Chapter 1: Unexpected
My mom was up early,
getting ready for work. As she came out
of the bathroom, I asked; “Mom, Tye and Jason will be over pretty soon to fix
the window. Is it ok if I ask Tye over
for dinner? I’m thinking about cooking;
but I don’t know if that’s really a good idea.”
My mom
laughed. It was good to hear her laugh
after all we’d been through. Maybe her
own need to relieve stress was part of the reason she laughed so hard.
“Sure, invite him
over.” she said with a big understanding grin.
“Tell you what, how-bout you and I make dinner together. What about everybody else?”
“Thanks mom, making
dinner together is probably a good idea.
I’m going to call Amanda in a bit.
Maybe I’ll ask; but Jason’s really hoping they can get the Coaliers over
for dinner, at their house tonight.
Amanda and Jason don’t know how Stephanie’s going to react to
everything. They’re worried she won’t
allow them to see each other for a long time.
We’ll see.”
“What about Bekah
and her mom, and, uh… uh... Pierre?”
Almost shuddering
at the thought, I responded, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea mom. She hated me before all this happened and I
think it’s a lot worse now. Maybe someday,
but not tonight.”
“Well, maybe that’s
something you and I can talk about too some time. Are you going to be ok? Looks like you’re going to need some
clothes. When are you going to take care
of that? You’ll probably need some
money. When are you going back to
school?”
“I need to get back
tomorrow. Some of us are going shopping
today. We’re all going to try to get
clothes that deemphasize the physical changes we’ve all had. Tye gave me some money… you’re in a hurry so
I’ll explain that to you later too.”
“Well, ok, I will
want to hear about that, AND a few other things! I’ll be back just after five. … I’ll pick up
a few things on the way home and we can talk about everything while we’re
making dinner.”
Her last statement
sounded more like a directive than just a simple comment. I could hear my dad getting T.J. up and knew
they’d be downstairs soon so I made a quick breakfast while they all finished
showering and dressing. After my mom
left and then my dad left with T.J., I decided it was late enough for me to
call Amanda. I wanted to know how she,
and her mom were doing, and plan for our afternoon shopping trip.
The phone rang just
a couple times before Stephanie answered.
I asked how she was, and after a silent pause asked if I could speak to
Amanda. Stephanie tersely
responded. “She can’t speak to you.” and
just hung up. My heart sunk and I sank
into sobs in the chair.
When my dad got
home, I was still sobbing. A lot of it
was worrying about Stephanie and Amanda.
I was so worried about Stephanie’s reaction. I couldn’t bring myself to believe that Amanda
wouldn’t talk to me. Even in the past
when I had deserved her anger, she always forgave and loved me, and I, even
with all my insecurities, was sure she still loved me. I guess part of it was just everything
finally piling up and pouring out emotionally.
This was my first real-good cry since Jason, and I followed the others
through the portal. It was probably
due. I was also expecting Tye and Jason
before now and the wait was making me even more nervous.
I don’t know how
long I cried before my dad came home. He
just sat down and held me. It had been a
long time since I had let myself sink into my daddy’s arms like that. He just sat there, stroked my hair, and
kissed my head. Didn’t say a word. At that moment, he was the perfect father.
After I finally
started to regain some control, all I did was wipe my face with my long sleeves
and say, “thanks dad!”
“No problem honey,
that’s what I’m here for.” I realized at
that moment, except for the time I left, my dad had always been there
for me. He didn’t always understand, and
sometimes we hadn’t gotten along so great; but he had always been there. Both of us stood up as I was still wiping my
tears and I reached to give my dad a big, long hug.
Within just a
second or two, we could hear a knock at the door. I wanted to run to answer; but didn’t want my
dad to feel like I was just tossing him aside.
He must have read my face because he just said; “it’s ok honey, go get
the door,” as he motioned his head towards the front of the house.
As soon as I opened
the door for Tye and Jason, asking them to come in as brightly as I could muster,
which from the looks on both their faces wasn’t very cheerful at all, I closed
the door then threw my arms around Tye and started crying again.
I could hear Jason say,
“no worries, you just do what you two need to, and I’ll get started,” as he
walked towards my bedroom with an armload of supplies.
