7.1

Chapter Seven

Part One

Gavin was right. I couldn't fathom what sort of murky mess we were in. Not only did I trip into this mess, but I had also face planted myself in it.

Coming to his feet Gavin dusted himself off.

I think he and I both were sharing the same feelings.

We had dread coming out the wazoo and filling its place hopelessness. It was this vicious cycle that left you not just sick but dizzy. No matter how hard we tried to run away from our lot in life, it always seemed to find us anyway.

He sighed and huge gush of air.

"I'll leave you to it then."

I slowly got to my feet, responding with that instead of words.

Emotionally and mentally drained, all I could do was let him escape from the room. I couldn't offer him any false words of comfort. We both knew that things would not be ok.

The honesty of that moment left the air between us heavy and thick. The weight of the unknown was mighty overwhelming for us both.

Gavin tried and failed at hiding his anxiety. He paused at the door.

Even though his voice was calm, his body had a completely different story.

At least that's what I assumed as I saw his hand trembling slightly.

"I'll be in the shower if you need me," he stated calmly.

Weakly I mustered just two words.

"Thanks Gavin."

My two words had him giving me a halfhearted laugh.

"For what," he snorted facing me, "I didn't do anything."

I reached out, patting his shoulder.

"You don't have to do anything. Being there is just as important. I can always count on you."

His never wavering support was worth more than words could say. Sure, he wasn't sold on the existence of Vampires. The story did have a bit of crazy to it, but regardless of all that, Gavin supported me.

The King of Dorks himself, my brother, smiled.

"See I'm not so bad," he preened.

I returned his doofy face, with one of my own.

"Sometimes," I countered.

He rolled his eyes just before he took off for the stairs.

"Let me know what our plans are," he tossed over his shoulder not even waiting for my reply.

"Our" plans? What exactly were "our" plans? The ball was in my court, but I had no idea which basket I should be shooting in.

I shook my head sagging against the filing cabinet.

One side of me burned with the desire to introduce Gavin and Kyung. The flip side of that, was terror.

What if introducing my brother to Kyung placed him in deeper trouble than I could handle?

I was barely keeping my own head above water, not to mention I didn't really know the Vampire. The Vampire had swiped my memory. If that didn't say bad news, then I didn't know what did.

Closing myself into the room I sank down into my chair, my mind in a war with itself.

What if Kyung just…killed…my brother? He had killed those other Vampires, didn't he? For all I knew, maybe he didn't want other people to know Vampires existed.

It wouldn't help anything having those two meet. It would just be me tooting my own horn that I'd been right.

Absently I reached for a pen ready to sign the contract. With my pen hovering above the paper my heart pounded, racking against my chest like a battle cry.

Here was my other problem.

Once my name was on the paper, I would publicly be placing myself as enemy number one. I'd be the girl that forcefully stuck her nose where it didn't belong. It would be like putting a bullseye on my back and flicking the light switch on.

Looking at my pen I stalled.

I didn't want to sign but it wouldn't matter. One way or another the truth would come out. It wouldn't amount to a hill of beans that I had pointed it out.

The cops were making a huge mistake. I just hoped that I could find Mary because honestly that was what was most important.

Signing my name, I resigned myself for the shit storm that was coming. It wasn't just coming for me though. The storm coming for the killer, Ryder, and Willy.

It was defiantly coming for big man Willy. Either he didn't know his nephew was a perverted, demented, sicko, or he did and covered it up.

Nevertheless, he was going to be hit by the storm too. I couldn't say that I felt sorry for him. A person's life was far more important than the ego of a police officer.

I snapped a photo of my signed paper and promptly attached it to an email for Richard.

I called Danny, because he too was going to be blown around by this storm.

He'd been straddling the line between family and his job for far too long. In my opinion it had been long enough, but this time the wind was about to blow him from one side to the other…indefinitely.

It took longer than I had anticipated for him to pick up. When he did his voice was full of panic.

��Circe? Circe what's going on," he whispered quickly, "Did you find something?"

I could hear some strange background noise, but I wasn't sure as to what was going on.

"Danny why are you whispering?"

"I can't talk," he spat, "Something weird is going on right now."

My ears perked up.

Weird?

I heard a door slam and his voice echo.

"I don't know what the shit is going on, but something is," he said a little louder only to pause.

That was when I heard a flush.

I put two and two together.

