The stranger's smell was masculine. He was sweaty, but not because of him moving around. It seemed more like an… erotic agitation; and Lee could almost swear she could hear the man’s heart banging hard on his chest. 

She could also smell sex on him, but not female fluids, only masculine, and not all of it fresh. Maybe around a day old, but not older than that either.

Yes, they were close to the mystery man; but not that close... 

Her instincts were also pushing her to action, but not as much as the growing discomfort inside her, that a bit slightly more difficult to control. However, her well-polished abilities that nobody in town knew of; neither did Diwana nor Jack, kept her in calm control. 

These skills of hers, others would only get to know quite a long while later; when this story was told and retold.

“I’ll go ahead through the hall. I believe I can go all the way to the attic and hide there waiting for whoever it is… But, are you sure that person is not Diwana; who for some reason, just went back downstairs?” Jack whispered in the lowest volume that he could muster.

Because Leena didn't answer at once, he thought that his voice was so soft that not even the woman beside him could hear him. He was already considering speaking a bit louder and repeating the question, yet he got a response before he spoke.

“I'm completely sure that's not her. Diwana would not want anybody else to know we’re here so the kids don’t run away. She would not make that much noise; which means one hundred percent, that’s not Di. And, if you go through the hall, you might stumble onto him, alert him, make him run off; and then we will lose him. I need to know who this guy is." 

"Ok, so now what?"

"Let’s keep going slow and quiet. If he tries to go back, he was just a burglar who's probably looking for something he saw inside the house. But if not… well, we can get him at the end of the hall, where he can’t escape,” Leena whispered in a practiced clear and very low voice that Jack almost felt inside his head.

He was now wondering how she could be so crystal at such a soft volume. Admittedly, there were many things about this rich lady - who lived near the outer part of the forest right near Oro Villa Luna - that were currently surprising him intensely.

Before he could reply to his lady companion, a terrified female scream echoed around the house...

Followed by a very loud and clear door slamming shut! 

“What the hell?” both said in unison.

They rushed through the corridor, checking every room to see which door had just slammed shut.

Just then, Leena heard rattling and movement upstairs. She was pretty sure, based on the amount of noise and weight of the footsteps; that they corresponded easily to the three missing children's movements...

Meanwhile, the kids, who have just heard the noise right below them; including a scream that they could have sworn was Diwana’s, and then a door slamming shut. They looked at each other for a second.

“They found us,” Erica mumbled, freezing and looking at her two siblings as they stayed in the attic's shadows. 

“More than that, I think it was Diwana, and that scream… I think she’s in trouble,” Macky whispered, getting up and ready to run down the stairs to help her without much of a second thought.

.

“Wait!” His youngest sibling grabbed him by his arm as he was about to take a step. “What if she wants to take us back? We’ll be in a lot more trouble and more fights for her… Should we go back, brother?” 

His face was covered by the shadows as she looked up at him. His answer was not long but was very convincing: 

“If that happens, we will escape again, but Katya… Erica… If Di's in trouble and we do nothing…” Macky paused for a moment. “I refuse to lose more people that I care about!” he gritted.

The other two, who were now firmly convinced by him, now armed themselves with their flashlights… Of course, along with a few other “important” items on hand…

Erica took a metal bar that belonged to an old clothes hanger rack that belonged to her mother. Macky found his old baseball bat; while Katya grabbed a set of pointy keys that her mother used to keep, whenever she found one, because her mother couldn’t remember in their large house which key opened what. Oftentimes it was of no use, and some of the keys were rusty; but now it was going to be of good use. Katya placed the keys between her right-hand fingers and clenched her hand so tightly, that her knuckles looked white.

They looked like the back-up gang of the protagonist boy of "Home Alone" by the time they were done prepping.

“All ready?” Macky asked.

“Ready,” his sisters said in unison.

Right under them at that moment, Diwana was walking in the dark, like the kids and Leena had done, since her phone was already dead. She was very much okay with the dark anyway, unlike many other people who couldn't walk without any light.

For some reason that she didn’t completely understand, Di could “feel” her surroundings even when she couldn't use her eyes for one reason or another. 

She had looked for logical explanations before, thinking that it was a kind of bat’s vision, based on sound; which she could hear then see inside her head. The young wife wanted to think that this was a lot more common with others than she thought; but, just in case, she chose to never, ever talk about it with anyone.

“Damn you, Mason Wolf, we’ll talk about this when we get back home. Making the children go through something like this after all that they’ve experienced in the past weeks,” she angrily said to herself, distracted with her other senses since she could "see" with her mind. 

And then she heard "something" that she felt was standing too close to her. It made her go into instant alert mode.

She immediately turned towards the place where she heard the noise and saw a masculine figure standing right behind her. He was wearing a mask that fully covered his face. 

Unable to recognize him, she opened her eyes wide, trying to use her “usual” senses to see him fully. but there was not even a full moon that could give her vision any clarity.

Before she could say anything, the figure in front of her; who had frozen temporarily due to shock, or perhaps he didn't expect her to discover him so easily… or maybe because he thought she had recognized him… 

In the darkness… 

With a mask…

The “thief” was clearly not very bright.

Or maybe he was sliiiightly crazy.

“Oh, still playing games with me, huh?” he then said in a very low mumble that would make Diwana wonder who he really was, even years after this event.

Then, he grabbed her arm, pulled her inside the nearest room; which happened to be the deceased’s master's bedroom, and slammed the door shut.

Diwana noticed the cold, strong and rough hand on her soft, smooth skin; and she could feel her stomach instinctively twist at the contact. The surrogate mom then felt him pulling her inside a bedroom; and knew for sure this person was not helping her find the kids, and wasn’t there to steal...

Not material things, at least.

Her surprised and slightly terrified scream built up from her diaphragm and came out loud, powerful, and deafening; despite her distance from where this stranger was.

He evidently got angry and covered her mouth. 

With a clearly fake voice, he started talking.

“Why are you so mad to see me? You pretty much invited me here,” he squealed in a high nasal voice. “We can be friends now... INTIMATE friends.” 

He was hugging her firmly around her waist with his free arm, while he pulled her tightly against his body with his right hand. This unknown male was also hardened at a certain part of his anatomy, and she could feel it throbbing against her hip.

“I’m married, are you crazy? Why would I invite anyone to do anything to me?” she angrily mumbled through his sausage-y, thick, and short fingers.

“You tell me,” wheezed the man with the faked high-pitched voice. “You’re the one who likes to play these games. It’s funny that you mention your husband, because I am a firm believer that you’re interested in me; and not with him. Just admit it, my dear. We both know how much you want me, and I’m willing to give in to your wishes… at least for tonight.”