"We'll find you... We'll track you... We'll hunt down every last one of you."

-UNKNOWN TO US

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Zach just stared at Jack, then to the door which started to open with a long, loud creak. His eyes just widened. A family member? At long last? At a time like this?

Oh how long Zach had waited fora chance to meet one from his family.

"Oh dearie me," the new figure spoke, "He really did make it out alive!"Her gray hair was kept up with a bright pink bandana, as it was tied up in a nice, neat, small braid. She wore clothes in which Zach had never seen before.

"Hi... Uh..." was all that Zach could come up with at the spur of the moment. His eyes blinked frantically, trying to figure out what was happening.

"It's alright Zach." Jack piped up. Zach was pulled from his thoughts. "Everyone who finds a home, whether family or not, reacts the same way. It's only natural for you to feel like so."

"I... I..." he started, starting to shake a little, "I don't know... What to say..."

"Well, you see Zach, I searched everywhere for you..." she said.

"I've always wondered if anyone was searching for me... I was starting to doubt myself..."

"No, no, no Zach...' Jack reassured.

"They all decided that I'd take you in, if they... You know..." she trailed off a little bit.

"I guess it's settled then," Jack said, handing Zach something- A package, pretty, medium-sized, "Parting Gifts."

"Oh... Okay..." Zach grabbed it, and smiled st Jack.

"I'm sure you'd like to say goodbye to your friends here Zach, so I'll wait for you in the front." Diana said. She stood up, and walked out of the room.

"Open the card that I included." Jack said. Zach turned his head quickly and nodded his head.

His eyes read the card. On the small, gray, rectangular card was a list of names and numbers. "Is this really..." he questioned.

"This is a list of schools that would give you a decent education." he winked, signaling what he really meant, "And contact info. If you ever need it."

"Jack... I don't know what to say..."

"A 'Thank you' would suffice."

"T-Thank you...." Zach stated.

"You have to thank only the friendships you have made here for my final gift. Use it well."

"Oh... Okay..." he stood up, "I guess, this is Goodbye Jack..." he smiled.

"I don't like Goodbyes... Let's just say God be with you til we meet again, in a better life..."

And with that, Zach turned around and exited the room.

Who would he say Goodbye to next? he thought as he walked down the hall, the small-ish package tucked away underneath his arm.

He stopped for a minute, just as realization hit him like a stack of bricks just fell on his head.

"I really only have one friend after all..." he murmured. And with that... He dashed down the hall.

He smiled as he ran off to find his friend, Carrie, to tell her that he'll see her later.

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Their mother just laughed at his words.

"But seriously," he stated, "Doesn't the way she acts seem like it though?" He stared at Dylan, who just shrugged his shoulders at him nervously.

"Daddy," Janey whinned, "That wasn't funny."

"Yeah... I guess that you're right." he stated blantly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey Dad?" Dylan piped up.

"Yes son?" he responded.

But before Dylan could ask, his mother interjected "He knows..."

"Well then... If he already knows that we're leaving to go somewhere today, we might as well tell them where we are going."

"Where are we going today Daddy?" Janey asked eagerly.

"We are going to the Persuary Mansion today!!!" he exclaimed.

"Yay!" she exclaimed, "Wait... What is the Persuary Mansion?"

"You see Janey, it is, or was, the home to one of the greatest alchemists of all time, Jean Persuary." Dylan explained.

"What did he do?" she asked.

"Well, you see... Jean was a smart, able, and wealthy man back in his day. It was rumoredthat Jean created something... Something do great and powerful, that he became a target and was tracked down and killed on one stormy night by the Hunters."

"Who were the Hunters?" she inquired, flipping the light switch on and off.

"Well you see, the Hunters were an organization dedicated to preventing any types of advancements happening way too early..." their father answered.

"Any way," Dylan continued, "As I was saying, it was said that he had hidden his creation somewhere in his house, and so it was everybody wants to find it." he finished.

"Anyway, nobody has found out where good 'ol Jean hid his creation." their mother added.

