Confidence..



She sits back in the leather chair listening intently as Sharon Milner explains her friend Daniels puzzling behavior. Sheila Downs has been around several people who claimed to have ‘Visions’, and while she wasn’t a therapist by any means, her opinions were educated to say the least. She pours herself a drink and offers Sharon Milner one. She holds her hand up..
“No thank you.. So she? What do you think?”
“Well I wouldn’t know anything for sure until I got to talk to your buddy in person, and I sure would like to take a peek at those murals, but at a glance it sounds like that dream or those dreams of his, may be driving these pictures.. You say there are papers too?”
“Yuh Huh.”
She passes the papers to Sheila Downs.
“He doesn’t know that I have them, or that I’m even here..”
She studies the papers and gives Sharon Milner a puzzled look.
“So where is your boy now?”
“I convinced him to come to town with me for the day, I dropped him off at the Smiths barber shop. He’s getting a haircut. And then we’re going to lunch.”
“Yeah well, you keep an eye on him, the boy could have serious issues.”
She passes the papers back to Sharon Milner, who returned them to her purse.
“Thanks She.. I gotta get going.. Lunch you know.”
She leaves the home of Sheila Downs to go meet with Daniel Vickers.


The Whole Truth.



She finds him standing there on the corner, in a trance like state, Staring, his eyes completely focused on something across the street. The rain has stopped momentarily, but she can tell by the way he is breathing that something is amiss. She tries to break the cold chill that is forming at her spine.
“So.. Dan? You ready to go to lunch?’
He nods, and they both walk across the street towards the Beaumont Café. Once inside the waitress seats them next to a window and Daniel Vickers considers letting Sharon Milner in on the whole picture. He watch’s as the waitress pours their coffee, takes their orders and then leaves. he draws a deep breath and momentarily stares at Sharon Milner.
“They’re starting to change now..”
She raises her eyes to meet his.
“What Dan?”
“The Dreams I mean.. they’re changing now.. Before at first they were just about trees and shit.. Now there’s a girl in them.. And they feel more violent.. that’s all I can remember is the feeling of violence.”
“Is it the same girl as in the picture?”
He nods to the affirmative.
“Yeah.. And I have seen her a few times since then.. Only not in the dreams.. I think she’s following me.”
“Following you?? .. Danny why didn’t you tell me this??
He doesn’t answer.
“I’ve seen her at the store.. The hardware store.. And a few other Places.. Only from a distance though.”
“And it’s the same girl from the dream and the painting?”
He stares out the window, the rain returns, and begins, to run down outside of the pane like little beads of perspiration.
“Dan?”
He turns to face her.
“Does the name Jennifer Watson mean anything to you at all?”
“I don’t think so.. I didn’t recognize it when I wrote it down.”
“Could that be the girls name?.. the one from your dream and the picture that you painted?”
A silence falls over the conversation as the waitress brings them lunch.. They dine in complete silence each mull over every word of their last exchange as if searching for clues in some great mystery. He pays the check and they return to her car as the rain persists, she turns to Chevrolet towards highway 10 and slowly accelerates.. They drive on in silence for most of the way until they hit Aberdeen road.



