Chapter 10

The sun was shining brightly and the smell of sea salt filled the air. There were so many people around, too. Men, women, children, and animals. It was a little unnerving, but overall this 'world of chaos' wasn't at all how he expected it. In fact, as Daniel looked out over the blue ocean, he thought that it might be more beautiful than Avonlee.

"All right everyone. We need to hurry," said Clementine as she lead the group down the street. "You all know your jobs. Don't talk to anyone, and don't stop for anything."

They walked all the way to town hall where the mayor was giving a speech. Hundreds of people were gathered around to watch and news reporters were eating up every scrap of news they could get their hands on.

There were so many people here. How were they supposed to find the bomber?

"Alex, you're with me," said Clementine. "Timothy, you're with Daniel. Samuel, you're lookout. Find someplace high to survey everything." They all headed off in different directions.

Clementine and Alex went to look for the bomb, or bombs, while Daniel wandered through the crowd looking for a troubled aura. Time was of the essence. He had to hurry, but there was hardly any distinction of one person from another. Finally he came to the conclusion that the bomber wasn't in the crowd. He must want to be far away from the explosion. Daniel thought. He patrolled the perimeter, but still felt nothing.

Everyone, be careful. Clementine said telepathically. There are way more police here than there should be. Perhaps they suspect that something might be wrong. Daniel took notice of this immediately, and felt very uncomfortable. There was something about those 'police' that Daniel didn't necessarily like, but he didn't know what or why.

Daniel stopped. Away from the crowd he could finally sense the remnants of an anguished aura. He was able to follow it through town for a ways until it led him to an old apartment building. Guys, I may have found him. Daniel said.

Good. Hurry. I still haven't found the bombs yet, said Clementine.

Daniel opened the front door using a simple trick he had learned in Avonlee and he and Timothy raced up the stairwell. Third floor, room 31, he was certain of it. They entered quietly and found papers strewn all over the floor, blueprints on the walls, scattered tools and wires, and a lack of hygiene in general. The living room was empty, so they went into the bedroom where they found a middle aged man watching his television set on the news channel. There was a small devise in his hand. Timothy wasted no time. He snatched the detonator from him and Daniel moved in to finish the mission.

"Who are y—" the man started, but he was cut off when Daniel pinned him in his chair, placing his left hand on his heart and his right hand on the man's forehead. He began rooting out all of the negative emotions that lead him here and removing them. Soon, Daniel had completely changed him. He decided it would be best to leave him here, unconscious.

Daniel! Timothy! Get out of there! The police are headed in your direction! cried Samuel. They must know about the bomber!

"Quickly!" Timothy urged. "We must destroy all these papers and tools! Or else he'll be sent to prison!"

All of the papers and blueprints they could take with them, but the tools and wires and other things would need to be put away or destroyed. They began with the tools; putting them neatly away along with half a dozen other unkept things around the house. Then there were the bomb components, which they had no choice but to take with them as well, since stuffing them down the garbage disposal wasn't going to work.

Guys! What are you doing?! The police are entering the stairwell! Samuel warned.

"That will have to do," said Timothy. He lead them back out into the hallway where they could hear footsteps coming from the stairs.

"Is there a back door somewhere?" asked Daniel.

"The fire escape," Timothy answered.

They both rushed back into the apartment and opened the living room window. Timothy climbed out first, then, just as Daniel had one foot outside, the front door crashed open. The police only caught a glimpse of him, but it was enough for them to follow.

Timothy and Daniel practically slid down the fire escape and landed on the ground within moments, but the police were still behind them. Daniel, not being used to the crowds of people, accidentally lost track of Timothy as they rushed through the streets. Daniel only had one thought: get back to meet up point, AKA, the portal. But, which way was it? They hadn't planned for him and Timothy to go this way, and now he was in a part of the city that he didn't know, far beyond Samuel's sight.

"Stop! SBPD!" came a woman's voice from behind him. Next he heard the sound of a gun clicking. He suddenly stopped. He was in some sort of park, hidden behind a few trees and bushes. They were alone. Daniel didn't know what to do. He didn't want to get shot, and he did't know how to stop something like a bullet.

"Put you hands on your head and turn around," the woman ordered.

Daniel didn't put his hands on his head, but he did turn around. Perhaps he could use telekinesis to get the gun away from her. He looked up and saw a beautiful, blonde woman dressed in a woman's suit pointing a pistol at him. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and as they stared at one another, her eyes slowly began to soften and her gun slowly fell till it was pointed at the ground.

"Shawn?" She said in surprise. Again Daniel was confused with this 'Shawn' fellow. But how could someone from this world know him? Daniel, confused and worried for his life and the mission, bolted down the concrete path and away from the park as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Wait, Shawn!" the policewoman called after him. But Daniel didn't stop. Not for her, not for anything. He broke the rules. He let someone see him. He stopped for something. Someone talked to him. This wasn't the plan.

"Daniel! There you are!" said Clementine, nearly running into him. "I found the bombs, they're being disposed of right now. We need to get out her quickly. Did you shake the police?"

"Yes," Daniel lied, doing his best to cover up his aura from her so she wouldn't become suspicious of him. She led him back to the others and they quickly made their way to the portal. Daniel's stomach was extremely unsettled. This was not how he had hoped his first mission would go. But his mind kept going back to that beautiful woman. Whoever she was, she seemed to know him, and there was something familiar about her, know that he thought about it.

"Avonlee," Clementine said with force. The wall did not light up, but Clementine moved forward anyway. She suddenly disappeared into the wall.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Samuel said to Daniel. "It keeps the portal hidden here."

Once again Daniel stepped into darkness, then the darkness became light. Déjà vu struck him once again, but he assumed that he used to use this gate all of the time before his memory wipe. His feet landed on solid ground and he saw the castle of Avonlee in all of its majesty. He breathed in the pure energy that surrounded this dimension and felt invigorated.

They were welcomed back as heroes, especially Daniel, who seemed to stack up more fans every day. But the chilling events of Santa Barbara were always on his mind. He wondered about the girl, mostly. Who was she? Did she really know him? Who was he before he came to Avonlee?