Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, concepts, or places in seaQuest. Amblin Entertainment, Sci Fi Channel, and Rockne S. O'Bannon. No money was made, I 'm just borrowing them for a bit g
Rated: R for violence
Notes: Thanks to Mel and AT who gave me awesome betaing. g. This was a present for Cara who saved me. I lost a major part of another story and she forwarded it to me...otherwise Past Hauntings never would have been finished g. Thanks Cara!
Lucas Wolenczak looked out the window of the vehicle as it pulled up to the curb. His gaze met a regular split level home, with a wide front lawn and a columned porch. He glanced back at the driver of the car.
"What I don't get," he began, staring angrily at the grinning man, "is how I ended up having this job." The man smiled genially back at him and stepped out of the car, motioning for him to do the same.
"It's very simple, Lucas," Captain Nathan Bridger said. "We wanted to surprise Dr. Westphalen with a dinner on her birthday, with her sister there, too. And her sister was only too happy to do it, but the babysitter dropped out at the last minute. So I volunteered you." He continued to smile as Lucas glared at him. They walked up to the front porch and rang the bell, waiting for the door to open.
"Yeah, but why do I have to be the babysitter? I might have had other things to do tonight, you know. It's not every day that we have leave." Lucas responded grouchily. The thought of having to spend the evening babysitting a couple of kids was not totally unappealing. Hell, he liked kids just fine; he was a kid. He just didn't like the idea that he had been "volunteered" for this without anyone asking how he felt about the idea. It reminded him too much of how his parents treated him....when they noticed he was around at all.
He looked up as Nathan sighed and ran a hand down his face then looked beseechingly at the boy.
"Come on, Lucas. I wouldn't have had you do this, but we were in a bind. You were the only one available tonight that Kristin and her sister would have trusted with the kids. The rest of the senior staff is going to the restaurant with us, and Mary doesn't have anyone else to ask. Please, just be pleasant. All right?" He finished as the door slammed open.
They looked down, startled, at the two children staring up at them. The girl looked to be about seven-years-old, with brown hair and bright blue eyes. The boy was about a year younger, with blond hair and brown eyes. They looked up seriously at the strangers on the porch.
"Hi!" said the girl brightly, smiling widely. "Are you Lucas?" she asked, staring up at him. Lucas nodded hesitantly, and she laughed. "I'm Sarah, and this, " she continued, pointing at the boy, "is my little brother Jonah. I'm seven and he's five. How old are you?"
"Fifteen," Lucas answered.
"Oh wow, that's old! You're almost as old as my dad! And he's really old!" Nathan bit back a smile as Lucas glanced sideways at him. Sarah continued, barely pausing for breath. "My mom's almost as old as my dad, but he's still older. What do you like to do?" Before Lucas could open his mouth, Jonah broke in, obviously having been waiting for his chance to speak.
"Do you like to play video games? I have a ton of them. They're really cool! I also got lots of spacemen figures to play with! Do you like to play with action figures?"
"They're not action figures. They're dolls, dummy," Sarah said, obviously replaying an old argument.
"They are not dolls!" Jonah screeched indignantly, his male pride bruised. "They're action figures. Even Daddy said so! So there!" he yelled, sticking his tongue out at her. She stuck her tongue out in return and the two stood glaring at each other.
"Jonah, Sarah? What- guys!" a man came into view, looking exasperatedly at the children. They jumped and looked up guiltily. "Why don't you let our guests in before they freeze to death?" He smiled at Nathan and Lucas as they finally managed to step into the room. Sarah closed the door behind them and came to stand next to Lucas, taking his hand.
Startled, he looked down at her, then over at Nathan. The Captain smiled at him and turned to greet the man.
"Hello. You must be Sam. I'm Nathan Bridger." The two men shook hands.
"Glad you could make it, Nathan. We've been looking forward to meeting you since Kristin first mentioned you." Sam turned his attention to Lucas, who now had Jonah attached to his left hand and Sarah attached to his right hand. He had a completely bewildered expression on his face as he looked down at the two of them, and Sam had to laugh. At least he hadn't run screaming from the house when he met the kids...yet.
"You must be Lucas," he said, smiling at the boy. Lucas nodded at him, still too preoccupied with the children to notice much else around him. "I see that Sarah and Jonah have already "introduced" themselves to you." Lucas looked up at him and nodded weakly, not at all sure what he had gotten himself into. Sam glanced at Nathan and they fought back a wave of laughter.
"Hey guys?" Sam said, smiling at the children. "Why don't you show Lucas to the kitchen. I'm sure Aunt Kristin would love to introduce him to your mom." The kids squealed and took off for the kitchen, pulling Lucas after them.
He fought to keep from falling as they practically leaped forward, each one tightly holding his hands. He heard laughter from behind him, but he couldn't turn around to glare at the two men for fear of losing his balance.
Jonah and Sarah tugged Lucas through the living room, which was dominated by two large windows, and the dining room to emerge breathless in the kitchen.
Startled, the two women standing at the counter turned to look at the trio as they burst into the kitchen. Kristin fought to hide her smile as she took in the sight of Lucas, out of breath, standing between the two hyperactive children. She looked over at Mary, and noticed that the corners of her mouth were twitching as she fought off laughter.
"Mommy! This is Lucas!" Sarah said excitedly, already looking up at Lucas worshipfully. He smiled back down at her, chest still rising rapidly from the run they had given him. She was just too cute to stay exasperated with, and Jonah was a sweet kid, too. It wasn't their fault that he had been railroaded into this.
"Hello, Lucas. It's nice to meet you," Mary said, smiling at him. "I can't thank you enough for doing this, especially with the short notice and all. We didn't pull you away from anything important, did we?" she asked. Lucas shook his head.
"No, I was just going to stay and work on some...stuff. Nothing big." Kristin smiled gratefully at him for not making a big deal about it. She looked behind him as the two men walked in.
"Well, gang," Sam said clapping his hands together, "should we be going? We don't want to leave your crew waiting for us," he finished, glancing at Nathan and Kristin. Nathan nodded.
"Good idea. I don't think I want to leave Krieg alone with the rest of the crew. There's no telling what might happen." They all laughed, Sam and Mary having heard about Ben from Kristin. The group walked into the front entryway, Sarah and Jonah still clinging tightly to Lucas' hands. The adults quickly put on their coats and prepared to leave.
"Now," Mary said, getting down to business. "They've already eaten, so you won't need to worry about that. Jonah should go to bed in a half an hour, and Sarah thirty minutes after that." She held up her hands as the kids started to complain. "No arguments guys, or I'll make your bedtime now." They looked at each other and sighed, recognizing the "don't mess with me" tone in their mother's voice. Mary smiled, satisfied, before returning her attention to Lucas.
"The emergency numbers are on the message pad, right by the phone, and I wrote down the number of the restaurant, and the-" she broke off, glancing over to where Nathan and Sam were occupying Kristin. "Club where we'll be taking her later. She loves old time ballroom dancing, and I found a place that is having a dance tonight. We probably won't be home until pretty late, so feel free to crash out on the couch, or in the guest room upstairs, all right?" He nodded at her, absorbing the information as fast as he could.
