When Jenny came through the door, her friends were up, watching the flickering lights. Tom was in front, the gun in his hand.

"Jesus," he breathed and lowered the gun. "Where were you?"

Jenny didn't bother to answer. She ran up to them, checking for any frost or blood or anything. She looked around the room until the lights stopped. "What happened-"

"Where were you?"

"In the other room! God, I was right there."

"We looked for you," Tom said quickly. "In every room. You weren't there."

Confused, Jenny looked to Dee who was closest to Tom. "It's true, Sunshine. We panicked."

"I thought they took you," Tom stressed. She knew that worry in his eyes, but for some reason it was darker than normal. Not with concern, but….accusation.

"I'm sorry," She said to ease the tension. "I didn't… I'm fine, though. Really. Everything's fine-"

"What happened?" It was Zach who cut her off, an odd tightness in his tone.

Jenny tried to think clearly. "Um…He…Julian, he took me into some room. We were talking….and we didn't get anywhere. How long was I gone?" She tried to change the subject without giving away the smallest, most important detail.

"A few hours," Michael mumbled.

Tom pestered further. "What do you mean you didn't get anywhere? What were you doing?"

Jenny was too tired to fight. "Nothing," she said tightly.

"But he could've taken you-"

"He swore, all right? Look, we talked. He didn't have any answers. And he brought me back as soon as this happened-What even happened?"

One by one they looked at each other, the uncertainty and fear settling into their faces.

"They were laughing," Summer spoke very quietly. "We heard them…."

Jenny was back now, forcing herself to be stronger and wiser to keep her friends from being scared-to keep them alive. Whatever happened a few hours ago, almost dying, sleeping in the same bed as the very Shadow Man that started this, she pushed it aside. They were alive right now, and she was going to keep it that way.

Yet, Tom was countering her. "I don't care if he gave you some ancient blood oath. It's his fault all of this is happening,. He doesn't-"

"Stop!" Jenny snapped. "Just stop. It's my fault, okay? I chose to go with him. I chose to fall asleep. I chose to play everything. I chose to release my grandfather. It's my fault that they're after me. And it's my fault I didn't do anything sooner…."

The surprise registered on all their faces. It reminded Jenny of how all of them were willing to die for her that day. How they were all so strong and brave…And yet, they all ran away in the end, because Julian stepped in front of them. She wasn't strong enough to stop them then. She wasn't strong enough to stop them now….

The pain must've shown in Jenny's eyes because Audrey was reaching for her. "Oh, Jenny…."

But Jenny moved away. "I'm sorry…. But I'm doing everything I can. They won't take any of us."

There was an odd silence in the air as the lights flashed a few more times, then returned to normal. Jenny breathed a bit easier, but her shoulders hunched when Tom still held the gun in his hand. It made her uneasy. It reminded her back in Julian's second game when they had drifted so far apart, when Tom only held onto his hunting gun. And had left on his own to kill the creeper and lurker.

"Will you put that away? Please."

Tom only glanced at it. "I killed those things once before-"

"Those were Julian's tricks. I doubt a bullet will hurt thousand year old demons-"

"What else do you expect me to do?"

Somehow the hypocrisy lit an angry spark in Jenny. "Fine, whatever. Let's just…get back to work, okay?"

They were all moving to sit down when Michael spoke up shyly. "Maybe we could carve into the bullets. That...killing rune? That way we test it out if anything happens."

Tom turned to look at him, his eyes opening wide with agreement, but Jenny broke up the bubbling thought. For some reason it made her gut tighten. She approached Tom, saying, "No. I don't want anything to happen. They can make us see things. I don't want anyone getting accidentally shot, thinking they were shooting the-"

Amid her words, Jenny reached for Tom's shoulder, but the second she touched him he reeled away; Shrugged her off and stepped back. It was such a rude, upsetting gesture that it caused the room to fall silent. He looked a little startled, then ashamed, but said nothing.

Someone gasped, or maybe it was Jenny. She wasn't really sure, but she knew that look in his eyes. The look that said he didn't deserve her. But after everything they went through, everything they talked about-

The shock and hurt slowly settled into Jenny's face until her expression turned into still water. She took a deep breath and turned away. "No guns," she said, but her voice had failed her. She sounded like a small child and she instantly hated it. She walked to the opposite end of the couch, but she was the only one moving. Summer had her hands over her mouth. Zach was staring at Tom. Dee grabbed Jenny's hand, but Jenny couldn't even look at her. There was nothing she could do about it.

But this-their lives, she could do something about.

"The Egyptians," she said, stronger this time. "Right, Michael? That's what my grandfather wrote a lot about…."

He took his time responding, the moment awkwardly sinking in until Audrey elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! Uh, yeah. It's in a lot of, uh…his sketches, too."

"Then everyone pick up a book or something and find everything on the Egyptians." She picked up a pile of papers and scanned until she found something. Eventually Tom put the gun down and one by one they joined her.

They used the markings as a guide for the rest of the books. The search lasted for a good couple of hours, like every other time it had. They nibbled on leftover cookies and pizza and took turns napping. Summer fell asleep on Dee who was trying to connect the runes with any of the Egyptian carvings they had found. Zach was examining the sketches with Michael, while Tom started making a list of ideas with their findings.

The cycle turned again where Zach and Dee had fallen asleep. Tom was keeping a note of everything together, of what was useful and useless, and what belonged with what. Jenny was still re-reading her grandfather's journals for what felt like the hundredth time. They were practically at the end of their researching with their given materials before Audrey brought out an encyclopedia and read any information about the Egyptian's rituals or ceremonies.

Apparently everything they did revolved around the sun. Their time, their work, their love, their death. They had many different carvings, different practices, too many to keep track of. So Jenny ripped out a blank page in her grandfather's journal and started taking notes. She was writing faster than Michael could flip the pages and Audrey eventually had to begin reading aloud.

"Ra, or Atum-Ra, was the primal symbol of light, warmth, and growth. The Sun God. The meaning of this name was uncertain, but it has shown the name has been used as terms for 'creative power' or creator.'" She looked to jenny. "What the hell does that mean?" Jenny could only shrug.

Michael pointed at something. "Listen to this. 'In later dynastic times, the god Ra was merged with the god Horus. He was believed to rule in all parts of the universe, including the sky, the Earth, and the Universe.'"

Tom knelt closer from the other side of the table, finally joining in. "Well, that's gotta be important, right?"

Tired, Jenny pulled the hair back out of her face with a sigh. Yet, the second she began to put it in a ponytail, she let it fall and spread out along her back. She wasn't sure why, but it just felt better.

"I don't know," she responded. "They have the creator or the powers of the sun, or Sun God, but rule in the underworld?"

"It said they did a lot of sacrifices and stuff like that. So they could've have been meddling with 'the dark side', in a way."

Jenny reached over and skipped to a page that was tilted "Ra in the underworld." All in all, it described how every day was like a boat ride in the light, creating man and other living things with its power, and had to battle the darkness when night came.

