25. That Which Must be Done

That Which Must be Done

This time he was sure. This time things were clear. He felt no weight on his heart. No fear in his soul. The icy hand of bad luck did not caress his brow. This time he was ready to do that which must be done.

Even with his certainty he knew he could not be bold. He knew he must slip quietly into the moment of the taking. He knew that he must be careful not to be seen or heard or smelt. He must leave no mark other than the mark he chose to leave. That was the way it must be done.

It had been less than a week since he’d taken the last one and the town was going crazy. He was amused by the thing they were doing to keep themselves safe. There was no way he was going to be stopped.

He walked down Main Street whistling quietly. He smiled and nodded to most of the people he passed, even the people he didn’t really know. Atlantis was a tourist town but it was a small town and people were friendly.

“Hey, mate!”

As the voice called out he turned to see who was speaking.

“Hey, Josh,” he said when he saw the man standing behind him.

“How’s it going?” Josh asked.

“As good as can be expected, under the circumstances,” the watcher replied.

“Yeah, it’s a bit freaky isn’t it?” Josh’s expression was so openly serious that the watcher almost burst out laughing.

Instead he nodded. “I reckon it’s probably over now. I dunno how anyone could do anything like that.”

“Whoever’s been taking them must be nuts,” Josh said.

“Probably,” the watcher looked at his watch. “Listen, mate, I gotta get going.”

“Things to see, people to do,” Josh laughed and the watcher joined in.

“See ya round.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Josh was still laughing as he ran across the road and climbed into his car.

The watcher smiled and waved then kept walking down the street towards the beach.

The high school was useless to him on Sunday but he figured there would be someone at the beach to help him. Lots of kids played there, even in winter. It was one of the places he thought he’d be able to get one alone.

He crossed over the road and walked across the grassy reserve that helped divide town and beach. He called out greetings to people as he passed them. It was a warmish day and there were lots of picnics going on.

The number of people around made it easy for him to move around. The chances were good that most people wouldn’t remember seeing him and those that did wouldn’t connect him with what was soon to happen. It was the perfect way to do business.

Once he was on the actual beach he stopped and looked around. There were a few people lying in the sun and a couple of brave souls actually swimming. Three or four surfers were out trying to ride the tiny waves. It was not a good day for surfers. People were walking along the beach in ones and twos, taking in the beauty of the day.

Most of the people on the beach were kids. Kids loved the beach no matter what the time of year. They could handle sand in their pants more easily than their parents could.

The watcher watched as some people left the beach and others arrived. Always there were at least two other people around. Finally it was just him and a young girl who was walking along the beach.

“Hi,” the watcher said to the girl.

“Hi,” the girl said.

“Do you know what time it is?”

The girl looked at her watch and he grabbed her. His hand was across her mouth before she had any chance to scream. She was small and light and he picked her up easily and carried her along the beach to the place where he’d hidden his car.

As he tied her up and secured her in the back of the car he thought about how much easier it was getting to plan these things. Anyone who’d seen him arrive at the beach would’ve seen him walk there. No one would guess that he’d hidden his car first.

24. Craig

Craig

He watched Melanie as she pulled out of the airport car park and slipped into the stream of traffic flowing towards the city. She looked tired, he thought. Like she hadn’t slept in a week and couldn’t find any coffee.

When she stopped at a set of lights she looked over at him and saw him watching her. She smiled at him and in the smile he saw the girl he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. He thought that perhaps she hadn’t missed him while he’d been away but that smile told him she had.

The lights changed and Melanie turned onto the freeway that would take them back to Atlantis. Back home, he thought.

Craig had missed his small town family and his small town life while he’d been in London. It had been great to see his parents and siblings again but he’d missed his wife and kids more and more everyday.

“So Callie’s gonna look after Sam and Joel tonight and tomorrow,” Melanie said, picking up the conversation the two of them had started at the airport.

“That’s nice of her.”

“You say that now but you should’ve seen the evil grin she gave me when she offered.”

Craig chuckled, “Sometimes I wonder about your sister. She’s got a dirty, dirty mind.”

“That she does. That she does,” Melanie laughed.

