Staying by her mom's side was the right choice, except Ivory wasn't expecting an empty home upon returning there.

The night sky had bloomed into something much darker and quiet as Ivory went inside alone. Seth promptly returned to his apartment after giving her a lift. She didn't experience motion sickness as bad this time, thankfully to some miracle. She suspected the next time she might not feel anything at all.

The lights were off throughout the house.

Her stomach twisted into knots. Ivory knew something was wrong, but instead of cowering from her fears, she lit a candle and sat at the dining table to patiently wait for her mom. A sudden flame ignited from the match she struck against the box.

She lit the candle wick with nervous hands, breathing deeply to calm herself. The atmosphere felt so familiar to Ivory. The house was dark like this too, just as that day ten years ago when she returned home with her mom, a seat at the table forever empty.

Would she be the only one left this time?

Foolish thoughts, but her heart ached at the prospect. All those times Ivory would take long walks home suddenly seemed rather dangerous. Her pursuers could have followed her, tracking her whereabouts this entire time, and Ivory never would've known. Still, that thought seemed unlikely since they left her alone all these years, but... what if something changed? What if her mom was in danger now too?

She looked back at the grandfather clock by the staircase, watching the hour hand tick away to untold hours of the night.

At 4am, when she truly could no longer wait, she went upstairs and changed into some more comfortable clothes. Glancing back at the dress for the final time, she wished that she hadn't forced herself to go along with Lilith's plans. The night could have been less stressful if she had just stayed home.

She slipped into a plain tee shirt, comfy bottoms, and regular shoes. Feeling more at ease, she ran back down stairs and through the front door into the night.

Or so she thought. Her mind was so focused on recalling the route to the hospital that she didn't notice the change of scenery right away.

What should have been night was now a cloudy sky with the sun buried behind them. She stood alone in an alleyway. Behind her was no longer her house but a dead-end, and ahead there was a trash bin to the right. She also noticed the cobblestone pavement that she stood on was littered with trash, empty soda cans, rotten food, and other indescribable things.

The smell was particularly ripe like someone had come here to dump human waste. She squinted her face in disgust and held her nose. Why did she have to spawn here like some leftover garbage? "How putrid." She said under her breath. "Just when I changed into clean clothes too."

At least she wasn't wearing that confounded dress anymore. There was no way she would be able to move around freely while wearing that little thing. Sticking close to the wall, she avoided the garbage and tried to leave the alleyway. She knew it was also safer to huddle close to something so her back wouldn't be exposed. After all, that was how people always died quickly in horror movies.

She wasn't stupid enough to not understand that her situation was dire.

Several whispers slithered around her like they were feeling out their prey. She walked faster and faster but her destination seemed to grow further away with every step that she took.

The whispers grew louder and restless. Their words were indecipherable, carrying a heavy feeling that lingered inside her chest like pain. Steeper and more urgent they whispered, until she was practically running towards the exit. She was tired, so very tired like all her strength was being stolen from her limbs.

"Free us." A clear voice hissed into her ear.

"Free who?" She demanded breathlessly as she ran. "I don't even know you. Why don't you show yourself first and then we can talk."

"Free us. Free us. Free us!" The voice grew louder with every word, becoming more demanding as she tried to run further away. They were practically chanting at this point when Ivory decided she had enough.

"Alright." She said coolly and spun around to find nothing except a bit of wind that had been disturbed. "I'm not playing this game anymore."

"Nooooooo!" It cried this time like it had been scolded. "Play with us. Play with us!"

Ivory hid her smile, further calming her nerves. "If you want me to play, then you must let me go first."

The wind circled around her like it was trying to wrap her in a grip that couldn't hold. "Lies. Lies. Lies! You'll leave us like the rest of them." The voice was particularly calm this time now that she had gone still. "The only way we can be certain you'll stay and play with us is when you're dead."

She tried to not have her heart jump at the implication of her sudden death, but it was actually quite difficult. She took a deep breath and stared at whatever invisibly stood there, eyes churning with a harsh gaze. "I'm not your toy. Go find something else to play with."

Oddly after she said that, the presence cried and backed away like it had been stung. Given the chance finally, she walked again and reached the end of the alleyway. Upon arriving, the scene shifted again.

Standing before her was the kitchen in her home and surprisingly her mom, drying a dish at the sink. "Mom! I can't believe you're here. I was so worried." She began to say. Ivory was out of breath and tired, but the sight of her mother brought her a surge of new found energy.

Her mother turned around sharply, daggers in her eyes.

Ivory flinched.

"Do you know how long I've been looking for you?" Her deadly calm voice made the hair on Ivory's neck curl.

Her chest ached. She opened her mouth but found nothing came out and closed it again. So that's where she was all night? Looking for her? The heavy feeling in her chest returned at the realization, but she also sighed in relief. At least she was safe and nothing dangerous happened. Thank goodness...

"Maybe I encouraged you too much." Her mother said with a regretful expression. She looked so disappointed that Ivory had a hard time holding her gaze. "I thought you were better than this. I thought we were closer and that we had a form of trust. Three o'clock in the morning, Ivory." She added after pausing to hold back the tears in her eyes. "You could've been dead somewhere and I never would've known until the police found you."

Truly what made Ivory feel worse was that her words were not just overdramatic. Ivory really could have died tonight. "Mom, I..." She paused, trying to find a way to summarize the past few days. How things happened so quickly that there wasn't time to explain.

She straightened her shoulders in a stiff way. "I don't care."

Ivory was afraid for the first time tonight with the look in her mother's eyes.

"I don't care." She said again, shaking her head with a heavy expression. "I work so hard to keep you safe. You are so much like your father that it scares me sometimes."

"What do you mean? What was dad like?"

Her mother remained quiet, lips sealed tight. She walked upstairs without another word.

Standing alone in the kitchen, Ivory wondered what she meant. Why did her mother always get this way whenever Ivory mentioned her father? Particularly about his work, she never wanted Ivory to dig too deep. Ivory recalled her parent's arguments as a child, but not what they spoke about. Did he seek the truth too about things that shouldn't exist? Did her mother not like what he found?

The truth was within Ivory's grasp, yet so far away.

She knew above anything, her mother would keep his secrets. Ivory would never learn the truth from her. "Why do you always scold me, mom?" She spoke quietly to herself. "When you're the one who keeps me in the dark."