"Apophis, the god of Chaos, was seen as a giant serpent bent to destroy the boat before it could finish its journey. Thus the rising of the sun was seen as the rebirth of Ra…."

The Creeper, she thought a little shyly, knowing her friends were thinking of it, too. Sadly, she took a deep breath and laid back. How long had it been? She was already tired. "This isn't helping."

"Yes, it is," Dee argued. She came walking up, rubbing sleep from her eyes and stood like a warrior before them all. "We're finding some connections, right? Light and Dark."

"Yeah," Michael agreed. "They were using their light to fight the dark. That's what we need to do, right?"

Tom added, "But we're not sacrificing any bulls any time soon."

Summer made a face of disgust from the chair and shook her head. "They did that? Seriously? That's gross!"

"Let's look back to the sketches." Dee was the one to whip them out while Audrey kept the book on her lap. Michael was nodding off, but refused to sleep, so he chugged some of the leftover soda instead. It was passed around then, since everyone could use the bit of sugar. When Tom passed it to Jenny, an awkward knot formed in her stomach as she accepted it.

"Maybe you should take a nap," he said, his tone sounding very wholesome. "You look exhausted."

Jenny shook her head and kept looking at her notes in her hands, or the encyclopedia, anything but his gaze. "I'm fine. Anyone else can, but-"

"You can't stay up forever."

"I said I'm-"

He had begun to say something else, but something caught Jenny's eye, pulling her away from the forming argument. She slapped her hand on the book before Audrey could turn the page. "Wait, what is that?"

She moved closer and pulled the book into her grasp. It was a picture of some ancient hieroglyphics, one next to a man, another next to a bird. One looked like a cross of some sort, another a squiggly line, another a straight horizontal one.

Audrey studied them. "Um…Ankh, the sign of eternal life. Usually given as a sign against the lips, for the breath of life on their travel to the underworld. Djew, it's supposed to be like a mountain or range or something. The Egyptians believed it held the passageway to heaven or whatever. Oh, and Amenta, the-" her eyes widened and she lifted her gaze, a rush of familiarity coming back to her from her childhood years. "The symbol for the Land of the Dead, the Underworld."

Jenny was on her feet. She brought the book with her, then scrambled for a paper that held a sketch of the runes and easily compared them. Why hadn't she seen it before? The resemblance knocked her off her feet. She was stumbling, toward the hall.

Tom grabbed her hand. But before he could question anything, before he could argue with her that she shouldn't go off alone, she snatched the handgun from the table, and took off. Her friends shouted at her, but she charged into the basement, racing down the stairs and almost falling twice. She knew now, doing something so reckless, she would get what she deserved if she went running straight into the Shadow Men's hands. But her feet were moving faster than Michael's fingers during a video game. She stopped at the bookshelf, out of breath and trembling. The adrenaline was rushing through her veins with discovery, with fear.

Familiarity, memories, things she probably never would've remembered if she hadn't have seen them so many times.

She started digging around the sculptures, the boxes, the charms. She jumped to the next bookcase, knocking things over and dropping things. By the time the others had followed her, she had found it. It was just a small trophy, a dull golden figure of a half-naked man with a square head and a spear. It looked like the man from the encyclopedia, the Sun God, Atum-Ra. But that wasn't the only thing Jenny was panicking about. It was the carving on his body, the one of the cross-like symbol. The symbol of life.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

Tom was beside her, taking the gun and trying to make the connecting of the book and the figure. "What? What is it?"

"He knew," she said quietly, looking around the room. "My grandfather knew. He figured it out before we did." She gave Tom the gun and Audrey the figure and pointed out the symbols to the others. "He knew. They were like the runes. A-All of it. He had to."

"What are you getting at?" Dee asked, but Jenny wasn't even thinking right.

She was looking back at the other symbols in the book, the ones that were sketched without any meaning. One was burning into the back of Jenny's mind. She poked at it about a million times. "I've seen this before… Where have I seen it before?" She looked around the room once more and tried to imagine like she was five again, wandering around and touching everything that she shouldn't. Peeking under the desk, behind the bookcase, around the door-

Door. The doors. Gateways. Portals. Bridges. Containment. Freedom.

Jenny raced back up the stairs, startling her friends even further.

"Jenny!"

"Jenny, stop!"

But she was still running. She ran all the way upstairs and down the hall into the small bedroom that she usually stayed in when she had visited. It seemed boring now and much smaller than she remembered, but she didn't care. She grabbed the door and inspected it like a bloodhound would to a tracking sample. She had to bend lower, to a five-year old's height, with a five year old's curiosity.

Finally she saw it, on the inside of the doorframe near the bottom. Carvings into the wood. Some illegible, others familiar. Sure enough, there it was. The odd marking from the book. Seeing it now, she remembered it all over her grandfather's journals.

She was bubbling with excitement now, or maybe it was relief. Relieved that she was finally getting somewhere. Her fingers traced over the marking and soon she saw the marking under it. The ghastly X marked in blood. Judging by the old markings and different stains, it had been used over and over. Looking at it now, she could clearly envision her grandfather tucking her into bed, then whispering as he closed the door.

So her grandfather had literally locked her in at night for safe keeping. Or to keep the danger out.

Tom, Zach, and Summer were the ones who had followed Jenny. They came running up where Jenny quickly explained to her best abilities. She ended with, "This symbol. Whatever it is, the Egyptians believed in it. This was their power. And my grandfather obviously knew what it meant."

"What, for protection?" Zach asked.

"I'm not sure, but it had to be strong. Strong enough to keep anything dangerous he was conjuring up away from us."

Tom was grabbing the book. "Does it explain the symbol anywhere?"

"I didn't see anything." Jenny traced the rune again as Tom flipped through the pages. Summer looked like a young child with her bright eyes glancing at the markings.

"Can we use them?" She asked.

Jenny cleared her throat. She needed to sound strong. She needed to be strong. "I hope so. My grandfather obviously did."

"Maybe we can use them on us." Tom began, "If they worked on doors, then they can work on people, right? Maybe if we have the markings on us, like a tattoo. If we have it on us, maybe they can't touch us."

It was such a wild thought, but it was actually sort of smart. If they could carve the symbols into a piece of wood or rock and make the magic work with a little blood, if they had it on them then they could probably never be touched. Jenny wasn't too sure about having the runes forever marked on her body, but if it kept her alive she would do anything.

A relieved breath came out in a half laugh. "God, Tom, that might work."

Tom seemed a little more in-tact then, like they were just getting over a small fight. That tiny flicker of light-of them. He kept looking for the marking with a small shrug. "I mean, I'm not down for a magical tattoo or anything, but…"

Summer cringed. "I don't want a tattoo. They hurt."

Jenny grabbed her hand. "It's only an idea, Summer. We're not even sure if it'll work, but I can run it by Jul-"

Immediately the air grew tenser and Tom seemed to take a step away from her. Not a big, physical step, but in his eyes. His entire being curled away from her in his eyes.

