I sat in the shade of the once beautiful tree, listening for birdsong. I heard tweets and chirps, in a place where there should have been none.

"This is it then." I said to Spring, Winter, and Autumn, the triplet babies I had kidnapped for my master. I was ashamed to admit that I would be... uncomfortable?... to see them go. I circled around the huge charred trunk, looking for the knot. I found it, but then abruptly flopped down onto the ground, and pulled out a sandwich.

"Hello!" I called cheerily towards the couple on their morning jog. They looked at me strangely, for I was too young to have babies, but kept going. I stood up again, and pressed the knob four times. For a moment, nothing happened, and I was worried I had gotten it wrong, but then a groaning sound echoed from the tree, and it opened its enormous maw, swallowing me whole. I was in a pitch black tunnel. I couldn't see anything, but I had trained for this. The rope was tied loosely around my pack. I unwrapped it, and tied the wailing babies to my back. They were probably crying because they suddenly couldn't see. I then walked slowly through the tunnel, until once again, the ground disappeared beneath my black clad feet. I was quickly approaching the glowing, red room. I touched down, jarring my ankles, because I couldn't tuck and roll with the babies on my back. I took them down, and tied them to the alter, re-tying them next to their slightly older sister, Spring. I smiled evilly, pulling out the knife.

"Sorry." I lied, cheerfully, plunging the knife into each of the babies hearts. Or at least I hoped it was a lie. I wasn't broken. I watched their blood water the alter. The red light glowed brighter, and I jogged up the steps, before it could become any brighter. I broke into a sprint, dropping down into a roll, just as the tree exploded. I jumped up and kept going, hearing the scream of sirens in the distance. I ran off unseen into the distance, grinning evilly. I prototype IV, best agent so far of the SDS agency, was four steps closer to my master's goals. If you can't tell yet, I'm the "bad guy".

Dedicated to my good friend Grayp002, everyone read her books, and tell her happy birthday!