They arrived at the boys’ home and walked to the front door. The red patch on Connor’s face had subsided. Another car came screeching into the driveway and Connor realized it was Beth Perry. Connor expressed his frustration. “This is all we need.”
Beth emerged from her car and said, “What the hell are you guys doing? Amanda, are you OK?”
Amanda assured Beth that she was fine and told her that she needed to go home.
Beth replied, “I’m not leavin’ you here alone with these two weirdoes.” Beth invited herself into the Chance home and stood there waiting for an explanation.
April emerged from the kitchen and saw the boys and two girls. “It looks like we have some things to talk about, don’t we?”
Beth Perry gave her an earful. “We sure do. Who do you people think you are? You kidnap Amanda, scratch up my car, and then act like it’s not a big deal.”
April looked to Connor and said, “We really need to speak to Amanda alone.”
Connor replied, “Say no more.” He picked up Beth Perry, threw her over his shoulder, and carried her to April’s room.
“Put me down! Let me go!” Connor pulled April’s door closed and locked it from the outside.
“I’ll let you out after we get done talkin’ to Amanda.” The muffled sounds of a very irate teenager could be heard coming from April’s bedroom. Connor said, “She knows some flashy words, doesn’t she?”
April looked at Amanda and said, “Sorry about that, but she doesn’t need to hear what we’re gonna tell you.”
Amanda examined the boys and their mother and said, “Just tell me what’s going on. Why can’t I go home?”
Matthew wanted to let Amanda know as much as he could, without giving away too much. “This Keith Kellington has figured out a way to use that charm as a weapon and he wants it. It’s nothing you did or your parents did. He’ll do whatever he has to do to get that necklace.”
Amanda walked around the room and grabbed a hold of the charm that dangled from her neck. She asked, “Why didn’t he just come after me and take it from me? Why’s he holding my parents and my little brother?”
Matthew knew he had to be careful and decided to focus on the how and avoid the why. “The only way Keith can actually get the charm from you is to have you actually hand it over to him. If he simply takes it from you, it can’t be turned into a weapon.” Amanda shook her head, both confused and in disbelief.
Matthew continued, “He’ll threaten to hurt your parents, or maybe your brother, if you don’t give him the charm.”
April jumped in before Amanda could respond. “You have to understand that this man will kill your family just to get that charm. He’ll have no remorse and he will torture them until you give it to him.”
Amanda had tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked to Matthew and asked, “What am I supposed to do?”
Matthew put his hands on Amanda’s shoulders and walked her away from Connor and April toward the kitchen. He took a moment to wipe the tears from her cheeks, making sure to take a mental picture of her beautiful face. He knew this would be the last time he spoke with her. He slowly took the charm in his hand and said, “I need you to give me your necklace.”
Amanda backed away from Matthew and glared into his moist eyes. Matthew took the fake stone that Mr. Wainright had given to him and said, “You need to give Keith, or whoever else wants the necklace, this fake one. If you give this to him, he’ll think he has what he needs and leave your family alone.”
Amanda took a step closer to Matthew and said, “How do I know you and your family aren’t after the weapon, too?”
Matthew shook his head slowly and simply said, “You don’t. All I can ask you to do is trust me and know that I only want to keep you safe.”
Amanda didn’t hesitate and made her decision. She reached behind her neck and unclasped her necklace. She held the charm and necklace out and dangled it in front of Matthew’s face. She quietly said to him, “I do trust you. You take the charm.”
A yellow light emitted from the charm as it pulled from the setting of the necklace. It was thrust from the small setting and Matthew’s Hathmec was exposed from under his shirt. The charm maneuvered its way into a rectangular spot at the top left of the pendant. Within seconds, Matthew felt that something was different.
Amanda couldn’t believe what she had seen but had enough sense to place the fake charm into her necklace setting. She reclasped the necklace and asked Matthew, “Are you OK? What just happened?”
Matthew assured her that he was fine and everything was going as expected. In reality, Matthew was pretty freaked out by what had happened, too. Walter had never said anything about floating or glowing charms.
Amanda reentered the living room. Connor let Beth out of his mother’s room. She bypassed Connor, found Amanda on the couch, and whispered, “Don’t worry. I called your parents from that room; they’ll be here any minute.”
Connor heard what she said and yelled to April, “She called Amanda’s parents! They’ll be here any minute!”
April immediately signaled to the boys. “We’ve got to get out of here, right now. Matthew, do you have the charm?” Matthew patted his chest and glanced at Amanda. April knew that he had what they had come for.
Connor had already made his way to the front door, but quickly turned back. “It’s too late, they’re already here.” Everyone in the Chance home heard the doors slamming shut from three black vehicles that now blocked their exit.
April looked to Amanda and said, “No matter what happens, just give them that fake charm when you get home. You’re gonna be just fine.”
Matthew stood as close to Amanda as he could when the door to his home burst open and three men entered, led by Keith Kellington himself. Connor took a position in front of his mother as Keith walked by him and approached Amanda Curry.
