Marion stood in the cellar, the open doors letting the sunlight. He reached up an old broom sweeping down the big cobwebs in the corners of the room and along the ceiling. 

Janie swung open the cellar cabinet door, and a puff of dust hit her face, seeing her into a coughing fit. She waved her hand in front of her face, stepped back then wiped her face with her sleeve. "How long has this been unused?" She asked after her coughing fit was over.

Marion turned his head towards his daughter and chuckled. "Not for a very, very long time." He replied, running the broom along the opposite side of the room.

Janie strained her arm out as she kept a reasonable distance from the dust-filled cabinet. "I'm guessing since you bought the house? Because as long as I've been alive I've never seen you use the cellar." She commented rather bluntly. 

"Probably since Erin was born. We just used it as storage for boxes we were never going to use but never threw out." Marion replied letting out a huff of air.

Devon tossed a half-open water-damaged box outside. "At least we're throwing it out now." He mused, brushing his hands on his pants. "Which is why I'm going to live in an apartment, less work than a house." He commented walking over to the other boxes.

Janie smirked a little, hearing about Devon was going to end up leaving and moving into an apartment. "Oh? You're going to move out after school? Ha! Like I'd believe that. You don't even know what you wanna do for college or even what summer job you want to get."

Devon glared at Janie, shaking his head, and sighed. "I never said when. I have plenty of time to figure that out, and I'll worry about that when I'm a senior." He picked up another box. "Dad, how are you going to fix the water damage?" He asked, looking up at the rotten wood.

Marion sighed softly, looking up at the damage. "I'll have to go buy some wood and replace the damaged parts or replace everything with Mr. Andrew's help." He walked towards the stairs leading out of the cellar. "Can't have Taia chained up here when it's unsafe and have a possibility of her escaping and wreaking havoc."

Janie ran the duster on the inside of the cabinets, making sure to get the majority of the dust-out. "No amount of cleaning will make this clean." She commented, wrinkling her nose up at the gray dust coating her duster.

Devon moved some old water-damage boxes from the corner of the room. He let out a high-pitched scream and jumped back, dropping the box. "Oh my - ugh! Ew, ew, ew, I almost touched it." He cried out, wiping his hands on his pants.

Janie jumped off her small ladder and dashed over to her brother. "What's wrong?" She asked, leaning over and seeing what he was freaking out about. "Spiders? A spider nest? You're still afraid of spiders?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Devon glared over at her, shuddering at the mention of them. "Of course! I don't do spiders! They have lots of legs and are creepy." He exclaimed, putting his hands up and walking out of the cellar. "Dad, there is a spider nest in the corner of the cellar with spider eggs."

Janie followed Devon out as he called out to their dad. "Dev, they're just spiders. You're ten times bigger than them! They're more afraid of you than you are of them! You're being ridiculous!" She exclaimed exasperatedly. 

Marion stood up, dropping the hose from spraying off the broom. "Everyone has fears. Devon's happens to be spiders and that's okay. You shouldn't criticize and demean others' fears because you think it's silly. You didn't like it when Devon did that to you when you were younger and were deathly afraid of corn."

Janie's face grew red at the memory of her fear of corn. "But I was like what? Four? Five? I slept with a blanket and had a nightlight! What did you expect of a child?" She defensively said, making various hand gestures as she spoke.

Marion sighed, shaking his head in dismay. "Anyways, I'll call an exterminator and get them over here today if they can to take care of the spiders before we finish cleaning, how does that sound?" He asked, pulling out his phone.

Devon threw his father a thumb up with a smile. "Sounds good." He said, walking towards the front door of the house. "I'm going to go see what Mom and Taia are doing." He informed his father, and his sister just happened to be there to listen.

Janie dashed after him, placing her hands behind her back. "I'll join you." She flashed a wide grin and opened the door swiftly. "Mom! Taia!" She called out after walking into the living room and taking off her shoes.

Eve walked out of the laundry room with a basket of clean laundry. She looked up when she heard someone call her name, well, her title. "Janie? Oh, Devon, are you two done with the cellar?" She asked, walking up to her two children.

Devon brushed past Janie and spoke up first so Janie didn't get a chance to answer. "No, Dad has to call the exterminator. Spider problem and gotta replace the rotten wood." He replied, crossing his arms.

Janie jumped in as soon as Devon had ended his words, giving Eve no time to answer. "Where's Taia?" She asked quickly, walking down the hall without a chance for her mom to answer.

Eve inhaled deeply and let it out slowly with a frown. "In her room last time I checked." She mumbled under her breath. "Will it be done by the full moon?" She turned to Devon and switched the side the laundry was on.

Devon nodded, recalling what his dad had said. "Yes, it should be done. He's gonna get the exterminator here within a few hours hopefully and Dad will call Mr. Andrews tomorrow and have him help replace the boards." He replied, walking down the hall.

