The Right Write

NaNoWriMo

2006-12-01T00:47:33Z

I did it!

There are rough spots. But there are spots I think are golden. I did it. WAHOO!!!

“Did you see…” Victoria ducked out of the way of an arrow.

Meredith nodded, “Something’s not right!” She adjusted her leather armor, and jumped from behind the tree to throw a dagger before easing behind the next one in the line.

“Did that dead guy just get up?” Jason yelled from behind the rock. He loosed an arrow, which hit its mark, “Hope you didn’t need that eye!”

Nathan stood and yelled his order, and the line of soldiers surged forward, past the three. Nathan looked at them, “It was a trick of light, the guy wasn’t dead, he was knocked over by the falling dead guy, now get out there and fight! How does it look when the leaders are too afraid of ghosts to fight with the troops? Move!” He ran out to join the battle.

Victoria looked at Meredith with a raised eyebrow. Meredith grinned back and shrugged, and then all three ran down the hill to where the melee was in full force.

Jason dove into the battle, skillfully swinging his sword and cutting a swath through the enemy troops. Victoria, using a short sword and dagger was slower, but far more vicious, cutting at bellies and hamstrings. They separated in the heat of the battle, spreading out.

Victoria caught sight of Nathan’s blonde head and made her way over to him. He was smiling an incredibly frightening sadistic smile as his longsword danced in the sunlight.

“It’s been too long!” He yelled at her, grinning.

“You’re telling me,” she yelled back and winked, lightly stepping out of the way of a clumsy oncoming attack.

She moved away from him, and as she did so, a strange fog moved in. It glowed with an eerie grey light. Victoria had been heading toward Meredith, so she quickened her pace. As the fog settled, it got much quieter, and the battles were separated because it was impossible to see more than two feet in any direction.

Once Victoria reached Meredith, led on by the connection they had, she saw her surrounded by five of the enemy soldiers. Victoria snuck up and cut the throat of one of them just as Meredith exploded two daggers out at another pair.

“Well,” said Victoria, slipping her sword into a space between another’s ribs and armor, “I was going to ask if you needed help, but apparently,” the last one fell, a dagger in his eye, “you don’t.”

Meredith shrugged and grinned, then looked around. “This is strange.”

Victoria nodded, “You’re not wrong. Can you tell what’s going on?”

Meredith shook her head, “There’s some magic happening, but I can’t tell what. I don’t think it’s friendly, but I don’t know for sure.”

“Who would be helping us?”

“Definitely not the sisters. I don’t know,” she shook her head, “I’m going to try to get to higher ground to see if I can figure it out. Tell our General I’m not running from battle, please?”

Victoria nodded, “If I can find him.”

“Listen for the laughter.”

“I wouldn’t like to be on the receiving end of that sword.”

Meredith nodded and turned to go, “Oh, Goddess,” she breathed, and Victoria turned to look. The soldier with a dagger in his brain was starting to move.

“How…” Victoria started, and then cursed. All the dead soldiers around them started to move. “I think I know what the fog is.” She stood ready with her blades. Meredith moved, and standing back to back, they watched the soldiers surround them. It was a gory, disturbing sight.

Screams and terrified yells confirmed that it wasn’t just around them. The soldiers moved in to attack, and though they stopped for a moment when hit, they didn’t fall.

“I think we need to find the others,” Meredith said, her voice wavering. Victoria agreed and they started moving toward where Nathan had been, more and more dead soldiers fighting them as they went.

When they finally reached Nathan, his arm was bleeding and he was surrounded.

“We can’t win this, they don’t stop!” Victoria yelled. Nathan came toward them, knocking the moving corpses out of the way.

“We need Deirdre and Gary,” he said grimly, taking another swipe.

Meredith nodded. The two were at the medic cart, ready to rush to help heal people and repair weapons and armor once the battle was over.

“You should call the retreat,” Victoria said, trying to stave off two enemies.

“And lead them directly to our sick? No. We need to get the Six of us together and counter the spell.”

Meredith yelled, “Bad! Very, very bad!” Both Nathan and Victoria turned to find out what she was pointing out. Coming toward them were members of their own army, one with his head half attached.

“I can’t cut down my own men!” Nathan yelled, panic filling his eyes.

“They’ve already been cut down,” came Jason’s voice from nearby, “Get Deirdre and Gary. Now!”

Meredith nodded, terrified, and closed her eyes against the horrifying sight. The remaining three stood circle around her, weapons flying, while she sent out a mental call to Deirdre.

“We need you and Gary here. Now!”

“Why?”

“Dead rising. Counterspell. Now!”

“We’re on our way.”

“They’re coming,” Meredith said, reluctantly opening her eyes.

“We have to gather our men!” Victoria said tensely, “They can’t handle this any more than we can.”

Jason nodded and grabbed the horn from Nathan’s belt. Nathan was busy ignoring everything aside from hacking apart as many of the undead soldiers as he could.

Jason blew the retreat signal, and the four started moving up the hill toward where they’d started. As they rose, the fog cleared, and once it was gone, they ran. Few by few, men straggled to them, and slowly, the fog began to move their way.

The men weren’t in good shape, and down about half their number, but with encouragement from Victoria and Jason, they formed a solid line of defense.

The fog reached them just as Gary and Deirdre arrived, and the Six stood in a circle behind the line and started to chant.

* * *

. He lunged forward at her and caught her by the neck, dragging her away from the circle.

Deirdre shouted, and a vine appeared out of nowhere to wrap itself around his ankle. Smiling, he stopped moving, Meredith still held tightly in the crook of his arm. Her face was turning red, and her hands clawed at his arm. No marks appeared where she scratched.

Nathan rushed forward, to attack with Victoria not far behind. Purple light flashed and they were both thrown back.

Dazed, Victoria looked at Nathan, “Where is he getting his strength?”

Nathan shook his head, “It’s not just him, I can tell.”

“Should we call the sisters?”

“They might just lend us some strength,” Nathan looked hesitant. Calling the three women who had brought them together so long ago always seemed to be a double-edged sword. He looked at the scuffle still going on across the room, “Let’s do it.”

Victoria took his hands and, standing face to face, they looked into each other’s eyes and put out the call. Almost instantaneously, there was a buzz in the room and all of the energy that had been built up was gone. All the lights went out.

Everything stopped for a moment as they all looked around in surprise, then Gary swung and landed a punch to William’s face that knocked him back. He let go of Meredith in his struggle for balance. Victoria and Nathan stepped forward, ready to attack.

Meredith turned to face him, and without a word, an arc of blue light surged from her eyes to his heart.

Confusion and not a little pain mingled in his face, “How…”

“Because I’m the Goddamn Sorceress, and you killed my lover, you son of a bitch.”

His face contorted in pain and he caught sight of Victoria behind Meredith, “I’m not through with you!” he managed to get out and raised his hand. From each of his fingers streamed purple flame.

Victoria’s mouth opened in an “Oh” of surprise as it hit her. Gary yelled and jumped in front of her, catching the last of it before William’s form crumbled out of existence.

Meredith collapsed to the ground, and Nathan ran to make sure she was ok.

Both Victoria and Gary were engulfed in purple flames. Deirdre ran to Gary’s side, concentrating to quench the fire, as Jason did the same to Victoria.

“I’m fine,” Meredith gasped to Nathan, “Go help them.”

