head lowered as he briskly walked to the edge of the forest. Lucius threw the cloak over himself. With a deep breath, he crossed the line, starting to walk into the forest. But someone's shout held him back.

"Wait!"

He turned to see a boy running down the hill. Lucius watched him for a moment before recognizing him. "Go back."

"But I want to come and help!"

"No...It would be too dangerous. Besides, you've got your parents and younger sister to look after..."

"But I-!"

Lucius cut him off before he could finish, "No, Nathan. I'm sorry...but I can't risk it. I can't risk your life as well as my own. Now stay here, and don't tell anyone about this... Do you understand."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and let out a sigh, "Yes."

Lucius nodded, and quickly turned away from him, waving in and out of trees. Weaving in and out of trees and bushes.

Anna slowly, and hesitantly over rocks and roots. She had been walking for two hours now, but she seemed to be getting nowhere. Nowhere at all. She was sure that she'd be forever lost here, if not attacked first.

Pressing her lips together she stopped to rest. Anna let herself drop down to the ground as she stared at the gray sky. It had been like this all day, threatening to start raining at any moment. That was the last thing she needed. Even more coldness, rain, and mud. She pulled her knees closer to her chest as she slowly looked around herself. Trees, dead leaves, dirt, rocks, and bushes all around her. The whole forest was a dead color. Pale orange, red, but mostly brown. A half a month ago the forest was tempting with all of it's bright colors, but now. Now it had a forbidding feel to it.

She pushed her hair, with a few tangles in it, out of her face and she silently sighed. Anna got off of the ground as she continued to walk, but at a more slower pace. Running and walking all day without water, only having a handful of nearly dead berries to eat, and not getting enough sleep was catching up with her. Her whole body felt tired and heavy. She just want to lay down, and close her eyes. But she knew if she did it'd be a very, very long time before she woke up again, if she did wake up. No, she had to continue on.

Anna stopped suddenly as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She tried to quite her breathing to listening for noises of some sort. There weren't any chriping birds or crickets though. It felt as if something was somewhere close around her. Anna held her breath, as she slowly turned her head. Her stomach dropped down, but her heart beat faster as she saw red. A red cloak. Those they villagers do not speak of... Two. Two of them, side by side, slowly walking closer to her. But they weren't looking at her.

She took a step back, and to her horror the crunching sounds of leaves filled the air. The creatures' heads snapped up to her direction. Anna slowly lifted her foot as she gently set it down on some dirt. Slowly, she let out a silent breath as she stared at the two creatures which were slowly, but surely, making their way towards her.

There you go... There's your cliffhanger until... whenever my writer's block ends...

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