Jack's family would be leaving in the morning, and he wanted to do something really exciting before they left. He was at a loss for what they could possibly do though. Franklin had suggested that they go see the inside of the CFP where Jack works. Jack had thought for several moments before deciding it would be a great idea.

They called a cab shortly afterwards and headed their way. When they arrived Jack had to swipe his ID card to get in. He greeted the receptionist and introduced his family. Eathan was thankfully in a better mood, which helped keep the experience a good one. Jack asked the receptionist by the name of Grace, if he could walk his family around the building. She had said it would be fine to do so, just to not go on to the business floors. Jack nodded and lead his family to the production floor.

Jack walked right in the middle of a movie scene depicting a trek through a snowy mountainous area. Jack gestured to all around him, telling his family that he helps make all the effects. Franklin ran around the scene and felt practically everything. Jack started to lead his family out of the area when he heard his name shouted behind him.

"Jack!" a woman's voice called as she ran up to him.

He caught her as she jump hugged him, "Victoria! Hi!"

He let her down and she turned to his family, "Jack, Who are these new people?!"

Jack smiled, "This is my family!"

Victoria gave Jack a disbelieving look, "They look nothing like you!"

"Of course not!" Jack walked over and draped an arm around his mother, "I'm adopted!" Jack said with a bright smile.

"I always thought something was off about you." She teased.

"Hey now," Jack smiled and changed the subject, "Everyone, this is Victoria, a leading role in quite a few of our movies here. Victoria, This is Eathan, Franklin, Vivian and," He tightened his draped arm around his mother in a hug, "this is my mother."

"Hi everyone!" She shook everyone's hands.

Vivian spoke up, "Are you by any chance Victoria Hartland?"

Victoria stood proudly, "I am by all chances Victoria Hartland."

Vivian let out a short lived shriek of excitement, "That's so awesome! I love your movies! You're so amazing!"

Victoria smiled, "Well thank you, I'm glad to meet a fan, especially when not surrounded my a mosh pit of sorts."

Vivian laughed, "I can't imagine."

Victoria laughed with her, "Lucky you! Well, I must be going. I thought I'd stop and see one of my favorite people! Bye everyone!" She waved as she half jogged away to where she had come from.

Vivian was continuously excited as they walked through the rest of the building. They took an elevator to the floor where Jack had worked a little over a day ago. They exited to a room full of computers. Rows upon rows of computers filled the room. A glass room in the back of the room held the large mainframe computer Jack had improved. He walked them through the room, pointing out oddities other tech people had brought in to liven up the place. Jack reached the last row of computers, and gestured to the one on the end.

"And this, is mine. When I'm not an errand boy or effects maker anyway." Jack said somewhat proudly.

"What makes this one so special?" Eathan asked, generally curious.

"Well, I'll have you know that I installed a prototype motherboard, an underground processor, and just for kicks sixteen gigabytes of RAM." He pointed towards Eathan teasingly, "So I'd say its pretty damn special!"

With smile Eathan put his hands up innocently, "Right, right, excuse me almighty Jack."

They shared a laugh, and said that that concluded their tour. As they stood in the elevator to leave Franklin tapped Jack's shoulder.

"Hey Jack, what's underground processor?" Franklin asked him.

"Oh," Jack thought for a moment, "Well, basically, no one else has it. I got it from the guy I sit next to. It reached about ten-thousand megahertz but, I'm not supposed to have it. So don't tell anyone."

Vivian chimed in at that point, "You know, I'm somewhat computer savvy myself, and I've only ever read up on CPUs that do just under nine-thousand."

"Right," Jack responded matter-of-factly, "Which is why it's underground, he works part time at a computer manufacturer. He said that the CPU he gave me-which was difficult to install-is one that'll be coming out in computer a few years from now."

Eathan spoke up in the midst of the conversation, "Why a few years? Why not now?"

"Because people get afraid if things advance too quickly." Jack stated pointedly.

Vivian put a hand up to draw herself attention, "You know that's not true Jack."

Jack shook his head, "It is though," They exited the elevator, "I've seen it happen."