Nathan looked to see Deirdre’s white light starting to overtake the purple covering Gary. Jason wasn’t having near as much success, so he went quickly to Victoria’s other side. Together they poured as much energy as they could into protecting her and quenching the fire.

She looked at them both, her face a mask of pain, “Thank you. Both of you. It’s worth it. Tell Gary thank you. I love you both,” she winced, “Jason, take care of Dave. Nathan,” she smiled as much as she could, “Be happy.”

Then she was gone.

* * *

Deirdre sipped a glass of wine, and watched the crowd. Eric walked up to her, putting his hand on the small of her back, “You doing ok?”

She pondered for a moment, listening to the upbeat music, then nodded, “I’ll see her again.”

“You seem so sure of that.”

She smiled softly, “I am.”

Nathan walked up to the couple, “Deirdre, it’s good to see you again. How are you doing?”

She nodded, wordlessly.

“How is Gary holding up?”

“Not so well. I think he’s sitting over there,” she gestured to a darker area, where chairs lined the wall, “Did Sara come?”

He nodded, “She did. She brought Caitlyn, too.”

Deirdre smiled, “At least something good happened on that day. I’m glad she came.” She looked out once more, “Oh, there’s Meredith.”

“I think I’m going to find Jason.”

Deirdre nodded and turned to go to Meredith, Eric following behind.

Nathan perused the crowd. There were a lot of people here, and it seemed much less like a funeral than a celebration, which is what Victoria would have wanted, of course. He saw Jason standing alone near the hors d’oeuvres and went to him.

Jason nodded greeting, “It shouldn’t have happened.”

Nathan sighed, “Yeah.”

“How did Meredith do that?”

Nathan shrugged, “She’s Meredith, and she had a lot of rage.”

“It’s just not right. She had so much going for her.”

Nathan nodded, “You know, I never got to tell her I was sorry. I treated her pretty badly.” He looked down at his shoes.

“She forgave you.”

The blonde man looked up, confused.

Jason nodded, “We talked about everything, her and me. She forgave you.”

As his eyes teared up, Nathan looked back down.

Jason patted his shoulder, “I’m going to go see how Gary is doing.” On his way over to the chairs, he waved greeting to Deirdre and Meredith.

Meredith waved back, “I feel like it’s all my fault, you know?”

Deirdre shrugged, “Or mine, for going to Gary first. Or Nathan’s for making sure you were ok. Or Jason’s for not trying hard enough. The only one who’s exempt from the blame game is Gary, and he’s cursing himself for not jumping in sooner.” She shook her head, “There’s nothing we can do. What’s done is done. We all acted as we saw fit, and this is where we are. No blame, no regret, just live on, and enjoy life. It’s what Victoria would have wanted us to do, right?”

Meredith sighed, “I just… It’s like there’s a big hole.”

Deirdre nodded, “She’s still around. She’ll always be around.”

Just then, Dave stood up at the podium, “Ladies and Gentlemen, friends of the wonderful Victoria Holladay, I am glad you’re here. The day Victoria died, she gave me some instructions as to the nature of this event. I think she had a feeling that something was going to happen to her. She told me that if it did, she wanted everyone to know that she wanted them to continue to enjoy life. She believed in the Freedom Party and everything it stood for,” he paused, “But she can say it far better than I.” He turned, and behind him, a large TV screen lit up. Victoria’s face appeared smiling sadly.

“Hello friends and family. If you are watching this, it means I did not live to see the end of this war. I want you all to know that I love you. I care for you, and I go willingly into peril to fight for you. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the equipment today to record a personal message to everyone I should. Suffice to say that I know I will see you again, sometime, someplace.

“If Dave has carried out the instructions I gave him, which I know he has, you are listening to my favorite dancing music and eating good food. Drinking good drinks, and celebrating my life. This is as it should be. Despair not for what is lost, instead celebrate what was, and create new, happy memories. I do not want to be remembered with sadness, rather with joy and laughter.

“Life is nothing if not shared with good friends, loving family, and laughter galore. Be together now. Help each other out wherever possible, and for heaven’s sake, laugh!

“Lastly, and probably most importantly, know that we will meet again, for, like the Highway man, I am still around.”

The display switched to a series of pictures from throughout Victoria’s life, silly faces, and pleasant memories. The soundtrack was the song, Highwayman.

Deirdre, Meredith, and Nathan drifted to where Gary and Jason sat. “I wonder if she knows we won?” Gary asked.

Jason nodded, “She has to.”

They finished watching the slideshow in silence, save a few chuckles at some of the pictures.

Deirdre turned to Nathan, “So, what now?”

He shrugged and looked at them all, “I guess we rebuild. Make sure that her death wasn’t in vain.”

* * *

And that's all she wrote. Heh. wow...

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-30T01:16:11Z

Hit a wall today.

This continued for a while, the Six fighting, but the purple monsters kept rising again, and soon, they were overwhelmed.

“There are too many!” Nathan yelled, “Come together!”

Quickly, they all moved back toward each other. As she was coming, Meredith caught sight of Darryl, fighting one of the resurrected beings, and broke away to fight it. Her blast of energy stopped it. As it fell, a live Patriot soldier sighted Darryl and shot him. Meredith screamed as he went down, kneeling down, heedless of the purple light slowly surrounding her, until Nathan broke through and bodily dragged her away.

The others helped to surround and protect Meredith, and Victoria saw, before they left the battlefield, a purple light come into Darryl’s eyes.

* * *

They were in the field again. Meredith’s screams had abated, due to Victoria’s words. “Honey, maybe he was just injured. It’s entirely possible that he’ll be just fine. We need to get the bastard who did it. Can you?”

Meredith’s eyes blazed, “Oh, he’ll get it.”

Victoria nodded to Jason, who pulled everyone in close. “I know where he is physically, so that should help us some. However, he’s incredibly powerful.”

Victoria nodded, “He’s had a lot of time to build his defenses, and he knows what at least two of us are capable of, so here’s hoping the surprise of adding Gary and Dee will help us.”

They all nodded, and moved into the circle again, reigniting their lights. Jason squinted, and suddenly, they were in a hotel. After looking at the door numbers, Jason pointed to a room. Without waiting, Meredith blasted it with energy, and was knocked back hard.

Raising an eyebrow, Victoria looked at Nathan. He met her gaze and nodded. They moved together, and with her right and his left hands and arms touching, all the way to the shoulder, they faced the door. The light around them brightened, swirls of red and yellow, and when they clasped hands and shouted together, the energy hit the door. The next thing either of them knew, they were on their butts, against the wall.

Nathan jumped up and cursed. Meredith joined him, and Jason. The three of them attacked, and were knocked back again. Deirdre said, “Maybe we should do it all six of us?”

At that moment, the shield at the door fell. Victoria pushed Gary and Deirdre together. “You hide. He still doesn’t know you exist. Let’s wait until we HAVE to show him our full power.”

They nodded and stayed back. Meredith burst through the door. She was followed closely by Nathan, and then Jason. Victoria took up the rear, and blocked the exit. William looked up, “This is a surprise.” He raised an eyebrow, and smiled smugly at Meredith, who was getting ready to blast him. “I wouldn’t do that.”

She ignored him and a surge of energy filled the room. Meredith sank to her knees, the blue light surrounding her faded to almost nothing. Victoria stepped forward and helped her up.

William looked at her, “I liked you better in ropes.”

“Well, I’d like you better dead, so we’re both disappointed.”

