Caitlyn hardly slept after dropping Cece and Devin off at their house. She laid awake at night, staring up at her ceiling as she waited for the moment Cece would call her saying something happened to Devin and he needed to go the hospital.

The boy had black liquid coming out of his eyes for crying out loud!

Cece never called and Caitlyn never got any sleep. When she had to get up for her shift at Gwendolyns, Caitlyn was tempted to call in sick, but apparently while she was anxiously waiting for a text from the Brewers, Caitlyn missed a message from CJ telling her he was calling in sick to play a new video game that had just come out and Caitlyn was now in charge of deliveries.

When Caitlyn finally got the restaurant, it was completely packed. She felt bad for Parker, who was now severing the entire restaurant alone, but pat of her was grateful she didn't get stuck in that chaos.

She was out on deliveries all day. Caitlyn hoped there would be a time she'd be nearby the Brewers so she could pop in and check on Devin, but she never got the time.

That was until the Brewers ordered for a delivery.

Caitlyn was practically bouncing on her toes in some weird mix of excitement and nerves as she waited inside the restaurant for the order to be ready. Luckily, it was her lunch break, so Caitlyn got to snack on a side of fries before she was back on the clock and would deliver the Brewers their food.

Today must've been her lucky day because that was the last delivery she had to do before she finished her shift. Before she left, Caitlyn grabbed an extra cookie, threw it into their bag, and headed out.

When she got to her block, Caitlyn dropped her purse off at her house before walking toward Devin's house. She knew Cece wasn't home and it was most likely just Devin and anthony home because Cece texted Caitlyn asking if she had stopped by or planned to.

Caitlyn sent a 0.5 of her with the bag of food "A. Brewer" written in big, messy letters on the paper bag and Cece responded almost immediately by hearting the image.

She walked up the steps of the home and knocked instead of ringing their Ring camera. She hated the stupid song that played when someone pressed its button.

It took about thirty seconds for the door to open and Caitlyn smiled at Devin standing in the doorway.

"Special delivery!" She sang and Devin smiled at the girl standing in front of him. He took a small step to the side, silently inviting her inside and his eyes stayed glued on her as she walked in.

"I thought CJ did the deliveries?" Devin asked as he closed the door and followed Caitlyn into the dining room.

She threw a smile over her shoulder as she set down the bag of food. "He does, but he called in sick today. There's some new video game he wanted to play so I took his shift. I was gonna stop by and check on you between deliveries, but I had no time." Caitlyn said before she reached into the Brewers bag of food and pulled out a cookie in parchment wrapping. "Got you a cookie on the house since I couldn't."

She placed the cookie gently down on the table and barely raised her head to look at Devin. Caitlyn raised her eyebrows as she watched Devin through her eyelashes. "You still like chocolate chip, right?" Caitlyn asked hesitantly, her hand slow to place the cookie onto the table,

Devin felt his cheeks start to burn and his lips start to curve into a smile. He used to love chocolate chip cookies—he still does. Back when he still lived in Gravesend, Caitlyn would constantly bake chocolates chip cookies and every time he went over to her house, Devin walked out of the home with at least four in his hands.

He shook his head and nervously shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked toward her. "You didn't have to do that..." Devin muttered and Caitlyn turned her whole body to face him.

"I know." She shrugged and pressed her hand against the table while she smiled up at Devin. "I wanted to."

Before Devin could reply—not that he had anything smooth to say after that—Caitlyn's eyebrows furrowed in concern and her head tilted. "How are you feeling?" She asked softly, her eyes moving up and down the boys body to check on him.

Devin sighed, throwing his hand out tiredly. "Horrible. I've been so bored, I've just been going through these old photos albums all da..." His words slowed as he slammed his hand down on one of the photo albums sitting on the table and his eyes landed on a face in one of the photographs staring back at him.

Devin's breath hitched and Caitlyn's eyebrows slowly started to draw together. "What? What's wrong?" She whispered quietly, looking up at Devin before she looked down at what his eyes were glued to.

