Hey guys. Please don't kill me. Merry Christmas (sorry it's late.) and a Happy New year! I hope you guys had an awesome Christmas and got whatever you wanted and more. Tell me what you got in the reviews, I would love to hear about it.

I would like to give a huge thank you to my reviewers; you guys are literally the definition of awesome.

Random fact of the chapter: King Julien is my favourite character from Madagascar.

I don't know why I'm writing these random facts, but oh well.

Onwards ho!

Max's POV.

Iggy whipped his head around sharply to look in the direction in which I had pointed, squinting.

Jeb suddenly turned a corner, disappearing into an alleyway.

I put a hand on my forehead, rubbing my temple. I could feel a headache coming on.

"Let's just go home." Iggy said gently, and I nodded, my brain still struggling to accept the fact that I'd just seen Jeb near where we lived.

Dinner was quiet, none of us ourselves. Fang seemed more subdued then normal also, which was a bit odd.

I only ate a quarter of my plate, and couldn't bring myself to have anymore.

Normally I have two or three portions, so this is very unusual for me, and I could see Iggy looking distressed at my lack of appetite. He didn't comment on it though, or make me eat anymore.

We all went to bed early, but I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned for hours, all my wounds killing me. I was hot and sticky, and filled with energy.

After a while I knew that I was going to explode if I didn't get out, so I sat up, grabbing my crutches and standing up slowly. I swung quietly out of the door, shutting it as quietly as I could.

It was a huge struggle up the stairs to the roof, but it was so worth it when the cool night's breeze cooled and soothed me, brushing gently against my face and lifting strands of my hair.

I went up to the edge of the roof, standing dangerously close, staring out, unblinking.

Jeb was somewhere here, in this city that was laid out before my eyes.

He had a reason to be here. It wasn't a coincidence.

He was here to get us back.

My hands turned into fists, my nails digging deeply into my skin.

He wasn't gonna. Not now. I was older, stronger, shaped into a warrior by a rough life. This time it would be him screaming.

"Stop."

I snapped my head around to see Fang standing a bit behind me, lingering by the entrance to the roof.

"Stop what?" I snapped, my voice a little too harsh.

He made the motion of clenching and unclenching his fists, and I looked down at my own hands. Blood was running in lines and dripping off the edge of the roof. I unclenched my fists to see crescent shaped cuts all over my palm, bleeding violently.

Fang moved closer. "You're standing a bit too close to the edge, Max. You should step back." He said, probably thinking I was going to jump.

It was then I realised just how on the edge I actually was, my feet half hanging off the edge as I stood.

I didn't move back, though.

Fang moved to stand next to me.

I looked down, past my feet, at the ground. All the way down there, there were people living their normal lives, having fun, not realising some of the horrible things that happen just next to them.

I saw cars driving to and fro, groups of friends walking down the street, laughing and taunting each other, completely oblivious to the utter horror that happened to some people right by them.

"Can't sleep, huh?"

I nodded.

"Do you think Jeb is here for a reason?" Fang said. I looked at him to see him staring out into the distance, jaw clenched.

I sighed and followed his gaze, not really looking at anything. "Yeah. For Iggy and I. I think he'll probably try to find us, and won't stop until he does."

There was a silence for a few seconds, before I suddenly came out with:

"If he doesn't find us soon, I'll have to do something. I can't let him run free. Not after what he did." I don't know why I told Fang this, I probably shouldn't have, but I had to tell somebody or I would explode.

Fang looked at me sharply.

He took two steps back, pulling me with him, so that we weren't standing half off the edge of the roof anymore.

He swivelled me around to face him. This obviously hadn't gone down well.

"Don't you dare go running off to go find Jeb. He's a psycho. Iggy would have a freaking heart attack if he woke up one morning if he discovered that you were gone, to go find Jeb. Do you not think about the consequences of your actions? Max, you almost died the other day. You were completely out of it, and Iggy was freaking out. We thought you were a goner! So don't you dare even think about going after Jeb, or I swear I will kick your ass off this roof!"

Woah. That was the most I'd ever heard Fang say. I blinked. He'd never shown any signs of aggression. Ever.

I lifted up my hands. "Woah, calm down Mr overprotective." I said, trying to lift the mood a bit.

It was a little inappropriate, given the circumstances of the conversation, but I genuinely couldn't hold that one little sarcastic comment. It's one of the downfalls of being me, I always crack jokes at the wrong times.

Fang didn't laugh.

"Don't joke about this, Max. It's not funny. You never think about your own safety, and you have to start soon. I'm just trying to help you, Max. I don't want you to get hurt."

I had no clue what to say. I'm awful in these kinds of situations.

I just looked at my feet, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't tell Iggy." I blurted out suddenly, not wanting him to worry more.

"I might have to one day, Max. I can't promise that."

I looked back up at him. "Only if you really have to, but apart from that, promise me you won't tell him."

"As long as you promise you won't go after him-"

"I might have to." I said, batting back Fang's words back at him.

"Let me finish Max. I was going to say unless you really have to."

I nodded and stuck out my hand

"Deal."

He reached out and we shook hands.

"Deal."

He stared into my eyes for a minute, and I stared back into his deep black eyes.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed to think again, closing it.

Then he walked away to the entrance to the roof, leaving me up there on my own in an confused state.

I plonked myself down onto the edge of the roof, staring out in silence.

I didn't know what to think anymore. I was so confused, loads of strong emotions all mixing into one mass of super confusion.

I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed my temples. I could feel a headache coming on.

I sighed and lay back, my legs still dangling off the roof.

