by Dale Mayer
Then, he kinda felt the same about Misty.
Still, he couldn't resist closing his eyes and holding Gem tight. She smelled good. They'd had such a close call today… Surely he could hug her tight without anyone getting upset.
"All right, you two. Let's go." Reid said, a teasing lilt to his voice.
Gemma pulled back with a big grin at Reid. "Jealous? Want a hug too?"
With a bigger smirk, he pulled her into a squeeze before releasing her. "I'll take my hugs any way I can get them."
They approached John who was deep in conversation with the sheriff.
"Ready to go, Mark?" John held out his hand for the paper the doctor had given him. "I'll get that. The sheriff needs to speak with you, then we'll all head back to the house so you can eat and we can get Gem to bed."
"Yes, sir."
Mark wondered at the look Reid shot at him, but there was no time to ask. They were out and gone. Explanations could happen later.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"John, ask Doris to join us, please." The sheriff stood just inside the front door, his hat in his hands.
Gemma, heading for her room, glanced from one adult to the other. Uh oh. Here it came. Refusing to be shooed off to bed, she took a seat in the living room, squished between the two boys. She slumped back on the couch, wincing as her back hit the upholstery. She waited to hear the worst.
"Good evening, Sheriff. Isn't this grand?" Doris beamed at him as she entered the living room, wiping her hands on a tea towel. "Everyone back safe and sound."
He smiled. "That's kind of what I want to talk to you about."
"Oh. Well, in that case, I guess Mark can wait a little longer for his dinner." She sat down on the loveseat where John had sprawled.
Mark shot her a look of horror. Gem grinned, pulled a granola bar from her pocket and offered it to him.
He snatched it out of her hand, opened it and took a big bite.
Gem turned her attention back to the conversation going on around them.
"Now. I've spoken with the EPA criminal division about these men. Apparently there's some kind of misunderstanding. They wouldn't say much, but from what I gather, they've gone well beyond their authority. They are looking into it. But as far as I'm concerned this is now a criminal issue. However, the men are no longer here. They've been recalled to Portland where they will be picked up and dealt with, but…"
"But that ain't goinna happen." John started to shake his head like a slow moving bull. "You know that as well as I do. These men aren't going to have to answer for what they've done at all if they just get to go home. They'll get a hand slap and that'll be all."
"That is, unfortunately, a possibility." The sheriff slowly turned his hat by the brim. He looked at little disconcerted at that concept. Gem barely held back a snort.
"However I have forwarded this file to the Portland authorities." The sheriff straightened. "They will pick up the case from there. These men have crossed the line and that means we're going to have to involve more than just my department."
Doris, her squat body quivering with outrage, piped up, "That isn't fair. These kids don't deserve to be treated like this. And those men didn't have the right to do what they did."
"Not to mention we didn't do anything to deserve this." Reid's disgust hung heavy in the room. "I realize that being from juvie we don't rate high in the eyes of the law, but we didn't cause this, you know."
"Now, son, no one is thinking you did." The sheriff stared at the kids, sincerity in his eyes. Gemma didn't believe it for one bit.
"Really?" Gemma shook her head. "That's not how it looks to us."
John glared at the sheriff. "These are good kids. Never had a lick of trouble with them."
The sheriff held up his hand. "I didn't mean to imply that they brought this on themselves. What I'm really trying to say is that according to the phone call I placed earlier, these men are going home and will be held accountable there. So, there's no need to worry anymore. These kids are safe."
Mark snorted. "Did you say safe? Just because some bigwig in another city tells you that it's all over, that doesn't make it so. What universe do you come from? They went to a pack of trouble to catch each of us. Why? We still don't know."
The sheriff sighed. "I'm not clear on that myself. And that brings up what I'd really like to say. For your own safety, I like to see the four of you, including Misty, join the other one back in juvie for a spell." He held up his hand to forestall their outrage. "Just until we know for sure that these men have been taken off the streets."
"The other one? Who're you talking about?" Mark's icy voice cut through the heavy silence.
"Mr. Crompton picked up Stephen while everyone was out searching for you today. Said he'd come back tomorrow for the rest of us. Says it's not safe for us here," Gem explained, anger still firing through her at the thought. Gem's stomach acids rumbled. She closed her eyes. She hadn't seen Creepers' latest move coming. Yet, she should have.
"Gem?" Doris's kindly voice penetrated the silence. "Stephen isn't there permanently. He'll be returned as soon as the danger has passed." She waited a beat, then asked gently, "What do you think of the sheriff's suggestion?" She added as an afterthought, "And Mr. Crompton's plan?"
