shadow

as i entered the auditorium my past and present was before me.
there were people i had known in the past who had passed on,
people that i knew today, and characters out of my imagination
were present, also guides that i had forgotten about smiled and
intuited  loving kindness.

johnny was holding my hand and the usher gave us each a ticket.
i glanced at my ticket it said one way,  i looked at johnny and i
saw that his was stamped round trip.  i wasn't afraid but puzzled.
johnny was happy and i didn't tell him the difference in the tickets.

when we finally were let in we found front row seats.
the curtains were waterfalls and the future was a dark cave.
we were handed flashlights and told to prepare for an
adventure.

the music started to play and the orchestra came into full
view.  it was mickey mouse on drums , cinderella on guitar and alice of wonderland
playing the piano.   other disney characters held different stringed musical instruments
in their hands..

then we were invited on to the stage  i morphed into a six foot waitress
dressed in a black and white uniform, with sheer nylons and three inch black pumps.

A black and white cow was forming on my back until the waitress disappeared and i
was the only cow in a cool green meadow.   Suddenly a 12 foot jolly green giant
appeared and started laughing and throwing yellow corn in the air that it rained down
all around me.  they were like golden nuggets.   he laughed so loud that the cow started
to dance. The orchestras music turned into a frenzy and then everyone in
the theater started dancing.  johnny wasn't in the meatdow with me but was watching on
the sideline looking at the whole thing as if he was amused.  he was smiling,laughing and
clapping his hands..  he seemed at home and there were people singing with him.

soon the music died down and the cow disappeared  and i appeared naked,
kneeling with my hands touching the earth.  i raised my head and johnny came into the meadow
handed me my flashlight and took my hand we entered the cave using our lights to find our way.

at the end of the cave was a town nestled among the trees.  we stood there looking at it and made out way down.  We were greeted by the residents who looked familiar and accepted us into an opening
which was made for us and made our way to our new life

Johnny looked at me and opened the palm of his hand.   he held the two ticket stubs in his hand.  understanding in his eyes.  he knew what i knew and it was all for the better.

 

chapter sixteen - Amma Madison

chapter fifteen

As the car sped into the night Cameron went
over in his mind the events of the last few days.

It was a lot to take in.

He remembered what  he had read in the file about Hannah.

The fact that she had special abilities that would start to take
shape when she reached her twelfth birthday.  The file said Hannah's
birthday was a month away.   it was the middle of June when he
read the file.  now it was july 1st.  Hannah would be 12 in two weeks. 

At the time he didn't understand what he read.  Hannah was
a descendant of the light bearers.  She could shape shift. That
was what the file said.  Her senses would be heightened and her
strengths would become evident under normal human stress.
There also had been an address 14 Desert mountain Road.
Cameron's thought nudged him.  he knew that place.  he had been
there a long time ago when he was a boy.   An uncertain feeling
was settling into the pit of his stomach.  he remembered he
had visited his mother there.  What did it all mean/
Who was this Dayton?  Who indeed was Monroe/   And what did
all this have to do with him?  And what was the mysterious
email he had gotten from the Black Queen.   Black Queen that
was a code name for Laura.   yes, laura.  laura was his mother
and he hadn't heard from her in years.

The email had been simple.  Come home now.


Cameron went over the events before Hannah had gotten into
the car.  Her ability to run fast was apparent and Cameron thought
he had seen a leopard in his vision as a black shadow ran past Lindsay
and him at the boat dock.    And then there were the screams of the
night more like a majestic howl than anything else.  like an animal
yowing at the night.


At first he had dismissed it but now upon reflection maybe the file he had
stumbled upon in Monroe's back office was more revealing then he first
thought.  What if Hannah was a true descendant of this clan called the
Light Bearers.  What would it mean to those close to her and how would
it effect other unknown peoples.

He shook his head and took a side glance at Hannah.  She seemed to be sleeping
and her head was resting on the side window.

"I know what you are thinking Cameron and you are half right."

"What?"  Cameron said out loud.

"You surmised right I am a Light Bearer and so are you and Lindsay.  I am here
to show you how to raise your humanity to the next level."

Cameron was stunned and said nothing.  His hands gripped the steering wheel
tightly and his knuckles shone white.