“I can help you
with that,” said my dad as he followed Jason towards my room.
“Are you sure? I can do it; we’re the ones who broke it.”
“Sure, I’m sure, besides,
I might learn something,” replied my dad with some eagerness. In-spite of my original apprehension over my
dad’s remodeling of the house, I learned he really loved working with his hands
and seeing the physical results of something he had repaired or created. Since we moved to Logan, he must have checked
out dozens of how to books
from the library, meticulously studying each one. Now it was all coming together, which really
made him happy.
“We’ve already done
some of the prep outside. We were
surprised Anna didn’t hear us and come out;” said Jason as they walked into the
den and out of sight. Obviously either
my sobs were too loud and/or me and my dad were too absorbed to notice.
Tye gently kissed
me on my forehead as I cried. I
immediately felt a calming warmth flow through my body. Somehow, through all our trials,
difficulties, and even the near-death experiences we had passed through
together, we had kind-of melded together.
Maybe, because of those things. I
felt his strength and calmness pouring into me and I knew he deeply felt my
pain.
We both started
walking to the couch in the middle of the room and sat down together. After a while he looked deep into my eyes and
said, “I can guess a thousand good reasons why you might be crying. Do you want to tell me what finally opened
the faucet to let all these tears out?”
After a long but
comfortable silence, as I collected my words, and better control of my emotions
I responded, “It’s probably all of those thousand reasons: but mostly it’s
Amanda, or really Stephanie…. I called
this morning and Stephanie was pretty-mad.
Wouldn’t let me talk and just hung up.
I hope everything is OK for Amanda.
Having Stephanie so mad isn’t good.
Has Jason been able to talk to her?”
“Not this morning,
but Beth has. Amanda and her parents are
going over to the Teeples for dinner tonight. …
Don’t worry about Amanda.
Stephanie needs to work through a lot.
From what you and Amanda have told me, Stephanie can be pretty
histrionic, and this time she has good reason to be. She almost lost her daughter. AND… who could possibly believe our story??? Just give it some time. I know the Teeples, they can be very
comforting. I remember my parents being
pretty hysterical one time and after a couple hours of ‘adult time’ in the Teeples living room, while we kids played in the
family room, my parents stress level just seemed to melt away, at least for the
moment. It’s one of the strongest
memories of my childhood. I’m pretty
sure it happened soon after my mom was diagnosed, but before I knew what was
going on. It was pretty scary seeing my
parents falling apart, and not knowing why.”
Tye kissed me again
on the forehead and I felt more warm, calming assurance from his words.
“I was going to ask
you over to dinner tonight. Have you
already made plans with the Teeples?”
“I’d love to
come. Do you want me to bring
anything? What time do you want me?”
“Right now, and
forever,” I responded immediately with a huge smile.
Tye grinned and
then said, “I mean tonight.”
“How about
6:30? My mom and I, are making dinner
and I know she has a lot of questions she wants to ask in private.”
“Then 6:30 it is. …
I’ve got some things I need to talk to you about too and I’m hoping we
can talk privately before we go shopping.
Right now, I think I should go help Jason and your dad with the window
and patching before they get it all done.
Besides, it’ll be a good way to start to get to know your dad.”
Tye leaned over and
we tenderly, momentarily, kissed before he left to help with the window. I could hear them working, talking, and even
laughing together. I could not have
possibly realized what a wonderful feeling it could be to hear my father, who I
loved, and the young man I loved, working and laughing together. After about half an hour, Tye came back to
the kitchen where I had gone to start preparing some things for dinner.
“Your dad and Jason
are both driving over to the lumber and hardware store for, as your dad said; ‘a
little man time’. Jason’s going to
help your dad get a few things for another project here on the house. Jason knows a lot more about that kind of
stuff than I do. Jason called Beth and
Amanda before he left. After he and your
dad are done at the store, Jason’s going home to get Beth then Amanda and the
three of them will go shopping, then back over to the Teeples for dinner. Serge and Stephanie will meet them
there. You’ll be happy to know that
everything’s fine between you and Amanda.
