Wow! Thank you all for the reviews and follows and favorites! It's good to hear about what I can do better and what you guys are looking for. I know you'll probably hate this chapter after all the excitement of Jareth's almost appearance. But it's all part of the story that I must follow. What? You thought I controlled the story? Puh-lease. If I DID then all the chapters would include Jareth! ^_^ But something I like to remind myself is that even though you don't see him, doesn't mean he's not there...

Don't know if that comforts you guys or freaks you out. It should probably freak you out...

On with the show!

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Chapter 12

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Sarah couldn't help herself. Legs finally seeming to work, she whirled around wildly to face where he was standing...

And there he was. Standing like a fallen angel. Majestic.

Sarah gasped and stepped back, towards MJ and Emily as her eyes soaked in every fearful detail of him. With one fist on his hip and the other lazily at his side, his hair was in its usual disarray. His clothes weren't black as they had been in the forest in her vision, but rather more white and tannish cream colored that was open to his chest. He wasn't just a bunch of black smoke now; he was flesh and blood. And he just dripped sensuality. Like a dangerous spider, an anglerfish, or a venus flytrap he drew her in.

REAL.

Just like he had been in his Labyrinth. At least, he looked flesh and blood... Could it be an illusion?

Without realizing what she was doing, one of her hands had shakily raised up to touch him... but the moment she realized what she was doing she brought her hand back to her in shocked embarrassment. He gave her a giant smirk and winked at the girls behind her. Sarah could only imagine what they looked like.

And then he was gone. Winked out of existence.

The girls collectively gasped. Of everything he could do, they definitely were not expecting that.

Sarah's mouth gaped like a fish confused and terrified...and curious. What was going to happen now? They looked around the room, certain that he was going to do something horrible.

But there was nothing. Just a cold pocket of air that seemed to be where Jareth once stood. It entered the girls' lungs as they breathed in, making their throat and lungs freeze with fear.

"Be patient precious..."

That wasn't her imagination. Disbelief flooded her as she continued searching for any sign of him in the library, which had returned to normal without any strange flickers. She shivered, trying to take in more than just shaky breaths. She felt a mixture of relief, confusion, shock and...mostly confusion.

And a hint of disappointment? No! Of course not.

Sarah finally succumbed to her legs that shook like jello and she knelt down onto the floor, trying to gain some sort of balance. She grasped onto the wooden table for support.

That thing...Jareth... had been so close. And she hadn't even talked to him!

She didn't know how long she knelt there but, eventually, she was aware of Emily shaking her and smacking her gently on the cheeks. Her tearful voice finally reached Sarah`s preoccupied brain and speech finally reached her conscious:

"Sarah! Oh my gosh, Sarah! Sarah, are you ok?"

Sarah looked over at Emily's tear-streaked face as the frightened girl continued to blubber, "I-I can't believe it was him! I-I saw him! WE saw him! After all these years...!" Emily broke down and cried, hugging Sarah there on the floor.

Sarah blinked, "Uhh, don't worry, Emily. Don't worry. It'll...It'll all be alright." Sarah heard herself murmur mechanically as she patted Emily's back. Sarah wasn't sure if her words were true, but it just felt like the right thing to say. Right? Especially since Emily was shaking like a leaf. That's what you're supposed to do in cases like these, right? She'd always done the same for Toby on dark windy nights when he was scared, but... but who was going to hold Sarah when SHE was scared?

Sarah looked up from where she and Emily sat on the commercially carpeted floor, to see MJ's dark skin looking paler than usual. Sarah began to come back to herself as she glared at MJ angrily, remembering who caused all this.

"You know," Sarah growled and attempted to stand, "generally when the lights start flickering, that's a damn good sign you should STOP READING ALOUD FROM THE CREEPY BOOK!" she finished in a yell, making MJ flinch.

"Shhh!"

The girls all turned to see Mrs. Pike, the librarian, giving them an ugly glare from behind her glasses where she peeked over a thick brown book on her table.

MJ shook her head and trembled a little as they all focused back on each other, "I-I'm sorry, Sarah. But...it was him!" she whispered, shocked.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Sarah seethed as she balled her fists, trying to keep herself from grabbing MJ and shaking her. Then all the fight went out of her and she sighed, calming down, "Whatever that was…it was close." She turned to help Emily stand up and over to a chair.

"No, I mean… back then! The trial! Think about it. Creepy entity lives in the woods, worshipped by a crazy cult…"

Jareth.