"The fact that you can read my mind shows that you are intuiting also."

She was right.  He wasn't talking.  He was listening to Hannah in his mind.

"I'm going to rest now.   I'll wake in a few hours and when I awake we will continue this
conversation."

"All right,"  murmured Cameron out loud.    He took a side glance at Hannah
and although it was dark he realized she was smiling.

Hannah shifted her shoulders and turned to look at Cameron.

He caught her eyes.  They were green and luminous in the dark.

Cameron put his eyes back to the road in front of him and the
car hurtled forward ten miles above the speed limit.

The movement in speed seemed to startle Lindsay and she sat up in the
back seat.

She didn't know the man driving the car they had only met a few hours before
and so much had happened but she trusted him.   She was 17 years old
and she was alone in a car with a strange man and her sister Hannah had
been acting strangely to say the least.

She had an uncomfortable feeling that something was nudging on her
unconscious waiting to come to the surface.

She went over the affairs of the last few months.  Circumstances had been changing.
And then she realized Hannah had been changing.

She heard Hannah in her mind.  "That's right Lindsay follow the path of your thoughts
and see where they lead."

"What was that?, thought Lindsay.  It was almost as if Hannah was present in her mind.

She turned her attention to Cameron.   "And who was this Cameron, how did he fit
into their lives and how did he know where to go?"

Cameron realized Lindsay  was awake and her attention had shifted to his area.

"It's all right Lindsay, we are going home.  Soon you will be with your friends and
family, Cameron thought.

Lindsay was wide awake now.  She didn't dare open her eyes for fear of  what she
would see.  Cameron realized he was talking to Lindsay in her unconscious.
 And Lindsay understood . She was deciphering his thoughts as they bubbled
their way towards her concious mind."

No one said nothing.  Complete silence.   Cameron had another thought more
like a realization.   it was only from the silence that the words came.  He shared
this with Lindsay and he caught her reflection in the rear view mirror.  at first
she seemed to be sleeping but then she opened her eyes and she met Cameron's
gaze.  There was complete understanding  in the glance and Cameron 's thoughts
were momentarily unsettled.   he went back to the road and the silence of his mind.
After a while he sensed the two girls had settled into a comfortable sleep and Cameron's
 mind focused on the highway and once again his thoughts went into a quiet space.

That's where he was where nothing meets something when suddenly Monroe entered his mind.

Monroe whom he had left in a coma after he Cameron had sneaked out of the
 hospital before anyone could question him about the accident.


  T

chapter fourteen

Madison woke to the sound of the alarm clock that was
next to her bed.

When she opened her eyes she stared for a moment at the
hands of the clock.  They were white and luminous and stood
out against the dark background of the square green plastic
clock on the small  brown table beside her bed.  the time was
five o'clock. she closed her eyes and took in a slow deep breath.

the next time she stirred was five minutes later.  she peeked through
closed lids.  the sun was coming up and she  could see the gold
orange peeking through the slats of the shuttered white clapboard windows.

For one fleeting moment she forgot where she was.  She shut
her eyes tight and thick black lashes draped closed lids.

She murmured, "Dayton"  and for a split second felt a moment of comfort.


Dayton would soon be here she thought and the young woman let her mind
roam for a few seconds before she pulled the faded lavender sheets back and
pulled well toned legs over the side of the bed.  The young woman let her toes
do the searching for her slippers.

The towns children called them hermit slippers.   They were brown leather with criss
cross straps.  They were  old and worn and her good friend Laura confided in
her that that townspeople were calling  her the holy abba hermit of the mountains
and she had the worn slippers to prove it.  

She had tried in every way to remain ordinary and keep the hermitage at a low
profile and had almost succeeded until about a year ago when a man had been
brought to the hermitage by one of the townspeople.

