Spiral into..., From 'Bittersweet Lullabies',Alchemilla

[Lucas Ray]

‘I should be more careful.’ thought Lucas as he drifted through the blissful nothingness of dreamless sleep. ‘If I’m asleep, I can dream, and dreaming within a dream can be a dangerous thing, especially in this place.’

There was a faint rumbling as his consciousness stirred, but it again lay still, like a beast only shifting its great bulk as it slept on.

‘There is nothing left for me here,’ whispered the small voice of the unconscious thoughts of Lucas Ray. ‘Everything I’ve held dear has been taken from me. Even revenge has lost all meaning. I tried to make revenge my purpose, my reason for resisting… but it isn’t my nature to be vengeful, is it? I’ve never wanted to punish the guilty. I’ve only ever wanted to protect the people around me… to protect them from the life I myself had to endure.’

is that really the truth is it now

‘There is nothing I can do. I am powerless. Perhaps it should be as it is… maybe I should simply rest… forever in my sanctuary.’

He wondered at which point he simply wished for sweet oblivion. Was it when he watched helpless as the shifter sent Holly into that elevator and away from his side? Or when he had discovered Robin’s grisly remains, set on display by his long dead father as a statement of his weakness?

Or perhaps… perhaps it had always been this way, long before he had ever heard of this town called Silent Hill. Perhaps he was so used to seeing death as a method of escape from the horrors of his life, rather than something to be feared, that the notion eventually became second nature to him… the belief in death as natural as the belief in God… or love… or family… or wealth… or whatever it was that each person clung to in order to shield themselves from the fact that life is painful, unfair, and finite.

Did he REALLY fight to protect those around him from suffering? Is that really the truth?

is that really the truth now is it is it

Or was it that he enjoyed the pain? The fear? The promise of death that each monster presented but in the end could not bring down upon him?

It certainly didn’t start that way when he’s crossed the thresholds of reality and found him self in this cursed town… had it? When the spider like creatures he’d dubbed whispers had stalked him in the sewers, he’d been terrified. He had ran as fast as he could, fighting only when he was cornered and even then bearing only thoughts of getting away. When the Crier first appeared in the Town Center, he’d been trapped like a cornered animal, and again found a narrow avenue of escape. Fighting had never even entered his mind.

But after that… after he found Robin’s body and was made to realize his failure… something had changed, hadn’t it? The thing that had taken Robin’s form, and was torturing Holly… he’d killed it without any thought of fleeing. When the Crier had come screaming for his blood, Lucas had stood his ground… would most certainly have died were it not for Holly. Most recently, when the shifter had sent Holly down that elevator to who-knew-where, Lucas was pacing like a trapped tiger, waiting for his chance to fight... even with the knowledge that he was outmatched by it in terms of power.

Suicide was something he could never contemplate, even in the direst of circumstances…

wonder i wonder at the truth

…but death at the hands of a bloodthirsty monster… he could find sweet escape, and who would be able to judge him for it then?

the truth the truth is... Did Lucas Ray have a death wish?

‘Perhaps if I sink deeper, I won’t have to find an answer…’

[Lucas Ray]

‘Here… I’ll hide here…’

Oceanview Middle School hummed with activity as students filed in to daily lessons. Lucas was worried. He had failed to complete his project on time, and as his classmates, one by one, came into the classroom holding their various science projects, Lucas more and more was overcome by despair.

‘An ‘F’, thought young Lucas; ‘I’ve never gotten an ‘F’ before on anything! How could this have happened! Of course, yes, it was his fault, he… I… delayed in my studies… it was my fault, of course… I… I should have been better prepared.’

Lucas was the only student who didn’t have a science project to present. He had been thinking about presenting… had thought about perhaps demonstrating how such and such ingredients could be mixed to created a particularly… inhibitive substance called alcohol… but he had been interrupted by his… childishness distractions... yes, that was it... and he had failed in his assignment.

Around him thrummed the bustling activity that only an elementary school classroom could achieve… students whispering, talking, yelling, running… boundless energy that never really resonated with Lucas, making him a perfect outcast to his peers. He didn’t mind, however… he was content to sit and draw, or read. He considered the antics of his schoolmates’ a form of misbehavior; children aught be seen and not heard, and there was the danger that deviating from that notion would result in a grown-up…

…slapping the taste out of my mouth…

… putting him on timeout.

