The next day, Bree set out to visit Jimothy. He was this old lunatic she had met the very first day she came to Maine with her mother. It wasn't exactly a pleasant first meet and Bree was sure she would remember it for the rest of her life.

Her mother had sat in the passenger seat while Bree lounged in the back, sulking about why they hadn't moved to France instead, which was one of her favourite places on earth. The drive had been hours long and Bree was getting numb-butt. She constantly pleaded with her mother for a rest stop which Melinda reluctantly agreed.

They'd parked several kilometers away from the border in a forest like surrounding. It wasn't exactly the scary kind of forest Bree had seen in the movies - it looked welcoming. The trees were inhabited by birds that noisily chirped and flew from one nest to another. The sun was burning hot so they'd resorted to resting underneath a cable of trees.

Bree wasn't exactly happy that she was made to use the bathroom in the middle of a forest but it was all she could manage. Afterwards, she ventured deeper into the forest until their picnic site disappeared behind her. On and on she had gone, hoping to bump into a rabbit wearing a blue waistcoat that would lead her into a certain hole in the ground that also led to a certain place. . .

She kicked leaves and stones as she walked, listening to the humming birds above. Sunrays peeked in from above the tree branches like they did at home in Texas which made Bree feel a little homesick. She walked circles around a particular tree, rubbing her palm against the sturdy trunk and traced the millions of lines on it.

She stared at the trunk. Those lines weren't normal. It looked like someone had made several attempts to cut down the tree with a bread knife.

Bree suddenly felt all she hair on her neck stand on edge - someone was watching her. She felt her instincts go up in flames. She backed up quickly, maybe too quickly and stepped into a mushy hole. Something snapped like a tree branch broken in two then Bree felt ropes tighten against her ankle. In one swift second, she was swept off the ground, her secured leg dangling above her and her head hanging about 7ft off the ground.

Bree had let out a loud scream but it seemed her mother and the driver was too far away to hear or maybe she'd only screamed in her mind. She spun around slowly like those huge black tyres she used as swings. Warm liquid trickled down her secured leg and Bree didn't need to look to know that she was bleeding.

The sound of rustling leaves came from behind her and Bree was sure it was whoever had set the nasty trap. Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to swallow up the leaves around it until a hole appeared covered in leaves and mud. The ropes around her leg loosened and Bree let out a scream as she fell headfirst into the pit.

She could remember the loud buzz in her ear, the searing ache in her head and the itching pain from her injury. She turned to sit up and placed a hand on her temple. She was sure she'd heard metal bars slamming against the ground. She looked up, squinting to see as the world still danced around in a circle above.

Truly enough, the hole had been sealed by six heavy metal bars to make it look like an underground prison. Numbness spread through Bree as she leaned back to rest against the mud and leaf covered wall.

The throbbing in her head only intensified and her pulse seemed to get louder. A shadow loomed over her but she did not bother to look up.

"goodness gracious." Someone exclaimed from above. Their voice sounded like a cross between a little boy and a woman.

Slowly, the metal bars receeded and a small rope like ladder fell on Bree's lap.

"Grab onto that, kiddo." The voice called.

"You're the kiddo." Bree said in her mind. "And if i get up there and find out this was your fault, you're dead."

Nonetheless, she weakly reached for the rope. Her thoughts seemed stronger than how she actually felt. In a matter of seconds she was out of the hole, lying with her back to the grass and her face bathed by several streaks of sunlight.

She finally saw who had pulled her out of the hole. It was a man. He looked about thirty and had scruffy brown beard, curly brown hair and small grey eyes. He wore a grey sleeved shirt under what seemed like a bulletproof vest and an apron put together. His pants were held up at his waist by a funny looking type of belt that seemed to be made out of metal cylinders. Across his arm, a rifle hung loosely. He held a crossbow in the other hand and the rope ladder he'd used to pull Bree out.

The man looked dangerous but didn't sound like it. Bree was surprised he hadn't shot her down the minute her ankle had caught in the trap.

"Hello, twee." He said with a crooked smile. His teeth was unbelievably yellow and his grin almost reached the side of his nose. If anything, his smile made him uglier than he already was.

Bree looked around. Her mother was nowhere in sight which meant she hadn't heard Bree scream or she hadn't screamed at all.

"Sorry you got caught in my trap, twee. I only set them for the deers that prance this way." He apologized but his voice sounded playful, almost like he wasn't sorry at all.

"Hurts." Bree managed to say. All that dangling and head bonking and bleeding had made her feel a little misplaced. She couldn't tell if the man was talking into her left ear or her right. She pushed her gaze sideways each time he spoke.

"Where's your mommy and daddy?" The man asked as he placed his weapons on the ground and knelt next to Bree's leg. She wasn't sure why he did that until she felt him grab her injured ankle.

She let out a scream and the man quickly retreated. His grip had been firmer than he expected and Bree thought he was going to chop off her bad leg thinking that she didn't need it anymore and it would be a nice substitute for the deer he hadn't caught.