She was met with a photo of a boy with blonde hair and a bright smile. Caitlyn didn't recognize him and she gently shook her head. As she looked back up to Devin, she saw the stunned look on his face–the wide eyes, his parted, trembling lip, and his just barely raised eyebrows.

"I saw him in there..." Devin whispered, his fingers gently tracing over the photograph.

Caitlyn's nose scrunched. Her eyes moved down to the photo of the blonde boy for a second before she looked back up at Devin.

"Who is that?" She whispered, but instead of answering, Devin ran out of the dining room.

"Dad!"

Caitlyn was quick to follow after Devin, just a few feet behind him when he reached the door to the basement.

"Dad? Come on, open up!" Devin screamed, shaking the door handle, hoping if he jiggled it around hard enough, the door would magically open.

"In a minute, Devin!" Anthony screamed, his words hardly audible from how far he was into the basement.

Devin ignored his dad's words, continuing to pound on the door and shake the door handle. "It's about Uncle Matty! Dad, I need to tell you something!" Devin screamed, his voice cracking for a second.

Caitlyn's eyes widened at Devin's words. He saw Matty—his dead uncle—in that place. Her stomach dropped as her eyes moved away from Devin and to the locked door.

"Dad! Please, it's important!" Devin cried out. Caitlyn's hands flexed by her sides and her eyes twitched at what she was about to do. She was literally fighting herself, practically shaking to force herself on the door.

"Move! I know the code!" Caitlyn yelled. She gently pushed Devin out of the way with her hip and started to type in the code as fast as she could.

It was the twins birthday. How have neither of them guessed it yet?!

Devin looked at Caitlyn with wide eyes. "How do you know the code?" He practically shrieked and Caitlyn stopped what she was doing to look back at Devin. She shook her head wildly then gestured to the basement door. "Assistant! Remember?" Caitlyn yelled, her voice at least two octaves higher than normal from all the panic radiating off of Devin and jumping into her.

The second Caitlyn turned back to the door, Devin suddenly felt a splitting headache hit him like a brick. His knees buckled beneath him and a scream ripped from his throat as his hands shot to his head, fingers digging into his scalp.

Caitlyn turned back around, completely forgetting about the task at hand—her entire focus zeroed in on Devin as he collapsed in front of her. "Devin?" She called, rushing toward him. She dropped to her knees, hesitantly reaching for his shoulder.

As soon as Caitlyn's hand touched him, Devin jumped back as if she had burned him. He looked up to the girl, his eyes wide and glossy before they squeezed shut in pain again.

"Out!" He screamed, his voice raw. He curled in on himself, his whole body shaking.

Caitlyn's pulse pounded in her ears. Her hands trembled as she hovered over him as she panicked about what to do.

Without much thought, Caitlyn grabbed Devin by the shoulders, pulled him up and let him put majority of his weight on her. His body sagged against her, his weight pressing into her as she threw an arm around him to keep him steady.

She started to lead him out of the house and Devin groaned, his head lolling against her shoulder. He shook his head, trying to catch his breath. "No... You have to get out!" He rasped. "Don't take me out with you! It's not safe!" Devin screamed through his groans of pain.

Caitlyn scoffed, adjusting her grip as they stumbled down the porch steps. "You're crazy if you think I'm leaving you alone like this!" She snapped under her breath as they reached the sidewalk.

Devin gritted his teeth, his breathing uneven. "Caitlyn—"

"We're going to my car. Betsy's right in my driveway," Caitlyn interrupted, already half dragging him toward her car.

Then, without warning, Devin was ripped from her grasp.

Caitlyn yelped as he hit the ground. She barely had time to process what happened when she noticed vines coming out from the open manhole about ten feet away from and Devin in the street, twisting unnaturally as they wrapped around Devin's ankles.

The vines tightened around Devin's legs and it suddenly started to drag him toward the manhole. Devin screamed, his hands scrambling around the pavement for something to hold on to, but his fingers only scraped against the asphalt.