And so here he sat…surrounded by his classmates in the cusp of advancing to the fifth grade… soon to be a failure, a laughingstock, a…

… Lucas had been so wallowing in his depression that he didn’t notice the background noise of the screaming children had died away. There was no more movement as his classmates all sat silently in their seats.

They were all… staring at him.

‘Oh no.’ thought Lucas as a cold shiver of fear shot up his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

It was mannequins... childish mannequins all about him as he sat at his desk.

They were staring at him with at least twenty pairs of empty eyes, the classroom as silent as a tomb.

And Lucas suddenly remembered who he was, and realized with absolute terror that he had not gone deep enough into himself. Whatever force was behind Silent Hill and its all consuming evil, it had found him.

Lucas stood quickly from his desk… a desk that was suddenly much too small for him as his physical form became that of his normal self and not the 10 year old boy from his memories. The majority of mannequin children were between him and the exit of the classroom, and Lucas backed into the far corner on the opposite side, slipping over fallen pencils and papers in his rush to get away.

But the mannequins did not move… they only continued to stare with those glassy, lifeless eyes.

Abruptly, footsteps began to echo outside the classroom door, each footfall sounding incredibly loud in the unnatural silence that pervaded the classroom.

As they came closer, Lucas began to take deep breaths, attempting to steel himself for whatever walked through the door. Slowly, the knob began to turn…

[Lucas Ray]

“You…” Said Lucas, his voice a mere whisper as emotion took him. “I should h…have known it would b-be you.”

“Of course, Lucas. Whenever you stumble in your journey, I’ll be here to pick you up again. Until I too become a part of this place, and lose myself.”

Like any dream, reality began to ebb and flow, like a changing tide, and suddenly the mannequin children were gone, and his murdered girlfriend, Robin Westfall, stood across the room from him, smiling the same encouraging smile that he remembered so fondly.

Lucas moved closer to her, wanting to embrace her, to tell her so many things… about the Crier, about his father… about Holly. But as he began to cross the classroom, it suddenly and violently shook, like an earthquake had suddenly struck in his mind. Somehow, though, the earthquake didn’t feel like an integral part of the dream… it felt more like an outside force had taken offense to Lucas’ approach.

Outside the classroom, in the infinite darkness of his deep subconscious, he felt the immense presence shift again, as if stirring. Robin looked outside, a worried expression on her face, and then turned back to Lucas.

“Don’t come any closer. Remember what happened the last time we met here? He won’t let you get any closer to me.”

Lucas remembered. He had discovered Robin’s remains in the Town Center shortly upon entering Silent Hill. In his despair he had lost consciousness, and it was then that Robin had come to him, offering solace and encouraging him to survive. But when he had tried to embrace her, the same thing had happened… a rumbling that had kept them apart. But then…

“What d-d-do you mean ‘he’?”

Robin’s eyes narrowed and became deadly serious, and in a hushed tone that Lucas barely heard, she whispered.

“You know who.”

Lucas’ eyes widened in recognition. Somehow his father had also gotten into his dreams, perhaps the same way Robins spirit did. Perhaps he couldn’t manifest himself fully, or maybe Robin was keeping him more or less at bay? In any case, Robert Ray seemed to still have some measure of power here, and that scared Lucas more than any monster out in the ‘real’ world.

“I need to f-find him” said Lucas darkly. “I have to end his madness once and f-f-for all.”

“Still looking to avenge me, Lucas?”

“P-part of me still is, yes.” Lucas said, “B-but I have a new reason now. I… I met another survivor. I have to p-p-protect her. I can’t let what happened t-to you…happen to her.” It still pained Lucas to admit that he had failed to prevent her death. Even more so, that he had found some one… that he enjoyed being around very much.

“I told you before Lucas.” she told him sternly yet kindly. “You can’t punish yourself for things that are beyond your control. This town feeds on such emotions, at your expense. It wasn’t your fault.”

Robin slowly made her way to the front of the classroom, and picking up some chalk from the lip of metal the protruded from the bottom of the chalkboard, began to write.

“So… this other survivor… Holly, right?”

Lucas’ eyes widened in surprise. “How d-did you…?”

Robin laughed sweetly, apparently amused by his sudden embarrassment. “I’m in your head, silly. I know everything you know.” She paused in her writing, turning slightly and giving Lucas a knowing look. “She seems nice.”

