Blind Faith (Part 1)
By: Lorrie
The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Walker, Texas
Ranger". The characters belong to CBS Productions, Top Kick Productions, etc.,
but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is
intended.)
(Many thanks to Emily for proof-reading.)
Julie sat at the table trying not to think about the date, December 10; it was
twenty-five years ago today that her parents died in a car accident leaving she and her brother Frankie orphans.
"I wonder how Frankie is handling today?" thought Julie. Just then, three men
came bursting through her apartment door, the first two she didn't recognize,
but the third; the third she had prayed she would never have to lay eyes on
again after what he did to she and Frankie.
"What do you want?" Julie yelled with sheer terror in her voice.
"Don't worry, Julie. As long as your brother, Mr. Texas Ranger, Francis Gage
does as he's told, you'll be fine."
The three men forced Julie out of the door and down the steps into a waiting car. She was blindfolded and pushed into the backseat.
"Gage? Did you hear anything I just said?" asked Sydney.
"No," replied Gage staring at the calendar he was holding.
"What's wrong?" asked Sydney. She had known Gage for several years and never
remembered seeing him quite this quiet and distant.
"Nothing," Gage replied looking up at Sydney and trying to smile, but she could
see the pain in his eyes. She started to ask him if he wanted to get a cup of
coffee and talk, but just then the phone rang.
"Gage here." A look of rage came across Gage's face. "If you lay one hand on her! Yes, I'll be there." Gage hung up the phone and ran his fingers through his hair. He stopped and looked at Sydney. "He's got her!"
"Who?" asked Sydney.
"He's got Julie." Gage got up from his desk and began pacing anxiously.
"Gage, sit down and talk to me. Who has Julie?"
"Not here, OK?" said Gage.
"OK, let's go to my place," said Sydney, trying to calm Gage down.
Not a word was said on the drive to Sydney's apartment. Gage got out of the car
and headed up the steps with Sydney. Once they were in the apartment Sydney
asked Gage, "What's this all about? Who has your sister?"
Gage started pacing again. "It's a long story, Syd. I've never talked about
it, but now he has Julie. He wants to me to come alone. What if he doesn't let
her go? What if...?"
"Whoa! Gage, slow down. Who took Julie? Start at the beginning."
Gage closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Today's the 25th anniversary of
my parent's death. You know Julie and I grew up in foster homes. The first one
was the Michaels, it was nice but Mrs. Michaels was diagnosed with terminal
cancer and our case worker didn't think we needed to go through another death so
soon, so he moved us in with the Andersons. There was something about them
that I didn't like when I first met them. I found out what it was when they
took me and Julie home."
"The Anderson's had four kids already, all foster kids, two sets of siblings,
now three counting me and Julie; three boys and three girls. I was the oldest of the boys. The house was a small farmhouse and all of us kids slept in the attic, which had been converted into one large room with six beds, three on each side of the wall."
"During the school year, a typical day was to do your morning chores, change
clothes, catch the bus, do well in school, but don't speak to anyone unless you
were spoken to."
"At the end of the school day, we were to ride the bus back to the farmhouse and
as soon as we entered the back door, we were to go straight to the table and
begin our homework. Mrs. Anderson monitored us until we were finished. Once
our homework was done, she would shove us upstairs to change clothes, then out
the door to do our evening chores, usually cleaning out the barn, feeding the
animals, sometimes planting the fields or mending fences. I never minded that
part, I enjoyed being outside." Gage smiled a little and glanced at Sydney, who
was listening intently. Gage continued, "Dinner was promptly at 7:00; if your
chores weren't finished and you weren't at the table at 7:00, then you went to
bed without eating. I did that a lot. I guess since I was the oldest boy, I
got the harder chores."
Sydney was thinking that that didn't sound so bad, maybe a little strict, but assuring that homework was completed and having chores and a schedule wasn't the worst thing she'd ever heard of.