"Yay!" Janey exclaimed, "I love mystery houses!"

Everyone just chuckled nervously as Janey ran around the kitchen, swinging her arms up and down, as if she didn't care.

Dylan smiled as his sister continued to giggle uncontrollably. She stopped for a moment and asked "When do we leave?"

Dylan turned to his father "Yeah I agree," he started, "When do we leave anyway?"

"Well," his father stated, "I plan to get there before 3:30, so around 2:30 sound good to you guys?" he said, looking at his watch. Dylan too checked the clock, which read 8:53 am.

"Okay," said Dylan, "We have about 5 hours before we have to leave. What will we do in the meantime?"

"Well, we can eat for one thing." his mother chuckled.

They all laughed at the comment. They all just stood there for a minute.

Dylan coughed a bit. His mother turned her head sharply towards him.

"Well," she said, "Whats to tell Dylan? Something happened."

Dylan smirked. Still smirking, he said "Breakfasts ready."

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As the time passed, Melissa continued to rest her head on her knees, clenching her fists.

Nothing... That was all there was... No sounds of birds chirping... No movement of the wind whistling past the trees at all... There was absolutely no sign of life. And to her, that was okay, for she wanted to indulge herself in the utter silence. It was something she hadn't faced in a long time.

And she wanted it to stay that way. She raised her head and squinted her eyes to allow them to adjust. After a minute or two, she got up from her bed. She then walked towards the open window.

She hesitated for a moment, as if she was afraid of something that lurks in the outside world.

She sighed. And, like that, she nervously leaned herself forward, so that her head had poked itself outside. She gazed upon her family's driveway, looking for a sign of her friend...

And sure enough, she saw her friend. Her friend was dressed in a gray T-shirt that had a tear at the bottom, she laughed at it because he got it torn on a curb while they were rollerskating one day, with jeans that were a little bit too long for them. The friend was also wearing a black cap. It raised an arm to send a farewell. Melissa smiled slightly, and waved back.

She then saw her friend walk away towards the south end of the road. She waited several moments, before deciding to close the window. The window closed slowly and with a creaking noise. She looked down onto her desk, which stood itself directly underneath the window.

Her gaze fell upon the desk. This desk had only one item on it:

A picture...

The picture was neither too big or too small. The frame was a silver-like color that had repeated designs of waves flowing across the frame. And written on the top and bottom of the frame, evenly so that it took up only one line on the top and bottom each, it said "We'll Miss You Always, Until We Meet Again" on it. The picture was that of a younger Melissa hugging what seemed to be a young boy similar to that of Melissa. He had her dark brown hair, which had streaks of a lighter brown and blonde, but he had bright green eyes in contrast to Melissa's very own dark blue eyes.

She felt her eyes once more beginning to swell with tears. As they rolled down her cheeks, she balled her hands as tight as she could into fists.

'No,' she thought, 'Not now... Not like this...' She slowly slid down to her knees, but not completely, as her arms and head were on the desk.

She started to cry... And she cried a lot.

And unbeknownst to her, her sister was standing just outside her door.

Kaitlin just stood right there, hand ready to knock on her sister's door. She hesitated for a minute, and tried to knock again. But she was stopped by the sound of crying... A lot of it...

She then heard someone speak. She turned her head in the opposite direction... But alas, nobody was there with her. She was alone. Then who spoke?

Kaitlin then reached the conclusion was reached- It was her sister who spoke.

Kaitlin sighed slowly, turning her head back to the door. This time, she heard someone speak again. And she knew for sure who it was... It was for sure Melissa, muttering only one sentence, "Why did have to end this way Kyle?" Kaitlin the knocked on her bedroom door. She waited a moment, But there was not a single sound of any sign of movement.

Kaitlin decided to leave her be, but just as she was about to, she heard the sound of a doorknob twist. And the door opened.

Her sister stood there, her face stained with tears.

She stated, her voice shaking, "What is it?"

Kaitlin then responded, "It's time to go."