Jenny went to say something, to take it back, but the scream cut her off; such a sudden, horrified scream. It sounded like Audrey from down below, from the basement-

Tom instantly yanked out the gun, but Jenny was ahead of him, moving faster than her bare feet could handle. She came to a stop in the doorway, her eyes frantically at the door behind the bookcase-the one they had first come out of.

But there was nothing. She turned and found Michael comforting Audrey across the room, and Dee boldly facing the bookcase. When she turned around, she was holding the statue-and the spider dangling off of it.

Jenny let out her breath, not realizing she had been holding it and stopped Tom from running her over.

"It crawled on me," Audrey hissed.

Michael combed her hair down. "It's all right, my sweet. I'll protect you from even the gigantic spiders." Audrey rolled her eyes, but didn't refuse the calming kiss from him.

Jenny breathed easier and climbed back down to them. Once they all gathered, they did a completely new search. The bookcases had more objects than Jenny remembered. From headband-like things to stakes, rocks, wooden carvings, and more. They were picking everything up and trying to compare it to any of the markings and gathering anything that was written in her grandfather's journal.

To their surprise, they found a lot. Summer found a long silver bracelet with a very similar marking to the unnamed Egyptian one, which Tom found no explanation of in any of the books. Audrey found a chunk of wood carved to look like the Djew symbol with an odd hole in it.

"Looks like an old African necklace," Dee commented. "Aba used to have….a lot of ones like it…"

With a few more figures and arrow-head like rocks being picked off the shelves, Jenny finally went with Zach upstairs to get one of their bags. She dumped out the clothes from inside, throwing out only one change of clothes, Tom's jacket, and a rock-

The ebony stone made something in her jump. She hid it before Zach could see and piled the dirty clothes elsewhere. She couldn't remembered when she had last changed, or bathed. It was probably better not to question it. Yet, she could still hear the voice in her head.

"Clothes you never imagined. A dress in every color for every hour of the day?"

She couldn't. Not now. Not ever.

She quickly pushed it out of her mind and took the bag downstairs. They started to collect all the items that seemed worthy, then Jenny was throwing some in for emergencies. If her grandfather had collected these for protection, they should be of some use for the meantime. Yet, besides the rocks and jars, some of the objects looked a lot like weapons.

There was a small box full of tiny metal hooks and metal shavings, bent and shaped to look a lot like the runes. There was even a dagger-like object, a hand-sized pole with a jagged end and numerous carvings all over the handle, but the thing was so rusted and old that it broke apart as soon as Tom picked it up.

Soon Dee was squealing with glee. She jumped up, holding the object she just discovered in her hand. It was odd looking, like some type of handle with two jagged edges curving above it. Dee slipped it on her hand and gripped it tight, like some kind of double brass knuckles.

"Look at this!" She cocked her arm back and snapped a punch forward, then turned and kicked, and punched again like a true warrior. "Woo-hoo! Are these the right markings?"

Jenny took the object. The metal was cold but surprisingly comfortable when she put her hand through it. The markings were definitely familiar, but there were a lot more Egyptian writing than just the single markings. Trying to make sense of them all hurt Jenny's eyes. She felt exhausted again, forcing back a yawn. "It looks right. Where's the bag?"

But Dee was taking it back. "Ooh, if we could just hit one them in the face-with this. Just once. Ha! They'd leave us alone."

It was impractical, of course, but it managed a smile from them all. Even Michael added, "Yeah, right before they threw you into Limbo."

Dee scoffed and bounced the "brass knuckles" back and forth between her hands. "I'd still kick their butts. I'd fight till they killed me! Through their stupid games-" she kicked the air, "and their hallucinations-" she punched the air one more time before turning back to Jenny. "I'd always win."

Her confidence only made Jenny more exhausted. She took the "brass knuckles" and put them in the backpack with the other objects. It had gotten pretty heavy now. She was going to say something about it before a yawn cut her off.

"All right, that's enough of your stubbornness," Audrey said, taking the bag from her. "You're exhausted and we can all tell. If you stay up all night you'll be so tired that you'll fall right into their hands."

Her words hurt, but they were true. Jenny couldn't even argue. Summer was tugging on Jenny's arm, her tired child eyes begging her to come up. Something tight snagged in Jenny's throat, something she knew but could never admit to her friends. "Fine," she said, her voice weak. "But let's all go upstairs. We've been at this for hours."

"I agree," Michael said, stretching as he stood. "And I'm hungry."

Jenny led the way back up, her arm around Summer's shoulder as they went to the couch. They agreed that Tom would stay up first and keep watch, the gun firmly in hand. But even with that, Jenny didn't feel safe. It wasn't just the gun or the fact that it was late and the darkness was everywhere-the darkness that could easily take them in their sleep-

It was the sleep. Jenny was terrified of the nightmares returning. She could only sleep for so long, a handful of hours before the terror ripped through her heart and jolted her awake. It didn't sound like much aloud, but after having nightmares every night; every time you close your eyes you see your loved ones dying, horrible-unimaginable things happening to them, torturous things happening right before you with no way of stopping it. Even when you wake up and know it wasn't real, to be so frightened, to feel the pain as if it was real and knew that it very well could be at any moment-it made you constantly afraid. Jenny had gained a whole new perspective of the dark once she had met Julian, but his Ancestors had shown her a new fear to it. She couldn't sit in the dark for more than a few minutes without seeing something utterly terrifying and not knowing whether or not it was real.

Because of that, she didn't want to sleep. Even without nightmares, she wouldn't sleep well, not while knowing she could get taken at any moment. She hadn't slept well in for what felt like months, not since Julian had taken her-

She stopped thinking before some crazy thought or mad idea came to her mind. She fell asleep with Summer leaned on her shoulder and her gaze set on Tom across the room.

Jenny knew she was dreaming, but surprisingly, she wasn't afraid. Instead, she was curious, trying to understand everything as it happened around her. She was standing. Someone was talking behind her; her friends she realized. It was the other day, when they were all talking about the symbols, how she was standing, looking at Julian who stood smirking in the doorway. It was like Déjà vu, being in the same moment again with everything the same but different. Everything was muted, and Jenny's vision was solely focused on the Shadow man across the room. She had noticed him before back when this had really happened, when they were all talking, noticing how weird it was that he was involved in their conversation as if it were normal. Yet, it was different now, somehow. He was different. But he was leaned against the wall, like before, that same old playful smirk, like before.

Jenny was trying so desperately to figure it out when something caught her eye. His hand, one that had fallen or moved just slightly; one was touching the frame of the doorway, one finger, tapping it just slightly, toward the bottom. Had he done that before? And what was he pointing at?