Lucas met her gaze evenly. “She is. She r…reminds me of you.”

Robin looked at him seriously for several seconds, studying him. And then her gaze relaxed, and her smile returned.

“I’m glad, Lucas. Take care of her.” She said as she turned back to the chalkboard and resumed her writing.

Lucas was about to thank her, to promise her that he would fulfill her request, when the classroom suddenly shook again, much stronger this time. Debris rained down on him from the ceiling and desks moved across the floor with the intense vibrations. Lucas sensed that their time was short.

“Robin, I have to ask you… you said b-before that anything is p-p-possible here. What d-did you mean by that?”

Robin paused only slightly in her writing, as if contemplating the question, before continuing. “When you first came to Silent Hill, what was your greatest desire, Lucas?”

There was no hesitation in his response. “To save you.”

Finished with whatever words she had been writing on the chalkboard, she began to quickly draw some kind of geometric shape.

“And is that still what you most desire?”

Lucas felt his heart skip a beat, sudden shock and confusion seeming to hit him square in the chest. “What? I d-don’t…”

Robin moved away from the chalkboard, finally allowing Lucas to see what she had written. The words she had written were words he had seen before… words that had caused him great agony. They were the words scrawled on the wall near Robin’s tattered remains.


i May boIl her tenDer
WaIt, CHanged my mind
Should haCk Her up a little first
OooOoh, alive, screaming
how does it feeL, boy?

“You didn’t get my message did you, Lucas? I had to hide it under the surface so he wouldn’t see, but it’s there if you look at the big picture.” said Robin, a slight emphasis in her voice when she said ‘big’.

In his sudden grief and fury, Lucas had missed the hidden message behind the grisly poem, but he saw it clearly now. But how would that help save Robin?

The geometric figure she had also drawn did little to reveal any answers. It was shaped like a pyramid, but segmented into parts and inscribed with strange writing and symbols whose meaning Lucas couldn’t comprehend.

“W…what is it?”

Robin seemed strangely reluctant as she began to speak. “It is called the Flauros… an object of great power. It can trap demons, amplify the thoughts and dreams of the user… I wouldn’t be surprised if it could somehow provide an escape from this place. It could maybe even… revive the dead.”

“R…revive the d-d-d…”

At that moment a massive quake struck the classroom, a low yet powerful vibration like the striking of massive gong reverberating all around them. Huge cracks began to tear the walls apart, ripping the various posters and elementary drawings that were plastered upon them. Robin looked around fearfully before turning to Lucas.

“You can’t stay here anymore, Lucas! He’s coming! You have to escape! You have to…”

And the floor of the classroom finally gave way, revealing intense blackness underneath. The area near the blackboard, however, stayed relatively stable, so that only Lucas fell into that deep abyss, while Robin looked on, a scared yet hopeful expression being the last that Lucas saw of her as he fell.

He continued to fall into that infinite expanse, yet as he did, he felt a massive presence near him. He saw it move, and colossal was too small a word for it. In the universe of Lucas’ mind, this… thing… was easily of galactic proportions. It slithered in the dark, barely seen and yet impossible to deny as it bore down upon him, and Lucas was but a speck of dust in its path. There was no escape, and to defy it would be as futile as to defy a god.

“You have to escape! You have to… wake up!”

Lucas opened his eyes… just in time to witness a large kitchen knife coming down upon his face.

[Lucas Ray]

He rolled as the knife came down, so close he felt the wind of its passage on the back of his neck. And suddenly he was falling… but only momentarily… before hitting the hard, cold floor of where ever he’d ended up. Lucas was on his feet and moving in an instant, his back suddenly hitting the wall behind him. For the first time, Lucas was able to take in his surroundings.

Though it was dark, Lucas could clearly tell that it was a classroom, just as if he’d never woken from that vague dream he’d been having. He couldn’t remember the specifics, but there had been a classroom in it, he was sure…

It was typical fare; lockers lined the back wall, complete with colorings and paintings whose images can only come from the minds of the young and innocent. One side of the classroom consisted of one low, long counter with many cabinets, presumably for school supplies, while the wall above the counter was interspersed with windows that displayed nothing but blackness. Desks were lined up in rows, facing the large desk he’d just rolled off of.