The trees that tower above either side of Aberdeen road, do not allow even the smallest amount of sunlight to shine through even in the event that the rainfall subsides, which in this case it doesn’t. The skies grow darker and even more ominous storm cloud roll in, and Sharon Milner finds her foot pressing on the accelerator pedal even harder. Daniel stares strait ahead lost in his thoughts, and she thinks that she may as well be driving alone. It is then that she feels the steering wheel slowly start to shake as the right rear tire makes a thumping sound.
“Oh great. A flat.. perfect timing.”
The Chevrolet slowly rolls to a stop and Daniel Vickers gets out into the rain to change tires.
“Stay here.” he tells her. She rolls her eyes at him.
“Are you gonna need a hand?” She asks.
“No.. I think that I can still remember how to change a flat tire, stay out of the rain Sharon.”
She feels the rear of the vehicle slowly raise off the asphalt as the jack lifts it, and hears soft clinking sounds of lug nuts being removed as the tire is replaced. The Chevrolet slowly returns to the pavement and then she hears nothing. The rain returns. The sky gets blacker.. And from out of the front passenger side window she sees Daniel Vickers slowly walking across the grassy field towards the woods. She opens the door and steps out in the rain and looks over the top of the car and begins to yell at him. She can barely hear her own voice.
“DANIEL!!”
She begins to walk towards him slowly, curiously watching him, slowly at first then each step quickening in its pace until she is running through the rain soaked grass to catch up with him. Then through the woods, the trees becoming nothing more than blurred edges at her side as she runs through them. Until finally she sees him again, he is on his knees in a small clearing.
She slows down to almost a complete stop, her shoulders rising and falling with each gasp for breath.
“Daniel?.. What the Fu-” her words stop abruptly in her throat, there in his hands Daniel Vickers is clutching a piece of white cloth.
"It was her Sharon.. I saw her again.. standing in the trees."
He stares up at Sharon Milner blankly. She helps him to his feet, and stares back in disbelief.
“Danny.. Damn man.. What in the hell is going on with you?”
“Sharon? I need you to go with me someplace.”
She blinks and slowly nods.
“Yeah.. Yes.. Of course sweetie.. But where are we going?”
“We have to drive to a place called Cherry Creek.”
She doesn’t answer at first.
“Sharon?”
“Yes?”
‘We have to leave tonight.”

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Revelation.



She can feel a slight tug of anxiety, as she makes the turn at Aberdeen Road, soft beads of rain begin to appear on the windshield, slowly becoming larger ones as the downpour begins. She checks her watch, its past noon, she was gone for four hours, but now she had in her possession enough food to last them awhile. There is something not right with her high school chum Daniel Vickers.. There’s something there, beyond the sudden death of his father, almost like a presence that she felt from the moment that he first opened the front door of the Vickers home. The feeling of anxiety returns as she sees the sky grow dark, now the rain lashing down harder on the Chevrolet, it almost seems angry to her. Her thoughts return to Daniel Vickers and his recurring dream, she would have to ask him about it, but diplomatically, she certainly didn’t want to upset him beyond what he already was. Damn it Sharon! pay attention! She barely sees something run in front of the vehicle when she instinctively slams both feet on the brakes, causing the Chevy to turn sharply sideways, almost hydroplaning out of control, the rain crashes against the dark cold pavement as she thinks about braving the elements to get out and see what she had almost hit. It is then that she sees it through the driver’s side window.. What the hell?.. A dog? A… Wolf?.. Here? She squints to see through the rain to see the strange animal that is standing in the middle of the road in the pouring rain staring at her. Anxiety begins to slowly turn to dread and fear as the animals cold stare pierces through the rain storm, she slams the Chevy into gear and slowly begins to accelerate. Ten minutes later she is pulling into the Vickers driveway, she puts it into park and tries to calm herself before taking the groceries inside. She opens the door and goes to the trunk where she picks up four plastic bags full of groceries.
“Daniel?.. Sweetie I’m back.”
She hears muffled noises coming from the den and smiles to herself, he never did like to wake up quietly.
“Danny? I didn’t know that you had any black wolves running around these woods. I almost hit one, scared the bejesus out of me!”
Silence.
“Danny?”
She puts the groceries down on the round table by the breakfast nook not even noticing that it is now completely empty. She heads towards the den where he was napping, and when she finds him, he is in an exhausted heap on the floor, both hands and arms are covered in paint, the room looks as though a cyclone hit it, but what she finds by far the most un nerving is the perfectly painted mural that is spread across the longest wall of the den.

Dreams.