Stephanie just doesn’t want her to ever speak with you again.” Tye said
with a slight grin, then added; “but Amanda assured Jason it will pass and even
if it doesn’t, you’re still best friends forever and she’ll be speaking with
you every chance she gets… Do you mind if just you and I go shopping in a
bit? Jason will drop us off and we can
walk back.” “Sure, I’ll miss seeing
Amanda and Beth, but the one on one with you will be great.”
Tye then walked closer
to me, kissing me on the cheek, then stroking his finger down the front of my
nose and asked; “Do you feel up to a pretty serious talk? It may even be pretty upsetting.”
“If you put it that
way, I guess I have to be. If you don’t
tell me, I’ll just obsess, and my obsessions are probably worse than what
you’ve got to say.”
“I don’t know,
maybe not;” responded Tye with a dreadfully somber look on his face. “Let’s go in the den and have a seat.”
Tye and I sit down
on the joining ends of each of the two couches.
Tye held out his right hand and I took it with my left as he began to
talk.
“There’s a lot I’ve
got to talk to you about. Something’s
changed history. At first I didn’t think
it would be a big deal.”
Tye paused and just
looked straight forward as I finished his thought. “But now you’re worried.”
“Yes, now I’m
worried. I’m worried about everyone who
went through the portal, and your families.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for one
thing, you and your family were the only ones who were supposed to go through
the portal. I know that from
history. Creates quite a sensation. Three different families disappear from the
same house. Lots of speculation. A couple movies even.”
“Wow, that’s kind
of exciting? Who played me?” I asked
with just a little wry humor in my voice.
“Don’t get too
excited, I watched them both and neither was very good. One of them had the house haunted and the
other had all of us abducted by aliens.
They were pretty stupid. … And, neither of the girls that played
you were anywhere near as beautiful.”
Tye added that last part with a wink and a squeeze. “The other big thing that changed was Sue and
Bekah. Sid didn’t go to your place, but
he found and killed both of them. I have
no idea how that piece changed, but it did.
Maybe it’s my fault because of something I said to you that one morning. If it’s my fault, I’m so, so, sorry and I owe
you all a debt I don’t know how to repay.”
“Well, Tye,” I
responded, “Bekah went through hell, but she and Sue and still alive, and she
has Pierre. Jason and Amanda, even
though they were apart most of the time, and had more near-death experiences
than most around here do in a lifetime… but they came out stronger and
closer. Beth even told me before we came
back that she wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Maybe no “B” movies, but I got you. I think we did OK.” “I’m
glad you think that way, really hope the others do too,” added Tye.
“Well, as I was
telling you, in the history I knew,” Tye continued, “a few months after Sue and
Bekah were killed, the police got a tip where to find Sid, AND incontrovertible
evidence he was their killer. He was in
an old sleazy hotel in Denver. Somehow,
he was very well armed and put up quite a fight. He was killed in the ensuing gun fight. My dad and I always believed it was a little
too convenient.
In the original
history I knew, your family disappeared soon after Sid was killed. I believe, that had you and your family not disappeared,
they would have found a way for both you and Amanda to have had an accident. But, with all the media hype from your disappearance,
it became too toxic, and I believe they decided to just let it alone and hope
nothing pointed back to them.”
“THEM? THEY?, who are you talking about?”
“That’s a long
story; but I’ll give you a short summary.
Ever since I realized I needed to tell you about them, I’ve been
thinking about how to say it without drawing it out forever or making it too
boring. If it sounds rehearsed, it
is. It really started during the cold
war, a group of extremely wealthy individuals and powerful organizations and
agencies, created a syndicate whose primary purpose was to undermine Western
civilization, especially the United States.
It wasn’t a hierarchical organization with one head, but more of a
committee with a unified goal. Part of
the organization made billions of dollars manipulating currency, eventually
undermining the US currency. They even
get U.S. taxpayers to fund them through various organizations… crazy and
corrupt really. Right now, according to
my research, and I may be wrong because it was so shrouded in mystery; but I
believe The Syndicate, which is sometimes called The Foundation, is now primarily
controlled by some very wealthy Eastern Europeans, an organization from China,
and some minor players, to include Iran.
The main North American office is in Montreal.”