Indeed, Lucas would have been hard put to tell if he’d actually woken up from that dream had it not been for the creature poised on the desk several feet from where he now stood.

It was the size of a humanoid child, but the resemblance ended there. It barely had a face at all, instead seeming to have deep scar tissue where its facial features would otherwise have been. It had grey, moist skin, almost as if the monster had been recently fashioned from clay, and despite its small stature seemed well built and strong. Gripped in one misshapen hand was a large knife, still embedded deep in the wood where his head had only seconds before been resting. As it pulled the knife out with a sharp twist, it turned, loosing a shrill cry that sounded a little too disturbingly like a small child in pain.

Lucas glanced to his left and saw the door that led out of the room. Escape pretty much kicked the ass of the idea of fighting, and Lucas ran for the door, nimbly dodging a swipe from the child like monster as he moved past the desk. Thankfully, the door was unlocked, and Lucas quickly bolted through and into the dark hallway beyond, slamming the door closed behind him.

He backed away from the doorway, watching closely, ready to run. He didn’t think the monster was smart enough to open doors, or even tall enough to reach the knob, but he didn’t want to take that chance. And as the creature on the other side began to scratch and mewl in frustration, Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Finally, something goes my way…’

From behind him, something grabbed his legs.

A shout of surprise escaped Lucas as he turned, nearly tripping as this second demon child held tight to his jeans, its strength and weight surprising him. Its head turned up to Lucas, and from out of what only slightly resembled a mouth came what could only be described as a high pitched croak… a short, rough sound that it repeated over and over as it clung to him. In fact… it kind of sounded like…

‘Is it… laughing?’

From behind it, Lucas saw two more of its brethren approaching… these armed with knives like the one in the classroom. They would be upon him in seconds, and Lucas had no way of getting away with his legs grappled as they were. He kicked and struggled with the monster, finally placing the bottom of his shoe against its head and kicking it away, somehow miraculously maintaining his balance in the process. He turned to run from the trio, only to find the he was already at the end of the hallway, with only two doors side by side to offer possible escape before it dead ended.

In seconds he was at the first of the doors, furiously turning the knob. The door however, refused to budge… something heavy seemed to be leaning against the other side of it, offering only the slightest give before holding it fast against him. Lucas didn’t even want to think what that ‘something’ could be …

The second door was unlocked, and Lucas nearly burst with relief as he went through the door and shut it behind him. Immediately, scratching and whining came from the other side of the door, the monsters in seeming disappointment at the loss of their prize. The door had a lock on it, and Lucas barely took the time to secure it before turning to see where he had ended up. He did not want to be taken by surprise like he had in the hallway.

Though the room was as dim as the classroom and hallway he had previously been in, Lucas could see that it was a restroom. On the left were three stalls, each of the doors shut, leaving their contents a mystery. To the right were two sinks complete with broken mirrors, some shards of which littered the linoleum floor. In the back corner of the room, behind the sinks, a mop and bucket seemed to have sloppily been thrown into the corner, while high above in the far wall was a window, again displaying only intense blackness.

Lucas stepped away from the door and cautiously moved into the poorly illuminated restroom. Nearby on the wall was a switch, And Lucas flicked it up, hoping for the best and dreading the worst.

Above the broken mirrors, two bulbs sputtered to life, though both flickered as if on the verge of dying completely… their weak light making shadows that danced eerily across the room, serving only to make the scene even more foreboding.

Lucas knew he had to check the stalls. He didn’t want to… didn’t want to think about what horrible thing awaiting him. But he knew he couldn’t simply assume the safety of the restroom until he checked. Intentional ignorance on account of cowardice seemed a sure fire way to die quickly in this place… where ever here was.

Glass crunching underfoot, Lucas approached the first stall, slowly opening the door. It creaked loudly, the rusted hinges resisting the movement, but all that was revealed was a stained toilet… though with rust or blood, Lucas could not be certain.

The second stall was similarly empty, though this stall clearly had blood smeared over the floor and walls, the toilet seeming to have erupted like some sort of geyser. The thought of it made Lucas sick, but at least there were no monsters to jump out at him…

POP!

Behind Lucas, one of the bulbs suddenly exploded, sending the room into an even dimmer darkness and scaring Lucas nearly out of his skin. He jumped back against the far wall of the restroom, sliding down into a sitting position against it as he realized what had happened, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. He took deep breaths of stale air as he attempted to calm himself, and it was then that a childlike shriek came from behind the door of the third stall.