She covers him in a towel after pulling him from the warm shower, and helps dry him off, visibly shaken, he lays down on the bed and she wraps him in a blanket, moments later he falls fast asleep. She lay there next to him, she herself visibly shaken as well. Slowly she makes her way back to the den, the house has grown dark as the storm outside has intensified. She lights herself a cigarette and studies the picture on the wall. It is as dark as the storm raging outside of the window pane. There are black looking trees
spread out across a small hillside, it is densely populated with trees and under brush. Behind the them she can make out the faint but unmistakable image of a stream or brook , but the most curious piece of the picture she sees is, beneath and between two of the trees on the ground, Daniel Vickers has painted a wooden door. His voice comes up suddenly from behind her, causing her to jump.
“I don’t know how or why.. I just woke up and did it, I was sleeping and dreaming again.. My head started to pound like the last time..”
She kneels down in front of him.
“Like the last time? .. Danny? This has happened before?”
He shakes his head as he’s lighting his own cigarette.
“Yeah.. Only last time there wasn’t any painting.. Just words.”
“Words Danny?.. You painted words on a wall?”
“No.. I.. I wrote them down on paper.”
“On paper? Do you still have it??”
He walks over to his fathers roll top desk and removes a stack of papers from the top drawer, he hands them to her.
“I went over them a thousand times Sharon, they’re gibberish.”
She studies the papers over and over again, staying up most of the night. The common thread in the entire text she finds is the name “Jennifer Watson” and the repeated phrase, “White hats are a lie”. the rest give words relative to one another but have no distinct meaning, names of places and people that she’d never heard of. An hour and a half ago, she’d left Daniel sleeping soundly on the dens sofa. She gets up and pours herself a cup of coffee, listening to the soft rapping of the rain on the windows.. She would have to ask him who Jennifer Watson is. Her thoughts are interrupted by the low thumping noise coming from inside of the den, she hurries to look, almost tripping over her own two feet in her haste. When she enters she finds him much in the same way as before. In the middle of the floor, his arms covered in paint, with a whole new picture painted on the wall next to the first. In the new picture the woods are exactly the same, only the door now isn’t on the ground, it is leaning up against one of the trees, and there is a beautiful young girl in a long flowing white night gown pointing at the door. She cast a confused troubled look at Daniel.
“Sharon?… what’s happening to me?”

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First Light..



It is at the edge of pitch black, a slight pause between the god awful headaches, and the burning of his eyes.. He can hear the sound almost reaching for him.. Surrounding him.. Now between pauses.. A click? A Buzz? What in Gods name?.. Click… “You have reached the home of Evan Vickers, I am not here at present, but if you leave your name and phone number I will get back to you as soon as possible.” Beeeeeep.
“Daniel Please… This is Sharon.. Sweetie I need to know that your alright.. Out there at your dads place in the country… all by yourself.. Its so isolated.. Sweetie.. Beth Simon called me today.. Said that you haven’t been at work for four days.. No one has heard from you and they were forced to let you go.. Sweetie please call me.. Or if you need.. I’ll drive out to spend a few days.. I am so sorry about your dad. Call me.” click.. He rolls slowly onto his back his eyes straining through the black, trying desperately to grab focus on anything familiar. Finally it comes to him, faint images of dim blue light that softly form a border around the edge of curtains that hang in the window. Dawn.. Here comes the light, slowly taking its place in the black, softly illuminating the room, as slowly as the light creeps in, filling up the room, he realizes that he is in his father’s den, lying on the hardwood floor. His back arches slightly offering soft resistance to the uncomfortable surface, eyes open just as he hears the low thumping sound coming from the living room door.
“Daniel?? Are you in there?? Please.. C’mon now open the door its Sharon.” No Answer.. More knocking this time with more force. She slowly looks around at the front porch of Vickers home, it looks run down, the face of the old two story Victorian has seen better days, the front porch sagging at one end, the wooden floorboards creak under even the slightest bit of weight put on them, the white paint on the outside of the entire structure, is weather worn and peeling, the hedge work is growing wild over the sides of the Porch’s hand rails, further evidence of Evan Vickers failing health preventing him from doing regular maintenance and upkeep on the Vickers home before his passing four weeks ago. She has her back to the door when it creaks slowly open exposing Daniel Vickers to her. He has no shirt on and is barefoot wearing only a pair of sweat pants. She studies him for a moment in a almost agitated state.
“Well?… are you gonna let me in? or am I gonna stay out here and freeze to death?”
He slowly opens the door and barely notices as the beautiful black haired young woman slowly glides past him. She takes out a cigarette and lifts it to her lips, her eyes never leaving him. She lights up and slowly inhales the smoke looking him up and down.
“Damn Danny.. You look a mess.. What’s been happening with you sweetie?”
“Nothing Sharon.” he lights his own and softly pulls the smoke into his mouth.
“Nothing?.. Really?.. Lets review.. Your dad passes, you come home and decide you want to stay this time, you get a job, and don’t show up for four days.. So they fire you.. Maybe it’s too soon huh?.. Maybe you need time to grieve.. Daniel.. You don’t look well.”
He sits directly across from her and lights another smoke, then pauses slightly to study her.
“I haven’t been sleeping well is all Sharon.. Been having a bad dream.”
“About your dad?”
“No.”
“Well, I guess having bad dreams would be normal considering..”
“Not dreams Shar.. Dream.. it’s the same one over and over again.”


