My apologies for last week. I know it appeared that the story was updated when it wasn't. What happened was that I uploaded the next chapter from the document manager without looking at it. I then realized which chapter had been posted and felt uncomfortable about the timing of the post, so I took it down and held off re-posting it until now. Hopefully, the reason will be clear after reading. We do want to make clear that the story was outlined and most of the scenes written long before they have been posted here, so the timing is purely coincidental.

jwsel

Kim had taken Andrew to school and had gone through their ritual of saying goodbye - the regular morning hug and kiss, the admonition to obey the teacher, and the instructions to be nice to the other students. But instead of driving off as soon as he had left the car, Kim had waited and watched her son for the entire time he walked to the school.

She had no idea why she had broken the routine. It had just seemed like the right thing to do that morning.

Perhaps it was just her way of avoiding thinking about Shane's disappearance and the prospect that she might, once again, have to shatter her son's world.

And your world.

"And my world," Kim admitted out loud, as she paced relentlessly around the clinic.

Ever since she had arrived at the hospital, she had been unable to focus on any of her work. She had called the police station to talk to Roman, but he had been unable to talk. Instead she had spoken with Abe, who revealed that Steve had been released and had left with Kayla. Kim had then tried calling Kayla's apartment to see what Steve had planned, but had only reached the answering machine. That only increased Kim's unease; did they know something?

With no ability to work, she decided to check on John and see if he could provide any more information on Shane. She headed upstairs to his room and found him grumbling about being stuck in the hospital bed when he was needed elsewhere. Carly and Isabella told him that he needed to stay still or he might tear the stitches. Isabella's eyes were red and she had a look of exhausted relief and exasperation that Kim recognized from her own mirror.

"Please, John," Kim said, though she hated saying the words. "You need to recover. Steve is looking for Shane. There's no reason for you to push yourself and do more damage."

John grimaced. "We should've waited for Steve," he said. "All the times me and Shane have told Bo and Steve not to be so reckless, and we go charging into Lawrence's trap like that. Can't believe we were so stupid."

Kim winced at John's words. Had Shane been reckless? That was so unlike him. He always preached logic and talked about being methodical. What would have made him walk into a trap - if that was what it was?

"Why?"

Kim spun around to see Kayla in the doorway to John's room.

Kayla repeated the question. "Why? Why didn't you wait for Steve?" she asked.

John shook his head. "We waited for awhile, but we didn't know if he got the message Shane left, and we were afraid we would lose the chance to find out where Lawrence was hiding. It's got to be somewhere underground at the refinery site, but we didn't know how to get in and we thought we could follow Marais inside. . . . When Steve didn't show, we thought we couldn't wait anymore."

"Why didn't Steve show up?" Kim asked. She tried not to make that sound like an accusation.

Kayla hesitated for a moment, and Kim feared that she had sounded too angry, but Kayla merely said, "Steve raced away as soon as we ran into Jack. He would have gone sooner, but that was when he got the message."

Inside, Kim had already known that. Steve would not have let Shane down like that. After everything that had happened, the bond between the two men was stronger than ever. "So where is Steve now?" Kim asked.

Kayla shook her head. "I don't know," she said. Kim could tell her sister was telling the truth, just as she could tell that Kayla was as terrified for Steve as Kim was for Shane. "He told me to stay here. He said he thinks whatever Lawrence is planning is going to happen today, so I should stay here. . . . Then he said he would find Shane, but I don't know how. . . . God, Kimmie, I'm so scared. . . ."

As Kayla's words faltered, Kim pulled her sister into a tight embrace. "Steve's a strong man," she said, hoping her words had a certainty that she did not feel. "He'll be fine." Kim let go of Kayla and thought for a minute. "I know. I'm going to go see Jack. If Steve needed information, he might have gone to Jack, right? Maybe he knows something."

Kayla seemed doubtful, but Kim persisted. "It's something I can do. You need to stay here, because Steve may be right. If Lawrence does attack Salem, you and Carly should be here to help. That's your job. Me . . . I can go talk to Jack." She gave Kayla another quick hug and hurried from the room.

It took only a few minutes to grab her purse and make her way to the offices of the Salem Spectator. Kim had no idea if Jack was even there or if he would talk to her, but if she found him, she would not leave until he told her everything he knew about what Steve had planned.

Entering the ground floor lobby, Kim looked for the elevator. Near the door, she spotted a tall, red-haired man that looked familiar. Where have I seen him before? she wondered. He wore khaki pants and a navy sweatshirt with a hood, and carried a large backpack. Kim thought for a moment and figured she had probably seen him around the hospital at some point.

