by Nye, Laine
When they finally arrived home, Charlene ran out the front door and into her husband’s arms. After a long hug while Steve stood nearby waiting, she turned to Steve and held him just as tight as her husband.
“You’re okay. Both of you are okay.” She said through tears of relief and joy.
“Yes. The Collins will be just fine.” Brad told her with a ragged, tired look on his face. His kindly smile was there too.
“How about the Shaws?” Steve asked whimsically. He was starting to recover from the experience though it would come back later to haunt him over and over.
“The Shaws will be just fine too.” Brad answered him with a wink.
“Come on. Let’s go inside.” Charlene said. “I figured that you two must be hungry after everything you have been through. We can talk about your day while we eat.”
Dusk was coming on. It had been a long day. They followed Charlene into their home and went straight to the kitchen where Charlene’s signature quality spaghetti was waiting for them. They sat down to eat heartily and had a long discussion with Charlene about what had happened that day.
Later that night, after Steve had gone upstairs to his bedroom, Charlene laid down next to Brad on their bed. She turned on her side to look at his face closely.
“Did Steve endanger those people today Brad?” She always called him Brad when they were alone in the home or in the car. She never made a mistake using the wrong name when among others. She preferred his real name because she knew the real Brad and the story that caused the name change. Steve also knew his dad’s real name wasn’t Seth Collins. Hence the reason he asked jokingly if the Shaws were okay. He didn’t need to worry about slipping up and calling him the wrong name in public. He always called his father Dad.
Charlene’s question hung in the air while Brad studied her beautiful face that was etched with worry. Then he responded.
“It’s like I told your son. It was the bomber that endangered all of us. Not Steve.”
“I know that, Brad. Did Steve’s response make a bad situation worse?”
“Almost.” Brad said. “Almost.”
He rolled onto his back and stared upward thoughtfully.
“If I had not sent the bomber down the stairs beyond the door, every one of us would have died. I tried so hard to keep Steve reigned in. I warned him with words and expressions more than once. You know how he is though. So impetuous. So, wanting to use his ability. My plan had been to launch the bomber onto the roof when we got outside. I don’t know if that would have worked either. What if he had detonated on his way up? More people would have died than just our group. If I did get him onto the roof before detonation, how would I deal with the investigation with a cop who said he felt the energy coming from us just before we acted. All those witnesses too. I just don’t know what was best. I’m too tired to think.”
“If Steve had not done what he did, do you think things would have been worse than they were? Was there a safer way? I mean, I know what you just told me. You were there. Could a better outcome have happened?”
“Maybe what Steve did, had to happen. Maybe I should have trusted that he would take the right course of action. I tend to think that his usage of this forced gravity could lead to disastrous results because he is still so young and at times immature.”
“Well, maybe he saved all of you. I know that you had to do your part too. If not for your actions everyone would still have been killed. But, just maybe, it took Steve’s action to get the ball rolling.”
“That could be.” Brad answered her. “Since the outcome was as it was, I have lost perspective. I just can’t conceive of another better outcome anymore.”
“Kiss me, you big lug.” She said to him playfully.
Easiest suggestion she ever gave to him was ‘kiss me’. So, he did, turning back on his side to do so.
Then she spoke again. “I’m worried about how this could affect him.”
“So am I. He’s a good kid. Very conscientious, kind hearted. Full of compassion. Tender hearted people can have a deeper reaction to an event like this than others. Though no one gets away free. It affects all. I certainly am hoping he will take what happened with less of an impact than what I went through. I was two years older than he is and I know how hard it hit me.”
Charlene looked deeply into his eyes with a solemn expression. “You turned out to be a good man Brad Shaw. What you went through has a lot to do with that. Your personality was forged in the fire of affliction. You came out a better man for it. I admire you so deeply. Sometimes I am amazed that I have a man as good as you as my husband.”
Then she smiled. Her eyes were sparkling. Brad kissed her again. Then spoke to her.
“I am the one that stands in amazement that I got you, Charlene Williams Collins.”
“Just cuddle me Mister Collins.” The room got very quiet after that.
The next morning, a knock on their door brought more anxiety and stress. It was the detective from the library.
“I failed to properly introduce myself yesterday. Sorry about that. My name is Detective Brian Rivera. I still have more questions about the event we shared.”
Brad pointed over his shoulder to the couch on the far wall from the door.
“Let’s go sit down over there.”
“I’d like your son to be present also.” Rivera said as he went to the couch and sat down.”
“I don’t know that I want my son involved in this interview. I think he went through enough trauma.” Brad told him.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I insist that he join us.”
“Oh goody.” Brad said sarcastically. He called his son to come downstairs and talk to the nice cop. That was when he noticed his wife in the doorway leaning against it and watching the detective closely.
Rivera looked at her and said, “Good morning ma’am.”