"Danny," I said horrified, "are you talking to me on the toilet?"

He was silent and I heard someone else's voice. It was another man asking him something.

"Yea, it's my mom," Danny answered muffled, like he had the phone slightly covered.

I heard him grumbled before saying to me, "Mom, for the last time, I can't talk when I'm at work!"

"Mom," I asked baffled, "So what? You're pretending I'm your mom now? Are you not allowed to talk to me or something?"

"Yes momma," Danny hissed, ignoring what I had said, "it's Bill Tod, I'll let him know you said hello."

There was a door slam and Danny started hissing over the phone again.

"Circe I really don't have a lot of time! What the heck is going on? Did you hear about a body?"

"What," I breathed worried, thinking that they had found Mary, "Did you guys find a body?"

My heart plummeted.

"No," he barked, "I thought you did! I don't know. Willy jumped up from his desk and stormed into one of the interrogation rooms, calling for Ryan. The look he gave me…I thought maybe Mary's body was found. I thought you found her?"

I swallowed, "No. I don't know if…there's a body or not."

"Then why did you call?"

"We've got a problem," I winced.

Danny's lingering silence worried me, so my mouth kept running.

"I wanted to call you before the storm came but…I guess I was too late."

"Storm?"

I felt a smidgen of regret. I had put him in the middle of all of this.

I breathed in and then spilled the beans.

"Cilia Mayes requested a Medium from the State."

"Cilia Mayes," he choked, understandably confused and upset, "What the hell would she need a Medium for?"

"I don't know…but it was on behalf of Mary Hernandez's father. At least that's what I'm assuming. I really don't know."

My cousin sounded like he'd been sucker punched.

His voice wheezed, "The fu…"

Clearly my cousin was not only in shock but momentarily brain dead. He couldn't finish his sentence.

"I was hoping I could tell you before the crap hit the fan, but it looks like I was too late. I'm sorry I couldn't get you the heck out of dodge."

"I'm so confused," he cried, "So, you're telling me that Ryder's OWN MOTHER, our Chief's sister, asked you to personally investigate? Are you shitting me?"

Reality was setting in for Danny. He was now on the same runaway train that Gavin and I were on just moments before.

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but she didn't ask for me specifically. Ryder's mom asked for a Medium and I'm the one they've got."

"Wait a second. If she didn't ask for you then what the hell are you doing?"

"At the moment I'm the only Medium in East Tennessee. There wasn't anyone else they could send."

Danny paused. I knew he was struggling.

"How freakin ironic. They pick…you…you're the only one."

"Yes."

"It's by chance? That's what your telling me," he cried.

When I didn't respond he wailed, like a mewling cat, "Oh my God!"

"I'm not happy about this either," I added, "you know if that helps."

It didn't help. Danny was now panicking.

"Please tell me you didn't tell anyone I had shared information with you!"

Offended I glared at the phone. Did he really think I was that coldhearted or stupid?

He would be in some deep shit if they found out. I knew that. I also knew that he'd not only fired but roasted on top of that.

"Oh my God," he moaned, "I shouldn't have shared anything with you! I should have just kept it to myself."

"Danny," I growled, "I didn't tell them anything! I wouldn't be that stupid! Calm down!"

"Calm down," he said cutting me short, "how I am supposed to calm down! Willy's gotta know that I told you! Why else could he glare at me?"

"Because he just got the freakin email! You're my cousin! Of course, he'd look at you! I'm not there to bark at. You are!"

"Please tell me they didn't ask about Police escort? Did they?"

"No," I answered sardonically, "but I'm pretty sure Willy's not going to let me skip around town, investigating a crime he thinks, was never committed. On top of that, it was at his sister's request. The craps really going to hit the fan when I ask to see Ryder's home."

"OH NO! Can you…can you please investigate anywhere else? Do you have to go near Ryder?"

If I could have reached though the phone to strangle my cousin I certainly would have.

"Danny are you listening to yourself right now! There is a woman out there! She's alive, or dead, or who knows what else right now! Your main concern is that I don't offend your boss? Seriously?"

Danny mumbled guiltily, "You don't have to say it like that."

"Well how else do you want me to put it then?"

"Ok! I get it," he said defeated, "I'm sorry. That was really shitty of me to say."

"Yea it was. Mary's life matters a bit more than Willy, or Ryder's feelings right now."

"I never said that it didn't."

