Hey, guys, tell me I'm an idiot! I did some double checking-which really turned out to be important research, oh well!- & found out I goofed a lot! Let me correct myself NOW. This takes place in summer 1920. Mary or Alice- call her what you want right now- is 19 & her sister- age never honestly mentioned!- is still 4 yrs younger, therefore 15. Also, the Great War (that's WWI fyi) is over. America's not neutral anymore. We won! But you knew that, right? Good. I'll correct goofs I made as we go on. By the way, both reviews are right. Now, things really get moving!

Everything is so dark. Why? I open my eyes and close them again, but there's no difference. It's like I'm at Grandma Alice's country house in the middle of the night, but there are no stars here, no candles, no electricity at all. And Grandma Alice has been dead for years.

I feel cold, but I don't know why. I can feel sweat dripping off my face, but I can't remember what had caused it, not that that meant too much. I was always running around doing something my parents' didn't approve of.

"Mary Brandon," said a deep voice, but not menacing. "My name is Robyn, and I'm the only one you can trust. If you won't trust me, you'll be just like the others, and they can't tell you anything anymore more."

I never saw him, but I didn't need to to know that he was dangerous.

I was so shaken I didn't notice my sight come back to the present.

My hands were clammy and shaking. I was twisting a wad of my maroon dress In the backseat of Daddy's new Model-T. If I cared about the dress I probably would have snapped out of it quicker, but in the back of my head I didn't care if I tore the ugly thing.

"Oh, Mary, don't worry about it. The police will catch him. They always do," Cynthia assured me as she gently pulled my hands away from my dress.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, now aware of where I was.

It was Sunday morning. I knew because on no other day would I be caught dead in this hideous thing! But for the sake of peace, I kept quiet. The four of us were going to church, and talking to Willy before service started was going to be hard enough without trouble from Daddy. The sunlight was so bright that it hurt my eyes, or maybe they hurt because they still wanted to be in the vision.

"I know you're upset about Aunt and Uncle's neighbor. I would be too if I was on the phone with Aunt Norma when it happened! Can you believe it? Stolen right out of his own house!" Cynthia shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh, that," I mumbled. To be honest, I'd forgotten about last night's events. "Scary, yes, but I was just… just thinking about talking to Willy today. I hope he'll tell me what he's up to."

"Mary, is that the boy who encourages your wild behavior? Stay away from him," Daddy ordered.

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"Not while you're in my house!"

"I'm not in your house."

"Don't get smart with me, Mary!"

"Keep the Sabbath holy," Momma reminded us. "There will be no shouting on Sundays."

"Honor thy father and thy mother as well!" Daddy shouted.

We didn't say anything else until Daddy parked near the church. People came up to us, welcoming us and praising how we looked. Any other day I would have loved the attention, but all my thoughts were on Willy. Momma and Cynthia were already talking to the preacher's sister, and Daddy, after giving me a dark look, followed the rest of his family inside the chapel.

I walked away from the tall, white doors and towards the only bench in the area. It was an odd place to put a bench, if you asked me, but many asked me, but Mary said it was in that spot for "convenience." It was a few feet away from the side door of the church, the door the choir and church workers and their families used. There was always a crowd of people in and out and around the door. Sitting there, acting like a proper lady, annoyed me, but I would wait there for Willy if I had to.

"Say yes," he said sneaking up behind me.

"Yes."

"Do you mean it?"

"I don't know now."

"What do your spies tell you?"

"Nothing about this."

He sat down next to me and held my hands in his.

"Will you tell me what your spies are? That's not what I told you to say yes to." I would have loved to tell him about me, but I was so afraid that he would run away form me.

"I can't tell you that. Besides, you promised you would explain yourself."

"I will, but I need to ask you something first. You've already said yes, so please don't change your mind."

"I thought you liked it when I thought for myself?"

"Not right now," he said smiling. He got down on one knee and showed me a simple, white, square box. He looked down as he spoke. "Forget what I said, and just be honest. Will you marry me, Mary Brandon?"

He tenderly slide a ring on my left hand.

I didn't answer. It was so cliché, but I couldn't help it. I felt just like those simple, dumb girls from romance stories: speechless, gooey-eyed, weak at the knees. Why couldn't I have seen this instead? I could have better prepared myself! Somehow though I quickly composed myself & jumped on him!

"Boys are stupid," I laughed as I pinned him. "This is your major purchase? William, yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

He flipped me over and looked deep into my eyes.

"Really? Great! Mary, we're getting married!" He pushed me off him and help me up. We sat together on the bench as a few late comers stared at us on their way into the church. "Are we telling anyone?"

Our faces dropped into panic. He knew just as well as I did that Daddy didn't like him. Telling Daddy would be dangerous, but he'd know one day soon when I bought a white dress and walked down the aisle.

Oh! I could almost see it! It would be a simple wedding. The wedding march would sound so pretty was I sauntered to my groom. Of course he'd be wearing a nice tuxedo, and he would look amazing in it! There would be something special in his eyes that drew me closer and closer to him, my soul dying to be with him. He would shake his hair out of his eyes to reveal a scar? No, Willy didn't have scars… that I knew about. Come to think of it, I couldn't imagine his face waiting for me at the alter. There was something… timeless about it. Still, I couldn't have been happier to imagine my soon reality.

"We can wait. We can get married for a while anyway, so let's just take our time, Ok?" he said.

"What do you mean? Does this have to do with 'it's all business' thing?"

"Yeah. The boys and I- Ted, Jimmy, Bobby, Hal, and Rich, and I- are leaving the day after tomorrow. We're catching a train to Jacksonville, and from there we join the arm forces. We're all going to become pilots and keep those damn-"

"Willy, I may not be religious, but we are at a church on Sunday! Have a little respect. God, no! You can't!"

