It was the loud obnoxious knocking from the wall clock
that kept Edmund up, staring at the ceiling as he lie in
bed. He tossed a bit, but still couldn't seem to
find a way to make himself comfortable enough to fall
asleep. With a shake of his head, Edmund pushed himself
up, swinging his feet over the side and stood. He grabbed
his robe and left the bedroom.
It was dark outside. Not only from the evening, but from
the thick snow that fell in sheets. It was quick falling,
it was dense. The wind whistled loudly. It was
treacherous. Edmund made his way to his children's
room, poking his head in quietly. Sam and Maddie slept
soundly. Maddie had crawled into Sam's bed, probably
because of a nightmare from the storm, Edmund thought.
Maddie saw Sam, although he was not much older than she,
as her protector. And Sam took the job to heart.
Edmund let the children sleep, and moved downstairs. He
opened the door momentarily, immediately being hit by a
blast of frigid air and a face full of snow. He closed it
again, stepping back and brushing himself off. He entered
the main room, taking a seat in the chair closest to the
fireplace. Edmund checked his wristwatch before resting
back in the chair, his eyes easing shut.
"Daddy," Edmund hear a tiny moan come from
behind him. Maddie approached the chair slowly, her fuzzy
blue slippers making a soft pitter patter on the floor.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Edmund
asked as Maddie climbed up onto his lap.
"I had a bad dream," she said. "And now I
can't fall back asleep. Can I stay down here with
you?"
"Of course you can," Edmund said as Maddie
curled up in his lap and rested her head against his
chest. He ran his hand soothingly over her hair and
within a moment, the little girl was asleep in his arms.
Edmund glanced down and saw that Maddie had fallen
asleep. He leaned his head back and shut his eyes, only
to hear the telephone ring.
"Hello?" Edmund answered in a scratchy voice.
"Edmund," Adam said over the line. "Is
Brooke at Wildwind?"
Edmund straightened up. "Adam?" he said.
"Brooke left here a few hours ago. She's... She
didn't get home yet?"
"I told her not to go out in this weather."
Adam said. "I told her that she was crazy."
"Brooke probably got stuck in the storm. She's
probably staying with Phoebe." He paused.
"I'll try to get a hold of Brooke... and
I'll call you if I hear from her."
"Mmm," Adam said before hanging up the phone.
Edmund paused a moment. He stood, lifting Maddie and
placing her down in the chair. the little girl stirred.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
Edmund kissed her forehead. "I'll be back in a
little while, Maddie," he said. "Daddy's
got to go do something. But I'll be back. I promise,
OK?"
"OK." Maddie said sleepily.
"Peggy will be here with you and Sam." Edmund
said. "You get some sleep now." Maddie curled
up in the chair and Edmund draped a blanket over her. He
paused a moment before running upstairs to change.
The snow was practically
blinding. Edmund couldn't even see the hand in front
of his face as he made his way away from Wildwind. He
didn't know what it was, but something told him to
go out and look for Brooke. He knew he could have called
her cell phone. He knew he could have called her Aunt
Phoebe. But he just felt that he had to go out.
Edmund continued down the pathway, his highbeams on,
leaning forward in the car seat to squint through the
window. He was driving close to five miles per hour, his
windshield wipers moving at the quickest setting. It was
then that he eyes caught a glimpse of something off the
side of the road up ahead. Edmund slowly his car, pulling
off to the shoulder and getting out.
As Edmund walked closer, he was shocked. The car was
still in one piece, but had obviously gone off the road
in such a manner that the driver got a jolt. Edmund made
his way to the window and gave it a knock.
"Hey!" he said. When he got no response, he
tried the door handle, pulling the door open. "Oh my
God," he said. Edmund leaned his head in.
"Brooke?" Brooke was slumped over in the seat.
Edmund reached in lightly tapping her cheek.
"Brooke. Alright, honey, wake up. Wake up,
Brooke." Edmund stepped back nervously, running his
fingers back through his hair before pulling out his cell
phone and dialing. "Hello?" he said after a
moment. "Hello? Joe? This is Edmund Grey...
I've got an emergency."