When Kara awoke in the morning, there was still a light sprinkle of rain outside that cascaded down the windows.

     Kara blinked her amber eyes open as she rubbed them. She yawned. She still remained in the same awkward position that she collapsed onto the bed in.

     Kara sat up, fixing her hair.

     Her gaze drifted over to where the crib resided at the edge of her bed.

      "Grey…" She whispered before she got up and moved over to the crib.

       Greyson was still sleeping soundly, one arm wrapped around the tiger plush he had been gifted the night before—-his thumb was buried deep within his mouth as he continued to snooze.

      Kara reached into the crib, smiling softly, before gently stroking Greyson's hair.

      Kara had only known Greyson for less than a day, but there was already nothing she wouldn't do for him.

     Pretty sure I'd kill for that boy if he asked me to, Kara thought to herself as she continued to gently caress the hair of the sleeping boy.

       "Sleep well, bud," Kara whispered to the little boy as she kissed the top of his head before turning away from the crib once more.

      Kara gazes over to the clock, noting the time—-seven in the morning.

      Four hours of sleep… Great, she mentally groaned.

     Kara slipped on her tennis shoes once more and left the room, entering the hallway—-she remained as silent as she possibly could be so she didn't wake up Greyson.

     Kara looked into her mother's bedroom. She noted how the covers were fixed and the bed was nicely made.

     It was clear that Anais had already left for work—-typically, she left at five in the morning.

     Kara looked to the otherside of the hallway, toward her young half-brother's room. She made her away over to the door. She knocked on the cracked door. "Nicolas? You up?"

      No response.

     "Nico?" Kara knocked yet again.

      Nothing.

     "Dude. You have to get up for school, you know…" Kara began to say through the door. "I'll drop you off… Come on."

     She got no response.

     "Nico… Can I come in?" She asked.

      Nothing yet again.

      "Okay, that's it," Kara started to say. "I'm coming in." She pushed open the door, entering her younger brother's room. "Nico?"

       The blankets on Nicolas's bed were in disarray—-his pillow was slumped on the ground.

      Kara reached over to the pillow and put it on the bed once more, patting it a few times. "Nico?" She called out to her brother again.

      Kara pushed away from the bed, looking through out the room for her brother. "Nico? Nico! Dude… This isn't funny… Where are you?"

      Kara stepped forward, hearing something crunching underneath her shoe. She instantly pulled a face.

     Kara lifted up her leg just to see broken glass under her shoe. What the fuck?, she thought to herself, gulping—-she shivered as a terrible feeling began to wash over her.

     Kara rushed over to the window in Nicolas's room. She froze when she saw how it was shattered in.

     The wall near the window seemed to have some water damage due to the heavy rains earlier—-clearly the window had been broken for a little bit.

     Kara stared at the window frozen with fear. Finally, she let her gaze drift down a little once more, noticing something on the wall.

     Kara crouched down, examining the wall. She touched the red stain on the wall. Once she examined it more and watched it drip down her finger, she froze again. "Is… Is this blood?"

    Kara quickly stood once more, backing away from the wall until she tripped over one of Nico's toys on the floor and fell backwards.

     "Nico…" Kara called again, quieter this time as she continued to look at the busted in window—-Kara was well aware that Nicolas wouldn't hear her. She was well aware that he was gone.

─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

       "But," Nicolas's voice began to say. "...if you fell off the roof… You wouldn't get hurt."

     Kara had been cleaning leaves out of the gutters. She laughed at her brother's comment from her place on the ladder. "No, Nico… That's not how it works…"

     "But you're a demon," the little boy insisted as he continued to talk to his older half-sister.

     Kara laughed once more, finishing up her job. "Just because I'm a demon doesn't mean I'm immune to getting hurt… I'm just as fragile as anyone else." Kara began to head down the ladder, her footing slipping as she did. She grabbed onto the ladder, tight. "Woah!"

     Kara breathed heavily as she regained her balance. She said to Nicolas, "See? If I would've fell and hit the sidewalk, I would've cracked my head open."

─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

     Kara blinked her eyes closed for a moment before opening them once more, her gaze moving away from the shattered window to where her hand was positioned on the floor.

─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

      The rink remained cold as young Kara continued to look out upon it.

     "You've got this," she whispered to herself, taking a deep breath.

    Soon, she headed out onto the ice.

    The eleven-year-old was practicing for a routine in a local figure skating competition.

     Kara tried to ignore her anxiousness from the idea of everyone watching her skate.

    Time for the jump, she thought to herself.

   She pushed herself into a triple axel, slipping and hitting the ground.

    Kara looked up at the ceiling, dazed—-an odd feeling crept into her mind and stomach.

    No, no, she began to think. Not here!

   Kara jerked a little as Anais rushed over.

  "Kyllian?" Anais shouted as Bethany came over too.

   Dylan and Aubrie came over as well.

   Kara felt herself jerk aggressively a few more times before slipping into a seizure.

─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

     Kara stumbled to her feet as she felt rage start to build up inside her.

    Mom was at work when Nicolas was taken, Kara thought to herself. And I… I was busy sleeping… Sleeping of all things!

     "I should've protected him," Kara mumbled to herself as she approached Nicolas's desk. She slammed her hands against the wood. "It's my fault!" She shouted, her eyes closed.

     Kara opened her eyes once more when she heard a crackling sound. What was that?, she thought to herself.

    Kara jumped back in terror when she realized that she had accidentally set the desk on fire. "Shit! Shit!"

   Kara backed away from the desk, her hands in her hair as her heart rate kept speeding up. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

    Kara ran as fast as she could to the kitchen, grabbing a pot of water before running back up to Nico's smoking room. She dumped the water on the fire, the mini explosion sending her backward.

    Crap!, she thought.

    Kara got back up and went to reach for the pot as if she was going to fill it with water in an attempt to put out the fire once more.

    Kara winced loudly when she touched the pot and it burnt her hand.

    "Shit!" Kara shouted once more. "Greyson!"

    Kara ran into her room once more as she picked up Greyson from his crib—-he was still wrapped in his blanket, holding onto the tiger plush.

     Greyson whined.

     "I know, I know," Kara said as she started to run downstairs, holding onto the boy.

      Smoke started to fill the upstairs portion of the home.

      Kara raised outside, still holding onto Greyson.

     Once Kara did make it outside, she called for the fire department, coughing as she did.

     After calling for them, she tried to contact Dylan, hoping he'd see her message.

     Kara's gaze raised up again toward the building as she watched her childhood home burn to the ground.