Bonnie had no idea how much time had passed. All she knew was that she had to get out of the house, and fast. Kai's reaction was nothing short of hair-raising. What did she expect? She had just destroyed his last chance at freedom. Or so he thought. Bonnie clutched onto Ms. Cuddles with both arms, bringing the stuffed animal close to her chest. It was something that she knew Kai would never suspect and also personal enough that she would have an excuse to always have it by her side. She smiled a small smile to herself. She couldn't believe that her plan actually worked.

She held Ms. Cuddles in one hand with her bag slung over her other shoulder. She needed to leave. But where would she go? There weren't any other houses for miles. And she hardly knew her way around Portland of all places. Not only that, she had no idea about Kai's whereabouts. He could be anywhere, lurking and waiting for another opportunity to strike. Even with her magic, she still needed the ascendant to get back home, which Kai conveniently had at the moment.

Bonnie turned towards the hallway, the staircase in her line of sight. She suddenly became aware that this was her first and probably only time being alone in the house. The discoveries she made about his past were so compelling that Bonnie itched to know more. Although, she didn't want to give him another reason to come looking for her, learning about him would give her something to occupy her mind during her solitary confinement. This would also be her only chance to finally get inside Kai's room and see what he was hiding. Not to mention the infinite knowledge that resided in the spell books his parents' kept.

She turned towards the front door, which had been violently kicked off its hinges and leaned off to the right side. The day was so bright, beautiful and ordinary that it would never be known that Bonnie was fighting for her life earlier. She teetered on her feet. She knew that the smartest, wisest and safest decision would be to escape, quickly and quietly while she still had the chance. She knew that she should run until her feet bled, found a vehicle and drive as far away from Portland, Oregon as possible.

Knowing all of this, she turned on her heel and sprinted up the steps, bag and bear in hand. She made a beeline for the youngest sets of twins' room. She grabbed a few of the pictures from under the beds, the ones she presumed to depict Kai, folded them and stuffed them into her bag. She then headed to his parents' room and took two spell books, one from the middle of the bookshelf and one from the bottom. Next was Josette's room. She remembered the exact drawer containing the diaries. Out of the five, she took two. She wanted to take enough to examine, but not enough for Kai to notice that too much was missing. Even if he did notice, she would be long gone before he could find her. Finally, she came to a stop directly in front of Kai's bedroom door for the second time. She jiggled the knob to no avail.

Bonnie groaned. She didn't have time to search the house for a key. Knowing him, he probably kept the keys on him at all times. She stepped back and murmured an incantation. There was an audible click. She turned the knob again and went inside. He meant it when he said he didn't like to make a mess. The room was as just as spotless as it was the first time she saw it. His bed was so neatly put together that it didn't look as if anyone had slept in it the night before.

She dived toward the bed, lifting the covers, finding nothing but a row of evenly space out shoes. She moved to the closet next. She opened it and there was just enough room to step inside. His coats, jeans, everything he owned was neatly hanging and folded in its rightful place. His tidiness was beginning to irk Bonnie. Of course a sociopath would be organized. She turned around to leave but her foot hit something. She didn't see the object that her foot connected with. It looked as if she had kicked the air. She pushed her foot forward again and a box came into view. She smiled smugly, A cloaking spell.

She slid it out and began shuffling through folded, crinkled band posters, spell books and random issues of Playboy magazines. Ew. She kept digging until she felt something prick her finger. "Ouch!" she exclaimed. She brought her thumb to her mouth and sucked the small droplet of blood. Using her other hand, she carefully pulled out a broken glass picture frame. It was a family portrait. They stood in front of what looked to be a museum. Everyone looked normal except for Kai, whose face had been etched out in marker. She dug down deeper and found similar photos with Kai's face scribbled out or torn out of the picture altogether. Aside from the photos, there was nothing of interest to take. She hurriedly placed the items back in the box and cloaked it once again, shutting the closet door behind her.

She figured that she had collected enough items and called it quits with the snooping before her bag got too heavy. She locked his door back, sprinted down the steps and ran out of the house, not looking back.

Bonnie was beginning to sweat. She didn't know how long she had been walking. Or how much longer she would have to keep it up. She had been walking on a long strip of road between the woods on either side of her. Evening was approaching and there was nothing but the sound of small animals in the forest and her feet on the road. There really weren't any houses for miles. At least Kai knew how to be honest about something, she thought bitterly. There wasn't anything for miles, except signs about mileage. No gas stations, fast food places, churches, nothing. She was hoping that she would come across a car at least so that she wouldn't have to endure the entire trip on foot. No luck there.