"I just wanna take a look, twee. You're bleeding pretty bad." He said. This time, he sounded concerned but that did not make Bree feel any less scared. She fidgeted as he somehow produced bandages from a sack she didn't notice he was carrying.

He cleaned up the wound, disinfected it and bandaged it up then dipped his hand in the sack again and pulled out a grape colored lollipop. "Here, makes you feel better."

Bree wondered if he had a hospital as well as a candy store in the sack. It was no bigger than a regular backpack. She eyed the lollipop and reluctantly accepted it. Her father used to tell her that whenever she met someone, whether they were nice to her or not, they would automatically have a part to play in her life someday.

How true those words had been.

Her mother never found out about her meeting with the crazy man. He had pointed her in the direction to find her way back and always called her "twee" claiming it fit her better than her actual name even though she never told him her name.

He introduced himself as Jimmy Timothy - Jimothy for short; hunter, carpenter and craftsman. He lived in an underground house in the forest to hide from authorities as he couldn't afford to own a place in town. He lived off animals that were unlucky enough to get caught in his numerous traps. He also made furniture for a living but somehow none of his customers knew who he was.

He had a depot where he made all sorts of furniture and hunting traps ranging from all kinds of tables, dressers, wardrobes, spring traps, cages, doors etc. He'd store them and let potential buyers pick their choice and then make payment via a complicated machine he'd made just for himself. Bree had never seen it but she imagined it several times to be a hybrid savings box/vending machine.

Unlike many carpenters, Jimothy did not sell for everyone. He had a specific amount of customers and only one of them in all had gotten the pleasure of meeting him in person - two rather, including Bree.

She had visited him only once after their first meeting and he'd given her a special contact through which she could communicate with him should she ever need his assistance.

Now, she strolled past trees keeping her eyes peeled for the nearest booby trap. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of Jimothy to solve her pig problem when it started. He built better traps than Bruno could sweep up.

She wondered if Bruno got his traps from Jimothy's depot without realizing it. It was possible but highly unlikely.

She passed the spot where the accident had happened years ago. The tree still stood there, huge and covered in faded knife marks. The ground was covered in grass and so Bree couldn't quite tell where the hole had been. She strolled past the tree and further down into a path with a small wooden bridge lined by a stream on either side. On the other side of the bridge, several vines wove themselves into a dangerous cable so thick that if they were actual cables, they could transmit internet service to the whole town.

Just beyond the dangerous vines was an opening. Although, anyone who happened to come across the spot would not notice it at all but Bree did. The opening was large enough to fit a cow but was covered in drooping leaves such that it looked like they were stuck on a concrete wall.

Bree crossed the bridge and ventured through the curtain of wet, dull green leaves, swatting them away from her hair and face as she passed. This side of the forest was a lot more depressing than the outskirt and Bree found herself feeling woozy - a feeling she got whenever she stepped into a new environment.

Behind her, the leaves camouflaged with the rest of the forest. In front, trees stretched all around and as far as the eyes could see. The sun seemed to avoid these parts as the branches overhead seemed thicker and duller. Everything looked more black than green and there were no birds or animals in sight.

A few yards away from one of the largest trees, there was a giant hole in the ground. It was round and had metal poles sticking out from every corner to hold up a thin metal sheet that served as a roof. The hole faced the other end of the forest and so from where Bree stood, it looked like a hill cut in half.

Bree knew that was where Jimothy lived. It wasn't the best house around but he had made it as homey as possible. She climbed down the hill and walked to the entrance where an ax stuck into a large boulder protruding from the ground. The ground was littered with wood and several broken weapons that Bree had trouble naming. Smoke seeped through a small hole from the roof that served as a chimney. It smelled like smoked beef and raspberry.

The door was wooden and round. Bree thought it was moving at first but as she looked closely, she realized it was some sort of locomotive mechanism he'd installed at the edges, although for reasons she had no idea of. He had two windows on each side of the door, dead potted plants resting in front of each. The floorboards on the pavement were cracked revealing dark empty holes underneath. Next to the window by the right, a rocking chair leaned against the wall pelted by daggers.

There were no light bulbs and Bree wondered how he managed during nighttime; probably a fire with the woods he chopped up into a mountain pile by the corner.

Bree frowned. She suddenly realized there was no sign of Jimothy around. She peered at the door - it was locked.

Judging by the smell of food emanating from inside, Bree was sure he hadn't gone far. Jimothy was creepy and despite his claims of actually liking Bree, she knew he had trust issues, obviously. The man lived under the ground in the middle of a spooky forest.

People change. He had said once.

Bree couldn't agree more.

Just then, something whistled right past her ear. Bree jumped back in shock and knocked the plant off the window. It shattered to wet earth, leaves and ceramics. Planted deep in the wooden door was an arrow with a bloody red fletching and a metal shaft. It had come from a crossbow.

