Disclaimer: Nothing from the movies is mine, but this strange, bearded man in the middle of the road with a rifle may be mine… Evanescence is also not mine.

A/N: Hey, everyone! Wow, a lot of reviews for the last chapter… With so many, I had to update! Welcome back to some people, and welcome aboard for some others! Just a little note, I wrote the beginning of this chapter while on a coach bus on my way to Minneapolis, so yeah. Thank you so, so much to doodlegirll, Majestik Moose, daisyduke80, unorthodox yo-yo, momiji'sunusedhalo, Miss Hermione Jane Granger, Miss Fenway, AliuIce0814, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh, Halo, anon, and Masterarcher for all of your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all! So, without further ado, here we go!

Chapter 21

Ben slammed on the brakes, Abigail clinging to the sides of her seat while Riley was nearly thrown through the windshield, grateful that he was wearing his seatbelt. The treasure hunter saw with relief that he had been able to stop in time without hitting the man, but then he watched nervously as the man slowly walked over to the side of the car and knocked on the window.

"Oh, sure, Ben. Roll down the window for the man with the gun," Riley muttered sarcastically as his best friend finally found the button to control the windows, ducking down behind the seats a little. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to be known in the newspaper as the cute one that gets killed along with the idiot and his wife who rolled down the window."

Abigail glared back at him with a hint of nervousness in her eyes, watching apprehensively as her husband rolled down the window. "Yes, Sir?" Ben asked, trying to keep his tone as level as possible.

"All ya'll headin' to St. Joseph?" the man asked in a deep voice.

"Yes," Ben answered. "Is that all right?"

Surprisingly, the old man shook his head. "'Fraid not," he told him. "The road is flooded up ahead 'cause of all the rain. It won' be cleared 'till mornin'. Ya'll have to go down this side street to the motel for the night." He gestured down the dark road behind him with his rifle.

Ben inwardly sighed with irritation, but he smiled in the most convincing manner possible. "All right then. Thank you…" he began, but his sentence trailed off when he realized that he didn't know the man's name.

Seeming to know why the sentence wasn't being completed, a small smile that Ben didn't really trust appeared on the man's face as he pulled out a badge. "Jus' call me Bob," he said. "I'm the sheriff 'round these parts."

"Well, thank you, Bob," Ben muttered. "We'll just be on our way then."

"Drive safely." Bob nodded and stepped back as the treasure hunter rolled up the window, allowing space for Ben to go around him on to the side street. Riley looked behind them out the back window at Dave to make sure that they weren't going to be shot as they drove away from him, and his eyes widened in surprise when the man gave him a small smile and seemed to vanish into the night.

"Uh, guys. He just… He just disappeared…" Riley muttered, pointing out the window.

Ben glanced into his rearview mirror while Abigail turned around in her seat to look at him. "Riley, it's dark outside and there are shadows out there," she said. "Ever think of that?"

Riley stuck his tongue out at her, but he turned back to the window, knowing that what she said wasn't what he had seen happen. Then, he groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I think all the medication I've been taking is finally starting to get to me."

The rest of the drive was silent, thoughts of Bob pushed out of their minds. Ben finally pulled into the parking lot of the motel that the sheriff had directed him toward, and they hurried inside of the building with their bags since the rain had started up heavily again. The lobby was small, but they were quickly out after Ben ordered two rooms- one for him and Abigail and the other for Riley.

"All right, here's your room key," Ben said, handing it to his best friend. "We're right next door, so don't hesitate to come knock if you need anything."

"Yeah, same to you… I guess," Riley replied slowly. "But has anyone else noticed that we're the only guests in this motel tonight?"

Ben smiled. "This is a motel in a county a little outside of St. Joseph," he explained. "I don't think too many people stop here."

Riley shrugged. "I'm just saying that I've seen way too many horror movies," he muttered as he unlocked his room and opened the door.

"Don't be afraid, Riley," Ben laughed as he unlocked his and Abigail's room as well. "We're right here. Have a good night."

"Night." And with that one word, Riley and his luggage locked themselves in the room.

Ben shook his head as he pushed open the door to their room, seeing in the dim light from the lamp that there was a decent sized bed in the corner of the small room with a television on the opposite wall. A wooden desk was right beside the door, and a plotted plant was in the remaining corner. But even with the lamp, there was a chill that was lingering in the air. The treasure hunter sighed, especially when he saw that there was a window directly above the bed. This was going to be a long night.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears.

When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears.

And I've held your hand through all of these years.

But you still have all of me."

After putting their luggage against the wall and changing into their pajamas, Ben and Abigail climbed into the bed. Though the room itself was cold, the covers were soft and warm, providing some relief. Ben turned off the lamp beside them and lay close to Abigail, closing his eyes as he tried to make himself comfortable without much success. He never really did feel comfortable sleeping in motels or hotels…

"Ben, are you awake?"

"What do you think?" Ben muttered with a smile, opening his eyes and seeing that Abigail had turned over and was looking at him. "You know me with motels. What's on your mind?"

Abigail sighed and propped her head up on her arm, Ben soon doing the same. "I've been thinking about some things… about us," she told him. "You know, being married and all."

Ben's eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at, Abigail?" he asked.

"Well… children," Abigail finally answered with a smile.