"Anyway, after dinner, we each took a quick shower, then to bed. Mrs. Anderson
always secured each of us to our beds by means of a handcuff to the headboard,
so we wouldn't try to run away. We were always up at 5:30 a.m. to start the
whole process again."
Sydney winced at the thought of a child being handcuffed to their bed each night. Where was the feeling of love and security that only a parent could give? What could these foster parents have been thinking? She could barely stand the thought of anyone hurting a child, but the thought of anyone hurting Gage, at any age, was almost too much.
Gage continued: "There were a lot of rules, one being that if you were late for dinner three nights in a row, you earned punishment. If you accidentally spilled anything, you earned punishment."
Sydney interrupted, "What kind of punishment?"
Gage got up and walked to the window. "Mr. Anderson, Luke, had a leather strap
and he, uh, there was a whipping post out back. Or sometimes he would just
start throwing punches. Julie and I were the oldest, and the other kids were so
young and he never showed any mercy because of their size, so I , I ...."
"So you took their punishments too," finished Sydney.
"Most of the time," answered Gage.
"Did he ever punish Julie?" asked Sydney.
"Only once. She had milked the cow and spilt the pail of milk on the way back
to the house. It was an accident, but Luke wanted to teach her a lesson. He
hit her twice before I could get to him. I pulled his arm back, he slugged me
and nearly broke my jaw, and then we both started swinging. I ended up with a
broken arm and was too scared to tell anyone what really happened." Gage stared
out of the window, not really looking at anything.
"Why couldn't you tell your case worker?" asked Sydney.
"Syd, I was only 9 or so. I thought they'd put Julie and me in separate homes.
I was too scared of what else might happen," answered Gage. "Anyway, as luck
would have it, I was being punished one day when our case worker, Mr. Criner,
made a surprise visit. He had Mr. & Mrs. Anderson arrested for child abuse and
Julie and I were placed with the Allen's. They didn't have any other children
and treated us like their own. I gave video testimony against the Anderson's
and that's why he now has Julie and wants to meet with me alone. He spent 10
years in jail and his wife 7. He's purposely waited until today, knowing where
my mind would be." Gage leaned his head against the windowsill.
Sydney wiped the tears from her eyes. She had no idea that Gage had had such an
abusive childhood. She knew that he had hated foster care, now she understood why.
"Gage, we need to get Walker and Trivette in on this." Sydney said as she
reached for Gage's arm.
"No! I can't take that chance. He might kill her if he sees anyone else,"
protested Gage as he turned towards Sydney.
"Where are you meeting him?" Sydney asked. Gage stared at her for a moment.
"You know I'm going with you," Sydney insisted.
"No, you're not!"
"Gage, you need back up. I'm your partner. I'll be there. Now, what time are
you meeting him?"
"Eight o'clock, but you're not going," repeated Gage.
Back at Ranger Headquarters, Sydney filled in Walker and Trivette on Julie's
kidnapping.
"He isn't thinking of going out there alone, is he?" asked Trivette.
"That's exactly what he's thinking. I've already told him that he's not going
without me," said Sydney.
"He's not going without me and Trivette either," said Walker. "He's going to
need all of the help he can get. He's too concerned about his sister to be
completely focused on this one. Where is Gage now?"
"His place," answered Sydney.
Walker, Trivette and Sydney left for Gage's apartment. Gage was getting into
his car when they pulled up.
"Gage, Sydney filled us in. You can't do this alone," said Walker.
"Look guys, she's my sister. Anderson was my foster parent, so it's my problem.
I'm not going to get you guys involved. Anderson is capable of anything," said
Gage as he cranked the car.
"That's exactly why you need back up," protested Sydney.
"Not this time guys," replied Gage as he quickly drove off before the trio had
an opportunity to follow him.
Walker picked up the radio in his truck. "Damn it, Gage. Get back here!"
He blared over Gage's radio.
"I can't do it Walker. I won't let you guys risk your lives on this one."