Jenny was muddled. It was like a silent riddle. He was just smiling and pointing, tapping the bottom of the frame, so low to the ground, to a five year old's height-

The symbols. The ones they were talking about. The one Jenny found on the doorframe-the frame he was touching-

Next she was in the basement. She knew everything without an explanation. She was higher now, staring at Julian as he stood before the bookcase. She was in the basement, halfway up the stairs, looking back into the room. Very familiar, déjà vu once more because it was the day after she rescued Julian, when she came down into the basement to interrogate him. But Jenny was confused now. Back in reality Julian was looking over his shoulder with such a bored expression-Now he was facing her, smirking so playfully, so knowingly.

She remembered now. He was playing with something on the shelf last time. What was it? She remembered him reaching for something….

She was caught in his presence again, noticing everything about him as if through new eyes. But she focused hard on his hand until she saw it. It came to her clearly now, how she thought nothing of him toying with something on the shelf a few days ago. But remembering it now, seeing him repeating the action now as if rubbing it in her face was like a shock of cold water to the face.

Julian was smiling at her while his fingers played with a statue; a statue of a half-naked man with a spear-the same statue that held the Egyptian symbol. The statue of Atum-Ra.

He knew. Julian knew all along. About the Egyptian symbols, the carvings on the door, the statue. Jenny had noticed his small motions before, but it didn't add up until now.

Now she was before him, stuck between him and the bookcase. She couldn't speak though. She never could do anything right in her own dreams. Julian didn't say anything now that he had her trapped, and Jenny had seemed to lose her senses. She couldn't remember how to speak or think clearly. It was as if looking into those mystical blue eyes brought her to a whole new world, one where she was utterly weak, but powerful at the same time.

As if knowing his hold on her, Julian only smiled and reached toward her. For a second Jenny thought he was going to touch her, maybe kiss her from how close they were, but he didn't. His reach went behind her, only bringing himself closer to Jenny. It was like watching everything in slow motion. He was almost touching her and strangely, Jenny wondered why he wasn't. Didn't he have permission? Didn't he want to? Did she want him to?

Suddenly she was asking herself all the questions she had denied. About his touches. About his kisses. About him, and how she felt. Of course, it all sent her mind reeling. Of course it all effected her, but…

The air was hazy. Jenny couldn't keep track of anything. She hated this about her dreams, how everything moved before her like milky water, being able to see it but not clear enough to understand. Even now, she could picture Julian touching her or kissing her, so gently, so fiercely, but she didn't feel it. It was utterly bewildering to be stuck between these things, these feelings that she couldn't even name. Especially when Julian retracted his arm, and pulled something off the shelf.

It was a jar, a small clay jar with some weird lid… The details wouldn't come to Jenny, especially when Julian somehow pulled out a handful of some gray dust without removing the lid, then turned and blew it away. It formed a disgusting cloud beside them where Jenny saw the shadows moving, dancing within it. He could see a man, and the jar. He was running. There was some type of fear, Jenny knew without seeing, but the jar broke and he laughed. Then he was dead.

There was more, but for the life of her, Jenny couldn't figure it out. She looked to Julian confused, hoping he would explain in that teasing way he always did. Yet, he didn't say a word. Instead, he only put a finger to his lips and shushed her.

The entire time she had been entranced by his presence, but it was the shushing that got her now. It had gotten louder and more erratic, unlike a person's voice at all. It was like hissing, like a snake. No, not a snake. It was more violent, like-like-

Static.

She awoke slightly startled, but unafraid. It took her mind a minute to register, but she felt Summer's head leaning against her and she could see her grandfather's living room-clearly. Details were coming to her now. The room was bright and the light hurt her eyes, probably because it was almost noon. How long had she been asleep? She moved to find the rest of her friends awake and in the corner where Michael sat in the chair, fiddling with something.

Jenny sat up, after gently moving Summer off of her, and knew she was awake. Her body was heavy and her mind was dull with sleep. But she remembered something. Something Julian had just shown her, about a man and a jar…. But it couldn't form right in her head.

"Well, good morning, sleepyhead."

The male voice surprised Jenny. That's usually what Tom said to her every morning. But when she looked up it was Michael who said it. From the side, Tom awkwardly noticed and looked away.

Jenny brushed it off by standing up and approaching her circle of friends. "What's going on?"

"Michael got it working." Dee said.

Jenny didn't understand until she saw the small radio in Michael's lap. The one they had found on her grandfather's desk in the beginning of the chase. She never would've figured her grandfather as the type to listen to music while he worked, especially as a sorcerer, but then again she never would've figured he had a closet full of demons either.

Right now Michael was fiddling with the tiny antenna and moving the knobs like it were an old video game. It was one of those very old radios, where one had to scan back forth to find something.

Audrey was sitting on the arm of the chair beside him, reading through some papers. "It doesn't count as working if it's spitting nothing but static."

That's what Jenny heard in her dream. The static from the radio. She tried to get over it, but for some reason it was sticking out to her. Why was it so familiar? Oddly enough, she wanted to ask Julian.

In fact, she looked around for the shadow man. What the hell was that dream about? Just to rub it in that he knew before she did? To tell her that she was on the right track?

Part of her was furious at his games, and another was relieved. At least she was on the right track.

"Hey, I almost had some classical rock going," Michael argued. "It helps to have music while your working. Statistics say it helps the brain function more in rhythm or whatever-"

"Where did you read that, Wikipedia?" Dee questioned, but Audrey broke the argument before it could start.

"Oh, don't start with him. He's delirious from staying up all night on watch-duty. Which, by the way, he got me up at three A.M to stay up with him."

Michael only gave her a goofy grin, then leaned over and kissed the back of her hand. "A fool for the Queen."

Something in Jenny flinched and she wasn't too sure if she was getting déjà vu again or maybe a bit of envy-

"Anyway, Jenny. We found something." It was Dee who gave her the book. "Your Grandfather said something about the symbols, back when making some type of portal."

"It's the same portal we drew to get into the Shadow World." Michael confirmed.

Tom and Zach gave a look of confusion, but Jenny didn't have time to explain. She was grabbing the book, looking through. She remembered now that Michael had been the one to read the symbols to her. He stopped after the runes ended, but there was little more writing. Jenny remembered now. Her grandfather talked about the power, about how simple it seemed to connect with it, something as simple as light. But that was just it. Light. They needed light to defeat the darkness.

But the entries stopped after that. Jenny didn't understand. He explained so much, so many notes, dates, times, symbols, names, then nothing. Like he had been cut off in the middle of his writing.

That was a disturbing thought.

Jenny looked around for the bag of items they had collected. Her grandfather was able to use light against the darkness, right? He was able to trap the Shadow Men successfully in his basement. He had to have something more powerful than them, if only for a moment, a minute, maybe an hour. It had to be just enough to overpower them, and take them down long enough to contain.

If he could do it with what he had, then all Jenny needed to do was find out what he used and how, and use it again, just like with the portal back in Julian's third game. She didn't want to capture them again, but she definitely wanted them off their tails. For good. And they were so close…

Jenny thought about asking Julian, but she had played through his games without his help. She could do it with his Ancestors, only this time her life was on the line, as well as her friends.

