"She's alive. But she hasn't spoken since she showed up."

"What do you mean?"

"She won't talk to us, she's only been writing. But there's one thing she's been writing over and over that I think you should see."

Aaron's POV

"Where are we going?" I asked as I hurried to keep up with Sylvanna.

"The basement, she doesn't want to leave." Sylvanna said and grabbed a tray of cookies and tea.

We walked down the stairs and my heart stopped.

"Aph?" I asked and the girl in the basement looked up.

It's her.

It's really her.

"A-Aaron?" She whispered.

I nodded and she jumped up and ran to me.

"Hey, stupid potato." I muttered and hugged her.

"Aaron?" A voice asked from the top of the stairs. "Is that--- APHMAU!"

Sigherra ran down the stairs and pushed me away from Aphmau.

"How is this possible? Is it really her? She's alive?" Sigherra asked.

"Aaron." Aph said and I went over to her.

"Yeah?"

"What happened...? Why is she talking like that? I'm not dead, and she's starting to scare me." Aphmau said.

"Ehmm.. that's a story for another time. For now- I'm just glad your okay." I replied.

"I was scared." She said suddenly. "All I saw was darkness for so long. I heard you screaming but I couldn't see you. I was just trapped in darkness."

Sylvanna hugged Aphmau. "Shhhh.. go to sleep. You've been through a lot."

"Will Aaron stay here?" She asked.

"I have to go check on Lily, but I'll come back here right afterward. Okay?" I asked and she nodded, laying down on her bed as Sylvanna tucked her in.

Once I got out of the basement Sylvanna joined me and we went to check on Lily.

"Aaron? Can I see her? Aphmau?" Lily asked from where shew as sitting on the couch with bandages and her left arm in a sling.

"If it's okay with Sylvanna." I replied.

"Sure, you can go see her. Just be quiet. Aphmau needs her rest." Sylvanna replied with a smile.

"Ehmm... Sylvanna, can I see Aphmau's room? I want to return something." I said.

"Of course." Sylvanna said.

I went up to Aphmau's room and pulled a journal out of my jacket.

Aphmau's old diary.

I placed it on her bed and looked around.

I still remember when she tried to hang herself in here.

Who could forget when the chair is still knocked over under the fan?

I can also see how much manga she owns.

I went back downstairs and went into the basement.

"I see.. so the only thing you remember is hearing Aaron scream?" Lily asked and Aphmau nodded.

"I just wanted to be out of the darkness to make his screaming stop. He sounded like something terrible happened. But not to himself. It sounded like he was grieving the loss of someone he cared about." Aphmau said.

"Yea.. he was grieving."

"Who died?" Aphmau asked.

"Lily, can I speak with you?" I asked before she could answer.

"Wait- where's Melissa?" Aphmau asked and I froze.

"Melissa- she's gone.. she died." I replied and went upstairs with Lily trailing behind me.

"Aaron? Is everything okay?" Lily asked.

"Did you- did you say anything to Aphmau that-"

"I only asked her about the darkness she saw. Don't worry." Lily said with a small smile. "Do you still love her?"

Her question caught me off guard.

"Do I still- I honestly don't know. She died two years ago and seeing her today-- I don't know how to feel." I said.

"I see.." Lily said.

Lily gave me a short one-armed hug since her other arm was still injured from falling off a cliff.

I saw the front door open and Sigherra sitting on the porch with her phone out.

"Whatcha doing?" Lily asked.

"I'm texting Garroth. He was one of Aphmau's friends, after all." Sigherra replied then stood up and walked off.

Sigherra's POV (Woah! That's new!)

"Hello? Garroth, I know your there, otherwise you wouldn't have answered my call." I said, frustrated.

"Uh... Hey, Sigherra." Garroth said.

"Where are you? Are you close to Sylvanna's house?" I asked.

"I'm close. Why?" Garroth asked.

"It's about Aphmau. Hurry up and get to Sylvanna's house. I've gotta get going, but I'll have Lily text me if Aphmau remembers anything important." I said and ended the call.

I ran into the woods and let my werewolf ears and tail out so I could run faster.

"Where are they?" I asked myself aloud.

"This wasn't part of the plan, Cameron! My brother wasn't supposed to get hurt!"

That voice... sounds like Lola!

"The plan was to get Sigherra on our side! She wasn't supposed to try to kill my brother!" Lola said.

I crept up behind a tree to where Cameron and Lola were talking.

"Right. That was a mistake on my part. We need to eliminate some of them though." Cameron said as he sharpened a knife.

"Lily? Aaron? Garroth? Definitely NOT my brother and definitely NOT Zane." Lola said.

"Okay. So we'll kill Lily, Aaron and Garroth. Anyone else?" Cameron asked.

"Not anyone important." Lola said. "I've gotta go before they start suspecting that I work with you."

"Seeya." Cameron said and suddenly smoke appeared around him and once it cleared he was gone.

"I need to find Ein." Lola said. "I don't want Cameron to be the cause of my brothers death."

I ran back to Sylvanna's house and went into the basement.

"Aphmau. I have to ask you something REALLY important." I said and Aaron looked at me like I was insane.

"Okay. Go ahead and ask." Aphmau said.

"Do you remember anyone ever pointing a gun at you?" I asked and her eyes widened.

"Now that I think about it... yes. A short guy- about 5'2... he had blonde hair. I think he was using a sniper. I remember him pointing it at me before I was trapped in the darkness..." Aphmau said.

"Okay. Thank you for answering that question."

"That's not all I remember."

"What else?"

"I remember being killed."