A soft rap sounded on William Carter's door. He turned to the door, panic rushing through his face. Quickly, but carefully, he placed the documents he was holding back into the drawer, before calling on whoever was behind the door to come in. Winnie marched into the room, her eyes blazing with anger. A look of concern quickly reloaded the panic in his eyes. His granddaughter was never this unnerved. He waited for her to state the reason for her presence, not wanting to speak ahead of her. "Elijah is here to see you." She said after pacing for a few seconds. "Aha! Elijah." He bobbed his head, understanding the source of her anger now. For some reason she was insistent on not telling him, the pair had gone from a budding friendship to whatever this ugliness was. He had wanted to speak to Elijah about it, but something told him he would only be risking the very quiet but intense fury his granddaughter was capable of. "Yes, him. Why didn't you tell me you invited him over?" She stoppe

"Hey." He said, for lack of other words to explain."Who were you welcoming?" She ignored his intent to change the conversation."Uhmm," He scratched his head, wondering how the hell he was supposed to get out of this now. He wasn't the type to lie, but this was not a situation he could tell the truth. "It's nothing." He said, silently praying she dropped it."Okay suit yourself." She shrugged nonchalantly, walking past him to a couch.In her heart though, she was boiling. She knew what she heard. There was no phone in sight, so he was definitely not on call. First he had enemies everywhere which he always fought off effortlessly, now he was talking to himself like a sicko. Who really was thos Elijah man? She wondered.It was only when she sat down, and raised up her head, her eyes found what he had been staring at. It definitely was the painting. The last thing her mother painted before she----- She paused on that thought, still not strong enough to ever complete and it. But why

"Mummy?" She dropped to her knees, grabbing a hold of the painting and clasping it tightly to her chest. "You're okay mummy. You're fine." She said, over and over again.Elijah watched her. When she had broken into a run, he thought she was leaving. But then she took the round, and ended up crouched on the floor. He realized it was the painting. But with that realization came curiosity. Did she know her mother was in that painting? Why was she speaking so confidently to it? "It's mum's painting." He blinked twice, and saw she was on her feet again."Really?" "Yeah," She said taking it back to the spot it had fallen from. "There was no breeze. I wonder why it fell." That settled it for him. She obviously didn't know her mum could communicate through that painting. Her question could easily be answered too. Perhaps her mum saw her distressed and decided to intervene. The latter, he was grateful for. If she hadn't, he would have easily overstepped the boundaries of their weird f

Rhonda didn't appreciate having to come out by this time of the day. Damn near half of the City where already asleep, while the nightwalkers where out and about doing God knows what. She preferred herself a day walker, than mingling with uncertainties in the dead of the night.However, as Colin approached her where she stood, she adorned the brightest smile she could muster. In truth it was half, and shaky, but it was the best she could do."Hey." He went in for a hug, but she was gunning for a handshake. Amidst an awkward clash,came nervous laughter. "Hey." She responded with an outstretched hand.He nodded in understanding of having lost this one. "I'm glad you came on such short notice." He replied, taking her hands in his, and planting a gentle kiss on it."My mum said it's important. There was no talking my way out of it." She confessed. He gave her a smile that told her he sympathized with her, and surprisingly, it warmed her heart. "Shall we then?" He was saying when,

Elijah returned home after midnight. He was too tired to do anything. Nudging his head in acknowledgement of Snow, who opened his eyes long enough to see the sudden footsteps were from the owner of the house, he went straight to his bedroom. He had barely touched the bed when he drifted into a dreamless sleep.However, as soon as the light of dawn came, he found himself in a different world. It started out with numerous voices talking at the same time in his head. The strange world a cave like space, but with different eyes serving as it's walls.With every turn, he saw himself in those eyes. His exterior as calm as a dove, but within he panicked. The voices began screaming. They howled in pain, and laughter. The result of the opposing mixture, a desire to get out. And so he found himself running. But every curve was a dead end. The eyes grew larger, watching him as he watched himself. "Stop it!" He found himself crying within. For some unknown reason, his voice wouldn't come