The cold wind hits my face like a bunch of frozen daggers. I shudder as I start walking in the direction of the toy store. I make sure to avoid any street lights on the way. The walk seems to take longer than usual; maybe it's my own paranoia or anxiety about the situation, but all I want to do is turn around and run far away. Regardless of my personal feelings about all of this, I have to do it.

The howling wind picks up as I arrive at the toy store; it's even more ominous at night. I look around, making sure I don't see anyone else, and circle around to where I broke in last time. The window to the bathroom has been boarded up as well, but upon closer inspection, the nails have been pulled loose enough that I can forcefully tug the board off. I tug once as the nails pull and the board creaks. I tug again, and the nails rip from the wall, and the board gives way.

I carefully set the board onto the ground and take one more paranoid glance around before slipping into the open window. The window itself seems to be smashed from a previous break-in, and on the way inside, one of the shards scratches my side and opens a wound. I wince and awkwardly land on the bathroom floor.

"Damn," I mumble, looking down at the wound. It doesn't seem deep, so it shouldn't matter too much.

I slowly creak the bathroom door open and glance nervously around. If there's anyone in here, and I have to make a run for it, I won't be getting through that window easily. As soon as the coast seems clear enough, I exit the bathroom and flick on my flashlight. If I were the Patron, where would I hide the money?

I think about the last time I was here and look over at the stairs. Yes, that's gotta be it. I carefully navigate down the steps, avoiding the trash and old toys left behind. My flashlight travels to the room where I found the body last time, and my body trembles at the memory. I shake my head and walk to the door. I place my hand around the knob and take a deep breath.

"Get it together, nothing will be inside," I murmur to myself and slowly twist the knob, but don't push it open.

I take one more breath and swing it open, tensing up and expecting the worst. Inside the room has been cleared out, there's a damp mark on the wall where the body used to be. I walk over to the mark and see a crack in the wood and a hastily patched-up hole. I set the flashlight down and reach my hand in, breaking off some of the wood until I grab out a large suitcase. I toss it on the ground and grab my flashlight to look at the contents.

Inside is all the money promised (Or I assume it to be) and a photograph. I raise my eyebrow and pick up the photograph. It's of two kids playing in a forest, a girl and a boy. It takes me a while to recognize the boy as me, but I can't recall ever being in a forest like that. I turn the photograph over, and it's labeled, "Kilsea and Kyne."

Kilsea, now that name sounds familiar.

"Kilsea," I say aloud, trying it out.

Suddenly, as if a dam opened inside my mind, memories come flooding in. That's right, Kilsea was my childhood best friend. I never met her parents; we only had scheduled playdates. When I was ten years old, my parents told me she had died in a car accident. I never saw her grave. I'd forgotten all about her; my parents did everything in their power to hide that from me.

"Kilsea..."

"Kilsea! Wait up!" I yell while running through the thick oak trees.

Kilsea turns around, her long auburn hair flowing gracefully behind her. She smiles and runs ahead, farther.

"Kyne, you're such a slowpoke! Hurry up, we're almost there!" She giggles and rounds a corner behind a rock formation.

I groan as I stumble behind, trying to keep up with her. My legs feel like they're on fire as I breathe heavily. I lean against the rock wall and stare at the ground, sweat dripping from my forehead.

"That girl can run," I say.

"You're such a dork. You're nine, aren't you? You should be able to keep up with me," Kilsea says, placing her hands on her hips.

"You don't make it easy," I respond.

She laughs and grabs hold of my hand, pulling me along around the corner and into a clearing. My jaw practically hits the ground as the sight fills my eyes. A beautiful, crystal-clear lake hides in the deep forest. A small stream from the rocks falls mystically into the water. The most magical part is the tree growing from the center of the lake; it's large and colorful. The leaves are a pure white like the snow, as they fall and land on the surface of the lake, it looks like swans swimming around.

"Told you it was worth it," Kilsea says smugly.

"How'd you find it?" I ask.

"I like to run around in these woods, pretend there's a large monster, and saw this on one of my expeditions," She says.

"Like a monster is chasing you?" I ask.

"Me? Never. I chase the monsters," She laughs proudly.

I laugh along with her and look at the lake. I close my eyes and listen to the wind blowing against the tree and its creaking branches, the sounds of the stream flowing peacefully into the water, and the sound of Kilsea's breath as she stands by me holding my hand.

"We should bring my parents! They'd love it here," I say, and Kilsea's face drops to a frown.

"No, Kyne, I don't want them to know about this place," She says.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because it's our place, away from the town, away from our families, away from everything," She responds.

I go silent, looking at the tree gently swaying in the wind. The calm aura it seems to produce is like something straight out of a fairytale. Kilsea is right, this is our magical place.