When Madison had questioned the driver whom she recognized as Miguel one of
the locals as to why he had brought the young man to her he had said she and
this place had helped  his cousin with his problem and it was the only thing he
could think to do.  He went on to explain he had had found him in on the outskirts
of the reserve where dessert meets mountain.   it seemed the man had abandoned his car and
Miguel found him a mile from his vehicle unconcious and delerious.  miguel had surmised
the man's car had run out of gas and the man had abandoned his vehicle in search of help.

of course Madison welcomed the young man and he had stayed for a two month hiatus.  \
When the young man regained his strength and the decision was made to leave he thanked
madison profusely and said his stay at the hermitage was one of the happiest times
he had experienced in a long while.   He hated to leave but he had to get back to his
life and straighten some things out that dealt with his business.  he was an entrepreneu
and deatt in the export and export of books to third world countries.  He told Madison
his name was Brian Anderson and when Madison questioned him what he was doing
in the dessert he explained that he had gotten lost and before he knew it he was out of gas.   

That was eight months ago and since then more than an unusual amount of people had
 been coming to the hermitage seeking something that they felt was missing in their life.

Laura met Madison met in in the main praying room and the women and men already
assembled stood and bowed as the two women entered the chapel.

All assembled wore gray tunics cinched by a beaded roped belt.  Madison was the first
to enter and bowed before the altar in front of her and took a seat in one of the long wooden
pews.   Laura did the same and sat behind Madison.

They started their day with a half hour of meditation and shafts of light shone through the roof
and fell on the group below.

Afterwards they would have a choice of breakfast of scrambled eggs, hot or cold cereal
and a beverage of juice, tea or coffee.  Then it would be time for morning work.

Madison's job was to tend to the garden.   She had a green thumb and talked to
her flowers .  they grew vibrant in color under her tutelage and the guests as well as the
inhabitants of  the hermitage could be seen meandering the paths and sitting in the chairs placed in
different positions talking quietly, reading, or in a meditative state.

Many of the guests were  advised to write in their journals and keep a running story of
 how they were feeling and what they were experiencing.

Most came to the hermitage because they heard that there was help here.  help in the
form of cancelling out chattering minds, controlling their thoughts and getting a grip
on lives that were somehow out of balance.

Some left.  some stayed.  and some came back for a visit.  there were contributions
that went into the main treasury and Laura took care of that.

Madison had last heard from Monroe on Sunday.  It was now Tuesday.  And there was
no more contact.  Madison was getting worried.   The children should have been
here yesterday.  And Dayton - well, dayton by now must know Monroe was her father.

 All these murmurings and thoughs Madison mulled over and kept close to her heart.
In a short time her family would be reunited and things would again change of that
one thing Madison was certain.

The lunch bell rang and Madison joined the rest of the retreatants on the way to
12 o'clock lunch.

If things fell in right it could be her last lunch at the hermitage.

She saw Laura coming from the opposite end and she waited for the young woman
to reach her.

"How are you,?" said Laura.  The hint of concern etched in her voice.

"I'm fine.," said Madison. 

"Really," said Laura.

"You know me too well," said Madison.

Laura laughed.

Madison continued.  "we have been through a lot you and I."

"Yes," said Laura.

"This is a big day for you too," said Madison.

Laura breathed in a long deep breath.

"yes, it is, "said Laura.

"Lindsay is coming home."

"I hope she can forgive me," said Laura.

"if she is anything like her mother she will understand."

"But all the lies," said Laura.

"We have been through a lot," said Madison. 

"we lost our children for ten years, Madison."

tears wet madison's cheeks.  "Yes, i know."

Lindsay was only 5 when she left. 

"It was for the best Laura.  The trespassers burnt down
our home.  your husband perished in the fire.

"Yes," said Laura.

"The children will understand.,"  said Madison.  She uttered
the words with more conviction then she felt.

The two women stopped in front of the big hall,  they held each other's
hand and walked up the steps and through the lunchroom doors.

When they came out they knew the afternoon was going to
be unlike any other they had experienced in a while. .

chapter thirteen

Monroe slowed the car to a slow pace and pulled
over to the shoulder.

He shut the motor off, pulled out his wallet and  found
his driver's license.

He rolled down the window and saw a policeman approaching
in his sideview mirror.

"Remember Dayton, let me do the talking."

Dayton said nothing but shook his head up and down.

The officer approached the driver side and shone the flashlight
in Monroe's face.

"Driver's license please."

Monroe handed the officer his I.D.

"Where r u headed Mr. Monroe?"