"Well, I'm sorry Danny. I know this is going to put you in an awkward position, but that's just how it's going to be."

"How the heck did Cilia think this was going to work out? Why didn't she just ask her freakin brother to investigate?"

I shrugged, "WE don't know that she didn't."

I mean for all we knew she might have. The lady could be so clueless about her own son that she'd never suspect he had something to do with it.

Then again it could have been just for show.

She didn't ask for credible evidence. Cilia didn't even ask for real evidence. She merely asked for any old clue.

"I'm sorry," he finally replied, sounding more honest than before, "I know it's not just me that's going to get the crap end of the stick. I know this isn't something that want to do either. So if they need someone to be your escort… I'll do it."

"Thanks."

"I mean he probably already asked Ryan, now that I think about it, but I'll see if I can join. I mean Ryan isn't a bad guy but…"

I didn't need Danny to continue.

Ryan, kind as he was, would be no match when it came to the spooky stuff. He looked ready to pee himself when he heard about me talking to dead people. Imagine if I really did that in front of him. They'd probably accuse me of giving him a heart attack.

"Well…they're going to wonder what's taking me so long. I should probably go," Danny explained.

"Ok. I just wanted to let you know what was going on."

Quickly Danny asked, "You know when you're going to start? I assume you'll have to maybe come into the Police Department at some point."

"I don't know. I should get my conformation email soon."

I didn't even want to think about that.

Willy wouldn't be the only person unhappy with my presence. Pretty much everyone in that building, minus my cousin, and maybe Ryan, would hate me. I was basically the State, giving them the middle finger, that's how they'd see it.

"I just don't want you…you know getting the brunt of it," my cousin remarked sadly, "They don't understand that you don't exactly have much of a choice."

It was very nice of Danny to worry about me, but I knew Danny's backbone had been missing in action for a while. I wasn't sure how much I could trust him yet. I wasn't sure which side of the fence he would ultimately be on.

Not wanting to make it difficult I suggested, "If it's too uncomfortable for you, let me know. I don't want you to be in an awkward situation. You shouldn���t have to choose between family or your job."

Danny lowered his voice, ending our conversation with, "Just do what you gotta do. Don't worry about me. Talk to you later."

The line went dead.

After the phone call I cleaned up the papers and showered.

I waited on the conformation from Richard, my contact.

Sure, enough he took his time.

I had already showered, dressed, and was sitting at the bar stool before he responded.

I dropped my head to the counter, closing my eyes tightly.

Gavin, who had been patiently waiting in the family room, heard my skull clunk on the counter.

He ran in like a chicken with its head cut off. His feet slapping the kitchen floor.

He must have almost collided with Nana because I could hear her gasp in surprise.

"Gavin," Nana shrilled.

"Sorry," he bellowed, quickly asking, "You heard back?"

I moaned.

I had. It was exactly as I had feared.

"Are you sure this Richard guy is an upstanding person," my grandmother questioned near me.

She wouldn't say it, but she was just as invested as Gavin. They wanted to know what Richard had said. However, her voice held an unwarranted amount of suspicion.

"I have no clue," I wined feeling like my soul had just left my body.

This was going to be a nightmare.

"Well," my brother demanded, "What did he say?"

I sat up, my face saying exactly what I was feeling.

Gavin blanched.

"It's that bad?"

"He royally screwed us," I said simply.

Nana's face darkened as she hissed, "Who? This Richard guy or the fat lard?"

Gavin understood what I meant.

His eyes looked like someone zapped the life out of him.

He responded for me.

"It was stinking Willy wasn't it? I should have guessed. He'd never let Circe investigate alone."

I handed my brother my phone. He could read the email for himself.

I returned my head to the counter, closing my eyes.

Depressed, forlorn, doomed, those were just the tip of the iceberg.

Gavin sneered. I'm sure he had enough venom that poor Richard in his nice cushy office could feel it.

"Ongoing investigation my big behind," he mocked, "Willy considers Mary missing! Why's he changing his tune now? I bet he did it just after getting the email. Cheap butt…hole."

From my position on the table, my muffled voice bemoaned, "She's been missing three days. Maybe Willy changed his mind before the email."

"Balls he did," Gavin spat.

"Why would he change it now," Nana wondered aloud, her voice overflowing with annoyance, "If he thought she was a runaway he should have kept it that way! That stupid ogre! You know he only did so because he saw that YOU were asked to investigate."

