Meghan watched as Gordon moved out the doorway toward the fawn who scurried away a few steps, his movements more hesitant than even before. She inhaled deeply. They were leaving that day. It would be over soon.

"The collar is the same as the others," Gordon said. "Only different thing is its name. Cupid."

Meghan nodded. With three fawns, there was obviously something going on. Did a system fail? Were these fawns being shipped away but somehow got free? Why did their family have to deal with two things -- fawns and a stalking creeper leaving threats?

"Mom."

Meghan looked over at Carly and Ryder standing by the hallway, fingers gripping the handles of their suitcases. Their eyes moved between Meghan on the floor to Gordon crouched over the fawns, to the extra fawn cuddling with the other two. Carly's eyes widened and her grip loosened on her suitcase as Ryder just blinked, seeming to realize he missed something important.

When they were little toddlers, they had gotten out of the house one day while Meghan had been baking and Gordon was at work. She hadn't noticed their absence until a while after when she went to fetch them for dinner. She had been close to having a heart attack as she searched for them. She had to call the police when she couldn't find there wherabouts.

By nightfall, they were discovered. A family had found them and took them to their house where they had been eating cookies when Meghan had arrived. From that day on, she had promised to herself that she would always watch over them and make sure they were okay. Facing that Christmas with its terrors and confusion, Meghan feared that she might somehow lose them. The feeling kept returning, no matter how much she tried to keep it at bay.

"What...happened?" Ryder asked.

Gordon looked over at Meghan who subtly shook her head. He looked back at Ryder who watched him expectantly for an answer. "We found another fawn. Its name is Cupid."

"A third one?" Carly giggled. She approached the fawns with a grin. "They must like our family if they keep coming. Hi, Cupid!"

"Hopefully WASART will figure this out," Meghan said, getting up off of the floor. Her eyes flickered to the door for a moment before she moved toward the kitchen. "In the meantime, we need to leave. We'll rent a hotel for now until Gordon's house is ready. The fawns will be picked up later and taken care of."

She grabbed Carly's suitcase and rolled it over to the doorway before pausing. Was it still outside? The thing that attacked her? She pursed her lips, not even noticing as her glasses slipped down her nose an inch. Turning the doorknob, she pulled the door open slowly. Frozen snow coated the grass, piling on the outer edges. No person was in sight.

Stepping on the first step, she gave an alarmed gasp as her shoes didn't hold against the ice and she zipped forward, tumbling down the few stairs to rest at the base, the suitcase landing next to her.

"You okay, Mom?" Carly asked from the porch. She must have finished saying goodbye to the fawns.

Meghan straightened herself out and gave a laugh. "Well, that's a fast way down. Come on."

The car was coated in snow. She glanced between her car and Gordon's.

"We should take them both," Gordon said from the doorway, stepping out.

Meghan nodded. Carly bounced down the steps, much to Meghan's dismay as she imagined her daughter slipping on the ice and hurting herself. Gordon followed down behind her, lugging Meghan's and his suitcase. She had forgotten hers in the house, having had grabbed Carly's instead. "Thanks, Gordon. Where's Ryder?"

"He forgot his journal in his bedroom," Carly answered from next to Gordon's car. "He went back to grab it. Can I ride with Dad?"

Meghan nodded. She opened the hood of her car and lifted Carly's suitcase into it. It hurt a little to know that Carly would prefer riding with Gordon than with her, but he did just get back from being away for a whole year. They were all still catching up, with some things getting in the way. She understood her daughter's request.

Meghan hardly noticed the sudden silence overtaking the air as she shut the car door. Gordon and Carly were next to his car, loading things in together. Small drafts of wind danced through the air, whistling softly, but it was all drowned away by a large roar of an explosion.

Meghan cried out as she was thrown forward, landing against her car and automatically lifting her arms to protect herself as her ears rang softly. She blinked, her vision disoriented for a moment before orange and black hues of light flood her vision. She rubbed her eyes to clear them up, a crackling roar filling her ears. What happened?

The moment she looked up at her house was the moment she realized it was no game. She gasped out in terror, watching the large flames of fire devour the only home she had ever known. The fire roared with life, quickly picking up its heat and searing Meghan's eyes with its puffs of smoke that reached out to her.

