Steve glanced again at the flashing neon clock display on the VCR. It was already 8:30pm, Jesse had been due over an hour ago. Leaving his Dad and Amanda in the kitchen he walked through to the living room and switched on the tv.

"And now we cross over to our resident weather girl. Stacy, why don't you tell us about today's surprises?"

"Thanks Richard," The weather girl's pearly-white smile lit up her face as she beamed at Steve from the television screen. "Well, today certainly has been full of surprises. A front moving in from the east has brought with it some dense rain clouds, the effects of which we're seeing at the moment. We can expect heavy storms for the next few hours, perhaps enough to cause some localised flooding, but tomorrow things are looking up, and we can expect highs of eighty, so don't forget the sunscreen folks." Another toothy grin and the camera panned back round to Richard.

"Thanks for that Stacy. And just to let you guys at home know, Route 17 on the coastline has been closed due to some flooding so a diversion is up. You can expect delays of up to an hour, so unless you really need to avoid the area. Up next we have…"

Steve flicked the television of, a wave of relief washing over him. Jesse absence had been niggling at him for the past hour, but this explained it.

"Hey Dad, I'm guessing we can start dinner without Jesse, the road up to the house has been closed off because of the weather. He probably got turned back."

Mark and Amanda came in from the kitchen to join Steve.

"What" Amanda said, glancing at the now black tv screen. "The road is close? How am I supposed to get home?" She frowned at Steve, and her mind instantly turned to her children. "Mark, can I use the phone? I need to know if the babysitter can stay the night with the kids."

"Go ahead," Mark motioned towards the phone. "We might as well eat," he said to Steve, then frowned. "It is a bit odd though, I would have thought Jesse would have phoned?"

*********************

Only minutes had passed before Jesse opened his eyes. It took a moment for his foggy brain to take in the unusual surroundings. Jesse groaned when his mind finally realised where he was. Taking a deep breath, he stretched out an arm towards the open door of his car. His fingers just reached the rubber door seal, and he clasped desperately at it trying to get a secure grip. His fingers slipped repeatedly on the wet rubber, but finally he managed to wrap them over the seal. Panting with the effort it took him a moment before he could continue. Bracing himself, Jesse took a deep breath, then another, and on the third he pulled himself, with every ounce of strength he had he pulled himself towards the car door. The pain was immense. A scream waited to erupt from his lips, but no sound would come. Again unconsciousness threatened to overtake him, but this time Jesse fought. Struggling to keep his eyes from closing he continued to pull himself towards the car until he finally rested his body against the slick paintwork. Gasping for breath Jesse struggled to prevent himself from slipping into the black oblivion which called him to its pain-free clutches. Forcing his eyes to remain open Jesse tried to think, what should he do? He could barely move for the pain, and no help seemed to be forthcoming.

Turning his head to one side Jesse peered into the dark interior of his car. He reached out an arm and flicked on the internal lights, illuminating the car and the surrounding area.

Of course! Jesse spotted his cell phone laying on the seat of his car, and a new wave of hope washed over him. Jesse stretched out one hand to reach for the phone and stopped. His hand was streaked with blood. He looked at it for a moment, then down to his abdomen which his hand had been clutching only a moment earlier. His once white shirt was stained red, saturated with blood. Jesse frowned, unable to comprehend the sight before him. Pulling gingerly at his clothing Jesse struggled to open the buttons on his shirt. His fingers were numb with cold, and wet with a combination of rain and blood, and the minor effort was exhausting. Finally achieving his goal he pulled his shirt open wide. Wiping his wet hair from his eyes and heaving for breath Jesse peered down at the smooth skin of his stomach. Blinking furiously as the heavy rain beat down onto him, he saw a wound. A large, jagged laceration, bleeding profusely. And then he understood. The final blow, the strike that had knocked him to the floor… he had been stabbed.

*******************

"Well, that's sorted then. The babysitter can stay overnight with the kids and will stay there tomorrow until I get back. Whenever that might be…" Amanda bent down to replace the phone onto the table. It was immediately taken up again by Mark.

"I'm just going to try Jesse… Steve, why don't you get dinner started?" Mark dialled Jesse's home phone, and held the receiver to his ear, expectant of his friend's cheery voice. Hearing it begin to ring, Mark walked across the living room to the window, and again peered out into the darkness. The rain was still pouring down and the sky was intermittently lit up with dazzling lightening and heavy crashes of thunder loud enough to suggest the sky would crack in two. Mark dropped the curtain back into place. The phone was still ringing, but no answer forthcoming. Allowing the ringing to continue for another full minute, Mark felt the nagging feeling in his stomach begin to stir once again. He disconnected the phone and dialled Jesse's cell. He always took it with him whenever he wasn't home. The phone rang. And rang. Mark let the phone ring at least forty times, and receiving no response he couldn't help but feel concerned.

"Dad?" Steve's voice sounded close behind Mark. "Dinner won't be long do you think you could make up some salad?… You ok?"

"Yeah," Mark said, putting the phone back onto the table and running a weary hand over his face. "I was just trying to get through to Jesse – there's no answer either at his apartment."

"Did you try his cell?"

"No answer there either."

"He's probably just forgotten to switch it on Dad, you know what Jesse like. He takes the phone with him but forgets to switch it on. And anyway, even if he has got it with him the weather would probably interrupt the signal. I mean, have you seen it out there? Steve pulled the curtain to one side, revealing the black sky just as a bolt of lightening splintered the sky.

Mark let out a heavy sigh, "I guess your right. So, what was that about a salad?"

*******************