He was right there, once again haunting her dreams. Shifting in her sleep, an urge to draw away from his presence still lingered. She flinched, and squeezed the blanket in her fist. Still asleep, she could feel a sense of alarm rushing over her. Faye entered her dreams as a scream at first. Shayna fought to find her in dreams, only to suddenly jolt awake. Gun appearing in her hand as she reached over. Rushing out of the room, she ran to Faye's.

It had been years since Shayna had to kill her old man. A year since she buried the love of her life since then. Ever since it had just been Faye and her. Faye was a quiet child and always did as she was told. They were safe. That's what Shayna kept telling herself as she creeped through the dark house. Finding Faye's room, she could make out that the bed had been slept in, but she was no where to be seen.

Now the panic began to rise once more. It had been awhile since anyone had tried to take her daughter. Last time was her husband, but he was dead. Shayna had killed him to protect Faye. Keeping to herself, Shayna had tried to avoid making enemies. Keeping her head down in her line of work, and making money was all that she had time for outside of her daughter.

Faye.

Her heart.

Where was she? The windows were closed, so she hadn't snuck out. Suddenly there was a blood curdling scream and Shayna flew down the stairs just in time to see two people dragging her daughter into a car. Her eyes widened in horror as she shot a round into the tires. Her aim not so good with the distance.

"What the fuck?" She screamed.

Rushing upstairs, she quickly got dressed and immediately began scouting for the vehicle. In her line of work, getting the police involved was never a good idea. They always checked the wrong leads until it was too late.

Walking along the pier, Shayna followed along the river to a hiding spot that her and Faye had constructed when they first moved to the city. It had been a place that Faye could go to when Shayna was in trouble until she was home. Faye had begun to hang out a lot in the spot.

Her daughter had been becoming more independent. Exploring her world especially when Shayna was busy. Perhaps her daughter thought that she hadn't noticed, but she had. Spending late nights waiting for her daughter to sneak back in and go to bed. Every night, Shayna waited so she could check the locks and the windows. You could never be too careful.

Tonight, Faye hadn't been out though. She had hung out with Thomas after school before heading to the library and then back home. Stopping, just outside the hiding place, Shayna took a deep breath. Checking to see if anyone was around, she slipped through the trees and into their spot. Not much had changed since she last saw it.

There was an antique looking box.

"Well, Faye, what have you been up to, my heart?"

Taking the box, she sat on the ground and opened it carefully. In it were letters. A lot of letters. Letters she had never seen before. Peeling each one free from the box, she began to open them up.

Feeling bad for invading her daughter's privacy but knowing she needed to know what Faye was hiding from her.

Gathering her wits, Shayna began to read through the letters that had been stuffed in the box. Arranging the letters in order of date.

"Dearest Faye,
 
I saw you today with your mother. I am so heartbroken that she took you away from me. I will come for you both soon.

Love,
Dad."

Shayna gasped and clutched the letter. Taking the crumpled paper and smoothing it over as her thoughts ran. Her eyes scanned the next one.

"Little Bird,

Soon we will be reunited.

Dad."

The words made her shudder. Little Bird was the name her husband used for her right after he started abusing her. It was used so Shayna knew that she would always be stuck in a cage. But she had broken free and flew away. Why was he calling Faye that? When had she seen him or even started talking to him? Faye had always been intelligent, even when she was younger. She took to learning things fast.

Another note caught her attention. The writing was different.

"Test will be Saturday night, be prepared and at the park for 10 pm."

This was strange. Her daughter was still too young to be caught up in anything bad, right? But right in front of her something was happening. Tonight was Saturday but Faye hadn't gone anywhere. Shayna had checked on her after 10 hadn't she?

"Damn," She muttered.

Who were these people? That was her last clear thought as she headed towards the park. Maybe she could figure out what was supposed to happen.