"Turn around nice and slow and the next one doesn't go upside your head." Jimothy said, his light tone sounding dangerous.

Bree turned slowly to face him. At first, he looked at her like he didn't know who she was and Bree panicked but then his crossbow dropped and he smiled - a crooked, ugly smile.

"Twee." He greeted delightfully with his arm spread apart as if he was expecting a hug from her. Bree shuddered at the idea. He could plunge a dagger in her back and smile like he'd done nothing wrong. Jimothy was mentally unstable and he tended to do dangerous things like they were child's play.

"Hello Jim." Bree greeted, her voice sounding like a croak. She quickly coughed and straightened up. Like an animal, Jimothy could smell fear and anxiety in a person and whether he knew you or not, he tended to explore it. Bree didn't want to be a victim.

He casually strolled toward her. Like the first and last time Bree had seen him, he had on his grey sleeved shirt and bulletproof apron vest. His pants was still held up by that metal belt and as he got closer, Bree realized with a shock that his belt wasn't a belt. It was a row of bullets strapped to his waist.

Bree swallowed and tried to keep her eyes on his own. His grey eyes was the only calm feature on him and whenever Bree looked into them, she felt less threatened. He leisurely opened the door and nodded for her to follow.

Bree went in and was literally blinded by darkness so thick, she thought she might've passed out but then a spark came on a few feet away until it rose into a fire.

Bree blinked repeatedly to clear the dark spots from her eyes and saw that the fire came from a fireplace - the only source of light in the room. Given his situation with the authorities, Jimothy was smart enough to realize that having a christmas light system in his house would attract too much attention so he settled for fire. Nobody could spot fire underground.

The interior wasn't as breathtaking as Bruno's but it was built to suit Jimothy's taste. Everything was wood and metal and looked handmade.

He had six wooden chairs in the living room that were covered with brown fluff to imitate a couch. The floorboards were wooden but these ones were not broken like the ones outside. The roof was cemented and so were the walls. He had a small shelf filled with all kinds of gadgets and a red toolbox laid next to it. Bree couldn't predict how many rooms his house had but she'd heard rumors of the underground being more spacious than people thought. He could have a total twenty rooms or more but then again what would Jimothy be doing with twenty bedrooms?

He gestured for her to sit and as she did, she regretted it. Something poked right through her jeans and she jumped with a yelp. Looking down, she realized it was a loose nail.

Jimothy managed an apologetic smile. "sorry twee, i'm still working on that one. Sit here."

Bree went to sit where he had pointed and realized almost immediately that she was now a few inches away from him.

He took out a wooden image and a dagger and began to carve. It looked like a toy but with the blade constantly swiping off flakes of wood from the image, Bree wasn't sure that was something she'd play with.

"So, tell me twee. Why have you come to see me after all this time? Surely you didn't miss me." He said without looking at her. His eyes were intently fixed on the wood in his hand.

"I did not." She answered plainly but carefully. The last thing she wanted was to tick off a lunatic with a blade in his own territory. "I have a little problem i need your help to solve."

Bree explained everything to him including her encounter with the monster. Although he barely spared her a glance, Bree was sure he was listening otherwise she'd hate to repeat the story. It still gave her chills.

When she was done talking, Jimothy put down the wooden image which he had clearly finished carving then picked up another. They were in a small pile next to where he sat.

"So you want me to build you a trap big enough and strong enough to capture this monstro eh, twee?" He asked.

"Yes, that's it." Bree answered. She was beginning to sweat into her coat and it felt sticky and uncomfortable but she also did not want to take the coat off because underneath she was wearing a thin black gown that was very exposing. She didn't want to excite the lunatic one way or another.

"You know i don't do stuff for free, don't you twee?" He asked and maliciously turned his head to face her.

Bree knew she couldn't sweet talk him into doing it for free. She didn't have any money either and even if she worked extra hours, she wouldn't have enough to pay him.

"Of course i know that, Jim. Name your price." She said confidently.

She had seen several movies where people used that phrase name your price to catch their partners attention and to make them seem willing. She wasn't quite sure how a single phrase was supposed to trigger a miracle but then Jimothy leaned back.

"My price is simple, twee. I don't want money, i have that. What i want. . ."

Bree crossed her fingers hoping he wouldn't ask for a flying horse or a talking donkey. If she had either, she surely would hate giving it away.

". . .is freedom, twee. Bloody get me out of here before i lose it."

Bree raised an eyebrow. Of course Jim would want to leave. The place was more depressing than Kate's early morning yells.

She thought of several possibilities. She could catch the monster and give Jim half the credit and then maybe the authorities would pardon him and let him live freely or she could capture the monster and get arrested for cohorting with the town's most hated.

It could work any way, as long as she caught the big grizzly goat face.

"You have a deal, Jim." She said proudly

Although Jimothy wasn't quite convinced on how she would actually grant him his freedom, he thought it was better than nothing at all.

He gave her his signature smile - crooked and ugly. "Well, i better get to work then."