"Good. I already put their pj's out on their beds and you can have them put them on after we leave. Uummm, I think that's it. Call us if you need anything," she said over her shoulder as the others dragged her out to the car. Lucas nodded again, a little unsettled by all the changes that had occurred in less then five minutes. Sarah and Jonah waved goodbye to the adults from the front porch and then dragged Lucas inside, eager to play with him.
The last thing Lucas heard before Jonah slammed the door shut, was the Captain wishing him a good night.
"But I don't wanna go to bed now! We just got to the good part!" Jonah whined as Lucas led him upstairs. The little boy rubbed his eyes tiredly and continued to trudge up the stairs beside Lucas, his feet making no sound on the carpet. After the adults had left, Lucas had made the kids run upstairs and put their pajamas on.
Jonah had come back downstairs, dressed only in his Underoos, holding up his blue Dr. Dentons. Lucas had taken pity on him, and helped him get dressed, smiling at the little boy as he zipped him up. Jonah had given him a hug, and run off to find Sarah, leaving Lucas with a surprised expression on his face. Sarah had come down a second later, wearing a pink, blue and white striped pair of pajamas that made her look like a character from a Dr. Seuss book.
She'd dragged out a board game, and somehow convinced Jonah that it would be fun. They'd been playing for a while, and Jonah had been winning, when Lucas looked up and noticed that is was already fifteen minutes past the little boy's bedtime. Jonah had not been happy to be taken away from the game.
"C'mon Lucas, do I havta go to bed?" Lucas smiled at him, actually amused by his antics.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so," he answered, picking up the little boy and depositing him gently on his bed. Jonah pouted and sank down, crossing his arms over his chest as Lucas pulled the covers over him. "I'm sorry," Lucas said, "but it's already past your bedtime." Jonah sighed loudly and glanced at him balefully. Lucas bit back his laughter, remembering how awful it felt when an adult laughed at you. He wasn't an adult, but he knew that Jonah thought he was one.
"Can I at least have a story?" Jonah asked finally, blowing the hair out of his eyes. Sarah bounced up out of nowhere and handed Lucas a book before settling down next to Jonah.
"Mommy and Daddy are reading this one to us." She smiled up at Lucas as he opened the book.
Ten minutes later, he looked down to see that both his charges were asleep, the brown hair and the blond hair mixing on the pillow. He quietly set the book down on the night table and slid his arms under Sarah. Picking her up, he carried her into her room, laying her on her bed and tucking the cover over her. Impulsively, he bent down and kissed her forehead.
"G'night Sarah," he whispered. He left the room, making sure to leave the door cracked so he could hear her. He repeated the same "ritual" in Jonah's room, kissing the boy's forehead and leaving the door open a crack. Although he didn't realize it, and probably wouldn't have admitted it even if he had, he was very good with children, somehow sensing what they needed. Maybe he was making up for what he'd subconsciously felt was missing from his own childhood.
Later that evening, Lucas sat on the couch in the living room, the TV blaring with an old time horror movie about a crazed killer wearing a hockey mask. Lucas kept laughing every time another "victim" met with the killer. Those old movies were just too cheesy to be real!
He jumped as the vidphone rang in the next room, and laughed at himself.
"That movie must have gotten to me more than I realized," Lucas thought as he went to answer the phone. He hit the button and waited for the screen to flare to life. Sam looked up at him, and Lucas could hear muffled laughter in the background.
"Hi Lucas, how's it going?" Sam asked, checking to see if all of the boy's limbs were still attached. He loved his children, but he knew they were no angels. Lucas laughed at the expression on the man's face.
"Everything's fine," he answered reassuringly. "Jonah and Sarah have been in bed for an hour, and I haven't heard anything since." Sam looked surprised.
"They didn't hassle you about the bedtime?" he asked. Lucas shook his head.
"Maybe a little," he answered, "but I just read to them and they fell asleep in the middle of it." Sam's eyebrows raised in surprise. The boy was good. Usually, Jonah and Sarah would hassle the babysitters about bedtime, asking for additional glasses of water, and getting up to go to the bathroom every ten minutes. If Lucas had managed to get them into bed, and asleep with barely an argument, then he was a miracle worker!
"Really," he paused and smiled at the boy. "How long is the seaQuest going to be in dock?" Lucas laughed and Sam ended the call, saying that they were on their way to the ballroom, and that they would be in touch later.
Lucas looked up from the phone and walked back into the living room, a sudden chill going down his spine. He stopped and hesitantly looked around, trying to decide what had caused the hairs on his arms to stand up.
His eyes swept over the TV, still blaring the old movie, and over the couch where he'd been sitting. He inched his eyesight slowly along, not wanting to see anything out of the ordinary. The remote control was still lying where he'd carelessly tossed it on the couch. The glass of soda he'd been drinking still sat on the table, a ring slowly forming around it. His eyes continued searching, looking for anything out of place, anything that wasn't right.
He jumped as the latest victim screamed from the TV, and he glanced over, his heart in his throat. His eyes widened as he took in the open window behind the TV. The curtains wafted softly in the breeze, their billowy shapes resembling ghosts more than he wanted to think about right then. He walked over slowly, his eyes darting every which way and still searching for something out of the ordinary.
He peered into the darkness searching for something, but at the same time not wanting to see anything. Nothing was out there, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He slowly reached his hand out and pulled the window in toward himself. He could have sworn that it had been closed when the adults left, but then again, in all the confusion, he could have missed it.
He looked up at the dark clouds gathering in the sky and gulped, suddenly very sure that it was not going to be a fun night. Dark clouds always meant something was going to happen. The breeze picked up, ruffling his hair and bringing the scent of ozone with it. He hurriedly closed the window, pulling the curtains shut behind him, and resolutely faced into the room again, his heart still pounding loudly in his ears. He continued to eye the room, looking ever so slowly out of the corner of his eye, certain that at any moment he was going to come face to face with something...something very bad.
He finished his circuit of the room, nothing jumping out at him as being "wrong". The window could have been open the entire time, and he just hadn't noticed it until the breeze outside had picked up, moving the curtains. He slowly inhaled and laughed at himself.
"No more movies like that for you," he thought as he crossed the room. He settled back on the couch and resolutely flipped the channels, coming across a comedy. He settled back into the cushions to watch, forgetting all about his earlier fright.
Lucas looked up from the movie, hearing the vidphone in the other room "ring" again. Sighing, he pushed himself up and walked over to the phone, thinking about how anal parents could be. He reached down and flicked it on, expecting to see the smiling face of either Sam or Mary. When the screen remained blank, he started to tap the keys, trying to bring up a picture. When nothing happened again, he shrugged and started to walk away, telling himself to tell Sam and Mary their phone was on the fritz.
