Beasley halted at the foot of his cave, wheezing like a steam train. Despite the stain of red on his body, he was starting to look blue. That wasn't a good sign.

Bree rode Jonas to the ruins just before his cave then jumped down. She ran past it but suddenly screeched to a stop when she noticed a flash from the corner her eye. She walked into the ruins, tracing the source of light to a pile of rubble. She squatted and grabbed hold of the object.

Whatever caused the light was suddenly snuffed out when Bree's hand touched it. She yanked at the object that looked like the hilt of a knife. After a few pulls, the object slid out from underneath the pile.

Bree gasped. It was the same sword she'd seen twice in her dreams. It was heavy but oddly well balanced. She pulled it along and ran over to Beasley.

"Where did you get that?" He asked weakly, eyeing the sword like it would cut him into tiny Beasley chops.

"Doesn't matter. Come on, we gotta go up! Up, up, up, up!" Bree chided whilst leading Beasley up the stone steps. He climbed slowly but they managed to make it to the cave entrance.

"Come on!" Bree urged and grabbed Beasley's arm, attempting to yank him forward but he barely budged. A couple of arrows suddenly whizzed past Bree's ears, sticking themselves to the wall.

"Oh no!" Bree breathed in a high pitched tone. Angry shouts drew nearer and soon, the crowd came to view baring weapons to kill. They had doubled in number, probably because they called for backup but Bree spotted no authorities. Her eyes widened at a huge object being pushed by a couple of men behind the crowd.

It was her trap.

Bree almost threw up. They were going to use it on Beasley.

"We have to go there, to that mountain on the far end. They'll corner us here." She urged.

Galloway led the crowd. He stopped about a hundred yards from the foot of the cave and pulled out a small microphone from his pocket. From where she stood, Bree could see him clearly but guessed he could not see her which was a good thing considering how much he wanted to hurt Beasley.

"Listen girly, there's no use aiding that beast. There's nowhere left to run. Bring it down here so we don't have to come up and kill it." He said. His tone carried no mercy whatsoever. He spoke of Beasley like he was a chipped teacup and Bree hated that.

Beasley looked up at her. In his weakened state, his blue eyes looked like a dimming candlelight. "Go down to them."

"What? Are you crazy?" She snapped shakily. The look in Beasley's eyes almost brought her to tears but she kept cool. It was clear he was about to give up.

"Just. go. down." He said weakly. Bree felt his arm shoving her gently so she could stand on her feet. She couldn't fight his weight and he didn't stop pushing until her head came to view to the crowd outside.

"Aha, there you are." Galloway cried. "That's a good girl."

Bree turned briefly to glance at Beasley. He tried to stand but his wobbly arms gave away and he fell flat again. Bree stifled a sob.

"Where's the beast, girl? Tell it to come down here." One of the men snapped.

"Patience, Tucci." Galloway placated with an open arm then turned to speak into the mic again. "Listen to me, the safety of innocent people in the town is all we care about and that thing is a danger to all of us. You saw how it stormed into town unauthorized and violent. It could wipe out an entire population and if we don't stop it, it will."

"He's harmless. You're all bastards." Bree shouted in a voice that clarified that she had indeed been crying quietly.

"Now now, miss. We're just doing our job." Galloway said. "I'm gonna count to three and if that monstrosity doesn't show it's face, well. . . ."

Bree glanced at Beasley again but he wasn't there anymore. At first, a wave of relief washed over her then she became confused. Where had he gone?

". . . . then i won't be held responsible for any collateral damage." Galloway was saying but Bree was only half listening. Her eyes roamed the entire cave and even struggled to glance at the hole in the roof from where she stood.

"collateral damage?" She asked, realizing what Galloway had said and almost immediately, the cave received a hundred blows at once. Bree only saw light for a split second because the next minute, everything went black and dusty.

Bree's ears singed and blood danced in her head. Her limbs felt like overheated iron rods and her arms wouldn't move. She tried to sit up but the pitch blackness spun like a crude oil tornado before her eyes. She knew she had bumped her head really bad and sooner or later, she would develop a brain tumor.

The loud clanging in her head seemed to be the rhythm to which her blood danced. She managed to move one arm and touch her nose. Thick, warm liquid covered her fingers. She groaned and rolled to one side, unexpectedly bumping against a rock.

She groaned again and moved back, the pain in her head intensifying by a hundred. She began to realize she was in a small space. A very small space. She sat up slowly and felt the top of her head connect with a rough surface. She began to feel around the space with both arms. Every inch was blocked by solid rocks. She couldn't even stand up in the space.

Bree gasped the dusty, thin air. She was buried but she wasn't sure how deep.

"I'm stuck." She coughed whilst tapping the wall gently. Her bones felt like jelly and her throat was parched. She sounded like a broken vinyl record. The air around her thinned rapidly and Bree couldn't think of a way out. There was none. The longer she stayed buried, the shorter her lifespan became.

"somebody! Help!" She squeaked.

