Aunt Laura stared at the hole in the ground, her face chiseled from stone and her back as strait as a pole. Bethany bit her lip and stayed silent, waiting for Aunt Laura to say something. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, but whatever it was it was nothing pleasant.

"You say you found it like this?" she asked, her voice low and icy.

"Yeah. We had just gotten back from town," Freddie told her.

Aunt Laura turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, Mandy coming in not a minute later with a dust pan, sweeping up the broken items and tossing them in the trash. Then she just left. Bethany looked from Fran to Freddie, each one with a confused expression, and shrugged her shoulders, sitting down on the couch.

"I don't get it," Freddie said, running both hands through his thick black hair. "I thought she would care more."

"I think she cared very much,"Bethany muttered, her hand on her chin. "But not about the hole...Something is going on around here that no one is telling us about."

Fran sat down on the other couch,her eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"First of all, it's fairly obvious that Aunt Laura doesn't want us around. She has been avoiding us like the plague. But then of course we have the obvious question.Why did she pay for us all to come over?...I really don't know the answer to that. But what I do know is that it wasn't because she wanted to get to know us. No sir."

Fran and Freddie nodded in agreement, trying to think of possible reasons why their Aunt would want them over.

"Second of all, Liam keeps looking off to the woods every time we talk and when I ask him what's wrong he doesn't tell me. He says it's 'nothing'," Bethany said, putting the last part in quotation marks.

"And then there are the animal attacks...I have a funky feeling that none of this is happening by accident."

They all subconsciously glanced over at the hole in the floor, wondering what kind of animal came scavenging in the house.

"Bethany, this is ridiculous!" Fran exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Bethany looked over at her sister and raised a critical eyebrow, slouching against the sofa back.

"Is it?"

"Maybe Aunt Laura really did want to see us, but now she's changed her mind?"

"What about Liam?" Bethany asked quietly.

"I don't know. Maybe he's just overly cautious?"

"Cautious of what? Fran, I'm not saying that there is something wrong, but I am saying that it's a distinct possibility."

"I agree with Bethany," Freddie said, looking at the floor. "Maybe not something as drastic as it sounds, but I can feel it too."

Blondie ran through the trees as fast as she could, branches scraping her arms and brambles catching her ankles, but she barely felt it. The sun was almost all the way down, casting an orange light mixed with the dark shadows of the evening on the floor of the woods. Leaping over a fallen log Blondie barely managed to keep her footing, skidding a little on the leaves and running into a bramble bush. Muttering something under her breath she pulled the branches out of her way and ran back onto the trail that had been made by a pack of deer. Before long Blondie found herself crashing out of the trees into a wire fence surrounding a vegetable garden just behind Liam's house. Sighing with relief she jogged around the house and pounded the front door, leaning against the railing and taking a deep breath. Soft footsteps walked towards the door and the gold nob turned and clicked, the door opening slightly. Liam peaked through the opening and, seeing Blondie and her distressed state, gestured for her to come it, closing the door.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice tired.

"No time to explain," Blondie breathed, tying her hair up. "Get your gun."

Bethany stepped out onto the porch and sat down next to Goochie, running one hand through his thick coat. He laid his big head on her lap and closed his eyes, his pink tongue lolling out in pleasure. Bethany laughed and patted the dog's head, running her hand down his soft back.

"I wish I was back home with Mom and Dad," she said quietly.

Goochie made a little grunting noise that he was listening and Bethany continued.

"For some reason Aunt Laura doesn't get along with Dad and I could never figure out why. But now I think I know...You see, Aunt Laura doesn't really have much to be happy about, and it's quite obvious that she isn't...There's also something she isn't telling us. Something that no one is telling us,actually," she said with a frustrated grunt. "I mean, how stupid do they think we are?"

"Why are you talking to a dog?"Mariah spoke up, appearing from behind a rose bush.

Bethany turned quickly, startling Goochie, and rolled her eyes, relaxing again.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. It's not polite."