"We are just going over to the next town.  Picking up someone
at the bus terminal."

"Well, do you know you have a tail light out?"

Monroe had checked the car before he got in.  Something he always did.
There was no failed tail light to his knowledge.
All he said was, "No, sorry I didn't know that.  I'll get it fixed right away."

The officer shone the light on Dayton and then back on Monroe.  "Let me
see your registration."

"Dayton, open the glove compartment and get the registration."

Daytong had his hand in mid air when another officer knocked on the passenger
side window.

The officer made a rolling motion with his hand which Dayton intuited to mean to
roll down the window.

Dayton took  a look at Monroe and a thought of knowing passed through his mind.

"Watch your step," said Monroe.

Dayton rolled down the window and the officer stepped back.

"Let me see your license."

Dayton pulled out his wallet found his license and gave it to the officer.

"Hey, Mac yelled the officer over the top of the roof of the car.  Looks like
we got a doctor here.

"Yeah," said the officer from Monroe's side.  "Looks like  I got me a chief of police."

After that all Dayton remembered was the muzzle of the gun from his side and a blinding
light.

He turned to look at Monroe but the man's face was blank and then he slumped over the
wheel.

That was all he remembered.  He lost consciousness.  Another driver passing by
saw the car on the side of the road and heard the blaring horn and called 911.

The ambulance arrived and both men were transported to the nearest hospital
which happened to be thirty minutes from the next town.

In the ambulance he heard one of the interns say, "looks like the older gent has had
it."

He leaned down and Dayton felt a needle go in his chest.  "This one has a fighting chance."

Dayton awoke in a room.  He heard the din of voices surrounding him.  When he opened his
eyes no one was there.

Amid the swarm of voices Dayton thought he recognized Monroe's voice.

"Change of plan, kid."

"What do you mean?"

"it seems the intruders know that we are traveling to see Madison."

"how r u doing this?"

"you mean talking in your mind?"

"yes."

"it's part of our heritage.  we can all do this."

"what do i do next," said Dayton.

"You weren't hurt bad,"  said Monroe.
"It's only a flesh wound to the head.  You will be fine."

"What about you ?" said Dayton.

"It will be touch and go for awhile.  I'll eventually be okay,
but I'm going to be in a coma for awhile."

"You have to get to Madison and fulfill your destiny."

"I can't leave u here."

"You will wake up, get out of bed and follow your instincts.
You have them Dayton the instincts and intuition of the clan.
You will find Madison in the dessert and at the land level of
the mountains."

Dayton had more questions, but when he called Monroe's name
there was no reply.

Dayton opened his eyes.  And a doctor stood over him.

"Mr. Dayton,  my name is Dr. Samuel,  you have been hurt in
some sort of an accident.  The police are here and would like
to ask you some questions."

Dayton nodded his head.  And two men dressed in plainclothes
stood before his bed.

"Sir, do you remember what happened?"

"No. well not exactly, replied Dayton."

"Well, what is the last thing you remember," said the taller of the two men.

"Well, we were pulled over on the shoulder and the next thing I remember
was this loud band followed by a blinding light and I lost consciousness.
I remember waking up in the ambulance.   And now Dr. Samuel telling me
there was some sort of an accident."

"Sir, what about the gentleman with you?, said the shorter of the two.
"We are trying to keep a lid on it but he is the chief of police one town over
and he has been shot in our jurisdiction.  He is in a coma.  Anything you
can tell us about this situation would be helpful."

"No, no, I don't remember anything."

"That's enough," said Dr. Samuel.   The patient needs rest he is getting
agitated.  He needs to sleep."  And with that Dr. Samuel pushed a syringe
into Dayton's arm.
 

When Dayton awoke the room was dark.  His head hurt   And when he felt
his forehead there was a bandage encircling the top of his head.   He knew
in that instant he had been shot.  And he remembered Monroe telling him
that he had to leave the area.

He knew Monroe telling him this he just couldn't remember seeing the
older man and talking to him.

Dayton sat up in the bed.  The room swirled around him.  He held on to the
sides of the mattress and closed his eyes and breathed in deep.

"Okay, this is it," he told himself.