Sarah nodded, and grimly added, "And that would make two mass murders in Westchester, in the same woods, within a hundred years of one another."

It was official. They were in over their heads.

She sat down at the wooden table with MJ and Emily, who was quiet and staring around the room with wide eyes. Sarah watched her, worried a little. Out of everyone in the group, Emily had always been the most fragile. She wished she could spare her this. ALL of this.

Sarah had to ponder the implications... Why hadn't Jareth taken them? Taken her? He had the power obviously. Was that what this was all about? Was Jareth trying to show her that he had the power? That he really COULD leave the woods now? He wasn't limited to just dreams or a discombobulated voice...he now had more access to her and the rest of the population in Westchester. But what was the point in all this? Maybe this wasn't about her as she originally thought...?

"Ok, I'm officially freaked out. Can we be done for the day?" Emily finally begged.

"Definitely." Sarah agreed, then added as an afterthought, "But let's make copies of all this stuff first, so we can show the gang." She sent another glare over at MJ, "But NO READING ALOUD!"

MJ had the decency to look ashamed and nodded.

10 minutes later and they were walking out of the dusty library and into the warm sunshine of freedom. Sarah gave a deep sigh as she felt the sun kiss her skin, making the cold flee away in the warm rays of light.

"Ahhhhhh." Sarah moaned, lifting her arms up to enjoy the feeling a bit more. She could have stood there forever in that moment of eternal sunshine.

"And thus concludes our spooky scavenger hunt!" MJ said, trying to lighten the tension as she gave a tentative smile.

"Emphasis on spooky." Emily shivered, then allowed herself the comfort of the sun's rays as well.

"Good work guys." Sarah murmured, eyes closed in a moment of rare peace.

The girls walked down the sidewalk for a while before MJ broke the silence.

"So, uh…anybody else ready to go to sleep now?" MJ yawned.

Sarah wondered how she could possibly think of sleeping after what had just happened but then realized that she too, felt exhausted. Drained, as if she were like a battery.

"Yeah. Let's go." Sarah yawned, thinking of how nice a soft bed would be. Well, more like an air mattress on the floor that MJ had pumped up for her.

"Later, Emily. Don't get eaten by monsters. Or a bear." MJ joked.

Emily and Sarah glared at MJ's attempt to joke.

3 days later...

"Please dad, please come home. I really don't feel safe without you guys here..." Sarah gripped the phone tightly in one hand while the other hand tangled itself through her dark brown hair. "...Yes, I've locked the doors at night, but that's not the point! I've had to sleep at MJ's house because I don't feel safe...No, I've not filed a police report, but I'm with MJ and her dad and it's...but there has to be a way!" Sarah yanked her hand from her hair, accidentally yanking a few strands out. This was frustrating.

MJ, Stacey, and Emily sat on MJ's fuzzy black bed in their pajamas, cross-legged, staring in silence as she talked with her dad on the phone and paced back and forth animatedly. They had had a long over-due sleepover the night before, which was Friday, but it apparently had been one sleepover too many as MJ's dad kindly suggested that they take all future sleepovers to Sarah's house. Or anyone else's house, really. Pillow fights were loud. Especially 1:00AM pillow fights.

"Visitors are like fish," he had said jokingly to Sarah, "after 3 days, they stink."

Officer Adams wasn't a bad or mean dad. But Sarah got the message. He wanted the house back to himself. But her parents STILL weren't back!

Her dad claimed that they had a lot more work than expected on the will and property deeds and that he was up to his knees in paperwork and lawyer stuff. But Sarah suspected that it was because Irene wanted to stay in Europe a bit longer. Then again, Sarah always seemed to suspect the worse about her stepmother, which she knew wasn't fair.

Her father's voice pulled her attention back, "Sarah, it's out of my hands! I'm more than 3,000 miles away, and there's nothing I can do for you here. If you really feel in danger, talk to Officer Adams. But you really haven't given me a reason for your fear, sweetheart. Why are you so afraid?"

Sarah couldn't tell him WHY she was scared. Only that she WAS, and that should be good enough for him. Logically, it wasn't.

"I can't leave in the middle of this mess, hun. Irish law is a lot more complex than you know..." he trailed off.

She knew she was throwing a little kid tantrum, which is totally uncool for a young woman her age...but what else could she do? "You don't even care! You don't care about me, or what I'm going through! I'm all alone here while creepy things are going on around Westchester! I need you guys here!"