After a minute of reviewing the talk of ancient symbols, Jenny didn't feel any better. "My grandfather said the runes were the easiest to use. To connect with the other worlds."

"But he did say he could connect with other magic, right?" It was Tom who pointed it out, coming closer to turn to a certain page. "See, he wrote something here and Audrey said it was very similar to hieroglyphics. So your grandfather knew it was possible-"

"-but used the runes instead." Jenny finished for him. "So what? We don't want to get into any of the other worlds."

"No, but….maybe he connected to their power-like the Egyptian's did. Maybe we can connect to it, too."

Jenny looked at her friends, but for some reason the light was brighter than it should've been. She was starting to get a headache. She rubbed her temples for a minute, then when she zoned back in her friends were staring at her.

"Does that sound good, Jenny?"

It took Jenny a second to realize she had missed the entire last half of the conversation, but for some reason she didn't want to make it a problem. "Yeah, sure." She said a little uneasily. He handed the book back to Tom, who was staring a little oddly, then went and sat back down with Summer, who started to stir awake.

"Hmm? What's happening?"

"We're trying to connect the symbols, Sunbunny," Michael said. "Audrey's got internet on her phone to get more info."

"Oh. Are there any more cookies left?"

Jenny watched her friends act like detectives, taking more and more objects over to Audrey to defer what else they meant. While Jenny sat at the table with her grandfather's journal and the encyclopedia. It wasn't long after that the mildness of static turned into an average stream of music. Michael cheered in glee while everyone else seemed to shake their heads with a grin.

Jenny didn't know how long she had been searching for when she found something. Her head was throbbing painfully now, but she did her best to ignore it. She found the symbol that she had recognized before, the one that wasn't explained in the encyclopedia, placed in a picture on the margin of the book. It was a small image of a large black snake towering over a man. In his hand was the spear, carved with the numerous symbols of their language, including the foreign one. They were so small that Jenny hadn't seen them before. The man didn't look afraid though, nor posed for a fight. He stood straight and normal against the snake that was as least ten feet tall. Above them was the symbol for Amenta, the underworld, while underneath was the symbol for Djew, the crossing between worlds.

The caption read: Atum-Ra facing Apophis. It was said to be the final showdown of dark to light as Aphosis defeated Atum-Ra at night before he was reborn again at sunrise.

So her grandfather wanted to defeat all darkness? Or just take their power? Is that why he used the runes because they were so powerful? Instead of using these because it was more likely to die?

The confusion was only giving her a bigger headache. But her friends seemed to have more luck than she was having.

"So they used these symbols mostly for luck and harvest, and these ones for worship."

"We need the worship ones, then. Because that's how they got their powers. By worshipping the sun God."

"God, I feel like I'm in a cult or something."

Dee brought the list over to Jenny who was watching them all with squinted eyes. "Here. You ok?"

"Just a headache." Jenny took the paper. "We should find these on those objects, to see which ones we need. Maybe we can make some type of circle or something-like with the runes."

"I hope we don't have to build a pyramid," Michael added with a goofy grin as he turned the radio up a little louder. "Aw, man, I love this song!"

Summer had moved to fetched the bag for Jenny, but easily got lost. "Where is it?"

Jenny looked under the table where the bag had originally been. "Michael, where's the bag?"

"What?"

"You had it last."

"No, I didn't."

"Come on, man. Stop fooling around," Tom added.

"I'm not! I don't have it!"

Jenny didn't think too much on it. "Maybe we left it in the basement or something." She got up, gravity added ten more pounds to her headache, and moved over to the side table where a stack of papers was rested. "We can probably use this though. Audrey, can you look up this symbol for me? I want to see what comes up." She passed over the leather book, but kept the papers for herself. She was comparing what they and found already to the definitions. Apparently all the symbols they had found on the objects were only discovered with all royal blooded people. Pharaohs, their wives, servants, etc. The symbols were carved into everything they owned and specifically on their tombs when mummified and buried.

They uncovered all of this within the next hour or so, continuously changing spots and information, trying to add up all the clues. They had many ideas; a circle, the tattoos, combining the symbols, but none were set in stone.

Tom was in the middle of a sentence when they noticed it. First it was Michael, since he was closest to the radio, but slowly they all tuned in. Jenny was on her feet at the static-chorused music that had been abruptly cut off. The man's voice made something in her gut dropped, but she knew it wasn't the Shadow Men at work. Her fingertips tingled with numbness as she turned up the volume.

"This goes onto fourth day for the search of some local town teenagers. One which has gone missing before. The kids had told their parents they were going on a weekend camping trip up in the nearby Greenery Campgrounds, but there has been no further contact since prior four days. Police have searched the nearby area and have found no sign or evidence of the teenagers even passing through. Officers are considering this an accident and are searching the woods, or maybe a possible kidnapping. This group of kids consist of young Jenny Thorton, her cousin Zachary Taylor, and their friends Deidra Eliade, Summer Parker-Pearson, Audrey Myers, Michael Cohen, and Tom Locke. They were last seen in a blue 1973 Ford Truck, and a green 1990 Volkswagen bug…."

As the search broadcast went on to describe exactly what they looked like and the cars' license plates, Jenny faced her friends. Audrey was covering her mouth. Summer was pale. Zach had hung his head. Tom wouldn't stop staring at the radio.

It was silent for a long time.

"We have to call them-"

It was Summer who said it, but Dee cut her off. "There's no way we can. If they figure out where we are and what we're doing, we'll get thrown in the loony bin in a heartbeat."

Michael added, "Then we'd really be screwed."

"But we can't just sit here. They think we're dead!" Summer continued. Her eyes were wide, concerned like a child.

"But if anyone else gets involved we all will be!" Tom snapped. "We can't tell anyone. What have we been doing this whole time? Hiding. Running. We're so close to ending it. I know our parents are scared, but I'd rather scare them like this then lose them all together."

"He's right. We will go home," Dee added. "But first we have to finish this mess."

"But what if they come here?" Zach questioned. "What if, I don't know, they pick up something?"

Michael said, "Yeah. Cops are smart. They'll catch on, see where we were last time, and end up here-"

"They can't get involved!"

"But maybe our parents can help-"

"No, Summer, they didn't help at all last time. When you were missing they thought we were murderers. We will fall right into the Shadow Men's hands if we get caught."

"Then what are we supposed to do? If anyone recognizes us-"

"If they even get close to here, they'll all be in danger-"

"They'll get us all killed!"

It had gone into complete chaos before Jenny shouted. "Shut up!" It was actually surprising but her voice was strict and confident. She got before them all, speaking with orders and no room for discussion. "They won't die-I will. I'm the only one they can rightfully take. They can't take you guys if you're away from me-"

"Jenny, don't even go there-"

She stopped Dee with a firm hand before continuing. "Someone has to go home. Tell them we're alive. Make up some story, but don't tell them we're here. Send them on a goose chase until we get this settled out. That way we won't have to worry about so much." Everyone took a minute to process the idea, and once it settled they all took a good look at each other. "And it's going to be Summer."