I picked my head up and swiveled around on the chair.

"Doesn't matter if he changed his mind. In order for the State to take on cases they have to first make sure it's not an open investigation. If it is…then we need to work together."

Nana's face fell.

"That fat lard. He wouldn't know what working together meant if it slapped him in the face."

I nodded.

Gavin was angry. He was fuming. His arms folded and his mouth squished into a tiny line.

Gripping he complained, "So it gives the cops the opportunity to change their stupid minds."

Nana shook her head angry.

"Well that's not fair!"

"Truthfully the ball is still in their court," I explained.

Guess I didn't have the ball anymore.

"If they want to change their mind…they can," I stated.

"Well what will you do now Circe?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I'm waiting for my contact or Willy."

My phone binged. Gavin sprang into action. He swiped it before I could grab it.

"You meet tomorrow at 2pm at the Carter County Police Station."

"Great," I cried, laying my head on the counter again.

Gavin snorted, "Looks like you get two buddies besides me going with you."

"What?"

Gavin handed me the phone saying, "Regardless of Danny and Willy, I'm coming with you."

Danny? Weren't they going to ask…Ryder? What happened there?

My brother collapsed into his usual chair.

"How is this all going to work out?"

I looked up wondering if he was talking to me.

It was Nana who answered.

"It's not. It's a mess. Now I know you wanna help, but Circe, sometimes we need to know when to walk away."

"Nana she can't," my brother defended, exasperated by her attempts for me to quit.

His emotion fueled his rant, causing his voice to shaking the house.

"Don't you think she would if she could? She doesn't have a choice!"

Taken back by his outburst, Nana looked at him flabbergasted.

"It freakin pisses me off," he roared, "everyone ALWAYS takes it out on Circe, but she can't help it! If a ghost wants to find her, they will! At least you and I can hide it Nana. You can just keep your mouth shut, I can slap freakin gloves on, but Circe? She doesn't have any gloves. What's she supposed to do if she hears their voices or feels them around her? Now she freakin SEES them! You want her to go around with sunglasses and earplugs?"

Blinking fast, Nana's blue eyes quickly filled with tears. Her mouth turned down and began to quiver.

Alarmed I got to my feet. Reaching towards her, she pushed me off.

"No," she cried, "NO! Keep going Gavin."

Gavin, still breathing heavy from his outburst recognized his error.

"I'm sorry. Nana?"

Taking a step back Nana put her hand out, shaking her head.

"No," she cried again, "No go on. You seem to have a lot to say boy."

Clamping his mouth shut my brother dropped his eyes. He knew he'd gone too far.

"Nana," I said softly, getting between the two.

I was hoping I'd be the voice of reason.

"You know you don't think like that. Gavin is just upset."

I glared at my brother, my eyes like a whip.

"Right Gavin."

He winced like I'd actually stung him.

"We are all just a bit emotional," I continued.

"I don't know," she replied, her voice sounding as if Gavin had just crushed her whole world, "It seems like your brother does think that way."

Panicked Gavin reeled.

"No! NO! Nana, I don't think that way!"

"Gavin you made your bed and now you've got to lie in it. I am well aware of the extent of BOTH of your abilities. Who was the one who was there during both of your births? Me! I was," she cried, jabbing at her chest.

Her voice trembled uncontrollably as tears spilled down her face.

"I was the one who gave you your first pair of gloves Gavin! I was the one who held Circe's hand when she realized that she was hearing spirits."

Nana was no longer sad, but angry.

"I don't need no lecture coming from you little boy," she lectured, "That is beyond disrespectful and…hurtful."

I'd never seen my grandmother so upset with Gavin. My brother had pushed a button that I didn't know Nana had.

"You two," she yelled dragging me into this mess, "need to realize that you are NOT invincible! Look at our family history! Look at your parents! MY DAUGHTER! I know that I'll never know what happened to her, but you better believe I will not let that happen to the two of you! I would DIE before that happens!"

Sobbing hysterically Nana stormed between us, leaving Gavin and I alone in the kitchen. Both of us were speechless.

Slowly I faced my brother. Gavin had a look of desolation. He knew he'd truly stepped over the line.

My brother struggled to speak as he started crying.

"I didn't…I didn't mean."

"You shouldn't have gone that far Gavin."

Facing me, Gavin fell into his chair, covering his face.

"I didn't…mean…"

"I know," I admitted patting him on the shoulder.