It was raining lightly and Craig watched the water slide up his window without really seeing it. He was so tired everything seemed abstract to him. He didn’t mind the feeling but he knew he’d feel more alive once he’d slept.

“Your accent’s stronger,” Melanie said after a moment.

“Is it?”

Craig couldn’t care less about his accent. He never really thought about it. While he’d been in the UK everyone had commented on how Australian he sounded. But always in Australia he’d been told that he sounded English. It didn’t really bother him what he sounded like but other people seemed fascinated by it.

“I think it’s cute,” Melanie said.

“Well, I must say that I find your enjoyment of my accent most charming. It seems to me that only the most beautiful peasants are charmed by a real British accent,” he said, putting on an outrageous accent.

Melanie giggled, “Oh, Craig, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, my lady. Your beauty is second only to the beauty of our reigning monarch. I say that only out of duty to the state. In truth you’re more beautiful than she could ever dream of being and you don’t have a son who could probably fly using only his ears if he ever tried.”

“Have you been reading Oscar Wilde again?”

“How do you always know?”

“Because you start thinking you’re funny and making jokes about the royal family.”

“Hmmm, really? I’ll have to put an end to that.”

“No, don’t.”

“So you do love my razor sharp whit!”

“I never said that.”

“Then why don’t you want me to stop?”

“Because I love you.”

“You know, Mel, if you weren’t driving I’d kiss you.”

“Wait till we get home and I’ll kiss you back.”

Craig put his hand on Melanie’s leg and settled back into his seat. He watched the kilometres fly past the window and they drew closer and closer to the town he loved so much. Despite how tired he was the closer they got to Atlantis the more excited he was. There was nothing like coming home after a long trip.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! I finnaly had a chance to actually write another story. Sorry it's been so long. Uni is a lot more work this semester. Please comment on what you like/dislike or want to hear about.]

23. Through the Window

Through the Window



It was such a lovely evening. A little chilly but it was winter so that was to be expected. The air smelt of dry leaves and cut grass and it carried with it the promise of things to come. Dusk was creeping slowly up from its daytime bed while the sun slipped away to battle its way through the underworld.

Greg sat on the veranda looking out at the sea. Although he still looked like a young teacher he carried with him the weight of the ages. Something in his eyes told of a sadness and a loss of innocence that made him seem much older than he actually was.

Greg closed his eyes and let the evening wash over him. Cleansing him in a way that nothing else could. He let go of all the resentment and fear he held in his heart and reminded himself that the week was over. The week was over and it would never happen again.

He still couldn’t believe that he had been a suspect in the disappearance of Tommy Sutherland and Jenna Reigh. He was a teacher. He loved kids. The police though he might love them too much. He couldn’t believe it.

The resentment he felt towards the police paled in comparison to the sadness he felt at the loss of another student. He cared about the young people he taught. They were important to him. He hadn’t been a teacher for very long and the bitterness which he’d seen in some of the older teachers hadn’t touched him yet.

It annoyed him that the police had wasted their time on him when the real criminal was still out there somewhere. The police had no idea who was responsible for the abductions. They assumed that they were connected but that wasn’t even known for sure.

The whole week had been horrible for Greg. He hadn’t been allowed back to the school while he was a suspect so he hadn’t even had the kids to cheer him up. Thankfully he’d be back at work on Monday, now the police had realised that he hadn’t had anything to do with the abductions.

Greg’s reflection of the week was interrupted as a car pulled into his driveway. Callie turned off her car and got out. She paused, looking at Greg for a moment, before walking up the front stairs to where he was sitting.

“Hey,” she said as she sat down beside him.

“Hi,” he said.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, watching as the last remnants of daylight dissolved into shadow. There was no real need for talk between them. They knew each other well enough for the silence to be comfortable and welcome.

“How’ve you been?” Greg asked.

“Okay,” Callie said. “Worried about you.”

“I’m okay.”

“I can’t believe they thought it was you.”

Greg sighed, “They had to start somewhere, I guess.”

Callie snorted, “Whatever. Anyone who knows you know that you could never do anything like that.”

“They didn’t know me,” Greg pointed out.

“Obviously.”

