A/N: Welp, here's another chapter finally. I really wanted to get this one finished much sooner, but the recent snowstorms we've been getting here in Michigan kind of threw a monkey wrench into that plan. Being a laborer, more snow pretty much means more work and less time/motivation to write, but at least spring is only about a month away! Anyway, happy reading, as always.


THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017, 12:06 AM

"Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you."

"AT THE TONE, PLEASE RECORD YOUR MESSAGE. WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED RECORDING, YOU MAY HANG UP OR PRESS 1 FOR MORE OPTIONS."

BEEP.

"Hey, it's me. I got your text. Are you serious? Things went that bad? What happened? Did someone get killed? Please call or text me when you get a chance. Actually, no. Give me a call. We really need to talk this over, and I need to actually hear your voice. I'm tired of sitting around at my desk all day, wearing a happy face for everyone and trying to act calm while waiting for an update. In fact, I'm honestly getting close to coming down there to see things for myself. Please call me, Chris. I'm getting more worried by the minute that everything's gonna go wrong again. Seriously, that awful gut feeling I told you about that I haven't felt in almost twenty years? It's coming back. Talk to you later."

END OF MESSAGE.


Josh was sitting at one of the tables in the break room of the restaurant, eating a delicious pizza. Once things had finally calmed down and the restaurant had reopened, everything returned to normal, or at least as normal as could be. His first shift for the day had gone very smoothly and was completely uneventful, so much so that he honestly couldn't even remember it. All he could think about right now was the slice of pizza he was eating, which apparently was so good that it had numbed his taste buds. Things were well.

The door opened and Susan burst in. She was dressed in a wet raincoat and her hair was a wet, disheveled mess. Her breathing was sporadic and her eyes were wild.

"Susan?" he asked, standing up. "What...what's going on?"

"It's after me!" she cried. "It's after me!"

"Who?" he asked as she dove under one of the tables. He walked over to her. "Who's after you?"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully spun him around. With no time to react, he found himself staring into the glowing eye of the creature. Its mouth, though still painted on, had additional red lines which looked like blood. Its eye was so bright that he felt blinded by it. The grip on his shoulder tightened, preventing him from moving, and the unblinking grew brighter with every passing moment.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, something small came sailing into view and hit the creature squarely in the face, causing it to double back and release its grip.

"Leave him alone!" cried Susan. Josh turned and saw her motioning for him to follow. "Josh, come on!"

They ran out of the room and into the main room. It was empty. Even the animatronics were gone, leaving the stage completely deserted.

"What-what happened here?"

"We have to go!" cried Susan as they heard the stamping of footsteps behind them.

They ran across the room, trying to put as much distance between them and their hunter as possible. Susan approached the door to the backroom and flung it open.

"Come on!" she cried, gesturing him forward.

He wanted to protest, feeling uneasy about reentering the area where everything went to hell earlier, but the pounding behind him left him no other choice.

They ran to the nearest door, the same one he remembered his younger siblings hiding in, and they thrust themselves inside. Darkness immediately overcame them, drowning out all sources of light.

"Hold on," said Susan, and Josh heard her hand rubbing against the wall. "Here."

There was a flick of a switch and the room flooded with light. As Josh looked around the room, he was immediately greeted by a stunning sight. Huddled on the floor, bound tightly and gagged, was a little boy about ten years old. He was struggling to free himself, kicking his bound legs around ferociously, almost kicking Susan in the process.

"Who is this?" she asked.

Josh bent down and tried to calm the boy's nerves.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll help you."

He grabbed the boy's shoulder. The boy stopped and looked up, and Josh let out a gasp of disbelief as he stared into an eerily familiar blue-eyed freckled face.

"C-Cameron?"

Cameron's eyes watered and he began to make weeping sounds behind his gag.

"Wait, is this the boy who was taken by that...thing?" asked Susan.

Josh nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"But that's impossible! There's no way he could be alive...is there?"

Josh opened his mouth only to be interrupted by a loud scraping sound. Turning around, he saw that the door behind them was no longer there. Instead, standing in the doorway, was the figure, its eye glowing brighter than ever as it lunged for Josh's throat.

Josh jolted upright, his hands going for his neck in an attempt to pry the cold metal fingers off, only there were no fingers. Still breathing heavily, he looked around frantically, trying to get a bearing on what was going on. After a few seconds of scanning the darkness, he was able to make out a few familiar objects in what he now recognized as being his own bedroom.

