I love getting reviews. They seriously make me happy! So thank you to the "Guests" and to "Breeze xxx" and "Jch15jch15" and Godz-Assassin98" and everyone else! You really make my day :D, hope I don't ruin yours with this chapter:L


The ball of light - no bigger than a golf ball - was inches away from the boys eye lid, he was now sweating and twitching unhappily under the direct heat of the light, when the door opened and the woman was back again. She was silent for barely a second when she began to scream so loud that the cat fell back off of the bed and hit the ground hard on it's side in shock. Caine jumped up from the bed in his own shock as he heard the screams and looked around at Abana standing in the doorway. She was still screaming while her hands grabbed a hairbrush off of the cupboard in order to use it as a weapon. Her face was full of terror but there was something else. There was fear and determination behind her eyes as well.

The cat hissed and Caine finally looked down at it. It didn't look different to a normal animal. It looked almost completely normal, with black fur, black pointed ears, a long black tail that was twitching angrily, black paws with terrifying sharp claws but then the cat looked up at him and he got a real glance at the cats eyes. They were so strange and wrong. They were so off and... Empty. They were dead. It was like someone had surgically replaced her eyes with a dead animals ones and now they just looked wrong with her body still alive and moving. Caine scrambled off the bed and instantly regretted it. His side screamed in protest as he hit the floor and crumpled into a ball as he tried to move at the same time. Somehow he managed to ignore the pain as he crawled over to Abana on his hands and knees. No. Ignored is the wrong word for it. That suggested that he could forget about it even for a moment. It was more like he put up with the scorching pain before slouching against the wall and panted heavily as he tried to squint through the dark and see where the black cat was hiding.

The cat hissed at them again. The woman was no longer screaming at her but she was still waving the brush in the air in front of her. That scream had been just what the cat wanted but she was pissed by it rather than pleased. The womans scream stopped her from making the boy scream. Now they were both going to pay for it. She was going to make the boy scream long and loud as she killed the woman right in front of his eyes and then she would make the boy scream even louder as she killed him off after. Yeah, that was the plan.

She slid around the bed, moving in slow motion in the dark. Because of the dark room she nearly blended in but they could just about see her, so she hid behind the mattress of the bed before she was ready to pounce. Running out she move swiftly so their eyes couldn't settle on her for long. Then she jumped into the air, higher and further than normal animals could, and Abana and Caine both had to dodge to the side to avoid her claws. She fell into the hallway, skidded and turned as Abana slammed the door shut hard and tried to think clearly of what was happening. She guessed as much as she could but that wasn't very much at all. They needed to block the door somehow to keep the thing out but Caine was too injured to help her. As it was, he was lying on the floor, clutching his sides and gritting his teeth like he wanted nothing more than to start weeping in pain.

"Caine, lean against the door! Just try, okay?" Abana begged. She didn't want to push him but she didn't have anyone else to help her.

Caine growled in pain and anger but dragged his body until he was leaning against the door and using his whole body as a door stopper. He wasn't angry at Abana, he was pissed with this flea bag cat that was attacking them for no reason. The pain was horrible, but thankfully he remembered what it felt like to be burned by Sam's light and have the Gaiaphage stabbing at his mind with a thousand knives so it wasn't the worst pain in the world. That and the adrenaline rush helped him to put up with the pain and force his body to move around even if it did make him dizzy and like he wanted to throw up. Luckily he hadn't eaten too much and the stuff that he had eaten was keeping down.

While Caine put pressure on the door as they could hear the cat banging and scratching on the wooden frame, Abana ran to the chest of draws and grabbed them, dragging them across the room. It was a lot of work and she wasn't that strong and so it took time. Caine pressed hard against the door for the whole time. His back was now hurting and his ribs were pounding. With every smack against the door that the cat made it vibrated on Caine's body and he started to feel sick again. Caine pushed his feet down on the carpet, he was ashamed that he was whimpering but the banging of the door was leaving him with the same aching feeling that he had somehow managed to ignore while moving around. Finally she managed to push it in the way of the door and Caine rolled out of the way before it was firmly in place. Once again he was in pain but at least now he could lie down on the floor and breath until the pain eased off. The two of them stared at the draws and relaxed slightly when they did not budge any further. The cat was still scratching at the door loudly but then it went silent. They couldn't tell whether she had left or whether she had just stopped to wait for them to open the door in their own time but neither was willing to be the first to suggest they open the door and check.

"What do we do?" Abana whispered, more to herself than Caine. Somehow it helped to ask the questions out loud so she could answer herself.