"You said I needed to practice being more silent," Mariah said, climbing over the railing.

"I meant verbally, not physically," Bethany muttered, scratching under Goochie's chin.

"Where did Aunt Laura go?"

Bethany sighed and looked up at the dimming sky, wishing over and over again that she was out in their pasture with the goats and chickens.

"Who knows?"

Mariah sat down and leaned her head on Bethany's shoulder, closing her blue eyes.

"Aunt Laura doesn't like us very much, does she?"

"I don't think it's that she doesn't like us. I just think she's a little confused about a few things," Bethany said, wondering why she was defending her.

The sky was turning a brilliant red and orange color and the three of them sat there, bathing in the warm sunlight. It had been a trying day for Bethany and the calm stillness around her was everything that she needed.

Suddenly a loud 'bang' exploded in the air and a flock of birds flew up out the trees towards the West Wing. Goochie sprang to his feet and Mariah and Bethany both jumped at the sudden noise.

"What was that?" Mariah asked, grabbing Bethany's hand.

Fran and Freddie came bolting out of the back door followed by Allen who was carrying a crying Sabrina.

"Was that gunshot?" Fran asked, looking all around her.

"Maybe someone was hunting?" Freddie suggested.

Bethany looked over at the trees and, looking down at the frightened Mariah, shrugged and smiled.

"It's probably just Liam practicing at the range. Allen, take Mariah and Sabrina inside. They're tired and should probably have something to eat," she said, trying not to sound too urgent.

Allen nodded and took the two girls into the mansion, making sure to close the door.

"Alright, what really happened? Aunt Laura doesn't have a firing range and she doesn't let anyone use their guns on her property," Freddie said, keeping his voice low.

"Maybe it wasn't on her property?" Fran suggested.

Bethany was already shaking her head before Fran had finished, starting towards the trees.

"A flock of birds flew up out of the trees over there when the shot was fired," she said, jogging across the lawn.

Fran and Freddie looked at each other with hesitant glances but they were quick to follow their sister. They were both curious and concerned about what happened and were not about to just let Bethany run off into the woods by herself after a mystery gun was fired. None of them were wearing shoes so the prickly pine needles and odd sticks on the turf made it semi-slow going, even if they were use to going barefoot. Bethany began to realize half way through the trees that she had no clue what they were getting into. Maybe that shot was fired for a perfectly simple and honest reason (the odds were leaning towards that after all), but if it was not an honest reason and there really was a culprit out there, they had a gun. And, well, bullets are only as bad as the one using them.

All these thoughts were running through Bethany's head, but for some stupid and ridiculous reason, she could not stop herself from pushing onward through the trees.

After a short while they could hear a small sniffling sound and vague voices coming from behind a small cluster of bushes off to the left. Bethany gestured for Fran and Freddie to be quiet and the three of them put all their stocking skills to the test, taking great care as to not step on any twigs over leaves that would crackle or snap underfoot. Moving slowly Bethany hopped onto a damp patch of earth behind a tree and tiptoed over to the cluster, crouching down behind it. Fran and Freddie could see her forehead crease and she tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow at them. Her expression seemed somewhat-confused and twins raised both pairs of eyebrows in question at her. Bethany just continued to frown in her strange way and then she abruptly stood, walking around the bush. Fran and Freddie both let out a surprised, "Bethany!" and ran up to her, looking down the ground. There, behind the bush, were two girls, one with unruly blonde hair and the other with tight auburn curls, and a boy holding a sawed off shotgun.

"LIAM!" Fran exclaimed, stepping back in surprise.

The young groundskeeper stood up and touched the brim of his cap, reloading his gun quietly. The twins looked down at the ground in shock where a dead badger lay, their eyes traveling over to the auburn-haired girl who looked rather out of place in her shimmery clothing and tall stilettos. She was sniffling and sobbing uncontrollably and she was covered in dirt and scratches.

"Are you alright?" Fran asked softly, kneeling down next to her.

"NO!" the girl cried, shoving Fran away. "Get away from me!"