He mustered up enough strength and walked toward the window.  He looked
out into the darkness and saw the parking lot below.  He surmised he was on
the second floor of the hospital.

Dayton walked over to the closet.  Empty.

He sat down on the green aluminum chair next to the sink and collected his thoughts.
 He remembered  Monroe said, "that it was only a flesh wound.

Dayton stood up and looked in the mirror.  One black eye and a bruised lip.  He
undid the bandage and let the gauze roll to the floor.   He splashed some water on
his face and stood and stared at the reflection before him.  He looked into his eyes.
A lot had happened since yesterday.  A lot he didn't understand.  But he knew he
had to get to Madison and the girls.  He had to warn them.  He wondered if
Madison didn't already know.  After all she was her father's daughter and they
seemed to have this innate ability to know when things were happening.  As a
matter of fact Dayton began to think he had this ability too.

"Go, now," said Monroe in a clear voice.  "Go now."

"Yes, I will go now, "said Dayton.

Daytong headed for the door and turned the knob.

The door swung open an inch and Dayton peeked out.

There was no one in sight and as he took a look down the
corridor he could make out a night nurse at the desk.

"Good, she is a way's down."

Dayton looked in the opposite direction and saw the liit up neon sign.

Dayton took in a deep breath, opened the door and walked down
the corridor towards the sign marked Exit.

realto theater

emily's meditation took me to the rialto theater
first the theater was in a little one town main street
then it morphed into a theater on the boardwalk
always it was small
and then it became a theater in a busy city
with cars driving by and people milling around
in a busy neighborhood.
there was a lot of noise and frivolity going on.

finally it merged into a neighborhood
the neighborhood theater
where on Saturday afternoons herds of
kids would flock to this one theater
you would see them coming from all corners of the
neighborhood and the streets crisscrossed and intersected.

The writer in you compared it to a swarm of ants leaving the
anthill and moving rapidly to their next destination.

On this sunny afternoon the streets were filled with children four years
old and up to 13 years of age flocking to their neighborhood movie house.
the older kids would hurry the younger ones along and you could see
older siblings holding the hands of the younger ones as everyone made
a bee line for the neighborhood movie house.

once there u produced your nickle and went through the revolving doors
got on line for your popcorn and candy and soda and then proceeded
to find your seat or if you were lucky you had one of your friends
hold a seat for you way up in the front row while you bought the goodies.

on this particular day the sun shone brightly and once inside it took a few
moments for your eyes to adjust to the darkness of the theater.
you found your seat and settled in.  once in awhile the exit door opened
and a loud holler would go up from the kids in the audience as they realized
one of the neighborhood kids had let one of their own in and the kids would
 hurriedly disappear into the darkness before the usher running down the aisle
could catch them with their roaming flashlight.

we were all sitting in our seats chattering about the morning events when the
flicker of movement on the the screen would catch our attention and a hush
would fall over the crowd.   first there was the star spangle banner and then
the black and white news and then the cartoons.  this day was different though
you could smell it in the air - something more unrecognizable.  the smell of
buttered popcorn was disappearing.  your nostrils flared and you felt the tug
of a memory as it stirred in your imagination.  - what was that, you said.

oh, yes, your sense of smell recognized the pull and you breathed it in deep.
the new element to the mix of the inside of the rialto theater was fresh air.
at this moment things started to change.  under your feet instead of the
worn carpet you could feel the movment of  grass growing and your
feet inadvertently did a tap dance. The grass moved passed your ankles
and started to tickle your lower leg.where it stopped.  your seat took on  an
odd  circular shape and molded your rear end into a comfortable position.
you looked to your right and trees were  growing right before your eyes.
The foliage didn't stop increasing and your eyes followed their growth as it
slowly inched up the theater walls and then finally the tile roof  disappeared
and the sky could be seen above you.  the canopy was now a calm blue and
the clouds were cotton fluffy.  you reached up your hands to touch and your
fingertips came back with a white foam.  You touched them to your lips and felt
a taste of sweet marshmallow. .

you were pulled back to the stage of the theater where movement on the screen
was detected and you understood the movie of the day was about to begin and
that  your perception of the day's events were changing.