She just nodded. Charlene was a friendly, engaging person who always helped people to feel at ease. Except this time. Her look was wooden, unwelcoming. She did not like this man showing up and putting her family at risk concerning their abilities with gravity control. She was always protective of anyone knowing what her son and husband could do. There was just no way to know what kinds of trials and difficulties they would be forced to go through if the world knew what her two men could do.
Steve bounded down the stairs and slipped past his mom and saw the detective. His expectant expression changed to one of disappointment, then alarm.
“Steve, please come in and join us.” The officer said. “We have things to discuss.”
Brad went for the throat immediately, also worried about his family.
“Detective Brian is this something you need for your report?”
Rivera didn’t like being called by that title. Made him uncomfortable with the pseudo-respect coupled with the first name familiarity. He decided to keep a professional demeanor and let the jibe slide.
“I am just trying to get to the bottom of what happened yesterday.” He stated. “Now, I already explained what I felt coming from the both of you when the weird stuff started happening up until the guy blew himself up. I would like you two to tell me how this happened. What is it that you did?”
Brad ignored the questions. “Are you investigating this information to add to your police report?” He asked again.
“Well, not exactly. No. Now I would like you to…”
Brad interrupted him. “If this interview is not meant for a police report than you must not be here on official police business. I think that you are still trying to pass the buck here. You didn’t take the chance to drop the bad guy and now you are here trying to blame us again.”
There was silence. Then; “Look. I’m not trying to get you indicted or anything. From my point of view, you are the ones that saved all those people, including myself. I just want to know what you did.”
“What we did was stand there on the steps tied to a rope waiting for our turn to be forced to go down the stairs
to the bus that was waiting for us. What we were doing was trying to find a way to survive just like everyone else. We felt pretty helpless while tied into the rope chain and being led like sheep to the slaughter.”
Detective Rivera looked unsure of himself. He had hoped his police authority would be enough to cause these two men to admit they had done it, whatever it was. He wanted to know what kind of incredible power or skill they possessed. He quickly formulated his thoughts to speak but Charlene beat him to it.
“Detective are you on the clock right now?” Or, are you here on your own business.? Should we call the department to see if you belong here? I think you’re acting on your own without police authority. Am I correct?”
“Why are you people so hostile, combative? I just want to ask a few questions, so I can understand how you saved our lives yesterday.”
Charlene answered firmly. “We are combative because our family has been put through hell because of that monster yesterday. We are trying to recover from a deep trauma. Then you show up to rub salt and alcohol into our open wounds. I saw this whole drama on T.V. yesterday. I knew it involved my husband and son. You see, all three of us have been through enough terror. Leave us alone and let us heal and get on with our lives.”
Detective Rivera looked over at Brad expectantly, hoping there might be just a little cooperation in him since Mrs. Collins was being so unwelcoming.
Brad pointed at his wife and said simply, “What she said.” He nodded his head while saying it.
The cop turned to Steve. “What do you say about this young man?”
“I’m not an adult yet. It’s up to my parents. Mom, Dad, do you want me to talk with him?”
“No.” They both said together.
Steve shrugged. “Sorry Officer.”
“We have things to do Officer Brian. We would like to get back to doing them.”
The detective shook his head in frustration. “Okay. Have it your way.”
“Thank you. We will.” Brad said.
He got off the couch and headed to the door to let the reluctant officer out the door.
Officer Rivera stood up with a look of disgust and frustration written all over him. As he went to the door, he spoke one last time. “I know it was you two that threw the perp around. I felt the energy coming from you.”
Brad shut the door as soon as he stepped outside.
“Well, I don’t like to be that unfriendly with our guests Brad, but what else could we do. We have to shield ourselves.”
“Yes. we do sweetheart. Yes, we do.”
With that, they let the matter drop. They were still safe from prying eyes and curious people.
For now.
∆∆∆
There was a man in Utah who had for several years been looking for Brad Shaw. He did not know where Brad was. He did not know that more than twenty years ago Brad’s name had been changed to Seth Collins. What the man knew was that when he found Brad, he would get revenge for all the things Brad had done to his family.
No. Jeff Rowley would never stop searching for Brad. If Jeff had not been out of the country at the time that the bombing took place, he would have seen Brad on the news. He would have learned about Brad’s son Steve. The problem was that Jeff had ridden in a small plane out of central Utah to Mexico to pick up a very expensive haul of drugs which is what he had been doing for a long time now. As a drug supplier, he had multiple dealers working under him as well as two pilots.
On this occasion he felt he should meet with his connections personally and thus he missed the news broadcasts that showed Brad and Steve and other victims on the news. He would hear about the bombing when he got home but it would be too late for him to see the faces of the victims. He didn’t know that he had just missed his first opportunity to get an idea where Brad was at.
There would be another opportunity later.