"Does this room have a phone?" Caine said through gritted teeth.

He was sprawled on the floor and had stretched his limbs out. This somehow helped both his ribs and his head. Any pains eased away into the carpet and it made breathing easier for him now even if it also made him want to do nothing more than curl up and sleep. But even comfortable he still needed to clench his jaws together when talking to avoid a tightening pain. As he lay there, he slowly rolled his eyes over to Abana to avoid closing them and falling asleep with a crazy cat outside.

"No... It's downstairs... Along with my cellphone." Abana scowled, trying to think of something she could do. She had to help them, she was the adult here. After another moment of thought she spun and ran to the window. She opened it wide with a quick thrust and stuck her head out. "HELP! SOMEONE! HELP US! PLEASE!"

Caine watched her screaming before he dragged himself back to the bed so he could sit up, leaning against the mattress. It didn't make his pains feel any better but at least he could now see what was happening around of him, including the door and Abana.

First the fire breathing lizard... Now a weird cat... Why did animals not like him?

G*O*N*E

Astrid, Sam and Diana were running down the street. Actually it was more like they were blundering down the street. Astrid had her phone out and was using it for its map service but the screen kept freezing which caused them all to have to stop and wait for it to load again. They were all hot and shivering at the same time. It had taken a lot out of Astrid to run and catch Sam and then they had to run back for Diana and her phone before they ran back out again. It was very exhausting work. It was only by pure luck that Astrid had gotten Abana Daidoo's address down for the book anyway so they knew roughly where to go. She had been putting off contacting Mrs Daidoo because she didn't know how she would be feeling about talking about her daughters death.

When the page loaded once more they started running again. Diana kept going ahead but then she had to drop back constantly to see which way to go next. In the end she was tiring herself out more than anyone else. They were all tired but no one suggested resting. As soon as they found Caine they needed to beg Abana not to tell anyone and hope she hadn't already called or told someone. Then they would drag Caine back themselves!

As they rounded a corner they had to stop once more because the page had once again frozen. It would have been easier to get a hand written map but they didn't actually own one. The longer they had to wait the more impatient Diana got until she was arguing with Astrid over the phone.

"You're phone is ridiculously slow!" Diana snapped. Turning and walking right up until she was meters away from her. "What is the point of it?"

"The point of it is to find Caine." Astrid said evenly, refusing to fight.

"We should have tried Quinn again." Sam grumbled.

"There's no guarantee he would have been able to come. And even then we would have had to wait around for him." Astrid pointed out.

"I know but..." Sam threw his hands in the air and moaned in frustration.

"I know." Astrid whispered, nodding her head.

As they waited for the page to load Diana was seething. This was wasting time and Caine needed her. Sam was right, she should have never left. She should have just been happy that he was back and celebrated then none of this would have happened. She was still afraid of what this could mean but she still wanted Caine to be safe with her.

"Hurry up!" Diana snapped.

Astrid frowned and looked to the right. "Diana..." She began. She wanted to say something but Diana assumed she was going to start lecturing her again.

"Don't tell me to be patient!" Diana snapped. "If you do I will rip out your blonde hair here and now, bitch!"

Sam looked shocked and slid between the two of them like he seemed to be doing a lot lately. He gave Diana a scowl but also a little hint of pity. He knew she was worried and she didn't mean what she was saying but he couldn't let her get away with it either. Diana stepped up and the two of them stared at one another. A fight was already building, one that Sam wanted to avoid, when Diana's frowned passed him and he followed her gaze to look back at Astrid.

She was still frowning off to the side as if she was trying to focus on something. She hadn't even realised Diana and Sam were getting ready to start screaming at one another. She was too caught up in whatever it was that had caught her interest.

"Astrid?" Sam asked. Then paused. He heard something.

"I think someone's calling for help." Astrid whispered.

She glanced down at the map, then turned and began to run. Instantly Diana and Sam followed, calling for her but she ignored them. Astrid ran down the street and across the road. She had to cut around a house but as soon as she crossed the brick wall she saw something down at the far end of an open field. From a set of houses there was a shape in the window. That was the one calling for help.

Astrid glanced down at her phone before switching it off and stuffing it away. "That's the house!" She cried.

Diana charged ahead. Sam and Astrid staggered behind her as she raced across the field towards the house. They closer they got the better they could hear the woman in the window. It was Abana and she was crying for help. That made Diana's legs move faster than she believed she could and she threw herself through the gates towards the door. She slammed against the wooden surface and banged loudly with her fists but it was locked.