“Well, Ms. Curry, you have been a hard one to find today.”
Amanda slowly backed away from him and asked, “Where are my parents?”
“Oh, you’ll see them soon enough. You need to come with me now, and then you’ll get to see them.”
Beth Perry got between Amanda and Keith. “I don’t know who you are, mister, but Amanda isn’t going anywhere until her parents get here.”
Keith Kellington took his hand out of his jacket pocket and made a quick tossing motion toward Beth Perry. A light mist hit Beth in the chest and Keith said to her, “Sit down on the couch and don’t move.”
Immediately, Beth Perry moved toward the couch, sat down, and became a statue. She was straining with everything she had just to wiggle a finger, but she was unable to. Keith finished, “You can continue to breathe.”
Amanda looked to her friend, unaware of the power that had full control over her body. “Beth, what’s wrong? Look at me!” Keith focused on Amanda as Matthew stepped over and blocked his path.
“Just leave her alone.”
Keith took an overview of the room and said, “You people just keep sticking your noses in my business. I’ll just have to take care of that, this time.”
He flung carrier stones at all three of the Chance family and said, “Don’t move.” The family knew that they couldn’t let on that they had the health charm protecting them, so they became motionless. Keith put his mouth up to April’s ear and said, “I don’t think your cop friend can save you tonight.”
He walked back toward Amanda and said, “I have a way of getting people to do what I want them to do. Watch this.” He looked back to the Chance family and said, “Walk over to the kitchen window and stare out of it.” The family made their way to the window, as instructed, while they fought every temptation to turn around and fight the awful man. The boys were confident that if they just let Amanda go with him, Amanda would be all right. Once he had the charm, she would be all right.
“OK, Ms. Curry, now to you. A
m I going to have to ask you again to come with me?” The two men who had entered with Keith Kellington snickered and opened the door to walk out. Amanda turned toward the back door to make a run for it, but Keith had already tossed the carrier stone onto her back. “Walk with me to the car,” he ordered. Amanda made her way with Keith out the front door, and he shut it behind him.
As Keith and Amanda got into a black car, he turned to one of the men accompanying him and said, “Burn it down.”
The remaining men began tossing gasoline onto the home’s structure and even walked back into the house to lead a stream from the kitchen. The boys and April had actually started to move until they heard that the door was opening again. The men didn’t notice that they were no longer looking out the window. As the last man left the home, he flicked a match and yelled, “It’s gonna get hot in here!”
The inside of the home started to burn. Connor and Matthew headed toward the bedroom to get their backpacks, but April screamed out, “Connor, you get Beth! Matthew can get the backpacks!” The home started to fill with dark smoke and some of the structure began to give way. April was able to grab her most-needed belongings, including her bag and some prestored food.
Connor picked up Beth Perry, who had started to regain some power over her own movements. “Don’t worry, Beth. I’ll get you outta here.”
She tried to say something, but didn’t have enough control over her lips to get the words out. Connor raced from the back door and cleared the home to find April waiting by the stretch of woods behind the house. Just then, a loud explosion rocked the home as a main gas line ignited.
April desperately looked around. “Where’s Matthew? Connor, where’s Matthew?”
Connor still held Beth Perry in his arms and began turning his head from side to side. “I don’t see him.”
April began crying out, “Matthew! Matthew!” April’s pulse quickened and a panic gripped her like she had never felt before. Her child was missing or hurt or even dead. She started to rationalize in her own mind, He has the health charm; he’ll be fine. She called out again, “Matthew!”
“I heard you!” Matthew emerged from the smoky corner of the house. “Don’t worry, I made it out the bedroom window.” Matthew walked up from the end of what used to be the east side of the house, carrying all of the family’s backpacks.
April rushed over to her son and gave him a big hug. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
Matthew grinned at the outpouring of emotion and looked over to his brother. “I see you got the most important item from the house.” Connor stood motionless and looked down to see Beth Perry trying to catch her breath.
“You can put me down now!”
Connor replied, “You’re welcome for saving your life.” He immediately dropped her into the cold grass. He couldn’t believe a girl so cute could be such a pain.
Beth regained her composure as she regained the function of her body. “What in the hell’s goin’ on here? Who were those guys? What are they doing with Amanda? Why couldn’t I move?” She looked to the corner of the burning home and said, “What are those nerds doing here?”
Matthew turned to see that Jack and Cassie Jenkins had arrived at the burning remains of the Chance home. April looked to her sons and said, “What are they doing here?”
Matthew replied that he had no idea, but he would get to the bottom of it. April turned her attention to Beth Perry.
“Look, dear, everything’s gonna be OK, but you need to go home and forget any of this ever happened.”
Beth Perry pushed Connor to the side and replied, “I’m not going anywhere until I have some answers, and when I call the police, believe you me, I’ll get answers.” She got directly into April’s face and said, “Or maybe I’ll just have my father, a county judge, take care of you people.”
April nodded her head in agreement and said, “Just wait here for a minute.”
