Layla awoke with a jolt; she felt strange. Its that small eerie feeling you get when you think you're alone in the house. She got up and brushed off her clothes from some carpet lint. Why is the house so quiet. Is anyone home? I hope Mommy is home. She opened her door slowly, peeking through the crack; her door made that long creaking sound. Seeing the hallway clear, she creeped her way over to Marcia's room to reveal that she was gone.

Pricilla had awoken hours ago briefly after Steve and Marcia left, and last she checked Layla was still asleep in her room. She had begun the backbreaking work of moving the beds and dressers upstairs, unpacking clothes into the dressers and putting sheets on the beds, and putting up some curtains in the home office. Pricilla had just finished unpacking her home office when she heard a door slowly creaking open, and then another door opening. She quietly checked around the house and then upstairs Maybe Layla woke up.. she caught Layla walking into Marcia's room. "Layla.." she said softly, touching her daughter's shoulder, causing Layla to jump.

"Mommy! You scared me!" Layla whined, hugging her mother. "Where is Daddy and Marcia? Marcia isn't here." She asked as she looked up at her mother's face.

"Apparently they went to the store without us, but that was probably because we were asleep. They are going to get dinner for us. Why don't you go and finish unpacking your room, as I put your bed in there?" Pricilla followed her daughter to the next room over and moved the boxes away from where her bed was going to go. She then proceeded to walk down the stairs and push Layla's bed up.

Layla finally finished putting all her toys and collections of dolls away into the toy box on the far end of her room, and she had finished sticking her favorite wall stickers on the walls and windows. She helped her mother put up the curtains and put sheets on her bed. After an hour of putting together her room, Layla relaxed on her bed, and Pricilla left her to relax. Meanwhile, Pricilla went back downstairs to start work in her office.

Layla stared out her window to look at the dark stary-night sky and look at the yard lights illuminate the backyards hedges of roses. The trees of the forest were swaying ever so slightly, and the forest itself was giving off a soft howl. In the distance, she could see the lights of the town, and a small secluded area nearby that was the barn; the only other building in the forest. Peering into the almost hypnotic forest, she caught of slight glimpse of what appeared to be a small child; a boy. The young boy, who appeared to be much older than Layla and Marcia, immediately snapped his head up at Layla's window and locked eye contact. He cocked his head to the side in curiosity, before smiling a huge intimidating smile at her. Without moving his lips, he spoke to her as if he was in her room behind her, "Layla...come play with us. There are others, we want to play with you."

"It's dark outside, and I'm afraid of the dark. My Mommy won't let me outside to play at night either. We can play tomorrow?" Layla softly stated aloud, hoping he could hear what she was saying. He nodded in understanding and behind him crept up a very young girl who was around Layla and Marcia's age. They both spoke at once, "Okay. Tomorrow, we shall meet outside of this gate, and we will play together. Don't bring Marcia, for she is afraid of us." Layla nodded ferociously and then the two figures retreated to the forest as the sound of a car slowly approached. Daddy must be home. Layla closed her curtains and walked downstairs to greet her father and sister.

She walked into the kitchen and saw they had brought home a puppy and Taco Bell. Steve set down the food carefully and then brought the resting puppy to Pricilla's office. Knocking softly, he waited for her to open the door. "Honey, I hit a dog on the way to the store, and we are going to take care of it until it gets better." Pricilla opened the door and stared at the small ball of fuzz that her husband was holding. He handed the puppy over to his wife, and she cradled it with care as she slowly placed it on a small couch she had in her office.