‘Oh shit!’ thought Lucas, as a barely illuminated demon child emerged from the stall, heading right for him. Lucas was utterly defenseless, and only just had time to throw his arms in front of his face to try to protect himself from the slashes that were to come.

But they never did. As Lucas slowly opened his tightly closed eyes, he saw through the gap between his arms that the shadowy demon child was just that… a shadow. It seemed to wander aimlessly, falling over itself in its seemingly mindless wanderings. It shrieked again, causing Lucas to jump at its sudden shrillness, before it disappeared into the wall near the sinks.

‘God damn it.’ Thought Lucas as he turned to look at the otherwise vacant third stall. Seeing no other threats, but put his head back against the wall, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

‘God damn…’

Though finding relative safety within the otherwise abandoned restroom, Lucas knew he was still in trouble. He was surrounded by monsters. He had no idea where he was, how he had gotten here, or even how long he’d been asleep. Days? Weeks? Did time even have any meaning to him or this place?

Despite these concerns, one question burned in his foremost thoughts.

Where is Holly?

The scratching at the door continued, and Lucas resigned himself to his predicament. He was trapped… for now. He could only hope that if he waiting long enough, the monsters would go away and he could risk exploring and looking for some possibility of escape.

He would stay awake though. Sleep was out of the question… for who knew where he would awaken, and what dangers might befall him.

And so, feeling utterly powerless, Lucas began to wait.

[NPC]

Crouched in the shadows, hiding behind one of the toilet bowls came the faint sniffles and sobbing of a child from within the confines of the third stall. The sounds were highly muffled, as though trying miserably to keep their presence undetected. As the man who'd previously opened the door moved away, the figure of a small boy appeared from out of the shadows.

"Please, help me. I'm lost and I can't find my Mommy."

Clutched within the boy's tiny hand was the singed form of a ratty old teddy bear.

"The monsters took her away when we were in a hallway somewhere and I hid in here so they couldn't get me too. I'm so scared."

Hot tears streamed down the boy's face as he edged cautiously closer to the man across the room.

"You're..." the boy hesitated- "...you're not a monster too, are you?"

With that, he stopped and stared at the man, teeth biting into his lower lip as his eyes were wide with fear. The only lit bulb above them buzzed and flickered, frightening the boy and sending him back-stepping toward the stall he'd originally come from.

"They're gonna get us. Those monsters outside. They won't go away..."

He started back toward the man again, slowly shuffling his feet toward him. The hand clenching the teddy bear, which looked strikingly identical to the same bear Holly held just before being separated from Lucas, raised it to his chest while the other moved to hold onto it as well.

".....Do you think my Mommy's okay? I... I heard her screaming before but..." again a hesitation- "....I haven't heard anything but those scary monsters for a long time now. They just scratch and make gross noises outside the door. The big man that was here before... he said they wouldn't hurt me. He said he wouldn't let them and that he wouldn't leave me but... now he's gone too. He said my Mommy was going to the lighthouse. That he'd keep her safe there. Can you help me find the lighthouse. I miss my Mommy so much...."

[Lucas Ray]

Lucas jumped as the boy came out the shadows of the stall. He’d been sure it was one of those demon kids, but as this boy came into what barely passed for light in this place, he saw what seemed to be a scared, innocent child, somehow caught up in this nightmare.

"Please, help me. I'm lost and I can't find my Mommy. The monsters took her away when we were in a hallway somewhere and I hid in here so they couldn't get me too. I'm so scared."

Lucas stared at the boy, still somewhat bewildered by his sudden appearance. Only seconds ago he’d narrowly avoided death, and now this boy, out of the dark and in trouble. It seemed too convenient somehow…

‘Maybe he isn’t what he seems.’ thought Lucas. ‘Maybe these demon kids can shape shift as well…’

His suspicions must have been obvious, for his concerns were mirrored on the face of the young boy.

"You're...you're not a monster too, are you?"

“N-no.” said Lucas, putting his hands out to the boy, trying to show that he meant no harm. “I’m a p-p-person like you.”