You held on to your little brother's hand and sneaked a look at his face.
you thought he would be scared.  but, no to your surprise he was grinning from
ear to ear a look of total adventure etched on his young features.
you concluded he didn't know what he was in for and you realized he should
 have been frightened.  He squeezed your hand and turned to look at you.
it was a look of reassurance and pure joy.  come with me he said and enjoy the ride.
the words weren't spoken they just formed in your mind.

the stage opened before you and you saw that it was any street you wanted to go down.
there were avenues you had visited before.  and there were streets you had never been
on.  you saw them all with your mind's eye.  you looked around the movie theater
with everyone else in it.  you saw children of the world just like yourself settling in
getting ready to enjoy the main feature.  you looked again at your little brother and
saw that he was relaxed,confident and happy.  you squeezed his hand and he
squeezed your hand back twice,  that was your cue that he acknowledged your
presence and he was secure in your being there with him.  it was then that you
shifted your shoulders adjusted your back to the contour of the seat and sat back
deep in your seat,. breathed in the fresh air and let the ride begin.

Chapter Twelve

It had been ten years since Madison had seen Dayton and the
young woman was full of many anxieties.

Did Dayton still love her?.  .
.
Would her daughter who was now 12 ever forgive her mother
for sending her father and young daughter into exile that many
years ago.

She reasoned it was for their benefit.  There was no other choice.
At the time there were those who sought to destroy them..  Those type
of people still existed.  The danger was still there.   She had sent her father
to look after them.  Dear Monroe he was such a treasure.  He had
been faithful all these years and had looked over her husband and
daughter to make sure no harm came there way.

She remembered with a smile how Monroe had told her he had accepted
a position as a lawman in this small town.  There had been a chuckle
or two between them.  Because Monroe loved police work.  Not
that he had done any in real life.  He had always worked in the lab.
Forensic scientist that he was.  But he had aspirations and the fit
of chief of police and forensic psychologist had been a good one.
And in that position he was able to keep a handle on Dayton and
the two girls Hannah and Lindsay.

And indeed what about Lindsay.  Her parents had been taken,
abducted actually, on a hiking trip into the mountains .   Lindsay
had been found wandering the edges of the campsite, but the whereabouts
of her parents were unknown.  When the park rangers found Lindsay she was
 emotionally traumatized and the five year old had been unable to give the
police much information, except that people had come and taken her mom and dad.
There was a cave close to the campsite where the park rangers found the little
girl.  They surmised her parents must have found it earlier and somehow the little
girl had hidden there when the trespassers had invaded their campsite.
Why the trespassers hadn't known about the five year old was a mystery and
why they hadn't searched for her was a puzzle.   It was a mystery at the time and remained
so for the last ten years.

Lindsay had come to live with Madison and Dayton and the young
five year old seemed to bond with Hannah.  In fact Hannah had a good
effect on Lindsay so when the decision was made that Hannah and Dayton
would have to disappear it was thought because of everything that had happened
that it would be a fit if Lindsay went with them also.

And so the day had come when Madison and Dayton separated and the
two girls went with their father.  Lindsay held Dayton's hand tight and the five year
old seemed to understand that Dayton, Lindsay and Hannah were to be a family and
that was they way then and that was the way it had been for the last ten years.

Madison also had left the home that Dayton and she had called home and fled to
 the mountains where the
wise desert fathers and mothers had lived long ago.

She became nondescript and became a wise abba of the dessert.  People
sought out the woman in the dessert with the lyrical voice who sang songs
of unknown lyrics but seemed to soothe the souls of those who sought her
out.

This abba was not one to talk much, but sojourners came and stayed in
one of the hermitages that surrounded the main building.  They would meet
a few times a day in the main building and Madison would sing and the
sojourners were heard to join in.  It was not hard to follow the young abba
and the voices of a few or many could be heard in the evening singing
praises to their creator.

So far her life had been non problematic.  The sojourners who came and
sought her out left no footprint when they left so it was by careful word
of mouth that she was found.  It was almost as if her followers were
guarding her by watching their own tongue and to whom they talked
to about their journey to the mountain.

Madison had been happy the last ten years.  There was a sadness to her
beauty but it only seemed to intensify the mystery that surrounded her.