Eve followed Devon down the hall and towards Taia's room. "That's good." She smiled pushing open the door. "I washed some of the old clothes Erin used before she left for college. They're a bit dated but they'll be perfectly fine for Taia."

Janie looked up from making string figures with her hands and an old shoelace that seemed to interest Taia. "Erin isn't gonna like that. You know how she is about her clothes."

Eve set the basket down on a small table by the window and started to put away the clothes in the drawers. "Erin isn't here, now is she? She left them, so that means she didn't want them." She explained, folding each item neatly.

"It's not like she ever visits." Devon clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms. "It's been three years since she's gone to college and she hasn't come home once." He said, starting to feel a little upset she had cut contact even if they didn't get along.

Eve didn't want to admit it but Devon was right. "I know. I do wish she'd call once in a while." She complained, closing one of the dresser drawers and opening another.

Janie reached over and showed Taia how to make different string figures. "She's an adult and she thought we were annoying. You know, she wished she was an only child and I'm not surprised if she tells everyone she doesn't have siblings."

Devon sat down on the chest at the foot of Taia's bed. "I can't believe the full moon is two days away, I wish it was longer so Armani's aunt could be here to help us." 

Janie showed Taia again how to make a certain string figure. "No, do it like this?" She instructed, growing slower and glancing back at her mom and brother. "I still can't believe Armani's aunt is a werewolf! And her family are generations of hunters too!" 

Devon rolled his eyes, annoyed by his sister's words. "Yeah, remember, hunters kill werewolves - they kill all supernatural creatures. So, we need to be extra careful now we have Taia in our house, so that means trusting no one."

"It's getting harder to cover why we need so much meat." Eve huffed, picking the laundry basket up and resting it on her waist.

Janie grinned and turned to her elder brother, who raised his eyebrows. "Well, then, it seems it's time for Devon to join a high-calorie intake sport! Or you know, a sport that requires a lot of protein! Oh, like soccer or tennis!" She exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. 

Devon snickered, looking down as he scratched the side of his face. "I don't want to join sports. I'm not a sports guy." He said and then quickly added. "I can think about it though, but why don't you join a sports team?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest 

Janie tapped her finger on her cheek as she thought about it. "Hmm," She hummed as she pondered those words. "I could take up tennis."

Eve walked towards the door and smiled at Janie's words. "Tennis? I think I have your father and I's old rackets somewhere in the garage. We'd have to buy some tennis balls though, I think I have one left but I'm not sure where it is. I'll go look for it." She informed them as she left the room.

Janie smiled at her mother. "Thanks, Mom." She beamed, turning to her brother and going deep in thought. "One steak would be the number of calories I'd burn playing tennis. If you took up it too, I'd say we'd have a good cover story."

Devon turned his head towards his sister. "I'm sure that's for grown adults, you're ten. I don't think it's healthy to eat that much meat. An average person is supposed to eat no more than two or three a week." He informed Janie, recalling what he had learned in health class.

Taia, who had been rather quiet, looked between the siblings. She reached over and poked Janie in the arm, something she saw Janie do to Devon a lot.

Janie turned towards Taia and smiled at the brown-haired girl. "Oh, sorry Taia. We didn't mean to leave you out." She criss-crossed her legs. "So, what's wrong? Do you want to get out of the bedroom? Go for a walk?" 

Taia nodded her head, pointing out the window. She couldn't verbally express what she wanted so she had to either point or make various hand gestures to get her point across.

Devon looked at Janie and walked to the door. "Hey, Mom?" He called out to her, not knowing which room she was in. "Taia wants to go for a walk. Can we walk around the property a bit?" He asked as Janie sent him a thumbs up.

Eve, from the living room, heard her son's question. "Yes! Keep your phones on at all times and don't stay gone for too long. I don't want either of you to catch a cold, so bundle up warmly with a scarf and hat." She called back to them, walking into the laundry room.

She stopped in her tracks and turned her head towards the sudden knock at the door. "Oh Marion, do not tell me you forgot your keys again or locked them in your truck." She groaned, exasperated as she walked over to the door and opened it up. "Marion -" She paused when she noticed Deputy Bennett was at her door. "Deputy, um, hi."

Serafina smiled, realizing this was a little awkward. "Hi, sorry to bother you. Am I bothering you? If I am, I can come back another day or I could call you later to tell you what I've found out about those drawings Taia did. I thought you'd wanna know since I said I'd like you to know." She rambled on nervously.

Eve stepped back, motioning for Serafina to come on in. "Come on in," She said, smiling softly. "No, it's just normal chores, Devon and Janie were taking Taia out for a walk and Marion must be waiting for the exterminator."

Serafina stepped into the house. "You make it sound like Taia's a dog. Taking her out for a walk." She joked with a a laugh, looking around the cabin. "Nice digs," She commented, looking around the quaint living room. "The room is bigger than my whole apartment! Of course, I live above a pharmacy downtown so it isn't that big anyways."