He chuckled, “Not for long.” Purple light flared up around him, almost blinding, and Victoria found herself once again in ropes. Meredith floated beside her in similar predicament. Jason and Nathan both yelled, stepping forward. Their combined energy slammed into William’s, knocking him back a bit.

Victoria swore and red flames consumed the purple ropes, leaving her free. Meredith’s soon followed. The four moved together, holding hands and closing in on him. With smoldering anger in his eyes, William looked at them. “I’m bored now.” By the time he’d finished the last word, they were again in the hallway, beating against his nigh impenetrable defenses.

Gary and Deirdre ran forward, “What happened?” Deirdre came to Meredith, who still looked weak. She lent some of her energy to Meredith’s to boost her up, and heal the psychic wound.

Gary went to examine the shield, and Nathan said, “He’s incredibly powerful. How can one person get that good?”

“Years of practice, I’m sure,” Meredith said, “And, I think he’s pulling extra power from various things. We really need to just finish him. That’s all there is to it.”

“We have to do it now,” Jason said, “Finding him again is going to be hell.”

Victoria nodded. “I think we need to pull together, all of us for this.”

Gary came over grinning, “I found the chinks. Assuming that we do this now, we should be able to get in.”

“How are you feeling?” Deirdre asked Meredith.

“I’m fine. We need to do this.” Meredith turned to Nathan, “Can we do this now please? No more delay.”

He nodded and they all gathered around. Standing in their circle, they joined hands and started chanting,

“Six in one
Together we stand.
Both miles apart
And hand in hand.

As one we rise
To heed the call,
We’re Six in one
Throughout it all.”

The different colors of lights streamed around them, swirling and creating ever moving patterns over each one. They separated and the colors continued to mix around them, though the space between was dark as ever.

“God, that’s cheesy,” Victoria mumbled.

Deirdre nodded, “But effective, so we can’t complain.”

Gary went to the area he’d been examining and started digging at what he saw. Slowly, they could see lights spreading from where he was, forming spider web cracks throughout. Finally, he stood and nodded to them.

All Six turned to the light-ridden wall and under the weight of their gaze, it crumbled. Nathan stepped forward and through the door into the room.

William looked up, surprised. “How did you…” he saw the six of them, and the swirling colors, “Oh.” He stood. “That’s interesting.”

Around him, purple light pulsed “It won’t do you any good, though.”

The room exploded into sound and lights as Nathan and William faced off. Victoria moved around behind William and focused an attack from there. Meredith, Deirdre, Jason and Gary moved to surround him.

As they closed in, the purple light seemed to be contained. William looked at them, “I concede. You win. Let me go now.”

“It’s too late now, you evil bastard!” Meredith shrieked, and concentrated a dagger into his heart.

His eyes flashed anger, and the dagger shattered as it touched him.

Not NaNo-ing.

2006-11-29T20:56:00Z

Well, I am, actually. But I'm getting frustrated because I feel like this is just trite annoying stupid stuff. It's the final battle, people, come one! Not stupid. Meh. I sense major revisions coming my way. Grr.

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-29T06:07:33Z

Keeping up!!

“Ow.” Deirdre rubbed her temples, “I’m going to have a headache for a week.”

Gary nodded, “So much for the idea that he’s not so guarded.” He rubbed his neck, “But did you notice there were some chinks in that armor, before it hit us in the face?”

She shook her head, “No, there were?”

He smiled, and then winced, “Yeah. They were small, but there.” He stood. “Ouch. I’m going to bed.”

Deirdre nodded, “I’m going to make sure the defenses are strong. See you in the morning.”

He waved absently as he ascended the stairs. Deirdre watched with amusement, then she turned back to the candle. Closing her eyes, she made a cursory check of the shields. Nothing major, she couldn’t handle it with the headache she had. She’d do all that in the morning. Once she was sure the defenses were in good shape, she blew out the candle, and rubbing her head, went to bed.

She was awakened by talking. She could hear Gary’s voice in the room above her. He sounded excited. Glancing at the clock, Deirdre groaned. She’d been asleep less than four hours. At least the headache was gone.

She rolled out of bed and went up the stairs. Just as she was about to knock on Gary’s door, he opened it and yelled in surprise. She jumped back, startled.

“Sorry,” she said.

“It’s fine. You were right,” he rushed, “They’re going to need us soon. The rumors are true, and they’re going to blast the hell out of them!”

Deirdre winced, “Darn. I was hoping it was exaggeration.”

He shook his head, “Nope. They’re doing it today. But first, Meredith wants to talk to you.” He held out the cell phone.

Deirdre took it, “Hello.” She nodded, “Dulling memories, huh. Let me get downstairs and look at things,” she headed back down the stairs.

* * *

Victoria walked into the room first, followed closely by Dave. Janice and her counterpart stood guard at the door. There were three men in the room, they all had dark hair. Two stood as she and Dave walked in, and the third remained seated, poring over some papers.

Victoria stepped forward and extended her hand, “Thank you all for coming out here.” She glanced back to Dave, “I assume you all know Dave Beston, my right hand man.”

One of the men took her hand and firmly shook it, “It was our pleasure. Allow me to introduce William Edward Mathias. He has become quite valuable to us.”

Victoria turned white at the name, followed closely by a flush of well-hidden rage, as the man who was looking at the papers looked up and smiled.

Dave sputtered, but at a quick, warning glance from Victoria, silenced himself.

Victoria took another step forward, extending a hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mathias.” She almost spat the name, and when he took her hand, a brief look of surprise crossed his face. She was satisfied that the energy she’d focused there had done its job, and turned to take a seat at the table. “Shall we?”

The five sat around the table, and Victoria started, “Gentlemen, can’t we stop this senseless and stupid war? We all know that the Free Forces have more troops, and if you’ll just concede, no harm will come to any of you. We are only fighting for the rights of all the citizens of this country. It’s not a matter of trying to hurt you, just trying to assure that everyone is equal.”

William shook his head, “Ah, but you see, your winning hurts us.”

Jason, who was listening in his own suite muttered, “Maybe you, you bastard.”

Suddenly, his black cell phone rang, and he jumped, “Hello? Hey Nathan. You’ll never believe who Victoria’s in a meeting with. That Mathias asshole. Yeah. She’s planning on the meeting going on all day, why?” His eyes started lighting up, “I will get the message to her. 1 o’clock, you say?” he grinned, “We’ll be there.”

He hung up the phone and looked at the clock. It was 9:30. He’d give her the message at eleven so she could bow out of lunch to get ready. Whistling, he turned back to his surveillance.

* * *

“Everyone’s on board?”

Nathan nodded.

“I got the tea made. Let’s get it to them.”

“Owen,” Nathan turned, “You and I are going to talk to them, right?”

Owen shrugged, “Seems to be.”

Nathan smiled, “You’ll do most of the talking, ok? I’m going to be worrying about what Meredith and I have to do, most likely.”

Owen nodded, “You got it.”

“Then, once the battle actually starts, you’ll be entirely in charge.” Nathan continued, “I’m going to be busy with Meredith.”

“What exactly will you two be doing?”

Nathan looked to Meredith, “Well, simply put, destroying their energy work. Hopefully, whoever is doing it as well.”

Owen raised his eyebrows, clearly not comprehending.

“We’re stopping them from raising the dead again,” Meredith said quickly. “Whatever else we do, that’s what matters to you. Of course it might take a while, and we might fail entirely, but we’ll try.”

Nathan winced, “We’ll do it. We have to.”