When she stood in the desert and the sun was large and luminous and
firery orange in the sky her red hair which flowed down her back
seemed to  blend in witht he dessert and where her presence started
and ended seemed to have no apparent starting point.  It was
breathtaking to watch her as she raised her hands to the fullness of the
sun and she sang soft lyrical praises to her creator.

The sojourners would watch and somehow get drawn into the picture
before them.  All they had to do was close their eyes and raise their
arms in adoration and they became unpainted canvas that hung in the
cistine chapel that is how inspiring it was to the person who journeyed to
the desert and found Abba Madison.
     

Chapter Eleven

Dayton and Monroe were making good time to the boat docking
when Monroe pulled the car over to a grassy shoulder.

"What is it?  Why have you stopped?

Monroe had taken his hands from the wheel and was rubbing his forehead.

"Are you ill?" muttered Dayton.

"No," I'm not ill, but there has been a change of plans.

"What change of plans?   What could possibly have happened in the last
35 minutes that I'm not aware of.

"Well, the phone is going to ring and I think there is going to be an
inmportant message for us."

"How could you possibly know the phone is going to ring?.  

"It runs in the family.  It's a vibrational thing I think.  Anyway that's
what my mother used to call it.  So let's leave it at that.

The two were silent for a moment and then there it was the jingle of
Monroe's phone.

"Hello.  Yes, he is with me.  There was a long pause and then Monroe
nodded his head and said, "yes, I understand.."    .

There is a slight change of plan after all.  All you need to know is the
girls are safe and in the company of my assistant Cameron.

I am as surpirsed as you are that Cameron has them, but that is what
I am informed.

"Who was that?"  said Dayton.

That was Madison.

Dayton was speechless.   He hadn't heard or seen Madison in ten years and
now in the middle of everything this man was telling him that he had just talked
to his wife.

"You're speechless, are you," said Monroe.

.Monroe looked at Dayton sideways saw from the expression on Dayton's face
that he was processing this new information as best as he could.

Monroe sort of felt sorry for the man.   He could understand the younger man's
shock at the turn of events but he had no answers for him.

Finally Monroe said, "look, Madison wants us to come to the mountains. that's
where the girls are headed and if we drive all night we should get there by
tomorrow morning.  It's 12 o'clock now so we should get there by 10:30 tomorrow
morning.   Is that okay with you?"

Dayton got back his wherewithall and said in a voice that was much calmer than
the inner turmoil that was churning in his stomach and riding having with his mind.

"Why is all this happening now?  And, yes, to your question by all means let's take
advantage and travel as fast and expendiently as we can through the night.

"What mountains are we headed for?"

"The only ones in existence by the desert.  It is sort of a retreat.  Off the beaten path.
There are only 989 inhabitants in the town and the local keep to themselves and
visitors tend to just come and get their required rejuvenation and leave."  

"I can help with the driving: said Dayton.

The older man grunted but said nothing.

The car drove through the darkness and for awhile both men were
alone with their thoughts.

Dayton was the first to speak.

"What do you make of all of this?"

Monroe formed his thoughts before he spoke.

"it's time,"  he said.

"What does that mean," said Dayton.

Monroe didn't know how much he should reveal to Dayton, but the older
man thought he Dayton deserved some answers.

"Dayton, do you remember your parents?"

"Yes," I have glimpses of them.  I was nine when they were killed in a
fire, but yes I remember them.

"What do you remember", said Monroe.

My mom was really pretty.  She had long red hair and green eyes
that shined when she was happy.

There were times when I looked at her and I would catch her wiping away
a  tear, when I asked her, "mom, why are you crying"   She would  only say
it was a grownup thing and for me not to worry.

"What do you remember about your dad?", said Monroe.

"My dad.  My day was a big man.  Well, he seemed big to me.  He had to
take a lot of business trips.  But when he came home mom would make a
big issue of it, and plan family night.  We would sit around the fire and
dad would tell stories of his father and his grandfather how they were these
strong knights of the old world.   They could shape shift and turn into
animals and they would run through the night.  Then out of breath the clan would gather
around the fire.  The mothers and the fathers and the children and extended family they would
start to hum and then sing.  Sing the songs of old.  Sing the songs of their ancestors.   Sing
songs of praise to their Creator.

