Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait! I've just been so busy, so don't be suprised when it takes forever for me to upload again. But hopefully the wait is worth it- the chapter is incredibly long. Actually, its too long, but it was hard to split up the material. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping it pretty much to the point to make up for it. Even so, this will hopefully be the longest installment as it does start the transition to what should be the final events of the story. So, please comment on thoughts or mistakes! Thanks as always!

Chapter 10- The Impulse

As I have previously mentioned, Lily had decided that she did not intent on joining us on our next mission, if you can call it that. In spite of this, Mark and Chelsea did not want having her go to waste. Therefore, they gave Lily a list of signals that she could make using a flashlight so she could communicate with us if the situation called for it. I never actually got the opportunity to see the key, so I would not have known the meaning of anything that she might have sent.

Though I had reservations, I had already agreed to join the others in the ocean swim, and I wasn't going to back down on my word. I went home before heading to the ranch so I could grab the clothes that I would need. I laid clothing for the next day in one of our cardboard boxes and changed into my swimsuit. By swimsuit, I mean shorts and a cheap t-shirt. Hey, it was pretty ambitious of me. I managed to get in and out of the house without saying anything, as mother and Gramps were out, and I just ignored anything that Elliot may have said.

As Mark and Chelsea prepared the gear for the trip, I sat in silence with Vaughn. By the time the others were finished with preparations, Vaughn and I had developed our own board game involving napkins, pens, and some fancy belt of Mark's. I'd tell you the details, but they really aren't that exciting.

I thought I had managed to go all that time without being bothered. Apparently, though, the only reason that no one said anything yet was because they never imagined that I would have gone in the water with what I was wearing.

Both the agents had a backpack strapped on, and Chelsea had given Vaughn a longer boxy container made up of a similar material as the backpacks that could be held around his shoulder. That's when she turned from the kitchen counter to hand me a pair of binoculars to throw around my neck. She hesitated.

"… This would probably be a good time to change."

She got the gist when I failed to respond with anything outside of a grimace. She in turn smirked a bit pretentiously and gave Mark a nudge so he would turn and see.

"What are the chances that we can save her before she hits rock bottom in that getup?"

Getup. That's what a little decency gets you. Alright, none of the others were indecent. But I'd prefer to not go into details of the other three's apparel. It could have been worse, but I will never be caught looking like that.

Mark shrugged. "It's her choice. I'm sure she will be alright in calm waters, right, Natalie?" I nodded. That's probably how someone should respond when on the job. Chelsea just acts like everything is a game.

"Alright," Chelsea said with some touch of annoyance. "If you insist, I can't stop you. But, unfortunately, it is my job to keep you alive… Just turn back if it gets too difficult. I would hate for you to get too much water in that ball of cotton candy on your head." I guess that was another pink hair insult? Whatever it was, she motioned everyone towards the door. "Time to go. We've got darkness on our side now. We don't want to miss the party."

I made sure to keep up with Chelsea after she gave me the binoculars. She had reminded me of something that had always bothered me.

"Chelsea?"

"What is it?"

"Why don't you and Mark have your hair dyed the same color? You know, like the rest of us?"

There was just enough light illuminating her face from inside the farmhouse that I could see her smile. "Will told us that we had to dye our hair purple when we informed him that we wished to take over the farm here. Mark probably would have done it, but I told Will to stick it. He didn't argue with me."

We approached the water on the west side of Ranch Island. Mark told me to hand him the binoculars.

"I think I can see the Mystic Isles over there at about the eight o'clock," said Mark. "Take a look, Chelsea." Chelsea backed up his statement and then returned the binoculars to me.

"I'll lead the way. Try to keep up and be sure to be quiet. We don't need to be flailing around." I'm pretty certain that she was looking at me.

Chelsea sat down on the embankment to the water before essentially slipping quietly into it. It was obvious from how deep that she sank in that it was a pretty sharp drop off. Mark followed suit, who aided Vaughn in keeping his luggage balanced as he entered. Then he turned to me.

"Well… are you going to get in?" Mark was ready to help me, but I was tired of being treated like a little girl. I hopped in rather loudly.