“I need to get them their tea. See you guys later,” Meredith stood to go. “Be careful, both of you. It all depends on what you say.”

The men nodded and she left the room.

Carrying pitchers of tea, she went to the mess hall, where all the troops had been told to gather for a meeting. She started serving glasses, trying to smile, and pretend that everything would be ok. She directed the rest of the kitchen staff to do the same.

“Meredith?” she looked up at her name and saw Darryl standing, looking at her, amazed, “What are you doing here?”

She nearly dropped the glass she was filling, and quickly set it and the pitcher down, “Darryl!” She ran over to him and gave him a hug, “What are you doing here? I thought you were doing something else, somewhere else!”

“I asked you first,” he pulled her close and whispered, “Meredith, this is no place for you. It’s like a nightmare come to life.”

She nodded and returned his whisper, “I know. Darryl, please leave. Please. Just go away for the day or something. You can’t be here today. Please.”

He looked at her puzzled, “But I’m fighting for us. I can’t give it up. They called us in from everywhere. They need every one of us. I can’t leave that.” He looked at her, “Don’t tell me you’re fighting?”

She shook her head, “No, not really. I’m here to help Nathan out.” She stopped, examining his eyes to see if she could convince him to leave. At the determination there, she decided that it would be futile. “Just. Stay back, ok? Be careful. Stay safe.”

He smiled, “I’ll stay safe for you.”

“Thank you,” she looked down, trying to hide her fear. When she looked back up, the façade of cheer was back, “Would you like some tea?”

* * *

“We’ve got about a half an hour before they said to be there.” Gary checked his watch again, and paced nervously, “Should we go a little early?”

Deirdre looked at the living room, cleared entirely, save candles in a wide circle that took up most the room, in the center of which was a much smaller circle of six candles enclosing a quartz crystal.

“See,” Gary continued, “I really haven’t done this stuff much this time around, and I don’t want to slow everyone up by not having my bearings.”

Deirdre nodded, “I think it’s a great idea. Then we can prepare the space for everyone as well. Make sure we’ve got a good, safe spot.”

He smiled in relief.

Deirdre looked again at the six candles in the center. The one at the north point was yellow. Directly clockwise from it was white, then green. The south point was red, and continuing clockwise was black, then blue. She gestured for Gary to take a seat, and turned on some classical music. “This isn’t going to bug you, is it?” He shook his head. She took her seat in front of the white candle, and Gary sat next to her, in front of the green and took a deep breath.

“Ready?” she asked. He nodded and she lit the white candle, passing the match to him. He lit the green and blew out the match. Then the duo closed their eyes.

* * *

At 11 o’clock, Janice had come to whisper Jason’s message in Victoria’s ear. Victoria nodded. Her frustration was growing with the smug men. At noon, she rose. “Gentlemen, what say you to taking a break? I am getting hungry, and it would be nice to get a breath of fresh air. Should we meet back here in two hours? I have some business that needs my attention for a short while.”

They agreed and she left as quickly as she could without being incredibly rude. Once she and Dave were in the elevator, she said aloud, “Jason, have that man followed. I want to know exactly where he is at all times.”

After eating, and giving Dave some instructions, she gave him a hug, “We might be done by the time the meeting starts again, but if not, thank you.”

Dave nodded, “I’m still not exactly sure what you’re doing, but it sounds dangerous, so be careful.”

Victoria smiled, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Jason is safe.”

Jason guffawed and Dave cracked a smile.

Jason patted Dave’s shoulder, “Good luck. You’ll do good. Just breathe.”

Dave nodded, “Thanks. I will. You take care of her, and be safe.”

“Will do.” Jason turned and went into Victoria’s room, leaving her and Dave alone in the hall.

“You’ll do just fine,” Victoria said, soothingly, “Hang in there.” She kissed his cheek and entered her suite, locking the door behind her and leaving Dave standing in the hall, worriedly watching the closed door.

* * *

Meredith could hear the cheering in her room and winced. Owen must be talking it up well. She placed the last of the six candles in the circle and stood to walk around the outer edge. The clock said forty minutes to go, so she decided to set up a bit more of a protective circle around the outer circumference. Probably unnecessary, but she shrugged it off. It couldn’t hurt.

As she finished, she heard another cheer and looked at the clock. Five minutes had passed.

“To hell with it,” she muttered and went to sit in the center, in front of the blue candle. Nathan could come in when he got here. She was going to make sure she had an accessible spot for everyone that was safe.

When Nathan came in thirty minutes later, Meredith was long lost in trance. He quietly took a seat to her left, in front of the yellow candle, and lit it.

* * *

When Deirdre and Gary arrived, they were in a field. In the center were six flat stones in a circle. Meredith was on the edge, walking in a circle. Where she walked, in a clockwise circle, full-grown redwoods sprang up behind her. They grew so close together that a fly couldn’t make it between them.

Deirdre smiled and moved to take up the walk behind Meredith, adding her own edge of protection, and Gary looked around, in awe.

Meredith caught sight of him and waved, continuing her circle until she’d closed it, then ran to him to give him a hug.

“Long time, no see.” He smiled, “Does this count?”

She laughed, “Close enough. You know what we’re doing here, right?”

“I vaguely remember the process.”

“Gather our energy, then blast the stuffing out of the source of theirs.”

He nodded, “Don’t know how much I have, though.”

“Lots. Come here.” She took his hand and pulled him with her. They came to a small well.

“I don’t remember seeing that.”

She laughed, “That’s because it wasn’t here. Look. This well is like your power, at least the water is. You have your own particular flavor of power, no one else can replicate it. Like a well, with its own particular minerals, right? But the energy in the universe is endless, so, since there’s no end, there’s no end to your energy. We all draw our energy from different things, right?”

He nodded.

“So if the supply is endless, you just need to figure out how you’re going to gather it.”

He looked around slightly confused.

“See, we all do that differently, too. I tend to use candles and herbs. I’ve seen Victoria do it just by concentrating on it. Deirdre uses music sometimes, Nathan uses nature. You just have to figure what will work for you.”

“I guess I’d better find out real quick, huh?” Gary looked around again. “What do you think? Maybe building a bonfire?”

She grinned, “Sounds perfect. Let’s do it.”

They started building, and as it grew, Gary felt the energy welling up with it.

Deirdre finished her walk of the circle and came to join them, “Nice. It’s cozy.”

Meredith grinned, “And we won’t smell like campfire when it’s all over.”

“Here’s the party!” They all turned to see Jason and Victoria coming over, “It looks like we’re nice and secure,” Jason looked to the circumference of tree and the briars that had grown after Deirdre.

“Should be,” Meredith grinned, “Good to see you both.”

“Well, what kind of party would it be without me?” Victoria laughed, “Should we get ready?”

Everyone nodded, and the mood almost palpably shifted. Meredith led the way away from the fire to the circle of stones in the center. They each chose one, and stood on the outside of it, leaving a spot open between Deirdre and Meredith.

Meredith nodded, and Deirdre stepped up onto her stone. As she did so, she closed her eyes, and white light surrounded her. Gary thought he could hear music as well. Meredith looked at Gary and nodded. He stepped up onto his stone, and with a flash of flame, he felt the energy coming. He was surrounded by a pillar of green light. His and Deirdre’s pillars touched lightly on the very edge. Meredith nodded to Victoria, who stepped up and raised her arms in front of her, palms up. As she did so, red light flooded her, and lightly touched Gary’s. Jason smiled at Meredith and stepped up. An indescribable black light, both dark and shining joined to Victoria’s red. Meredith took a deep breath, and stepped up. Her blue light joined Jason’s black, leaving only one spot of darkness.