Up ahead was a large hill. She hoped that she would find some shelter before nightfall. She couldn't just sleep outside in the middle of the woods. By the lack of options, that one was becoming more realistic. She trudged forward, dropping her bag to the ground as she reached the top of the hill. The road hadn't ended but she found something better. She felt so relieved that she wanted to cry. She smiled at the sight of a small red jeep parked on the side of the road. It was facing the upward direction of the hill. It wouldn't have been her first choice but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Bonnie ran towards the jeep, looking straight for the ignition. Nothing. She checked the backseat for the keys and still found nothing. She continued to search halfheartedly, knowing deep down that the keys wouldn't be there. There was no roof, so she through her bag and Ms. Cuddles in the backseat of the vehicle. She hopped in and proceeded to wrack her brain about how to hotwire a car. She remembered something about the steering column. She removed it and saw the three different colored wires. After a few shocks and swear words, she was able to rev up the engine. She turned the jeep around and sped off down the hill.

By now the sun had set some time ago. Bonnie and her vehicle were engulfed by the night. She was spent, hungry and in great need of a hot shower. But she had to keep going. She wouldn't be satisfied until she got at least a few states away. She turned on the radio to keep herself alert. Nothing of her particular interest was playing. Besides, if something did go wrong, what was the worst that could happen at this point? At worst, she would fall asleep at the wheel and wind up in a bush. Or wrapped around a tree. To her, either of those were better options than being found by Kai. Bonnie shook her head. She shouldn't be having such negative thoughts. Negative as they were, they were realistic.

The night air wisped past her and cooled her skin. She passed open plots of land and forests. She noticed a few neighborhoods, housing complexes and hotels along the way but she wasn't content with that. She checked the time in the jeep, it was 3:23am. She yawned and kept driving.

To her satisfaction, she saw a larger sign approaching. She squinted through the darkness and read "Utah Welcomes You." She drove a little further until she came to a neighborhood of two or three story houses. Each house was a different design. Some were made of brick or stone. The road that divided the houses was wide and mountains were visible in the distance. Each house had a small strip of land in the front yard, with a sidewalk connecting each yard. There were thin, medium height trees in the yards as well as street lights. They all emitted a bright yellow.

She drove deep into the neighborhood, noting how large it was. The roads and houses were endless. Even though a hotel room would have been too big and creepy to sleep in alone, she still felt a bit uneasy sleeping in someone else's home, even if this was a parallel universe. But, this would have to do for tonight. She could drive further away in the morning.

She drove up to a two-story cobblestone house. The front door and garage door to the left of the house were black. There was an arched window on either side of the door. The roof was black as well, with four two sets of windows spread apart from each other. She parked in the driveway and went inside. She hit the light switch to her left and hazily took in her surroundings. There was a staircase to her left, the living area was in front of her and the kitchen was to her right. She was too tired to do any further investigating. What would be the need? She knew she was alone. She headed up the stairs and slid into the first room she came across. It was too dark to see anything other than the large bed that faced her. The moon emitted a faint light from the window to her right. She shut the door, locking it behind her. She mustered just enough energy to change into a tank top and shorts and flopped down onto the queen sized bed. All she remembered was darkness.

When she woke, it was still dark. But that was primarily due to her having the pillow over her head. She moved it down slightly and peeped underneath it. The wooden wardrobe was illuminated from the sun's light. Her eye darted to the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was 1pm. Bonnie never liked to oversleep. She only overslept when she was sick or extremely tired. In this case, the reason was the latter.

She sat up slowly, letting the blue blankets fall to her waist. She momentarily forgot where she was, halfheartedly taking in her surroundings. A widow and balcony were to the left of her, with a nightstand on either side of the bed. There were pictures of two children on each dresser. A young boy and girl of about elementary age. The wardrobe was on the far right of the room. It truly was a cozy abode but she knew she couldn't get too comfortable here. She couldn't stay here for long. She knew that Kai would be after her eventually. She groaned to herself at that fact. She shouldn't have to spend the rest of her parallel life on the run. And she didn't want to. The neighborhood was decent. More than decent, actually, it was perfect. She had managed to get a whole two states away from Portland. And on this entire empty planet, how would Kia even know where to begin looking for her?

Her stomach growling interrupted her thoughts. When was the last time she ate? Oh yeah, yesterday morning when Kai attempted to kill her. She scowled at the memory. She threw off the covers and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She remembered that she hadn't taken the time to truly examine the house last night. She was awe struck by the kitchen just as she was with the rest of the house. There was white marble counter on top of the wooden island in the center of the kitchen. The fridge was large and silver to her left with a marble counter extending on the side of one wall. It led to the black and silver oven, which was suspended between the wooden cabinets on the opposite side of the room. There was a white chandelier dangling over the island with golden lights.