Insomnia..



He offers to help her bring her belongings into the house but she says no, He’s only wearing sweat pants, is barefoot and has no shirt. And its been raining and its cold enough to see your own breath.
“Besides Daniel, I only brought a few things with me.” she tells him. He watches her walk beneath the canopy of the willow tree’s that seem to consume the entire front lawn of the Vickers home, as she goes to the trunk of the Chevrolet to retrieve her things.
She eyes the trees surrounding the house and then slowly returns her attention to Daniel Vickers.
“You’ve got yourself quite the jungle growing here Danny, now all that you need is an alligator pit.”
She carries her things to the guest room, and throws her bags on the bed, and then returns to the living room where she discovers that Daniel has gone upstairs to take a shower. But it is when she ventures into the kitchen that she gets the sense that something is very odd, there is precious little food, but the large round table near the breakfast nook is crowded with various containers of paint. He appears suddenly behind her giving her a start. She looks over her shoulder at him.
“So what’s for dinner Dan? Flat or enamel?”
He studies the scene on the kitchen table, and shoots her a confused look, which makes her feel uneasy.
“I-..” a long uncomfortable pause ensues.
“I’m not sure where that came from.. I don’t remember buying any paint..”
She lifts one of the containers.
“Danny.. These are art supplies.. Do you paint now?
He shakes his head no, but stares on in silence.
“Maybe your Dad?”
He doesn’t answer..
“You don’t have any food in the house sweetie, I’m going back to town to get some dinner.. So.. Do you want to come along?”
“N…No.. I think I’ll stay here and Try to take a little nap. I didn’t sleep well last night.. If at all.”
She watches him curiously, as he returns to the den to try to nap. Sharon Milner has known Daniel Vickers since they were both children and she’d never known him to possess an artistic bone in his entire body, nor his father. Something was not right here in the Vickers home, and she wasn’t going to leave Daniel alone until she found out what. She puts the Chevrolet in gear a slowly turns around in the Vickers driveway, and briefly stops to look in the rear view mirror at the front porch, and as the sound of windshield wipers slowly brush away the soft beads of rain, she thinks to herself.. This winter is going to be colder than usual.

Scratch.. A.B.T Copyright © 2007.

Crossing Swords.



