Kaitlin walked back to the house, not really thinking about where she was going,and found herself lying down on her bed. Then she remembered what her aunt had said about her family and the events of the day overwhelmed her. She threw herself face-down on her bed and cried. She fell asleep with tear tracks down her face. Completely exhausted, she didn't see the shadow creep across the room, nor did she feel the soft touch of a hand on her cheek, and did not see the clear blue eyes that stared sadly down at her like chips of ice.

When Kaitlin awoke the next morning, Aunt Liza opened the door and peeked in.

"Kaitln? I know you must be very tired and sad, but would you like to come out with me today? I realize it might be a bit early, but I think it might cheer you up."

Kaitlin looked at her aunt.

"No I would not like to see Michael today, Aunt Liza."

Aunt Liza covered her mouth with her hand.

"But how-"

"It's obvious you want Michael to cheer me up. It's just like you. But no thank you."

"All right, dear. You have a good day. I'll be out until lunchtime."

"Goodbye, Aunt."

As soon as Kaitlin heard the carriage clattering down the path, she got up and put on a light dress and a cloak. She climbed out the window and fell lightly down onto the ground below. Running out to the forest, she entered it and began looking for the boy with the ice eyes. She asked a willow if she knew where the boy was, but the tree didn't know. She then asked a tall, thick oak, and he said to look for the "Wilting Weeping Willow."

She had no idea what that was, but looked for it anyway. She came to a creek and looked along the bank, it seemed that no trees grew along it, execpt for one, and you would think that a tree that lived by water would be flourishing, but this particular willow seemed to droop even lower than a normal weeping willow would. It's leaves were limp and wilted, some brown and dry, and the branches drooped tiredly. She assumed this was the tree the oak had spoken of, and went up to it. Touching it, she spoke a few words to it, but it didn't respond. Suddenly, the creek water shot up in a spout, and a woman stepped out of it. Kaitlin hid, and as soon as the woman walked away, Kaitlin dove at the spout, reaching it just before it began to disappear into the creek. She was whirled around in the cold flow and landed on her feet in a cavern somewhere below the creekbed. She looked up and saw the water flowing overhead, held up by glass and illuminating the cavern with a bluish light. She turned and saw the boy with the ice eyes, suspended in an alclove by the roots of the weeping willow above. He was hanging limp with his eyes closed. She tried to free him of the tree roots, but they cut into his arms, so she stopped for fear she was hurting him. But he made no response. He didn't even seem to be breathing. She heard a sound like rushing wind and turned. The water was again forming into a spout. Kaitlin dashed behind a huge metal tank and held her breath. She heard the clicking of footsteps, and a rustling noise. Then there was a grunt, followed by heavy breathing. Then the voice of the woman from the woods the night before.

"Your little 'time out' hasn't seemed to change your attitude. We'll fix that soon."

Then more footsteps and a dragging sound. There was another grunt and a clanking noise followed by a faint humming noise. The tank she was hiding behind began to whir and click. She fell backwards onto her back with surprise. Moving quickly, she found another hiding spot where there was a better view. She peeked out and saw lots of machinery. The woman from the woods was turning knobs and pushing buttons.

"You know, you make a good test subject for all this machinery. It's good to know if it works, so that when the time comes, I can use it on the girl."

Kaitlin stifled a gasp with the back of her hand. She heard more humming and whirring and saw a platform moving slowly upward. It stopped about three feet off the ground and Kaitlin saw the boy locked to it with manacles.

"This particular machine runs on light energy that can only be gathered if filtered through flowing water. The creek above makes it a perfect place for my experiment. This machine wil..."

Kaitlin didn't wait to hear anymore. She ran to the spout and was shot up. She raced off with the woman's shouts of rage following her. She hurried back to her aunt's house and collapsed on her bed. An hour later, her aunt came home and peeked in on Kaitlin.

"Are you alright, Kaitlin? Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you Aunt."

"Alright. I'll be back in an hour to check on you."

Kaitlin nodded wordlessly. Her aunt left the room and closed the door. Kaitlin turned toward the window.

"Go ahead. I won't be here."

She got up and leapt through the window.