With a heavy sigh of relief, he plopped his head down onto his pillow and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Even with his window cracked, the heat was still stronger than what he was used to. With not even two full weeks of their new life on the books, his body was still adjusting to the extra heat of being a few states further south.

He turned to his alarm clock. It read 12:15 AM. He scoffed in disbelief. After a nightmare like that, it would be a while before he would be able to fall back to sleep, which meant he was looking at a rough night.

With nothing else to do, he began replaying his dream in his mind. It felt so real. Granted, dreams usually feel real while they're actually happening, but he was amazed at how accurate everything was in this one. From the layout of the building, Susan's face, that creature, and its menacing appearance, to Cameron and all of his facial features. He remembered looking down at the terrified form of his sister's best friend, weakened and restrained...yet alive.

"There's no way he could be alive...is there?"

Those were Susan's words, and they were familiar. It wasn't in his dream where he'd heard it first, he'd heard her say it before. Thinking back, he recognized the phrase from their phone call yesterday. Could that have been what triggered his dream, or could there be truth to it?

Come to think of it, I never actually saw any blood coming from Cameron's body. Only some kind of weird black liquid, but with how dirty it is back there, that could be anything.

He sat upright in his bed, his breathing growing more intense as the possibility grew in probability. He may still be alive. If he is, I can find him. That'll show Mom that I really do care. Plus, it'll make his parents happier than ever.

He swung his legs off of his bed and set to dressing himself quietly. The last thing he wanted right now was for his parents to catch him leaving. They wouldn't understand...not yet.

After throwing on a pair of pants and a T-shirt, he walked over and quietly crept out into the dark hallway. Now all he needed was a way to get back there.


Kendall laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn't even try to sleep. His eyes simply would not let him. All he could think about was that pale face with that glowing eye staring at him. Every time he tried to keep his eyes closed, that scarring image filled his vision and he would immediately open them again, certain he would see it above him.

He glanced at his clock. It was a quarter after midnight. He anticipated life as a teenager when he could actually stay up late without consequence, or at least with fewer consequences. His brother made it look so easy, so fun...even if he was a jerk half of the time.

But now, everything was different. He wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, let everything fade away, and wake up on a beautiful sunny morning with Cameron knocking on the front door asking for his sister. Olivia may be young, but he couldn't help but feel that she and Cameron were right for each other, or at least they would've been. Unlike her siblings, Cameron actually liked playing with her. He had a patience and humility that Kendall did not, and the shame caused by their last exchange of words panged once more in his chest.

If only I hadn't said that, Kendall thought miserably. If only I had gone with him to look for his cane. If only I knew what that thing is and how to stop it...

With his body still too awake and nothing else to do, he pulled his book on robotics out from beneath his pillow and began skimming through the pages, trying to look for anything that might be useful.

This thing has to be animatronic, he thought. I mean, it looks and moves like it's alive, but its eye can't possibly be glowing unless it's some kind of machine.

He flipped through the pages on endoskeleton design, materials used to create certain parts of the inner structure, and even how the computer inside operates, giving all animatronics their A.I. He knew all of it was important, but he was looking for one thing specifically.

There has to be an on/off switch somewhere. There has to be.

He continued flipping through the pages, scanning every heading and diagram until at last, he found a page titled "Emergency Safe Mode."

"Bingo," he said aloud as he began to read.

As robotic technology continues to advance, some engineers and mechanics began to install failsafes to help prevent any severe and potentially fatal malfunctions within the parts, sensors, or computer...In 2014, a University of Iowa student named Michael D. Schmidt was injured by an animatronic which had struck him across the body due to a hidden glitch inside the robot's spatial recognition software. Given that there was no failsafe on this particular animatronic, it took authorities nearly 45 minutes to stop the machine...Nevertheless, as a result of the lawsuit, all animatronics built as of 2015 are now required by law in many states to contain this new Emergency Safe Mode (ESM)...ESM is automatically activated by a sensor in the computer which, when critical errors are detected, activates spring locks specifically designed to lock onto the joints to prevent movement while the computer reboots. Until the reboot is complete, the animatronic will remain off and motionless...If it is ever necessary to activate ESM manually, most animatronics will contain a switch or button on or near the back of the head or neck. In the event of a malfunction that automatic ESM does not detect, approach the animatronic from behind (assuming that it is safe to do so) and activate ESM by hand...Note that because of the spring locks and system reboot, the animatronic will NOT be movable or usable for approximately thirty minutes.