I was crying on his shoulder, my arms locked around him as if I could keep him from going. He held me tight and softly kissed my hair.

"Don't cry," he whispered. "My Mary wouldn't cry about an adventure. Promise me?"

"No!" I sobbed stubbornly. It was childish, but at the moment, I didn't care/

"Please? It's just a little request, something to lastly remember you by. You can cry, I guess, if you want."

He had me. I stopped crying and wiped my eyes on his clean shirt. I smiled, glad I wasn't wearing make-up, and let go of him. His smile melted my after-tears-hiccups away.

"What am I promising to? And I promise," I mumbled.

"I want you to see me leave. I want you to wear that bright green dress you love so much and those outrageous heels. Wear your hair in a big, showy bun with a big flower in your hair like you like to do. Jewelry. I want to see you and show everyone my girl! You're no ordinary gem, and now you're all mine!" He gave me a quick kiss as a few tears started to fall. "We'll take a picture together that morning. I'll buy two! One for each of us, and when the guys brag about their beaus, I can show them you. They'll stop bragging then. You'll be there? Tuesday morning? The train leaves at ten sharp."

"I promised, didn't I?"

"Mary! The organ's playing! Daddy's mad at you!" Cynthia shouted from the main church doors.

In a flash, Willy and I jumped up and ran as fast as we could to the doors. Of course, everyone had to stare at us coming in, but we were starting to get used to the attention. Willy just shrugged and smirked as he took his seat with his family, leaving me to face my own.

"Mary Alice!" Momma whispered in my ear. "How many times do we have to tell you to behave before you listen to us? Your daddy said stay away from that boy. Now he's making you late for church! Sit over there and listen to Father Matthew."

Daddy to the far left looked very hard, but he didn't look my away-yet. Momma took her place next to him, and Cynthia sat between us. It didn't take her long to notice the ring. She elbowed me.

"What's that?" she mouthed.

"None of your business."

She gasped and sat very still like Daddy.

The organ stopped as the choir sang. Everyone stood and sang along.

I began to sing, but the life around me whitened and backed away as a new image grew in my mind.

It's so loud here! I want to cover my ears to soften the airplane engine's deafening gurgle, but I have no control over myself. In the back of my head I know that I am only here to see, not interact. So where is here exactly? There's a pilot in front of me, and he flying like a bat out of a boot. He's escaping from the gun shots I see narrowly passing us.

Other planes are being hit around us as we zoom in and out of formation. A rouge German plane is chasing us, sometimes shooting in front of us, forcing us to dive down towards Earth. More shots streak and blast around us as a close plane goes down.

We're so close I can see the pilot take off his helmet and put on his parachute. His bright red hair and overload of freckles belonged to a boy I'd grown up with: Bobby. The pilot cries and shouts in emotional agony as an enemy friend goes for the kill. Bobby's blood body falls to the ground before the parachute opens.

In the pilot's moment of pain, he hit's the wrong button, and the airplane falls to the ground. He quickly fixes the problem, but the Germans know that he isn't on alert: and easy target. Both enemy planes shoot both wings, and we go down!

The air is screaming as we fall faster and faster. The pilot is looking for the parachute, but his seatbelt is jammed. He removes his helmet for better visibility, and I start to hyperventilate. It's Willy, and his seat belt is keeping him from escaping to safety.

The plane continues to scream and spiral down hundreds or thousands of feet, and try as we both may- mentally and physically- there's nothing anyone can do for him now. The plane hit's the ground with tremendous forces, the glass shattering and splattering his blood everywhere. The metal plane groans and screams, piercing our ears as it crushes us down into the bloody, glass shreds. I hear his bones snap and tortured screams. He is falling in and out of conciseness as the engine bursts into flames, consuming the entire plane… and… killing him!

For the first time in my life I am desperately trying to hold onto the vision, willing to fight the fire to save him. But as always, the vision has a mind of its own, and it swirls back into reality.

"NO!" I scream, tears streaming down my face.

I shook on the ground, hitting and kicking the floor and the large crowd around me. I couldn't help sobbing and muttering nonsense through my squeals and screams. People tried to hold me down, but they usually got hurt in the process. Others started shouting prayers over my head.

"Mary! Mary, come out of it, child, please!" Momma shouted over me, her voice as shaky as mine through her own tears.

"STOP!" a stranger shouted.

The crowd dispersed instantly, and the man walked forward. I stopped screaming and muttering, but the trembling and crying were uncontrollable now. Cynthia helped me get up, and I held on to her for dear life as I stood there.

"I told you, Harold, that your daughter was possessed!" Mr. Callon said.

"My daughter has a health problem; that's all!"

"Mary has predicted William's death. William Jenks, I presume? That's the boy you're dating, is it not?" Father Matthew said.

"Premonitions," the stranger said. "Able to see the future, or so they say. Or she could be possessed by the Devil, but seeing as she's here in church, I don't believe it. Still, she'll need to be examined for sure. I'll take her from here. There's a small asylum on the outskirts of town, and I run the place. Robyn is an expert in extreme mental cases like this. She'll be safe in my care, Mr. and Mrs. Brandon. Maybe, just maybe, we can help her get over these."

Daddy didn't like it, but with everyone watching and cheering him on, he really had no choice but to hand me over to the man. He took my hand, and slowly drug me to his car, all the while the congregation stared at me like I was Lucifer himself.

In the car, the man tied my hands together and blinded folded me so I "won't go plotting for a way home." Apparently, I was a public danger and would probably be kept away from everyone for the rest of my life.

On the way there, I cried and prayed nonstop. I refused to believe that I was possessed.

"God, why? Why must I see his die? Why won't they listen?"

Ch. 4: She couldn't run from the cure.