I wake up in my sleeping bag. Now sitting, I glance at Jordan, Chelsea, and the other two girls, sound asleep in our tent. I hear rustling outside, but I call no one. To remove my fear, I pray all night until morning. Twelve children, Blake, Malika, Toni, and I, end our camping trip. We get on the bus and head to church. During breakfast, Pastor Gene gives an excellent message. Afterward, we eat and fellowship as we always do every Sunday. Then, finally, I'm home.Lavender and vanilla pleases my senses as I enter my homey condominium. My balcony's open doors usher in a refreshing Summer breeze from the lake. After a brief nap, I'm up late putting together a portfolio to show new clients. My small office is downtown. It's very quaint and decorated perfectly. All my clients desire my services due to the excellence of my humble office.Deep Woods has always been a vacation city. Many wealthy people build vacation homes around the lake and visit during the Summer. There's a beautiful n
Maybe Annie got what she deserved. Call me insane, crazy, a lunatic if they like, but I'm at peace. Whatever the outcome, miraculously, I could see every event before it happened. There were no secrets withheld from me from the moment our eyes met. I saw Tristan before I saw Tristan. We met in my dreams, as he so eloquently put it. And I knew he represented evil before I knew he was evil. Still, I chose him.Many saw me going through these tragic moments and questioned why a loving God allowed me to go through something so atrocious. Then I, the so-called believer, never had an answer as if this wicked relationship or thing was forced upon me. Toni, Annie, Alexandria, Samantha, and I are guilty of the same charge. Like them, I knew Tristan wasn't right, but I wanted to make him right. But most of all, I wanted God to make him right. With all my loyalty and commitment to God, the least He could do was grant me the love I wanted. Right?This is a voluntary army. Soldiers aren't rewar
Unable to sleep, I'm consumed with thoughts of Tristan. In an attempt to win me back, the final time I saw him that night in the woods, he told of how Annie ended up at his mother's funeral with him. Annie said, "Women always talk too much about their man, especially during bad times. Jade had nothing good to say about Tristan that entire week in Indigo Bay. A few days after meeting him, I ran into Tristan jogging by the lake. It wasn't by accident. I wanted him, so I started stalking him, for lack of a better word. Then, knowing how corny and boring Jade was in bed as this confused church girl, I just wanted to blow his mind. I'd often think, what could he possibly find sexually gratifying about a woman who seemed to boast about how pitiful she was in bed? I drive up next to him. Rolling down my passenger window, I greet, "Hey, handsome. Is Jade home?" Jogging in place, he stopped and turned to face me. With the brightest, sexiest smile, he says, "Annie. How are you?" Watching
"Uh, yes, praise God! ...Did they catch the killer, do you know?""No! The police believe it's more than one person! So these maniacs are still loose!""Thanks, Mrs. Cloverly, but I have to call my family. Goodbye."Immediately, I called Missy, but I got no answer. I call her back to back to backâstill nothing. I call my brother, he answers."Tim! Have you talked to Missy!" "No. What's wrong?""Tristan--I mean, someone massacred my neighborhood!""What?""Yes! Please find Missy and have her call me at once!"I'm heading back to Maine, but my flight doesn't leave until tomorrow afternoon. Now, at an airport hotel restaurant, the world news is playing this gruesome massacre nonstop. As I sit traumatized because Missy still hasn't called, someone taps me."May I join you?" He asks.Startled, I nod yes. Chucking, he greets, "Hi, I'm David, and you are?""Jade.""Nice to meet you."I allow him to join me, but my eyes are fixed on the television. "Horrible, what happened there, huh?" he as
Trey was appalled that I never knew what Black Corporation was all about. On the surface, it was a science technology business, but their expertise was bioweapons and elite weapons of war.Larry Black was a mad scientist. He secretly created weapons of mass destruction and sold them. However, he wanted to create a superman or power. He heard of superpowers in Brazil and decided to go there, and he found Trey. Larry cunningly sets his own wife up to fall for Trey. Larry wanted a child that would hopefully possess this power. His wicked desire was fulfilled. He knew Trey would eventually try to set Tristan free, so Larry tried to find ways to make himself one with Tristan. After successfully extracting some of Tristan's DNA, Larry put it into his body. But it was killing him. It reacted as Cancer or any terminal disease reacts to our bodies. It was a foreign cell that needed to be removed. Trey then revealed to me that it was Larry I saw I killed in Lightning, New York, the night of
Slowly, I walk towards him, but he doesn't approach me. Motionless, he stands, waiting for me to reach him. The closer I get, the more he starts turning his neck as if tired and stretching with his eyes closed. Once he opens them, they glow bright. Immediately, I run back towards the elevators because I know he's about to change. Captain Brunson yells, "NOW!"One soldier snatches me into the elevator. As we head down, all I hear are bullets. I begin to scream, "NOOOO!"We enter the lobby, and the crowd is being escorted out. The soldier puts me and Christina into a truck and then sends us away. They take us to the military base. I'm there until morning, waiting to hear from Captain Brunson. I'm lying on a cot asleep when I hear cheering. As soon as I sat up, I saw Captain Brunson. Now weeping, he comes and pulls a chair next to my cot, asking, "How are you?" Tears stream as I shake my head. He continues, "You have someone else to live for now. Christina's going to need you strong."