That was the end of the section. Kendall stared up at his wall, absorbing the information as best as he could. According to this, if the animatronics were all new, including the mysterious masked one, they should have this emergency failsafe installed into their system. While the very thought of seeing that creature again after what had happened made his nerves go haywire, he knew that it would always be out there, looking for more children to kidnap and kill. At least now if it ever came after him, he would know how to stop it...hopefully.

He grabbed the page to flip it and continue reading when a sound came from outside his bedroom. It sounded eerily like someone walking.

What is that?


Olivia walked down the carpeted hall, which tickled her bare feet, to her parents' bedroom. She was having trouble sleeping and wanted nothing more than her mother's kiss and soothing voice and her father's jokes about how the monsters were so ugly that they were probably just mad that they couldn't get a date to the prom.

She found the door and lifted her hand to knock on it, which felt lighter than normal, almost like a feather. She knocked a few times on the door, hoping to hear her mother ask, "Olivia? What's wrong, sweetie?" She heard nothing. She knocked again, and still nothing. She turned the doorknob and pushed the door open quietly, wondering at that moment why they even had the door closed, to begin with. They usually kept it open.

She saw the familiar lump underneath the covers. She approached her mother's side of the bed and gently shook the covers.

"Mom?" she said quietly. The lump moved slightly but fell limp. "Mom?" she said, slightly louder and more forcefully. "Mom, I can't sleep."

The covers rose. Olivia moved forward into her mother's embrace as a hand draped out for her. However, it wasn't the soft touch she was hoping for, but rather a hard, metal grip that wrapped around the girl's waist and nearly crushed her against the side of the bed. From underneath the covers came the familiar, glowing white eye.

She screamed. The face recoiled as though shocked. The grip slackened. Using the same tactic she used against her brothers, she crouched and slipped through the grasp. As soon as she was free, she ran for the door.

"Olivia!"

She stopped dead in her tracks. That voice. Could it really be…? She turned around.

The creature was no longer there. Laying in its place, face anguished and eyes leaking, was Cameron. His hand was stretched out toward her.

"Don't leave me!"

She ran toward him but tripped on the carpet, landing face-first into the soft cushion of the bed.

She lifted her face from the bed's tender touch, ready to embrace Cameron, only to see her own pillow that was covered in sweat. Looking around, she saw that she was in her own bedroom. Looking out the window, she saw the darkened outline of the tree that Kendall liked reading next to, its bark faintly illuminated by the dim light of the neighbor's shed lamp. Sometimes, she would try to look for squirrels running up and down the tree, trying to get a midnight snack, but right now, she wanted nothing more than her mother's comfort. Getting out of bed, she strode over to her door and pulled it open, stepping out into the dark hall.

She had no idea what time it was, but she knew that it was late at night. She always hated being up late at night because her parents told her that little children shouldn't be wandering around in the dark because that was when the bad people of the world were out and about. She knew she was safe at home, but it still scared her knowing that there were bad things in the dark.

She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was a fancy analog clock with a cool trim that her dad's mother had given him before she died. The little hand was just past the twelve at the top and the big hand was on the three. Olivia shook her head. She wished that she could tell time. She had no idea how long it would be until morning.

Just like in the dream, her parents' bedroom door was closed. She stood in silence, her legs shaking as she wondered what she would find on the other side of the door. Only minutes ago, she'd walked this same hall and entered this room to be met with something she never thought she would. Would this change?

It was only a dream, she thought. Mommy said that she's always there to talk about it.

She raised her hand to the door when she heard movement behind her. She froze, the butterflies in her stomach racing around again. In her mind, she imagined a dark figure standing behind her, watching her intently from the shadows. She didn't want to turn around, but she eventually decided that she couldn't resist.

At first, she saw nothing but a dark, empty hallway. Things were quiet, aside from the ticking coming from the clock on the wall, but as she listened more closely, she could hear a soft rustling coming from nearby. Her heart sank as she leaned back against her parents' door.

Cameron? she thought hopefully. Maybe part of her dream could be true after all. Maybe he was okay and was looking for her.