Her father sighed, getting frustrated, "Sarah, we asked you to come along! Remember? I told you over and over and over again that you should come with us. But what did you say?"

That shut Sarah up. She had told them that she was 18 now. She had told them she could take care of herself. She had told them that she wanted this opportunity to grow and be independent. She had said it over and over and practically demanded to stay until they relented and allowed their 18-year-old the opportunity to be a little grown-up. And now she was doing exactly what they thought she might do; not succeed.

But it isn't my fault! She thought to herself, I didn't know when they left that I would have to defend everyone against a paranormal entity that would stop at nothing until...until...

Taking her silence as confirmation he continued, "Honey, I'm sorry you're feeling so nervous. This is a normal part of independence. Being alone in a house for a night just babysitting Toby is fine. Being alone in a house for more than a month? It's scary, I know. But if you need anything, go to Mark's. He's a good guy."

"Fine." Sarah muttered, defeated. What else could she say? There's a Goblin King that may or may not want to drag me away to the underground and he's come back from being A-wall for 10 years since he killed my best friend Jessica for some unknown reason. Yeah, remember her? So, he kidnapped Dan and put him into a coma and now we don't know WHAT he's up to! Will you please come home so I don't have to deal with this anymore?

Yeah. Sure.

They exchanged a few more words, before Mr. Williams had to hang up the phone. International calls weren't cheap.

Sarah sighed, and turned to the girls all gazing up at her, "I guess I better go home and nail the windows shut."

MJ was currently levitating a green pen in the air above her hand and was twirling it. Her telekinetic powers had grown stronger these past three days, much to Sarah's chagrin. But it had been hilarious when she had shown the gang. Sarah should have got it on video with all the freaked out reactions.

"Don't worry Sarah," MJ said, glancing from her floating pen over to Sarah's strung-out form, "nothing's gone on in the past 3 days and there has been no sign of you-know-who. Pour salt on your window. It might work."

"Might?" Stacey looked over at MJ skeptically; glossy blond cornrows in her hair from where MJ had been practicing the other night.

MJ shrugged, focusing on twirling her pen in midair again.

Stacey turned to Sarah and sighed, "I'm sorry Sarah! I wish you could stay at my place!" Apparently Mayor Green had a rule against girls spending the night while Connor was in town. Sarah wouldn't have wanted to run into him in the hallway while in her towel anyways.

...or would I?

Sarah gave her brain a mental smack.

"It's ok, Stace. I just need to borrow some iron and I'll shove it down the throat of any fae who try to come into my room again." Sarah put her hands on her hips and forced a grin onto her face.

"How about a curling iron?" Emily smiled shyly, lifting up the one she brought last night for hair-styling.

That started a whole new laughing spree that made Sheriff Adams, who was downstairs, cover his ears.

The girls ate a loud and happy breakfast (some pieces of food may have been thrown), and then said their good-byes as they headed off in their different directions.

Emily and Sarah continued down the road and out of town since Emily lived somewhat nearby although not really. Emily just didn't want Sarah to be alone, which Sarah thought was sweet.

The trees were beautiful and the sun shined through their green curtains in the way that Sarah loved so much as they walked along the highway's curvy road in high spirits.

"I have to admit, even with everything that's going on… it's nice to be hanging out with everyone again." Emily smiled hesitantly up at Sarah, brushing back her curly brown hair from the slight breeze.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sarah grinned. The gang had all gotten together every day after school to hang out. The incident in the library had been discussed at length by the whole group, but it was put to the side as they ended up doing what teens usually do and just enjoyed themselves. At first, it was to make plans on how to defeat the Goblin King. But now, it was just because they all liked the company. Strength in numbers, as Taylor would say.

She took a deep breath of the fresh air. The forest looked warm and inviting with the trees waving friendly in the wind as the forest creatures chattered amongst themselves.

Emily's phone buzzed suddenly. She pulled it from her pocket, and her face brimmed with a tentative joy that she struggled to contain.

"Who's that?" Sarah asked curiously.

"It's Britney! We're, uh, trying to decide where we want to go out to eat!" She typed excitedly on her phone.

Sarah frowned. Britney had continued to be suspiciously friendly to Emily the whole week.

"Uh, Emily? Are you sure about being her friend? I mean, I'm glad to see her treating you so nicely now…but Britney's awful! She's been a jerk to you, but you have no idea what she's done to other people..." Sarah desperately wanted to tell her about Stacey's blackmail.

