Petal's POV

Sat cross legged in my room, I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging nervously at the strands. I'd received 5 letters already this week, and I was pretty sure the disappearing necklace was the monster's doing too. I'd just found the newest letter, but I'd quickly burnt it in the fireplace, unable to look at it without feeling physically ill. I wanted to tell someone so much, but at the same time I was afraid they'd drop me. I wasn't part of their family, not really, and I would fully understand if they wanted to protect their own before me.

However, that wasn't what was truly stopping me from going over there and warning them about the situation. I suppose a part of me feared that they would choose to protect me – especially Gray. That would put them in ridiculous amounts of danger, all for someone as worthless as me. During my stay at the Benedict's, I'd come to terms with the fact that I wasn't as despicable as the monster had made me out to be, but that didn't mean that my life was worth putting other's on the line for.

If I just escaped and handed myself over to him, everything would be ok. But I didn't want to. That was the worst part – I couldn't force myself to put them in danger but I couldn't fully save them either due to my cowardice. I wasn't as selfless as Gray made me out to be, I was just a monster in the making who had a little bit more of a conscience than my father.

"Hey Petal. I heard from Gray that you weren't feeling ok." Sky stood in my doorway, her voice jolting me out of my thoughts. In her hands, two steaming mugs were placed on a tray, making a small smile tilt up the edges of my lips. "So I brought you some tea." Nodding at her to come in, she made her way through the room, coming to a stop on the side of my bed. It was obvious she wanted to talk about what happened, but as we both settled against my pillows, I couldn't force myself to speak. If I put the Benedicts in danger I'd never be able to forgive myself.

"It wasn't anything big, not really. I just had a little bit of a freak out, that's all."

"I'm sure it's not nothing. We've all been noticing that you've not been feeling very well this week," biting my tongue, I prevented myself from telling her that having a panic attack was in no way similar to feeling 'unwell'. She meant well, even if she didn't really understand that panic attacks aren't a virus that comes and goes. "And we want to help you out. But we're not really sure what the problem is."

"I've… I've been finding pieces of paper from my pockets. They've reminded me of my old life." Mentally berating myself for dropping her such a massive hint, I hung my head, waiting for her reaction. Hoping she wouldn't catch what I'd admitted, I avoided eye contact. And yet what scared me the most was that a part of me wished she would understand what I was saying.

"Oh? Are they photos of your old life or something like that?" She thought I'd been the one to place those pieces of paper there, that much was obvious. Screwing my eyelids shut for a second, I prepared myself for what I was about to do. Then, with the biggest smile I could muster, I gave her a nod.

"Something like that."

"That's easy then! Every time you find one of these, give us a call and Gray can burn it up for you. That way you can watch your past go up in flames." She made hand gestures with her sentence, making flames with her fingers. Her unguarded mind then brushed next to mine, showing me an image of a tall bonfire, and all of my problems flying away with the sparks. It was beautiful, but I couldn't let them see the letters, even if it was just to burn them.

"I like that plan. Thank you, for everything." She didn't believe my fib, if her worried face was anything to go by, but she left it alone then. Instead we talked about school and how it was going, despite the fact that I hadn't stepped foot in the place for two weeks.

"Right, well I need to go help Max with a picture he wanted to draw. But just remember, we're here for you alright?" Patting my knee twice, she stood up, taking the tea and the tray with her. Her absence left the room feeling cold and empty, devoid of the human emotion which made me feel secure within. So I was quick to get up too, going for the door. At first, I was going to go to Gray's room, see if he wanted to go out. And yet I remembered that I hadn't been alone in nature for quite a while now.

I missed it terribly, regardless of the danger over my head. Changing my path mid-stride, I headed for the stairs. Then I simply put my shoes on, slipping out of the house without anyone being none the wiser. Just like I liked it.

The forest was beautiful at this time of year, frost covering every available patch and dauntingly hanging off of tree's branches. Although, if I was being honest with myself, anything belonging to nature was always beautiful, no matter what the season. Unless it was dying, which is what I found after a couple of minutes of random strolling around. A giant oak tree stood before me, looking perfectly healthy – but something about it screamed help at me.

So without thinking about it too much, I kneeled down before it, placing my palms against its bark. Immediately, a distressed call reached my ears. I wasn't sure how to describe it, just that it sent me scrambling in panic. Something was very wrong with. And if I didn't help it was going to die. My powers had never been an exact science, and I was still unsure of how to use them exactly. But I had to try, letting my instincts take over.

Soon, I felt a wave of energy surge at my fingertips, streaming through the tree. It and I became one in that second, allowing me to quickly find what the problem was. Herbicide was entering the plant's system from somewhere in the trunk, poisoning it from the inside out. By the path I was feeling going down my body, I could tell what its final destination would be – the roots. Once there it wouldn't take very long to kill the tree, all it would have to do was kill the plant's hair root cells. No water meant no glucose. The tree's days were numbered.

But I couldn't allow that to happen, not because of some horrible human being who got kicks out of killing majestic creatures like this tree. Standing up, I started a quick survey of the tree's trunk, not taking very long to find a cylinder nestled in its bark. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have had the strength necessary to pull it out, but by that point I was seeing red.

Using all of my strength, I removed it from the tree, telepathy helping me out. It took me a good ten minutes, and by the time I had finished, my hands were bleeding, but it didn't matter, I still needed to remove the poison that had already entered its system. Putting my hands against it once again, I poured energy into the places that I was sure the poison had already infected. By doing this, I discovered that a sufficient amount of energy from me made the poison neutralise. So I continued to do it, each surge of energy making me more and more tired.

Once I was sure the tree would be completely fine, I collapsed near its roots, unable to do anything else. Remaining conscious by a thread was an achievement by any definition of the word, but being able to hear someone quickly approaching was truly a feat of god (me being atheist and all).

"So, I see I've finally found you, my dear." Looking up, with my blurry vision I was unable to see who was talking. What I was able to tell however, was that this certainly wasn't Gray, and I didn't know anyone else who would speak to me like this. My clouded brain was too slow to register what was going on. "Although I have to admit that poisoning the tree was an incredibly good idea of mine. Truly, I didn't expect it to be this easy. All I had to do was poison one of the trees on your daily route and you'd be falling straight into my trap. Your love of things surely has been your dramatic end."

"You're the one who poisoned the tree? You-"

"Nuh uh, what did I tell you about respecting those more worthy than you?" Finally, I understood what was happening. No one had ever called me unworthy apart from… him. The monster. He'd found me. And now he was picking me up, tossing me over his shoulder, me left rendered useless. I'd simply been trying to help the tree. Why was this happening to me?

I'd never done anything wrong. I realised that now – I didn't deserve this just like no one else on Earth did. And in that instant, being carried on the back of the man that would be demise, I finally understood. I wasn't worthless.

"Are those sobs I hear? God, you've become even more pathetic since you've been gone." He stopped then, rope going around my ankles and wrists. I was still much too tired to do anything apart from struggle uselessly. And just before my vision was consumed in black, the monster looked at me one last time. "Don't worry. We'll make you good again."

Hi :)

Gah, I hate myself for writing this . I mean Petal's basically my baby by this point and I got her kidnapped. I'm a horrible human being xD

Anyway, guys we got up to 120 reviews O.o 120! You're amazing, I've never gotten that many reviews for a chapter before. So the goal for next chapter is 124, let's hope we can get there again this time :)

Bye bye xx