21 Down by the river

"…"

"…Please be okay…"

"Wake up Paul!"

I started to regain consciousness. Who is that? I am hearing a woman's voice, and she sounds hot!

I opened my eyes to see the sun and blue skies. As I looked above me while still trying to regain focus, I saw a beautiful angel with golden hair. If they existed, she would be one.

"I'm so glad that you are awake!"

Wait a minute! That voice is starting to sound familiar.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up to get a better view of this so-called angel.

"Bryanna!"

I guess that is why they call them dreams because they never happen. I cannot believe I confused her for someone attractive.

I got closer to her so I could have a better look at her, she was covered in more bruises, bandages, and medical type.

"What happened to you?! Are you okay?! Where is the house?! Why aren't we dead?!"

"Calm down! You just woke up, take it easy."

To my right, the house was burnt to the ground. The animals that we had have been killed and burned in the fire. I failed to protect Bryanna. I failed to protect the house. And most importantly, I failed Wes once again.

Anger and disappointment are all that I feel now.

"Where is Wes? Is he okay?" I asked Bree.

"I'm over here Paul!"

I turned around and saw Wes sitting down behind his truck.

"Wes! I'm so relieved that at least you're okay!"

"I'm fine. I got here and found both of you unconscious."

"What happened to the church men?!"

"They were long gone by the time I arrived."

I helped Bryanna up and noticed that she was limping, "What's wrong with your leg?"

"Don't worry about it. Those guys gave me a beating and the leg was part of it."

I stopped in my tracks and carried Bryanna to where Wes was at. I sat her down next to him.

"Thanks. I wanted to ask you; how did you survive the gunshots? I lifted your shirt early to see if I could stop the bleeding, but I didn't see any wounds. I thought you were going to die."

Crap! I had forgotten about that!

"They must have missed. Their aiming sucked and they couldn't land a single shot."

"How?! I know they shot you! I saw them do it and they also ran you over using one of their trucks. Yet, you have no bullet wounds, scratches, bruises, or anything! Here I am covered in band-aids and barely walking. I just don't understand, how is it possible?"

Wes gave me that look again that says to tell her.

"I think that maybe when they hit you in the head with that rifle, it caused your memory to get hazy and made you think that you saw me get shot."

Bryanna got mad at me, "Whatever! I know what I saw! You jerk!"

"Seriously, what happened after they supposedly ran me over?"

"You were sent flying back into the house. You went through the wall and ended up back in the living room. I saw that and kicked the guy that was hitting me with the rifle right in the nuts. I picked up his weapon and fired a couple of rounds until I guess I ran out or it got jammed. Then I threw the rifle at the guy that was trying to pick a fight with you the other day."

"The same guy that tried to unlock the latch on the gate?"

"Yes! Him! I managed to hit him on the head with the rifle and I ran back inside to drag you out before you got burned alive. When I finally was able to drag you outside, some of the guys pulled me off of you and started to repeatedly kick you. They started to beat me too and I managed to get free and jumped on top of you to cover you from getting hit."

"You didn't have to cover me or save me, you should have run and saved yourself."

"I could not just leave you like that!"

Now I feel like crap for putting her through that…

Wes jumped off the tailgate where he was sitting, "Give me a hand. I'm going to look around my house to see if I could find anything that survived the fire."

"Okay sure, but I don't think anything survived that."

When we were far enough, Wes told me, "Don't be too hard on yourself. It is okay, we will get them back for what they did."

"Agreed."

Wes shouted excited as we were both looking around, "That's what I wanted to see! My grandmother's spell books!"

"Really?!" I said shocked.

"Yeah! They are not even burnt one bit."

It is weird how everything else got destroyed in the fire except the books.

As we were digging through what was left of Wes's house, I asked him, "What are we going to do? And how are we going to get back at them for this?"

"I don't know."

"Well, we have to do something. They can't get away with what they did."

Wes did not reply and stood there in silence staring at his books.

I do not understand how he could remain so calm after getting his house burned down. I know for sure that I would want revenge.

"Wes! Paul! Come here quick!"

When I heard Bryanna say that I immediately stopped what I was doing and rushed to her. I was concerned that they had to return to see if they needed to finish the job. To my surprise, it was the daughter that we helped yesterday.

"I am terribly sorry that they burned down your house. This was our fault, and we should have never gotten you involved."

"No need to apologize. We were the ones that decided to help knowing that there might be consequences." Wes told her.

I asked her, "What happened to the church guys!"

"I don't know. When I got to church today the pastor told us to get lost and to never step foot inside their church again. That we dishonored and disgraced that place for seeking help from a witch. What I do know is that the ones who did this didn't show up to the church and that they tipped off the hospital who paid off the police and fire department to not come to your aid."

"THAT BASTARD!" I shouted.

Wes grabbed my shoulder and whispered into my ear, "You need to calm down. Your eyes changed color and you are getting ready to shapeshift in front of everyone. Remember that you do not want to expose yourself and bring more trouble than we need right now."

"I know! I'm just so angry!"

Bryanna grabbed my arm and put her head on my shoulder, "I know. Me too, but there is nothing that you can do right now."

I looked into her eyes, and I started to feel myself calm down.

She leaned into whisper into my ear, "When did you put on blue contact lenses?"

"What are you talking about?"

She looked at me confused, "What the?! I swear that your eyes were just blue a second ago?"

"You are probably seeing things again."

"Whatever! I know what I saw, I am not crazy."

The daughter told Wes, "Let me repay you for your home."

Wes put his hands in front of him and shook them, "Oh no! That's okay! It's a lot of money that we are talking about here."

"Nonsense." She said, "My mom has a house down by the river that she doesn't use anymore since she is old now and stays with me. It is the least I can do to help repay you for saving my mother and the trouble we cause you. What do you say?"

I looked at Wes and shook my head up and down. He has always wanted a house down by the river. This would be a terrific opportunity for him.

Wes sighed, "Okay, I will accept your offer."

"Good, because I was not going to take no for an answer." She got in her car and told us to follow her.

She took us to the edge of town on the first street where it says, "Welcome to Liberty." We passed up some abandoned warehouses and homes. We came to a stop at the end of the street and there stood a brown house that looked smaller compared to the five-room home Wes had. We stepped out of the car and the lady was already at the door unlocking it, "Come on in, don't be shy."

I was right, this place was smaller than the old house.

Upon entering we were in the living room that looked no bigger than a master bedroom. The kitchen was connected to the living room. There were no walls separating the two. To my right was the master bedroom with a bathroom in it which was about the same size as the living room. To my left was the second room which was half the size of the living room.

"There is only one bathroom and two bedrooms here. I am sorry that this place is not as big as your old home. My mother lived here by herself and did not want a huge place."

"How much do you want for rent?" asked Wes.

She smiled and said, "I don't want your money. I told you that I wanted to pay you back. This is your home now and the house has been fully paid for already. All you have to do is connect the lights and other utilities. You should be fine after that."

"I really can't thank you enough," Wes told her.

"No, it is you who I can't thank enough. I will bring the title of the home to you sometime this week. Good day."

She handed Wes the keys to the house and gave me the spare.

"All we need to do now is buy some furniture and it will be just like home again." I told Wes, "And some new fishing gear!"

When you step outside, there is a vast empty field, and to the left is the Trinity River. This place is well hidden from people and those that do not know about it will just think that this area has nothing but abandoned warehouses.

"Do you think that the church people will find us here?"

I told Bryanna, "I don't know. Let's hope that they don't because if they do and also burn this place down, we will have nowhere to go this time."