“Their goal is the
erosion of US power around the world, the destruction of Western Civilization as
you know it, and the extension of their own power and influence.”
“Are they trying to
take over the United States?”
“From what I
understand of history, their goal is more to fragment, divide, and control, not
total-destruction. My mom would say
their goal is to enslave and control.
They know a complete destruction of the western world would cause so
much global chaos that it might not be profitable for them. Their goal is to make sure the United States is
no longer a super-power and make all Western Countries dependent on their
organization. Using all kinds of disinformation,
they manipulate data, the history you read, and even science. It’s not that they always make stuff up, but
they are masters of the half-truth and misinformation. Like so many in your days, they are absolute
masters of prevarication.”
“I know Carl was really into environmentalism, does this have anything
to do with climate change? …… And you can tell me what prevarication means
later.”
“The climate’s always changing and there are thousands of reasons
why. It will get a lot worse too, but
not for the reasons a lot in this time think… but there are things coming, much
worse than the weather and climate change.
It will be one of the worst times in the history of the world. But there will be a lot of good too. Good people will step up, speak out, and do
amazing things. The Foundation is a part
of the chaos that ensues, but they don’t come out on top in the end. They fund a lot of organizations and
institutions through back doors and muddy channels. The problem though is how out of control it
gets, even for them. Both Sid and Carl
were a part of one of the extremist groups that as you know, got at least one
person killed, perhaps more. The
problem that I believe got Sid killed was… he got sloppy, and he knew too much. He helped funnel some of the money from The
Syndicate to his group and he became a liability after he killed Charlie and
you handed over the information Charlie sent.
I think they got him out of jail to get rid of him. Too many questions might arise if he was
killed in jail, but they do that sort of thing too. It would have been pretty hard to get away
with that in Logan. I expect The Syndicate
feared that Carl knew too much too, and perhaps even Sue. I think Bekah just got caught in the middle,
in the history I knew, and they just wanted to make sure Sid’s mess was cleaned
up. Oh, and sorry, prevarication means deceitful
or dishonest.”
“Do you think
they’ll still try to kill Sue and Bekah?” I asked. “I don’t know, maybe you and Amanda too. They can’t be sure you don’t have more
information than you told the police.
They won’t do anything until they return to Montreal, present what they
have, and get new orders. When we were
all outside together, there was a vehicle down the street with two men. I noticed Mrs. Pearson with two pugs watching
them then walking to tell a neighbor. I
remember Mrs. Pearson being really odd, but I like her. My mom adores her. Anyway, these two men were watching and
taking pictures of us. I’m pretty sure they
were from The Syndicate, and they have software in Montreal they can use to get
a pretty good idea who I am. THAT would
be bad for all of you. I’m sure they
have pictures of you and Bekah too from just before you went through. When they compare with their software, they
will have questions. Maybe not many
answers, but they’ll have more questions, which will make them even more
dangerous.”
Starting to tremble
just a little, I asked. “What are we
going to do?”
With the most-stern
look I’ve ever seen from Tye, he looked me in straight in the eye and said,
almost shaking; “I’m sorry, I know this is going to be really hard; but this
time Anna, we’re not going to do anything. This isn’t like when you insisted on coming
with Jason, Bobby, and me, and a group of Shoshoni out looking for Bekah, this
is actually a lot more dangerous. If
something goes wrong and you’re with me, it will put you and your family
and maybe everyone else in even more danger.
Even if you just disappear, it could put your family at risk. I can create a false death record and
accident for Sid. That will draw them
off; but the best thing, and I know this will be really hard for you; but you
need to just sit tight and go back to school.
You, Beth, Jason, Amanda, and Bekah, as much as possible, need to make
everything appear normal here.”
“B, but!” I
interjected.
“No buts!” Tye
quickly cut me off. “I’m going to see if
Pierre will go with me. My French isn’t
very good, and I think he could be helpful.
I’m sure he’ll be glad to help if it might save Bekah and Sue. Have you noticed how much his English has
improved, in just the last month? He’s
really quite intelligent.”
“Yeah, his English
is a lot better; but won’t his French stand out. You said he speaks a very old dialect.”