Eve sat down on the couch, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her lap. "So, Deputy, what about the drawings? Were you able to show them to your father?" She asked, watching Serafina sit down across from her.

Serafina rummaged through her purse and pulled out the drawings. "Yes. My father works at the Mental Health Center you're taking Taia to as a psychiatrist, although he isn't involved with Taia I did ask his opinion. I asked an artist friend of mine his opinion on the drawing too, artists are very knowledgeable people -"

"Deputy, your point?" Eve asked, cutting her off so she wouldn't go off on a rambling spree, something she must've done a lot.

Serafina's train of thought paused momentarily. "Oh right. Sorry. Both my father and my artist friend agreed that this was a suppressed memory Taia has about that attack. Her subconscious allowed it to be drawn without Taia knowing that was what she was drawing." She replied, a bright smile on her lips.

Eve crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back and listening to the deputy. "So the stick figures were her family? The red blotches were blood? And the animal was what killed her family and harmed her? I figured that might've been what it was. Of course, I'm no artist."

Serafina's face flushed. She scratched the back of her head. "Yes. But, my artist friend pointed out that the animal seemed a little too human to be an animal. Now, I'm not going to imply anything since he could have been reading too much into the drawing, but yeah, the stick figures represented her mom, her dad, and her elder brother."

Eve quickly moved away from Serafina's words about the animal looking for humans. "I'm not sure she even remembers anything before that event, but if it's her subconscious, I'm afraid something could trigger those emotions." 

Serafina frowned, looking down at her lap, not expecting Eve to say that. "Yeah, I can see how that would be traumatizing for her since she's already gone through so much. Hopefully, the Mental Health Center can help her adjust to her new life." She perked right up and flashed a smile.

"This was her first day and they said she was well-behaved. One of the best patients they've had in a while." Eve proudly said, trying to hurry along the conversation.

Serafina was pleased to hear that Taia had been doing well, especially since she was well-behaved. "I'm glad. I wonder what exactly happened to her for those ten years," She randomly said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Eve stood up, lightly slapping her hands on her thighs. "Well, thank you for dropping by and letting us know about the drawings." She walked towards the door and opened it.

Serafina sighed, getting off the couch and walking paused Eve. "Oh," She paused in the doorway. "Maybe, someday we'll know what happened to her in those ten years? That still kinda remains a mystery huh? A girl fending for herself after what happened seems unlikely, so I was thinking someone found her and kept her . . ."

Eve quickly cut Serafina off, not liking where this was going. "Thank you for stopping by Deputy Bennett." She flashed a smile, closing the door so Serafina didn't get a chance to say anything else.

Serafina opened her mouth to say something but closed it after a few seconds. 'That was weird.' She thought, pivoting on her heels and walking towards her car. 'Could they be hiding something - nah, that's unlikely considering they're good friends with Sheriff Murphy.'

Marion walked into the house from the cellar door into the hallway. "The exterminators will be here in half an hour - where are the kids?" He asked, hearing the house abnormally quiet.

Eve walked up to him, hearing his question but replying passively. "They took Taia out for a walk. But we've got bigger problems, Marion." She explained, running a hand through her hair.

Marion furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? Did I miss something?" He asked, closing the cellar door and locking it from the outside with a key.

Eve took a deep breath and explained everything, from Deputy Bennett stopping by, to the things she said. "Do you see our dilemma here or is it just me?" She asked, on edge after what had happened.

Marion's eyes widened; he could see how that would be a dilemma. "No, no, I see it. It could become a problem if others want to know how she survived after the attack. People are going to press and press until we speak out in rage or annoyance."

Eve tapped her cheek as she thought about what to do. "We should just say Taia never told us. It's true, she doesn't talk so we don't know for sure. Right now we can only speculate from the information we have, but it hasn't come from Taia." She explained, crossing her arms.

Marion grabbed his wife's hand and kissed the back of her hand. "We'll find out sooner or later. Right now we need to focus on getting ready for the social worker to drop by for a home visit and do exactly what the doctor suggested for helping Taia get into the swing of her new life." 

Eve smiled and pressed a quick kiss into his lips. "You're right. Now, I've got to get back to doing the laundry and you have to go meet the exterminators." She said, walking towards the laundry room through the kitchen. 

Marion sighed, walking towards the front door. He didn't realize how much their life was changing until it started to happen drastically.

Little did he know he was about to get a whole lot more chaotic.

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A/N: 
Hi guys, so sorry this had come super later. My cat got sick then he passed away so I wasn't in the best headspace to do anything but draw or watch stuff that didn't take a lot of brain power. But I'm back and will be working on more chapters. In the  meantime check out The Celestial Chronicles, a new sci-fi series I'm working on.

Chapter Talk: 
I know this might seem a little messy but I promise I'll fix it later. I'm just trying to get the ideas out no matter how messy, so please, bear with me.

Thanks for reading!