Lucas sighed inwardly. Whether or not the boy was human, he knew in his heart that he could not simply abandon him. If it turned out this boy was some kind of creature or trick of the mind, then it would be… dealt with. But he couldn’t simply choose to leave some one to fend for themselves simply because of his suspicions. It seemed to him that the ability to trust was more important than it could ever be… it helped him remember that even in Silent Hill, humanity and kindness could still exist in some form.

Still, that didn’t mean he was naïve. He would be cautious with the boy.

The child relaxed, holding to his chest the stuffed animal that had been at his side.

"They're gonna get us. Those monsters outside. They won't go away..."


Lucas was never that good with children, but he wanted to at least try to offer some words of encouragement.

Then his eyes fell on the stuffed bear the boy had clutched in his arms.

‘It’s the same bear…’

It wasn’t possible. And yet the singed animal looked identical to the one Holly had in the hospital. The one she had pulled out of that nightmare. They had fallen asleep together in the hospital, and shared some kind of bizarre dream or memory of Holly's. And though Lucas couldn’t remember much of it, the one image he could faintly recall was…

A child’s room, wreathed in flame, the boy calling for help even as the fire consumed him…

".....Do you think my Mommy's okay? I... I heard her screaming before but....I haven't heard anything but those scary monsters for a long time now. They just scratch and make gross noises outside the door. The big man that was here before... he said they wouldn't hurt me. He said he wouldn't let them and that he wouldn't leave me but... now he's gone too. He said my Mommy was going to the lighthouse. That he'd keep her safe there. Can you help me find the lighthouse? I miss my Mommy so much...."


It was the same boy, he was sure of it. Holly’s son. But what was he doing here? Holly hadn’t mentioned him when they had met in the Town Center… he doubted she was here looking for him…

Things started coming together in Lucas’ mind. This boy burnt to death in his room… the dream in the hospital so intense it had charred Holly’s hands. And what Holly had said in her sleep during the dream…

"I... let him die... Lucas... just let him die... gone..."

Holly’s son, this boy, was dead. And whatever she had meant by ‘letting him die’, she felt responsible for his death.

Even though Lucas now knew that the boy in front of him was ghost, he found himself unable to be frightened. This spirit didn’t exude an aura of malice. It was as if this soul was lost, looking for comfort, solace…

…and what other place is more comforting for a child than in his mother’s arms?

Besides, from what this child was saying, Holly could be in serious trouble. He didn’t who this ‘big man’ was, or what this boy’s true intentions were, but if he could lead him to Holly, he could deal with that when the time came.

“S-so your mom is at the l…lighthouse? I’m sorry k-kid, I don’t even know where w-w-we are now. D-do you have any idea where it is? I p-promise I’ll help you find your mother. W-what's your name, kid?"

[NPC]

The young boy watched as the man before him made every attempt to show he wasn't a monster, but a person. Small feet shuffled a few inches closer, making scuffing noises as he moved across the grainy, dirt and filth filled floor of one of the school's several poor excuses for a bathroom. He nodded when the man began to talk about his Mommy being at the lighthouse, and his face seemed to brighten a little when promised he'd aid in helping him find it.

"My name's Gage...." The boy looked down toward his bear as his feet moved around nervously. "I've been here a long time waiting for my Mommy to come and bring me home...." Wide eyes filled with childish innocence rose to meet the stare of the obviously bewildered man before him. "Do you know her, Mister? She's got brown hair and wears a really pretty dress." His voice began delving more into sadness... "I really miss her." Looking past the man and toward the door, tiny arms wrapped tighter around his scorched teddy bear.

"How are we gonna get past all those monsters? There's so many..."

Strangely, the sounds that were once heard loudly as the creatures were attempting entrance into the tiny room were silent. It was almost as though they'd given up, or found something... or even someone to else to chase down and follow. Gage walked past the tall man and toward the rusted door, pressing his ear against it. "I don't hear'em anymore, Mister. I think they're all gone." The boy's voice came as nothing more than a whisper. Whether the whole thing had been coincidence or not, no sounds at all could be heard but those made by they themselves.

And though he'd listened, he was still nothing more than a little boy, and thus, backed away from the door. His teddy bear still pressed tightly against his chest, he continued moving away until his back was pressing against the outer wall of the first stall. "C-can you look and see, Mister?" Fear was evident in the boy. It nearly radiated from him as he looked from the door to the man, and back to the door again.

"I wish my Mommy was here...."