I sat up in bed, not sure what had just waken me. The next thud shook the whole house. I jumped out of bed and scampered to the hallway. There was only one reason why Kujo could be doing it: Brandon was too close to him. I was halfway down to the first floor when Amy ran out of her bedroom, calling out for me to stop. I didn't, and I heard her hurry after me. I stormed into the kitchen, expecting to find him out the door or something like that. An icy chill ran down my back when I found the backdoor wide open. What the fuck?

Then I saw the basement door open too, and heard Brandon's voice from down there, calling Kujo out.

"Show yourself, demon!" he cried at the top of his lungs.

What was wrong with him? Was he crazy?

"Brandon!" I called, sprinting to the basement doorway.

The stairs were in complete darkness, and I was forced to slow down and put my hands on the walls to keep from missing a step. I could hear the noises of boards hitting the boiler. Meaning Kujo was keeping his promise not to attack Brandon.

"That's all you can do, you fucking son of a bitch?"

I was a few steps away from the end of the stairs when I clearly heard the growls. Jesus! Kujo had never been so loud. A box fell and crashed on the floor, apparently filled with glass objects that shattered into a thousand pieces.

"C'mon! Come out and face me if you dare!"

"Brandon! Stop!" I cried, running into the basement.

Brandon was near the central pillar, yelling and sprinkling water all around him, while Isaac filmed everything on one of their handheld cams with a big IR light attached on top.

"Stop!" I repeated, hurrying along the left wall toward the corner. "Kujo, please! I got this!"

"There you are!" he yelled, coming at me to cut me off halfway to the corner.

I stepped back, because he looked and behaved like he was completely out of his mind, but he got to me in a heartbeat. The moment he grabbed my arm to stop me, it was like an ultrasound wave blasted through the basement, making the windows rattle and the floor shake. Isaac fell on his butt with a cry of sheer horror as the neatly-piled boxes started flying across the room, from the corner toward us, and a long furious growl filled the air.

Out of pure instinct, I pushed Brandon away and crouched down, covering my head with my arms. It was like a wind of pure fire went through me, brushing Brandon's side and throwing him down to the floor.

"NO!" I cried, before a rush of excruciating pain knocked me out.

I didn't lose consciousness completely, but everything that followed was a blur. I heard a long moan that sounded like my name, hurried footsteps all around, loud voices. A moment later, somebody was carrying me up the stairs to sit me at the table. A man cried, other men argued, cabinets opened and chairs were pushed out of the way, doors slammed closed. I felt gentle hands trying to take my flannel off and a suffocated cry.

"Kujo," I was able to mumble, trying to cover my eyes from the bright light that filled the kitchen, that hideous, paralyzing pain burning my belly, my back and my arms.

"Easy, Fran, don't try to speak."

That was Amy, very close to me. I felt around for her hand and grasped it.

"Kujo!" I repeated, doing my best to ignore the pain.

"Later, my girl. We need to take care of you first."

My sight was getting clear again, my head too. I brushed Amy off and grabbed the table for support to stand up. Before anybody could stop me, I felt my way toward the basement.

"Fran! Stop!" Trisha cried, hurrying after me.

"He didn't mean to hurt me," I said, taking one step down at a time out of sheer stubbornness. "He tried to protect me and I got in his way. Fuck!" The pain stopped me in my tracks and I needed a moment to muster enough strength to keep going.

"Okay, okay, let me help you."

My friend grabbed my hand and circled my waist with her arm. There was a shouting match taking place upstairs in the kitchen, and noises like all the furniture was being moved around. I recognized Amy's voice, Brandon's, Isaac's, even Mike's. I couldn't give any more fucks about whatever was going on there. I only wanted to get to the basement.

Trisha helped me down the narrow space between the old furniture lines to the central pillar, because the left side of the floor was covered in fallen boxes and assorted shattered objects.

"Kujo?" I called, signaling her to stay back as I approached slowly the corner, leaning forward in that horrible pain. "Kujo, my boy, it's okay."

The muffled shuffle from the corner worked a miracle to ease my fears.

"I'm so sorry, Kujo," I said, letting tears flow. "I couldn't keep my word to keep you safe."

I reached the end of the boiler and kneeled down slowly, breathing heavily in the effort to control the pain.

"Please forgive me, Kujo!" I murmured, sobbing.

I stretched out my hand into the shadows of the corner, but no heat touched it. My heart skipped a beat.

"Trisha, go get Amy!"

"But—!"

"Go! And tell Mike to call 911 if that son of a bitch doesn't leave the Manor in five minutes!"

I dragged my knees to get closer to the corner, still calling Kujo in whispers. I heard a couple of muffled little noises, but nothing else. A moment later, Amy rushed down the stairs and across the basement to my side.

"You cannot be here, Fran! We need to tend to your burns!"

"Is he there, Amy?" I asked. "He okay?"

Amy breathed deep as to fight back her urge to slap me back to my senses. Her voice would have cut through steel.

"He's there, curling up in the corner. He can't talk and he can't move, cause he used all his energy to attack you. Now he just wants to lay down there and die. Good riddance!"

"He didn't attack me," I repeated. "He tried to protect me from Price and I got in his way."

"What?"

"Where is he, Amy? Help me go sit by his side."

"Are you fucking crazy?"