But as quickly as the thought had popped into her head, she could see a tall silhouette in the darkness. She almost let out a shriek, but managed to stop herself by covering her mouth. The figure stopped in the middle of the hallway. She saw the head turn in her direction. It stayed in place for a few moments, as if pondering something. Olivia's breathing became ragged as she forced herself to keep quiet. After a moment, the figure turned back and disappeared slowly down the stairs, leaving the hallway as quiet as before.

Is that the monster? she thought, remembering its frightening face and ghastly posture. She shuddered as she recalled the glowing eye looking at her as it held her friend's body.

And then another thought hit her: Where's the glowing eye?

She took a step forward. There was nothing but calm silence. Another step. Silence. A third. Silence. A fourth. Silence. A fifth…

Something suddenly bumped into her side from the darkness, causing her to let out a small shriek which was abruptly stopped by a hand clamping over her mouth.

"Shh! Calm down, it's me!" came Kendall's voice in a loud whisper. "What are you doing up?"

"I had a nightmare," she said. "What are you doing up?"

"Midnight reading," said Kendall, his face becoming clearer in the darkness. "I'm having trouble sleeping lately. I thought I heard a noise."

"I saw somebody," said Olivia. "Walking down the hall!"

Kendall turned to the stairs. At that moment, they could hear something from directly below them.

"Who is that?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know," said Kendall. "Come on. Let's find out."

"What if it's a burglar?" she said in a worried voice, but her brother was already walking toward the stairs. She followed suit, her breaths coming out in anxious puffs. He tapped her on the shoulder and motioned down the stairs. Slowly, they crept down each step one-at-a-time, being careful to make as little noise as possible. When they reached the bottom, they were startled by a loud snort.

The living room was dark; the lamp had been turned off and the fire had died out, however, thanks to the light shining in from the nearby streetlamp, they could see their parents cuddled together on the couch, fast asleep and completely oblivious to what was going on.

That's when they heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Olivia whimpered but Kendall shushed her with a finger to his lips. Immediately afterward, a shadow emerged from the kitchen. Kendall and Olivia hid in the shadows on the stairs as it passed. It opened the front door slowly and quietly before looking back and checking the environment. Thanks to the light, Kendall and Olivia were finally able to make out their older brother's face. After a few moments, he slipped out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

"What's he doing?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know," said Kendall. They peeked out the window next to the door and saw him unlocking and entering their father's car. A second later, the engine started.

"He can't drive by himself yet! He's only got his learning thingy!" said Olivia. "He'll get in trouble. Where's he going?"

Remembering the heated argument from yesterday afternoon, Kendall got a strong hunch.

"Grab your coat. I think I know."


Josh froze with his hand inches away from the keys to his father's car hanging from the key rack. Even in his newfound determination to make things right (or so he hoped), he still was unsure whether he really wanted to go as far as taking his father's car without permission. He was already in hot enough water with his mother. Was this really worth it?

His hand drew away slightly as he considered the repercussions. What would his father say? What if the police caught him? Would he be put in jail and grounded for life?

This is stupid. I can't…

As he turned back to go back upstairs and forget the whole thing, his mind flashed back to seeing Cameron tied up and terrified at his feet. It was a dream, but there was something about this dream that felt so real. He couldn't put his finger on it, but every moment that passed only seemed to increase that awful gut feeling that there was more to the story than simply another missing child. From the depths of the mystery, something was telling him that Cameron needed help.

I have to. I'll apologize later if I must, but I have to get there somehow. If only my bus route still ran this late.

He turned back and grabbed the keys from the rack. As he tiptoed past his parents, who were fast asleep on the couch, he felt something lodge in his throat. It felt so wrong, but he fought against it. If Cameron was alive somewhere…

...he needs to be found.

He opened the door quietly, careful not to make any excessive noise. He turned his head back toward his parents, checking for any sign of movement. When everything remained silent, he turned and entered the heated night air, shutting the door behind him.

As he approached his father's car, he took note of the bright moon illuminating the night sky. He hadn't even noticed that before. He remembered when he was a kid, he thought it was a pepperoni pizza that was missing its color. He smiled.

I guess we all were that naive when we were young.

Using the fab, he unlocked the car and entered it, once again taking care to be as quiet as possible when shutting the door. He stuck the key into the ignition and listened to the engine come to life. He'd heard that noise countless times before, but never in circumstances like this. He wondered what it would feel like when he finally got to start his own car one day. Hopefully much better than how he felt right now.