"Enjoying yourself?" a voice asked. Lucas froze in his tracks, the earlier feeling of being watched returning with a vengeance. He looked around cautiously, forcing his head to move a millimeter at a time. An unsettling fear that he would see something truly horrible if he moved his head too fast settled in on him and he gulped.
"Who...who said that?" he asked fearfully. He finished looking around the room, finding no one there and nothing out of place. It was very quiet, and he could hear the faucet dripping in the kitchen. The air was still and heavy, nothing moved in the darkness beyond the doorway. He was alone.
"I did," the voice said, chuckling lowly. Lucas swallowed, realizing that the voice was coming from the vidphone. He started to walk slowly toward the phone, reaching his hand out to touch the disconnect button. Just as he made contact with the phone, the voice chuckled again.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," it said evilly. Lucas froze; realizing that whoever was behind the call could see him....even if he couldn't see them. A shiver ran down his spine and he glanced around, fighting off the urge to dive under the desk -- to hide from the unknown entity on the other end of the line. He looked up as the voice spoke again.
"So...have you checked on the children?" Lucas went pale hearing the vague threat behind the words. He narrowed his eyes as a thought occurred to him. Surprisingly, he smiled.
"Hey man, I don't know who you are, but you can just go to hell. I've already seen this movie." Snickering, Lucas shut off the phone, and turned around. The feeling of being watched settled over him once again and he swallowed, trying to fight off the panic attempting to grab hold of him. He shut his eyes tightly, reverting back to the childhood maxim, "If I can't see them, then they can't see me."
"C'mon, Lucas. Don't let it get to you. It's just some stupid kids making a dumb prank call. Get over it." He breathed in slowly, pushing the panic down with difficulty. Resolutely he headed for the stairs to check on the kids. They may have been copying a dumb movie, but whoever had called had made him nervous. Besides, it was about time to check on them anyway.
Lucas walked into the upstairs hall and peered into the darkness, vainly searching for something, but at the same time desperately hoping he wouldn't see anything. He slowly reached his hand around the corner, feeling for the light switch. His hand slid across the wall, rubbing over the bumpy texture, his fingertips searching for the light panel. He had a vague suspicion, that there was something there --something that was going to reach out any second and grab him, pulling him into the darkness of the hallway. He closed his eyes tightly, fingers searching faster. His hand touched the light panel, and he pushed the switch hurriedly.
Light flooded the hallway, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut against the glare. Opening them slowly, he peered down the hall, relieved to find that it was empty. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, Lucas continued on down the hallway to the kids' rooms. He reached Sarah's room first, and cautiously peered inside.
The little girl was sprawled out, the covers kicked to the bottom of the bed. Lucas smiled and crept into the room, trying not to wake the girl up. He gently pulled the covers back over her, smiling as she burrowed under them. He tiptoed back out, leaving the door open a crack behind him. He crossed the hall to Jonah's room, and opened the door, expecting to see the little boy sound asleep in bed.
The bed was empty, the covers pushed to the bottom much like Sarah's had been. Lucas blinked and looked at the bed again; sure his eyes were playing tricks on him. The bed stayed empty and Lucas flipped the light on quickly, no longer caring if he woke Jonah. He just wanted to find him. The call from earlier came back to him, and he swallowed harshly. What if that hadn't been a prank? What if some monster had taken Jonah and was now taunting him?
"Jonah?" Lucas called loudly, "Jonah, where are you?" he walked quickly into the room, heart racing. He pulled the covers off the bed, hoping the little boy had just scrunched under them. He gazed down at the empty bed, his heart sinking. Bending down, he peered under the bed. Nothing. He jumped up and raced to the closet, his breath pounding in his ears. The closet was empty, and Lucas closed his eyes tightly, not knowing what to do and dreading the call he was going to have to make.
"Lucas?" He spun around, looking towards the door and the direction of the voice. Jonah stood in the doorway, a sleepy expression on his face and his pajamas half unzipped. "What are you doing?" Lucas strode toward the door and grabbed the little boy. Picking him up, he gave him a tight hug, relief washing through his body. Jonah hugged him, bewildered at his strange behavior.
"Jonah, where were you?" Lucas asked gently, trying not to upset the little boy. Lucas breathed slowly, trying to calm his racing heart and ease his shaking. Prank call or not, that had been just a little too close for his comfort.
"I had to go potty," Jonah answered, yawning. Lucas smiled and squeezed him again. He placed the little boy on the bed, and finished zipping up his pj's. He pulled the covers up over him and looked down to see that he was already asleep. Lucas brushed some of the hair out of the little boy's face and stood back up. He pressed his hand against his chest and tried to calm down, but his heart was still racing a mile a minute.
He stood watching the little boy for a moment, willing his racing heart to calm itself. The earlier fright of not finding Jonah still taunted him, and he couldn't get over the feeling that he had missed something. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to leave the room. Crossing the hall, he looked in on Sarah again, relieved to see that she was still asleep, and still in bed. Sighing in relief, he trudged back downstairs with the vague notion of calling Sam and Mary about the calls.
He hurried through the living room, refusing to even give in to the fear threatening to overtake him. He reached for the vid phone and stopped. What if he was overreacting to a stupid prank call? What if it was nothing and he ruined everyone's evening? He knew he would never hear the end of it...especially from Ben. He started to turn away, thinking that maybe he should go back into the living room and think about it for a moment, when the phone rang again.
Hoping desperately that it wasn't the "caller" again, he flipped it on. The screen remained blank and he swallowed. "Please let it just be a bad connection," he thought.
"He-hello?" he said softly. A deep chuckle met his ears, and he felt the blood drain from his face.
"Hello again. Still enjoying yourself?" the voice laughed again. Lucas felt his teeth grind together at the sound, and he clenched his fists to keep them from shaking.
"Who are you?" he asked angrily, mad as hell that this..."person" could make him feel so afraid just by talking. He winced as the voice continued to laugh.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll meet soon enough, but for now I think we're fine just the way we are. So, how are the children?" Lucas narrowed his eyes and glared at the blank screen. He felt sweat break out on his forehead, and he clenched his jaw, willing his fear not to show.
"None of your business," he said harshly. The voice laughed again, and Lucas fought the urge to throw the vid phone against the wall. Instead, he forced himself to reach over and flick it off, cutting the voice off in mid laugh. He brought the main screen up, and looked down at where Mary had written the number to the club. He dialed the number quickly, no longer caring if they thought he was overreacting.
The words "broken transmission" appeared on the screen and he cursed. Looking behind him again to make sure he was still alone, he quickly dialed in the number of the restaurant, hoping to still catch them there. The same message flashed on the screen.
"Damnit!" Lucas exclaimed starting to push the buttons, trying anything he could think of that might break through the block. Finally, standing up angrily, he walked out of the room, heading toward the family computer, the vague notion that he could hack his way into the area's communications system running through his head.
A crash sounded from upstairs and he ran for the steps, all thoughts of the computer fleeing from his head. He reached the upstairs hallway and raced for the kids' rooms. Flinging Jonah's bedroom door open, he hurried over to where the little boy was sleeping and picked him up gently. Jonah let out a soft sigh and settled his head on Lucas' shoulder, his legs dangling towards the floor.