They sat in silence again. Greg knew Callie had something to say to him and he waited while she worked out how to say it. He guessed it’d be her way of trying to make him feel better.

“Greg, you know you can talk to me don’t you?” she asked suddenly.

“Yeah, of course,” he said.

“There are a lot of people who care about you. We’re all here for you if you want to talk.”

“Thanks, Cal,” he hadn’t expected that but it made him feel better.

After a few moments Callie turned to him and said, “Wanna get a pizza?”

“Sure. And a movie?”

“Sounds good.”

The two of them grinned at each other in the darkness and everything was alright again. It was Friday night and the week from hell really was over.


[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry I haven't been putting up many stories lately. I'm very busy at uni at the moment. I've got a huge number of assignments to do in very little time. I do intend to keep writing these but I just don't have much time at the moment. Sorry. And I still want to hear what you think of them so I know what direction to take them in.]

22. Joel and Scott

Joel and Scott



“Take that!” Scott yelled and waved his stick-sword around.

“That’s only a scratch,” Joel said and picked up the stick-sword that he’d dropped.

“It might be only a scratch now but I put the most poisonous kind of poison on my sword and it’s slowly poisoning you.”

“Ah-ha! I thought you might do that so I made myself immune to that poison.”

“How?”

Joel and Scott were circling each other as they talked. Every now and then they’d hit out and fight with their stick-swords. It was a game they often played.

“I rubbed myself with salt and then stood under the Great Waterfall,” Joel said.

“You swine!”

“Ah-ha, ha, ha!” Joel tried to laugh evilly.

“But you’ll never succeed in you’re evil plan,” Scott cried.

Joel laughed and ‘stabbed’ Scott. Then he ran over and climbed the tree that took up one corner of Scott’s backyard.

“You’ll never catch my now, Prince Fundagum!” he laughed.

“This wound won’t kill me,” Scott said, holding his side where Joel had ‘stabbed’ him.

“Maybe not but now I’m locked in my fortress. You’ll never stop my plan now.”

“We’ll see about that!”

Scott ran to the tree but before he got there he fell over backwards. Joel laughed as Scott landed on his back on the ground.

“You’re a fool, Fundagum! I protect my fortress with a force field that no man can break through.”

“You’re the fool, Doctor Manacle,” Scott said as he stood up. “I’m not a man!”

Joel laughed, “What are you? A girl?”

“No, fool, I’m a cyborg.”

Joel stopped laughing as Scott fought his way through the ‘force field’.

“No! It can’t be! If you’re a cyborg then what happened to the real Prince?”

“I killed him!” Scott cried as he launched himself into the tree.

The two boys tumbled out of the tree and started stick-sword fighting again. After about five minutes Scott forced Joel up against the back fence.

“Time to die, Doctor,” he cried.

“But my work!” Joel said throwing down his stick-sword.

“I will finish your work and make it my own,” Scott said, “Then I will be the richest being in the universe.”

With that he ‘stabbed’ Joel and Joel collapsed against the fence.

“No… No!” he cried as he ‘died’.

“Yes… Yes!” Scott laughed and did a little dance.

“Joel!” Scott’s mother, Audrey called. “Joel, your mother’s here to pick you up.”

Joel stood up and brushed some of the grass off his clothes.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at football,” he said to Scott.

“Yeah. See ya.”

With that Joel ran around the front where Melanie was waiting for him.

Scott watched his friend leave then sighed as he picked up the stick-swords and put them under the tree where they’d be able to find them again. He looked at the darkening sky then went inside to see what they were having for dinner.




[AUTHOR'S NOTE: This one is for Yasmin.]

21. According to Plan

According to Plan



Rob sat contemplating the rising sun. He was tired but happy. The night had been well spent and his plan was moving along nicely.

The sun lit up the waves as it pushed itself out of the ocean. The speed with which it rose into the sky surprised Rob. It always seemed to him that the sun moved faster when it was rising or setting than when it was travelling across the sky. Of course that was just an illusion created by the horizon but it still seemed that way to him.

It only took a few minutes for the sun to fully appear. Satisfied the new day had begun Rob stood up and walked back to the caravan where Rachael was sleeping. She’d had a long night and didn’t wake when he climbed into bed beside her.