Victoria looked at the people surrounding her and smiled. As she watched, Nathan appeared in the field, and walked up to his space. Looking across at him, she saw an apology in his eyes and smiled forgiveness. He stepped up, and yellow light filled his space, connecting them all.

At the moment of connection, the lights brightened, to almost blinding, and shone up into the sky, like a search light. Meredith said something, and suddenly, they were in the battlefield. Around them, they could sense the soldiers and their fear. They watched, and spots of purple started to appear where soldiers fell. Then with a burst of purple light, the fallen soldiers stood.

They heard muffled shouts, and saw their own troops attacking with vengeance.

The Six stepped out of their circle, their lights following them, and each started fighting one of the purple-lit creatures. Nathan suddenly held a long sword, which he swung, slicing one of the creatures in half. It fell to the ground, the purple light fading. Gary held a war hammer, that he swung, disconnecting the head of one of them. It fell, purple light fading. Jason swung his mace, killing another. Meredith blasted one with energy, and it exploded. Deirdre shot one with an arrow. Victoria cut deep into one with a short sword, and finished it with a dagger.

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-28T05:40:21Z

My Comprehensive Progress Report

If that's too involved, well, check this out:

“Fall back! What the hell is going on down there?” Owen yelled.

Nathan came up beside him, “I don’t know. It looks like their numbers are increasing.” He yelled into the radio, “Retreat, guys! Get out of there!” Watching as his army retreated back into relative safety, he shook his head. “This isn’t working.”

Owen nodded, “You’re right. And every man we lose, they seem to gain.”

Nathan looked up sharply, “Get Meredith down here!”

Owen rolled his eyes, “She has yet to prove useful to us.”

Ignoring him, Nathan picked up the phone and dialed her office, “Mer, listen, for every man we lose, they seem to gain one. Sound familiar?” He nodded, “Yeah. Come down.”

Owen shook his head, “You know, they probably just have more people than us. They put them in good hiding places that we didn’t see.”

Nathan turned on him, “That’s the thing, Owen. They don’t. They’ve had a full quarter of their force quit. We’ve got the numbers advantage. Do me a favor. Get one of your trusted captains up here. I want to know what they saw.”

Owen threw up his hands in defeat and sent out the order.

Meredith arrived just a few minutes later, “Ok, what do we know for sure?”

Nathan shook his head, “Not much.”

“Can we talk to anyone who was on the line?”

Nathan looked to Owen who said, “He should be here soon.”

Meredith nodded grimly and exchanged a worried look with Nathan.

They didn’t have to wait long before a white-faced young man came into the room. Owen stepped forward, “Jesse, can you tell us what happened out there? It looks like their numbers grew as the fighting continued, did they jump up out of hiding places?”

Jesse shook his head, “Not exactly, sir.”

Owen raised his eyebrows, “Then what?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m not exactly sure, sir.”

Meredith stepped forward, “Just tell us what you saw, or what you think you saw.”

Jesse took a deep breath, “Well, I don’t know. We were in a fire fight, but we got into such close quarters that it turned into hand-to-hand. I,” he paused, “I knifed a guy in the guts. Slit him open, so his guts were just falling out. He was in pain. I could tell, so I cut his throat to get him out of it. I couldn’t bear to let him just suffer like that. I let him die quickly.” He winced at the memory, “I turned and there was someone else to fight, so I did. We went at it for a while, but then all of a sudden, he looked behind me and smiled. I figured it was a friend, who’d come to help him, so I ducked and turned, and,” he looked at Owen almost imploringly, “I swear to you, it was the guy I’d just gutted.”

Owen sighed, and looked sympathetically at him, “You know, in battle, things do get a little crazy. Maybe it was someone else.”

Meredith and Nathan were being very careful not to react, but were staring intently at Jesse, then each other.

Jesse shook his head, “His guts were hanging down. He was walking on them. He was covered in blood, from where his throat had bled out. It was the same guy. I don’t know how. I just know that it was him.”

Meredith stepped up to Jesse, putting her hand on his shoulder. “You get some rest. If there is anyone else who saw something similar, could you get their names for us?”

Jesse nodded, miserable and terrified.

“But now, you just go get some rest.” Nathan stepped forward and gestured to the door.

Jesse turned and left, and Owen looked to Nathan, then Meredith, “You don’t believe him?”

“I don’t want to,” Meredith said, “But it’s a possibility.”

“What, they can raise their dead? Is that what you think? Maybe they gave them some kind of virus like in Resident Evil? So when they die they turn into zombies? Are you serious?”

Nathan shook his head, “Chances are, it’s not just their troops they’re raising. And I wouldn’t necessarily call them Zombies. Though, that’s as good a description as I can muster. I hope to hell I’m wrong.” He let out a string of curses and turned to look at Meredith, “Why?”

She shrugged and went to the door, “I’m going to go start working on a counter.”

Nathan nodded, and she left. Owen was looking at him incredulously. “Listen, Owen, I wish, like you wouldn’t believe that we could never have to deal with this. I wish you could stay in your bubble. Hell, I wish I could stay in that bubble. But what we’re fighting against, it’s just not going to let us.” He turned away, pacing, “I am willing to bet that nearly every one of our troops has a similar story, and that it involves friends being cut down in front of them, and rising up to attack them.”

“But that’s impossible!” Owen sat, trying to reason it out, “You see things in battle. It’s chaos. Seeing the person you just killed rise up to fight you again could be just a hallucination. The guilt just creates alternative scenarios in their minds. Or even, maybe they’re pumping them full of hallucinogens.”

Nathan nodded, “Well, hallucinogens, maybe. Let’s have our medics do some tests. But Owen,” he looked at his friend, “We, Meredith and I, have seen this before. A long time ago.”

Owen shook his head, “I’ll tell the meds to test everyone who says they saw something. That will give us the answer.” He left the room.

Nathan watched him go, “I hope so.”

* * *

Gary carried the flag indoors quickly, leaving Deirdre’s lawn bare.

She shut the door behind him with a slam. “Should we put out the freedom flag?”

He shook his head, “No. Let’s just try to be neutral now. Can’t risk being caught in any crossfire.”

“I sure hope Victoria and Nathan know what they’re doing.”

“They’ve got no choice, it seems. Now is our time to lay low.”

Deirdre nodded, “At least we know that the tea had an effect.”

“Whole groups, just up and quitting,” Gary chuckled, “It was brilliant.”

They walked to the living room, “It still feels odd, not doing anything, you know?” Gary plopped down onto the couch.

“They’ll probably need us soon, though,” Deirdre pointed to her head. “There are some pretty heinous rumors going around.”

Gary nodded, “I’m waiting for the call. However,” he added somewhat sheepishly, “I’ll be really happy if I don’t run into anything like what’s being talked about in those rumors.”

Deirdre agreed, “I never thought we’d ever face anything like that ever again. Who would have thought that it would come to this? Most the nation in a police state, or something like it, hospitals closing due to all the fighting, and everybody following two people we went to college with.”

“Or the people who are trying to kill the two people we went to college with,” he added, “I didn’t. It’d be nice to know who they are, wouldn’t it?”