"Gage, you don't need to go into this situation half cocked," warned Walker. "I
know you love your sister, let us help you get her out of this alive."
"Anderson wants me Walker. If he sees anyone else, he will kill Julie."
"Gage, every kidnapper says that to elude the authorities, you know that."
"Yes, but this time it's my sister, not someone else. She's all I've got."
"Let me try." Sydney took the radio from Walker. "Gage, please! Julie's my
friend. I want to help her! If the tables were turned, would you let me go?"
"No," replied Gage, "but that would be different." Gage turned the radio off.
"I can have a fix on him in about 20 minutes, if he hasn't disabled the tracker
in his car," said Trivette as he flipped on his laptop and went to work tracking
Gage.
Gage pulled into the parking lot in front of the warehouse and flashed his
headlights three times as Anderson had instructed.
"Hi Francis," said Anderson as he motioned for Gage to get out of the car.
"Remove your piece."
Gage complied with Anderson's request. "Where's Julie?"
"She's OK," Anderson replied, pushing Gage towards a pick-up truck. "Oh, I
almost forgot," Anderson said as he place a set of handcuffs onto Gage's wrists,
then through a metal ring in the dashboard. "Wouldn't want to get taken out by
Mr. Texas Ranger himself, now would I?"
Gage sat quietly as they drove towards their destination. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," replied Anderson.
About an hour later, Gage and Anderson arrived at a farmhouse in Fort Worth, but
this wasn't just any farmhouse, it was the house where Gage and his sister had
spent almost two very horrible years growing up.
"Walker, I've got it. I've found him," beamed Trivette.
"Let's go then, where is he?" asked Walker.
"Stark Street," replied Trivette.
Walker, Sydney and Trivette pulled up the to warehouse.
"There's his car," Sydney said after glancing around the parking area. They
surveyed the area looking for Gage.
"He's not here." Walker said after they completed a through search.
"That means Anderson must have him, but where?" said Trivette.
"Walker, I have an idea where they might be, but it might be far fetched,"
Sydney said as she told Walker and Trivette about the farmhouse where Gage and
Julie had lived. "But, I don't know where. It could be anywhere in the state."
"Let's get back to the office and review Gage's personnel record, maybe we can
find out where he grew up." Walker said as they headed for Ranger HQ.
Trivette began running the check immediately. It didn't take long to get the
information they needed. "Got it! He grew up, for the most part, in Fort Worth
and here's the Anderson's address."
"Let's go! It's going to take about an hour or so to get there." Walker grabbed
his hat.
"So, you do remember the place," Anderson said noting the look on Gage's face.
"Bet you remember this too." Anderson led Gage to the whipping post and secured
his hands.
"Let's see if you can still take it." Anderson tore Gage's shirt off. "I'm a
little out of practice." Anderson pulled out a leather strap from his coat
pocket. He swung it hard across Gage's back.
"Arggh," Gage cried out in pain. Stroke after stroke, Luke left stripes
across his broad shoulders and the middle of his back. Gage was nearly
unconscious when Anderson completed the beating.
Anderson motioned to two men, who were inside the house. The men came to the
back of the house and helped Gage inside.
"Get him upstairs and don't forget to handcuff him." Anderson said with a smile.
The two men dragged Gage up the steps and threw him onto a bed in the attic.
"Don't forget, Luke said to handcuff him." Gage seized his opportunity and
knocked out both of his escorts. He saw Julie across the room, huddled in a
corner. "Come on, Julie, let's get out of here." Gage threw his arms around
his sister and protectively herded her down the steps.
"Anderson's still outside," Julie glanced out the window, then back at her brother.
Gage peeked out the door and saw Anderson enter the barn. "Go to the truck.
Hurry!"
Julie ran towards the truck with Gage close on her heels. Anderson stepped out
of the barn with a remote control in his hand, pointed at the truck.
"Stop Julie! It's a trap!" shouted Gage.
