I woke up around late afternoon if my watch was correct, and I was surprised to see the cave empty and my foot almost fully healed. The only evidence of what had happened was soft bruising around my ankle. I sat up slowly, groaning at the soreness in my arms and stomach.

I did a quick look around the room, but the lights were out and no one was around. There was still Marko's art supplies at the end of the couch, though. I slowly pulled myself up off of the couch, aware of the feeling in my bladder that meant I really had to use the bathroom, but I was too scared to go deeper in the cave, though I could see a few different halls.

Instead, I turned towards what looked like the exit. Maybe I could find my way home. So, I climbed up the steps carefully, mildly terrified I was going to mess up my foot again, and emerged into the sunlight. I had absolutely no clue where I was. There were stairs, though, so I climbed those. Those were even worse than the stone ones, though, because the wooden steps felt like they would fall apart with every step I took.

When I finally made it to the top, I looked around. I was on top of a cliff that led straight into the ocean – the ocean part I already knew about, obviously – and I really had no idea where I was. The boys' bikes were there, I noted, but that was all I recognized.

So I went back down the stairs and sat on the couch. I placed my hands in my lap and sat still for a few seconds before sighing and looking around. There was music, a large collection of it. David had left his Walkman out, and there was a radio on the ground. Marko's art supplies were still by my feet, and there was a large collection of books.

I paused for one more second and then leaned over and picked up Marko's supplies. I hoped he wouldn't mind me drawing in his sketchbook. I tried to skip past all of his drawings, not looking at as much as I could. The pictures I did see seemed to be just drawings of the cave, boardwalk, and the boys. Sometimes I saw something particularly grim like someone covered in blood, but I was skipping around too much to care. I couldn't judge him for drawing dark stuff. I did all the time.

I finally landed on a black page and opened the book completely. The pencils were sharpened, and there was a sharpener on the floor if I needed one.

I started with a base and then slowly built up, not really thinking as I drew, just doing it. I was in pilot mode, something I did when I wanted to pass time. I didn't think. I just did.

Only when the sun began to set did I snap out of my trance, and I almost wished I hadn't as I stared down at the picture. It was the person with the fox mask staring right back at me. The picture was mediocre in comparison to the actual thing, but it was enough to send shivers down my spine. I dragged my finger down the mask and swiftly tore out the picture as I heard footsteps and people laughing. I turned in time to see Dwayne emerge from one of the holes in the wall, followed by the boys.

Paul gave me a bright grin as he appeared and practically skipped his way over. I stuffed the picture into the sweatpants I was wearing, something that didn't go unnoticed by Paul, but I could tell he was going to ignore it for now. "How are ya, girlie? Feelin' any better?"

I lifted up my leg to show my almost completely healed ankle. "I think your buddy might have magic on his hands because it sure as shit didn't look like this yesterday."

Marko jumped over the couch from behind and handed me two jars. "Well, yes, it really is magic, and here's some more for the mess you have all over your upper half. Dwayne figured you probably wouldn't want him to do it, but I mean, I'm always down to help." He wiggled his eyebrows, and Dwayne smacked him on the back of his head as he passed us.

I rolled my eyes and thanked him quietly. "Can one of you take me home? As much as I love being around you guys, my mom is probably back in town, and she's going to kill me if I'm out any later."

"Ooh, ooh, can I take her," Paul questioned loudly, raising his hand and swinging it in the air. "I want to take her!" He was looking over at David who was slouching in his wheelchair. "Please, please, please, please, please?"

David rolled his eyes and stood up, shaking his head. "No, I'll take her home. You need food. I could practically hear your stomach growling all night." Marko snickered at Paul, but David stopped him with a glare. "You weren't any better at hiding it."

"I'll be good! I promise," Paul whined.

David gave him a stern look. "No, you won't. Now, go and get some food. Save some for me. It'll only take a bit."

Paul groaned loudly and leaned over the couch, resting his head on my shoulder. I chuckled and pushed his head off and towards Marko. "Go on. Maybe she won't be home, and I can come hang out with you guys later."

Paul groaned again and flipped himself over the couch, landing on the floor in front of us with a thud. I looked up at David and Dwayne with raised eyebrows.

"Is he always like this when he doesn't get his way," I questioned, a bit amused.

"Unfortunately," Dwayne grumbled.

Paul groaned again and grabbed my arm, trying to pull me forward toward him, but he quickly pulled away when I cried out. He stood abruptly. "Are you okay?"

I rubbed at my arm and nodded. "I'm fine. I'm still sore from last night. Though, I could putting this magic on me and fixing it by now if you weren't throwing a tantrum."

Paul looked guilty for a minute and took a step back. "I'm sorry."

"Hey," my tone was softer. I grabbed his hand and held it firmly. "You didn't mean to do it, and I'm okay."

Paul nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess I'll see you later."

He gave me a fake smile, and I watched him climb out of the cave. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Did I do something," I questioned, turning to the other three in the room. Marko was staring at where Paul had left, but the other two were looking at me.

"He's okay," David responded. "You didn't do anything wrong. You actually handled that very well."

"He's just worried because of all that happened last night," Marko chimed in.

