3

Twenty Years Ago

"Mr. Andrews…." Michael said with a chuckle. "What brings you by?" He opened the old wooden door wider and stepped aside to invite his visitors inside. Patti peeked around Michael's shoulder, shuddered at the sight of the Wyatt sitting room and moved closer to her husband, shaking her head to indicate that they would not be stepping inside.

"Mr. Wyatt. Patti and I heard an ugly rumor today and we would like for you to clear it up," James tried to say in a confident voice as he held his wife's hand tighter. They didn't want to be here right now. They didn't want to be so far away from the city limits at this remote location right now. They wanted to be home with their small children. But they had to clear up a strange rumor that they had heard today. Normally they would let rumors just slide by as gossip and leave it be. But this rumor was truly disturbing.

"And what is that?" the man replied with a sinister smile on his face. He knew why Mr. and Mrs. Andrews were here. He knew what his brother, Lawrence, had told them. They were the lucky family. They were the parents of the chosen one who was to be promised to his son. Although he did doubt that the Andrews were here to discuss the future ruling of their children. Fools, he thought to himself. Did they not understand how wonderful this was?

"Why is your nut job of a brother going around town saying that our little Abigail is 'promised' to your son, Bray? What does that even mean? They are children! Our Abby doesn't even know your son! They aren't in the same grade or even the same school," Patti asked, trying to keep the shrill, terrified tone out of her voice.

James put his hand on Patti's shoulder to calm her down. "We understand that sometimes kids say the strangest things to each other and about each other, but Lawrence is a grown man—"

"Lawrence knows the truth," Michael replied. That sinister smile came on his face again. "You should be happy to know that your little Abigail already has a mate picked out for her. Bray and Abigail are the chosen ones, you know."

"We don't want Abby to have a mate already! She is five years old! Your creepy brother needs to stay away from our little girl! And stop this nonsense talk about being a chosen one, it's simply nonsense and we want no part of it, we want no part of your strange family or your strange ways, just leave our family alone!" Patti practically screamed.

"I can't stop what has already put into motion. Your little Abigail and my Bray are destined to be with each other. There is nothing we can do to stop it. Together they will be unstoppable."

"They are just little kids! They don't even know each other," James interjected.

Michael laughed. "Pay attention in twenty years; you will see. There is nothing we, the parents, can do to stop it from happening. Perhaps it would be in your family's best interest to let the children get to know each other now…" The sinister smile on his face gave way to dry a chuckle and finally gave way to an evil laugh that shook both James and Patti to their core. He winked at the couple and slowly shut the old wooden front door.

Strange things started happening to the Andrews family after James and Patti went to see Michael Wyatt about the rumor his brother, Lawrence, was spreading around town. In the middle of the night, the children would run to their parents' room scared of noises they heard at their bedroom windows. Abigail developed an imaginary friend and started talking to him or her. Imaginary friends are normal for children of this age, but the child shouldn't be shouting, "Leave me alone! I don't know you!" at their imaginary friend. The last straw for the family was when they came home one night and the window of their front door had the word 'Obey' written in what looked like blood.

Later that week, James and Patti Andrews packed up their girls, Julia, Melissa and Abigail and moved as far away from Louisiana as quickly as they could. They assumed new jobs and a new home. Abigail's name was never mentioned again; Abby was now Christine Andrews. James and Patti made the older girls, Julia and Melissa, promise to never speak again of the time they lived in Louisiana. They were to never speak about the Wyatt family or this supposed 'chosen' and 'promised' nonsense.

Unfortunately for Christine, the twenty year waiting period was over and Bray was coming to retrieve his chosen one…..