April slipped over to Connor and asked him if there was any room in the shed behind the house to store some extra baggage. Connor understood the question and replied, “There’s plenty of room.” April walked back to the opinionated cheerleader and asked her to take a walk with her.
“I’m not going anywhere with you crazy people. You’re all going to jail.” So Connor once again threw Beth Perry over his shoulder. Beth, once again, began crying out, “Put me down! My dad is gonna kick your ass for this!”
Cassie and Jack seemed shaken by what they saw. They looked to Matthew and he calmed their nerves.
“Don’t worry; you can let her out after we’re gone. Just give us a ten- or fifteen-minute head start.”
Profanity continued spewing from the shed as Jack replied, “We’ll give you thirty minutes, just to make sure.”
Cassie looked to Matthew and told him that the fire department would be there any minute. “We can tell them that no one was home when the fire started.” She asked, “How did the fire start?”
Matthew told her it would be better if she didn’t know that. He asked, “So what are you two doin’ here?”
Jack replied, “We weren’t sure about you guys at first. You could have all been evil aliens plotting to take over the world.” Matthew raised his eyebrows and waited for the point. Jack continued, “Of course, we know differently now.” Jack smirked as he paused after the last statement. “Anyway, we had done some digging around your house and in your garbage cans, and we came across something you probably don’t want found by the wrong people.”
Jack presented Matthew with a large envelope that was addressed to April. He looked the envelope over and could see that it was from Walter Wainright. “I saw this the other night.”
Cassie interrupted and said, “I think it may be something about Amanda. Is she gonna be all right?”
Matthew opened the envelope and began to read what Walter had specifically written to April. As he moved his eyes down the page, he started to understand why he wanted only April to see it. He patted Jack on the back and gave Cassie a small peck on the cheek. He told them to hide in the woods until the fire department got there. “You need to make sure that Beth gets out OK. It’s time for us to get back where we belong.”
Cassie could barely contain her excitement from the peck, so she lunged at Matthew and planted a good long wet kiss right on his lips. Matthew staggered and regained his composure long enough to say, “OK, then.”
Cassie asked, “Will we ever see you again?”
Matthew looked at the setting sun, partially blocked by the smoke that billowed from the house. “I don’t know, Cassie. Only time will tell.” Cassie dropped her head and grabbed her brother’s hand. The brother and sister made their way into the woods and took up a position where they wouldn’t be seen.
April and Connor had made their way back from the shed. April told Connor, “I hope that door can hold her. She’s strong for a little cheerleader.”
April saw Matthew standing with his back to the blaze and said, “OK, boys, we got what we came for; it’s time to get back to the tunnel.”
Matthew held the envelope in the air for his mother and brother to see and responded with a resounding, “Sorry, April, plans have changed. We’re not going anywhere!”
Chapter 15
the strength of many
April looked at Matthew and realized what he held in his hand. “Where did you find that?”
Matthew separated the paper from the envelope and handed it to Connor before he replied, “It doesn’t matter where I found it.” Matthew walked over to his mother and stared deep into her eyes. A small tear formed in the corner of both their eyes and Matthew, with a broken voice, asked, “How could you keep this from us?”
Connor finished reading the letter and said, “She’s gonna die? That can’t be right; we gave her the fake charm. That was the plan; give her the fake charm and it’s like we were never here.”
&n
bsp; April couldn’t look her son in the eye but tried to explain her actions. “You don’t understand. We had to get the charm, but we can’t change history; it’s just too dangerous.”
Matthew couldn’t believe what he was hearing and replied, “We have changed history; she’s not supposed to die!”
“She dies regardless, Matthew! Whether she gives Keith the real charm or the fake one, she dies either way. That’s why Walter sent me the letter. He wanted to make sure we were gone before you found out what really happens.”
Matthew took a piece of wood that was lying at the edge of the woods and threw it into the fire. Anger built in his gut as he asked his mother, “So was the family thing a big lie too, April!” April realized that Matthew had called her by name.
Matthew continued, “I’ve seen what a real family is, and they would do anything for each other—like the Curry family. We came here to stop someone who has no compassion or feelings toward human life, but you’re no better. These are people we know don’t deserve what’s happening to them. How does that make us any different from Minister Hathmec?”
April dried the tears from her eyes and defended her decisions. “We’re not responsible for everyone in the world. We can only do what we can do to make things better, and if that means a few good people have to die, then that’s what has to happen.”
She took the letter from Connor and threw it into the fire. “There will be and have been many others that have died fighting against the minister. Amanda and her family are just a few of the many.”
April picked one of the bags from the ground and continued, “We are a family. We are the Chances and you are my sons and if there is one thing that I have learned while living in Travis, it’s that I will do anything to protect my family. Now this discussion is over.”
April tossed the first bag in the car as sirens blared in the background. Connor paused and said, “I hear the fire trucks; we need to get out of here.” Matthew bypassed his mother and proceeded to Beth Perry’s car, still parked at the front of the house.
Last Chance Page 21