I nodded and stood. "Well, um, tell him that I hope he feels better and that I'm okay." I heard his bike roar off, and Marko stood up beside me.

"Don't worry about it, angel. He'll be fine by tomorrow."

I nodded and gave him a short hug which he responded whole-heartedly. "I'll see you later, Marko."

He pressed a kiss to the side of my head, patted my back, pulled away, and left swiftly up the stairs.

Dwayne raised his eyebrows when I opened my arms to him as well. I motioned for him to step forward, and I saw a sliver of a smile crawl up his face as he complied. I wrapped my arms around him and placed my cheek on his chest. "You stay safe out there. And make sure the other two don't accidentally kill themselves."

Dwayne laughed, but I didn't hear anything, just felt his chest moving. "Of course."

I pulled away from him and tapped his cheek. "I mean it."

Dwayne huffed and smiled. "Of course."

"Good." I beamed at him. He nodded once more and made his way out of the cave with a few quick leaps.

Then, I was left with David who motioned for me to climb the stairs. I gave him a quick smile and complied, making my way up, up, up. When we reached the top of the cliff, I watched David climb onto his bike and roar it to life. He took a moment, seeming to relax into the loud hum of the engine before he turned to me and held out his hand.

I took his hand gently and let him pull me onto the bike. I gingerly wrapped my arms around him which made him laugh.

"You're going to have to hold on tighter than that, princess," he stated simply before we sped off.

I let out a scream and tightened my hold incredibly, my heart pounding hard in my chest. "Don't fucking kill us!"

David laughed a loud laugh and patted my hands with one of his. "We'll be fine!"

"Like hell we will," I screamed as he sped up.

The ride was terrifying, and I barely looked up. I only looked up to tell him which direction to go before hiding again as if that would help if we were to ever crash. He drove like he didn't care about dying, and I was beginning to wonder if he ever did.

After finally getting home, I barely had enough time to enter my room before I heard my aunt's car pulling up. I ran up to my room and quickly pulled on new clothes as I heard someone ascend the stairs. I barely had time to recognize the fact that my room was a mess before the door flew open.

My aunt stood in the doorway with a smile on her face that quickly turned to confusion. "Did a bomb go off in here or something?"

I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. "You could say that." I scanned the room, taking in the fact that it looked like I was dragged out of my bed, which I probably was. "Is there something you need?"

Aunt Jane's smile returned to her face. "I got you something while we were out."

I raised my eyebrow. "What?"

She motioned for me to follow her, and I complied making my way out of the house and towards the garage, passing my mom on the way who rolled her eyes at me. My aunt came to a stop right before the garage and motioned for me to look, and I let out a loud squeal of excitement when I saw what it was. Parked beside her jeep was a beautiful, though a bit beat up, red motorcycle.

"Do you like it," my aunt questioned, patting my back.

I turned to her with an excited grin. "I love it! It's absolutely beautiful!"

She laughed a bit. "Well, I convinced your mom to let you go out tonight if you're back by eleven. I figured you could ride around and get a feel for it."

I pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tight, laughing happily. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"It's nothing. Now, go on."

I pulled away from her and bounded over to the bike, hopping on as fast as I could. I took a moment to run my fingers over the handlebars before kicking it to life as the key was already in. I laughed loudly and turned to thank my aunt, but she was already making her way back into the house.

I let out a loud sigh before riding off, going as fast as I could without losing sight of everything around me. I ran down the streets, laughing loudly as I went, and I slowed down when I hit the boardwalk. I drove through people until I landed where the boys' bikes were. I jumped off the bike and looked around, my eyes easily catching them on the beach, standing near what looked like a bonfire. Nobody else was paying attention.

I grinned wide and went to call out one of their names before stopping abruptly as I watched David lunge forward and grab one of the people, the boys followed. Though they were a bit far away, I could see their faces transform into something not human. No, not human at all.

I was frozen in fear. I could barely make out what was happening, but there was blood. Oh, so much blood. What the absolute fuck were they.

I took a step back and then another and then I was sprinting back to my bike and taking off down the boardwalk, barely missing a few people on the way. There were tears in my eyes, and they were blurring my vision a considerable amount. I could barely make out the forest around me as I took a shortcut home.

But then, my bike stalled halfway down the road home, and I was thrown into a tree. Thankfully, I wasn't hurt too bad, but I could feel blood rushing down my face from my nose. I touched it softly with the tips of my fingers. It wasn't moved, and it didn't feel broken, so I guessed I would be okay. My bike had a few scratches, but that was it from what I could tell.

I turned quickly as I heard footsteps, and I faced the fox masked person. Why the fuck were they here. They were walking towards me, steps fluid, not tripping over anything. I pushed myself closer to the tree as they stood in front of me, the nose of their mask uncomfortably close to my face.

One of their gloved hands rose and gripped my chin tightly. I gulped loudly. "You're going to have to choose soon. One lost group or another. Eternity spent in different places entirely, but eternity nonetheless."

I shook my head the best I could with their grip. "What do you mean? You never tell me what you mean."

The fox chuckled. "You have the pieces of the puzzle. Put them together." Then, they stepped away, gave me one final look, and sprinted away. "Choose wisely.