Forlot - Books 1-3 {Completed}

Chapter Nineteen

I laid in my guest bed, feeling disappointed. I was close, so very close, to finding out what caused Lean to go blind and how exactly Mr. Hawk was involved. All that I knew now was that she and everybody else were at some factory that, according to Lean, was in the woods.

Why would there be a factory out in the middle of the woods? And why would Mr. Hawk and his friends be there?

One thing was certain. They were up to no good, and I needed to know what they wanted from the factory.

Man, this book gets more mysterious every second.

I was lying on my back and tilted my head towards the ceiling. I watched the fan spinning around and around as it gently blew some nice, cool air in my face. I pulled the covers to my neck and snuggled my head against the pillow, and I tried closing my eyelids, but they would not budge.

I could not get to sleep.

This was not unusual for me. Lots of times, I have trouble falling asleep. I do not know why though. It could be because something exciting or nerve wrecking always happens the next day, whether it takes place at home or at school. However, I believe that the main reason is because of my parents.

Before, I had no problems going to sleep. When it was bedtime, my sister and I would go straight to our beds and sleep peacefully. Sadly, this was not the case anymore. As soon as our parents got that stupid business job, everything changed. No more spending time with me and Scarlett. No more cooking us delicious dinners. And...no more kisses. Not on the head. Not on the nose. None.

I could not hold in my sadness any longer. I sat up, buried my face in both of my hands, and cried softly. I had to let it all out. My parents. Lying to Scarlett. Anything that was making me stressed. I just hoped that no one would hear me crying.

Err!

Huh? What was that?

Err!

It sounded like rumbling.

I wiped away my tears and gently rubbed my stomach. Nope. The rumbling was not coming from my stomach.

Then where was it coming from?

I got out of bed and walked to the window. I peered outside and saw nothing but the night sky and the silhouettes of the tall trees - and two more silhouettes. One was pretty large in size, and the other was a lot smaller. They were both near the mansion.

And one of them was moving.

I could not tell which, but I definitely could see movement. Who - or what - was down there? Why was it here? What did it want?

Wait. Was it Dr. O'Connor? Did he actually come here to see me? To return my belongings? If that was the case, then this was a miracle. I could tell him everything that I knew about Mr. Hawk and the monsters, and we would stop them from achieving their evil plans once and for all.

But...what about Stanley and Lean?

I admitted that I do like Stanley. However, he...he works for a bad guy, and if he is willing to go along with Mr. Hawk's scheme, then the doctor and I have no choice but to go against him too, even if it means putting him behind bars. As for Lean, like I stated before, she is a victim. I see some good in her. She is not like the others. I would have to ask Dr. O'Connor what we should do with her, since he is the Monster Protector, though, in my opinion, we should help her in seeking justice for what Mr. Hawk did to her.

My curiosity got the best of me. I had to find out who or what was down there, and if it was Dr. O'Connor, then yes!

I grabbed my red, long-sleeved shirt, my black pants, and my black shoes and quickly changed from my nightdress that Mr. Hawk lent me. I stepped out of my room and into the hallway. It was pitch black. No light in sight.

"Hmm. Maybe I should have a flashlight," I told myself.

I knew that my sister had one, so I sneaked into Scarlett's room and saw her bags scattered all over the floor. They were all zipped halfway, and a few of her clothes were hanging out. I glanced at my sleeping sister, and then started going through the bags. I felt really bad invading Scarlett's privacy and messing with her things, however, there was a good chance that the moving figure was Dr. O'Connor, and only he could help us now. She would thank me later.

I had finally found the flashlight when I heard a loud snort. I immediately stood up, feeling my face and palms sweating a bit from nervousness.

What the heck was that?

No sooner did I realize where the sound came from. I looked at my sister, and she snorted and rolled over.

Phew. It was just her.

Quietly, I hurried out of her room, turned on the flashlight, and went downstairs. The bright light from the flashlight showed off every object as I passed. I soon came to the front door and grabbed onto the doorknob, taking deep breaths as I did so.

You can do this, Margie. Have courage.

I slowly opened the door - and spotted a figure standing right in front of me.

It did not appear to be human, nor was it Mr. Hawk or one of his creatures. It arched its back and studied me with its pale eyes.

I could not move. I could not speak. And then I let out a gasp as it raised a bony hand, fingers that turned out to be long, sharp talons, and swung at me.

AH!!!