He shifted into reverse and began peeling back in the driveway, checking over his shoulder carefully in the driveway as he had learned to do in his days of driving with his father in the passenger seat. Still, he hadn't gotten any drive time since they'd moved with how busy they'd been. He only hoped that he wouldn't accidentally damage the car when he turned onto the road.

As he cut the wheel, a bump jolted through the vehicle, followed by a large clank. Gazing out his side-view mirror, he saw that he had hit the curb.

"Great," he said. He stopped the car and propped open the door. As he started to walk toward the back, a sound came from behind him...the sound of frantic footsteps. He turned around, expecting to see someone out for a midnight stroll who was going to ask him if he was alright, but he didn't see anyone. Brushing it off as paranoia, he resumed his inspection.

The tire was fine, but he couldn't tell if anything underneath the car was damaged or not. With how old this car was getting, wear and tear were relatively normal, but he still didn't wish to take the chance anything to make the situation worse by doing any major damage. As he tried his best to check for anything unusual via his phone's dim flashlight, he wished that Tyler was here, one of his friends from back home who was looking to take over his dad's mechanic shop one day.

He'd know what to do.

Unfortunately, it was too dark to make anything out. With a sigh, Josh resigned himself to having to take the chance, keeping his fingers crossed that the car wouldn't die on him for any reason on the way there. He stood up and got back into the car. He closed the door with an abnormally loud slam, almost as if two doors were being closed at once. He saw no lights on the dashboard indicating that a door was ajar, so what could've caused that?

Focus, he told himself, shaking his head in an effort to brush off his nerves. You're getting worked up about nothing. Focus on the mission at hand.

Not wanting to waste another moment, he put the car into drive and began his journey. His hands were shaking as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was his first time ever driving through this neighborhood. He'd been given adequate driving experience in his old neighborhood, and of course he was relatively familiar with the layout of this new one, but the combination of driving in a new neighborhood was slightly more challenging than he anticipated, especially at night.

As he practically slammed on the brakes after nearly missing his first turn, he cursed himself and tried to keep his attention on what he was doing. He thought back to what he'd seen in his dream. Typically, dreams always felt real while they were happening, and it wasn't until after waking up that the absurdities of it became clear. But there was something different about this dream. Replaying it in his mind, everything seemed so...accurate. The glowing eye of the beast, Susan's facial features and loud voice, and even the fine details of Cameron's face. It felt real, every part of it.

But what if it isn't true? What if it really was a dream? What if you're just driving around illegally in the darkness for nothing? The thought made him feel queasy. Despite all of the times he'd threatened to take the car out for a spin himself in response to his father's denial for some accompanied drive time, and as tempting as it really was sometimes, he'd never believed that he would actually do it.

He grunted angrily, trying to push his doubts from his mind. But what if it IS true? If Cameron really is alive somewhere, I can find him and all will be forgiven. If not, it's early enough. I should be back before anyone notices...hopefully. I just need to check that back area again. Surely he would be back there.

He passed the familiar Amoco gas station, he noticed that the A wasn't lighting up. He thought back to his second day on the job, only a few days ago (though it felt much longer), when he had to change a few bulbs in one of the spotlights for the stage. He remembered Susan telling him that if he fell, she wasn't going to catch him since he was too heavy. He also remembered Chris watching him from the corner with a slight smirk on his face.

Chris.

Josh's fists clenched tightly on the wheel. If there was one thing his mother had said that he agreed with, it's that he should've done something about Chris when he had the chance.

I should've confronted him somehow. He seemed so off, like he didn't belong there. And now thanks to him, a child is missing. Well, if I'll find him. He won't get away with this.

As he rounded the corner ahead, he could see the building in the distance. It looked so different without any lights on, but it was still recognizable, a tall, black silhouette against the starry night sky. After nearly forgetting to use his turn signal, he pulled into the parking lot.

There was police tape strewn across the entrance, which he'd expected. He figured there would be repercussions after the incident, such as an investigation and a lockdown. Still, there had to be some way inside.

"Are we there yet?" came a soft whisper from behind the seat. Recognizing it, Josh's eyes went wide. He immediately got out of the car and opened the door to the backseat, where he was met with the sight of his pajama-clad siblings wearing lightweight jackets.

