Hello, all. I meant to finish this chapter sooner, but life demands priorities. My bedroom is remodeled; midterms are in; my hours are set at work; I've got a clean bill of health. I'm struggling to have my fabulous boyfriend create an account here, but he's not very tech-savvy. He doesn't even like to be photographed. My spring break is coming up next week, but I am finished with midterms, so no more school days this week. I don't know about anyone's birthdays coming up this month, but if it's yours, let me know and I'll dedicate the next chapter to you!

SHANE'S POV

Leaning against a tree, I can finally catch up with myself. My best friend Ry's got something wrong with his shoulder. Dan's bleeding from his face. The new girl looks torn between upchucking and shitting herself. Phil looks like he's choking down an explosion. This is all my damn fault. I fucked up and now we're stranded with no transportation. We have a boat. How the hell are we going to get home in a boat? Riley is going to fucking kill us. Not only did we steal his car and leave the place, but we totaled the car. And now his tax deductions are lost in the fucking woods on the outskirts of the fucking town. Damn.

"Where are we?" Ryland asks me, rubbing his shoulder as he walks over.

I shrug. "Lost."

We look over to canvas the area again. Phil is working on dressing Dan's wound, but it's easy to see his hands are shaking. Dan isn't even looking at him. And Lily… Lily just puked.

OMNISCIENT POV

Back at the house news vans are crowding the area. Neighbors from all around have come out on their lawns to watch the scene unfold. Inside, police officers are scattered. They're taking pictures and marking with tape, attempting to find any clues as to where the kids were headed. Melanie and Grandpa Joe are arguing in the mess hall, while the police chief questions Riley in the chaotic den.

"Did any of the boys have any enemies?"

"They're thirteen, fourteen and fif-" He stops himself. "No, no enemies. They rarely go out."

"And school?"

"Tutors come here." Riley shakes his head. "Kathy's idea."

"Uh-huh. Any underworld or mob connections?"

"No! Haven't you been listening? They don't leave the house!"

In the woods, Shane and Ryland are attempting to discover just how lost they are. Lily has changed into another shirt. Phil is putting away the kit when a frog jumps on Dan's head. Terrified, he runs around trying to knock it off – only to collapse in a pile of leaves. Phil doesn't notice until he's already dusting himself off and the frog has leaped away.

"Alright, guys. We need to stop playing around and find away out of here. We still need to take Lily back to her place."

"We don't even know where we are." Ryland shakes his head.

Phil bites his lip and then reaches into a backpack. He pulls out a compass on a chain. "It's okay. I'm responsible. You can thank me later. Now, let's grab that boat."

"Why?" Dan groans.

"We can throw our stuff in it and carry it to water. If we can find a river, we can find a way out of here."

"I hope you're right."

Back on the road, Hazel is watching the trees blur together as she zooms by on the hot bike. A couple cops have passed, each time making her a little uneasy. As she rounds a sharp corner, she comes across a crash scene. Unable to stop in time, she veers to the right, and clatters into a ravine. Hitting a tree along the side of the bike, she is thrown off and dislocated her shoulder on a rock. She quietly sits up and tests to determine whether she has a concussion. When she checks out from her self-diagnosis, she crafts a makeshift sling out of some reeds and Elephant Ears.

When the house residents finally emerge, they are hounded by the media. They've got some crazy theories. Channel three believes Riley personally shipped the teenagers to Tokyo in a wooden box. Channel eleven is relying on old patterns, thinking a dingo got loose in the house and ate the children. All reporters scatter when a private helicopter makes a pit stop at the house. Celebrity gossip reporter Kim Terry runs directly to Melanie, sticking a microphone in her face after checking that he looks good on the camera.

"Tell us how it feels to know you may never see those children again."

She gasps and Kathy steps in, slapping the offending object. "Can't you pit bulls show any kind of compassion!?"

"So sorry, forgive me." He returns to Melanie's side. "Please, tell us how it feels to know you may never see those children again."

Kathy is steamed and reaches out to pummel the reporter. Riley and Grandpa Joe are quick on the uptake, as they react by holding her back. They struggle, though, as Kathy is ready to tear him a new one for harassing Melanie. Tress and Bell drive to the house, ready to pick up Hazel. When they are instantly crowded, they aren't positive what to think. Kim Terry shoves a microphone in Bell's face, giving him the necessary intel.