I did know. Gavin didn't truly mean to accuse Nana of being like that. He was upset and took out his frustration out on the wrong person.

"I'll talk to her."

Reaching up Gavin gripped my hand giving it a squeeze.

"I didn't mean to say that. What was I thinking?"

"That's what happens when you let your emotions run away with themselves," I remarked walking towards the hallway.

When I entered Nana's bedroom it was dark, minus a small light. It was coming from her closet.

She was shuffling in there like a squirrel for some reason.

"Nana?"

She didn't come out from her closet.

Bent over still moving stuff around, she said, "It's time."

"Time," I said carefully.

"It's time to give our offering."

She raised up giving me a strange look.

Face blotchy from crying, that was the only sign she'd been upset.

"How did you arrive to that conclusion," I wondered.

"I would say that your skirts too short, but then I'd have to remember that blasted red dress."

She didn't want to talk about it.

"Here," she said tossing a cardigan at me.

"My skirts not short," I defended glancing down.

I had a white cotton sleeveless stop, tucked in a white mini eyelet lace skirt. The skirt wasn't too short. It was fingertip length.

"My darling is called being respectful. You wouldn't go to Church or a funeral looking like that would you?"

"But no one can't see us."

Popping my shoulder with the back of her hand, Nana's eyes were fierce.

"Now don't you say that! What if he hears you?"

I rolled my eyes.

"They'll get stuck that way you know," she warned turning back towards her closet.

"Sure."

"Tell that brother of yours to get the soap bucket ready. You and I will put together the food basket. We are doing our offering today if it's the last thing I do."

"Don't say it like that Nana."

She ignored me.

"Go tell your brother."

I didn't have to go far. Gavin was creeping in the hallway.

Flattened against the wall, he quickly motioned to keep my mouth shut. With his finger in front of his mouth, he closed his eyes pleading with me.

Smacking him I yelled as if he were still in the kitchen.

"Gavin get the soap bucket. We're doing the ritual."

He jumped like his butt had been lit on fire, panicking as he ran down the hall.

Quite frankly, I wasn't a fan of the ritual. Why we did it, or even the true story of how it came about, was actually a mystery. We had stories passed down from person to person but honestly how much could you believe?

Did I even believe?

I washed the fruit Nana handed me from the fridge. Scrubbing every nook and cranny, my mind turned over the same set of questions I had since I was a child.

Was this gradian even real?

"I don't understand why we keep doing this," I admitted as Nana began drying off the what fruit and potatoes I had cleaned.

Nana glared, "You know why."

Actually, I really didn't.

"He's our protector. A creature that our family made a pact with," she chided, reminding me.

"You seriously believe those stories?"

I regretted asking that, because Nana's eyes were on fire.

Shrinking back, I gave in.

"Ok. Ok."

"No, it's not ok," she mocked, "our family died. They were hunted down and chased from home to home. This is our only safety net for when things become bad again, and they might. There's no assurance that someone won't start burning or stoning witches again."

"He didn't protect mom and dad."

Nana shut the lid to the picknick basket. She was so quiet that I thought maybe I'd done like my brother and overstepped my bounds.

"We can't say that for sure," she said softy, "We don't know. I wasn't there that day, Gavin was too young, and you can't remember. So, I can't help but to think that he had protected both you and your brother. Something terrible happened to your parents and yet both of you were fine."

What she wasn't saying was hiding in-between her words.

There was always a price. When one asked for something, one had to give something. That's what Nana had always drilled into us.

What did my parents give the demon?

"I got the bucket," Gavin called from outside interrupting my negative thoughts.

My shoulder drooped as I grabbed the basket.

Here we were, going through the woods, and up a hill to an invisible creature I'd never met.

My family had owned these lands for years. I wasn't sure how long, but I knew it had been a long time. The land was passed down from eldest child to eldest child. The home would be built and then when the home couldn't stand anymore, they would rebuild.

What seemed like forever we walked, Nana holding on to my arm, and Gavin's.

I could see a few beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Looking over at my brother I knew he was thinking the same thing.

How long could Nana keep this going? She was getting old; I mean eighty-three wasn't some small milestone.

Would I be expected to keep this going? Honestly, I wasn't too sure if I would, because I wasn't exactly sold on the guardian's existence.

I could see the sun through the trees, and I knew we were almost there.