She wanted something quick and easy to make while she thought about her next move. She checked the fridge. There wasn't much inside, a part from a few vegetables and kids' snacks. She checked the cabinets next, still no luck. She sighed. She'd have to find a grocery store if she wanted to eat. She hoped there would be one nearby. She threw on a jacket and some jeans, grabbed the car keys and made her way to the jeep.

Bonnie had always been fairly good with directions. But to be sure, she found a map lying around the house and brought it along just in case she couldn't remember her way back. Once in the parking lot of the nearest store, she circled her destination. She began to appreciate and miss the convenience of a GPS. The good news was that it didn't take long, it was only about a fifteen minute drive. She ran inside and grabbed all of the essentials, milk, eggs, cheese, etc. A few veggies were a necessity, and she since had no idea what she had a taste for, so she grabbed some snacks as well. Chips, cookies, the list was endless.

She got back to the house and unloaded the groceries, making herself a quick meal consisting of a turkey sandwich, chips and a cup of apple juice, before she headed to the living room. It was a wide open space. There was a glass slide door used as a fourth wall directly across from her. A sleek wooden dining table sat a few feet in front of it. Bonnie plopped down on the black wrap around couch. She placed her plate on the circular glass table in front of her and grabbed the remote control. She aimed upwards towards the TV that was embedded in the wall above a stone fireplace. She left the channel on the news as background noise.

She sat contemplating as she ate. Where in the hell was Kai? Why would he just take off like that? He had to be up to something, he always had some scheme going on. How long was she going to stay here? How long could she stay here? Her thoughts of him triggered her memory of his belongings that she took. She popped a chip in her mouth and darted upstairs to fetch her bag. She emptied its contents onto the bed and reached for one of the drawings.

This drawing was on a smaller piece of construction paper than the last picture. It was black with white crayon. There was a lone stick figure standing in the middle of what appeared to be a dark room. The only light came from a small crack under a door that shown above the stick figure's head. There were small boxes, coats racks and random items around the figure. Bonnie assumed it to be a boy since it was drawn with short hair. The figure was drawn with tears in its eyes and a sad face. She concluded that he was in the basement. Bonnie began to feel a sense of shame. These images were personal but her curiosity got the best of her.

Next, her eyes fell upon one of Josette's journals. She sat on the bed and picked up the green one she had begun to read earlier:

September 12, 1988,

I've been trying to do my homework for the past hour or so but I can't concentrate with Kai's incessant banging and yelling. He's been yelling for hours. Dad's had him on punishment since our training this afternoon. The objective was to perform a simple elemental spell, The Water Flow spell. Dad took us out to a lake, Joey, Larissa, Kai and myself. Joey, Larissa and I did fine but when Kai, like the rest of us, knew that he wouldn't be able to do it. He was standing next to me in the lineup, so nudged him to take my arm without our dad seeing. Kai took ahold of me and I tried not wince through the pain but dad still saw us. He said that wasn't good enough, that Kai needed to learn to use magic on his own. So dad locked him in the attic as punishment. He cast an illusion spell to make Kai see what frightens him most. Dad believes that if Kai truly wanted to get out, then he would unlock his abilities and do so. He's done this for months now and Kai still hasn't shown any signs of improvement. I hate that dad treats him this way. No one deserves that, not even Kai. I hate that he puts him in the attic, I can hear him too well up there. Dad either puts him in the attic or the basement. Sometimes, after all of the yelling and banging, he gets quite. I'm pretty sure I've heard him crying a couple of times too.

Bonnie stopped reading and closed the book. She could have sworn she felt her food beginning to come back up. She felt disgusted. What kind of father would do that to their son? And what kind of mother would allow that mistreatment to continue? Although she loathed his parent's actions, it did not justify Kai's murderous rampage. However, she was beginning to see where his anger stemmed from. She knew that she was wrong for prying on these intimate moments but as wrong as it was, she yearned to know more. She leaned back onto the bed, braced herself and continued to read well into the night.

Bonnie developed a routine over the next couple of weeks. She would cook, clean and entertain herself with television, reading, or the board games she found around the house. Although, it was fairly challenging to play chess against herself. She eventually had to venture out and find herself some new clothes. The nearest department store was about a thirty minute drive. She stocked up on shoes, jewelry and anything else that tickled her fancy. That was a small bonus in the prison world she noted, not having to pay for anything.

She also killed time by reading Jo's diaries. She figured it would be wise to read them from cover to cover. Some bits were entertaining but she was drawn to any entry that was about Kai. She giggled at the entry about his illusion pranks he would pull on his siblings. He would often pretend to be one of their parents, leaving them paranoid and anxious as to if their real parents were ever around. She also found herself close to tears at the entries about his wretched parent's mistreatments of him.

