Hey, another update!! Thank you all for the reveiws. I hope you enjoy Chapter 4.

Kara stared up at the large GMC Topkick. How did Will expect her to get in this thing? She couldn’t even reach to open the door. The young woman sighed and put her niece down on the ground.

“Where’s the ladder?” she asked herself as she looked around for a way to get into the truck. She had planned on going into town, possibly stopping by the park for Annabelle to wonder around in and then find the nearest grocery store to buy some food. That was, if she could get into the truck first.

The young woman turned around and walked over to the shed that was next to the house. Annabelle just sat in the grass looking up at the enormous vehicle in front of her. As Kara was looking around the shed, she heard Annabelle giggle. Turning around, she noticed the truck door was opened and a small step ladder hung over the edge. The young woman looked at the giggling toddler sitting in the grass.

Kara walked over to the child. Picking her up so that the child was eye level with her aunt, “What did you do?” she asked the smiling toddler. Looking down, Kara noticed the keys on the ground where Annabelle was.

“Great, my niece is smarter than me. I can see the headlines now ‘1 Year Old Toddler Smarter than Her 19 Year Old Aunt’,” the young woman mumbled as she placed the toddler into the car seat in the back of the truck. Once ready, Kara got into the front seat and started the vehicle.

Once they were on the main road, Kara decided to pop in a CD. She hoped it was one that Annabelle would like. The song started:

You gotta wiggle like a fish

Slither like a snake

Turn yourself around

Do what it takes!

Wiggle like a fish

Kara laughed, seeing the toddler in the back smiling and clapping her hands to the song. The moment was cut short when the CD was spit out. The young woman picked it up and placed it in again only for it to be spit back out.

She sighed, “This was one of my favorite songs too,” she said as she turned on the radio.

Ironhide was thankful to get rid of that so called music. It was the worst thing that he had ever heard. He remained silent as he let the young woman drive down the road.

Kara made it into town with no trouble and found the nearest park. The young woman took her niece from the car seat and placed her on the ground. Annabelle stayed by her aunt’s side. This was a completely different environment to the child and it made her uncomfortable. Kara picked up her niece and walked over to one of the swings. She placed her on one of the seats and gently pushed her back and forth. After a moment, Annabelle laughed with glee.

They only stayed for about an hour. The young woman noticed grey clouds rolling in. Kara grabbed her niece and placed her back in the truck. She drove to the store just a few blocks away. When they were finished, Kara loaded all of the food into the back. They made it back to the house just in time just as the rain poured down.

Luckily, Annabelle fell asleep on the way home. Kara carried the sleeping toddler upstairs and into her room. The young woman quickly ran back outside to get the food inside. After unpacking everything, Kara walked into the family room and turned on the TV.

“We are expecting a large thunder storm to come through tonight…” a news reporter said.

Kara rolled her eyes. That was obvious. She could hear the crack of thunder outside, the wind howling as it hit the side of the house and the pouring rain outside. She also noticed the flashes of lightening every once in awhile. Kara laid back on the couch and shut her eyes. It had been a long day. She only had three more days until Will and Sara came back.

What seemed like minutes must’ve been hours as the young woman suddenly jumped up, the sound of thunder outside had startled her. She searched for the clock on the wall. It was almost Midnight.

Turning off the TV, Kara walked upstairs to her room. She stopped short when she heard footsteps. Remaining completely still, the young woman looked around in the dark house. She thought she saw a shadow as the lightening flashed outside. Her heart stopped. Someone was in Annabelle’s room.

Kara grabbed the closest thing that she could find, which was a small, but heavy statue on a table near her room. The young woman crept over to her niece’s room and slowly opened the door. There, right by her crib, was the shadowy figure of a man looking down at the sleeping child. He raised his arm, and Kara noticed a sharp object in his hand. Without thinking, the young woman ran inside and with all her might, smashed the small statue against the man’s head.

The shadowy figure slumped to the floor, dropping the knife that was in his hand. Kara quickly grabbed Annabelle and ran out of the room. She had never been more scared in her life. The young woman ran into the kitchen and grabbed the phone. She tried to dial, but there seemed to be an outage. Kara didn’t know what to do. There was a dangerous man inside the house, and a massive storm on the outside.

“You bitch,” A voice said, “You’re going to pay for that.”

Kara backed away, she knew that voice, it was Marcus. The man slowly made his way towards the girl, the knife in his hand once again.

“Marcus, she didn’t do anything to you. She’s not even my daughter, she’s my niece,” Kara said, tears rolling down her face. She thought that her heart was going to burst out of her chest any moment.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens was heard coming up the road. Marcus turned to the girl, “You did this. Don’t you understand? If I can’t have you Kara, then no one can!” he yelled as he lunged at the girl.

The young woman screamed and tried to move out of the way, but she was trapped between him and the counter behind her. She shut her eyes. She thought that this would be the end, but nothing came.

Kara risked the chance to open her eyes. What she saw was the outline of a tall muscular man holding onto Marcus. She looked closely, it was Ironhide. Lightening flashed outside, and Kara thought that for a moment, his bright blue eyes were glowing out of anger. The door suddenly burst open and two men ran in.

“Freeze!” one of them yelled as he pointed his gun at the young man. Ironhide threw the young man to the floor as the officer put handcuffs on the struggling man. Kara hadn’t moved once. She just watched as Marcus was dragged away by the officer. Ironhide walked over to the girl. She didn’t even look up, and he could tell that she was shaking uncontrollably. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Kara, it’s alright,” he said softly. Kara looked up, tears streaming from her brown eyes. Without knowing what she was doing, she threw her one free arm around the large man and cried into his chest.

The second man noticed this and walked over, taking a crying Annabelle from her aunt. This man seemed to be in his forties, he had light brown hair with some grey on the sides. He also had the same blue eyes as Ironhide. He took the child into the living room, to make sure that she was alright.

The young woman continued crying as the large man wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her. His spark ached seeing her like this, but he didn’t know why. The young woman continued to hold onto him.

“Kara, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m not going let anything happen to you,” he said softly, trying to comfort the woman. Kara didn’t know why, but she felt safe with him around.

Please don't ask about the song. I worked in a preschool and always listened to this song. Also, I want to thank Hurricane Hannah. She was the one who gave me the idea for this chapter.