The other girl rolled her eyes and made a slight 'piff' sound, brushing her hands off and standing up. Bethany, Fran, and Freddie all stepped back in shock, looking up at the girl who suddenly seemed quite foreboding and, well, tall!

Liam calmly closed the action of his shotgun and put on the safety, carrying it in a relaxed manner under his arm. Bethany looked from him to the girl and back again, the wheels turning in her head. Then she remembered.

"You! You're that, that girl! The one who was all covered in dirt!" she exclaimed.

Liam raised an eyebrow and gave a sidelong glance to the girl, who just shrugged in response and held out her hand to Bethany.

"Call me Blondie. I'ma, a friend of Liam's," Blondie said, sort of hesitantly as though she were not quite sure.

Liam just shook his head and knelt down by the badger.

"I'm Bethany and these are my brother and sister Fran and Freddie."

"I know," Blondie replied offhandedly, kneeling by the badger as well. Then in a more hushed voice she asked Liam what he thought of the dead creature.

Bethany and the twins looked at each other for answers and when none of them had any, Bethany turned to Liam.

"What happened? We were at the mansion when we heard a gunshot."

"Yeah well hopefully the gunshot triggered some instinct in the others. I don't hear any screaming so I think it worked," Liam answered.

"But how long will it last?" Blondie asked, biting her fingernail.

"What on earth are you talking about? Liam please tell me what's going on?" Bethany pleaded.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" the glittery girl screamed at her, scrambling to her feet.

"Sorry?"

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT! IT'S ALL BECAUSE YOU HAD TO COME HERE!"

"Shut up, Gwen," Blondie said, her voice quiet but firm.

The girl named Gwen snapped her long face at Blondie and stomped one foot on the ground, her lips a tight pale pink line.

"HOW DARE YOU!" she screeched.

Blondie huffed and stood up, squaring her wide shoulders and turning on her bare heel.

"Blondie-" Liam began in a warning tone.

"It's fine," Blondie replied, gesturing for him to relax. "I don't have the time nor the energy to do anything drastic."

At that Gwen staggered back a little, her chestnut eyes becoming a little less fiery and slightly more wary. Blondie walked towards her slowly in a calm and deliberate manner, eventually stepping right up to the Prima Donna and looking down at her with a crooked smile.

"Oh I dare," she said quietly. "I dare because a spoiled brat like you can't even say thank you when her life's been saved."

Bethany watched in anticipation, holding her breath. Nothing like this ever happened back at the farm and now it was going on everywhere, and by the same person it seemed.

After a pause Blondie stepped back and turned around, waving a hand in the air.

"Better get back home, Gwen," she said, kneeling back down on the ground.

Gwen lifted her chin in a contemptuous manner and narrowed her eyes, starting towards Blondie with balled fists. Liam calmly stepped in front of her and rested the barrel of the sawed off in the crook of his elbow, smiling and tipping the brim of his hat.

"Good day, Miss Frazer," he said.

Gwen's eyes glanced from Liam's capable expression to the heavy shotgun and she stepped back slowly, realizing the odds were not exactly in her favor. Turning quickly she accidentally ran into Fran and, with one last wicked glance at Liam who was still standing in front of Blondie, shoved the girl out of the way once more, strutting down the hill and tripping over a tree root.

Fran tilted her head and smirked at the ridiculous site, not even caring that she had been shoved twice by the same person.

"Is that the, uh-" Fran began, but Bethany was already nodding. "Hah, I can see it now. I don't blame you for hitting her one bit."

"What?" Freddie asked, rather shocked that Bethany had hit someone.

Bethany shook her head with an expression that said, 'another time, another place', and Freddie just shrugged, looking back to Liam and Blondie who were still examining the Badger.

"So what happened?" Bethany asked.

Liam leaned back and pushed his hat up, nodding towards the corpse.

"The animals are all going bizerck. They've all been acting rabid and attacking people."

- ANNA'S BACK BABY!!!!!