"She's not always like that." Emily defended, but then backtracked, "….Or at least she didn't use to be. Before she went and got popular."

"You used to be friends?" Sarah asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. Best friends, actually." Emily sighed and looked up at Sarah. "We were in Brownie Scouts together, and we lived on the same block, so we used to carpool a lot. I got picked on by the other girls, and she liked having an excuse to hit people, so we just kinda… I don't know. Clicked!"

"Hit people? Hmm. Sounds more like Jocelyn." Sarah growled, rubbing her head even though it didn't hurt at all. She softened though, as she saw Emily's expression, "Sounds like you guys were close." She nodded sympathetically.

Emily's face lit up, "Yeah, super close! We both loved to…."

But Emily's words trailed off…. as something huge came rumbling up behind them. Sarah glanced over her shoulder with wide-eyes... and came face-to-face with—

Cody.

A red flashy convertible rolled up alongside the two girls. Jocelyn lounged in the passenger seat with a piece of white tape on her nose, confirming that it had indeed been broken. She had been absent from school the day after MJ broke it. Cody sat behind the wheel.

"Hey, check it out, it's the freak parade!" Cody smirked evilly, happy at catching them alone.

Jocelyn found it hilarious, as always, "Hahaha!" her broken nose made her laugh sound congested.

Even though Britney seemed to have turned a new leaf, her two friends hadn't. If anything, it made them even more angry against Emily and the others for somehow turning their friend.

Lack of sleep had made Sarah more snarky than usual, "Oh, look Emily! It's a rolling red dumpster taking the trash out. What's up guys?" She smiled sweetly at them, knowing it would rile them up.

"Just ignore them…" Emily glared, pulling at Sarah's jacket arm, and kept walking.

They both tried to pick up the pace, but Cody simply stepped on the accelerator, matching the car's pace with theirs. Sarah had a super bad feeling about this…

"What's the hurry, kiddos?"

"What do you want?" Sarah growled at him.

"Haven't you dorks heard? There's a bear on the prowl." he waggled his eyebrows.

"Roar!" Jocelyn smirked.

"We saw you walking and just thought we'd give you a lift." Cody smiled, putting on a friendly act.

"Yeah, sure." Sarah rolled her eyes, clearly not buying it for a minute.

"How dumb do you think we are?" Emily asked them, glancing at Sarah for reassurance.

"What's the matter? We're all friends here. Hop in!" Cody twitched the wheel towards them, nudging them off the side of the road.

"Knock it off!" Sarah growled, beginning to lose her patience.

"It's not me! It's the car!" Cody laughed, as he swerved the wheel towards them again.

"Aaah! Stop it!" Emily gasped as the car door thumped hard against her shoulder, practically pushing her over as Cody swerved towards them yet again.

That DOES IT!

"HurrAAAgggh!" Sarah growled as she wrapped her hand in her hoodie sleeve and slammed her fist into Cody's mirror!

CRACK!

White cracks exploded across the glass as her covered fist made contact, distorting the image.

"Hey, what the hell?!" Cody yelled, eyes wide and mouth open, shocked that the normally pacifying Sarah had the audacity...

Sarah smirked, proud of herself….and then her smirk died on her face as the brake lights flashed red and both doors burst open. Cody and Jocelyn stepped furiously out onto the black asphalt road.

"This is a brand new car!" Cody bellowed, furious.

Sarah ignored the warning bells in her head that told her to not antagonize them and yelled back, "YEAH?! Well then, maybe you shouldn't be using it to HIT people!"

"Oh, don't worry. I can think of a few other ways to hit you." Cody pounded a fist into his other hand, menacingly.

But before she could blink, Jocelyn had come up to her unawares and, catching her off guard, shoved her. Sarah felt herself grasping air in her fingers as she fell back over the side of the road. Luckily it was just a ditch on the side that she fell into, but it was a little steep as she tumbled into the bushes below.

"Ooof!" Sarah wheezed as she found herself on her back, covered in dust and leaves while wedged in the bushes. Instead of being shocked out of her wits like when Jocelyn had smashed her skull against a locker last week...Sarah Marie Williams was PISSED.

Cody laughed in surprise. He gave Jocelyn a high-five and then they laughed at Sarah's belligerent expression peeking from the bushes.

"Sarah!" Emily cried as she began to try to find a way down to her.