"Children?" Ben repeated, raising his eyebrows at her answer and wondering if he had heard her correctly. "What about them?"

Abigail laughed at her husband's surprised expression. "What I mean to say is should we start a family," she elaborated. "It's not like both of us are very busy or anything…"

"Well… um…" Ben cleared his throat, knowing that she was hinting at him not having a real job. "Are you saying that you… want children?"

"At least one," Abigail confirmed with a smile. "Think about it, Ben. A fresh, bundle of joy in our strange, little family. Wouldn't it be great?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Ben muttered uncomfortably. "But… do you think we're ready?"

Abigail's smile broadened, and she laid her head on his chest once he was lying back down. "I think so," she told him. "You'd make a great father. Besides, at least you'd have some company while I'm away at work."

Ben looked deep into his wife's eyes, a small smile creeping on to his face. "If you're sure…"

"I am," Abigail said firmly with shining eyes.

After another minute, Ben leaned forward and kissed Abigail, running his hand through her blonde hair. "I love you," he muttered, putting his arm around her waist.

Abigail smiled as she kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Ben."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley gasped as he quickly opened his eyes, his breathing heavy as he looked around him at the room. He didn't understand why his father's death and the image of his brother continued to haunt his dreams. They already plagued his waking thoughts, and now sleep wasn't offering him any comfort.

Then, he suddenly cried out when he saw a dark shape by the door of the room. Riley quickly reached up and turned on the lamp beside his bed, his heartbeat beginning to return to normal when he saw that it was only the coat rack and not some crazy murderer who always seemed to somehow appear in all of the horror movies. Knowing that his nightmares were beginning to strongly affect him, he slowly got to his feet and left the room, deciding not to bother Ben and Abigail with this small matter as he wandered down the hall toward the lobby where he remembered seeing a water bubbler. He knew a small glass should calm him down a bit. Riley grabbed one of the plastic cups and filled it with water when he found the bubbler, relieved that it did seem to calm his nerves a bit when he took a sip.

"Oh. I didn't know that anyone else was in this motel."

Riley gasped and dropped the cup on the floor when he heard the sudden voice, the water quickly spreading out and seeping into the wood. He quickly looked behind him, seeing in the dim moonlight that an old woman was sitting in one of the chairs in the lobby. "Neither did I…" he muttered, quickly bending down and picking up the plastic cup off the ground. "My friends and I are staying here for the night because the road to St. Joseph is flooded."

"Yes, I know. I saw you three check in," the old woman said, which surprised Riley because he didn't remember anyone being there when they arrived. Then, her eyes narrowed in concern when she saw Riley shiver in the dampness of the room. "Come now, dear. Let's get you back to your room before you catch your death."

"You don't have a Southern accent," Riley observed as she put the shawl that she was wearing around his shoulders.

The woman smiled. "I'm from the North, and I'm just visiting some family that I have down here," she explained. "Now, which room is yours, dear?"

Riley led her to his room and opened the door, stepping into the warm, welcoming light. The woman entered after him, looking around at the interior. Then, her eyes seemed to brighten up when she saw the cross pendant around his neck. "Beautiful gem you have there."

"Oh, thank you," Riley said, looking down at it also. "It's just something that my dad gave to me before he died."

"Hmm… It looks old. From around the year 1882 I would guess," the old woman muttered, holding it in the palm of her wrinkled hand. "You know, I say that because I've heard stories that the bandit Jesse James gave a pendant exactly like this to an eight-year-old girl before he died."

"How did you know about that?" Riley asked nervously, thinking that only he, Ben, Abigail, Daniel, and his line of ancestors knew the truth behind the jade cross. There was definitely something off about this woman…

But the woman laughed and merely shrugged her shoulders at the question. Then, her eyes traveled to the wooden desk that was standing against the wall across from them. "Oh, look, hon. Your desk drawer is open a little"

Riley followed her gaze and saw that the drawer truly was open slightly. He slowly approached it and grabbed the handle, planning on closing it. But his curiosity overtook him and he pulled it open instead.

Inside was a single brown, leather book with the faded word journal on the cover. Riley carefully lifted it out and delicately opened it to the first yellowed page. His eyes widened when he saw the name on the line: Clara Poole, 1882.

"Oh my God…" Riley whispered in shock, shutting the book. "I have to show this to Ben!"

But when he turned around, he found himself in the old woman's arms. "Whatever you need to do can wait until morning," she told him soothingly. "You need to get some sleep now, my dear."

"But I can't…" Riley began, but his protest trailed off when a feeling of exhaustion came over him from the woman's calming presence, and his eyes closed as he fell into a deep sleep. With surprising strength that didn't seem to suit her, the old woman picked him up into her arms and laid him gently down on the bed, carefully taking her shawl from around his shoulders and the journal from his limp hand and placing them neatly on top of the desk. Then, she moved back to the bed and covered him up with the blankets.

"Good night, Riley," she whispered, running her hand through her hair. "Sleep well." Then, she turned out the lights and left the room, locking the door behind her.

A/N: Hmm… Who is this woman? And what about that sheriff guy? I don't know. I guess you'll have to find out! I have the rest of this story pretty much planned out, and there's going to be 26 chapters plus an epilogue. And if I reach 200 reviews (which it looks like I probably will), I'll throw in an extra surprise after the epilogue. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!