Something, I could say what, but all of a sudden chill raced over my skin. I didn't feel alone.

I paused, pulling them for a stop a moment.

"Circe," Nana asked confused, "is everything ok?"

I tilted my head listening, straining to hear a sound. I could have sworn…

"Do you need to rest? It's been a while since we've climbed all this way."

Nana said that like I was the old lady in the group.

I smiled shaking my head.

"It's fine, I just felt like something was watching us…or something."

"There are," my brother snorted, "there's freakin animals everywhere."

I rolled my eyes at him and we started walking again.

I tried shaking the strange feeling, but it was impossible.

For a moment I had felt like someone was watching us…only now it was gone.

We sprang free from the woods and into the clearing.

Strangely, nothing much, apart from flowers, grew there. It was incredibly bazar. Here, in a densely populated wood was a clearing where trees didn't grow?

As a kid my mom use to tell me it was a fairy circle. I believed her and spent all my time looking for them. Never found one.

In the middle sat a rock. It was about navel high and round as could be. How it came to be sitting in the middle of the clearing I hadn't the slightest clue. Not at all.

Unique writing was etched into the stone, most likely by hand. To this day I've never been able to figure out what the writing said. I couldn't find the writing anywhere either. Which left a small part of me to question my belief in the guardian.

Who brought the rock there? Who wrote on it?

"Circe," Nana called back towards me.

I'd not realized that I was just standing like a doof, looking off into nowhere.

"Do you want to get the water? I'm going to start the weeds, and Gavin you start picking up the fallen tree limbs."

Gavin stood up quickly startled.

"But that's her job. I always take care of the bucket."

He only said that because looking for fallen tree limbs was like looking for a needle in a haystack. With so many flowers you couldn't quite see the sticks.

"Gavin your sister looks like she needs some fresh air. Let her have some air please."

My brother's eyes narrowed worriedly.

"You sure you're ok Circe?"

I wasn't aware that I didn't look fine.

"It's ok. I can do the sticks."

Nana stood up from plucking some weeds, her eyes looked me over, and she had a strange look.

"You should do the water," she replied, "I think you need to."

I scratched my head thinking what she had said was incredibly weird.

"Ok."

Gavin reluctantly handed the bucket over, obvious to the strange air.

Dryly he said, "Please take the soap and rags out of the bucket before you fill it up. I don't want them to go floating down stream."

"I don't think I'm that stupid."

Gavin's face screwed up as he mocked me, "I don't think I'm that stupid. Weren't you the one who fell into a grave?"

"THAT WAS ONE TIME GAVIN!"

"KIDS," Nana snapped so quickly her voice sent the birds flying.

We both shut up and parted ways without another word.

I slipped into the forest and made my way to the creek bed.

As kids we ran these woods like crazy people, playing games as the adults prepared the offering. As we got older though my parents went missing, so then it was just Nana, Danny's dad, Danny, my brother, and me. After that years went by, and my Uncle stopped coming. He said he had work. Then Danny couldn't come because of school or this and that.

Now it was just…us.

As I neared the creek, I didn't want to admit it, but I had a small pang of sadness.

My mom and dad had once played with us here, but now they were gone. Danny had played with us here…then he…well he had better things to do.

Now it was just me.

It looked different, overgrown, and wilder than I remembered.

Longing came over me, so fast and hard, I almost burst into tears.

Why did things have to change? Why couldn't they stay as they were? I wanted to go back so bad. Spend more time with my parents, feel protected again.

I dried my eyes on my palm, embarrassed.

Taking off my shoes, I laid them down before doing as Gavin requested.

I took out the soap bar, and rags.

He only asked that because he'd done it once. Put the bucket down in the water and the soap and rags floated away. Nana had been fit to be tied that day. Whipped his butt so good I think he could still feel it.

I stared at the creek. Watching the water running by and wanted to be in it again. Splashing around, laughing, and having fun, I missed that.

I looked around nervously and thinking that they wouldn't need the bucket for a little while at least.

Sitting down the bucket in the grass, I walked to the water to enjoy a few seconds of solitude.

The creek bed was mostly soft under my feet. The water a bit low, which was understandable. We hadn't had rain in weeks.

I was thinking about the rain, when without warning I felt the presence again.

My heart pounded as I looked around crazy.

Why did I keep feeling this?

Suddenly, I felt him behind me, his voice was in my ear whispering unexpectedly, "Did you forget something?"