Above all else, exercising was her favorite pastime. It relieved stress and she had the mountains of Utah as her gym. She would awake early in the morning, have a bottle of water and a Walkman by her side, although she desperately missed her iPod, and head off into the mountains. It truly was a gorgeous sight. The evergreen trees encased her as she jogged uphill towards a small lake she used as a resting spot. When her walk was finished, she would head back to the house and take a soothing hot bath with a glass of wine as a reward.

On one particular day, her schedule did not go quite as planned. She jogged back towards the house, covered in sweat and Madonna blasting in her ears. She took off her jacket and threw it on the one of the stools in the kitchen, leaving her in a sports bra, track pants and sneakers. She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and gulped half of the bottle until something caught her eye. There was something off about the living room. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen and stared, dumbfounded. She turned off the headset and placed the headphones around her neck, stepping forward with caution. When she finally realized what was wrong with the picture before her, she was no longer hot from her work out. She became cold and stiff.

Directly in her line of sight on the dining table was a video camera that she was certain was not their before or in the house at all. There was a small piece of yellow paper on the side of it with writing she could not make out at that distance. She swallowed hard, frozen in place and glanced around the house. She saw no one and heard nothing. She slowly stepped forward, darting her eyes frantically around her as she made her way to the table. She could finally make out what it said: "Watch me." There was a winky face next to it along with a phone number on the back. Bonnie's stomach sank.

She picked it up and turned the camcorder on its side, pressing the red "On" button. To her horror and annoyance, Kai appeared. He was adjusting the camera on the glass coffee table, leaned back on the couch while chewing on a Twizzler, the Twizzlers she recently bought. He smiled at the camera and placed his feet on the coffee table.

"Found you! It seems that you have been a very naughty girl, Bon Bon. I went back home to find not one, but several of my personal items missing. Some pictures, journals, and even a couple of spell books. Now I wonder who's doing that was?" He cocked his head to the side. "I knew you were plucky Bonnie but I never would have took you for a thief." He took his feet off the table and placed them on the ground, his elbows resting on his legs as he twiddled with the candy in his hands. "I couldn't just let you leave with my possessions. So, I took it upon myself to follow you." He smiled at the camera. "I figured you couldn't have gotten too far away in such a short amount of time. That's when I noticed the bulk of food missing from the grocery store that's usually pretty stocked whenever I make a pit stop here."

"I also saw the jeep and made my way to," he waved his hand in the air, "This little abode. Nice pick by the way." He leaned in closer to the camera. "You know I've noticed a few things about you over these past couple of weeks. I've watched you laugh at old movies, dance around the house, sleep in those button up PJs, which by the way, not my favorite. No, my favorite are those cute little pink shorts. Now that," he whistled. "Does something for me." Bonnie felt her skin crawl. He threw his hands up dismissively. "But I digress. To make a long story short, I just want back what rightfully belongs to me." He shrugged, and held his hands out in front of him.

"So, we could do this the easy way, you could contact me via phone, the number of which you can find on the back of the post-it note, and we can work something out. Or," His expression was sinister. "I'll just come after you." He paused. "Oh!" He reached into his back pocket. "It might interest you to know that I also have the ascendant." He took out the bronze, circular, ticking object and eyed it lazily. "Although it's a long shot, we'll need it to get back home should we ever come across another source of magic." He paused, staring into the camera with a knowing expression. "We need each other, Bon." The camera went to black and he was gone.

Bonnie felt her knees buckling under her. She ran towards the bathroom behind the couch, quickly shoved the lid to the toilet seat up and heaved over it, puking out what little breakfast she had earlier. She sat on her knees with her head throbbing. How long has he been watching me? How much of me has he seen? He's seen me sleep, get undressed, has he seen me shower? He could have easily killed me at any time. Bonnie hurled in the stool again. She was shaking, from vomiting, rage and disgust. Why did she get complacent here? Why did she ever think that she would be able to outrun him? How did he manage to find her so quickly? And what was the point of threatening to come after her? He already knew where she was. She wiped her mouth, flushed the toilet and slowly got up to lean over the sink.

She washed her hands absentmindedly. Knowing him, Kai could be watching her this very minute. The only plus side was that she didn't practice magic over the last couple of weeks. Kai would have caught on to her secret. She sighed to herself at the realization. She turned off the faucet and lingered in the restroom for a while longer. Her stomach finally began to settle. She rested her hands on the counter, staring into the mirror. She couldn't let him get away with this. She could not let him win so easily. She would not live out the rest of her parallel days running. Whatever her next move was, she refused to play the mouse in Kai's games any longer.