Author's notes – so remember how the last chapter led directly into "The Impossible Boy"?

The first scene of this chapter takes place during "The Impossible Boy".

If you haven't read that particular story, don't worry, you're not going to be lost. But one of the best things about writing "Nyctophobia" was that it took place over a 12 month period of time, and of course, all these other events and adventures are also happening in the lives of the characters. So it was actually really fun to write two big stories intersecting in a neat way.

Enjoy!

Part Seven

Chapter One

5 months ago

"Hey," Ian said, stepping out of the shadowy forest and into the flickering light of the campfire. "Did you miss me?"

Brendan looked up from the files he'd been reading. "Sure," he replied, as Ian sat down. "And I'm certain that any second now, I would've noticed you were missing."

Ian laughed and slugged his best friend's shoulder. The other Rangers were sitting around a crackling fire, all of us engrossed in the files and documents we'd received earlier that day from the lord chancellor of Chronopolis, one of the most renowned cities on the planet Dhalia. The enormous pink Phoenix zord stood a short distance away with Tim, the impossible boy, asleep inside. Aside from the nearby mountain lake, the Rangers were surrounded by a dark alien forest, filled with strange animal cries and the sounds of nocturnal predators. The longer Ian sat there, the more unnerving those shadows had become.

"I just said to Pete and Sarah that I wanted to scout around for a bit," Ian explained. "Just to make sure there wasn't anything lurking nearby."

"Not a terrible idea," Brendan agreed. "It'd be just our luck we landed in the middle of a monster feeding ground or something."

"And the last thing we need is another supervillain," Ian added.

Brendan smiled, and leaned back in his seat to gaze at the night sky. "Unfamiliar stars," he murmured, "and a million things trying to kill us. What else is new?" He laughed to himself and went back to his reading.

"You think they're wondering where we are?" Ian asked. "Back home, I mean?"

"I told them the usual," Brendan replied. "Billy's uncle's cabin. I swear, my mother thinks I want to live there. At least your dad knows about all this stuff."

Ian frowned. "I don't tend to tell him about this, to be honest," he said finally.

"Why not?"

"I guess I have trouble talking to dad sometimes," Ian replied. "You know how Billy's dad and Teresa and Scott's mother are really cool with the Ranger thing? I don't think dad's there yet. He's a police sergeant, I mean, I can't ask him to lie for me. And I've noticed he gets really weird, if there's a TV broadcast about something we did, or if my communicator beeps."

"Maybe it's too strange for him?" Brendan asked. "I mean, geez. I can barely cope with some of the things we deal with, and I'm the one actually doing it."

"It's probably just that," Ian said, although he didn't sound confident.

"And hey," Brendan added brightly, "at least with us on the far side of the galaxy, it's probably quiet back home! The emergency services won't know what to do with themselves."

Ian smiled despite himself. "You're right," he said. "A quiet couple of days is the best present we could give them," and he reached for the stack of files on the ground where he'd left them. "So, how are we doing on the Skethani case?"

"You were lucky to catch me," said Sergeant Thompson, as he followed the ward doctor through the labyrinth of corridors in Caloundra Hospital. "It's been a busy couple of days. We're always stretched thin on New Year's Eve."

"I know you don't like strange," Doctor Vanessa Brinkley began. She noticed the police sergeant wince at the mention of the word. "But nobody on the force has more experience with it, and I didn't know who else to call." Ahead, they were approaching two doors marked, 'Intensive Care'. "Brace yourself," the doctor added, and pushed open the doors.

Sergeant Thompson followed her into the room. Hospital beds lay on either side of him, lined up against the walls. They all had people lying in them and none of them were moving. His face fell, but the patients seemed to be alive, the monitors and equipment beside each bed beeping rhythmically. At the end of the room, two nurses in pink scrubs were currently checking the temperature and blood pressure of one of the patients.

"I'll be honest," the sergeant began. "I was expecting worse."

"Two of them came in last week," Doctor Brinkley explained. "They were found in the abandoned warehouse district. No IDs that we could find. Five more came in over the weekend, and I knew we had to call you."

Sergeant Thompson stepped closer to the victims. "Do you know what's wrong with them?" he asked.

"We haven't a clue," the doctor replied. "We've run every test we can. Their blood work checks out, and their organ function is perfectly normal except for the brain scans. Their brain function is highly irregular. Our neurologists have never seen anything like it." She paused to let her words sink in. "It's like something reached in and switched them off."

Sergeant Thompson scowled. "I hate strange," he murmured.

"You think they're homeless?"

"No, they're too well-dressed. Someone's missing them. Hang on," and the sergeant leaned in closer to the nearest patient. His eyes lit up. "This is Adrian Garrett. He's wanted in two states for financial fraud." He moved to the next bed. "And this is Jill Cooper, she's wanted for jewellery store thefts." He pointed to the beds across the room. "And him, Colton Banks? Wanted for armed robbery. The guy next to him, domestic assault, and the woman in the corner? She's part of a drug syndicate." Sergeant Thompson turned back to the doctor. "I have active warrants for every single person in the room. This is some fine company you're keeping, doc."

"Do you think there's a vigilante?" the doctor asked.

"I can't think of any commonality," Sergeant Thompson replied. "Some of these guys aren't even local. But you were right to call me. I'll leave a couple of officers here in case these guys start waking up. Call if they do. Meanwhile, how many more people can you fit into this ward?"

"You think this'll keep happening?"

Sergeant Thompson nodded. "Seven is a pattern, and that means it's not going to stop by itself," he replied, then met the doctor's gaze. "This town is weird enough at the best of times," he murmured. "What the hell is going on out there now?"

To be continued.

Author's notes – while the first line of dialogue in the chapter belonged to Ian, the first line of dialogue in the second scene belonged to his father, Sergeant Thompson, who's also going to have a big role to play in the story.