I watched the clouds, stressing about Jeb being here. I don't know why he could possibly want us back. It was kind of likely that he would want Iggy back, and the only reason he would want me would be to kill me.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he had just slipped into raged insanity, ready to kill.

But how did he know we were here? I knew it wasn't by chance. I could tell that he was here on purpose, I could sense it.

Was it simply by chance he'd found us here, after ages of searching. I didn't even know if he saw me. But I had a feeling that he was here for us, here to take us back.

To take us back to the place which once held such joy and happiness in my heart, and ended up as a household which brought nightmares, a cold place filed with hatred and pain.

My old home.

I walked down the cold street, the rain pouring down on me. I shivered uncontrollably, completely soaked in a t-shirt and shorts.

It was winter. As I walked past houses' I could see Christmas trees, sparkling and shining.

I continued on down the street, not really thinking, shivering and shaking. I took a right and came upon more houses. I continued walking, and a little nagging feeling persisted to bug me, I could've sworn I'd been here before.

As I tried to make the cogs turn in my mind so that I could remember this place, I walked past one house which made me halt dramatically in my tracks. This place I recognised for sure. Where the hell was I?

I gasped, my brain finally making the connection.

The scene changed.

I was still drenched, but in a cupboard this time. My hands were bound behind my back with wire and I struggled against the bonds, cutting into my wrists. I felt the blood trickle down my arms and knew that I was royally screwed.

But I wouldn't give up.

My feet were bound too, but I managed to sort of shuffle, getting claustrophobic in the tiny cupboard. I could barely move, I was jammed in here. I wiggled slightly and managed to knock the door open by about an inch. My mouth was gagged and I tried to scream, but the sound was muffled. I breathed fast through my nose, panicking about being trapped in such an enclosed space.

I squirmed and wriggled some more, and after what seemed like hours but was probably only about twenty minutes, I had my legs our through the door.

Suddenly I heard footsteps and I froze, unsure of what to do.

I didn't have any time to act anyway, as my feet were roughly grabbed and I was yanked out of the closet, banging my head on the way out.

I bucked violently, trying to break free of my attacker.

I couldn't see their face yet, but I didn't care who it was. Insane rage and adrenaline rushed through my veins.

The attacker dropped my legs, and that's when I saw his face.

My heart felt like it was going to explode, and I started hyperventilating as horrible memories flooded back at the sight of him.

Jeb.

He grinned evilly. "Max?" He said. It was funny, his voice was different to how I remembered it.

I writhed around, twisting, trying to get out. I rolled sideways and Jeb swooped down and grabbed me quickly.

"Max!" His voice was definitely different. I mentally shrugged it off and carried on resisting, when he slapped me in the face, hard.

"Max!" Iggy shouted.

My eyes flew open. "What the FU- FNICK?" I said, avoiding swearing at the last second. Let's just say that Iggy wouldn't appreciate it much.

That's when I turned my head and saw that I was half dangling off the roof, Iggy's hands being the only thing keeping me from falling.

I was still partially asleep at this point, but when I saw how high up I was, precariously hanging off the side of the roof, I freaked out. Not in the sense that I was scared, more like "WHAT WOAH OMG WTF WHAT HOW DID I GET HERE WHAT?" Those where my thoughts anyway.

All I actually did was make a noise of surprise and twist and wriggle violently back to Iggy, off the edge of the building.

I scrambled back as fast as I could, my thoughts quite explicit.

I recovered for a few seconds once I was safe, and then I managed to speak, my voice strained. "Iggy- What…why the hell was I dangling off the edge of the roof?"

"You fell asleep up here. I came up and just found you here- I tried to wake you up but you just wriggled away from me and I grabbed you just before you fell." He sounded freaked out and worried, having narrowly avoided an incident which would have had him wiping me off the street below.

"I was- dreaming." I said, my voice wobbling slightly.

I sat up slowly, still mentally reeling and wtfing.

Iggy leaned back, reaching behind me and grabbing my crutches, passing them to me and helping me up.

He looked slightly pale and shocked still, and I didn't blame him. If the roles had been reversed and I'd been in his shoes, I would be just as freaked out.

"Sorry." I said. "I was up here last night, I couldn't sleep. I sat on the edge of the roof and I guess I just- fell asleep."

I didn't mention Fang being up here. I didn't want Iggy stressing over the fact that I had considered hunting Jeb down. He'd probably have a fit.

I didn't need to mention why I couldn't sleep either- Iggy could probably figure it out for himself pretty easily.

We headed downstairs and I had a huge breakfast- what can I say, waking up after a nightmare to find yourself dangling off a roof in your brother's arms just gets your appetite right up there.

But I was distant, withdrawn. I couldn't get Jeb out of my mind, or my dream. I had a weird feeling that the dream was a prediction, a vision of the future soon to come.

I hardened my heart. You didn't need to be able to predict the future to know that there was danger up ahead.

My fists clenched.

I was ready for it.

Guys, I am so sorry about how long this took to come out. I'm really ashamed of myself that I've let you guys down like this, and I'll try and make it up to you by making the future of this story as exciting as I can.

Think of this chapter as a sorry present and a gift to start your year with, I sincerely hope that all you awesome peeps out there have the best year ever, and that it's filled with happiness and success.

Jeez, that was cheesy, but it's true.

I'm really sorry to say that there may be a possibility that I'll update a bit less, I've got big exams coming up in January which will determine what sciences I'll be doing for GCSE and what set I'll be in and a bunch of other really important stuff, so I've got quite a bit of revising to do. I'm seriously panicking about these exams and school in general and I'm trying to put them out of my mind.

Anyway guys, Sorry that was so long. I kind of hope you read it.

Fly on and have an awesome 2014 guys.

-Raven.