The first thing Shade noticed when she eased back into consciousness on the living room couch was how sore her whole body was. With an aching grimace she raised herself up gingerly, then gave herself a few seconds to let the cobwebs in her head clear as she tried to remember exactly what had happened. The next thing she noticed was the sound of Amanda's voice just outside the room, in conversation with someone who wasn't there. Then she remembered; the intruders, the man in the maroon jumpsuit. Shade alertly stood at attention, scouring the room with her dark eyes for any hint of danger.

    She centered her attention on Amanda's voice, hearing her speak Gideon's name and realizing she must be talking to him on her cell phone. Still a little foggy, she tried to shake it off before she left the living room and found Amanda pacing in the hallway, finishing her call to Gideon. Amanda noticed her as she slid her phone into a pocket on her outfit.

    "Ah, I'm glad to see you up. Are you okay?" Amanda asked, walking up to Shade.

    "Yeah...I'm fine. What happened here?" Shade replied, looking slightly confused.

    "I was hoping you could tell me. I arrived earlier to pick up Corbin and when no one answered the door I let myself in only to be attacked by some masked man with a gun," Amanda explained.

    "Was he wearing a red leather jumpsuit?"

    "Yes."

    "The last thing I remember is poundin' on the guy after taking down his two goons. I think he hit me with...a tazer or something," Shade revealed, her eyes roaming her mind's thoughts. "Where is he now?" she inquired.

    "Right now he's a rigormortic doorstop," Amanda quipped with a satisfied smirk, one that Shade mirrored. 

    Amanda informed Shade further. "As for the two that you hammered, I've got them tied up where I found them. I've checked the rest of the manor and it's clear, no more surprises."

    Shade nodded then questioned,"How long was I out?" 

    "Well, I got here about forty-five minutes ago, found you soon after, and brought you to the living room. So, you don't have a clue as to who these guys are or what they wanted?"

    Shaking her head, Shade answered,"Nope, not a one." 

    A deeply concerned look fell over Amanda's face. "Shade, I don't mean to alarm you, but after informing Gideon about what's happened here, neither of us has been able to contact the others by cell phones."

    "Well...," Shade scrambled for reasonable explanations that she hoped would prove that the attack at the manor was an isolated event. "Gale and Ethan are in a terrible place for signal reception, and Corbin and Lydia...well, they might've decided to watch a double feature, and you know how strict theaters are about cell phones now," she said, trying hard not to sound worried, but the worried look on Amanda's face spoke for both of them.

    "Gideon is on his way to Ethan's cabin right now. Maybe we should head out toward the theater and look for Corbin and Lydia. Do you know which one they went to?" Amanda suggested.

    "Um, yeah, the one in Ridgeville," Shade remembered.

    "Good. Let's go, my car's already out front," Amanda directed.

    Shade nodded and the two shot off to Amanda's sterling roadster parked behind the big blue sedan that Shade threw an attentive glance at as she got in Amanda's car. As Amanda reached to put the key in the ignition Shade grabbed her arm.

    "Wait, I'm getting something from Lydia, a message," she explained, trying to focus on Lydia's voice in her mind by closing her eyes to block everything else out.

    Amanda watched Shade become frozen in concentration, being perfectly still herself so she wouldn't distract her. After a long, anxious wait of seconds that seemed like unbearable minutes, Amanda was privy to the internal exchange when Shade opened her eyes and cut them sharply toward her.

    "Corbin and Lydia were attacked too, and Corbin's hurt, bad," Shade revealed excitedly, her tone raising Amanda's level of concern.

    "Where are they?" Amanda asked worriedly.

    "Angelo's," Shade answered urgently.

    Amanda fired up her roadster, slammed it in reverse, and spun it around after backing away from the sedan. She knew exactly where Angelo's was located and she was intent on getting there as fast as her car could take them. Shade buckled up, then set her thoughts on the sudden chaos that had seized her family. She only hoped Gideon would reach Gale and Ethan in time to prevent any harm from befalling them.