"What are you two idiots doing here?!" he shouted.

"We followed you," said Kendall, helping his sister out. "And this one almost gave us away about three times on the way here."

"We want to save Cameron, too!" said Olivia.

Josh's mouth opened and closed in silent rage. His plan was already risky enough as it was, but to add his two younger siblings to the mix was practically suicidal.

"You two shouldn't be here," he said in a low voice.

"Well, neither should you," said Kendall, giving his brother a smug look. He was wearing that smile he always did whenever he knew he had the upper hand against his older brother. "Hmm...let's see, taking Dad's car without permission and driving illegally with only a learner's permit and no adult in the car. How long will Josh get grounded for this one? Place your bets now!"

Josh huffed and his fists were clenched. He hated that look. "If you tell them anything, I swear…"

"You'll do what?" said Kendall, raising his eyebrows. "Give me a black eye again? I'm pretty sure that would qualify as 'making matters worse' with Mom and Dad, wouldn't you say?"

Josh's rage was boiling. He wanted nothing more than to knock that stupid grin off of his brother's face, but he knew deep down that it wouldn't end well for him. He groaned.

"What do you want?"

Kendall tapped his chin. "Well, for one thing, I would love to be able to do my reading in peace and quiet without any insults."

Josh sighed but nodded. "Okay. What else?"

"And there is a new book on computers that I saw an ad for on Saturday, and since you have a little bit of money now..."

Josh grunted. It was only two days' wages which he was hoping he could take Susan out to dinner with, assuming he mustered up the courage. Kendall's face, however, didn't change.

"Fine. As soon as I get paid, whenever that is. Anything else?"

Kendall's smile grew wider. "Well, Mom's been getting on me lately about spending too much time reading and not enough time cleaning my room. Think you can help me out for a month or two?"

Josh said nothing. His stormy eyes were locked with his brother's gleeful ones. His anger was nearly incomprehensible at the moment, but he had no choice if he wanted to avoid more trouble.

"Fine. If you don't say anything to Mom and Dad, or anybody else, I'll clean your room for you, too. Okay?"

Kendall pondered for a moment, studying his brother's face for sincerity, before deciding that it would most likely work out. He nodded and they shook hands.

"Now let's go home before we all get in trouble," he said as he approached the car.

"But what about Cameron?" Olivia asked.

Kendall turned to her. "What about him?"

"We can't just leave him here!"

Kendall frowned. "He's gone, 'Liv, to the place where no one comes back. Remember when we saw Grandma sleeping in that fancy box?"

Olivia grimaced. "It's a coffin. I know she died. My friends told me."

"Fine. Well, Cameron's dead. You saw it, too."

"But what if he's not dead? What if that thing just took him away and he wants to get back?"

Kendall shook his head. "Olivia…he can't…"

Olivia turned to Josh. "Tell him, Josh! Tell him that's why we're here! To save him!"

Josh looked at his little sister absolutely dumbfounded.

"How did you know I was…?"

"We saw you getting ready to leave," said Kendall, "so we figured we'd come along for the ride. All I wanted was the chance to get some leverage on you after all these years. I don't know what Olivia's talking about."

Josh turned back to his sister. "How did you know I was here for Cameron?"

"Why else would you come here?" asked Olivia.

"Why did you want to come here?"

"I had a dream about him. He said he needed help. I think maybe he's in there! That's why you came, right Josh?"

Josh couldn't speak. He had no clue how his sister ended up following his idea from her own perspective. It was beyond crazy as if there were something more going on than two individuals coincidentally getting the same idea from a dream.

"I don't think so, 'Liv," said Kendall. "I mean, I want Cameron to still be alive as much as you do, but you saw what happened the other day."

"You don't know that he's dead!" Olivia shouted, her voice startling the boys. "Maybe he was just hurt or asleep. Maybe that thing did something to him."

Kendall shook his head. He turned to Josh. "I don't know about her sometimes. You know how she gets with these fantasies of hers."

For once, Josh didn't immediately agree. As he watched Olivia cross her arms in anger, he thought back to how well she and Cameron bonded. While he still didn't know how she had so perfectly fallen in line with his idea, he completely understood why she was so insistent to find her friend. When she looked down at the ground in sadness, he felt a pang in his heart, one that he hadn't felt for his little sister in a long time.