She jumped up, “I have an idea! Here,” she pulled some candles down, and a box of herbs, “Light the candles. And now, a bowl.” She went into the kitchen and came back with a metal bowl filled with water, “This will do.”

“What are you doing?” Gary was confused.

“Well,” she said, happily, sitting across from him at the coffee table, “I think it’s ok for us to stick out our necks just a bit, now. And maybe,” she grinned, “this mysterious William Mathias will not be guarding as hard against random unknown people.”

Gary smiled, “Good idea. Let’s do it!”

Deirdre dropped some of the herbs into the water, and sat staring into the bowl. Gary scooted onto the floor across from her, and took her hands, and they both stared down into the water. Together, they began their search.

* * *

Victoria brushed off her sleeve, “How do I look?”

“Not as though everything you’re wearing is made of Kevlar.”

She grinned wryly, “Well, that’s what’s important here.”

“Tell me again, why are you meeting them without me there?”

“Because Dave is who they know. If I were to introduce a ‘new’ player,” she put the word into quotations with her hands, “they’ll become suspicious. Not exactly what I want at a peace talk.”

Jason looked at her sulkily, “And remind me again, why we’re not keeping them on their toes, or off balance, even?”

“Because darling,” she pinched his cheek, “we want you to surprise them when they least expect it!”

He pulled away chuckling, “Do that to me again, and I’ll surprise you.”

She laughed, “Not possible.” After checking herself in the mirror again, she nodded, “Ok. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

He followed her out into the hallway and down to Dave’s suite. Once there, she knocked, “Dave, you ready?”

They heard rustling within and exchanged a glance. As she was raising her hand to knock again, Dave emerged, red faced and slightly out of breath.

“Everything ok in there?” Jason asked.

Dave nodded, “Stupid wires and armor and…” he stopped, “It was complicated.”

Victoria nodded, “I wholeheartedly agree.”

Jason shrugged, “For your own protection, guys. It’s what you pay me for.”

Dave turned a startled look on Victoria, “We’re paying him?”

Victoria giggled, “Only with our love.”

“Oh, yeah. About that,” Jason grinned, “I need a raise.”

“Go talk to Jeff,” Dave replied, “He handles the books.”

They all laughed. With a deep breath, Victoria turned back to business, “Jason, you’ve checked the room?”

He nodded, “Multiple times. And Janice has been there since.”

“She’s doing well, it seems,” Dave smiled.

“Absolutely,” Jason smiled, “She’s a pistol.”

Victoria raised her eyebrows, “A pistol?” She looked to Dave, “Methinks there might be some attraction there.”

Before Dave could answer, Jason interrupted, “She is good at security, which is what she’s doing right now, waiting for you two goof-offs.”

Victoria chuckled, “Point taken. I suppose stalling more is a bad idea. Let’s go.”

The three moved down the hallway of the hotel. When they got to the elevator, Jason gave Victoria a hug, “Be careful.” Patting Dave’s shoulder, he added, “Both of you.” He stepped back, “I’ll be listening, and if you sense anything even remotely like a psychic prod, you let me know immediately!”

Victoria nodded, and the pair stepped into the elevator. Once the doors closed, Victoria looked to Dave, “You ready?” All their earlier brevity was now forgotten.

He nodded, “I hope so. I’m hoping this will go well.”

“That would be nice. I don’t dare hope for it. Just remember that red’s the word.”

“Hard to forget.”

She touched his arm, and as the elevator doors dinged open, put on her calm, cool façade. They were greeted at the door to the conference room by Janice and an unknown person. Victoria rightly assumed that it was the security for the Patriot leaders.

At her questioning glance, Janice nodded, indicating that all was well. Victoria turned once more to Dave, took a deep breath, and entered the room.

* * *

“The tox screens came back negative for hallucinogens for all four hundred of the people we tested.” The weary medic held out a thick binder.

“For all of them?” Owen was surprised.

“Negative for hallucinogens, sir.”

Nathan nodded, unsurprised, “Thank you.” The medic nodded and left the room. “Are you ready to believe that Meredith and I should handle this?” Nathan turned to Owen.

Owen nodded, defeated, “What can I do?”

“Help me keep our soldiers together.” Nathan smiled grimly at him. “You speak their language far better than I.”

“Thanks.” Owen looked appreciative, “What do I tell them, though?”

“I don’t know yet. Let’s go. I have to talk to Meredith.”

The two men went down a narrow hallway to a small room, lit only by a multitude of candles placed at odd locations. It smelled overpoweringly of incense and herbs. Owen wrinkled his nose, but stayed silent at a gesture from Nathan. Nathan walked into the center of the room, where Meredith sat, with closed eyes and crossed legs. He silently lowered himself to a seated position in front of her. She didn’t move, and Owen thought she might be asleep. Nathan closed his eyes as well, and there they sat. Owen waited.

Meredith was scouring the area. Nathan caught up to her in the area where the battle had taken place.

“Finding anything?”

She growled, “There are little nodes of energy everywhere, but they’re being powered from somewhere else. Somewhere away from here. I can’t figure out where. I think I need to be here when it’s happening.” She turned to him, real fear showing in her eyes, “I don’t want to be here when it’s happening.”

He took her hand, “Before that can happen, we need to get our troops back out here.”

She nodded, “It won’t be easy. I wouldn’t come back out if I were them.”

“Is there any way you can dull the memories? Make it all seem like a movie, or story? Desensitize them?”

She nodded, “I can make a tea. I just need to check with Deirdre on the exact ingredients.”

He sighed, “This is going to get ugly.”

“It already is.” She turned to go.

“Meredith,” Nathan said. She turned back, “I’m glad you’re here.”

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-27T02:44:58Z

More.

She picked up the house phone and dialed, “Hi Sara. Yeah, how are things?” She listened for a bit, “Oh, no. You don’t want to come over here. This remodeling is going slowly. It’s hard to find workers, you know. I wouldn’t want you or Caitlyn to be exposed to mold or this much dust. I’m barely making it with my allergies.” She chuckled, “Yes, you will get to see my house eventually. But wait for me to be done with it, ok?”

When Gary got home, he was on his cell. He walked in the door and hung up. “Nathan didn’t answer. And he doesn’t have voice mail set up.”

Deirdre sighed, “How about Meredith?”

He shook his head, “Chances are, they’re together, working to help Victoria.”

“Well, I hope they get her out soon.”

* * *

Meredith saw the beam of strong yellow light supersede the red flicker and smiled. Only a couple minutes passed before she arrived to find Nathan digging at a hole in the ground. The red light poured from the hole, flickering wildly.

“I can’t tell what’s going on. All I see is her face,” Nathan said, frustrated.

Meredith nodded and started digging alongside him. They worked beside each other, silent and determined.

After a while, Meredith stopped. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. This is probably a decoy or something. They’re getting better at hiding.”

Nathan cursed and threw a chunk of dirt at a nearby tree. “There’s someone knocking at my office door, too.”

“Go,” Meredith said, “I’ll try to find a real entrance.”

He nodded and looked balefully at the hole that hadn’t grown, then he was gone.

Meredith sighed and looked back at the hole. Peering inside, she saw Victoria wince, and then slowly open her eyes, with a regretful expression, and the light flickered out.

* * *

Victoria opened her eyes reluctantly. Sending out that call was just too much of a drain. She would just have to hope that her friends had heard it. The pain being inflicted was odd. It was all fake, because the physical reality was that she was probably lying in a bed, nowhere near whips, chains, and knives. But it still hurt. It still drained her.