My lack of experience in swimming immediately alerted me that this would be quite the ordeal. I was far from ready for the sensation of what felt like icy cold water, despite the fact that winter is long over. I'm not really sure why the stupid water doesn't feel like the air temperature, but I tried to adjust. Chelsea made some smart comment about my ostentatious entrance as we started on our passage to the Mystic Isles.

The ocean was calm enough that it almost looked like a sheet of glass as we slowly peddled our way out. The going was easy at first, but I began to realize about halfway there that the others had good reason for not dressing liberally. My clothes began to really bog me down, probably adding more than five pounds of weight that I had to deal with. I should have known that something was wrong when Vaughn was shirtless. He would never do that unless it was absolutely necessary. He wouldn't be able to stand all of the girls drooling at him.

This, combined with the frigid temperatures, made me begin to feel rather numb, and I was tempted to pathetically ask Mark or Vaughn if they would let me enjoy a ride on their back. The thought of Chelsea or Vaughn's reaction to this was enough to give me the strength to make the final push to land.

Mark was the first one to reach the beach. Vaughn and Chelsea were only shortly behind. As usual, I was still floundering around behind everyone else before Mark guided me to shore. I'm beginning to understand Chelsea's annoyance with me being around.

Mark put an arm around my shoulder as he helped me stand up. "Are you alright?"

I made sure to keep pace with him as we continued towards the other two to look strong. It probably didn't work. "I'm… jus- ju co-ld…. And… those dumb binoculars…. They are really heavy."

There was no more speaking after that, as we all knew the importance of keeping things quiet. The chapel was positioned on the other of the two islands, so we moved in that direction. As there was not a large amount of coverage nearby, we had to settle for some trees near what is called the Goddess Pond which were a stone throw away from the quiet chapel. That made me think of praying to the Harvest Goddess for a little bit of luck.

The boys allowed me and Chelsea to take comfortable seats in some sort of moss growing near the waterfront while they sat crouched behind the trees. No one spoke in order to keep our cover and to make sure that we could hear even the slightest noise.

I must have fallen asleep, because I don't really remember anything until Mark finally broke the silence.

"Nothing's happening," he whispered. "I never really thought that if they did this that it would go down the very night after. Not very smart."

"Just be patient, Mark," Chelsea answered. "We still have a few hours of opportunity yet. If nothing happens, we can always try tomorrow."

"Really? Do you really plan on coming out here every single night, wasting our time and-."

Mark was cut off when Vaughn abruptly covered his mouth. He waved his head towards the water to signify that he heard something. And he wasn't wrong.

It was soft at first, but there was an undeniable rumble of a motor approaching. About a minute after it cut off, a voice could be heard mumbling that did not belong to Nathan or Alisa. I couldn't tell who it was, but Vaughn leaned into my ear and muttered "Kirk."

The words gradually became more discernible as the figure materialized against the thin slice of moonlight. He was carrying a large jug of some sort and was obviously annoyed with someone.

"Always poor Kirk has to do everything… here… He… do it himself… so smart… Well… can't say I'm too… about doing this… I never thought it was necessary to begin with."

There was a click followed by a small flame near where Kirk's hand would have been. The figure hunched over and touched the flicker of light to the ground, which caused the flame to rather rapidly shoot towards the chapel and light up the front wall near the door like a fireplace. Kirk was nowhere to be seen, but I could hear him zooming off on his little skiff.

I think all of us wanted to do something, but there was nothing that we could be done without giving ourselves up. It was torturous to watch as the only exterior doors went up in a ball of fire. I think Mark was about to step out and do something when a stool launched out of the window to the left of the entrance. Nathan and Alisa crawled out and ran over to the beach coughing up all of the smoke that they must have inhaled. Up to that point I was a little worried that they were going to heroically "go down with the church", but they would not appear to be as radical as I initially thought.

What was really disgusting was when Kirk pulled up in his boat, jumped out, and ran to the two. There was a brief conversation before they watched as the chapel finally imploded on itself. Kirk put his arm around Alisa and allowed her to cry onto his shoulder as they watched their livelihood disintegrate within minutes. More talking followed before the three left on Kirk's boat.