The blue eyes gleamed up at Jenny. "Me?"

"I already made your parents think you were dead once. I can't do it to them again-"

"Jenny-"

"It has to be Summer. She's the only one…." Jenny stopped herself. She couldn't say it aloud. That she was the only one she couldn't protect. She had failed her last time. She wouldn't get her killed again. "Summer, you're going home."

"But-But I can't lie to the cops. Th-They'd see right through me. How am I supposed to get home?"

Before the chaos could break out again, Zach came to a stand. "I'll take her."

"Oh, Zach-"

"No, I helped drive up here, remember? I know the way back. And I can lie to the cops. Doesn't matter to me."

As he brought Summer to a stand next to him it was actually a very painful sight. Two of the most important people in Jenny's life leaving their side at such a time… But Jenny knew they couldn't get hurt. They were only vulnerable when by her side. If they left, not only would they be safe, but they would be able to calm their parents' fears and settle everything back at home. Maybe even send some food and resources from home.

Yet, as Jenny hugged them goodbye, she was fighting back tears; because she realized this could be it. This could be the last time she ever saw her cousin or her friend that she already had lost once. Then again, if Jenny was going to end this like she had originally planned, then it was the last time.

It didn't take them long to pack. They hadn't brought much clothes or supplies with them in the first place. They were going to take Tom's truck, since it had better mileage, but the second they started it up, the sparkplug was shot. They were left with Audrey's bug, the Spider. They were checking for any other problems when Zach asked it.

"Should we bring one of those things from the basement? You know, just in case?"

Jenny felt very empty when she answered him. "You won't have to worry about it. They can't touch you, remember?"

Silently, Zach nodded, his expression numb. Beside him, Summer shivered. "It's freezing."

"Here, take my jacket." Jenny wrapped it around the smaller girl before giving her one more hug and pushing her in the car. "Drive safe, okay? I don't want to hear another missing persons report on the radio-"

"We'll be fine." There was an odd pause as Zach looked over his grandfather's house, then Jenny, and got in the car. "See you when you get home."

A stab of pain struck Jenny so hard it was similar to the first time the Shadow Men attacked her. She watched them drive away from the dirt driveway and disappear off the road. Tom and Michael stayed outside to work on the truck in case they needed to leave at the split second. Jenny was the first to walk back inside. She hadn't noticed she was walking too quickly.

"Jenny? Sunshine, you alright?"

"What? Yeah, I just…have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." She didn't wait for a response. She didn't want the girls to come in with her, for precaution in case she got attacked. But Jenny felt like she wouldn't. As she shut the door on Dee, she had to hold onto the counter to keep herself up. Her knees went weak and the pain only stung deeper. She knew she was crying by the heat in her eyes, but she had to cover her mouth to keep from being heard. She couldn't let them find out. She couldn't let anyone find out….

….

It was silent for a while. The research continued, but everything was numbed in a way. Only slightly, before Michael turned the music back on and everyone seemed to wake up. They were back right where they left off, bringing the similar symbols closer and closer together and sorting them into what was useful and what was useless.

But the crying hadn't helped Jenny's headache. She couldn't focus on anything without the jackhammer going off in her head. God, when was the last time she had a migraine like this? It was making her more and more exhausted by the second, like it was draining her energy…

"Jenny!"

Jenny jumped, her temples stabbing painfully as she lifted her head. Dee was right in front of her. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

She sighed. "No, I'm sorry. This headache is killing me."

"Well, what was that one symbol you were talking about? The one you didn't recognize."

"Um…" Jenny looked around, but now the lights were killing her. "It was on…one of those papers we had. I think…over there."

When Dee walked away her steps were like mini earthquakes. Jenny felt the whole room trembling, or maybe it was just her. The girls weren't phased at all. It was only Jenny that was noticing the shifting in the room, the spinning of the ground. Jenny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The fear was starting to get to her. If this was their doing-If they were in her head again-

Desperately Jenny stood up. Maybe she had packed some aspirin on the spur on the moment. She had really doubted it, but it was all she could hope for in the moment. She made it around the coffee table with her eyes half-shut, turned away from the light that seemed to be getting brighter now. But she had lost sight of the side table where her papers were-or her bag-where was her bag-where was the wall?

"God, Jen!"

But Jenny was falling before she could hear the shout. She couldn't feel her knees anymore. She was passing out. No, it was different. It was like she was paralyzed, her body gone cold and numb and heavy as it dropped to the ground. She was going to break something by landing so hard, but surprisingly her head landed softly. Her hands were tingling and it was just so bright, she had to close her eyes. Someone was touching her, but she couldn't see who. Instead, she saw something white in the blackness.

Snow. She was seeing snow. Falling down onto a deserted land. No, it was a blizzard, raging through a very dark, very cruel land. She could see a tree, suddenly in sunshine with bright orange leaves. Then in fast forward, they all fell off, the sky darkened and snow fell. The seasons were changing very violently. She felt so hot she was suffocating, then it washed away and she was shivering with Goosebumps. God, even her teeth were chattering.

She was scared. Whatever was happening, whatever she was hearing, seeing, she didn't understand. She knew it was them, but she didn't know what to do about it.

She had always dealt with Julian, not his ancestors. She always had to be saved….except for that time she almost drowned. And in Limbo. Jenny had saved herself that time. She had brought herself back from worse than this.

Desperately Jenny focused on her fingers. She pushed away the images even though she felt like her head was going to explode. She pushed hard into the ground until she felt the pressure in her palms. Her fingers tingled back into feeling, and slowly Jenny felt gravity come back to her. It hurt for a moment, but then she just felt very weak.

She was kneeling on the ground, her head down and teeth gritted so hard her jaw ached. She was afraid to open her eyes, but she did anyway where she saw something white and black before her; shirt, and pants, she realized. White splattered with black, and black splattered with white. The finger on her chin was as cool as marble as it tilted her head up. The shushing was hypnotizing.

Julian's eyes were like crystals, gleaming at her from so close. His entire presence made something in Jenny settle, but her heart wouldn't calm down. She was panting-God, was she sweating, too?

He said something, but Jenny didn't hear him right. She got distracted. He wasn't shushing her; it was the static. The static coming from the radio behind him, sounding even more erratic and violent than before, like the entire system was breaking down.

Somehow, Jenny got it. It was him. It was Julian that was making the static. Maybe not on purpose, just the being that he was had interfered with the radio connection. That's why her grandfather had the radio, to tell when the Shadow Men were close by.

Jenny felt dizzy again, but Julian forced her to meet his eyes again. "What did you see?" he asked very smoothly. She had forgotten how elemental his voice sounded.

"Um-" Jenny cleared her throat from how weak she sounded and tried to think. "Uh, snow, a tree, the leaves falling off. I don't know, the seasons changing…."