Her jeans had caked with sand and her T-shirt was wet even though there was no trace of water around. She was convinced it was some of the icicles in Beasley's cave that had dissolved underground due to the intense heat. She'd heard stories of people being trapped underground after some unfortunate disaster and wondered why they never spoke about the heat.

It was like one hundred degrees down there and the rocks had sealed off even the tiniest opening so no air could come through.

She pushed and shoved but the rocks were immovable. Her lungs were struggling to grasp for oxygen. She leaned on the rocks and blew on them, breathing in her own air but even that seemed useless. Being buried was worse than drowning. At least in water, you would understand that there was no air around but being on land and not being able to breathe was a huge blow to the face.

Her last minutes seemed to reduce to seconds as the air thinned out even more.

Feeling totally hopeless, Bree began to cry.

She banged on the rocks until she bled on both knuckles. She hated Galloway and all of his followers, she hated Norman for giving away her sketch, she hated Jimothy for constructing that contraption. But most of all, she hated herself for going to him in the first place. It was all her fault.

Galloway might've gotten to Beasley already, she thought. She imagined what sorts of torture they'd put him through, all kinds of course. She wasn't sure if they wanted him alive or dead but it wasn't like they cared either way. If she hadn't been so engrossed in trying to help him find his home, nobody would've suspected her or at least it would've been easier to deny their connection.

She sobbed against the rock, blaming herself for Beasley's misfortune. "I'm sorry."

The rocks began to rumble slightly

"Beasley?" She whispered then quickly moved away tapping as hard as she could on the rocky surface."Hey, hey! I'm down here."

The rumbling sounds grew nearer and Bree realized they were caused by huge tyres. A large vehicle was being driven close to where she was buried.

"Hey, somebody! Down here, i'm down here." She continued to scream even though her chest felt like a dry pan on a gas stove.

The rumbling drew closer and closer and even louder until Bree couldn't hear her own voice anymore. It was useless. Whoever was driving wouldn't hear her.

She leaned back in frustration and sobbed again. Suddenly, the rocks fell away above her and in front of her. Heavy sands dipped inwards spilling on her feet before a wave of fresh air encircled her.

Bree sat up, unable to process the clean air she was breathing in from every angle. She had never been so grateful to see the light of day even though the light of day threatened to boil her eyes out of their sockets.

It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the extreme brightness but she didn't need her vision to recognize the squeak of excitement and the bear hug she received the next minute.

"Butterscotch!" Melinda wrapped her daughter in biggest hug even before Bree managed to climb out of the hole.

"Mom." Bree sighed, still crying. "I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm here. oh goodness, i thought we'd never find you." Melinda said touching every inch of Bree's face.

"We?" Bree asked.

"Yes. Me and Tony, the doorman." Melinda said.

It was then Bree really paid attention to her environment. In front of her was a large red tractor and behind the wheels sat Tony wearing a white helmet and a red shirt. From the distance, he looked like a machine lever.

He gave a bright wide smile and waved at her. Bree was confused but managed to wave back. She had never seen Tony out of his doorman uniform before but now she had and it felt strange. Normal clothes made him look like a teenage boy and in his driver seat, a teenage boy who had stolen his father's truck.

Melinda pulled Bree out of the hole, with the latter's mouth still hanging halfway open.

"Tony owns a tractor? Tony can drive a tractor?"

"No, it's not his. Sawyer told us where to get one and he also told us you'd be here." Melinda explained, helping Bree dust off her clothes as best she could.

"Sawyer?" Bree asked her brain slowly processing every bit of information as though it was also trying to adjust to the light like she had.

"Yes, apparently he knows where you hangout with. . . ." Melinda let her sentence dissolve.

"Mom, do you know where they've taken him?" Bree asked suddenly remembering Beasley. Her insides twisted into an uncomfortable knot.

"Bree. . ." Melinda began helplessly.

"Mom, you have to trust me, please. He'd never hurt anyone, he's just trying to get back home." Bree pleaded in her most helpless tone, one her mother usually fell for. But this time, she wasn't intent on tricking Melinda, she wanted her to see she was being honest.

Melinda sighed, assessing Bree's face and the amount of dirt she had been swimming in. She observed her bloody knuckles and her swollen eyes. She had never seen Bree so determined about something to the point that she didn't care if she got hurt or buried alive - almost. Melinda felt her heartstrings tying themselves into a thousand knots at once. She couldn't deny that a part of her wanted to let Bree go but the motherly part of herself felt it was too dangerous.

Bree held her gaze with the utmost anticipation.

"He was chased up that mountain." Melinda breathed at last, pointing to one of the largest mountains in the forest. It was also the most dangerous one. With Beasley's cave now reduced to rubble, Bree could see a lot of the landscape spread out before them.

"I asked him to go there." Bree said hurriedly.

"Go! But promise me you'll come back in one piece." Melinda said.

"I promise. Thank you so much mom." Bree said and hugged her mother one last time.

She whistled and Jonas ran from the ruins towards her.

"Hyah." Bree urged and Jonas galloped past the tractor.