We waited for a little while to make sure no one came back before leaving our sanctuary. There was still significant smoldering going on between the side walls, which remained standing as they were made of brick. I knew that Mark and Chelsea were going to somehow try connecting the fire with Kirk, but I wasn't really sure as to what the plan was.

Chelsea pulled out some heavy mittens from her bag and tossed a pair to each of us. "All of you- find me two samples of wall remains. One large plank of timber, and one small enough to fit into a small vial."

I didn't want to melt my feet off or anything, so I kept out of the heart of the debris. I was able to find one nice small charred piece of board that was still warm. As for the large sample, I didn't know exactly what size she wanted, so I ended up pulling out what was a beam that I think supported the roof before we, well, had it destroyed.

In the meantime, Chelsea had pulled a black case out of the backpack brought by Mark. She had gloves of her own; however, while ours where thick and soft, her gloves were thin and stretchy. I'm sure there is some significance to that.

As Chelsea was beginning to pull various items out of her case, Vaughn dropped his large board by her side and was about to hand her his small piece when he caught attention of the case's contents.

"How on earth did you get that on the Islands?"

I could tell that Chelsea was rather proud of herself while she removed something that looked like a roll of tape. "All of it together would have caught attention, but I split the contents when I had my belonging checked. I'm sure that they thought it was all makeup paraphernalia. I guess that is what you get when you have a bunch of men running the show."

Chelsea set her equipment aside and told Vaughn to lay his small sample on her case, which she subsequently lifted to her eyesight.

"...Alright. This is… nice. As for the other… yeah, it's definitely large…Natalie, how about you?"

I wasn't overly excited about showing Chelsea anything after her cold response to Vaughn but after some hesitation I finally gave in.

"… Alright. The other… ok." I don't think that she cared for my large plank, but she did give attention to my smaller piece. Finally, she waved Mark over. "Your turn."

Chelsea nodded while looking at the large chunk. "I'm glad you recognized that piece, too. He definitely touched the exterior right there as he bent down to pour the gasoline near the foundation." I don't know if they actually knew that or if they were just saying that to sound smart. I lean towards the later.

"As for your vial sample, it looks clean, but I really like Natalie's piece. The accelerant residue is undeniable."

I was gloating for the next five minutes as Mark inserted my little wood chip into the vial that they had brought and returned it to his backpack. In the meantime, Chelsea had me and Vaughn keep opposite ends of Mark's large plank steady on the ground as Chelsea applied some sort of powder which was then covered with tape. This tape was then gently removed and placed in another vial. It must have worked well because Chelsea rubbed her hands in delight once finished.

"Alright. Let's get packed up and get out of here."

The vial with the tape was placed in the black case, while I finally learned the purpose of Vaughn's long container as Mark carefully stored the long board inside of it. Once everything was in its proper place, Chelsea once again asked for the binoculars as Mark used a flashlight to send some signal to Lily. I could faintly see flashing light in response a few seconds later.

"Alright," said Chelsea as she dropped the binoculars around my neck. "We're clear to move out. Vaughn, try to keep your bag out of the water as much as possible. They may call it waterproof, but you never know with some of this stuff."

I'll spare the details on the swim back, as it was much the same as the trip over. The only real difference was Vaughn coming in alongside me as a result of his extra burden.

Lily was ready for us inside the farmhouse with hot chocolate and blankets. Mark did most of the explaining so the rest of us could focus on the drink.

"It worked like clockwork. They just couldn't help themselves from eliminating their 'threat' as soon as possible. We got a clean fingerprint, and we're sure to have a match on the accelerant once we take it back to forensics."

"Also," added Vaughn between sips, "We may even be able to associate it from the tank that we use to fuel the boat that's kept in the generator room. It would further incriminate Kirk."

Lily seemed genuinely pleased. "I'm beginning to feel regret that I did not come. Are we leaving tonight?"

…Leaving tonight? Mark expounded on this.

"I think that would be the right thing to do. I think we will be fine without, but it's only reasonable to get this back to the lab as fast as possible to avoid contaminating the data. With confirmed arson, the agency will have no choice but to investigate. They'll find the bodies and this place is shut down for good."

