The next day brought back the monotony of everyday life that Andrew was used to. But of course, it wasn't the same. The events of the night before haunted him. He didn't know who those people were, why they wanted him of all people, and what happened to his cats. The memory of the decapitation rendered him unable to stomach any food he forced himself to take. He wondered if those two witches would be subjected to the same fate if they crossed any lines. Who were they, anyway?

  The last time Andrew had spoken with Caroline was when he'd texted her that he was home safe. "That's good," she had replied and they hadn't spoken since. Andrew hadn't gone to school the next day. Instead he kept revisiting Leary Avenue, hoping to find clues- anything that would give him some answers. Zen caught him patrolling the area a few times.

  "Back again, huh?" he asked Andrew when he spotted him in the neighborhood for about the fourth time in two days. "What are you hoping to find?"

  "I don't know," Andrew mumbled. He hoped that if he hung around often enough he'd find something. Zen kept insisting that Andrew stop trying to get himself involved with those dangerous people.

  Andrew understood why Zen was worried, but he didn't know how to explain to him that he couldn't just stop and accept things as they were and go back home. Mostly because of how empty home felt now. It was stifling and he couldn't take it. But to tell Zen all of that, he would need to explain everything from the top. He really didn't have the energy for that. So he avoided the topic with Zen (deflecting any questions he'd ask) and he avoided Caroline altogether. He knew he'd have to talk to them about it someday but first he needed to understand what was happening himself. He didn't argue any further and left. He had been investigating the area in the daytime so he decided to try coming back at night.

  So as planned, he returned that very night, the fifth time since the incident. Two days had passed and many important questions built up in his head. Sadly, there was no one with any answers to offer him. He walked the perimeter of the area, exceedingly familiar at that point. He stopped at the exact place where the two witches stood like a protective force between him and those strange people. 'Oz' they'd called themselves. Who were they? Why him? Did it have something to do with his grandmother and her sudden urgency in leaving the realm for good?

  Andrew felt helpless and alone. He truly didn't know what to do next. The witches with the same names as his cats sacrificed themselves to save him. Why? Frustrated and dispirited, he sank to his knees. If another gang of thugs came out of the shadows and kidnapped or even murdered him, he decided that he simply would not care. It would be better than living with all this anxiety, confusion, and misery.

  As he sat, dejected, in the middle of the street and reflected on his woes, a pair of bright eyes watched him. It was joined by another pair and they watched him for some time. Andrew sat bolt upright as he heard someone clear their throat. He looked into the dark alley on his right and in the darkness, he caught a glimpse of a glint of light from a nearby street light bouncing off a pair of shades. The figure donning the shades walked out into the street and Andrew suddenly began to have second thoughts about the whole kidnap/murder thing.

  As the figure stepped into the street light's shine, Andrew got a good look at him. It was a boy with whitish-silver hair. Andrew initially thought it was an elderly man but a better look at him informed Andrew that the boy couldn't be much older than him. Either that or he had a great skincare routine. He was dressed in white pants and a bright white shirt. He strolled breezily over to Andrew and crouched down next to him. Behind his thick shades shone bright silver eyes.

  "Who are you?" Andrew asked, his voice shaky.

  "Silver," the boy smiled and extended a hand to him. Andrew tentatively accepted his hand for a shake but the boy stood abruptly, pulling Andrew to his feet with him.

  "I'm Andrew," Andrew said and immediately regretted it, wondering whether he should've shared his name with a fishy looking stranger. He was still not in the best mental state and was unable to command the use of his better judgment. Andrew noticed Silver looking intently at him. He wondered if he'd screamed at the top of his lungs, would Zen hear him? Would he even come to help? Before he could do any such thing, however, Silver began to barrage him with questions.

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  "Is it always this empty here around this time? What are you doing here all alone? You'd been sitting and moping over there for around 10 minutes until I walked out. Isn't that dangerous here? In Enos, if you don't get mugged or killed by anyone, you'd definitely get eaten by a Night Creature. Unless you're prepared, that is. You're not prepared, are you? You don't look very prepared. Don't you have Night Creatures here?"

