"Dee!" He called out her name when he edged the park trails and found her sitting at one of the last moss-covered benches before the space opened up into a playground. The area was abandoned which didn't seem to surprise Maddy since the day was waning into the night and most people would rather sit inside their homes where it was warm than on the swings. Maddy's heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he rushed toward her.

"Hi Maddy," She said looking over at him, a breath caught in her throat as she spoke. Her face was pale and her lips pursed together to form a short smile, but her eyes were strangely calm.

"Dee! I am so, so sorry!" He stumbled and scraped his knees as his words came out in a torrent of apologies, each word a desperate attempt to erase the horrors of his actions. Tears pooled from his eyes and he did his best to wipe them away, but there were just too many. "You'll never believe where I woke up. There were all these strange-looking trees. I've been searching for you for ages. I never meant to hurt you. I don't know what came over me, but I promise I'll never do anything like that again. Are you alright?"

He stood up and reached over to touch her arm, only to find the bleeding had stopped and was covered up by a neat bandage. He cleared away another batch of tears and looked over at her, "Your arm… Did you go home?"

Dee shook her head her voice barely a whisper, "No," Her eyes filled with tears. "I called my father."

Maddy's heart sank, his head shook in disbelief. Squeezing her hand he let out, "No. Please, Dee." His entire body began to shake. "No, no, no, no more spells."

Tears rolled down her face. Her voice was raw and shredded as if her words were grinding against a food grater. She took her hand from his and placed it close to her chest. "Maddy, I'm sorry. I-I'm just scared. We should have told him from the start what we were doing."

He took a step back, his mind reeling, his body instinctively preparing for flight. But his muscles refused to obey. He was rooted to the spot. He looked down to see that the ground around the bench was shimmering with an intricate pattern burned into the dead grass.

A jolt of electricity surged through his body, followed by an excruciating pain that seemed to originate from the very core of his being. He collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. He looked up at Dee and grabbed her foot, "Please, I didn't mean it. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. All the other times we were fine. This won't happen again. I promise! I- I-"

The agonizing shock of electricity coursed through his body, pinning him to the ground. As he lay there, helpless and vulnerable, he couldn't help but think of the cruel irony of the situation. Just hours ago, he had compared Dee to a mouse caught in a trap. Now, the roles had been reversed, and he was the one trapped, at the mercy of Dee's father. Knowing the inevitable was about to happen he begged her for a lighter sentencing, "I- I- I don't want to forget, I'm sorry, I am! Please don't let him do it.

Dee lifted her legs and hugged her knees as she whispered another apology. Her eyes gazed passed him and all Maddy could see was a pair of smart-looking shoes beside his head.

It was Dee's father, his face contorted with anger and fury. "We are going home," he said, his voice dripping with venom. "Now."