I had almost forgotten the significance of what we had done. It was a small little idea of mine that ended up working. I didn't really imagine just abandoning the Community like that… my family…

"I'm not ready to leave." Mark winced a little. He tried to talk soothingly as if he wanted me to see the logic in what he was saying. "Natalie… you have to come," he started. "They'll know that you helped us, and they'll probably kill you the second they find out. I want to be reasonable, but I'm not really asking."

What was said next was probably one of the most surprising things that I've ever heard. Chelsea, who had been looking down at the floor in thought for quite some time, finally looked up.

"Don't worry about it, Natalie. I'm not done here either."

"Chel…" Mark started.

"Don't start 'Chelsea-ing' me, Mark. Don't be naïve. I've been thinking, and, like it or not, I'm right. We don't know where those bodies are, and the chances of them being found are very slim. We don't even know if they're even in the ocean. They could have taken the Departure victims away on some other ship for all we know. That's probably the smart thing to do, anyway. If we're wrong, they get away practically clean. The only one we can even arrest right now is Kirk, and I doubt we could keep him behind bars for long on arson. We need more."

Mark squeezed his temple in frustration. "What do you expect us to do about that?" he mused softly.

"I don't know about the actual bodies, but we may be able to find some sort of documented evidence of illegal activitity here that can tie up the others, which we all know there are. There has to be some sort of paper trail from all of this mess." "Without a warrant?" "You know we have one. Back on the Mainland. I don't suppose you think it would have been a good idea to bring it, do you?"

The conversation turned into quite the stalemate as me and Chelsea pinned for one side while Lily and Mark opted to leave. Vaughn was the swing vote who couldn't decide to swing either way. We eventually decided that we would deal with it in the morning. By the time that we had thrown mattresses on the floor, we had only gotten a couple hours of sleep when a knock on the door woke us up. It was Elliot.

Chelsea had opened up the door, but I could see Elliot scanning the room from behind her, obviously making sure that I was nowhere near Mark. Luckily for Elliot, Mark had slept next to Vaughn on the other side of the room while we three girls chose a spot far away from the cold windows. I could not see Chelsea's face, but the stiff manner with which she leaned across the doorframe in her pajamas probably both scared him and made him uncomfortable at the same time.

"I… hi Chelsea." "Elliot." "I was supposed to drop by… Mom told me… who was told by Gramps who was told by Regis that we were having an assembly at Regis's house in around an hour." "Is that all?" "… Yes." "Good."

Elliot scuffled off as Chelsea shut the door. She looked directly at me. "I see why he annoys you."

We had just enough time to get ourselves looking reasonable for the meeting at Regis's. Obviously, we all knew it was about the fire, but we had to go anyways. Upon arriving, I had to take my traditional seat with my family. At least I can see Vaughn from where I sit. I had never really taken notice of him in the past, but I guess you could consider him my friend.

Unlike usual, there was no food to be served. All we had was Regis addressing us in front of the room once everyone was present.

"Friends… As you all know, we have the Sheep Festival tomorrow. I would like to have discussed the matter then, but word would probably get around by that time. Therefore, I would like to enlighten you on the situation as openly as possible.

"Last night, there was an unexpected fire on the Mystic Isles. Unfortunately, the chapel has been lost. Fear not, though- no one was injured. In fact, I believe Nathan has a few words he would like to share."

Regis took a seat while Nathan stood and walked to the front.

"I would to open by saying that perhaps this not a tragedy, but a sign from above that we have been looking at things the wrong way. I believe that we have been dealt this by the fates to condemn us for our worship of the Harvest Goddess. I think we have gotten this wrong. Human spirit is the highest level of power, not a being. We, in essence, are the gods. We should worship the life we have, not something that we cannot see. I lean towards the opinion that such is just a sign of weakness. We should be bold in nature, not fearful about what has happened in the past, but advance into the future.… Regis."

While Nathan returned to his seat and Regis regained his position of authority, I leaned back to get a look at Mark. He was mouthing something to himself. I've been around him long enough to recognize the phrase, "What have we done?" being repeated over and over. I nearly fell backwards when Regis began to speak again.