  Caught off guard by the sudden bombardment of questions, Andrew hesitated. His head wasn't functioning well as it were, and Silver wasn't making it any easier.

  "Give him a second to breathe," came a milder voice from the shadows. Andrew had only just noticed the girl leaning against a street light with her arms crossed. "I bet he didn't register a thing you said."

  Andrew realized he was already outnumbered and they might even have a couple more people hidden in the shadows. His apprehension showed on his face and Silver chuckled lightly. "That's just Esther! Nothing to be scared of!" He pulled Andrew over to her. She was indeed not scary. The first thing that caught Andrew's eyes was the pastel pink hair that fell well below her shoulders, and then the various shiny piercings on her ears. She had a sour expression on her face but it faded the closer they got. Then she looked rather shy. She backed a few steps as they got nearer.

  "Aw, you don't need to be scared of him either, Es. I bet you could beat him up with your eyes closed and your hands tied!" Silver said to ease her, though it didn't do much for Andrew. On the bright side, his own home didn't seem like such a bad place after all.

  "So... Anderoo, right? Let's get down to business. I believe we can help each other out," Silver said.

  "Huh?" Andrew's tongue tied-ness returned.

  "Yep!" Silver gave a confident nod.

  Andrew didn't know how to explain to Silver that they weren't really on the same page. In an effort to notify Silver of that, he said, "Wha-?"

  Silver finally seemed to get the hint. He frowned. "Aren't you looking for them too?"

  Andrew didn't want them to know how out of the whole loop he was. Not yet anyway. "Yes..." he said, unsure of who Silver thought he was looking for and whether he really wanted to 'help him'.

  "Can you start by telling me what exactly went down here two nights ago?" Silver asked. Both he and Esther watched Andrew with interest. "Well..." Andrew started and also stopped. He felt dizzy and was suddenly aware of how cold it was that night and how he'd forgotten his jacket. He really wasn't in his best senses.

  "Yeah, you're absolutely right," Silver said, supposedly reading his mind. "This isn't the best place to discuss this and it is pretty cold out." He turned to Esther. "Bring her out, Es."

  Esther sighed and scratched the back of her head. She dug out what looked like car keys from the pocket of her shorts. Andrew hadn't decided whether he really wanted to go on a late night drive with the questionable looking duo when Esther pressed the button. A light flashed from above and Andrew looked up to see a large airship materialize out of the clouds. He immediately changed his mind. He had to get on that.

  It was the coolest moment of his life and he knew he had to say something befitting the moment. He couldn't mess it up by spurting out something dumb. "How are you gonna park that?" he asked. Failed step one, he thought miserably to himself.

  "We're not! You see the size of this baby? Nah, we're going up to it," Silver said.

  "So, is a ladder coming down or...?"

  "A ladder!" snorted Silver. "Hah!"

  A metallic cylinder came down instead and they entered it like an elevator. Andrew was only slightly disappointed it didn't suck them up with light like the UFOs did in cartoons. "I make 'em with comfort in mind," Silver chuckled as he patted a marble pillar inside the rather luxuriant elevator. Andrew felt like he was in a fancy hotel. He didn't miss the gloat that was supposed to inform him that Silver was the creator of such a fine ship. Or at least the fine elevator.

  Esther was quiet. She watched him with varying levels of disinterest, each followed by a yawn. Silver talked very animatedly with Andrew. He didn't seem like a bad guy but Andrew thought something about his smile was a bit off.

  Andrew guessed he might have been a bit paranoid given how the entire night, or rather, the entire week since two nights ago had been. Perhaps going off on a strange flying ship that he never knew existed, with two mysterious strangers, wasn't the smartest decision he ever made. But what choice did he have? He couldn't go on with his life, pretending the events of that night never happened.

  His cats were gone. His grandmother was gone. He didn't feel safe. He had too many questions and no one to give him any answers. When Silver reached out to him from out of the blue, it was a ray of light in the darkness. A bright silvery light.