Julie stopped and instinctively dove to her right. Gage was still standing when
Anderson activated the remote and blew up the pick-up truck. Gage was blown
backwards and to the ground by the sheer force of the blast.
Julie ran to Gage's side. His face and chest were burned and he was
unconscious. "Frankie, please wake up!" Julie shouted.
Laughter sprang from the barn. Anderson was very proud of himself for being
able to guess Gage's first move would be towards the truck.
Anderson heard a vehicle drive up on the front side of the farmhouse. "Who
could that be?" he thought as he peered around the corner of the house.
Sydney, Trivette and Walker heard the blast as they pulled up and ran to the
back of the house.
"Sydney, make sure Julie and Gage are OK. We'll go after Anderson," Walker said
as he and Trivette headed for the barn.
Julie was leaning over Gage, trying to coax him into waking up. "Frankie, please
wake up!" Gage lay motionless.
Sydney dropped to her knees and put her arm around Julie. "Are you OK?" she
asked.
"Yes, but Frankie's not," answered Julie.
Sydney instinctively put her finger to Gage's throat, feeling for a pulse.
"He's alive." Sydney pulled out her cell phone and dialed '911'. "It's going
to be OK, Julie. The paramedics are on their way."
"I'm going to find Walker and Trivette and let them know about Gage." Before
Sydney could move away from Gage's side, he half woke and reached for her hand.
"Syd? Where's Julie?" Gage asked in a shaky voice.
"She's right here."
"I need to talk to you alone Syd," said Gage, his eyes closed tightly.
"Julie, can you go stand out front and wait for the paramedics, so they don't
pass by the house.
"Frankie, are you OK?" Julie reached for her brother's hand.
"I'm not sure."
Julie reluctantly left Gage and Sydney and went to the front of the farmhouse to
wait for the paramedics.
Sydney looked at Gage, somewhat puzzled.
Gage turned his head, "Syd?"
"I'm right here," Sydney took his hand.
"Is Julie gone?"
"Yes."
"Syd, I can't see."
End of part 1
By: Lorrie
The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Walker, Texas
Ranger". The characters belong to CBS Productions, Top Kick Productions, etc.,
but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is
intended.)
(Many thanks to Emily for proof-reading.)
Julie sat at the table trying not to think about the date, December 10; it was
twenty-five years ago today that her parents died in a car accident leaving she and her brother Frankie orphans.
"I wonder how Frankie is handling today?" thought Julie. Just then, three men
came bursting through her apartment door, the first two she didn't recognize,
but the third; the third she had prayed she would never have to lay eyes on
again after what he did to she and Frankie.
"What do you want?" Julie yelled with sheer terror in her voice.
"Don't worry, Julie. As long as your brother, Mr. Texas Ranger, Francis Gage
does as he's told, you'll be fine."
The three men forced Julie out of the door and down the steps into a waiting car. She was blindfolded and pushed into the backseat.
"Gage? Did you hear anything I just said?" asked Sydney.
"No," replied Gage staring at the calendar he was holding.
"What's wrong?" asked Sydney. She had known Gage for several years and never
remembered seeing him quite this quiet and distant.
"Nothing," Gage replied looking up at Sydney and trying to smile, but she could
see the pain in his eyes. She started to ask him if he wanted to get a cup of
coffee and talk, but just then the phone rang.
"Gage here." A look of rage came across Gage's face. "If you lay one hand on her! Yes, I'll be there." Gage hung up the phone and ran his fingers through his hair. He stopped and looked at Sydney. "He's got her!"
"Who?" asked Sydney.
"He's got Julie." Gage got up from his desk and began pacing anxiously.
"Gage, sit down and talk to me. Who has Julie?"
"Not here, OK?" said Gage.
"OK, let's go to my place," said Sydney, trying to calm Gage down.
Not a word was said on the drive to Sydney's apartment. Gage got out of the car
and headed up the steps with Sydney. Once they were in the apartment Sydney
asked Gage, "What's this all about? Who has your sister?"
