The yellow and red spots of the petals lay spread out on the dark floorboards like a carpet. Behind him, Dylan gasped. But Ryker's hand clutched the wood in his hand tighter. His knuckles turned white as he forced himself not to scream in anger and to hit the stick, in a gesture of desperation and frustration, against the nearest thing that came his way.

"What the hell?" Dylan gasped beside him, and a muscle twitched on his rugged jaw as he stepped forward. But Ryker reached for the soldier again and shook his head. He pointed significantly at the steps to the upper floor.

For a brief moment, they looked into each other's eyes tensely. Neither backed down, and they engaged in a silent battle.

Dylan still saw himself as Eve's husband. Therapy and promises or not, he still wanted her back – and accordingly, he also saw himself as her protector. On the other hand, Ryker had no intention of relinquishing this position to him because, in his eyes, Dylan had lost every right to it!

When Dylan let out a low growl, the message was clear: 'This is not yet finally discussed!' But even the stubborn head understood that finding Eve and the rest of the family was now more important. Dylan slipped past him. He paused at the corner of the staircase and peered around. Only when his steps made the stairs creak did Ryker turn to Eve's room.

Grinding his teeth, his hands shaking, he tore his eyes away from the sea of flowers and crashed open the door on his right. Faced with even more bright splashes of colour, he felt something inside him break. The dam holding back his emotions gave way under the pressure when he discovered the red bouquet in the middle of the soft sheets in Eve's bed and saw... red. He threw his makeshift weapon into the corner of the room and let out a low growl as if he were a wild animal.

He stormed angrily to the bed where he had slept with Eve only the night before and reached for the new gift, which made his blood boil. The heavy scent of roses immediately assailed his nostrils as he angrily glared at the red flowers. His hands shook as he reached for the card lying on the bed. 'EVE' was written on one side, and on the other: 'It's time to take you home, my love'.

Ryker felt as though he would vomit. His heartbeat pounded in his ears like the drums of war. He felt the muscles in his face twitch, grimacing before his desperation got the better of him, and he threw the bouquet across the room with an angry shout.

"What kind of sick shit is this?" he gasped between heavy, jerky breaths as he sank to his knees and crumpled the soft blanket with one hand, needing an outlet for his frustration. 'Why... why you, of all people?' he asked, trying to find answers to the thousands of questions forming a tight knot in his throat and chest. Home. What did home mean? A house? Which house? Was it someone from the village? But who? And why?

"Where are you...?" he quietly asked the question to which he found no answer. His fingers slid restlessly into his brown hair and clung like his lifeline. Even the pain only reached him dull; everything was spinning. He didn't even notice the hurried footsteps coming down the attic stairs. "There has to be something... anything that can give me a clue as to where you are..." he pleaded when suddenly a hand was laid on his trembling shoulder.

"Ryker..." the voice began softly, pulling him out of despair. "She's dead..."

The words poured over him like ice-cold water. His heartbeat stumbled in his chest, and he felt his whole body contract. Blinking, it took him a moment to understand what Dylan was saying. It was only when he reached out his other hand and revealed the shotgun shells that he realised Dylan was talking about Edna, not Eve.

'Eve isn't dead. He doesn't mean Eve,' he said to himself repeatedly. It echoed in his empty mind like an echo from all corners.

"How?" he croaked, blinking several times after what felt like an eternity.

"I don't know, but it certainly wasn't a natural death," the soldier continued quietly. "We need the rifle... and we must find Eve, Riona and Liam. Fast."

The Gun?

He scanned the room and spotted the old weapon leaning against the cabinet. It was just standing there, completely untouched. Had Eve not had a chance to get it? Was the way to Edana too far? Or had whoever was attacking her perhaps been lurking for her upstairs?

"Gun..." he murmured as the sticky wheels of his mind began to mesh together again. "Gun... Of course..." Ryker only managed to get back on his feet by stumbling. "Why didn't I think of that sooner!" he snarled as he reached for the weapon and shouldered the strap. Behind him, Dylan looked at him as if he had lost his mind – no wonder he couldn't follow his thoughts and the incoherent babble.

"The hermit!" Ryker reached almost roughly for the ammunition in Dylan's hands. He pushed two of the cartridges into the shotgun, then closed the small box of ammunition again to stuff it into his jacket pocket. Dylan still looked at him, completely bewildered. Of course, he knew nothing of the man who had been supplying the women with wood and meat all this time and who was considered peculiar. How could he? More than once, Ryker wondered why the man often came to the hut and brought a large amount of prey.

'You must have enjoyed practising your shooting back then... what are you planning to do? Hunt them like cattle?' Ryker thought, wishing he had broken the guy's neck in the forest.

How could he have been so stupid?

The guy had even stalked Eve and him in the damn forest! Now, everything seemed to fall into place. Liam had also said that he had pushed him. Did the guy want to turn Liam into a trap for Eve? And Ryker being there threw a wrench into his plan? That sounded just too convenient to be a coincidence.

"There are a few isolated huts in the forest," he finally began to explain, "In one of them lives a man, a hunter. Everyone says the guy went crazy because a bear killed his wife."

"A bear?" Dylan repeated, and Ryker could read the thoughts in his expression before he spoke. "Do you think that's why he kills women?"

"I don't know," Ryker growled, "but he supplied Riona and Eve with firewood and game meat before I came here. He was always here and knew the house and the area. And he has attacked Liam in the forest before."

While he was still talking, Dylan's expression grew darker. Especially when he mentioned the attack on the little boy. If you should fear a man, it's when he threatens or hurts his family.

"The guy is big, and he knows how to use weapons. Riona, Eve, Liam... Edana. They're nothing but easy prey for him," Ryker continued, clenching his fist. "I know where his hut is."

When their eyes met this time, there was no disagreement in them. Dylan wanted the man dead – and he felt no differently.

"Then what are we waiting for?"