Lucas held him in one arm as he raced over and pushed Sarah's door open. Relieved to see her in bed as well, he picked her up with his other arm and left the room. He hurried down the stairs, and into the living room, the children still fast asleep in his arms. Lucas gently deposited them on the couch and looked around.
The house was quiet again, except for the soft whisper of the TV in the background. He looked at it, noticing that the comedy had ended and now something called "Shock Theater" was playing. He watched as a disembodied hand drifted across the screen, slowly making its way toward an unsuspecting woman. Lucas reached for the remote and flicked the TV off. He was scared enough as it is. He didn't need another old B movie messing with his head.
He hovered over the children, his ears straining for any unusual sound. The silence in the house hung ominously in the air, pressing in on him until he felt he couldn't breathe. His chest rose and fell rapidly and his eyes darted to every corner in the room. When they rested on the fireplace, he noticed a stand holding heavy iron tools. He hurried over and picked up the poker, feeling the reassuring weight of it in his hands.
He glanced back over at the children and saw that they were cuddled together, still sound asleep. He walked over to them and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over them. He looked over at the stairs and gulped. Glancing down at his two sleeping charges again, he hefted the poker in his hands and started slowly for the stairs. He needed to know if there was something up there, or if it had all been his imagination. Most of all, he needed to protect the kids.
He resolutely started up the stairs, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness at the top. He continued to climb, questioning his sanity the entire way.
Loud music filled the dance hall as couples strutted this way and that, trying to remember some of the complicated dance moves required for ballroom dancing. Kristin's birthday party was in full force, the group sitting around a table laughing loudly.
Mary looked up as Sam returned to the table, a troubled look on his face. She placed her hand on his arm as he sat down.
"What's the matter, honey?" she asked softly. The others looked at him expectantly, the laughter slowly dying down.
"I just tried to call the house but there was no answer. The call wouldn't even go through. All I got was a "broken transmission" message." Mary squeezed his arm reassuringly.
"I'm sure it's nothing," she said soothingly. "The phone has been acting strangely all day. I think the phone company is upgrading or something." Sam smiled at her.
"Besides," Kristin said causing them to look up at her, "if something was really wrong, Lucas would find a way to get a message to us. He's a very bright boy." Sam and Mary laughed gratefully, and they returned to their conversation, unaware of the drama unfolding at their home.
That "very bright boy" inched slowly down the hallway, poker held defensively in front of him. He made his way over to the door at the end of the hallway and pushed it open with the poker, unwilling to stick his hand into the room without protection of some sort. Reaching around the doorjamb, he slid his hand against the wall, searching for the light switch. Bright light flooded the room, and he blinked in the sudden glare.
It was undoubtedly Sam and Mary's room, the bed in the middle of the room was neatly made, clothes were stuffed into the hamper, and Sam's running shoes were lined up carefully on the floor. Mary had obviously trained him very well.
Lucas continued to search the room with his eyes, looking for the source of the crash. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary; everything looked to be exactly where it should have been, and nothing was tipped over. His eyes continued to roam around the room, looking in every nook and cranny that he could see from the doorway. His eyes met the open doorway of their bathroom and he gulped, seeing the darkness beyond.
"Why is it," he thought shakily, "that in every horror movie you see, there is always some idiot stupid enough to run around the house looking for trouble?" He snorted softly into the stillness, wondering how he had become the "idiot." Edging his way into the room, his eyes trained on the partially open door, Lucas brandished the poker, ready to bring it smashing down at the slightest movement.
Creeping slowly across the room, his breath pounding loudly in his ears, Lucas pushed the bathroom door open the rest of the way with the poker, craning his neck to see if he could make out anything. The bathroom was pitch black and Lucas swallowed heavily, dreading having to stick his arm in there for the light.
He slowly made his way the last foot to the bathroom and stood at its threshold, his breath coming in quick gasps and his hands sweating. Tightly closing his eyes, he stretched his arm around the doorjamb and his hand once again searched the wall, frantically trying to reach the light before whatever might be in there got to him first.
Finding the switch plate, Lucas hurriedly flicked the light on. His eyes immediately roamed the room searching out anything that even looked out of place. The breeze wafting through the room was the first thing to alert him that something was wrong. He looked over and spotted a half open window next to the sink. The blinds that covered it were askew, one side dangling lower than the other; a strong wind from outside was blowing them back and forth.
Lucas jumped when a brilliant flash of light illuminated the bathroom, bleaching everything a bluish-white. It was followed by a loud crash of thunder as the heavens finally opened up and the rain that had been gently falling for an hour started pelting down. Lucas hurried across the bathroom and slammed the window shut. He whirled around, frantically searching the rest of the small room, but nothing unusual met his eyes.
The bottles and jars on the sink counter looked to be right where they should be, and nothing else looked out of the ordinary. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something, something right under his nose. The storm continued to crash outside, the sky lighting occasionally with vivid streaks of light that seemed to rip the sky apart.
Lucas turned around to leave the bathroom, certain that the crash he had heard had been his overactive imagination playing tricks on him. He skidded suddenly, his feet starting to go out from under him. He dropped the poker and instinctively grabbed for the counter edge, managing to stop himself from falling completely to the floor.
Pulling himself up slowly, Lucas peered at the floor, searching for what had made him slip. His eyes widened when he took in the puddle of water on the floor. Water that hadn't been there when he had stepped into the room. Water that seemed to leave a trail. Lucas followed the trail, not quite believing what his eyes were telling him.
From the puddle on the bathroom floor, the trail continued along in irregular circles, the splotches of wetness showing darkly against the light carpet. They led away from the bathroom and out the door, heading into the hallway. Lucas' eyes widened when he realized that, whatever had made the trail had been standing right behind him -- close enough to reach out and grab him.
The boy's body started to shudder violently when he thought about what could have happened. He hurriedly reached down and grabbed the poker in trembling hands, his breath coming in short gasps again. He knew now that someone was in the house with them. And that someone that was now between him and the kids.
He broke into a run, careening out of the bedroom and down the hallway, his only thought to reach the kids before the intruder got to them. Racing down the stairs he almost tripped over his own feet and went flying, but instead managed to use his momentum to leap over the last part of the banister and land in the front entryway.
His blood pounding in his ears, Lucas flew through the archway and into the family room, not knowing what he would find. His eyes met the two sleeping figures on the couch and he stopped in his tracks, almost skidding to a halt. Jonah had his thumb in his mouth and had turned over onto his side. Sarah had flung the blanket off herself and was on her back, one leg hanging off the side of the couch.
Lucas heaved a sigh of relief, glad to find them safe and sound. At least for the moment. His blood froze in his veins when he remembered that there was still someone in the house with them. Hurrying over, he grabbed first Sarah, then Jonah and swiftly made his way to the door. He was reaching for the doorknob, getting ready to rush out into the street, when someone knocked loudly.