Gage started pacing again. "It's a long story, Syd. I've never talked about
it, but now he has Julie. He wants to me to come alone. What if he doesn't let
her go? What if...?"
"Whoa! Gage, slow down. Who took Julie? Start at the beginning."
Gage closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Today's the 25th anniversary of
my parent's death. You know Julie and I grew up in foster homes. The first one
was the Michaels, it was nice but Mrs. Michaels was diagnosed with terminal
cancer and our case worker didn't think we needed to go through another death so
soon, so he moved us in with the Andersons. There was something about them
that I didn't like when I first met them. I found out what it was when they
took me and Julie home."
"The Anderson's had four kids already, all foster kids, two sets of siblings,
now three counting me and Julie; three boys and three girls. I was the oldest of the boys. The house was a small farmhouse and all of us kids slept in the attic, which had been converted into one large room with six beds, three on each side of the wall."
"During the school year, a typical day was to do your morning chores, change
clothes, catch the bus, do well in school, but don't speak to anyone unless you
were spoken to."
"At the end of the school day, we were to ride the bus back to the farmhouse and
as soon as we entered the back door, we were to go straight to the table and
begin our homework. Mrs. Anderson monitored us until we were finished. Once
our homework was done, she would shove us upstairs to change clothes, then out
the door to do our evening chores, usually cleaning out the barn, feeding the
animals, sometimes planting the fields or mending fences. I never minded that
part, I enjoyed being outside." Gage smiled a little and glanced at Sydney, who
was listening intently. Gage continued, "Dinner was promptly at 7:00; if your
chores weren't finished and you weren't at the table at 7:00, then you went to
bed without eating. I did that a lot. I guess since I was the oldest boy, I
got the harder chores."
Sydney was thinking that that didn't sound so bad, maybe a little strict, but assuring that homework was completed and having chores and a schedule wasn't the worst thing she'd ever heard of.
"Anyway, after dinner, we each took a quick shower, then to bed. Mrs. Anderson
always secured each of us to our beds by means of a handcuff to the headboard,
so we wouldn't try to run away. We were always up at 5:30 a.m. to start the
whole process again."
Sydney winced at the thought of a child being handcuffed to their bed each night. Where was the feeling of love and security that only a parent could give? What could these foster parents have been thinking? She could barely stand the thought of anyone hurting a child, but the thought of anyone hurting Gage, at any age, was almost too much.
Gage continued: "There were a lot of rules, one being that if you were late for dinner three nights in a row, you earned punishment. If you accidentally spilled anything, you earned punishment."
Sydney interrupted, "What kind of punishment?"
Gage got up and walked to the window. "Mr. Anderson, Luke, had a leather strap
and he, uh, there was a whipping post out back. Or sometimes he would just
start throwing punches. Julie and I were the oldest, and the other kids were so
young and he never showed any mercy because of their size, so I , I ...."
"So you took their punishments too," finished Sydney.
"Most of the time," answered Gage.
"Did he ever punish Julie?" asked Sydney.
"Only once. She had milked the cow and spilt the pail of milk on the way back
to the house. It was an accident, but Luke wanted to teach her a lesson. He
hit her twice before I could get to him. I pulled his arm back, he slugged me
and nearly broke my jaw, and then we both started swinging. I ended up with a
broken arm and was too scared to tell anyone what really happened." Gage stared
out of the window, not really looking at anything.
"Why couldn't you tell your case worker?" asked Sydney.
"Syd, I was only 9 or so. I thought they'd put Julie and me in separate homes.
I was too scared of what else might happen," answered Gage. "Anyway, as luck
would have it, I was being punished one day when our case worker, Mr. Criner,
made a surprise visit. He had Mr. & Mrs. Anderson arrested for child abuse and
Julie and I were placed with the Allen's. They didn't have any other children
and treated us like their own. I gave video testimony against the Anderson's
and that's why he now has Julie and wants to meet with me alone. He spent 10
years in jail and his wife 7. He's purposely waited until today, knowing where
my mind would be." Gage leaned his head against the windowsill.