"Don't worry," he told her. "We'll find him."

She smiled and embraced him in a hug.

"What?!" said Kendall, aghast. "Josh, there's no way-"

"She's right, you know," said Josh, grinning. "You don't know everything, you little brainiac."

Kendall's face retorted in disgust. "Cameron-"

"We don't know exactly what we saw," said Josh. "It sounds crazy, but I really do think that Cameron's alive, somehow."

Kendall looked back and forth between his brother and sister, convinced without a doubt that they'd both lost their minds. Olivia he could understand, but Josh?

"Don't you want to find Cameron, too?" said Olivia. "Don't you want him to be okay?"

Kendall wanted to argue, but as he thought back to Cameron's pale, empty face, his remorse returned. Of course, he wanted Cameron to be alive, as they all did. He would love for Cameron to be inside somewhere, injured and shaken but okay, but he struggled to combine that desire with his understanding of reality. Given his studies of the body and its functions, he had no comprehension of what caused a person's eyes to leak black, but he'd seen enough deceased people in documentaries to have his doubts about Cameron's survival.

Still, if it made Olivia feel better, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Okay, we'll check it out," he said, "but we're not staying long."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Josh.

"We're gonna save Cameron?" Olivia asked excitedly.

"We're gonna try," said Josh. "Now come on. First, we need to find a way in."


Chris walked softly through the main room. He had a feeling that the place would be on some kind of lockdown, but this was just ridiculous. Sealed doors? Everyone was looking for him, and as far as they were concerned, he was somewhere else. There didn't seem to be a point in completely locking the building down using the new security system, unless...

Rebecca. Of course.

He reached the hallway behind the front desk and double checked the cameras. There was one above the desk looking outward toward the door. It wasn't really a problem. The camera he was concerned about was the one on the side along the side wall, which looked toward the desk and beyond. With fingers crossed that there was no one in the security center, he made a quick dash for the hallway. When nothing happened, he gave a small sigh of relief, though his nerves were still high. He still had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for, and with his name most likely in the mud, he already felt as though he had an army of bloodhounds on his heels.

Derek's office was locked, as it usually was since he was never there much, to begin with. Christ approached Rebecca's door, expecting another tight door handle that wouldn't budge, but to his great surprise and delight, the door was cracked open slightly. Slowly, he pushed it open, causing an irritating creaking sound.

The office was a mess, quite unlike its usual tidy self. There were boxes in the corner and stacks of paper covering chairs and the desk. Additionally, there was a digital copy of a blueprint on her computer screen. As he got closer to examine it, he scoffed with disbelief.

So this is where she's been keeping it, he thought. No wonder I could never find it.

He grabbed the mouse and began scrolling around the page. It looked like the schematics for some kind of robot, though unlike anything he'd seen in his secret discoveries in the back rooms. This robot was larger and with many less informative labels and terminology, making the whole thing seem much more vague and mysterious.

Scrolling through the schematic, he noticed a rather unusual marking near the robot's center where the heart should be. Zooming in, he saw that it looked like some sort of container resembling a battery. Next to it, small and barely noticeable, read a single word:

RESURGENCE.

Chris covered his mouth, his brain beginning to make connections he never imagined.

It can't be related, can it? There's no way it has anything to do with…

His thoughts were interrupted by a thump from outside. He froze, eyes locked on the door, ready to tackle whoever...or whatever...came in.

But nothing did. The silent darkness that had permeated the atmosphere all along continued. After a minute's silence, Chris decided that he should continue his search elsewhere. He took a quick picture of the screen with his phone and immediately sent it to his worried friend along with a message.

Check this out. It's worse than we thought. I'll keep u posted.

He got up from the chair. He strode around the desk and made his way for the door when something in his peripheral vision stopped him.

It was a file centered on the desk at which he had just been sitting. Even upside down, the red letters printed diagonally on it were unmistakable.

AFTON.

Heart pounding, Chris reached out to open the file when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He felt a small prick in his neck which was followed by an awful stinging sensation. He opened his mouth to yelp in pain, but no sound came out. In fact, his entire body went numb. Before he could turn around to identify his attacker, he fell to the ground in a limp mess, his vision fading away rapidly.

"Sorry, Chris," came a soft, very familiar voice in his ear, "but you know what they say about curiosity and the cat."