“Shouldn’t be a
problem. There are parts of Canada that
still speak French pretty much the same way it was spoken hundreds of years
ago. It will be noticeable, but people
won’t think much about it except that he’s a hick and that might even be to our
advantage.”
“If it’s so
dangerous, why should I let you go?”
“They’ll have no
idea who either Pierre or I am if we can get there before the two here get back
with their film, and if all of you stick around and act normal, the two here
will probably just watch and take more pictures while they investigate Sid’s
fake death. Their computer system is
completely secure and not on the internet.
They will not do any comparing until they get back, and they won’t send
any pictures over the internet. That’s
what I’m hoping for and what I understand about them. BUT we, all of us, REALLY need everyone to act
as normal as possible... Pierre and I
have a better chance of going unnoticed if we go alone. We have a better chance of fixing this and
getting the two here called off, with Sid’s death and everything else just
looking as normal as possible.”
“So, what, do you
really think they have pictures of me from before? Do you really think they were watching before
we went through?” I asked.
“Really! They just
might. They may have pictures of you
from before you went through the portal, and when they share the pictures with
their superiors in Montreal, they will be compared. They were probably watching Sid watch you. I have no doubt they were watching Carl, Sue,
and Bekah.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m sure they are desperate
to find Sid. Their superiors will NOT be
happy with them if they don’t find him…
But if they create any kind of mess here, their superiors will be even
less happy. That is yours and everyone
else’s biggest protection. When I create
a death for Sid, they will relax and likely return to Montreal with the
information they have, and to get instructions.
I need to do it in a way that will pull them away from here but give
them something to look into for a while.
Tomorrow, I’ll find myself a place to live, get a car and a few
things, and tell the Teeples I’m going to do some traveling. After tonight, you probably won’t see me
again before we get back.
Don’t worry about
it, if I need to, and I expect I will, I can change the data they have in their
computer in Montreal and they won’t have any reason to watch your family or
anyone else here. Hacking their computer
system in Montreal and the computers it’s connected to in Europe and Asia will
be easy. Getting into their secure
office will be a little trickier. Faking
a record for Sid’s death hundreds of miles from here will be easy too.”
“What about the
police? Can’t they help us?”
“Not with this;
besides, how could we explain what we know?
I’m sure it would get Sue fired, and there may be someone in Law
Enforcement with lose lips, maybe not on purpose, but still lose enough to
cause problems. These people are well
connected, even in The Federal Government.
I need more information, and Pierre and I can get it in Montreal. I need to find out if and what we need to
fix. They will then just pull their
people out of here, knowing that you guys just aren’t worth their efforts, or that
you would cause more trouble than you’re worth.
If I must, I know enough about them to make it worth their while to get
away and stay away. That could get messy,
so I hope we don’t have to go there.
After that, I hope you and I can get married and spend the rest of our
lives together in peace.”
“What do you want
me to do?”
“Well, right now, I
know Bekah hates you. I know she’s going
to need someone, but you or Amanda getting closer may just make things more
dangerous for all of you. I hope you can
all at least appear relaxed and normal.
I don’t think it will take long in Montreal. They have no idea I’m coming or that I know
how to hack their computers. Everyone
knows not to say anything to anyone but their parents, and Amanda knows to keep
it minimal for hers, for now at least.”
“Yeah, I agree
about Bekah, me and Amanda. Beth tried
to talk to Bekah a few times after we found her and Pierre. Maybe Beth will be able to get through to
her. I know she’ll try without even
saying anything. Do you think that would
be OK?”
“Yes, I think so.”
There was a long
pause as Tye and I both thought about the situation. After quite a few minutes, a realization came
over me. I sat up and am sure my eyes
bugged out as I asked with about as much excitement as the situation could
possibly allow without screaming...
Looking at Tye and squeezing his hand as tight as I could, turning my
head, I asked: “Did you just propose to me???”
Looking deep into
my eyes, Tye responded with the slightest grin. “I guess I did; but we still
need some normal time. I’ll do it
better when things get settled a little and when you and everyone else are out
of danger.”
Taking his right
hand with my left and pulling him towards me, I gently but briefly pressed my
lips against his and said, “and I’ll do that better when you do a better
job of proposing.”