When Rob had decided that the two of them should visit Atlantis he had no idea what the place was actually like. He didn’t usually care much about nature or see the beauty of a place; but he could see the beauty of Atlantis.

He thought it was odd that he come to the town to do something ugly and all he could see was its beauty. Not that he’d ever admit feeling that way to anyone. He was a guy and, as he saw it, guys just didn’t say things like that.

Rachael’s connections in Atlantis made it the perfect place to do what he’d wanted to do for a long time. She could find out things that no one else could and she knew what to do with the information she acquired.

Rob liked Rachael. He liked her a lot. More than he’d liked any other girl. He hadn’t told her that; guys just didn’t say things like that. No matter how much he liked her he wouldn’t hesitate to throw her away if she became inconvenient to him. He didn’t see that as a bad thing at all. As he saw it the most important thing was for him to survive.

Rob wasn’t stupid. Quite the opposite actually. He’d come up with a brilliant plan that could see him financially secure for the rest of his life. He was even happy to share the money with Rachael in exchange for her help.

She thought she knew the whole plan. He hadn’t actually said to her that she knew the whole plan but he’d let her assume she did. That way she would be much more cooperative. Besides the part of the plan she didn’t know mightn’t even be needed. He’d only put it in place in case he got caught.

If he got caught he’d made sure that there was no chance of them proving that he’d been involved in the planning or any of the illegal activities. Any major sings pointed at Rachael and various people she knew in Atlantis. Rob was pleased with the way he’d set things up.

Part of him wanted the plan to fail just so he could see how well he’d managed to protect himself. He was almost certain that no one would be able to connect him to the crimes in Atlantis. That meant he didn’t have to spend all his time looking over his shoulder.

When Rob first told Rachael the his plan for getting money out of rich Atlantians she’d been surprised that he’d been able to come up with such a complex plan. She had—and most people did—underestimated his intelligence.

“You came up with all that?” she’d said.

“Well, I didn’t read it on the back of a cereal packet, did I?” he’d replied.

“You came up with that from just what I told you about Atlantis?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

He’d been pleased with the way she’d reacted to his plan. He wanted her respect. As far as he was concerned he deserved the respect of everyone. People had been looking down on him his whole life, but Rachael was different.

Rachael wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed but once she understood something she was almost unstoppable. Rob liked that about her. He didn’t mind explaining things to her because once she knew what he wanted her to do she’d just do it. She trusted him and believed that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Not that she was innocent. Far from it. In fact, he thought, if guilt and innocence was judged on how a person felt about what they were doing she was guiltier than he was. She was actually enjoying cheating people. She wanted to hurt people. She wanted to see them suffer.

As petty as that was he didn’t mind her feeling that way. She was happy doing what she was doing and that meant that she wasn’t questioning him or his plan. If she’d looked at the plan too closely she might have seen the inconsistencies that he’d planted just in case things went bad.

So far things had been going wonderfully. Rachael had started the town gossiping by merely being there. Rob was glad the she had such a huge reputation about town and that it was enough to distract everyone from him.

If things kept going the way they were going the two of them would be rich before the end of August.

20. Thursday Morning Madness

Thursday Morning Madness



“Don’t forget you’re stuff for soccer, Joel,” Melanie called to her son.

“Football, mum!” Joel and Sam both called back.

Melanie smiled and shook her head, “Football then.”

Melanie was in the middle of eating her breakfast, getting ready for work and making lunches for the children and herself. Mornings were always so hectic.

Sam rushed into the kitchen to fill up her water bottle.

“Mum, I got a note you need to sign,” she said.

“Give it to me,” Melanie said through a mouthful of toast.

Sam handed her a note from the school asking how Sam planned to get home after school. Sam had already filled it in; all Melanie needed to do was sign it.

“You’re getting a life with Sally?” Melanie asked her daughter.

Sam nodded, “She’s got the night shift so she’s picking up me, Jess and Amanda.”

“Jess, Amanda and I,” Melanie corrected as she signed the note.

“It’s a bit freaky that the school has to know everything about what we’re doing,” Sam said.