Kim followed him into the elevator, where he pushed the button for the third floor, which housed the Spectator offices. When the doors opened, Kim stepped out first, headed straight to the receptionist's desk, and asked to speak with Jack.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Devereaux is in a meeting," the receptionist said. She was so young that Kim suspected she was a student at Salem U, who was working part time or as an intern.

Kim looked sharply at the woman and replied, "Tell him it is urgent, and he needs to take a short break."

Apparently unnerved by Kim's death-glare, the receptionist chose to comply. She stood up and walked away from the desk, leaving Kim alone. Turning, Kim glanced around the Spectator lobby and suddenly remembered the man from the elevator. Curious, she stepped back into the hall and looked to her left.

The man was crouched down by an air conditioning vent, the backpack by his feet. As Kim looked at him, he glanced furtively to his right and their eyes met. His eyes widened in recognition. Suddenly, in Kim's mind, she saw the same man, in a khaki uniform - walking the halls of Lawrence Alamain's mansion.

Behind her, she heard a voice. "Kimberly, what can I do-"

In front of her, Lawrence's man hurriedly pulled out a gas mask and slapped it over his face. Kim saw his hands move and, for the first time, saw that the backpack contained an orange canister with a valve. In horror, Kim watched as the man turned the valve.

Turning swiftly, Kim saw Jack step into the hallway. "Get everyone out of here," she ordered. As Jack looked around, confused, Kim shoved him back toward the receptionist desk.

I need to do something. She could hear Steve's voice as he described the pain he endured during his captivity. That could be all of us, she thought. I have to do something.

Then it hit her. Kayla. This was what Steve wanted. This was why Kayla was at the hospital right now.

Kim heard someone cry out in pain. In the distance, she heard another person cough. Then another cough. And a few more pained cries. The toxin was already taking effect.

She yelled for Jack to get everyone out of the building, then shouted herself, not caring if she started a panic. "Get out. The Spectator is under attack."

The toxin was in the air and would reach her soon, but she knew she was the only one who was aware of the hospital's plan. Only she could save these people. She realized the receptionist desk would have a phone, so she raced to it and shoved the young girl out of the way. "Get outside," Kim told the girl, then dialed the hospital. The instant the operator answered, Kim said, "Get Kayla Johnson on the phone right away. It's urgent. I don't care what it takes."

It did not take long, but it felt like an eternity. Kim watched workers fleeing the Spectator. Some were shaking with the painful convulsions that Steve had described. She saw Jack helping a coughing and shaking Vern Scofield to the elevator. Jack coughed, even as Kim felt a tingling sensation in her throat and knew the toxin was beginning to affect her.

Please, Kim begged.

People still in the office were crying in pain. More and more screams filled the room. Kim saw Jennifer Horton on the floor, trying to crawl as her body convulsed.

Please, Kayla, answer the phone.

Jack must have gotten Vern to the elevator, because he raced over to Jennifer and helped her to her feet. Jack was struggling himself now, but they managed to reach the reception area. Kim's hands were feeling numb and she fumbled the phone, almost dropping it when she heard the sound of someone picking it up on the other end.

"Kim," Kayla's voice came through the phone line.

"It's the Spectator!" Kim said. "Lawrence's man-" Kim's words broke off in a hacking cough. "The toxin. . . . It's at the Spectator. People are. . . ."

On the other end, Kayla sounded anxious. "Where are you? Are you in the office?"

"You need to get here." Kim blinked a few times. Something was funny with her eyes. The light in the room was cloudy. She looked through the office and saw something on the floor. She blinked again and took a sharp breath when she realized it was the young girl from the reception desk. The girl was shaking and crying in pain, but too far away for Kim to help. "Kay!"

"You need to get out of there, Kimmie," Kayla said. "You can't stay there. We're on the way with the antidote, but get out of there."

Kim knew Kayla was right. Her hands stung with pins-and-needles. Unable to hold the phone any longer, she let it drop. She looked back at the girl, but knew there was nothing she could do to help. Even now, Kim's legs were starting to shake with the first convulsions. She had to get out of the office to where Kayla and Carly would have the antidote. Kim stumbled to the elevator, punched the button, and bit back a cry of pain while she waited for the elevator to arrive.

The doors opened just before Kim's legs failed her and she fell to her knees. As her leg convulsed from a searing pain down its length, she reached up and pushed the button for the lobby, then fell forward, shaking, while the elevator began its descent.

A moment later, the doors opened again. Kim could barely see through the clouds in her eyes, but someone loomed over her and she thought she heard her name. She looked up and saw a pair of concerned hazel eyes.

"Kimmie, are you okay?" Roman asked.

Kim looked at her brother and, through the pain, let out a weak, sickly laugh. "Do you believe us now, Roman? Do you?"