I pushed her away and started to drag my knees again. I wished I could use my hands too, but I couldn't bend forward because of the pain in my torso and back, and my aching arms wouldn't stand my weight.

"Shit!" Amy snarled, and guided me until I sat down right in the corner of the left and the back walls. She moved my hand to my left and I felt a faint trace of warmth. "That's his head. Now don't do anything crazy. I'll be right back."

I heard her leave and somehow managed to lie down and rest my head by Kujo's. I couldn't lie on my back and I couldn't lie on my arm, so I tried to find a position in which the pain wouldn't kill me.

"It's okay, my boy," I whispered, crying. "This shit hurts like hell and there's nothing we can do about it. So take the pain, Kujo."

I heard the faintest moan and could only cry harder.

"Please, my boy. Hang on. Eat this pain. This is all on me. It's my fault."

Amy found me still mumbling and crying. The LED she carried aiming up to the ceiling showed me the revolting horror in her face and I raised my hand a little.

"Let him have it, Amy. I told him to. No painkiller can fight this, so let's not waste it."

She cussed under her breath, coming to kneel down before me. She opened the first-aid kit she'd brought along with the LED, lifted my top under the flannel and closed the kit with a shaky sigh.

"We need to take you to the hospital, Fran. These are at least second-degree burns," she said.

"Fuck no. I ain't leaving here."

Amy looked to my side and nodded, rolling her eyes. "I know! Wish you could tell her that yourself!" she cried, exasperated. "Even Kujo wants you to go, you stupid hothead."

"Okay, okay, help me up." I turned to the other half of the corner. "Be right back, my boy."

"Jesus Christ! C'mon, already!"

She helped me the hundred miles to the stairs and up the thousand steps to the kitchen, where I was surprised to find Mike and Susan cleaning up a mess of fallen chairs and open cabinets with all the contents on the floor.

I didn't even look at them. Trisha hurried to bring my winter jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. They led me out the front door, but I stopped halfway to Amy's car when I spotted the black truck still parked outside the guesthouse.

"What the fuck is he still doing here?" I snarled, trembling out of pure fury.

"We still need him," Amy replied matter-of-factly, unlocking the car doors with her remote.

I followed her, still growling. "Like hell. There's gotta be another way."

"There's not, Fran, and you know it. We're gonna use him and then kick him the fuck out. You still haven't signed the infamous authorization, so you can get rid of him any way you want."

"With a knife stuck in his throat would be nice."

Trisha helped me get in the passenger's seat, chuckling and shaking her head.

We had fifteen minutes to the hospital. And to come up with an explanation for my burns. Amy decided that boiling water was the only thing that could sort of justify them. Good thing nobody asked any further in the ER, like how had I managed to burn my back too, and two inches between my shoulders and elbows. The nurse just wrote boiling water on the form and left me with the doctor.

It took a long while and it hurt like seven hells put together, because the cotton fabric of my top was stuck to the burned flesh and they had to remove it just to get a first look at the wounds. They tried to put me under, but I wouldn't let them, cause I wanted to go back home as soon as possible. So I could only bear the pain while they cleaned the wounds, covered them with a thick layer of healing cream with silver and wrapped miles of bandages around them.

When they finally let me go and I went to the waiting room to meet with Trisha and Amy, I found them talking with Isaac. I stopped short and scanned the place with a flaming glare, praying to lay eyes on Brandon Price.

"Fran!" Isaac cried, spotting me. "You o...?" He trailed off when he saw I looked like a half-wrapped mummy. "Shit! You going home? They should keep you here!"

My glare was enough to shut him up. I dodged him and headed straight to the exit. I heard Amy say behind me, "Don't worry, I'll explain to her."

"There's nothing to explain," I grunted, pushing the swing door open.

"There is an explanation, though. A very logical one. Let me know when you feel like hearing it."

Back to the Manor, I left her to send Mike and Susan home while I went to the east parlor. Trisha hurried after me, bringing both tablets to the coffee table. Amy joined us there a minute later.

I told all of them what had happened. A long thick silence followed my account.

"I'm so sorry," I muttered, unable to keep my tears from rolling down again. "This is all my fault. That Kujo's awake, that Price is here, that all of this happened." I covered my face with my hands, feeling my heart break as I said, "I'd understand if you want me out of here for good. I've been a fool and messed everything up."

The cool breeze wrapping around me and the cold brush on my forehead only made me cry harder, especially when all the apps started talking at the same time.

"Not your fault."

"We love you."

"Nothing to forgive."

"You did well."

"We would never want you to leave."

Amy and Trisha watched the scene without a word and tears in their eyes. Until the medium turned her motherly mode on.

"It's late, family, and Fran needs to rest. It's been a very rough day for her."

I wiped my tears away the best I could and looked up at Trisha. "Could you go grab my sleeping bag?" I turned to Amy before she could start arguing. "There's no way I'm leaving him alone."

"You can't sleep on that cold dirty floor!"

"Watch me," I replied curtly, standing up. "The painkillers aren't working completely, so I still have some left for him."

I paused before leaving the parlor and turned to the empty room with a moved smile. "Thank you so, so much. I love you too, and I'm so sorry for all this trouble."

"Price needs to leave," Edward said through the TTS.

"I totally agree," I said, nodding to Amy. "Tell her."