I took a quick look behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed. I was never a big fan of the dark, and riding alone wasn't making it easier. It seemed like every street light I passed something would jump out in front of me. Something or someone I didn't want to see. There were also murderers to worry about. Paranoid, I regretted my decision. However, it was too late to go back. I made it this far.

"What am I going to do now?" I whispered to myself. I really wasn't sure what I was doing. I stopped my bike in the middle of the empty road and looked back. The more I thought about turning around, the more I feared what Joe would do to me as well.

I put my foot back on the pedals, ready to move forward, but a strange sound caught me off guard. I looked behind me and heard a sound like a stick being stepped on. That was enough to send me pedaling away and to my uncle's house.

*Knock Knock knock*

I waited for an answer. The sun wasn't up yet, so I assumed that they were still sleeping. I was about to give up on knocking after ten loud attempts, remembering that my aunt and uncle were heavy sleepers. All of a sudden, Uncle Peter answered the door."

"Helena?" he asked, yawning. "What's going on? Come on inside."

My bike rested against the house. I assumed no one would take it. The inside of his house was warm and smelled like fresh baked bread. Uncle Peter lead me inside of the living room. I sat down on a chair and Uncle Peter gave me a blanket that had been on one of the couches. He turned on a dim lamp then went off into the kitchen.

"So, what happened, Hels?" He asked when he returned with two can Root Beer sodas.

I sighed, ready to tell him about Joe.

***

"That woman needs help," he shook his head. "I'm really sorry that happened. I'm shocked that she would bring another man into your house after what happened last time. I'll talk to her later on today."

"What do I do now? Are you taking me back? I really don't want to go home right now, Pete."

He rubbed his stub of a beard. "You can stay here, but just for a while. Not the whole day. She'll be looking for you. You shouldn't have run off into the night like that, young lady. There's no telling what could have happened. Did she wash your clothes last night?"

My clothes? Why was he so concerned about my clothes? My mom did wash the clothes every day, but it's not like it mattered. I always smelled like alcohol. "I believe so," I said.

"Those are the same clothes you had on yesterday," he said.

"So?" I almost wanted to yell.

"You can stay here. You'll have to go back later, but don't worry I'll talk to your mom about Joe."

I started to cry a little. Talking to my mom was like talking to a brick wall. Nothing ever went through to her head unless it was something that put me in danger. The only way that my mom would listen to Peter is if Joe put his hands on me and that's only in a sexual way. Hitting was okay because he was an adult and I was a teenager. To my mom, I had no rights.

A loud beeping sound went off. Uncle Peter went into the kitchen once more. "Be back in a minute," he said.

I wiped my tears away and looked at all the pictures that hung on the wall. There were many pictures of him and my Aunt Cindy. There were pictures of them skydiving, hiking, and doing other fun stuff. That's the kind of life I dreamed of but it seemed so far out of reach.

Uncle Peter came out of the kitchen with two warm pizza's on a plate. He handed it to me and smiled. "Here ya go. Your Aunt Cindy made this last night."

I thanked him and took a bite of the pizza, which tasted a bit like rubber. I took a sip of my root beer and as soon as I put it down there was a loud thud that came from outside, followed by the doorbell.

Panic set in as I thought it may have been my mother. Who else would come knocking before sunrise?

"Sounds like your bike fell. I'll bring it in," Uncle Peter said.

"It didn't fall against the doorbell," I argued. "It's probably my mom."

He went towards the door and got his key to unlock it. I crouched into the couch, ready to face who I assumed to be my mother.

A full minute passed by and I walked over to him. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Shhh, not a sound," he whispered. "I think someone's out there."

Well, of course there is.

"Turn off all the lights and go upstairs," he whispered, still looking at the peephole.

"Is everything al-"

"Now!" He demanded.

I ran into the living room to turn off the lamp. As soon as the lamp went off, I saw the outline of someone looking through the living room window. I couldn't see their face because they wore a hood, but they were looking right at me. At that moment, I regretted ever going to the river. What if I did have a stalker who knew my name? They were following me. Scared, I ran to Peter but he was already reaching out for me.

He switched on a small flashlight that was hanging from his key chain. He handed it to me. I looked at his face and was scared. He seemed scared like he had seen a ghost. "Go upstairs, I'm right behind you," he pushed.

We went upstairs and Uncle Peter pointed to his room. He turned on the light then walked over to my Aunt Cindy, who was still sleeping. "Cindy, get up. I need both of you to hide in the closet," he ordered.

She woke up immediately, shocked to see me standing beside Peter. Peter left he walked inside of their closet. I saw him dig his hand around an old shoe box then pull out a handgun.

Aunt Cindy was fully awake when he walked out with the gun in his hand. "Peter what's going on!? Please tell me what's going on, and why is Helena here this early?" She looked at the window. The sky was turning a light blue color.

My heart was beating fast and I couldn't process everything. Were they being robbed by a robber? Who had my uncle seen? Was it the person who followed me? Was somebody going to die? I didn't know what was happening or going to happen.

"He's here," Peter nodded his head at my aunt. "Don't let him get to her. Protect the ring at all cost."

Full panic mode set in and I was about to lose it. "What's going on?" I asked quickly. "Are we going to die?" I didn't mean to sound so afraid. There was a gun involved meaning death might be too.

Peter kissed Cindy on her cheek then ran out of the room. She turned off the light and closed the door. She then grabbed my hand and took me into the closet. We hid against the wall behind some clothes and dresses.

"What's happen-"

"Shush," she put her finger against my mouth. "Not another word."

"Give us the ring, Pete and you won't die." Something shouted. The reason I think it's something instead of someone is that the voice sounded very unnatural. It was a deep mixture of two voices, male and female. That didn't make sense, but that's exactly how it sounded. Their booming voice made my skin crawl.

"THE RING IS HERE, PETER! I SENSE IT!" The voice called out again.

"You shouldn't have come here tonight," Aunt Cindy whispered.

That did not make anything better. In fact, I felt a whole lot worst. "We have to help him," I suggested.

"It's going to kill you if you go out there," Cindy said. I heard the sadness in her voice.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing," I began to cry. Leaving her behind, I placed my hand on the doorknob of the closet. As soon as I turned it, I heard the light switch turn on. I quickly shut the door, thinking it was the intruder.

I kept my hands on the doorknob but quickly snatched it away when I heard footsteps walking towards the closet door.

"Hello, Helena."

The voice came from behind the closet door. I stood still. No human being could ever sound that way. Whatever was behind that door was not human.

***