Gordon and Carly stumbled toward her, clearly in shock. A scrape ran across Carly's chin from toppling over but she appeared okay. Meghan pulled her into a hug.

"What happened?" Gordon coughed, grabbing her arm. She opened her mouth to speak but he gasped first, a rare sign of terror overcoming his face. "Ryder!"

His words hit her hard. "He forgot his journal in his bedroom. He went back to grab it." Meghan began sobbing as Gordon sprinted for the broken, burning house. Neighbors were emerging from their homes in confusion and shock. Carly began crying in Meghan's arms as she squeezed her tightly. The tears and smoke caused Meghan's vision to blur once again.

Ryder. He was in there. And now Gordon was too. Was he hurt? Was he dead? Was that the stalker leaving the notes? Were they making their notes a reality now?

"Is Ryder dead?" Carly sobbed. "Did the explosion kill him?"

Meghan sank to the floor, hugging Carly tightly. Nothing had better have happened to him. If he was hurt...if he was dead...Meghan began shaking in fear. Her son. Her baby...

"What happened?" a neighbor asked, crouching beside her. "Is anybody else in there?"

"I'm going to call 911," another neighbor announced, pulling her phone out. "Everybody, stay back! Don't go too close to the house."

Ryder was in there. Gordon was in there. Where was he? Did he find their son? Were they okay?

Carly continued crying and sobbing loudly, her small form trembling. Meghan let out a stifled sob. "Don't worry, baby. Dad is g-going to get h-him."

Meghan cradled Carly close. She liftes her head only to search for acknowledgment that Gordon and Ryder were emerging from the house. All she was met with, though, was a cloaked figure standing near the house. For a moment, it seemed as if their eyes met. Cold fear squeezed at Meghan's heart as it turned and walked away. She wanted to scream out -- to tell the neighbors to catch it, but her voice didn't work. Only the sound of sobbing came out, and it disappeared around a corner.

"Look!"

The alarmed voice prompted Meghan to look up again and she gasped, releasing Carly to sprint toward the figure stumbling out of the house. As she got closer, she made out Gordon slipping down the steps, a smaller figure limp in his arms. Ryder! Gordon grunted as he slipped, falling forward. Ryder dropped motionless to the floor next to him.

Meghan collapsed by his side. Gordon let out a series of coughs before leaning over their son, soot coating his skin and clothing. Meghan noticed the harsh burns standing out on Ryder's body. The worst one scarred his upper arm, blistering and bleeding, the skin swollen and painfully broken. The woman winced at the sight. Ryder's eyes were shut, no movement coming from him except the soft rising and falling of his chest.

"Ryder," Meghan sobbed, gripping his hand gently in hers. She made sure not to touch the burn on his wrist.

She noticed the blood soaking through the sleeve of his shoulder at about the same time Gordon did. Gordon swiftly pulled the sleeve up, still coughing, to reveal a jagged puncture wound. A second later, Ryder stirred, his eyes fluttering open and glazed over. He whimpered out loud, trying to move himself but groaning instead.

Meghan cradled his head in her lap as Carly approached. Her daughter was still shaking as she crouched beside her brother with an expression of worry. "Is he okay?"

Meghan watched Ryder's eyes drift shut again and Gordon wiped some tears off of his cheeks. He pulled Carly into a small hug. "I think he's going to be okay, as long as an ambulance gets here soon."

Meghan noticed the way Gordon said this, his tone gravelly and broken. It broke Meghan's heart to know that he was just as worried about Ryder as she was. She watched him grip his son's hand, Gordon's eyes watching Ryder's unconscious face. No matter how much Ryder might have hated his father, Gordan would always love him with all of his heart. He ran into the fire with no second thought. Meghan was about to follow but knew Carly needed one of them to stay with her.

Gordon coughed again, sweat glazing his forehead. Sirens in the distance clashed with the sound of the fire crackling on. There was no doubt about it. That stalker just tried to murder her son. And now, she was going to murder them for it.

❄⛄❄

That poor family! I think this book is one of the most interesting to write, with the family relationships and thrill...and, hopefully, magic may be included later on. XP

Question: Do you think the fawns are okay? Did you forget about them? ;)