"It's locked!" Diana shouted over her shoulder as she continued to pull at the handle.

Sam growled and ran around the house. Abana hadn't yet noticed them and after a quick check Sam saw all the windows and the back door were also locked. He could try kicking the door in but he wasn't sure if he could. That was always a lot easier in the movies than in real life. That left one other place. Sam pulled off his shoe, ran to the first window, and began to smash the glass with his hand in his shoe. It took longer than he wanted, once again it looked easier in the films and on TV but eventually he had broken the window enough to climb through.

"Be careful of the glass." Sam warned as he helped Astrid awkwardly climb through, avoiding glass.

She landed on the kitchen sink and quickly climbed down to help Diana through the window. Diana was in a rush and cut her shoulder but only lightly on a piece of glass hanging from the corner. Astrid had to grab Diana to keep her from running off before Sam had a chance to follow them through.

"Come on!" Diana snapped and dashed ahead.

G*O*N*E

Abana was still screaming when Caine noticed something was happening. The wood of the draws looked strange and began to crack and blacken. Then he realised she was burning her way through the door and the chest of draws back into the room. She was a second away from getting into the room and if she did then it would mean they were trapped with her in the room! Caine gasped and tried to drag himself up to his feet, pushing his elbows on the mattress and struggling but his aches and pains were all slowing him down.

"Abana!" Caine cried. "Look out! It's coming!"

Abana spun and let out a shriek of terror. She ran over just as the whole in the draw appeared and broke open and thrust the brush into the whole, blocking it. There was a low angry hiss again and the brush began to melt and burn. Abana shrieked and looked around wildly. She needed something else to block the door. She needed something else! She needed someone!

Running over to the window, Abana dragged down the curtain and ran back to the door, she stuffed it as best as she could. She burned her fingers in the process but only slightly and so she barely noticed. Abana hurried over to the cupboard but it was far to heavy to move fast enough on her own. Caine struggled and crawled back to the draws even though it was the last place he wanted to be and pulled the top two draws out, putting them in the way of the burning curtain.

They were just stalling. Waiting for someone to come and save them. Caine hated that. He hated being weak and having to wait around for someone else to save him like some kind of damsel in distress but with his bones so damaged he couldn't do much else than stall for someone to show up.

After seeing what Caine was doing, Abana hurried with the cupboard but it scratched across the carpet gently and she could see the cat was burning it's way through faster than either her or Caine could stop it. They were not going to make it. It was going to break through and kill them!

And then it stopped.

Caine and Abana glanced at one another. They waited to hear something but it was really silent and after Caine moved the draw he saw the curtains had stopped burning.

Then another hiss.

"It's a cat." Came Astrid's voice.

"GET AWAY!" Caine shouted. "It's demonic! It burns stuff!"

"What?" Sam's voice came next.

"Caine? Is that you?" Diana's voice was after that and panicked.

"GET AWAY!" Caine and Abana shouted at the same time.

A scream that could have come from either Diana or Astrid drowned everyone else out. Caine stared at the door, suddenly feeling beyond helpless. Even if he could move, which he could not, he didn't have any powers! What was he supposed to do to protect them?! Abana ran over and began to pull the draws out of the way but again it was a slow process that took up too much time.

Outside, Sam, Diana and Astrid ran. Well Sam and Diana ran. Astrid was limping from a burn on her ankle in between the two of them. The cat was chasing after them. It would have caught them by now but in between running it was trying to make another ball of light in it's paw to burn them again. They darted just down the corridor before slamming the door behind of them and pressing their bodies against it. The cat banged against the door but it was still only a cat and so it couldn't push through with the three of them blocking it's way.

They had no idea where they were but it looked like Abana's bedroom.

"Is it too much to hope it keeps banging and knocks itself out?!" Diana cried as she pushed her body against the wood.

The banging stopped.

Astrid, who was holding up her injured leg, glanced over at Sam. "Was that it?"

"Guys! She's burning her way through!" Caine's muffled voice came from the next room.

Diana shrieked and ran forward. Astrid staggered after her with Sam's help and the three looked down just as a small hole was made and a black paw stuck through. Slowly it began to use the ball of light to burn the wood and make the whole bigger. The wood didn't exactly catch fire like Sam expected it to but it did burn away.

"What do we do?!" Diana snapped.

"Grab something!"

"What?!" Diana shrieked.

Astrid staggered and grabbed a mirror from the desk nearby, passing it along. She snatched up a mouse from the keyboard and the keyboard itself, passing the keyboard along to Sam while Diana stood with the mirror. They all stood there, staring down at the things in their hands.