The silence was as cold as was the air itself, as boot crossed sideways over boot. Blades drawn, the path of each footstep, drawing a circle, on the left was Felstus Crowe, braggart, infidel, coward. On the right was Chelti Demio, son of the man he now believed murdered by the swine Felstus Crowe. Each man paced in a circle around one another, studying his opponent carefully through the plumes of icy cold breath. Falco leaned to Asa’s head but said nothing at first, the dragon cocked his head and nodded already seeing Falco’s observation. While Felstus Crowe seem anxious and uncertain, the much younger man kept his blade out in front of him, loose relaxed, his free hand outstretched behind him, focused on the task at hand.. Confident. Falco could see much of Modo Demio in his young son, and when the coward Felstus Crowe attacked, Falco could already see that his fate was certain. His first thrust was met by a parry by young Chelti, which spun the older man right past him, sending him flailing into the mud.
“Come now Felstus Crowe!” Chelti taunted. “Surely a murderer of your caliber can do better than that!”
He rose from the mud becoming more angry than hurt, he attacked this time with a broad sweeping stroke each time meeting only Chelti Demio’s own blade instead of flesh and bone. His father taught him very well indeed, as each time the scoundrel attacked, every thrust, every lunge, every movement, Chelti Demio’s skilled blade was there to meet it with a counter attack. Again he tried a thrust, this time however the younger man found flesh and bone, as he swept his blade directly across Felstus’s free wrist, removing his left hand. He fell to the ground, screaming and flailing about like a wounded bear, but did not completely relent, Felstus, in his blinding anger as he rose, it was Chelti Demio that dealt the final blow, with his blade sweeping down across Felstus Crowe’s blade hand, removing it as well. now he was completely defenseless. And as he lay on the ground the much younger victor, now towered above him. Felstus Crowe’s henchmen slowly moved forward, but when Asa’s head slowly turned in their direction they thought better of it.
“So what now Felstus Crowe?” Chelti enquired “Do you have a Healer in your band of toadies?” He Paused, the anger slowly returning in his voice.
“Or do I take your life as you claim to have taken my father’s?”


A Dragon's Legacy.



He really didn’t have to consider it for long when in the end, Chelti had decided to return his blade to quarters, and let it rest for a bit.. He looked down at his defeated enemy, and then up at the men who had followed him.
“Hear me now!” he said. “Let every man here know, that Felstus Crowe yet lives. But any man that follows his lead, follows it to their own end! Prey not on the living, nor live to plunder the lives of others, for let any man here who raises their blade to commit such crimes as rape or murder, suffer the fate of Felstus Crowe!”
He turned and lifted himself back on top of his animal, and turned to ride towards the village of Goyth only to find himself looking into the eyes of a smiling Asa, who simply winked at him. Chelti, Falco and Sylvie all three began their ride into Goyth with the king of Gosia casting a watchful eye over them as they traveled, and for a time rarely was a word spoken until finally Falco pulled rein and turned to face his young friend.
“Young Chelti.” he said. “While I fully suspect the answer, I must ask why YOU think you spared Felstus Crowe the fate of your blade?”
Asa landed beside of him, Chelti’s answer was also of great interest to him, He turned to face them.
“Do you remember the dream I spoke of Falco?”
“Yes Chelti”
“And do you remember the medallion that my father had from the kings guard?”
“Yes young sir, we all wore one.”
“In the dream, my father produced his medallion with no necklace around it, and after we began our ride to meet with Felstus this morning I found This In my pocket.”
He produced the broken necklace that belonged to Modo Demio.
“I believe that my father was telling me that he is alive somewhere and he needs me to find him. Hence the necklace.. And find him I will.”
He looked up at Asa
“And as for Felstus Crowe..”
Asa lowered his head to look Chelti square in the eye.
“Yes Chelti.. Tell us how you’ve punished him.”
He pondered Asa’s request for a moment before answering.
“King of Gosia?”
“Yes Chelti?”
“ For a man such as Felstus Crowe, whose heart knows nothing of forgiveness, nor love, nor compassion, is life not a more fitting punishment than death?”
The Dragon smiled, and as he turned to look behind him, the sun broke free of the mist and fog and cast it rays in their path. They all continued on to the village of Goyth.

Scratch A.B.T Copyright © 2007.

Ruse.