"Caitlyn!" He screamed, pure terror in his voice and Caitlyn could've sworn her heart dropped to her toes as she lunged forward to try and grab onto him.

"Devin!" She yelled as her hands swiped at his, but she just kept missing him.

When he reached the manhole, Devin's body was yanked down, his legs disappearing first, then his waist. He grabbed hold of the edge of the manhole and held on as tight as he could to give Caitlyn time to get to him and help him out.

Caitlyn wheezed as she skidded to her knees at the edge of the manhole. She ignored the fact that she probably just scrapped up her knees since she was wearing a skirt and tried to focus on just Devin.

She grabbed onto his forearms with both hands and let out a drained huff. "I got you!" Caitlyn whispered, groaning at the vines fighting back to pull Devin in.

Devin's muscles trembled and he swallowed hard as he let go of the edge to wrap around Caitlyn's arms instead.

For a moment, Caitlyn thought she had him, but then the vines tightened and with a sudden yank, Devin was ripped from her grasp.

Devin screamed as he disappeared into the darkness below. Caitlyn's body froze, her hands still outstretched, fingers curled around nothing.

She wasn't thinking when she moved. She grabbed the edge of the manhole, cringing at the grimy metal under her fingers. Caitlyn hesitated for only a second—long enough for the stench wafting up from the sewer to reach her nose. She gagged, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this" She muttered under her breath and before she could talk herself out of it, she jumped down.

Her feet hit the ground with a splash, the cold water seeping into her shoes. Her stomach churned and she cringed, trying her hardest to hold her breath as she started to follow where the vines pulled Devin.

"Devin?" She called, her voice ringing through the tunnel.

A gasp echoed down the tunnel on her right and Caitlyn's eyes darted toward the sound, and her heart stopped. The vines had Devin pinned to the floor of the sewer, wrapped tight around his ankles and slowly crawling up his body. He clawed at them, breath ragged, but they wouldn't budge.

Caitlyn's eyes moved up, landing on the manhole cover hanging loosely on the edge of the hole. She had never climbed up a ladder so fast in her entire life. Caitlyn gripped the heavy cover and with a deep breath, she lifted it with all her strength, groaning at the weight of it. She did not think it would be that heavy.

Caitlyn stumbled, gripping the manhole cover tightly as she tried to move fast. She almost lost her balance a couple times, but she kept going.

When she finally got to Devin, the vines had wrapped themselves around his legs completely.

"Devin!" Caitlyn yelled and he lifted his head slightly, his eyes dazed. "Caitlyn!" Devin groaned, his voice strained from all the screaming he had been doing.

Caitlyn was breathing so heavily, she was shocked she hadn't knocked out yet. She adjusted her grip on the manhole cover and raised it high. With all the strength she had left, she slammed it down onto the vines.

The vines snapped about a foot away from Devin's ankles with a sickening crunch as the manhole edge cut them. Black liquid just like what came from Devin's eyes the night before oozed from their split ends and an ear-piercing screech filled the air.

Devin gasped as the tension around his legs relieved. Caitlyn didn't waste a second running toward Devin. She dropped to her knees beside him, and frantically tried to untangle the dead vines off his ankles.

"Hurry..." Devin groaned weakly and Caitlyn felt her heart in her throat. 

"I'm trying!" She whispered back in a panic, yanking the last one loose.

She hooked an arm under his shoulders and pulled him up. "You need to tell me everything." She muttered under her breath as Devin groaned, swaying slightly as he tried to stand on his own. His hands flew to his head as he winced at the pain.

His eyebrows furrowed and he blinked rapidly, looking around as if seeing the tunnel for the first time.

"How did I get here?" He whispered weakly.

Caitlyn stared at him, her heart still beating in her ears from the rush of adrenaline as she stared at him as if he had three heads. Because the way he said it and the blank, distant look in his eyes was like he didn't remember any of it.

emily speaks...
DUN DUN DUNNN *i play dramatically on the organ*