Sydney wiped the tears from her eyes. She had no idea that Gage had had such an
abusive childhood. She knew that he had hated foster care, now she understood why.
"Gage, we need to get Walker and Trivette in on this." Sydney said as she
reached for Gage's arm.
"No! I can't take that chance. He might kill her if he sees anyone else,"
protested Gage as he turned towards Sydney.
"Where are you meeting him?" Sydney asked. Gage stared at her for a moment.
"You know I'm going with you," Sydney insisted.
"No, you're not!"
"Gage, you need back up. I'm your partner. I'll be there. Now, what time are
you meeting him?"
"Eight o'clock, but you're not going," repeated Gage.
Back at Ranger Headquarters, Sydney filled in Walker and Trivette on Julie's
kidnapping.
"He isn't thinking of going out there alone, is he?" asked Trivette.
"That's exactly what he's thinking. I've already told him that he's not going
without me," said Sydney.
"He's not going without me and Trivette either," said Walker. "He's going to
need all of the help he can get. He's too concerned about his sister to be
completely focused on this one. Where is Gage now?"
"His place," answered Sydney.
Walker, Trivette and Sydney left for Gage's apartment. Gage was getting into
his car when they pulled up.
"Gage, Sydney filled us in. You can't do this alone," said Walker.
"Look guys, she's my sister. Anderson was my foster parent, so it's my problem.
I'm not going to get you guys involved. Anderson is capable of anything," said
Gage as he cranked the car.
"That's exactly why you need back up," protested Sydney.
"Not this time guys," replied Gage as he quickly drove off before the trio had
an opportunity to follow him.
Walker picked up the radio in his truck. "Damn it, Gage. Get back here!"
He blared over Gage's radio.
"I can't do it Walker. I won't let you guys risk your lives on this one."
"Gage, you don't need to go into this situation half cocked," warned Walker. "I
know you love your sister, let us help you get her out of this alive."
"Anderson wants me Walker. If he sees anyone else, he will kill Julie."
"Gage, every kidnapper says that to elude the authorities, you know that."
"Yes, but this time it's my sister, not someone else. She's all I've got."
"Let me try." Sydney took the radio from Walker. "Gage, please! Julie's my
friend. I want to help her! If the tables were turned, would you let me go?"
"No," replied Gage, "but that would be different." Gage turned the radio off.
"I can have a fix on him in about 20 minutes, if he hasn't disabled the tracker
in his car," said Trivette as he flipped on his laptop and went to work tracking
Gage.
Gage pulled into the parking lot in front of the warehouse and flashed his
headlights three times as Anderson had instructed.
"Hi Francis," said Anderson as he motioned for Gage to get out of the car.
"Remove your piece."
Gage complied with Anderson's request. "Where's Julie?"
"She's OK," Anderson replied, pushing Gage towards a pick-up truck. "Oh, I
almost forgot," Anderson said as he place a set of handcuffs onto Gage's wrists,
then through a metal ring in the dashboard. "Wouldn't want to get taken out by
Mr. Texas Ranger himself, now would I?"
Gage sat quietly as they drove towards their destination. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," replied Anderson.
About an hour later, Gage and Anderson arrived at a farmhouse in Fort Worth, but
this wasn't just any farmhouse, it was the house where Gage and his sister had
spent almost two very horrible years growing up.
"Walker, I've got it. I've found him," beamed Trivette.
"Let's go then, where is he?" asked Walker.
"Stark Street," replied Trivette.
Walker, Sydney and Trivette pulled up the to warehouse.
"There's his car," Sydney said after glancing around the parking area. They
surveyed the area looking for Gage.
"He's not here." Walker said after they completed a through search.
"That means Anderson must have him, but where?" said Trivette.