"You call these weapons?!" Diana snapped.

"They're all that we have!" Astrid snapped back. "Just... Be imaginative!"

The cat had now finally made a big enough gap that it jumped through and was now standing in front of them. It glared, actually glaring at them and hissing angrily.

"What do we do?" Diana whispered.

"Hit it?" Sam guessed.

"HIT IT!" Astrid snapped.

Sam ran forward and brought the keyboard down but the cat jumped out of the way. Sam spun and tried again but the cat was quick and jumped repeatedly out of the way seconds before the blow hit. Diana hesitated then ran forward and began to wave the mirror around but once again it avoided every attempt. Astrid couldn't run around with her ankle badly burned but she could wave the mouse by it's cord in weak attempts to slash out and hit the cat when it came near.

As she waved the mouse around she watched carefully and noticed something she didn't think she would see in a cat. Her eyes, momentary ago they had been angry but now they were scared, they were frightened and terrified. The cat was scared of them now they were lashing out at it... No she was scared of something else but Astrid couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"It's too fast!" Diana shrieked.

"Out smart it!" Astrid called.

"That's your job!" Diana snapped.

"Oh ha ha!" Astrid said, spitting sarcasm.

"Sam! To your right!" Diana shouted.

Sam spun and brought down the keyboard but the cat was not even there.

"My right!" Diana snapped.

"Then why didn't you say to your right! Not my right!" Sam snapped back, spinning and waving the keyboard through the air but the cat had long jumped out of his way.

"Oh I am so sorry!" Diana said, sarcasm as heavy as it was with Astrid. "Next time I will think before I call out to try and help save your life!"

"Both of you stop arguing!" Astrid snapped. "Stand back to back!"

They both moved, slamming their backs against one another, waving their keyboard and mirror in the air in front of them. The cat moved faster than most animals. It moved faster than most things they had seen. The cat ran around them in circles but never came close enough to be hit. Then it vanished from in front of them and appeared on the desk right beside of Astrid's hand where she was leaning on the table.

"AHH!"

Astrid swung the mouse around and slammed it hard enough on the desk that it broke off the buttons but the cat was gone. It was then on the floor, it's paw carrying a small ball. Astrid shrieked and kicked the cat right across the room into the wall. It hit the wall hard and slid down to the floor.

"... Did I kill it?" Astrid squeaked.

"You must have." Sam whispered, he walked over and the cat lay there, unmoving.

"Caine!" Diana gasped, dropping the mirror onto the floor with a crash but luckily it didn't break.

She just turned to the door when it was pushed open and Abana appeared, looking terrified. Behind her, seconds later, Caine had dragged himself down though he was clearly badly injured. As soon as he pushed his way into the room Diana ran over and caught him before he fell to the ground. He hissed in pain and clung to her.

"What's wrong?" Diana asked.

"My ribs. I hurt them." Caine gasped.

"Is everyone okay?" Abana whispered, stepping into the room.

"Yeah. Astrid killed the cat." Sam said, walking over to Astrid. "She hurt her leg though. Do you think you could help us out?"

Abana took a step forward...

... And then the cat jumped at her.

There was no time to help her. The cat moved fast, somehow running on three legs all of a sudden and holding one paw ahead of her that was burning a bright ball of light no bigger than a marble. The cat jumped and landed on the bed in the corner of the room, jumping again and throwing herself up onto Abana and knocking the two of them down onto the ground. Sam ran over while Astrid scream and Diana stood, hugging Caine in complete shock.

As Sam ran over he brought the keyboard around hard and hit the cat directly on the head, knocking it off of Abana. However the damage had been done when the cat had already pushed the marble light through Abana's throat, cutting through her skin and easing out the other side.

"Hold on, it'll be okay!" Sam panted, grabbing her hand. "We'll call a doctor, just hold on!"

Already she was drowning in her own blood that was also leaking out down around her neck in a small puddle on the floor. Abana turned her eyes to him. It was hard to tell what she was thinking.

And then she was smiling. She was looking at something over his head. Sam turned but he couldn't see anything. When he looked back she was still smiling, choking on her own blood as she stared up at the space above his head. Her eyes were focussed on something but each time Sam looked there was nothing there.

"D... D... D..." Abana tried to speak. She coughed blood that streamed down her chin and smiled again at nothing. "Da... Dahra..."

And then her hand went limp.


20) Somehow I don't think Dahra's mother dying was as sad as I thought it would be because she is reunited with her daughter. What do you guys think?

21) How long did it take you to get Light?