It was three days since the initial flood, three anxiety-filled days without a word of the Thomas boys. Surrounding towns opened their doors and heart to the survivors of the Buttershire flood. As the search and rescue continued day after day, the survivors became less, and the bodies became more.Bodies were found washed up along the banks of the rivers, and with every body bag brought through, Cynthia could only hope it was not one of her sons in those black bags.And then word came, the boys had been found.It was a bittersweet reunion for the Thomas family. Cynthia fell to her knees as Brian got off the helicopter, wrapped in a foil blanket. Joe rushed toward the young man who was helping his younger brothers out, and then Jerry came out on a gurney. There had been complications when he was rescued, but the medics on board stabilized him, all he needed was immediate medical attention.Joe enveloped his sons in his arms and kissed their wet heads as he held tight, all the while fai
James had Brian drive around seemingly without any real sense of direction. His face was still blank. Luke added a few turns or comments here and there, but not as much as James. Brian knew better than to ask who was controlling his brothers.After nearly an hour of mindless driving, James had Brian stop in front of what used to be a house. The people milling around the house were up to their calves in mud. A young girl clutched a crying baby to her chest, while two other kids were running around. A teenage boy was looking for something amongst the rubble.An older couple, that appeared to be in their mid-sixties, were being comforted by a middle-aged man when a preteen girl standing next to them. James opened the door without a word and got out of the bus. Luke followed close behind him so Brian shut the bus off and got out.“Hi, I’m James Thomas,” James said as he approached the couple.They turned to look at him and then the old man took a deep breath.“What can we do for you youn
The Thomas boys were buried the next Saturday in the family Cemetery in the corner of the property behind the waterfall that they so loved and carefully restored. Almost all of Buttershire turned up, including the divers that found them and half of the police force, Jerry included.Jerry was still a little banged up, but once he heard of the boys’ deaths he insisted he needed to attend. He believed they were the ones who saved him from a certain death.Mayor McCummins stood in the pavilion, looking back at a sea of faces, all dressed in black, and swallowed hard.“We are here today to celebrate the lives of three remarkable young men, who gave their last breath to save this town. They have made a massive impact on all of our lives, whether we know it, or not. But I know these boys touched my heart and inspired me to be better than I was.They worked hard for their family, who was their whole life. I will never forget the day when these young men first sat in my office, as I asked them
It is the 11th of May again. Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Thomas sat on the bench of the Thomas Memorial Park, staring up at the statue of three grinning young men.“I wish I had known you.” He whispered softly to the statue. “Maybe things would have been easier if you could explain them to me.”He huffed and shook his head, knowing he would never get an answer out of the stone. He leaned forward and ran his hands through his hair and took a couple of deep breaths.“There you are. I thought I’d find you here.” A voice called out to him.Jeremy did not even bother turning around. He knew his mother was right behind him.“Hey, Mom.” He smiled sadly at her and then turned his gaze back to the statue.“Are you speaking to your Uncles again?” Nadine grinned and sat down next to the boy.“No. I’m just sitting here. I feel drawn to this place.” He replied.“I know you are. You know, Brian renovated this place.” Nadine replied.“I know, and he did Thomas Gardens too,” Jeremy replied and rolled his
AUTHOR'S NOTEDEAR READER.I SINCERELY HOPE YOU ENJOY READING THIS AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED WRITING IT. IT IS A YEAR IN THE MAKING OF THIS STORY. PLEASE DROP ME A COMMENT WITH SUGGESTIONS, OR EMAIL ME AT anya1989louw@gmail.com.ENJOY!! PROLOGUEIn the town of Buttershire the surname of Thomas was not uncommon. They were the founding fathers of the town after all. Everyone knew the Thomases, as with most founding families, they were hot topics to gossip about.The town hall had mementoes of the Thomases, but only of those that did not make scandal. For those that did, they were kept hushed behind the wrought iron gates of the property on the hill. Since the nineties, no one had lived on that property for longer than six months, and rumors floated around that the place was haunted.The property on the hill was huge, and said to have been a wonderful sight to see in the twenties. But things started going downhill af
Chapter 1It was Saturday, 11th May 2019, eleven forty-six in the morning, when Joe Thomas and his wife Cynthia stopped their Nissan NV 350 minibus in front of the wrought iron gates of Thomas Gardens. Joe had picked up the keys to the family estate from his uncle Samuel three days ago.It had been a long journey for him and his family, especially for his four kids. Nadine was twenty and was about to head back for her second semester in college when Covid hit. Brian was eighteen and working hard to be the rugby squad captain, but all sports and all the schools were closed and were going to be for who knows how long. Joe looked into his rearview mirror, his youngest two boys, James, aged sixteen, and Luke, aged fourteen, was still fast asleep in the last two rows of the bus.“Get your brothers up please Brian? The truck should be here any time now.” Joe said to his oldest son and got out of the minibus to unlock the rusted padlock on the gate.“Damn Dad, when was the last time anyone
At three pm the containers were off loaded and secured as close to the house as the drivers could get them. The family locked the gates and headed back down the hill to the slumbering town.All of the guesthouses in Main Street were closed up. The kids were hungry and that was working on Joe’s nerves. Nadine was the only one who did not say anything at all.“Why don’t we go to the supermarket, they have food, if not, we’ll just make hotdogs for tonight.” Cynthia suggested softly to her husband.Joe nodded and drove to a supermarket close by.“Stay with the boys, Nadine and I will run in.” Cynthia said and grabbed her mask from the center console.Nadine did not say a word, she numbly got out of the mini-van and put her mask on just before she closed the door. She and her mother walked in step to the supermarket door where a security guard stood waiting with a hand thermometer and a bottle of sanitizer.The supermarket was quiet, and the two women were able to get to the deli without t
The Thomas family was up and getting ready to go at 8. 30 am the next morning. The cleaning company had promised they would be ready to start at 9 am.“Can’t I just stay here Dad?” Luke had begged his father as he rushed them to the minibus.“I’m sorry Luke but no. I need everyone’s help with this, you are going to have to help your brothers outside. You do understand that the gardening services are not open yet.” Joe told him.“Neither is the cleaning services but you got them out anyway,” Luke argued. “We need to move in, I need to get back to work by Tuesday, and by then, everything needs to be done. Are we clear?” Joe said to his youngest impatiently.“Yes, Dad,” Luke said and very reluctantly got into the bus.The ten-minute drive to the Thomas Gardens seemed to take only a few seconds. Luke’s heart was pounding in his chest. He had seen a lot of people the previous day, and all of them had signaled him to be quiet before they vanished right before his eyes. None of the