Tony took off his helmet and climbed down from the machine looking confused. "I thought the plan was that we were gonna take her back home."

Melinda sighed and sat on one of the rocks then pulled out a book she had rolled into her back pocket and unfolded it. She wiped the dust off the front.

"That was the plan, Tony." She said, cleaning off pieces of earth from the back of the book. "you know, when Bree first learned to walk i uh, i got her this really huge storybook."

Tony walked over to Melinda and sat next to her. There was always a sentimental part to every disaster and he wanted to hear this one.

"She couldn't read it at the time but she loved staring at the colors and the pictures. Every night before she fell asleep, i'd read the stories to her. There was a lot of them compiled in one. Her favorite had always been the one about Belle."

"Belle, the Disney character?" Tony asked.

"Yes that one." Melinda sighed. "After her father passed on, things became very difficult for us. Bree couldn't handle most of it and so she'd bury herself in those fairytales."

"Nice pun." Tony laughed then sensed the seriousness in Melinda's tone. "fairytales, right!"

"I thought she'd grown out of them but she'd only been using them as escapist stories to get away from all of the troubles we faced."

Tony went silent for a while then very slowly, began to realize the point of Melinda's story. "Do you think she's. . . .?"

"Yes!" Melinda replied, her voice breaking ever so slightly. "She's doing all of this, risking her life because she thinks it's still one of her bedtime stories."

"That's not such a bad thing, is it?" Tony asked.

"Oh no, it's not. It's just. . . . if things don't go the way she thinks they're supposed to, she'll be destroyed and i wouldn't be able to help her out of it."

"You were right to let her do this, you know! It would be way worse if she had had to regret not even trying, waking up everyday wondering if she could've set things right. She'll be fine. At least, she'll know she did her best."

Melinda wiped the tear under her eyelids with her thumb. "At least, she'll know."

"Come on, we have to go back. I don't want people complaining because there's no one to open the door for them."

"It's almost midnight, who'd wanna go outside?" Melinda asked.

"Don't you mean, who'd wanna go inside?" He asked.

"ahn!" Melinda nodded getting the idea. She followed Tony into the tractor and the pair drove their way out of the forest.

Bree, on the other hand, rode for a long time before chancing upon two different routes that led up to the mountain.

"Which way do we go?" She asked Jonas but the horse only huffed like you asking me, crazy pants? I've never been here before.

Bree stared at both paths. They were about seventeen feet apart and led through a very wide arc into the darkness. Bree wasn't usually scared of the dark but after being buried for who knows how long, the darkness made her uneasy.

"We'll go this way. No time to lose, come on. Giddy up."

Jonas took the left and continued running. This side of the forest smelled different from the rest. It smelled of rotting carcasses and sulfur. The feeling of a thousand eyes watching her grew close even with how fast Jonas was running. She wondered how many dangerous animals rejoiced at the sight of two potential snacks galloping into their territory. She wondered if she would bump into those wolves again then pushed away the thought. It wasn't going to be a happy reunion if that were to happen.

Jonas took twists and turns like he knew where he was going but Bree did not try to stop him. She knew animals had better instincts and Jonas was probably steering them away from danger.

spoke too soon? Yep.

The horse suddenly tripped, sending Bree into a flying fall. She screamed as her back came in contact with a tree trunk. The cracking sound that had followed her fall was every assurance that she just broken her spine.

She groaned and tried to stand, looking around for Jonas. The horse was sprawled out besides a tree stump, kicking and whinnying. He had probably injured his foot.

Bree managed to sit up even though it felt like hell. She walked over to Jonas in a tipped stance.

"You okay, boy?" She inquired with so much strain. It was like the fall had also dislodged her lungs.

Jonas kept kicking and whinnying like he was in pain. Bree became confused. To go on by foot or to stay and help Jonas?

At that point, she really wished the horse could talk. The pain in her back was spreading all across her torso, searing her bones as it went. Bree felt tears sting her eyes. It was too unbearable.

She would have to be attached to some kind of medical equipment after this. She couldn't help but imagine the kind of pain Beasley was in. He'd had massive fish hooks stuck into his entire body and had still managed to run ten times faster than she could.

"I'm gonna keep going, okay? Jonas, go back home. Back!" She said half pointing toward the way they'd come but it seemed Jonas' discomfort prevented him from listening.

Bree stood up, staring at him. His kicks were slower now and he whinnied less.

"You're gonna be okay! You're going to. . .be okay." She kept repeating then looked at the path ahead. It was still so dark that it began to look like brain grey, the color people saw when they closed their eyes.

She dragged her feet as she walked, trying to keep her back arched so she wouldn't have to wince with every step.

She walked and walked until the road began to steepen. It became difficult to continue with the constant ache in her back but Bree pushed on. The higher she got, the colder it became and the trees began to look like a thick black river below.

She kept going then halted when she came to one particular derail. From there she could hear a man's voice, taunting and full of pride.

"There's nowhere left to run, beasty." He said.

"Galloway!" Bree whispered between her teeth.