"I'm fine Emily, don't come down." Sarah huffed and coughed in the dust she had stirred up. She tried to pull herself from the entangling branches.

Emily turned to the two laughing teenagers, angrily, "You two b-better leave us alone! O-or else!"

Cody and Jocelyn's eyebrows shot up. They were quiet for a second, before looking at one another and laughing even harder.

"Or else?" Cody was enjoying this.

"I…I'll.." Emily looked between them nervously.

"You'll do what, honeybun?" Jocelyn cooed at her, mockingly. She took a step toward Emily, making her step back.

"Emily! Just go!" Sarah huffed as she struggled to climb back up the side. When she got up there, Jocelyn was going to get more than a broken nose.

I wish...

Emily turned to run but Cody easily cut her off.

"Oh, I'm sorry... Am I in your way?" He smiled charmingly, an evil glint in his eye.

Emily tried to dodge left. Cody went left.

Emily went right. Cody went right.

"Gosh, don't you just hate it when that happens?" Cody grimaced mockingly.

"SO awkward!" Jocelyn agreed, giggling.

I wish...

Jocelyn and Cody closed in on Emily from both sides, laughing. Sarah was almost up the side of the ditch. She was going to put Jocelyn and Cody in the hospital, she was so mad! She was done with them!

As Emily looked back and forth, panicking…

And as Cody and Jocelyn cackled…

And as Sarah finally made it back up the ditch at last…

…at the edge of the road...the bushes and trees began to shake…

And something HUGE surged out of the forest!

"What the hell?!" Cody cried out,

Giant white birds exploded out of the trees! Shrieking like demons, they SLAMMED into Cody like a fist! The sudden force of it made him slam back into the side of his car!

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHGHHHHHH!" He screamed. The ungodly sounds coming from Cody's throat was bone-chilling. It seemed so wrong to hear someone as big and strong as Cody creating such sounds.

Sarah and Emily could only watch in horror, not understanding what they were looking at, as birds swarmed in a cloud of white feathers. Tearing, scraping, and clawing at Cody and Jocelyn with their beaks and claws!

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhiiiiiiiieeee!" Jocelyn's painful shrieks accompanied Cody's anguished cries, as they clawed huge gashes and pecked at their unprotected skin. They both were bleeding heavily. Sarah's stomach was up in her throat, but she was too afraid to do anything.

"Joss, get in the car! GET IN THE CAR!" Cody yelled, covering his eyes. His lips, face, and hands were bleeding profusely. His hoodie all along his arms were in tatters with deep gashes, the fabric had been ripped apart.

Cody and Joss scrambled around the convertible and dived in over the doors as the birds menaced them from all sides!

"Get OFF!" Jocelyn yelled out in obvious pain. She landed one of her blows, smacking one of the birds out of the air with a back fist!

SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!

It fell to the asphalt road with a screech, wings twisting in a flutter. Sarah was finally able to recognize it's shape and face and realized that it was an owl! The huge white birds were all owls!

Wait...what?

Sarah couldn't believe her eyes.

In the daytime?

The convertible's engine roared as the car sped off….and with a rustle of wind the shrieking owls dispersed into the woods as quickly as they had come.

Sarah and Emily stood side by side, not moving as they stared off in the direction the birds and car had gone. Neither of them had been so much as touched by the birds.

"Oh my gosh! Did you see that?" Emily asked, mouth open.

"That was….AMAZING!" Sarah felt a bubbling feeling of euphoria in her heart, "I've heard of karma, but who knew it was so speedy and efficient?!" She laughed in bewilderment, breathlessly giddy. Suddenly she felt something blowing in her dark hair. She reached up and grabbed whatever it was to bring to her face and look at it. It was a fuzzy white owl feather.

Sarah frowned for a moment. A memory was niggling at her brain.

Emily breathed, "Yeah, those crazy birds showed up right on time. It was almost like…"

Before Emily could finish her thought, Sarah heard a small sound from the road. She looked over and saw the white owl, standing there with its feathers all fluffed up, watching them fearfully with big wide eyes. It wasn't as big as the others had been, maybe a foot and a half, so it must be fairly young compared to it's companions.

"It's the owl Jocelyn smacked," Sarah said in awe, taking a step forward.

"Awww, I think he's hurt." Emily cooed.