Watching the red-head giggling and trying to decide what to do next, she realized that she had acquaintances to whom her situation could be invigorating. She marveled at the thought, then stopped, as an idea dawned on her.

When Thomas turned back around, she was staring at him boldly, “Is that the best you can do?”

His jaw dropped at her audacity, and the mean light grew in his eyes. Without a word, he stepped forward and held what looked to be a cattle prod to her bare stomach. He smiled, and let the sharp electricity burn at her skin. Instead of burning and causing her to wince, however, she seemed to grow a bit less pale. He stopped in confusion. She still stared, that bored look returning to her eyes.

“You’re not man enough to hurt me.”

He let out a roar of hate and rage and dropped the cattle prod in favor of his fists. She took each blow, smiling just a bit with each one.

* * *

“I am very sorry to announce that Miss Holladay has taken ill.” Dave stood on a stage in front of a large group of carefully selected reporters and the CDAR troops. “we have yet to determine whether her illness is an act of sabotage by the Patriots. If it is determined to be such, the lows to which their forces will sink would astound even me.” He shook his head. “However, we must continue fighting. It is time for us to march on them. Talking has proven futile. The time to fight is upon us.”

The men cheered, and the few reporters barraged him with questions. Once he was done, he hurried back to Victoria’s room.

Jason and Jeff both looked up from what looked to be an intense conversation when he came in. Jason turned back to Jeff. “So, in five hours, he looked at the clock, that’s 6:30. Meet back in here.” Jeff nodded and got up to leave.

Dave looked at Jason, “Meet in here?”

Jason sighed, “Dave, I haven’t slept in three days. You aren’t doing much better. If you can stay with her for five hours, I’l get some sleep, and then Jeff and I will come back and let you get some sleep.”

Dave nodded, “Good idea.”

Slightly surprised, Jason nodded and left the room. Dave sat beside Victoria’s bed and gently took her hand.

* * *

“Come in,” Nathan called, before he remembered that he’d locked the door, “Woops, hold on a second!” He jumped up, pulled the bonsai to the corner of the desk, and flipped the light on his way to the door.

Owen stood outside, looking peeved.

“Sorry about that,” Nathan apologized. “I got absorbed in plans, and was kind of in a trance.”

Owen nodded and brushed past him into the office, “That senator in Wisconsin is sick.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow, “I just heard.”

“They think it might be the Patriots.”

“It is.”

Owen looked surprised, “How do you know?”

Nathan gestured to a chair, “Have a seat, Owen.”

Owen sat and looked at him expectantly.

Nathan took a breath, “Owen, I know you don’t want to hear this, to believe it, but this war is being fought on two fronts. There’s this one, with the stand off and reluctance to hurt civilians, and there’s the other one.” Nathan sighed, “I wanted to ignore it. I wanted to be able to deny that it even existed. However, Victoria Holladay has been attacked, and she’s now stuck in some mental or psychic prison. There are warnings that the next round of attacks will come from that realm.”

Owen looked skeptical.

“I know it sounds crazy, deranged, stupid. Believe me. I know.” Nathan continued, “But simply put, this is a much more difficult, and safer way to fight. No civilians can be caught in the cross fire, you see?”

“Say you’re right,” Owen said, “Which is a long shot. How do we fight it?”

“We take out their strongest. That’s what they’re trying to do to us.”

Owen stood, “You know what? You are welcome to have your psychic war. However, I’m in the real world, and what happens in the real world is what’s concerning me. Now do I need to take my troops back home, or are we going to have a fight? Because from what your senator’s aide said today, we’re supposed to be attacking their headquarters. Do you know where that is?”

Nathan stood as well, “We are, huh? You’re right, of course. The psychic stuff must be secondary.” He thought for a moment, “Their headquarters, we believe are in DC. Let’s get everybody ready to go out there.”

Owen nodded and turned to leave.

“Thank you for your support.” Nathan said before he shut the door. Shaking his head, he pulled out the cell phone and flipped it open. As he was about to dial, it started vibrating. He answered, “Hello?” His brows furrowed, “Ok, what is it?” his expression darkened, “Wonder how they found that out? Well, no matter, we’re on the move.” He listened again, “Oh for crying out loud! Well, that’s good to know. Thank you.” He hung up the phone and put his head in his hands.

* * *

Thomas looked almost scared. The marks that had been covering Victoria’s legs had faded away entirely, and each new blow not only didn’t make a new one, but made her smile.

“You think that you’re stronger than me, you worthless fool?” Victoria asked, laughingly.

“You’re the one in the ropes!” He yelled at her.

Her eyes flickered down, and he thought he saw a hint of fear.

“You’re bluffing!” he yelled, and jumped up to face her with renewed energy, “You’re trying to make me stop!”

Her eyes flickered down again, and then she looked up, defiant, “No, I’m not. You’re just too scared to give up. If you do what will your boss think?” She smiled wickedly, “you’re scared of the big bad dark man.”

“I am not!” He yelled at her.

“Then tell me his name.”

He smacked her and her eyes flashed, “Or do you think that maybe, just maybe, he and you aren’t as strong as you think, and I can get out of here.”

He stepped back from her, “You’ll never get out.”

“Then what’s the harm?” she chuckled, “Or are you still too scared?”

He eyed her for a while, throughout which, she stared at him, amused. Finally, he stepped forward again and whispered, “William Mathias. You don’t get to talk anymore.” She discovered a gag filling her mouth and tried to yell, to no avail. He smiled, “you can scream, though.”

He turned away, and the flash of victory in her eyes was unmistakable. When he pulled out the cane, her eyes filled with terror and she screamed.

Laughing, he hit as hard as he could, and pulled back in surprise, as he saw the ropes disintegrate. She was suddenly clothed in red flame, and turned on him, power and hatred flashing in her eyes, the room filled with blinding red light, and there was another scream, this one lower slightly in timbre.

* * *

Meredith was back at the glade. She’d gone out, but nothing seemed right until she came back. Having gone over it again and again, she sat, staring at the now dark hole, trying to figure out what she needed to do.

If the face in the hole was a reflection, then pouring energy into it would just waste the energy. But if it really was a window, then Victoria could definitely use it. There really was no way to know.

Meredith stood and started pacing, furious. In the middle of her third lap, she stopped and stared intently at the hole. Had that been another glimmer of red?

Suddenly, she was knocked back, blinded by the intensity of the red light the burst forth. She heard a pained scream, and rushed forward despite her blindness. She had to help Victoria! As her eyes adjusted, she stopped short, astounded by the sight that met her eyes.

Victoria stood, anger pouring from her eyes. Clothed in what looked like red flame, and surrounded by red light. As Meredith started, the anger in her eyes died a little, turning to satisfaction. The light around her faded, and soon, it was just Victoria, standing in a red dress.

At Meredith’s confused expression, Victoria grinned, “You know? I never really realized how much energy torturers put into their work. If you can gather it in, it’s quite powerful.”

Meredith raised her eyebrows, “Wow, so welcome back! We were worried.”

Victoria took a deep breath, “So was I.” She looked around her, “So was I. Mer,” she looked confused, “how do I get home from here?”

Meredith smiled, “Come with me. And tell me everything.”

* * *

Jason woke with a start. He looked at the clock. Three hours had passed. He sighed, well nothing would help him get back to sleep, he decided. So he got up and went to Victoria’s room. Dave was dozing with his head on the bed again, Victoria’s hand in his own. Dave really cared for her. Jason shook his head, he sure had an odd way of showing it.