"How does it feel knowing your sister home lost your little girl?"

"They what!?" Bell demands angrily, scanning the crowd.

He locks eyes with Riley, who looks ever guilty. His eyes flash red and he breaks through the crowd to attack the other man. Out of one restraint, Kathy moves in to fight with Terry, but the crowd pushes her back with questions. Kathy finally relents and helps Tress pry Bell away from Riley. Kim Terry takes to the worldwide screen again with snapshots of all the missing children. With an obnoxious grin on his face, he addresses his audience, showing off one picture at a time and then dropping them.

"That's fifteen-year-old Jill, fourteen-year-old Blaine, thirteen-year-olds Gran and Ronald, and eleven-year-old Lucy. And sixteen-year-old Mabel from the sister home. All vanished without a trace. I'm Kim Terry, and I'll be back with more big action news."

Michael suddenly runs by as Kim's camera shuts off. He runs toward the police with an update. "Mr. Swenson on Center saw Kathy's bike blazing through his garden and head North on I-99!"

From this information, everyone quits their petty bickering. The news vans are pulling out, and Kim Terry is in the sky. Meanwhile, the teenagers are doing heavy lifting. They had to drop some clothes to make to boat weigh lighter. Dan and Phil have the back end, and Shane and Ryland tug on the front – while Lily straggles between them. They work in silence as they make their way up a hill, due to Phil's compass. Dan's stomach growls loud enough for the others to hear and grow hungry. They find a lake, but it's down in the trenches. Instantly, Dan forgets about being hungry. He can only imagine how doomed they are, slowly delving into an existential crisis. On interstate 99, the police, media and house members have come to the crash site from earlier. There is an additional crash site bordering it, and the police are investigating. The chief collects a cracked cell phone. After placing it in a baggie, she walks over to Melanie.

"Miss, I know this is hard for you. But, can you identify this phone?"

She gasps instantaneously. "Dan's…"

Back in the woods, the teenagers have retreated to their crash site. Dan has had a crisis the entire way back and is now leaning against the car, half sobbing. Shane is upset and growing angry.

"Look at that! Dan's having a crisis and Ryland's hurt! This is all Lily's fault!"

"No way." Phil counters, also upset. "This never would've happened if you didn't suggest taking her back in the first place!"

"It's not our fault!" Ryland steps in for Shane. "You should've done something about her a long time ago!"

"She's a person." Phil stresses. "I couldn't just do something about her!"

Lily hiccups by means of carrying the conversation along, as she sits down in the boat. Shane, still on edge, glares at her.

"Those hiccups are really starting to bug me."

"Face it, Phil." Ryland rounds. "Having her along just isn't what you expected."

As they've been arguing, Dan has dried his tears. He'd thought the air smelled different and had looked around some trees to explore. Sure enough, there is some steady chimney smoke coming at them from a distance.

"Hey! You guys!" When everyone quiets down and looks over, he points it out. "It's got to be a station or someone's house."

Phil grins. "That's perfect. C'mon, you guys. With Dan smelling the smoke and my compass, we'll get there easy."

Making sure they've got two bags of clothes, a bag of food and the bag with the first aid kit inside, Phil instructs the others to climb into the boat. He angles it a certain way and then climbs in after shove-off. The teenagers ride down a bumpy hill, inside the boat. They collectively lean from side to side to avoid hitting any trees or jutted rocks. They manage to bounce into the lake like a skipping stone. As the teens drift in the lake – a far cry from their muddled morning – the adults are on the chase. Michael and Phoctor have gone into the woods. They've found tire tracks matching Riley's car, and they've returned to alert the others. Kathy grabs a police bull horn and decides to take charge.

"Alright! The pups are in the woods! Some o' you cops, follow them tracks. Some o' you others, head to the rangers' station and start your search from there. House, you all split. Now, c'mon! Hut, hut, hut!"

Back in the lake, when the boat suddenly hits a jutted rock, the teenagers nearly capsize. Shane and Ryland straighten each other. Lily and Dan drop off the side of the boat, and Phil's instincts cause him to grab the girl. He pulls Lily back into the boat, while Ryland grabs a leaning branch to halt the boat. Dan cries out for help, and Shane takes Ryland's place, so the older teen can stretch out and grab Dan's hand. They collapse in the boat just as Shane's strength gives way. After catching his breath, Dan sighs at the raven-haired teen coddling the tween.

