Faith scrambled off the bed and snatched up the water bottle. A careful examination revealed that it was still sealed, so she unscrewed the cap and drained half of it in one gulp. She still ached, but she had more important things to worry about. Grabbing up her purse, she dug around in it, making sure that she still had all her things. Her phone was missing, but her wallet and keys and all the rest of her mess were all still there.
"Where's my phone?" she muttered. She frowned at the bag for a moment. Her shoes were neatly tucked just under the edge of the bed and... had they been cleaned?
Faith was pretty sure her boots had been covered in mud after Kaylee's adventure with the frogs. They'd cleaned the soles to avoid tracking too much into the cabin, but the sides and the toes had definitely needed a scrub. Having super clean boots now was just weird.
"Whatever," she muttered again and stomped her feet into them, and crept over to the window. Pulling the curtain back just enough to peek out she saw what looked like a large backyard with a child's playset to one side, a deck right below the window with a large barbecue grill covered up, and woods all around.
She frowned again and turned to the door. Hopefully, it wasn't locked and she could sneak out and find her niece. Poor Kaylee must be terrified– first attacked by those dog things then kidnapped and separated from her family... Faith snarled. Clearly trusting that guy just because he took out those monsters was asking too much. Faith was going to find Kaylee, then that guy was going to get it, she would make sure of that.
She looped her purse over her head so she could keep track of it and carefully reached out for the knob. There was only a faint noise from the other side of the door like she was in a house and people were around but not nearby. She carefully twisted the knob, which turned easily in her hand and eased the door open a crack.
The sounds were slightly louder now like there was a television on somewhere. The hallway was pleasant, with a couple of paintings hung up and several more doors leading to the stairs. One door stood slightly open and revealed what seemed to be a linen closet, but the other door across from her was pushed closed, though unlatched. In the other direction, away from the stairs, there were three more doors, spaced out enough to make Faith think they were bedrooms similar to the one she had just left.
What to do? Where was Kaylee? Should she peek into the rooms up here or head for the stairs and try to sneak around near whoever was down there? Someone had put her in that bed and placed her things nearby, which meant that somebody was around, somewhere.
She crept into the hallway and was still pondering the mostly closed door when a shriek erupted from downstairs. Kaylee!
Faith dashed down the stairs, heedless of what she might run into and skidded around a corner, following the sound of the TV and where she thought Kaylee's voice had come from. When she cleared the doorway, she turned, ready to launch an attack of some kind at whoever was hurting her Kaylee-bee and stopped dead.
Kaylee was on her back, on a pile of sofa cushions, screaming again, but now that Faith was in the room, she could hear the laughter threaded through the shriek. A big, beefy guy– barefoot, but in a grey t-shirt and jeans– loomed over her small form, wiggling his fingers at her. A boy who looked about the same age as Kaylee, with the same sparkling brown eyes as the giant was clinging to the man's back and trying unsuccessfully to pull him back and away from Kaylee, who wasn't helping at all.
"Kaylee! You have to escape! The evil ticklebeast is going to catch you!" the boy shrieked. Kaylee giggled then squirmed off the top of the pile of pillows, grabbing one and whirling to smack the giant square in the head with it. The huge man, in turn, groaned dramatically, staggered on his knees, then fell sideways onto the pile of cushions, clutching his chest. Faith couldn't help noticing how careful he was not to crush either child as he fell.
"Nooooo!" he groaned at great length before collapsing and lying still.
"I think I got him! We win!" Kaylee crowed.
The boy cheered with her and danced around the giant, who was watching both kids from under his mostly closed lids. There was a distinct smile tugging at the corners of the giant's lips. Kaylee laughed again and spun around in her celebration dance, and when she turned, she saw Faith gaping at the scene from the doorway.
"Aunt Faith! You're awake!" Kaylee shrieked and launched herself at Faith who barely had time to brace herself before she was being wrapped up in an aggressive five-year-old's hug. "We were so worried! You fell over and then you didn't wake up even when Mr. Aldric carried you to his truck and then you slept the whole way here and I was so scared but then Jake and Mr. Marc were so nice and we watched Moana and then we made a couch fort and we were playing video games but then the giant ticklebeast attacked and we had to defeat him and protect our fort, and we beat him, but I think we didn't save the fort."
Kaylee's shoulders slumped at the end of her stream of words and she frowned at the pile of cushions on the floor that looked nothing at all like any kind of fort.
"Um..." Faith said.
The giant grinned at her and stood.
"Kaylee, why don't you and Jake clean up the couch stuff and I can fill your aunt in a bit. She just woke up and could probably use a cup of coffee and some explanations," the giant said. "We'll