"Come here, little guy.." Sarah said. She came closer to pick it up. She knew she shouldn't. That's, like, the first rule in the bird book: don't touch or pick up stray birds. But it looked so helpless and fragile and CUTE! It's big black eyes gazed up at her. She reached down to it.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!" the owl made a high pitched shriek that caused Sarah to jump back in fright, holding her hands to herself protectively. It jumped a few steps away before twisting its head around to look at her.

"It's ok, little guy. I won't hurt you. I promise." Sarah said softly, hesitating. She had always thought that owls had a cute little "Hoo! Hoo!" sound. The sound that owl had made sounded like something you'd hear in a nightmare. She really didn't know anything about owls and wasn't sure whether to move towards it. Images of Cody and Jocelyn's bloody faces and arms reminded her to keep her distance.

The owl stared at her, silently, studying her for a moment with its inky black eyes. Spreading its wings, the owl took off, raggedly flapping into the trees. You could tell that one of its wings was odd.

Emily sighed, "Poor thing… I hope she makes it back home."

Sarah stared after it a little while longer until finally, "Come on. Let's get going."

It didn't take much longer until they were at the familiar sight of Sarah's green yard with a pond on one side and the dark forest on the other. She looked around, suspiciously. She shouldn't be so surprised to see it exactly as she left it, but she was. She turned to say goodbye to Emily.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah!" Emily spoke up before Sarah could say anything, "I wish I could have done more...back there. I wish I wasn't so…" Tears well up in Emily's eyes and her voice shrank into a squeak.

Sarah looked out over the pond by her house, the shed, and the dark green forest beyond and thought about what she could say to comfort her.

"Emily…" She began and turned to her. "Listen to me. Being afraid doesn't make you a coward, and violence doesn't make someone brave. Jocelyn certainly seems to enjoy it…and does she strike you as someone who's particularly courageous?"

"No…" Emily sniffed.

"There are other kinds of bravery. And you don't have to prove anything to anyone... least of all, jerks like them."

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "But, Sarah! You're one of the bravest people I know! You smashed Cody's mirror…."

Sarah interrupted her, "Uh, honey, that's called '5 nights of very little to no sleep', not bravery… although it DID feel pretty good."

They both chuckled a little. "Thanks Sarah."

Sarah gave Emily a big hug, then waved goodbye as she started toward the house.

I'm ready for some Mac 'n Cheese and a 13 hour nap.

But as she crossed the yard, something caught her eye that she couldn't see earlier.

Why is the shed door open?

Sarah looked back for Emily, but she was gone. Looking back at the wooden shed, she weighed the risks. She was unsure if she wanted to go in without backup. Cautiously, she headed toward the white shed door and peeked around the corner, inside…

But there's no one inside except her baseball bat, dutifully christened "Deadstorm" by MJ, that she had left earlier that week when she had come by with Stacey for fresh clothes for school. And, of course, the strange black stone that Mark had found...

"Hey Deadstorm! Quit leaving the shed door open!" Sarah scolded her baseball bat, trying to give herself some false courage.

Deadstorm remained stoically silent.

"….I really need to stop talking to inanimate objects." Sarah paused and thought for a moment, "And myself." she concluded aloud.

Oh! I almost forgot!

Sarah reached for her backpack and took out the files from the library that MJ and Emily had decided to leave with her. She stepped inside and walked over to the dusty table while flicking on the dusty light switch to see better. She placed the files next to the black rune stone. Sarah picked it up again, feeling it's smooth glassy texture for a moment and studying the white rune before setting it down. She again wondered to herself where it came from.

…And then she heard it…

A scuffling sound, coming from outside…There was something behind the shed!

Sarah held her breath in panic as she heard sniffing…huffing breath. Was it the bear? Or worse...a firey?!

Claws scraped against the walls…testing its strength.

I've already had enough scares for today! This isn't fair!

Sarah swung her head around, feeling her blood freeze over as she realized...

The door! It's wide open!

Sarah's palms sweat. Every hair on her body stood on end.

Moving forward on the balls of her feet, she slowly reached for Deadstorm… when suddenly—

"Bark!"

Merlin's big fuzzy head appeared in the open door.

"MERLIN?!"

Merlin charged through the open doorway when he saw who it was, bouncing happily. Sarah sank back against the wall in a shudder of relief and slid to the floor. Merlin clambered up on top of her to lick her face.

Sarah was angry, but didn't dare push him away from her, "It was you who pushed the door open! You stupid dog! You scared the crap out of me!" She grabbed his furry face with her shaky hands, trying to hold him still, "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!"