She looked at Julian a little helplessly but he only took in her words, then looked away. She had seen that look before. Back when she first saw his ancestors and Julian was processing the most difficult situation before him.

Slowly, Jenny followed his gaze where Dee and Audrey stood close by. Dee was in fighting stance, while Audrey was a little behind her. "What does that mean?" she asked.

Jenny shook her head and felt the world shift under her. "I-I don't…."

She stopped when Julian firmly grabbed her by the biceps. He placed one of her hands on his shoulder, then started to stand. Jenny didn't argue, even though her knees were like jelly still, and did her best to stand up. Somehow, holding onto Julian made her feel like herself again. She was dizzy for just a second after she stood, before she blinked and forced her headache away.

"Was it the Shadow World?" Dee asked.

"No," she said, surprisingly in unison with Julian. He looked at her and said, "They were not threatening you. They aren't even here."

"So…it's a trick?"

"Or a clue."

Jenny looked at him, her eyebrows pinched together in confusion. Julian didn't look amused at all. He looked more upset, or content. Somewhere in between, like he understood what was happening and was waiting for them to catch on.

"A clue? For what?" It was Audrey who asked it, but Julian didn't even look toward her. He stayed staring right at Jenny, making sure she caught on quick enough.

"What's the opposite of winter?"

Winter? Jenny thought hard. So they showed her winter? The opposite of winter…well, it would have to be summer.

Summer. Oh, God, Summer!

Jenny barely gave a gasp before she busted through the front door, leaving the girls and the Shadow man standing there. "Tom! Tom, it's Summer!"

He was at the hood of the truck with Michael, hands buried deep in the metal of the engine, when she came running up. "What?"

"They're after Summer! We have to go get them-We have to go now!"

Tom dropped the hood and jumped in the truck almost faster than Jenny did. The tires squealed and dirt flew as they started to speed off. As they turned around, Jenny shouted out the window to the shocked Michael. "Keep everyone inside!"

They went racing down the street faster than Tom could handle and was beginning to swerve.

"Tom, go faster-"

"If I do we'll go straight into a tree. Put your seatbelt on!"

Jenny only clung to the safety handle on the passenger door. "Which way did they go? Did they take the freeway?"

"I don't know."

"Tom-"

"I don't know, Jenny!"

He suddenly hit the brakes and took a sharp turn, remembering the way back. Jenny had to grab the dashboard to keep from going through the windshield.

"We-We took the back roads-if Zach remembered-"

"He has the map," Jenny said a little numbly.

"Then he's gonna take these old roads."

"Oh, God."

Jenny shut her eyes, but opened them again. She couldn't be afraid.

If she feared that they were dead-If she feared just the slightest bit then it would only help the Shadow Men get what they want.

She hung on as Tom took another sharp turn and went racing down the long, isolated road. There were no houses here. No sign of people, no other cars. Just tall towering trees, the long cement road, and dirt sidelines. They didn't have to go far before the small bug came into view.

"There!"

For a second, Jenny was relieved to see the car, but as they drew closer she saw the car had been driven off the side of the road. Smoke was dwelling from the hood and the sight of tire marks on the road made something in Jenny churn. She was opening the door before Tom could come to a complete stop.

"Jenny, wait!"

But she was already hopping out and running with the trucks decreasing speed to get to the bug. What was even more unnerving than the ice completely covering the tires were the black tendrils of snow that seemed to be emerging from the car everywhere.

"No!" Jenny's voice cracked on the shout as she came up to the car. "Summer! Zach! Zach!"

Tom was screaming at her to get back in the car, but Jenny couldn't see inside. Her cousin-Summer-She couldn't see them.

She raced to the front of the car to try and rip open one of the doors, when it was already open-but Jenny still couldn't see inside. She was all of a sudden frozen in place at the sight of the giant mass of blackness covering the door. The sight of it caused fear to ease its way up her throat. She needed to breathe. She needed to calm down otherwise she'd scream and ruin everything. She needed to be absolutely quiet because what was blocking her vision, halfway inside the car, was a large, black wolf.

It wasn't a normal wolf. No, this one was much larger, much uglier with something like matted skin, and black tendrils coming off of it like it was its fur. But it was huge, taller than the car, taller than Jenny, and even though its back was to her its presence was far more menacing than if it was facing her.

Jenny knew she wasn't hallucinating this time because Tom had pulled up beside her, still in the truck, and was whispering harshly to her. "Jenny, get back in the car."

But Jenny couldn't move. It was one of those moments in the horror movie where the girls tries to sneak away and breaks a twig and the killer sees her. If she moved, if that thing came at her-

"Jenny. Get. Back. Here."

The creature was snarling, and Jenny could hear its teeth clicking together, as if eating-

In the same moment, right behind the creature, she saw a glimpse of blonde. A curl. Summer.

"Summer!" Jenny called before she knew what she was doing.

The dog flinched and slowly started to back out of the car. Tom immediately hit the horn. "Jenny get in!"

But she still couldn't move. The creature was facing her now, with red beady eyes drilling right into her as it turned away from the car. And its head was massive. It's jaws could easily swallow her whole.

Jenny tried to back up from it, but her knees went weak again and she felt dizzy.

Oh God, don't pass out. If you pass out now, it'll be all over.

Yet, behind the dog she could still Summer's hair. The fact that there was no movement or shouts or crying of any kind made something in Jenny drop, then harden.

The creature looked at her.

Jenny looked at Summer.

The wolf seemed to study her, then, probably off of her greatest fear, began to turn back toward the car.

"Hey!" she shouted. When the wolf gave her a warning snarl, Jenny only shouted louder. "That's right. Come get me! I'm the one you want, right?!"

"Jenny!"

The dog seemed to look at her and let out a small growl. Black mist lifted from its jaws.

Jenny started to back peddle now. "Come on," she screamed. "COME ON!"

There was some kind of noise, whether it was a bark or a human shout, Jenny would never know. She dove back in the car and didn't get the chance to close the door. The creature was there, claws easily digging into the metal frame. Jenny screamed and Tom hit the gas, flying forward. The opened jaws were right on Jenny until Tom slammed on the brakes, jerking the car, and the dog's head smashed into the windshield, cracking half of it into a million strands. Jenny scrambled back, but was stuck on something, a bag she hadn't noticed before. Yet, the claws were only coming closer, and they ripped open the seats, stuffing flying everywhere.

Tom quickly pulled out the gun and, aiming over Jenny's shoulder, he fired. He shot the wolf three times, once in the mouth, the side, and finally between the eyes. There was an odd noise, like something breaking the sound barrier but smaller, and the dog's head jerked back. Yet, Jenny didn't see any blood. Only some sort of black mass that grew from the bullet wounds and made the wolf even larger. It's head was now stuck inside the truck.

Jenny couldn't even gasp at it. She stared wide eyed as the wolf crawled closer, completely unaffected by the bullets. She was trying to breathe right when Tom grabbed her. He had his arm hooked completely around her, and she just knew he was going to jump out of the car with her. But if they got out-if the wolf got out-

"No!"