"Phil, why didn't, you help me?"

Guilt can be read in Phil's eyes. "I'm sorry, Dan. But, but Lily needed me."

Ryland cuts their ranting short, as he notices what is coming up next. "Guys, don't look now. But I think that's a waterfall."

Phil's eyes widen. "Unless one of you secretly has wings, we'll never survive the fall." He glances around and spies a rough patch of land nearby. "Okay, guys. We can do this if we work together. Shane, throw our bags over there. Ryland, grab the first branch you can find."

The boys do as told, frightful of the possibility of impending doom. Once Ryland has secured a branch and Shane has thrown over the bags, Phil lets out a low breath.

"Okay, Shane. You need to balance in the boat and then jump to that large stone over there."

"No way. I can't do that."

"Shane. You need to try." Phil demands in his authoritative tone.

Shane looks between Phil, the stone and Ryland. Hesitantly, he collects himself. He touches Ryland's shoulder to gather confidence, and he leaps. He then lets out an excited shout, seeing as he made it across with no injuries. On the boat, Phil moves over to Dan.

"Hey, stay with me. It's your turn."

"Turn for what?"

"You need to jump, Dan."

"No, no. I can't, Philly." He whines. "I can't make a jump."

"Daniel." Phil carefully props Dan to his feet. "You are going to jump. Shane is on the other side and he will make sure you stay on that rock. Do you understand?"

Sighing, he nods. Phil pats Dan's back, and the younger boy makes the jump. He wobbles a bit, but Shane pulls him over. Up next is Lily. The boat jars as Ryland's grip is wearing thin.

"Are you ready, Lily?"

She lets out a shaky breath and nods.

"Guys?" Phil calls out. "Be ready to catch Lily."

She makes the leap and lands it without help from the boys. Phil stands then. He makes the jump quick and swift. Ryland is the only one left in the boat, and the current is picking up.

"Alright, guys, we need a chain. Dan, hold my waist. Lily and Shane, hold Dan's. I'm going to lean in for Ryland. Ryland, once I grab you, you need to let go of the branch and grab me. The boat's going to drive over the falls. Okay?"

When everyone confirms the plan, they form the chain on the rock. Phil steps to the brink and leans as far out as possible without taking his feet off the ledge. With a bit of straining, Phil wraps his arms around Ryland's shoulders. Ryland tentatively lets go of the branch. The boat snaps into speed, barreling toward the fall. He retracts his arms around Phil's shoulders, and the boys are pulled back to the rock. Each of the boys grabs a bag as they silently trek back into the woods. They're following Phil, who has the compass. Unable to smell any more smoke, Dan breaks the silence.

"D'ya think we're still going to find that house?"

Phil smiles nervously. "Sure. So long as I've got the compass, we won't get lost."

An hour of walking passes by, and Phil is still struggling with the compass. He can't voice this, and he keeps leading his friends. However, Ryland figures it out. He discovers the fresh tracks in the mud, and he irritably voices his opinion.

"We've been going in circles."

"Well, it was working before."

Shane scoffs. "Do you even know how to read that thing, Phil?"

While the others break off into a large argument again, Lily stays quiet and Dan covers his ears. He walks away from the others, inwardly fighting off another crisis. As he isn't paying too much attention, he opens his eyes to find an abandoned, yet crashed, bus. On the side, he reads Sucnom Ricyek Asylum.

"You guys… you guys!"

The squabbling ends promptly as the others crowd around to see. Before anyone can ask a question, the side door opens. Three curious heads pop out of the darkness. One is wearing a crumpled top hat, another is wearing a nightcap, and the last has on bright blue face paint between his mouth and eyes. The roof of the bus pops up as well, revealing three more. One has on a neon orange fedora. There is a woman holding a broken umbrella, and a teenager wearing white pants. The adults are all in torn rags. As the teens back away, another man – this one with crazily dyed blue hair – jumps up from the roof. Phil and the gang run back to their bags, but the bus's inhabitants quickly surround them.

This is where I shall leave you… and ponder about life… byes!