Pulling his hand away as if the door could burn him, Lucas slowly backed away, hugging the still sleeping children tightly to him. The knock sounded again, even more insistent than before. Lucas swallowed harshly, his breath fighting to stay even.
"He-hello?" Lucas asked cautiously. He flinched when he felt Sarah stir in his arms. The last thing he wanted to do was wake up the kids and frighten them, but it was becoming more and more apparent that he didn't have a choice.
"Hello...Lucas," the familiar voice answered loudly, the storm making it impossible to speak softly. Lucas blanched in fear, and he started to shake violently. He glanced around, panicked, vainly searching for a place to hide. Someone was here in the house with them, and someone was outside. They were trapped!
Lucas did the only thing he could. Transferring Jonah over to his other arm, now supporting both children on that one arm, Lucas lunged forward, smacking the light switch and bathing the room in darkness. He ran over and plunged the family room into darkness as well, effectively blacking out the whole downstairs.
He stood frozen for a minute, mulling over his options. He could run for the back door and try to cut across the lawn to the neighbors' house, but if the man outside the door was smart enough to mess with the vid phone, he was smart enough to figure out Lucas would try that. The teenager didn't think he could outrun the man with two children in his arms, and he wasn't about to leave them behind.
Lucas glanced into the family room. The two large, curtain less windows peered out into the dark night and flashes of lightning bathed the street in a surreal glow. The thunder continued to crash, making Lucas jump with fright. He stared, transfixed, at the windows, terrified yet certain that the next brilliant flash of light would reveal the voice's owner. The boy continued to back slowly away from the door, his eyes glued to the windows, the children still snuggled safely in his arms.
The knock sounded again, more insistent with each loud thump.
"Lucas," called the voice loudly, "I know you're in there. I've been watching you." It laughed loudly, mockingly. "The Marlins are having a pretty bad year, don't you think?" Lucas gasped, suddenly feeling very exposed. He was wearing his Marlins jersey.
His arms tightened around the children, and he whirled around, eyes finally managing to break away from the almost hypnotic gaze at the windows.
Racing through the house, Lucas practically flew into the kitchen, desperate to reach the back door and the relative safety of the outside. He skidded to an abrupt halt part way into the kitchen, jostling the children even more. Sarah mumbled sleepily and opened her eyes, wondering where she was and how she had gotten there.
"Lucas?" she asked raising her head to look at him. The teenager's face was pale and sweat beaded his hairline, his wide blue eyes staring at something in the kitchen. "What's going on?" she asked fearfully, Lucas' obvious terror beginning to rub off on her. She latched onto his shirt convulsively.
Lucas heard Sarah's voice as if from a great distance, and he finally snapped back to reality. Absently, he hugged the little girl closer to him, knowing instinctively what she needed.
"Lucas," she whispered again, large blue eyes wide with fright, "what's wrong?" Lucas shook his head, eyes still trained on the floor where puddles of water slowly spread out in an ever-widening circle. The lightning flashes lit them up with a surreal light, making them look like ghostly footprints. He had been wrong; whoever had come into the house wasn't upstairs anymore. The intruder was downstairs with them.
Sarah opened her mouth to speak again, but Lucas hushed her quietly, suddenly very sure that that they weren't alone in the kitchen. The little girl hugged his neck harder, a shiver of fear running down her spine when she picked up on his heightened terror.
The storm quieted suddenly, the wind dying down and the thunder halting. Lucas strained his ears in the sudden silence, searching for something. Unfortunately, he wasn't disappointed.
Light breathing sounded from the behind and to the right of them, coming from the entrance to the dining room. Unable to stop himself, Lucas let out a loud yell and Sarah joined in with him. Jonah awoke with a start, his brown eyes wide with terror. Immediately sensing the fear coming from Lucas and Sarah, the little boy started to cry, setting off his sister.
The storm restarted with a loud boom, the sound shaking the windows and sending Lucas bolting for the other room just in time. He felt a sweep of air against his back as whoever was behind them made a grab for him. Lucas let out a cry of pain as something sharp made contact with his arm, ripping open the flesh. He felt blood start to ooze out and soak into his shirt, as he flew out of the room, the added terror of that close call putting wings to his feet.
Breath echoing loudly in his ears, Lucas ran through the formal living room and back around to the front entrance. Stopping only to hurriedly grab the poker form the hallway floor, Lucas fought against the pain in his arm, ignoring it as he charged up the stairs, the children still firmly clenched in his arms. He could feel the blood flowing slowly from the cut in his arm and soaking into his shirt. He prayed silently that he could get to a "safe" place before the blood started dripping everywhere, leaving a trail for the intruder to follow.
They reached the wide upstairs hallway and Lucas looked around frantically, searching for a place to hide. Sarah, picking up on their need to hide, wiggled out of his arms and grabbed his shirt cuff and pulled him over to a door. She nodded up at him breathlessly when the teenager grabbed the doorknob.
Opening the door, Lucas pushed the kids in ahead of him and followed quickly behind. A perfectly timed flash of lightning illuminated the interior briefly and Lucas saw that it was a deep closet, obviously used for cast off items and winter clothes. Pulling the door shut behind them, Lucas cautiously led the kids to the back of the pitch black closet, being careful to feel his way along so they didn't trip over anything and alert the intruders to their location. His outstretched hand met the clothes hanging at the back of the closet and he impatiently pushed them aside, sitting down and squishing himself into the corner, pulling Sarah and Jonah down after him.
The trio sat in the dark closet, trembling with fear and adrenaline. Sarah, determined to be brave for Lucas, tried to sniff back her tears. Lucas put a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, trying to give her what little comfort he could. He winced when the movement aggravated the cut in his arm, but at the moment there was nothing he could do about it, so he resolutely pushed it out of his mind.
"Lucas," Sarah began, "what's going on? Why are we hiding?" Jonah looked up at Lucas from where he was sitting on the teenager's other side, his wide brown eyes looking up trustingly at Lucas in the dark. Lucas sighed, not knowing how to explain the situation. How did you tell a five-year-old and a seven-year-old that someone they didn't know was in their home, and that that someone was probably very dangerous and was probably going to try to kill them? The boy didn't even know how to broach the subject of the man outside, but he forged ahead, doing the best he could.
"We have to hide right now," he started softly, the door muffling the storm. "Someone is in the house, and I don't know who they are." He felt Sarah start to shake violently next to him and he pulled her closer.
"Why don't we just go next door to the Gillespie's?" Sarah asked smally. "They have a big dog named Crasher, and Mommy always says to go there if we need help." Lucas closed his eyes briefly. He had not wanted to get into the subject of the man outside, but as before, he had no choice.
"We can't go outside sweetie," he told her, "there's someone out there, too. We have to stay in here and hide until your mommy and daddy get home. Do you think you can do that?" Sarah nodded, putting up a brave front. Lucas hugged her tightly, rubbing her arm comfortingly.
"How about you Jonah?" he asked the little boy. Jonah whimpered something softly and cuddled in next to Lucas. The teenager bent his head down to catch what the little boy was saying.