She jumped down and hit the gas with her hand while Tom shouted and threw it in reverse to keep from hitting a tree. The wolf gave a snarl of disapproval when it started to slip, but it didn't fall. The black tendrils grabbed onto the truck and began to wrap itself around even as they went speeding off in reverse. Soon the back window was covered in ice and they were flying backwards completely blind.

Tom was trying to grab Jenny while desperately keeping the car going straight. The dog was snapping its jaws and trying to climb farther into the truck, its claws tearing away the metal sides like they were tissue. Jenny was practically upside-down with her hand on the gas and legs tucked up and into her chest to keep from getting torn to shreds, but Tom yanked her up and kept his foot on the gas. The car swerved, jerking Jenny forward and the dog's claws came in direct contact with her calf. She screamed as the heat raced painfully up her leg, feeling every inch of her skin being pulled apart.

The tendrils were reaching for her now, crawling inside the car, towards her blood. Jenny started to hear whispers just slightly and her headache returned, but somehow she pushed it all away. The part of her that had kept from passing out, the part that had allowed her to beat Julian at all his games, the part of her that had pulled herself out of Limbo; it came boiling up so fast that Jenny was shouting again. Using her injured leg, she braced herself with one hand on the back of the seat, and the other on the dashboard, and kicked the thing as hard as she could. She used her heel like Dee had always taught her, and jammed it right into the dog's nose, making its head jerk back. At the same time, Tom slammed on the brakes. The creature's body dropped off. Metal scraped and chunks of the car fell off. The tires squealed and for a moment there was nothing but the smoke and smell of burning rubber.

But Tom didn't wait. He put the truck back into drive and took off again. Jenny desperately grabbed her leg, trying to ignore the searing pain as she frantically searched around them. Yet, all she saw were trees. And shadows.

"Where is it? Is it gone?"

"I don't know. Did it get you?"

"Where is it?!"

"I don't know! Are you-"

In the next second, the car bounced. The back of the truck hit the ground so hard it sparked. The tires popped and the windows shattered completely, glass flying everywhere. The car swayed as metal scraped and rolled over the useless lumps of rubber. Something hit Jenny amid her scream and she collapsed on the seat while Tom desperately tried to control the car. Behind them, in the bed of the truck was the wolf.

"Jenny? Jenny!"

She heard him, but she couldn't answer. Her head was pounding, and it was hard to breathe. If she was going to pass out, the loud sheering of metal woke her up. The back frame of the truck was being torn open by the creatures claws and its snarls were echoing in Jenny's hollow mind. She couldn't really think. She couldn't really feel anything. Not even fear. She could feel the car jerking around. She could feel Tom's hand on her back. But nothing else. Nothing else but her heart racing in her chest, the blood roaring in her ears, and the strange weight in her hand.

Wait…

Jenny opened her hand and saw the ebony stone with pure confusion. But it was warm and heavy and seemed to give her some strength. Her gaze moved passed it to the object on the seat. That bag had spilled open, the one they had packed for protection and had oddly gone missing. From it sat the small hand trap, the "brass knuckles" as Dee called them. They sat right in front of her face with the Egyptian writing carved on the outside.

Jenny saw it and everything clicked.

She snatched the object quickly and slipped her hand through. Even with Tom tugging her down, Jenny got up, passed her knees and onto her feet. She stood through the sunroof of the truck that had shattered earlier. She had to brace herself with only one hand and she was looking down at the dog that was digging its way into the back window. She shouted so the wolf would notice her and the red eyes burned into her like hot coals. As soon as it lifted its head, after gnawing its way to the seat of the truck, Jenny gripped the metal knuckles as hard as she could.

"Come on!" she screamed.

The car was jerking her around. The creature's claws were only inches away. And the black tendrils were crawling up the roof coming right for her. Any wrong move. Any wrong turn….

But Jenny wasn't even shaken.

She wasn't going to be afraid. She wasn't going to let them win. She thought of the Shadow Men chasing her. She thought about what they did to her grandfather. She thought about her friends and her family, what they were going through, what kind of danger they were in. Jenny wasn't afraid.

Instead, she was furious.

The dog leaped for her and Jenny didn't hesitate. She cocked her arm back and fired it like a gun, nailing the dog right between the eyes. There was a yelp of pain and the tendrils immediately released the car.

Something throbbed in the air as the body of the wolf rolled off the side of the truck and utterly disappeared. The weight loss caused the car to jerk and it came to a shredding stop with the metal rims scraping away on the cement. When it stopped, Jenny dropped back down uneasily. She didn't feel so strong anymore. She felt entirely weak and exhausted. But somehow she just knew the wolf was gone.

At least for now.

However, Jenny didn't wait. Tom didn't stop either. Together they ran to the crashed up bug ahead even though Jenny was limping most of the way. Tom went to the driver's seat and Jenny went to the passenger, frantically tearing open the scratched up door. It was stuck, but Jenny gave it a good hard tug and the door ripped open.

Inside, was Summer.

"Oh my God, Summer! Summer, answer me."

The blonde doll had a cut on her cheek, but other than that and her messy hair she seemed fine. She woke up like a sleeping child before the fear of realizing what happened settled in and she immediately began to cry. "Oh, Jenny!"

Jenny embraced her, half leaning on the broken door frame to ease the weight on her throbbing leg. She was hugging her so hard that the denim of Summer's jacket was hurting her arm-no, it was Jenny's jacket. The one she had given to her-

Instantly, Jenny began to cry. It was her fault. It was because she gave her the jacket that they had to right-had the chance to-

She looked over and Tom had Zach safely in the driver's seat. But Zach wouldn't look at Tom. He wasn't physically injured at all, but Jenny could literally see the damage the Shadow Men had done to him. His skin was a pale white and his breathing was very shallow. And his eyes….

They were gone. They weren't looking at the steering wheel, but somewhere very far away. Somewhere dark and cold that his mind had been before back when he feared himself. Zach was on the verge of insanity just from the look in his eyes.

We'll get in your head and make you hallucinate, Julian's voice echoed in Jenny's head. We'll show you anything to make you scared.

Jenny forced herself inside the car, reached over and gripped her cousin's hand. He finally looked away, at his hand, then at her, and his pupils were small, searching desperately. Jenny didn't know what to say to him. No matter what she said, she couldn't undo whatever they had shown him. She could only hold Summer in one arm and hold Zach with the other, praying that they would never be ripped away from her….

Wow that is freaking long. 25 pages! I hope you guys are happy! Seriously, I hope its good. I think it went a little long with the researching part but I needed the time in-between things. And the reviews are what keep me going so please comment! I'll update faster I swear! As long as they're nice J Thanks guys. And PS all the Egyptian facts I took from the internet and half meddled with so you can decide if they're true or not, I'm not claiming anything about it.

Till my next update.