"Walker, I have an idea where they might be, but it might be far fetched,"
Sydney said as she told Walker and Trivette about the farmhouse where Gage and
Julie had lived. "But, I don't know where. It could be anywhere in the state."
"Let's get back to the office and review Gage's personnel record, maybe we can
find out where he grew up." Walker said as they headed for Ranger HQ.
Trivette began running the check immediately. It didn't take long to get the
information they needed. "Got it! He grew up, for the most part, in Fort Worth
and here's the Anderson's address."
"Let's go! It's going to take about an hour or so to get there." Walker grabbed
his hat.
"So, you do remember the place," Anderson said noting the look on Gage's face.
"Bet you remember this too." Anderson led Gage to the whipping post and secured
his hands.
"Let's see if you can still take it." Anderson tore Gage's shirt off. "I'm a
little out of practice." Anderson pulled out a leather strap from his coat
pocket. He swung it hard across Gage's back.
"Arggh," Gage cried out in pain. Stroke after stroke, Luke left stripes
across his broad shoulders and the middle of his back. Gage was nearly
unconscious when Anderson completed the beating.
Anderson motioned to two men, who were inside the house. The men came to the
back of the house and helped Gage inside.
"Get him upstairs and don't forget to handcuff him." Anderson said with a smile.
The two men dragged Gage up the steps and threw him onto a bed in the attic.
"Don't forget, Luke said to handcuff him." Gage seized his opportunity and
knocked out both of his escorts. He saw Julie across the room, huddled in a
corner. "Come on, Julie, let's get out of here." Gage threw his arms around
his sister and protectively herded her down the steps.
"Anderson's still outside," Julie glanced out the window, then back at her brother.
Gage peeked out the door and saw Anderson enter the barn. "Go to the truck.
Hurry!"
Julie ran towards the truck with Gage close on her heels. Anderson stepped out
of the barn with a remote control in his hand, pointed at the truck.
"Stop Julie! It's a trap!" shouted Gage.
Julie stopped and instinctively dove to her right. Gage was still standing when
Anderson activated the remote and blew up the pick-up truck. Gage was blown
backwards and to the ground by the sheer force of the blast.
Julie ran to Gage's side. His face and chest were burned and he was
unconscious. "Frankie, please wake up!" Julie shouted.
Laughter sprang from the barn. Anderson was very proud of himself for being
able to guess Gage's first move would be towards the truck.
Anderson heard a vehicle drive up on the front side of the farmhouse. "Who
could that be?" he thought as he peered around the corner of the house.
Sydney, Trivette and Walker heard the blast as they pulled up and ran to the
back of the house.
"Sydney, make sure Julie and Gage are OK. We'll go after Anderson," Walker said
as he and Trivette headed for the barn.
Julie was leaning over Gage, trying to coax him into waking up. "Frankie, please
wake up!" Gage lay motionless.
Sydney dropped to her knees and put her arm around Julie. "Are you OK?" she
asked.
"Yes, but Frankie's not," answered Julie.
Sydney instinctively put her finger to Gage's throat, feeling for a pulse.
"He's alive." Sydney pulled out her cell phone and dialed '911'. "It's going
to be OK, Julie. The paramedics are on their way."
"I'm going to find Walker and Trivette and let them know about Gage." Before
Sydney could move away from Gage's side, he half woke and reached for her hand.
"Syd? Where's Julie?" Gage asked in a shaky voice.
"She's right here."
"I need to talk to you alone Syd," said Gage, his eyes closed tightly.
"Julie, can you go stand out front and wait for the paramedics, so they don't
pass by the house.
"Frankie, are you OK?" Julie reached for her brother's hand.
"I'm not sure."
Julie reluctantly left Gage and Sydney and went to the front of the farmhouse to
wait for the paramedics.
Sydney looked at Gage, somewhat puzzled.
Gage turned his head, "Syd?"
"I'm right here," Sydney took his hand.
"Is Julie gone?"
"Yes."
"Syd, I can't see."
End of part 1