He opened his eyes slowly taking in everything around him, Sylvie lay still directly across from him as Falco stood at the edge of the early morning mist, hunched over he was, spreading the coals and ashes of the past evenings fire. And as his eyes began to focus, he knew somehow that something was out of place, what was right before was somehow now wrong, but he couldn’t put a finger to it. Then it struck him.. Where had Modo Demio taken off to? He rose to his feet suddenly checking the entire encampment with but a single glance.
“Falco?” he called out inquisitively.
He slowly turned to face him.
“Falco.. To where has my father taken off this morning?”
Falco gave him a look as though his sanity had suddenly taken its leave.
“Your father young sir?”
Chelti Demio was becoming impatient.
“Yes.. My father.. Modo Demio.. He was here with us on the valley floor beneath Heaven’s Helm.”
“Young sir.. We are still IN Heavens Helm.”
“This c… can not be Falco!.. he was… right here with us.. We all talked to him he was-”
But when Chelti Demio looked around he knew that Falco spoke the truth, as on each side of him he could look for leagues, up the steep cliffs of Heavens Helm. Indeed.. They hadn’t yet pulled free from the passes of the giant mountain. He slowly sat back down on his blanket, his eyes swelling with tears.. For he realized that the entire episode with his father had been nothing more than a beautiful dream.
“A dream Falco.. It was all… a… terrible dream.”
He sat down next to Chelti and folded his arms around his own knees staring patiently at the confused, frustrated young man.
“Terrible how Chelti?’
“Terrible because he is still dead Falco. terrible because now I want to kill Felstus more than ever!”
He rested his hand on Chelti’s shoulder
“My friend.. Is it terrible that you saw your Father again?.. Is it terrible that even if only in the world of your dreams you saw his face? Or that you rode beside him or spoke his name.. Is it terrible that you remember him this way?, or do these things not remind of the kind of man that he was?”
Chelti could not answer.
“Young sir.. As long as your hold him dear, as long as your keep him in your beating heart, as long as his memory lingers in your very own, in these ways Chelti Demio.. In this way.. Will your father live forever.”
He raised his eyes to look at Falco, and slowly nodded.
“Come my friend.. Felstus and his swine are bearing down on Goyth, we have a full mornings ride before we are in his path.. We should go now.”
Sylvie had already rose and taken to loading her animal, when Falco and Chelti rose to begin the mornings ride.
“Bread will have to keep you bellies rumblings at bay, until the task at hand is completed Chelti Demio.” he handed him some, which Chelti happily accepted. They all mounted up and began the mornings ride

Dragon's blade.



They couldn’t rely on the sun to tell them what time of day it was, the mist and fog that hung in in the air in and around Heavens Helm was much too thick to allow sunshine. Halfway down the northern slope, Falco didn’t need sunshine to tell him who was riding off in the distance, to the west of them. It was indeed Felstus, and his merry band of toadies, Falco peered through the spyglass as Chelti and Sylvie both looked on with growing interest.
“They are about two maybe three leagues from us.” he told them. “We should meet up with them almost at the same time as we reach the valley floor.” He gave a slight look of concern to Chelti.
“And it would appear as though he’s picked up a few more bodies along the way.”
“How many more?” Chelti asked
“It looks as though there are twenty perhaps twenty five men.”
Without a second thought the three riders continued down the northern slope of Heavens Helm within two hours they were directly in the path of Felstus, who had already spotted them and slowed the pace to greet the man he recognized as Falco.
“My.. But you are a long way from the protection of Gosia Falco! are you not??” Felstus Taunted.
Falco didn’t offer him a smile
“Know your place coward, you do not intimidate me! Your dreams of plunder end here and now Felstus!”
He sat upright in his saddle confidently smiling at Falco.
“Twenty five men against a man, a boy and a girl, and a lovely wench indeed!” he laughed. “My chances of survival, brave Falco, are greater than yours.. You are greatly outnumbered!”
Falco stared strait ahead and watched Felstus’s evil little smile slowly fade as the king of Gosia slowly descended behind them.
“Felstus.” Falco smiled broadly.. “I believe you know my friend Asa?.. So tell me now how you like your odds of survival?”
Felstus studied them for a moment .
“ So you have the upper hand now Falco.. for now I shall relent.”
He shook his head.
“No. Felstus.. It will not be that easy.. For you see.. Young Chelti Demio would like a word with you… about his father.”
Felstus dismounted slowly and began walking towards them drawing his sword.
“So boy.. You have realized the truth ay?.. And now you wish me dead?
Well then.. Remove yourself from that animal.. And come join your father.”

Scratch.. A.B.T Copyright © 2007



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