"Okay, you're right," I respond, and she smiles and sticks out her pinky.

"Pinky promise?" She asks.

"Pinky promise," I respond and hold out my pinky.

She wraps her pinky around mine and moves her hand to stick her thumb out to mine. I smile and press my thumb against hers, sealing the promise.

"There, now you can't go back on your word," She sticks her tongue out at me.

"I never have," I retort.

She smiles and takes my hand into hers. She walks towards the lake and wades in. I follow after her, the water feels thick like honey, and a nice warmth that contrasts the icy cold air. I sink farther in, seeking comfort in the warmth of the lake. Kilsea looks back at me and beams from ear to ear.

"Isn't this great?" She giggles.

I laugh and nod. We splash the rest of the daylight away; we must've spent hours in the lake playing together.

Snapping back to the present, I look longingly at the photograph and place it inside my wallet. I sigh and sling the large suitcase over my shoulder and start walking back up to the toy shop. How could I forget Kilsea? She had such an impact on my childhood.

As I reach the top step, a gush of cold wind bites at my skin. I stare in horror as I realize the front door to the toy shop has been forced open. As soon as I notice the door another thing catches my eye, a beam of a flashlight sweeping the area.

I duck behind the wall, holding my breath as I hear the crunch of boots on glass. The person starts rummaging around in the front, pulling open drawers and pushing over shelves. I hear another set of footsteps enter and then the voices speak up.

"Have you found it yet?" one asks.

"I'll tell you when I do Skill, just watch the doors," the other one responds.

"Whatever, Snatch, just hurry up it's cold," Skill says walking back outside.

That's right Skill and Snatch, they were the ones Coy mentioned. This all feels familiar, like a sense of déjà vu. I carefully move to the bathroom, making sure to avoid their flashlights and line of sight. I sneak into the bathroom and slowly click the lock on the door.

The footsteps approach the bathroom door and I freeze in place, my blood running cold as I hold my breath. The door knob jiggles and there's a brief hum of confusion on the other side.

"Hey Skill, did you check the bathroom already?" Snatch yells out.

"Why would we check the bathroom, the paperwork wouldn't be there, check downstairs," Skill yells back.

Snatch groans and idles by the bathroom door, giving it a slight tug before giving up and walking away from the door as the footsteps fade into the distance. I take my chance and throw the cash out of the window as I follow it out hopping into the snow. I wince and grab my side, the blood from the cut falling into the snow, I have to move.

I breathe heavily as I make my way through the backstreets and alleyways, taking the longer but safer route back home. There are a few times I have to pause to take a longer breath, the time in between breaks grows shorter every time until I grow completely exhausted and fall to the ground, my vision blurs and shakes as I attempt to regain my footing.

I stare back where I came from and my heart sinks, my footprints in the snow are accompanied by a thick blood trail, one I hadn't noticed I was producing. The cut is deep...much deeper than I thought, I must've cut it again as I was exiting in a rush.

"That doesn't look too good," A familiar voice calls out and I whip to the source.

Coyote stands over my body on the ground, his eyes glance at the suitcase and back to me. He kneels down and places his gloved hand on my back. I stop moving as he looks over the wound.

"I sent Skill and Snatch to that toy shop to cover up a loose end, what were you doing there?" He asks, interrogating me as he inspects the wound carefully.

I don't respond, my mind can't form an excuse that would even seem believable. I let out a shaky breath and close my eyes. Coyote stares at my face and sighs, unzipping my coat as he tuts.

"Fine, don't tell me. Come on, let's get you back home, Mr. Giles knows his way around a wound," He says as he helps me up.

I groan and shake my head, I don't want him to be there in case Nis wakes up and they see each other. If the Patron was hiding her from the Organization I can't let someone like Coy see her.

"Don't be stubborn, you'll bleed out," He says, not out of concern but instead annoyance.

"That suitcase has some money I owe Mary, take it," I say breathlessly.

"How much?" He asks.

"Three million and five hundred thousand," I say.

He whistles and chuckles, grabbing the suitcase and nods, opening the bag. He nods and slings it over his shoulder.

"Are you sure you can make it back?" He asks skeptically.

"Yes," I respond bluntly.

After a long silence he shrugs and nods, walking back the way I came looking down at the blood trail and smiling to himself. I grunt and start to limp back home, the trip is easier now without the suitcase full of cash weighing me down. The trip is long and torturous, but eventually the building comes into view, and so does Mr. Giles. He turns to look at me, dropping his cigarette and rushing to me.

"Kid?" He says, his voice distorting as my vision grows dark and I fall back into the snow.

"Kid!" Is the last thing I hear him yell before I completely black out.