    The trip from the manor to Angelo's was a precarious one, with Amanda testing the limits of her roadster on the dangerous winter roads that separated her and Shade from knowing Corbin and Lydia's wellbeing. Soon the little pizza place came into view and Shade observed it carefully as they approached, searching for any sign of her distressed siblings. Amanda wheeled the car hurriedly into the parking lot where she and Shade spotted Corbin's shiny red coupe that shone like a beacon in the middle of its drab surroundings. Amanda's silver roadster flew into the space next to it, then she and Shade hopped out to inspect the coupe for any clues to Corbin and Lydia's whereabouts.

    Shade wandered aimlessly around the coupe looking for anything that would point to her brother and sister, but Amanda was drawn immediately to the dark stain of Corbin's spilled blood on the asphalt near the rear of the car. Though it was dried and nearly frozen she knew it hadn't been there long. Shade saw that Amanda had found something so she went over to where she stood, but before she could examine the finding she paused to receive another message from Lydia.

    Over here, to your left, on top of the building.

    Shade looked up toward the night-covered buildings to her left and saw the distant figure of her little sister standing near the edge of a five story roof, waving to break the darkness in order to get her sister's attention. Shade nudged Amanda, pointing at Lydia, then they both scanned the parking lot for any unwanted observers before they trotted off toward the building. 

    When they reached the base of the building, staring up with heads arched all the way back, a large shadow with glowing purple eyes rose up and dwarfed Lydia from behind. Though Amanda had never before seen Corbin's alternate form she knew it was him. The sight of his looming presence dialed back the concern for any pressing injury. Shade received another message.

    I'm fine but Corbin's been shot. He can't change back until Gale is around to heal him.

    Shade turned to Amanda with the message. "Lydia says Corbin has been shot, he'll have to stay like he is until we get Gale."

    Amanda received the information with a mixture of worry for Corbin and a hunger for retaliation against his attacker. "We have to get him back to the manor, but discreetly," she advised.

    Shade rubbed her chin in thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "I've got it! There's a lot full of moving vans a few blocks from here. Take me there and I'll hotwire one, then we can get Corbin outta here without anyone noticing."

    Amanda was pleasantly surprised. "You can do that, hotwire a vehicle?"

    "Piece of cake," Shade smirked. "Skills from a past life," she added.

    "I can certainly appreciate that," Amanda smiled knowingly.

    Shade tilted her head upward toward the roof, cupped her hands around her mouth and aimed her voice at Lydia. "Stay put! We'll be right back!"

    Lydia and Corbin both responded by moving back away from the edge of the roof, staying out of sight. Amanda and Shade rushed back to the car, restraining their urge to zip back with their superhuman speed in case someone might be watching without their notice, then the roadster backed out of the parking space and took off away from Angelo's.

    The wait for their return was not a long one for Corbin and Lydia, who watched from above as a large, box-shaped moving van, followed by Amanda's comparably tiny roadster, motored along the empty downtown streets and turned into the vacant parking lot of the office building they were perched atop. The van pulled around to the more private backside of the building, then Shade got out and quickly went to the rear of its cargo box and raised the roll-up door as Amanda parked her car and went over to Shade's side. They both looked carefully around their deserted surroundings, then Shade signaled her siblings to come down from their steep refuge.

    Lydia once again climbed up on Corbin's kneeling back, then he cautiously went over the edge of the roof and began a careful descent down the building, using his clawed hands and feet to secure a hold on the brick wall. Amanda and Shade watched with equal parts fascination and teetering anxiety as the imposing dark figure climbed down the five story building with Lydia holding on. When they reached the ground Corbin knelt for Lydia to hop off, then he made his way to the van with Lydia in tow behind him.

    Amanda couldn't help but stare in awe of Corbin's beastly form as he neared. In her nine centuries of existence she had never seen anything quite like him. He caught her stare as he passed her by, looking down at her with a presence behind his glowing purple eyes that she recognized before he stepped into the back of the van, ducking to avoid the roof. He turned around to face everyone who had gathered at the back of the van, then sat down, slouching against his raised knees.

    Shade hopped up to grab the dangling door strap in order to pull it closed, but Lydia intervened with a concerned appeal for her brother that her worried face conveyed as potently as the pleading in her voice. "Remember Corbin, don't turn back. Hold on."  Then Shade sealed him inside.