“It’s just so they can make sure you’re all safe.”

“The whole thing’s a bit freaky.”

“I know,” Melanie said, handing Sam her lunch, “Hopefully they’ll catch whoever’s done this soon.”

“Yeah. And that Jenna and Tommy are still alive.”

Melanie glanced at her daughter. Sam didn’t seem to be too worried about everything that was going on. Melanie figured that because no one close to her had been taken things hadn’t really sunk in yet. Melanie was scared that her children would be taken next. She couldn’t wait till Craig got home on Saturday.

“It’ll be okay, Sweety,” she told Sam.

“Yeah,” Sam said and went to put the note and her lunch in her school bag.

“Mum!” Joel yelled as he ran into the kitchen. “I can’t find my socks!”

“They’re hanging in the laundry,” Melanie told him and handed him his lunch.

“Thanks,” he ran to get his socks.

Melanie was glad that none of the children who’d disappeared had been from the primary school. She was pretty sure Sam could take care of herself and would understand danger better than Joel would. Joel still didn’t understand exactly what everyone was so worried about.

She finished her toast, picked up her lunch and threw it into her bag. She could afford to buy lunch but she liked to make it herself.

“Come on guys!” she called to her children.

“Coming!” Sam and Joel both called.

The three of them met in the front hall and went out to the car. Melanie didn’t usually drive the kids to school but it was raining and she didn’t want either of them to get wet. She pulled out of the driveway and drove off down the road that led to the rest of the day.


[AUTHOR'S NOTE: My brother asked me to make sure that the kids called it football. I figure that their father's English so it works that they would anyway.

I'm a little stuck as to where things are going in these stories at the moment. If any of you have any ideas or any thoughts on what you'd like to see happen please let me know. I'm totally losing control over the stories and it's a bit freaky.

Thanks for reading my work.]

19.Nineteen

Nineteen



He sat.

He sat alone.

He sat alone, in silence. Waiting.

He was pleased by the way things were going. It had been much easier to take the second than the first. He guessed that the third would be even easier. That pleased him. The easier it was the more time he would have to make sure the fools didn’t suspect him.

What he was doing was right in the context of the eternal moment. He knew, however, that the fools who lived on time rather that in it would see what he was doing as a crime. A few years ago he would have seen it as wrong and evil. Now he knew the truth. He had touched the eternal moment.

He sat in the darkness with the light of the television playing on his face. He wasn’t watching but the light and noise helped him remember the physical world that he was still part of. The stupidity of the programme helped him remember why he didn’t want to be a part of that world.

The task he’d began just over a month ago was nowhere near complete. He’d taken two. Two good ones. He needed seventeen more. One for each year he lived in the foolish physical world with no understanding of the eternal moment.

Once he had the nineteen he could use them as a stepping stone to escape the physical world. He knew it would work. He’d been told.

Even with this knowledge he still felt fear with he knew he must take one. He hadn’t wanted to take another after the first because of the way the first had reacted to him. He doubted his mission but something—the eternal moment or maybe part of his own mind—told him that he needed to finish his work.

After the ease with which he took the second one he didn’t think he’d have a problem in the future. He wouldn’t wait as long between takings either. His patience couldn’t take it. He needed to be one with the eternal moment.

It had taken him years to get to the point where he was ready to start taking them. He’d spent hundreds of hours building the room to hold them. The building had been easy compared to the designing. He’d finally finished in March but he didn’t try to take one till May. It took him a long time to gain the courage it took to take that first step.

Now he had two of them. Soon he planned to make it three. Already he was deciding how to take the next one. He knew it was dangerous to have to take so many. If he got caught he would never be able to become one with the eternal moment.

So far no one suspected him. He had to plan everything perfectly so that things remained as they were in the community. He wanted them afraid and confused because that way they were less likely to suspect him.

As he sat, contemplating his next move, the light of the television continued to flicker across his face. In some moments it made him look as ugly as true evil in others he looked as beautiful as freedom. Watching him, no one would have suspected what he had done or what he was panning.

He drifted towards sleep with a small smile on his face. He looked innocent and wonderful. He believed he was innocent and wonderful. In a way he was.