CHapter One
Two years later
Brad (Seth Collins) Shaw had an opportunity to sell a helicopter to a business man in The Philippines. His company; Quartec Enterprises was starting to sell various kinds of aircraft all over the world. Oftentimes the customers flew out to Northern California to talk to Brad or his partner. But other times Brad or Phillip would fly to whichever state or country they needed to in order to close a deal. Brad had been looking to go to The Philippines for a long time. Albert Belasco had once told him that one of the mysterious holes such as Brad had floated over twice and fell into once was in The Philippines. Another was in New Zealand. Brad could feel a tug that was always enticing him to go to The Philippines. He could not feel the one in New Zealand. He was aware of the one in The Philippines ever since the last time he had been over the hole in Utah when Albert was still alive.
It seemed that each time one such as Brad or Belasco would step over the hole while it emitted energy they would get a new kind of ability. Brad received the G force capability the first time that Belasco had put him over the hole. The next time when he had fallen into the hole and almost died from the fall, he had been saved by the energy starting to flow after he was falling. The energy flow brought him to a gentle stop and his life had been spared. On that occasion he had gained the ability to see in the dark far better than others. The third time he ‘rode’ the hole was when he was weakened by the many skirmishes he had been in with several enemies using his gravity control in self-defense. having used up a lot of the energy that gave him gravity control, he needed to go back over the hole to build his strength back up. On that occasion, he had received his Third ability. His reflexes were faster than any other person and he had found that he could now detect that energy from the hole whenever it was emitting. He still felt the connection to the hole in Huntsville Utah.
The hole in The Philippines had to be very large or very powerful. He could feel it tugging and enticing him whenever the hole spewed forth its energy. That is why Brad was happy to fly out to the island nation. He wanted to go find the hole. He also decided to turn it into a vacation for his family. They were eager to go with him.
It was summer. Steve had graduated from high school, so he and Charlene were free to go as they had no commitments. It would be a family trip that they could all enjoy. The island that the customer was on was Cebu. It was not until they had landed in Manila, then taken a smaller jet over to Cebu, that Brad figured out which island had the hole that kept his attention. The hole was on an island that was almost parallel with Cebu. The island was called Palawan. That was where Brad was going to take his family after he was done with the deal he was arranging.
The customer was interested in buying a six-seat helicopter to do air tours over the islands. Brad was easily able to find a helicopter that would work for him. It was a huge investment for the customer, but he had plenty of money invested in other businesses and was eager to start a new company.
After business was concluded, Brad took his family on another jet to the island of Palawan. Zest Air provided flights to many of the islands. That was the company that Brad, and his family used to get around the country on their trip. On their way to Puerto Princessa which was the main city on Palawan, they looked out the windows of the jet once they were near the island. The green mountains in the area were tall, sharp and steep. The mountains fell away right into the ocean. The steep sides just kept dipping down until they disappeared under the water. Such a dramatic view of a beautiful island.
They landed in Puerto Princessa and went straight to a motel that was only about one mile from the airport straight down the road. The motel was as nice or nicer than many hotel rooms they had stayed in. Though it was a small motel, it still had its own restaurant with great food. The Filipinas who ran the front desk were the most gracious and friendly hosts they had ever encountered.
It was too late in the day to go anywhere but Brad could feel that the hole that was drawing his attention was very close, especially when it started emitting the energy as all the holes seemed to do.
The next day, they took a chartered tour
van with other passengers over a mountain and down to the water’s edge on a different part of the island. Before they arrived at the beach via the tour they were on, they stopped at a limestone column that was thrust out of the earth straight up. It stood two-hundred fifty feet from the ground. It was honeycombed with tunnels that were part of the original formation. None of it was manmade. The people who owned the column took payment for a trip through the caves that wound throughout the column ever rising higher. It was used during World War Two by the Filipinos to hide from the Japanese who had taken over the Philippines.
Charlene took the lead through the cave. Steve followed her with Brad in the back. They came to a place where the floor of the cave went up a steep incline with slick rock making up the floor. A rope had been attached to wooden poles that were mounted into the cave floor to prevent someone from slipping. They grabbed hold of the rope and pulled and walked themselves up the steep incline. The whole time they were climbing up through the cave, Brad kept feeling the pull of the hole that was somewhere very close. The hole in Utah had forever changed his life. He did not know why he felt the urge to go to it. He forgot the level of intensity that this same kind of urge once led him to the hole in Utah the night he had been drawn to it then sucked in.
Deeper into the cave they had to squeeze through a tiny space between the two cave walls. Then at the top when they emerged from the tunnels they had to squeeze through another very tight spot or climb over the top with their back near the cliff edge before going down to the main platform of the column. Walking over to the other side of the flat top, they saw a zip line to take people back to the bottom. One could either do the zip line which was about nine hundred feet long, or they could climb back down through the caves. Steve walked over the edge of the column and looked down. He turned to his parents and said, “We don’t need a zip line dad. We could just jump off the edge and float down. You could hold mom. It would be more fun than the zip line.”