They all waved goodbye to grace and waited until they left the building before discussing more on the subject.

"When? Cause I don't believe you." Vivian said.

"Well, one time," Jack looked around at everyone, "I don't know if you heard about it but, a few years ago they had a thumb reader in stores. Where you wouldn't have to use a card at all. It scanned your finger and you paid that way."

Jack pulled out his phone to call a cab when his mother finally joined the conversation, "That's because people were afraid of the government knowing too much."

Jack closed his phone and faced his mother, "Exactly, they were afraid."

Jack woke up shortly before the rest of family would. The sun hadn't risen yet. He set about making a pot of coffee for himself and soon to wake family. He looked above the sink to the clock, it read 'four-twenty-seven'. Jack sat down at the table and waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

The first to wake was his mother. They chatted for a bit while the coffee brewed. Jack inquired as to how long the drive back was. Mary said it was a thirteen hour drive. Jack was surprised they hadn't flown. She said money was too tight to fly. Jack offered to help her out with money for her drive but, she had politely turned down the generous gesture.
Vivian had woken up just as the coffee had finished. She gladly took a cup offered by Jack. They sat around the table, not caring if their voices were too loud, the other two had to wake up soon anyway.
Eathan and Franklin had woken up at the same time, and entered the kitchen. Jack glanced to the clock, it now read 'five-seventeen'.

"You guys have to leave in like, fifteen minutes don't you?" Jack asked with sadness in his voice.

Mary nodded her head, "We do." a solemn expression on her face.

They chatted for a few more minutes before they started packing their belongings in back in the car. Jack had handed them a Pink Floyd CD telling his mother to play it on their drive back, saying it would help remind her of him. She smiled sadly and hugged him tightly. Tears slid down both their faces as they held each other. She teased Jack as they hugged to not make the next visit so far apart. Jack laughed and nodded.

He waved heartbreakingly at the car as it drove down the road, away from him. He walked slowly inside, and to the kitchen. Tears still in his eyes he poured more coffee into his cup. He sat down at the table and sulked in how empty it felt without his family. He glanced towards the kitchen doorframe and frowned at what he saw.
Standing there with a cruel smile on its face, was a black creature. Its skin was torn in various areas around its disproportioned body. Its eyes held an abyss of gloom and despair.

Jack took a sip of coffee, blocking his view of the beast. He set down his cup and suddenly adjacent from was the same beast. Its teeth were wide like a sharks, with jagged sides. Its face seemed as if it was waiting to chew on something in the human variety.

"Where have you guys been?" Jack asked, sadness for family still in his voice.

From nowhere another creature was sat to his other side. It held a look of pure hatred as it intently looked at Jack as if its glare could set him ablaze.

"Well?" Jack asked the new monster.

It pointed a long accusing finger towards the road, "That Black haired boy you call Eathan," Its voice was full of disgust and rage, "caused us trouble!"

Jack tilted his head curiously, "How?" fear raising in his voice at the contempt coming from the beast.

"We don't know!" It shouted at Jack.

Jack jumped from the outburst, "Oh."

The beast looked to calm down, "So, we've decided that since he is gone, today would be a special day."

Jack looked scared, "The special day?"

It laughed venomously, "That is unfortunately, quite a few months away. Today is more of a treat." Jack looked to lighten up for a moment at that statement. Until it spoke again, "For us it is at least."

Jack cringed at the last thing the monster said. He went to take another drink from his coffee until it was practically punched from his hand. The cup shattered against the fridge. The shark toothed beast grabbed Jack by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him into the air.

His shirt tore slightly as he was slammed down onto the table. He tried to suck in a breath as the air in his lungs was pushed out by the force. Breathless now, he felt large serrated fingers press on his chest. Inhibited from inhaling his eyes went wide with fear. He looked around the table for something to hit the forceful beast with. Finding nothing he soon let the deprivation of oxygen let him fall into unconsciousness.

He sucked in a breath and saw his coffee cup still steaming in his hand about to take a drink. He set it down and looked to the beast had spoken to before.

"Okay. I see what's gonna happen today." Jack said pointedly.