"I want m-my Mommy and Daddy," Jonah whimpered, tears spilling over. Lucas reached over and pulled the little boy over onto his lap. Holding him tightly, Lucas began to rock him gently and stroke his hair softly in an unconscious imitation of Bridger when the older man tried to comfort Lucas.
"It'll be okay, Jonah," Lucas whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you -- to either one of you," he added putting his arm back around Sarah's shoulders. The little group sat huddled in a corner of the dark closet, the storm raging on around them while, downstairs, the intruder opened the door to the man with the voice.
Loud music spilled out into the street as Nathan held open the door to the dance hall. The crew filed out, talking and laughing excitedly, not noticing the rain until Krieg stepped ankle deep into a puddle and cursed loudly. Krieg included, the group broke into loud gales of laughter and stepped back under the awning.
"Oh dear," Kristin said, laughing, "I didn't even realize it was raining, let alone like this." The group stood staring out into the driving rain. The gutters on both sides of the street were already flooded streams with bits and pieces of trash floating along in the rushing currents. Cars drove by slowly, the drivers leaning forward to squint out into the darkness.
"I hope Jonah and Sarah are okay," Mary said worriedly. Sam put his arm around her, laughing.
"More like you hope they aren't driving Lucas crazy about the storm," he said. Mary joined in on his laughter and they took turns telling the crew about the last time someone had sat with the children during a storm. Soon the group was laughing loudly, waiting for the valet to bring their cars around. The storm raged on.
Loud crashes and bangs sounded from downstairs, echoing harshly up the stairwell and causing the children to jump every time a new sound came. Whoever was downstairs was searching for something and Lucas had a sinking feeling that it wasn't for money. The ball in the boy's stomach knotted tighter and tighter each time a sound came closer, until he thought he was going to be physically ill.
The pain in his arm was becoming harder and harder to ignore, and he had started to have dizzy spells thanks to the loss of blood. If this kept up for too much longer, Lucas feared he would pass out and be unable to protect the kids. That _couldn't_ happen!
Sarah and Jonah were very plainly terrified, clinging tightly to him, their breath coming hard and fast. Small whimpers would escape them from time to time, but they each did their best to stay quiet. They knew that any sound they made could reveal their hiding place.
Loud, tromping footsteps sounded on the stairs. Lucas grabbed Sarah and Jonah tighter to him, not knowing what he could possibly do to protect them, only knowing that he had to try. Lightning flashed again, and Lucas could see the shadows of two figures standing right outside the door.
Gulping, the boy stood up, grasping the poker firmly in one hand and pushing Sarah and Jonah down behind him with the other. He stepped forward hesitantly, fear making his hands shake, until he was standing about a foot away from the door. The doorknob started to turn slowly, grating softly in its socket. Lucas hefted the poker over his head and held his breath, knowing he had one shot to make it work.
The door opened suddenly and Lucas lunged forward, acting purely on instinct. He swung the poker as hard as he could, praying that he hit somebody. He heard a yell and strong arms wrapped themselves around him effectively pinning his arms to his sides. He struggled, wildly thrashing his body in an attempt to escape. The poker was yanked from his hands and Lucas felt himself being pressed to the wall, his captor still holding him.
"Lucas!" he heard the voice as if through a very long tunnel, echoing loudly in his mind. "Lucas, calm down! It's Captain Bridger!" Lucas still struggled wildly, not really hearing the words. All he was aware of was chaos around him as people talked loudly, and the arms still pinning him.
"Let me go!" Lucas shouted, kicking at the wall in an effort to escape. The arms tightened their hold on him, and he felt hot breath against his ear.
"Lucas," the voice said loudly. The boy slowed his struggles as the voice started to register. "Lucas, it's me, Captain Bridger. Calm down, it's all right." Lucas stopped struggling as the words hit home. It was the Captain. He was safe...they were safe.
Lucas collapsed and would have crashed to the floor if Nathan hadn't have been holding him so tightly. The boy's body started to shake as the adrenaline caught up to him, and Nathan gently lowered him to the floor, holding him tightly. He looked in horror at the large bloodstain slowly spreading across the back of Lucas' shirt. Motioning Kristin forward to check out the boy, Nathan let himself wonder what had happened tonight. It must have been horrible. It wasn't like Lucas to be quite so...extreme.
Suddenly, two figures shot out of the closet, throwing themselves into Sam and Mary's arms.
"Mommy, Daddy!" they cried, hugging their parents. Sam and Mary clutched at them, holding them tightly. Mary was crying, and Sam had a look of utter horror on his face. The last thing he had expected when he opened the closet door was for Lucas to come out swinging.
The adults had arrived home a few minutes earlier, running into the shelter of the house to escape the storm. The group had stood in utter horror as they took in the family room. It was total chaos. Cushions were ripped off the couch and thrown into the far corners of the room. Plants had been knocked over, their dirt spilling out darkly onto the rug. Pictures had been ripped from the walls, and the figurines and other priceless family heirlooms that had adorned the mantel were smashed, their pieces scattered throughout the room.
The TV lay on its side, the screen cracked. And one of the lamps had been thrown hastily on top of it. They had stared in horror, unable to contemplate what they were seeing. Mary ran through the house, followed closely by the others, searching desperately for the children, all three of them. Destruction met them wherever they turned. The kitchen and dining room were trashed, and water was everywhere. The back door was open, swinging in the chaotic wind, and rain blew in through the door driven by the wind.
A frantic search of the downstairs had produced no results, and the group had headed upstairs. Doors were banged open and rooms wildly searched. It looked as if whoever had been in the house hadn't been able to reach upstairs. Sam had opened the closet door on a whim, not really expecting to find anything. He had been shocked beyond words when Lucas had come barreling out, swinging the poker wildly. If Nathan hadn't grabbed the boy, Sam had no doubt that Lucas would have kept swinging until he hit someone.
Looking over at Lucas again, Sam felt a wave of pity. The kid was huddled on the floor, clutching Nathan's arms convulsively, his body shaking wildly. Kristin was kneeling next to them trying to look Lucas over, but the boy kept pulling away from her as if he didn't know who she was. Sam felt Jonah hug him tighter, and the man looked at his son.
"Jonah," Sam said gently, "what happened?" Jonah just grabbed him tighter and buried his head in his shoulder.
"There was bad people in the house," Sarah answered quietly. The little girl sat huddled in her mother's arms, head on her shoulder.
"What?" Sam asked. He looked sideways at the crew, taking in the shocked looks as he gazed at Lucas and the children. Nathan had been right; something bad must have happened, something more than a simple robbery.
"Lucas said there was bad people in the house and that we had to hide, cause one was inside and one was outside," Sarah answered tiredly. Mary hugged her tighter, looking horrified at Sam.
"My God," Sam whispered before catching himself. "Let's get the kids downstairs and call the police." He gazed over at Commander Ford, trying to get his message across. Ford nodded.