"I'm. Not. Going. Back." Clear enough for her? Gem kept her eyes closed and waited. If she went back, there's no way she'd get out again. That's how it worked. Besides, Creepers was just waiting for her to screw up, and if someone didn't know the truth of this strange series of events, this could be classed as a hell of a screw up. She hated the burning in her eyes. She'd be damned if they'd see her cry.
She didn't have to wait long for a response.
"I'm not either." Mark's clipped voice was second.
"No way." Reid was third.
John surprised her though. "If they don't want to go back, then I don't see as they should."
"John, but they can't truly understand what's going on here," the sheriff protested."It's just for a couple of days, a week at the most."
Gemma sat forward. "Did you actually say that? That we don't know what might happen? I'd think, out of all of us, we're the ones who do understand exactly what has happened to us and what could happen to us." She glared as the sheriff proved once again that law enforcement didn't use the brains God gave them. "Or maybe I'm mistaken and you were kidnapped along with us?"
Leaning back, she closed her eyes again, whispering, "Oh, what's the use?"
The boys slumped beside her.
Gemma whispered so only they could hear. "I'm not going back. I'll run away first." It was bravado but that's how she felt.
"I'm going with you."
"Hell, me too."
John shook his head again, obstinacy in his voice as he said, "No. This is their home. It would be a punishment to send them back. Even for their own safety. They didn't do anything wrong, so protecting them is your job." He added thoughtfully, "And mine."
Doris nodded. "That's right. This is their home. They belong here. I didn't want Stephen taken either. I already lodged a formal complaint about that."
The sheriff looked uncomfortable at John and Doris's resistance.
Gemma and Reid exchanged eyebrow raised looks. Talk about a surprise.
"Who knows if we'd be able to get them back when all this blows over? These ones aren't leaving. No," she added with her double chins quivering. "They stay here." She maneuvered herself upright, a suspicious sniffle escaping as she headed out of the room. "I need to finish up in the kitchen. Mark hasn't eaten yet."
Gemma smiled. Nothing made Doris happier than to feed someone. And she was so good at it. "Doris, is there any chance of a cup of tea?"
"Oh my goodness, yes. That's exactly what we need." And Doris bustled out happily.
John gave Gemma an approving smile. He knew what she'd done. His warm approval made her smile inside. They were two of the nicest people she'd ever met. They deserved better than this mess.
The sheriff held up his hand
. "I don't think this is a good idea. This isn't about right or wrong. It's about keeping these kids safe."
Reid piped up, his voice way too cheerful, "But you say it's handled. That it's over. So why do we need to be protected? I for one, trust you to do that, Sheriff, if necessary."
Gemma clenched her fist to try and stop the giggle rising to erupt at the sour look on the sheriff's face. That's not what he'd expected or wanted to hear.
"This is no longer up for discussion." John's voice was firm. "If it were me or the wife, you'd not suggest taking us to jail, you'd be looking at ways to protect us. So don't be sidestepping the issue. These kids have been through enough. You're not ripping them out of the only home they've known and tossing them back into that environment just because it's easier on you."
The sheriff glared at the ceiling. Then stared at John. "I don't agree with this decision but I will abide by it – for now. Unless something else major happens." He sighed. "I've sent out APBs on the vehicles and the men. We're keeping an eye out just in case they have a plan of their own and didn't return home. Our manpower was stretched a little thin today trying to find you kids."
"And again, we're to blame." Gem stood up. She'd had enough. "I'll go help Doris in the kitchen."
The tea was ready to pour when she walked in. After filling several cups, Gem grabbed the tray and delivered the tea. She returned to pick up a plate of banana bread and cookies and put down on the coffee table in the living room. Back in the kitchen she stopped and stared at the food laid out. Doris was just filling a plate with spaghetti for Mark. "Oh that looks good. Will there be any left?"
"Would you like a little more? You didn't get to eat much before, did you?"
"No, and I'm pretty sure Reid could use a bite too."
Doris quickly filled two small plates. Gemma topped them with cheese and carried out the ones for the boys. "Reid, I assumed you could probably use some food?"
His face lit up like it was Christmas morning. "Oh yeah."
Mark reached for the big plate and started shoveling. Gem had to make one last trip for herself. She sat down in the middle between the guys. It didn't take long to eat her snack. She kept an eye tuned to the conversation as Doris returned with another cup of tea.
"Gemma, bedtime." Doris's worried wrinkles deepened as she stared at Gemma. "You don't look very good."
"I'm beat, that's all." She struggled to her feet, plate in hand.
Reid stood up beside her. "I'm going to bed too. It's been a brute of a day."
Mark gave a half snort as he shoveled the last of his meal in. "You've had a brute of day? What about me? I need to lie down before someone has to carry me upstairs to bed."
Gemma laughed. "That so isn't going to happen."
She groaned climbing the stairs as the two other teens followed her upstairs. It had been a hellish day for all of them. "I don't know about you, but I'm wiped. In the morning, guys."
