(Wow! I've been writing a lot, haven't I?

Just a word of wisdom: Robert the haunted doll is FUCKING CREEPY. HOLY SHIT. I've never been so scared of anything in my life that wasn't within 300 miles of me. I made the mistake of Googling that damn doll approximately 5 minutes before I went to bed last night... and now I'm paranoid that it's following me.

IT'S IN KEY WEST. THAT'S FAR FAR AWAY. WHY MUST I BE SO PARANOID. I'll never see Dr. Hoffman in the same light again because of that damn thing.

Ugh... forget it. I'll conquer my fear eventually...

Let's begin.

Victor, Tyler, Leslie © Nintendo

Rylee, boy © Me)

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Days of Damnation

Chapter Four- Restless

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Three weeks after moving in, they had begun to get back into their normal routine.

"Mom, I'm home!"

"How was your day, Erika?"

Erika loved the new house; it was over twice the size of the one they had been living in- it even had a second floor! There was plenty of space to run around, just in case of a dreary day. Leslie loved it too; there was a much smaller chance of someone stumbling in on one of the more intimate moments she shared with Tyler.

Victor had attempted to marry the large, dark basement the instant he saw it; he had only come up to the main floor three times since they moved in, thanks to his darling "niece" and her willingness to bring food down to the basement.

Rylee kept her thoughts of the new house hidden from the others; but the way she kept drifting throughout the rooms, they guessed that she was just tolerating the building.

"The teacher was talking about how everyone was happy when Adam revealed the everlasting truth to us, or something like that," Erika frowned as she waltzed into the kitchen, taking a soda out of the refrigerator, along with a sandwich.

"Not everyone was happy," Leslie muttered as she began chopping up onions for the stew she was making.

"I know... I'm gonna go say hi to Uncle Victor."

"Make sure you bring the sandwich with you."

"Alright, Mom."

Erika dashed out of the kitchen, the sandwich clutched tightly in her hand.

Leslie heard the front door open once again.

"Les, it's me..."

Leslie smiled, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room to greet her husband.

"Hey, Tyler... how was the meeting?"

Tyler sighed, flopping onto the couch. Leslie sat next to him, gently massaging his tense shoulders.

"Well, the second lieutenant was able to get some higher-ranking military officers to come to our side, so that could never hurt... and Montag converted another Police officer to our cause. A bunch of influential politicians are going to help us, too... we're getting allies in all the right places. We may be able to start doing something before long..."

"Oh, that's good..." Leslie replied, a genuine look of hope on her face.

"Yeah..." Tyler nodded, a small smile creeping onto his tired face...

"Hey, Leslie... I hate to interrupt your time with your husband, but can I talk to you?"

Leslie and Tyler looked up to see Rylee standing nearby, nervously playing with her long brown hair.

"Yeah, sure..." Leslie nodded.

"...in private?"

The green-haired woman slowly rose from the couch. She and Rylee walked into the kitchen.

"What is it, Rylee?" Leslie asked softly.

Rylee fidgeted.

"...I want to get out of this house and do something," she finally admitted, her hazel eyes looking directly into Leslie's amber ones. "Everywhere we go, I'm always forced to stay inside, or where it's 'safe'-- I want out."

"Rylee, please," Leslie spoke, her voice taking a slight pleading tone. "I can understand your feelings, but if something happens to you...please. Just wait a little longer..."

Rylee sighed, quite obviously frustrated.

"Fine."

She shuffled out of the room, quickly being replaced by Erika.

"Mom, Uncle Victor said he needs you to buy these things for him by tonight," she proclaimed, stuffing a piece of paper into her mother's hands. Leslie glanced at the list briefly.

"...alright, Erika..." she sighed. "C'mon, get your sweater... you're coming with me this time."

Erika quickly ran to get her sweater.

Leslie threw the onions into the stew and put the lid on the pot.

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Damnit, Victor, I am never shopping for you ever again.

Leslie silently cursed her friend as she and Erika each carried a heavy paper bag, filled to the brim with various items best left unmentioned.

"Mom... what's all this stuff for, anyways?"

"For Uncle Victor's experiments, I presume."

"...why does he need sheep brains?"

Leslie grimaced.

"Probably to do some tests for meningitis... I don't know. And quite frankly, I don't want to know. You can ask him when we get home."

Erika made sure to put that on her list of things to do...

She heard shuffling footsteps behind her. The young girl looked over her shoulder to see who was walking behind them--

"Mom, there's a kid following us."

Leslie turned around to see if this was true...

The boy was filthy; his ragged clothes hung off his gaunt frame, making his bony arms and legs look even thinner. His short hair was colored a dark brown from all the dirt in it, but Leslie could almost see blonde roots under all that grime...

Even when Leslie and Erika stopped walking, the boy kept moving forward; he only stood still when he was within three feet of the Chases. His dull eyes fixated on Leslie...

"...help me..."

His voice was weak, and his body began to show fatigue as well; his scrawny legs began to tremble underneath him.

"Help me..." he repeated himself quietly. "Please... can you help me...? I'm hungry... and I'm tired of being sick... and alone..."

Leslie froze, staring at him in shock.

Was he really tired of being sick...? A more likely possibility was that he was a spy; they often used "poor" children to reveal the hiding spots of the Damned. Should she trust him...?

"Please... I have no home... no family..." the boy pleaded, taking a small, staggering step forward...

Something in the boy's voice struck Leslie as being sincere...

"...come on. Can you walk three blocks?"

The boy quickly nodded, closely following Leslie and Erika back to their home.

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(End chapter four.

New character, yay! New characters are usually fun!

That fucking doll is still creepy as shit, man.

Please review!)