The beast nodded, "Expect that a lot today. And some more than real experiences as well."

Jack nodded as well, "Very well then."

The shark toothed one vanished before the other beast spoke again, "Your marks getting bigger. Attracting more of us."

Jack tilted his head, "Why tell me?"

The beast smiled, "Uphir can no longer help you," it let its smile fall, "I'm a bit more understanding of what he was doing than the others."

Jack leaned back, "What does that mean? Why can't he help me?"

The beast stood, its head almost touching the ceiling, "In due time, Prey." Then it vanished just as the other had.

Jack stood, and dumped his coffee down the sink. He walked to his bedroom, spotting several beasts lounging in each bedroom besides his own. As he went to lay back down on it he spotted a newspaper wrapped package at the foot of his bed. It held a note:

Dear Jack,
I had gotten you this after the
Accident but you had left.
So here it is now.
Enjoy Snowflake.
Love,
Mom.

Jack smiled at the long forgotten nickname. He put the note aside and unwrapped the gift.
Inside held a dark, sky blue hoody. It had intricate frost details on the shoulders that ran across the collarbone area. He turned it around and saw how the design weaved itself down the center of back, trailing down spine to the mid-back. He smiled fondly and hugged it to his chest.

He slipped the hoody on over his shirt and took off his pants. He crawled into bed under the covers and fell asleep with smile on his face, creatures forgotten.

Jack awoke with a start, a dream about falling jolted him awake. He sighed and rolled out of bed onto the floor. Catching himself on all fours he stood and put on his pants.

He walked down the hall towards the bathroom to take a shower. Brushing his teeth as the shower ran at an almost scolding hot temperature he noticed a dark figure standing behind him. He decided it was best to ignore it. Spitting out the toothpaste he quickly stripped and stepped into the shower. The water instantly turning his skin a light pink. He washed quickly and shut the water off.

Walking out of the bathroom nude probably wasn't the best of his decisions as he felt a long rough hand press against his bare chest. He dropped the clothes he had been holding and looked up to see a smiling beast standing there rather pleased with itself.

It shoved Jack down onto the ground. The carpet giving him a slight burn on his back. He crawled back quickly away from the beast. He bumped into the slimy legs of another beast. He looked up and saw a needle toothed creature maliciously smiling at him. He frowned at the monster. Its long arms reached down picked Jack up by the shoulders. The beast sat down on the chair, setting the vulnerable Jack in its lap. It wrapped its arms around him and laughed viciously as the other creature walked towards him.

It gripped him by the shoulders and screamed in his face. The terror of what he felt was about to happen grew. Jack had started to regret even taking a shower, then he wouldn't have walked out his bathroom naked. A tear from being so scared rolled down his cheek. The screaming beast laughed at him. Jack had started to shout no at the beast. Terrified by how they were acting and how he was positioned on one's lap only intensified his feelings.
Suddenly the arms entrapping him were gone and he was flying through the air. His body hit the wall in the hallway. He was thrown with enforce to cause him to bounce off the wall enough for his shoulder to catch the doorframe of the bathroom. He fell instantly, his legs falling beneath him. He sat there naked, crying against the doorframe. He heard the laughing from both creatures from behind him.

Filled with sudden anger Jack shouted at the wall, "Shut up!"

He turned his head enough to look behind him and saw they were gone. Fear of them coming back he scrambled up his fallen clothes and rushed into his room. He slammed the door shut, hoping that it would create a safe zone for him, but knowing it didn't.

HI! Okay, so I explained alittle Bit Why the creatures hadn't appeared so much. And! I shall go more in depth about why Eathan did what he did. Also, the new creature taking Uphirs place will obviously be explained later. But its 3:30 in the morning right now so give me a break, yeah? Okay, review please! Anything I jumped ahead at let me know! Confused about anything, Ask me! Or wait and see if your question will be answered in the next chapter. Guys...I have this sudden craving for cake...Did you know I can't eat Chocolate? it makes my life SUCK! I love chocolate so much.. Okay! I'm done now. Enjoy and have a wonderful time of day!