"Sam's right," he began, looking at the crew, "why don't we go _look_ around." The crew nodded back at him, message received. They needed to make sure that whoever had been here was really gone. The group broke up, the crew heading to check out the rest of the house and the surrounding area, while the others led the children downstairs.
Nathan half carried Lucas down the stairs, the boy's body still trembling wildly. When they reached the family room, Kristin hurried to put the cushions back on the couch so they would have somewhere to put the children. She hurried to Lucas' side as Nathan sat him down. The boy whimpered and latched onto Nathan, pulling the older man down to sit next to him. Nathan hugged him tightly with one arm, looking up worriedly at Kristin.
She knelt down in front of Lucas, taking his pale face into her hands. He tried to pull away from her, but Nathan's grip kept him right where he was. Taking in Lucas' pallor and dilated eyes, she immediately grabbed a blanket from the mess on the floor and wrapped it around him. She had to keep him out of shock, although it looked to be a rapidly losing battle. Looking over at her sister, Kristin asked for a damp washcloth and for the first aid kit she knew they kept in the bathroom. She had to bandage Lucas' arm, and quickly before he lost any more blood. Mary nodded and handed Sarah to Sam, immediately getting up to get one.
Kristin returned her attention to Lucas, rubbing his arms through the blanket. Nathan continued to hold the boy tightly, trying to comfort him. Sam held Jonah and Sarah to him tightly, thankful that they were okay if terrified. The group looked up as the crew filed into the room after searching the house and the yard. Ford shook his head and was starting to speak when a hideous scream sounded. Sam was on his feet in an instant heading for the downstairs bathroom, the others hot on his trail. Even Lucas was jolted back into reality by the scream.
Sam barreled into the large bathroom and stopped in horror at the sight before him, grabbing onto Mary as she ran to him. The rest of the crew jammed in after them, gasping at the scene. Lucas pushed himself to the front, the crew not even aware he was there.
The bathroom was trashed, the towels torn from the rack, small bottles thrown everywhere. The window was gaping open; clearly the escape route for the intruders and rainwater was puddled on the floor under it. But the destruction of the room wasn't what had shocked everyone. Written on the mirror in blood were the words: Keep an eye out, I'm always watching you. Stabbed into the wall next to the mirror was a human eyeball, hanging from its vein.
Lucas heard a loud sound fill the room, echoing loudly in on itself until it was a continuous litany. Eventually he realized it was the sound of his own screaming. Lucas felt strong arms wrap around him and carry him away. The last thing he remembered was Captain Bridger laying him on the couch, the older man's worried eyes staring down at him. The teenager passed out soon afterwards, his screaming finally stopping when he lost consciousness.
After Lucas passed out, the police were called. They descended onto the house like locusts, hurrying to bag everything before it could be "contaminated" and the evidence lost. They demanded to question Lucas, but Kristin was adamant that he not be disturbed and insisted that they could talk to him when he was calmer. Lucas' screaming had frightened them all; none of them had ever seen him lose control like that before.
Jonah and Sarah were beside themselves, refusing to leave Lucas' side. The police gently questioned them, getting little more than what the children had told the group already: someone bad had been in the house and someone else had been outside and Lucas said they needed to hide until their mommy and daddy got home. Mary and Sam wouldn't let the kids out of their sight, and hovered over them blatantly. Normally Sarah and Jonah hated that, but the night's experiences made them as clingy as their parents.
Then an officer dropped something in the kitchen and it landed with a loud bang. Lucas woke with a start, literally jumping off the couch. Nathan grabbed him from behind again and gently sat him back down on the couch, directing the boy to put his head between his knees. Lucas sat like that, breathing deeply for several minutes before he was able to sit up and look around. Kristin was gratified to see that his eyes were no longer dilated and that they held reason in them again. At least now she knew Lucas knew where he was. She had cleaned Lucas' wound and bandaged it right after he had passed out. Luckily for the teenager, it wasn't a very deep cut and probably wouldn't even require stitches, but she was still very concerned over his blood loss and had demanded an ambulance be called.
Jonah and Sarah threw themselves at Lucas, glad that he was finally awake and he hugged them tightly, grateful that they were okay. One of the officers came over and introduced himself as Detective Martinez. With Kristin's reluctant permission, the detective gently began to question Lucas about what had happened.
Lucas didn't want to discuss it; the events of the night were still too fresh in his mind. But he knew he had to tell what had happened. Leaning gratefully into Nathan's side, the boy began to talk haltingly. Mary had the sense to remove the kids after Lucas started in about the first call, knowing it would be better if they didn't know how much danger they had really been in until they were older.
By the time Lucas was finished, after he told what he had seen in the bathroom, he was starting to shake again. Nathan tightened his hold on the boy and looked at Kristen, the sick horror on her face matching his own. Everyone knew that it was damn lucky that the children had managed to survive the night. Sam felt a wave of gratitude as he realized that Lucas had in all likelihood saved Jonah and Sarah.
Detective Martinez thanked Lucas quietly and gently commended him on the job he had done. Lucas didn't respond, once again losing himself in the memories of the night. Martinez gestured for Nathan and Sam to join him, and Nathan reluctantly left Lucas in the company of Kristin and the crew.
"Those kids are damn lucky," Martinez said quietly after the other men joined him. Seeing Nathan's questioning look, Martinez went on.
"This is the fourth time this has happened in the past few months. Same MO. The calls, the breaking and entering, all of it. But in those other cases," he paused and Sam urged him to go on. "In those other cases, no one survived. The eyeball in your bathroom was from the last victim." Sam gasped and looked over at Nathan, seeing the same sick revulsion that he knew was on his own face.
"Wait," Nathan said in confusion. "If no one survived, how do you know about the calls?"
"The incoming calls are automatically saved in the phone owner's account," Martinez said. "We just look back into the logs of previous calls." The detective shuddered. "Those calls are absolutely chilling. The same deep voice, the same blank screen. All asking the same thing. "How are the children?" Absolutely horrifying." Sam gazed at him steadily, his hands clenching convulsively.
"You mean to say that they have hit four homes in the last few months and no one was told? Why the hell not?" Sam finished loudly, drawing stares from the others. Martinez sighed and led them into the kitchen, away from prying eyes.
"We were trying to flush them out," Martinez started, "if we had let this out into the public, then every yahoo in the state would have been calling in with false tips, or worse yet, there could have been copycat crimes." he gazed at the two other men, hoping for understanding, but knowing it was not very likely. It was still too soon.
"You were worried about phony tips?" Nathan asked incredulously. "What about what happened here tonight? Lucas didn't know to call the police when the first call came in because he thought it was a joke. If he had known, maybe this whole night could have been avoided! But no," Nathan went on heatedly, his anger burning brightly, "instead you keep it to yourselves and a fifteen-year-old boy was left to protect himself and two children from some kind of deranged psychopaths! Were you even thinking?"
Martinez sighed and simply withstood the verbal assault. Unfortunately, he had borne the brunt of an angry parent's tirade before. He understood why they were angry. Hell, Martinez had children himself, but the anger wasn't going to solve anything. They needed to get as many details from Lucas and the kids as they could; it might just be the first big break in the case.
