My eyes widened, because I knew: Wherever Sophie is, David isn't that far behind. I then felt a snowball hitting me, and I turned around.

"Hey, Alice, why'd you stop?" Patrick asked, brushing snow off his hands. He froze when he saw Sophie. "Is that..........i-is she.........." I nodded.

"What are you talking about, miss Alice?"

"Nothing!" I shook my head frantically. "Now, Sophie, where's Da----Where's your brother?" I tried to smile.

Patrick nudged me. "Brother?" He asked quietly.

"It seems that David has a little sister.........." I answered. He looked pained. It must be hard for him. His own brother treats him worse than a little girl. Sophie pointed at a pine tree not too far off. I hadn't noticed anything extraordinary about it until then, but.........then again......it's a tree, like all the others in the park. I studied it, trying to find any sign of life. Nothing......or.........that dark spot........is that a face? I looked closer. Yes, it was a face. A grinning face. He knew we'd seen him. I wanted to go there and just........I don't know...........knock him out of the tree, but I remembered the article. This person killed a boy. He killed his own friend, too. He.......I never stopped to think about it. It was so normal to see him and Sophie now, since they are getting a bit too close, that I never stopped to think whom else he might have killed.

"Discovered missing a week prior to his death"..............when? That was..........about a day or two after I started getting stalked! He's been keeping a kid in custody that whole time? That, or...............he was already dead. David could kill me if I went there, but right now, I honestly don't care. He killed people. He killed way too many people.................Before I knew what I was doing, I was already under that tree.

"Hey!" I shouted up into the tree. He was down in a second, right in front of me. He was brandishing that knife again, probably feeling confident, since there weren't that many people in the park. My confidence from before, on the other hand, had completely vanished. I don't know why, but I think it's that knife. It's one that's been used to kill people, even children. It's the one that......gave me these scars. That gave him those scars, too. I hate the fact that I am forced to have something in common with him.

"So, what did you want to tell me, little girl?" The nickname again.

"I-I...." I was at loss of words for a second, but I tried to recompose myself. "How could you kill a child?" I muttered quietly.

"Excuse me? Would you mind, perhaps, repeating that?" He asked. Mocking me, I'm sure of it. The anger from before returned.

"How....How dare you kill a child?" He cocked his head, a mocking grin on his face.

"He didn't want to play with us!" He said, sounding oddly like a child.

"Play? You expect a child to play with insanity?" I looked at the ground. "How.........how did they treat you at the asylum?"

"What?" he asked, confused. I looked back at him.

"You heard me. Answer my question."

His eyes darkened, and he looked angry at the memory. "They..........they didn't tolerate anything. They just......beat people. They experimented, too. That's how Cathy got here." Cathy. Cathy. There was something about Cathy, too......

"And one more thing." He grinned again.

"What? What else, little girl?"

"Why did you tell me that Dad was exchanged for Cathy?" I wanted to know. Did he have anything to do with my father? Did he do anything that contributed to my dad's death?

"Whatever do you mean? It's true!" He demanded.

"No, it's not. Me, and even Cathy, know that it's not true."

He sighed. "Well, then it maybe isn't true. I don't know who killed your father, Alice."

Liar. He was lying through his teeth. I just knew it. Nothing about him gave it away, but.........he just.......was. A little voice in my head was telling me he was. "Tell me the truth"

"How would you know I wasn't?" He mocked again. I froze. "A-a........a voice told me. A voice in my head." 'Hello, Alice.' Hearing voices.......only insane people do that. Only them.....not me. I grabbed my head, trying to shake away the voice.

David put a hand on my shoulder and grinned. "Prepare yourself, Alice. Voices are only the first step to joining us."