Once she reached her room, she took her pain pills and crawled into bed.
Sometime in the night, as pain and bad memories blended and worked through her drug-sopped mind, she rode through nightmare after nightmare. When sounds of an intruder filtered in, she raced through her nightmare screaming. When the intruder made it into her bedroom, her screams of fear turned to panic. She struggled in her mind, but was held by invisible hands against the blankets wrapped around her legs. When the needle pricked her arm, she barely noticed.
The intensity of the nightmare only deepened, leaving her reeling between layers of horror and terror as new drugs deepened the layer between her nightmares and reality.
She succumbed without a whimper.
***
John opened his eyes. Morning.
He closed his eyes again. The days seemed to start earlier and earlier. Even after going to bed late last night he hadn't slept well. Doris and he had talked about their situation into the wee hours of the morning. Sleep hadn't come easy or deep after that. Through the night he thought he heard noises a couple of times, but after getting up for the second time and finding nothing out of the ordinary, he took some of Doris's herbal tablets – melatonin, or some such thing. They worked.
Now the birds chirped outside his window. Which meant he was rising late today.
Moving quietly, to give Doris an extra few minutes of well-earned rest, John showered and shaved. Looking in the mirror he could see how every hour of worry from these last few days had worked deep into the creases of his face.
In the kitchen, he set out making the coffee, and letting the cat out the door. Major still slept on the back stairs. John smiled at the old guy. He'd slept in too.
Leaving the door open, he walked through the house and unlocked the front door. He turned off the alarm, but something felt off. 'Too quiet' off. After another look out at the back yard, he frowned. Major was still lying there on the stairs. He bent down and laid a hand on the dog's neck. The warmth radiating upward reassured him. Except the dog's breathing was shallow and there was a dried white residue covering his mouth…
John straightened and raced into the house. "Doris! Doris wake up."
He ran into the bedroom. Doris was sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What's the matter, John?" She drew back her blankets, then pulled on her housecoat.
"I'm pretty sure the dog's been poisoned. I'm going to check on the kids."
She gasped in horror and he bolted back to the hallway.
"Gemma, wake up honey." He knocked on her door then pounded on Reid and Mark's door. "Everyone wake up. It's morning."
He didn't hear a sound.
"Reid? Gemma? Mark?" This time he shouted and pushed the boys bedroom door open. The room was empty. No sign of Mark or Reid anywhere.
John's stomach sank. One of them might have gone out… but both of them? He closed his eyes briefly and walked over to Gemma's room, sending up a silent prayer. Please let her be here.
He pushed the door open.
Gemma's bed was empty. Her clothes from the night before had been haphazardly tossed on the floor. Her window was open, the curtains billowing in the wind. He walked over to the window and looked out. He saw that Major still lay in his drugged state while Doris fussed over him.
John's eyes roamed the yard and returned to the side of the house. The petunias below Misty's window had been trampled.
Chills swept through John's aging body. He couldn't believe what had happened… All three kids were gone.
Had they run away as he'd heard them suggest – he had trouble believing that – or had they been taken? Again.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Gemma tried to roll over and couldn't. Still half asleep, she fell onto her back. And shuddered. She tried to swallow and gagged – her throat was dry and raspy. Giving it a second try, she managed to work up enough saliva to swallow and ease back on the sandpaper sensation.
Then she tried to open her eyes. The light blinded her. She slammed her lids shut. She didn't know if it was from the painkillers she'd taken at bedtime or just from the horrible day yesterday…but she felt like shit.
She groaned.
A second groan answered her.
She stilled. She wasn't alone. Slowly, she opened her eyes again, squinting against the light. The sun shone directly on her face, blinding her to everything else around. There shouldn't be light on the ceiling.
This wasn't her room.
And she wasn't alone.
What had happened? Was she back in the hospital? Or worse, back in the van? Yet she didn't feel panicked. Instead, fog filled her mind.
A cough sounded, followed by a hoarse throat-clearing session.
"Hello," she whispered louder.
"Gem? Is that you?"
"Yes," she said in relief. "Reid?"
"Yeah. Glad you're awake and even more that I'm not alone. Any idea what the hell has happened to us? Or where we are?"
"Hell no!" Gemma tried to sit up, only to cry out softly at the pain. Her arms were restrained. Her feet too.
Now the bindings bit into her raw flesh, flesh that was still tender from the last time. She collapsed to the floor, shaking. "I'm tied up."
"Yeah, me too."
She shuddered and gasped out, "I'm guessing it's the same assholes?"
Reid snorted. "I haven't seen anyone yet, but they get my vote."
Gem considered that as she studied the pajamas covering her legs. Thank God she'd put them on last night. Sometimes, she wore only panties.