Dayton was lost in thought as he remembered the time he spent with his mother
and father and cousins and uncles.  They seemed to all live together.  But how
that could be he didn't know.  It was a long time ago.

After his mother and father had been killed in the fire he had been parceled out to
foster homes and he had lost touch with his heritage.  If he remembered correctly
the whole town had been wiped out.  Only a few had survived.   The red cross
had come in and taken in the surviving children.  No adults had survived the fire
and the children if they were related were sent to different parts of the country.

Dayton didn't know why.  When he was old enough he had tried to find the survivors of
the fire but the records seemed to have been lost.  That was all he could remember.
He had gone to college and become a marine biologist with a minor in astronomy.
He always had an interest in the sea and the creatures that inhabited the waters.
And the stars seemed to be his friends.  He remembered his mom had a telescope
and she would set it up for him and point out the big dipper, and the galaxies beyond
which she often said the galaxies beyond were his future.

It made sense that when he became a young man he would study the oceans and the stars.

Monroe listened intently to what Dayton was saying.

Dayton, continued, "The best thing that ever happened was when I met Madison and later
on after we got married Hannah came along and everything seemed to fall into place."

"You met Madison in college, right?"

"That's right.   I was in my third year of marine biology and she was studying spiritual
dynamics and the poets of the last decade.   We met at a frat party found out that we
had a lot in common and that was it we were a pair inseparable after that first meeting.

When we got out of college one week later we went before a justice of the peace and
got married.

That was the happiest five years of my life.  Hannah came along and just seemed to fill
out the whole process.   Madison's sister Laura came to live nearby and she and her
husband had a daughter Lindsay who was five at the time Hannah was born.  By the
time Hannah was two Lindsay and Hannah were a duo."

Dayton paused.

Monroe said nothing.  He could feel the pain of the other man.  It was palpable.  Heavy
in the air.

"It's all right, Dayton, you don't have to say anything more."

Dayton was quiet for a few moments.

When he spoke it was in a forceful but monotone voice.  Madison came to me
in the middle of the night.  Woke me up.  She said , I had to go and I had to
take Hannah and Lindsay with me."

"What did you think," said Monroe.

"I didn't know what to think, said  Dayton.   Madison had always been very vague
about her family.  Said she didn't have any.  They were killed in a skiing accident.
She said, she had no family."

"What did you think?" said Monroe.

"I believed her.  My own family had been killed in that fire.   We were like two
pieces of a missing puzzle."

Monroe rubbed his head.  "Dayton, I have to tell you something.  You and Madison
are from the same clan."

"Clan.?"   "What do you mean clan?"

"Well, remember when I told you I was Madison's fahter."

"Yes, I remember.  How could I forger?"

"Well,. there is more to it.   The fire that your mother and father were in is
the same fire that I lost my wife in."

There were forty of us.   Most of the adults were killed all that was left was
the children.

Madison was one of the children.  You were one of the children.
It was thought for safety reasons that you be separated and so you were sent
to different locations.

Because of your innate abilities and likes you both selected colleges that
dealt is asto physics, anthropology, and astorology.   You were destined
to meet and you did.  And then you had Hannah."

"This is so unbelievable," blurted out Dayton.  Don't say any more.

I must say one more thing.  This clan had unusual characteristics.   They were
highly musical.  Their sense of hearing was impeccable.  Their sense of smell
was at the top ninety percent.   And their thought patterns were very
conjoined.  They were highly focused and when they weren't busy doing
something which needed any type of mind control their minds were completely
quiet.   No chatter.  No back talk.  No nothing.  They were in tune with
source and this made them highly valuable.   Anyway that's what the elders
thought.

You and Madison were the future.  Just like your mother said.  You are the
future.  And Hannah.   She is the focal point of this future."

"What about Lindsay,  where does she come into play in all of this."

"Lindsay is a guardian.  She knew this and has always been there for Hannah
and is Hannah's protector."

Monroe stopped talking and looked in his rearview mirror   Flashing red lights
were seen.
    
"We have company," he said in a tense voice.

"Let me do the talking."  It may just be a routine stop.

 Dayton breathed in and hoped that that's all it was.