A/N: I'm finally updating, but i need more support on this one! Plz favorite/alert, and R&R, I need 4 more reviews to update the next chapter!

Chapter Two: Jake

I am hurting sooooo bad.

I mean, you would be hurting too if a rusty air vent had been slammed into your head, splitting it open easily.

And yes, you would collapse too if YOU were spurting blood.

And after you had felt every little stitch go in and out of your head, you would be tired too.

So yes, you would sleep for 16 hours straight.

Actually, I wake up first.

My eyes crack open, but then they slam shut. A searing pain burns through the gash in my head. I can barely breathe. My hand feels too heavy as I lift it to my head to assess the damage. A song that Natalia sings goes through my mind.

I am reviewing… The situation…

I prod at my swelled-up head. Shakily, I sit up. Erica and Lexi are lying next to me, and Jared, Jordan, and Justin are sitting asleep with their backs against the headboard. Zoe is on the floor next to the adults.

I can feel my heart beating in my brain, and it feels really unnatural and weird. It feels like it's going too fast, in a race with itself. I feel faint.

My hair is plastered to my forehead, and my mouth has the strange taste of quarters or change. And still, I take this opportunity to flip my wet (ick) hair to the side, in a Justin-Beiber-like way. I always do.

I get the feeling that I'm really not supposed to wake anybody up. They seem too passed out.

So, slowly, I stand up, careful not to jostle the bed and wake anyone up. I remember when we were four, and the three of us had a sleepover at the old apartment in Brooklyn. We were in the tiny basement, and all of us were going to sleep in one sleeping bag, but Erica threw a fit and DEMANDED her own bed, so Natalia gave up her bed and slept on the concrete floor. Best not to disturb her when she's cranky and…apparently covered in puke.

I won't even ask.

I navigate through the maze of people. Natalia, Meredith, Grandpa, Zoe, and Bryan are curled up in weird positions on the floor. Natalia is brown from head to toe, covered in my dried-up blood (EWW). I almost step on Zoe's hand.

On the way up the hardwood stairs, something stabs my foot. I peek down, and see a small splinter protruding from my foot. I really have to remember to wear flipflops next time, I'm always getting splinters down here.

The door creaks open when I reach the top. I look into the bright light, trying to see who it is.

My hand blocks most of the light, and I can see the form of my Dad in front of me. He looks tired and haggard, like he'd just grown a million years older in one night.

"Son, is that you?"

"Uhm…yeah Dad. It's Jake."

So yeah, I let my guard down for just about a half second.

The next moment I was pinned to the floor with a stick pressing into my throat painfully. My Dad is straddling my waist, pinning my wrists above my head with one hand and the other is poking me in the throat with the stick.

"OWWWWCH! DAD?" I scream.

"Shut up! What was your first word?" he growls at me

"Natalia!" I choke out.

"What is my middle name?"

"Sirius!" Ok, no joke now, I seriously can't breathe.

"Drink this. Drink it!" Dad quickly shoves a vial into my hand, full of a smooth red concoction. He lets the wrist go. The stuff has the same quarter/change smell as blood. But of course, I don't want to anger him any further, so I gulp the liquid as fast as I can, trying not to taste it.

Actually, from what I can taste it is blood, with a bit of a weaker taste.

He stares at me for a couple more seconds, while I seriously am about to pass out over lack of air.

As soon as he gets off of me, I start gasping like crazy.

"DAD!" I scream at him. He shakes it off like a wet dog.

"Sorry son. Let's forget that little episode, shall we?" he says, like it was nothing that he'd almost killed me, and now we were going to go out for tea and crumpets like old friends.

"Forget…episode…WHAT?" I am…lost.

"Come on up. Hey, what happened to your head?" He sticks his arm around my shoulder, like I'm six again.

"A giant wolf burst out of the air duct, and the vent slammed me in the head." I say simply.

"Giant wolf. Ha!" He runs his fingers through his shaggy jet-black hair. We take a step up and go through the door into the kitchen, which still has mini-quiches sitting out on the counter.

Everything is in line, which sends a weird feeling up my spine. We pass the French doors to the dining room, and I catch a splash of color inside. Weird…the dining room is black and white.

"So Jake, wanna watch some cable? It'll be just like old times!" Dad plops down on the couch in the family room, switching on the TV with the old remote control.

Something isn't right.

"Uh, one second Dad." I spin around, and before he can stop me I charge through the French doors.

Oh my GOD!

All over the room is blood. The table is flipped on its side, and four wolves lie dead behind it. Another wolf carcass is in the middle of the room, staining the white carpet. The chandelier is smashed on the floor.

Even stranger are the people.

Aunt Lily and Uncle Alby each have sticks in their hands, and are swiping at the floor wildly, and everywhere they point to the blood disappears. My dog, Ranger, is snuffling around and digging up stray glass shards.

I glance around the room in disbelief. "WHAT THE FU—!" Ranger pounces at me before I can finish my sentence, pinning me to the floor and covering me with slobber. That's two times I've been pinned down today, once by my dog, and once by my old man.

My Dad sprints through the doors. He sees me on the floor, looks at his frozen siblings, and shrugs.

"Whoopsie."

You like? R&R! More is coming, but only if I get more reviews!

~~~Max