She smiled a little as Merlin whined and tried to lay down on top of her, not caring that she was sitting against the wall on a dirty floor.

Sarah heard Mark's muffled voice sound from outside the shed…"Damn it, Merlin, how many times do I have to tell you to get outta the neighbors' shed, ya little—" Mark poked his head in, "Oh! Sarah!" He paused and then frowned in confusion, "What are you doing down there on the floor? Everything okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine! Uh, I, uh…I thought Merlin was a bear." Sarah tried to keep Merlin from licking her face.

Mark laughed, "Heh, sorry about that. I swear, I don't know why he's so obsessed with getting' in here!"

Sarah ruffled Merlin's ears and sighed. "I do. This stupid shed is falling apart, so we get animals inside. Mice, squirrels… it's practically a zoo in here."

"Ah. Well, hey, if you're looking for another exhibit, you just reminded me of something. I'm heading outta town for about a month to visit my brother. I wanted to ask if you'd mind watching Merlin until I get back?"

Mark's leaving too?!

The feeling of abandonment was staggering. It started getting hard for Sarah to breathe until she realized that is was because Merlin was sitting on top of her diaphragm, forgetting that he wasn't a puppy anymore.

Sarah thought about it, and she realized that Merlin would be able to protect her from the danger better than Mark could.

That decided everything. "Sure! I'd love to! My family's going to be gone for a while, so I'd love the company!"

"Yeah, I hate to leave you here completely alone," He shrugged, looking sheepish, "So it'll be nice to have a guard dog. If you don't want him in the house during the day, I can set up a bed for him here."

"It would be nice to have a guard dog around…I'd love to!" Sarah grinned.

She laughed, relieved, and hugged the huge English Shepherd on her lap.

"Great! Hear that, Merlin? You're gonna stay with Sarah for a while. How's that sound?" Mark asked. They laughed, as Merlin began to stomp around top of her. He probably had no idea what they were talking about.

"I'll bring his bed and food tomorrow before I take off in the morning. Thanks again!" Mark said as he started to leave.

"My pleasure!" Sarah pushed the lug-head off of her and stood up, brushing off the dust from her butt and the fur from her front. She whistled for Merlin and they both left the shed.

Mark and Sarah walked towards the house together as he asked her about school before veering off towards his house nearby.

Sarah looked up at her own home, feeling a bit apprehensive. Merlin had no qualms though, and ran up the front porch, ready to go inside.

Sarah laughed, feeling better, "Alright boy, alright. We're going inside. But I need to talk to you about something."

She came up beside the door and knelt down to Merlin's level. She held his huge furry head in her hands and said, "I need you to help me. There's a Goblin King who's wreaking havoc with my friends and me. I need you to go inside and make sure that the coast is clear. If there is anything odd in the house, I want you to tell me. Alright?"

Merlin stared dutifully back at her with his soulful brown eyes.

"As in...bark and growl, you know?" Sarah tried to clarify for him.

Merlin's pink tongue came out as he tried to lick her hands holding his face, and she took that as a yes. Dogs had a sense, she believed. And even if they didn't, it made her feel better to pretend.

"Alright Merlin! Lead the way!" Sarah stood up and then opened the door for him.

Merlin dashed inside like a bat out of hell, making Sarah chuckle again. She walked calmly behind him and shut the door. He loved coming inside, but never could because of Irene. She leaned against the door, with her hand on the knob just in case. Listening to Merlin sniffing all over the place. Waiting. Eventually, Merlin came back happily, not a care in the world.

"Hmmm." Sarah hummed to herself. She led him to the stairs and like she knew he would, he bound up the stairs to the second level. She walked halfway up it, while she waited again for him. But she already knew the house was empty. She could feel it. It was just her and Merlin.

After a pot of creamy mac n' cheese, Sarah headed back upstairs and climbed into bed. It was 2:00 on a Saturday, but Sarah didn't care. Merlin clambered on top of the bed spread, beside her. She wrapped her arm around him and for the first time in a week, drifted off into a warm, protected sleep.

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Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. Not many people were impressed with the last chapter, so I don't know how this chapter was for ya. But I already know where this story is going and I already have it practically pre-written, and it's all a matter of making it flow. Sorry that there's not as much Jareth as most would like. He'll be in the future chapters. But, it's definitely a different story than most people would imagine since he seems to always be on the sidelines. He'll get his day in the sun, or the night, I swear 3 Peace!