"I think that Nathan has made an excellent point… and I suspect that we all agree. Without a church, we have no further need for a pastor. For this reason, I suggest new employment for Alisa and Nathan. It is to my opinion that they would make excellent speakers at public events, as well as counselors when needed. Anyone in favor of this solution, please raise your hand."

A few hands began to go up, so the rest of us followed to not be left in the minority. That could have bad consequences. It made me think… is this the way it was when the Community was first established? A simple majority is all that is needed to determine one's future? What about choice? I knew that my grandfather was a farmer before joining the Community. He hasn't talked about it before yet I can't help wondering if he wanted the job, but a vote gave it to someone else instead. It was almost as sickening as knowing that Kirk had just burned down a building with two people still inside.

"That settles the matter. Carol, I believe that you have room at the inn for these two new guests. And I hope that everyone here shows compassion to these two in this time of transition." There was some clapping as Regis waved goodbye. "Now, don't forget the festival tomorrow- expect to have a fine time as we enjoy a meal and the finest display of sheep in the world. Enjoy the rest of the day."

I actually tried to take Regis's advice. By have a good day, that means staying away from family and even Mark and the others. I've had quite enough of them for now. So, I decided to hang out with Julia for a short time before returning to work.

We sat down in her living room with a couple bottles of cold milk to catch up on each other's lives.

"So… how are things coming?" she started. "Alright, I guess," I said, "been busy, but the festival will be a good relief from that." Julia smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, more specifically… how are things coming with you know who?"

I stared blankly. Julia had to reiterate herself. "As in, Pierre."

For the first time, I realized just how closed off I had been from the rest of the Community. "Yeah, me and Pierre are getting along great… but I'm actually dating Mark right now." Julia's face flushed red faster than you can turn a faucet.

"I… I didn't know…" "Don't worry, we have… been keeping it a little quiet. You aren't the only one who didn't know."

"Now, now, don't be rude by keeping secrets from friends. That's not very polite, is it?"

… Yeah, if that doesn't sound like Julia, that because it wasn't. It was the uninvited Chelsea who jumped down next to me and took a chug of my milk. Neither I nor Julia could really respond. Her eyes darted between the two of us as she drank. Realizing our discomfort, she finally set it back down on the table and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"What… Am I not invited to a little girl gossip?" Julia said that she was certainly welcome, but I tried shooing her away with, "Not when we're talking about your brother."

Chelsea nearly jumped out of her chair in mock girlishness. "Ah, Mark! You know, Natalie… I would be very careful with that one. It's just a matter of time before he runs. He always has, always will."

Julia tried to be helpful, completely ignorant of the fact that there is nothing really between the two of us. "I have to hold the opposite opinion. I find Mark to be a charming man."

My so-called boyfriend's so-called sister gave her typical snort. "More like a boy."

I'm not sure what her purpose was to bashing Mark. Why would you try sabotaging our supposed relationship? Nothing good could come from that. Perhaps she was actually trying to give me an honest warning- not that I need it. But a more likely hypothesis can be inferred from what she did after that.

A few more gulps by Chelsea completely emptied my glass, and she lowered it slowly as if in pure ecstasy. After a long breath of relief, she held it up to Julia. "You don't happen to have any more of these things, do you?" Julia smiled, obviously ready for an excuse to leave. "I'll have one for you right away."

As soon as Julia was gone, Chelsea turned to me and spoke as quickly as possible.

"Listen quick, Natalie. I had a word with Nathan. From what I got from him, he pretty much had that testimony spoon-feed to him by Regis. I think that would pretty suggestive that it was our glorious Head of the Community who called that strike on the chapel, don't you think? Though that was already kind of obvious." I nodded, prompting Chelsea to continue. "I think that can be enough to convince Mark to agree with us for now. We just need a day. With the festival tomorrow, I think we have the perfect opportunity to go looking for something. If that doesn't work, we leave. If it does, it was obviously worth it. We just need to know where we should look… Don't suppose you have any ideas?"

I was about to affirm the already clear point that I'm completely useless to the investigation when I shut my mouth right before the words get through. In fact, I had an idea. A really good one at that. It would clear a lot of things up. I reached into one of my pockets and twirled a collection of rings around my finger.

"...I think I might know. And I just happen to have our ticket in."