Nobody had survived this before. Martinez had seen the aftermath of all of the previous crime sites -- smashed furniture, blood everywhere, and looks of absolute terror on the victims' faces as they opened their mouths to let out their final screams. Worst of all was the mutilation of the bodies. In every case, the victims' eyes had been removed, leaving behind empty wells. And in every case, one of the eyeballs from the previous crime had been left behind. Lucas, Jonah and Sarah were extremely lucky to be alive, and Martinez was going to make the most of it.
"Look," Martinez said holding up his hands, "you have every right to be angry, but right now that isn't going to solve anything. We need to get on the search for these monsters as soon as possible if we are going to have any luck at all. Now I suggest you get your children to the hospital and have them checked over. We will finish up here and try to bring these creeps in." With that, Martinez left hurriedly, returning to the family room. Nathan and Sam stared at each other for a while, giving silent support. Finally, they broke it off and headed for the family room. The men paused in the doorway, taking in the scene.
Lucas sat on the couch, wearily leaning all the way back. Jonah was snuggled into one side of him fast asleep, and Sarah was on the other side. Lucas' hand absently brushed the little boy's hair while he listened to what Sarah was saying. Kristin and Mary were standing a little ways away, also looking at the scene. Kristin's arm was around Mary as the other woman cried silently. Sam glanced over at Nathan.
"He's an amazing kid, Nathan. You're really lucky to have him around," Sam said quietly. Nathan looked over at the other man.
"I know," Nathan answered, "he shows me more and more every day. I can't believe how close we all came to losing them tonight." The men continued to gaze at the children on the couch, suddenly feeling very helpless. If someone could break into your home and terrorize your children, then where would your children be safe? Nathan felt a small shudder travel along his spine as he remembered the look of absolute horror on Lucas' face when the boy had come barreling out of the closet. Nathan knew the damage from this night's terror would be a long time in healing.
Epilogue
Lucas walked into the launch bay, searching until he spotted Bridger and Westphalen standing near one of the doors. He walked over to them and stood impatiently.
"So why did you call me here?" he asked them bluntly. Lucas didn't feel safe here; there were too many places for people to hide and it was too open.
Nathan glanced over at Lucas and sighed, seeing the boy's eyes constantly shifting, making sure nothing was out of place and that no one he didn't know was lurking around. It had been almost a month since that night, and Lucas still didn't feel safe, even on the seaQuest. His arm had healed, not even leaving a scar, but the emotional scars from that night still lived on. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and jumping at the slightest sound. Someone had dropped a tray in the mess one day and Lucas had taken off running, not stopping until he was at the moonpool.
The crew was becoming increasingly worried about him and they tried to be extra supportive and watchful to show the boy that he was safe. It had been very slow going, and on more than one occasion, Nathan had found himself with a late night visitor. He was thankful that Lucas would at least come to him after a nightmare. Nathan could at least comfort the boy even if he couldn't take away the lingering terror and paranoia after "the incident."
From what Sam and Mary had told Nathan and Kristin, Jonah and Sarah were slowly coming along. Thanks to Lucas' quick thinking, the two children never really knew what had been going on that night. All they remembered was being scared and hiding in the closet. They never knew of the stalking, or the phone calls, or of the past incidences with the other victims. Their nightmares were slowly tapering off, becoming less frequent as time went on. Lucas had been grateful for the news when Nathan had told him, glad he had at least been able to do that much for his young charges.
"Well?" Lucas asked again growing impatient. He just didn't like it in there. Nathan and Kristin smiled patiently at him, knowing what his irritability was stemming from.
"You'll see," Nathan said, as the doors started to open. Lucas gaped in surprise when he saw who was standing on the other side.
"Lucas!" Jonah and Sarah cried, running down the grating and throwing themselves into the surprised teenager's arms. They crashed into him, sending them all tumbling to the floor. Lucas found himself laughing, returning their hugs. Their scary night together had bonded them closely, and Lucas forgot to be wary as they greeted each other.
"What?" Lucas asked, looking up as Sam and Mary joined Nathan and Kristin. The adults laughed at the spectacle before them.
"We thought you children would like to visit each other for a while," Kristin answered. Lucas refrained from taking offense at being referred to as a child. He sensed it wasn't the right time.
"Yeah!" Sarah said excitedly, jumping off of Lucas and pushing him to his feet with Jonah's help. "Mommy and Daddy said we get to spend the whole day here." She was jumping up and down as she finished her sentence, already holding tightly to Lucas' hand.
"Yeah!" Jonah exclaimed jumping in, "and they said you got a really cool dolphin on board. Can we see him?" Lucas looked questioningly at the adults. The vocoder project was supposed to be a secret but...
"Go ahead, Lucas," Nathan said, smiling. "I already got permission from Admiral Noyce." Lucas smiled gratefully and led the children away, their excited voices echoing back to the four adults.
"Thank you," Nathan said turning to Sam and Mary, "I think this will help him more than weeks of counseling ever could." Mary returned his smile.
"You're welcome, Nathan," she answered, "it was the least we could do. Besides, Sarah and Jonah have been bugging us since you left to come and visit Lucas." Sam laughed." I think harassing would be a better word," he said. Nathan led them to the moonpool and the group paused, laughing when they saw Jonah jump back in shock when Darwin sprayed him. The children were already in deep conversation with the dolphin, getting over their surprise at his speech as only children could and simply accepting it as natural.
"I think this is going to do them all a world of good," Kristin said, patting Nathan on his arm. Just then, one of the lab technicians dropped a test tube, the glass shattering loudly in the cavernous room. Lucas whirled around, his face turning white in a matter of seconds. Sarah and Jonah instinctively crowded next to him, searching for the source of the sound.
Mary went to go to them, but Kristin held her back, needing to see how they would react. Shakily, Lucas laughed deliberately, pushing his fright down for the sake of the kids. Jonah and Sarah laughed with him, taking his cue. Darwin sprayed them all with water from behind, causing the trio to jump in surprise.
"Darwin!" Lucas yelled laughing. Sarah and Jonah squealed in delight and started splashing Darwin back. The adults let their tension ease somewhat.
"They'll all be fine," Kristin said. "It's just going to take some time."
Detective Martinez threw down a folder in disgust. The only real break they had had in the case was going nowhere. Those kids were damned lucky to be alive, and everybody knew it, including the killers. The police were no closer to catching the maniacs than they had been a month ago.
All clues that the officers had picked up from the crime scene had led nowhere -- no fingerprints, no nothing. Even the voice on the phone meant nothing. The criminals had used a different voice mixer every time, and no possible voice identification could be made. The bastards were going to get away with what they had done, and there was nothing anybody could do about it.
Martinez sighed in disgust and picked up the folder. The man stood up and stomped over to a file cabinet. Opening one of the metal drawers, Martinez angrily stuffed the folder marked "Still at Large" into its place. Slamming the drawer shut, Martinez walked away. He had work to do.
The End eg]