He quietly stepped to the other side of the bed and took her other hand.

When Victoria opened her eyes, both her hands were sweaty. She looked to her left, where Dave snored softly and smiled, then looked to her right, where Jason’s eyes twitched as he dreamed.

She gently extricated her hands, and touched both their heads ever so lightly. They both jolted awake. At their surprised faces, she laughed, “I’m back, boys. Now let’s go kick some Patriot ass.”

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-26T06:19:26Z

I'm getting so close. I'm less than 10,000 words away!!

Prelude:
The three young women sat at a table in a small café, laughing.

“You remember what we used to say, right?” the small one with long, dark hair and high cheekbones asked.

“One snores,” the blonde started, her long hair hit the middle of her back. She was not what you would call voluptuous, erring more on the skinny side.

“One steals the covers,” said the one with short red hair. She was small as well, but athletic in build.

“And the other we don’t talk about!” They finished together, giggling.

“So, Meredith,” the red-head asked the brunette, “Which one was he?”

Meredith wrinkled her nose, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh no!” the blonde said, “That’s too bad!”

Meredith cringed, “Yeah, well, at least we know, right?”

“Deirdre and I both thank you for the information. We’ll remember it!” the red-head chuckled.

“So, Victoria, tell me, what’s going on with the job search,” Meredith leaned in.

“Well, I’m working at a nice hotel, but I’m actually considering going to law school.”

Deirdre raised her eyebrows, “Really? I thought you wanted off the money-sucking education train.”

Victoria smiled, “I did. Still do, but I’m feeling like I should maybe actually do something that would help me make a difference in the world.”

Meredith nodded, “Not a bad idea. Never knew if we’ll be called again.”

Deirdre groaned, “No! We’re not going to get called again! It’s just not going to happen.”

Victoria grinned, “Either way, I’m not going to live my life based on that possibility.”

Meredith looked up, “Uh oh.”

Deirdre turned, “Oh!”

Victoria looked back, “It’s the boys,” with a small, knowing raised eyebrow toward Meredith, she stood and gave a tall, lanky blonde a hug. Behind him, coming in the door, were two young men. Both had dark hair. The first was just as tall as the blonde, but more muscular. The second was slightly shorter and stout.

When Victoria released the blonde, he moved in and took a seat between Meredith and Deirdre, giving them both a quick hug. The other tall one gave Victoria a long kiss and went with her to the table sitting between her and Meredith. The other one came to Meredith and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then moved to sit across from her.

Victoria looked across the table, “So, Nathan, chosen brother mine, how goes life?”

He smiled back, “Well, actually very well, I’m dating someone now. You know her, it’s Sara Quincy.”

Victoria looked surprised, and not exactly happy, “Oh, Sara.” She nodded, slowly, “Well, good for you! I hope she deserves you and treats you well.”

Meredith and Deirdre exchanged a concerned look, “What brought this on?” Meredith asked.

Nathan smiled, oblivious to Victoria’s displeasure, “Well, you know that Anna and I broke up.”

“Two weeks ago,” Victoria injected softly.

He nodded, “Yes, but Sara and I have been spending time together before this, and I just really think she’s right for me.”

Victoria nodded, “Well, it seems a little quick, right after a seven year relationship, but if you’re happy, I wish you both the best.”

The stout man nodded, “Congratulations Nathan! She’s a good one!”

Nathan grinned, “Thank you, Gary. I’m happy.”

Seeing his joy, Victoria smiled a real smile, and turned to the man on her right, “So, Jason. Your turn for news.”

Everyone looked on expectantly and Jason grinned, “I got a great job!”

“Really? Where? Doing what?” the chorus came from everyone.

“Working at a high tech security company. It’s in Tennessee.”

Deirdre grinned, “Our old stomping grounds. That’s great!”

“Isn’t that where you’re going for grad school, Dee?” Meredith asked.

Deirdre nodded, “Is that where you want to go to law school Victoria? There are so many good ones in the area.”

Victoria shook her head, “No, actually. I’m going to be staying here for a while at least. Jason and I are parting on great terms, right, baby?”

He nodded, smiling, “Yeah, it’s for the best. For both of us.”

Gary raised his eyebrows, “So that means you’re back on the market, huh, Vic?”

Victoria laughed, surprised, and slightly embarrassed and exchanged a look with Meredith, “No, Gary. I actually think I’m going to take time off for a while.” She grinned, “You men are fun and all, but, Lordy, do you take effort.”

The all laughed.

Jason looked to Meredith, “So, what are your plans?”

She smiled and looked around, “Well, I’ve gotten interest for my first book, and I think I’m going to move to Cincinnati.”

Nathan looked confused, “Cincinnati? Why? That seems random.”

She grinned, “I’ve been there once, and I loved it. I’ve found an apartment, and a part time job. I’m going to be heading out there on Monday.”

“Wow,” Deirdre gaped, “When were you planning on telling us?!”

Meredith grinned sheepishly, “Now?”

Victoria looked around, “So this is our last hurrah.”

“Yeah,” Deirdre looked to Gary, “Because aren’t you heading out to Cape Cod soon, too?”

He nodded, “Three weeks. I’ve got a leatherworking apprenticeship all lined up.”

Jason reached across Victoria to shake Gary’s hand. She scooted back to avoid an ‘inadvertent’ touch from either, and then stood to go to the counter. She asked for wine, or champagne, or something to toast with, and got a perplexed look from the barista. She finally discovered that the only alcohol they had went into their adult coffee drinks, and ordered six coffees with Baileys.

She came back to the table carrying a tray of drinks, and Jason looked up mischievously, “Going back to your bar waitressing days?”

“Not for a million bucks.” She set the tray in the middle of the table.

“How about a kiss?”

She grinned and handed him a drink, which he took, put promptly back on the table, in order to grab her and yank her onto his lap. When he stopped moving her around, she looked up at him, “Well?” He laughed and kissed her, then let her back up.

Everyone took a drink, and Victoria stood once more. “Here’s to chosen family, old, old friends, new relationships, new adventures, and knowing that no matter how far apart we become, we’ll always be in each other’s hearts. May we all have success in whatever we pursue, and the knowledge that should the going get rough, we have each other to fall back on, through it all.” She raised her mug, and everyone followed suit. With a round of “Here, here” the group drank.

* * *

“She looked great,” Deirdre said.

Victoria smiled, a hint of sadness in her eyes, “She did. And he looked happy.”

Deirdre nodded.

“It felt weird, going uninvited as your guest, though.”

Deirdre nodded again, “It was weird. But when I checked with him to see if it would be ok, he said it was.”

“She wasn’t exactly happy about it, but what was she going to do, kick me out?” Victoria sighed, “I should have been invited.”

Deirdre shrugged, helpless.

“What worries me is that he doesn’t stand up to her. I mean, it’s obvious that Sara doesn’t like me, but does that mean that he should just completely cease all communication? I don’t know. I wouldn’t expect that of any of my boyfriends, or a husband.” She stopped, “I’m sorry, Dee. I’m just dumping all over you. I’m so glad you could come up. Tell me all about grad school. How’s medicine treating you?”

“I’m liking it. The ability to help people is just wonderful. And living with Jason is fun, if odd.”

“Odd?”

“He’s really turned into a player. It seems like there’s a new girlfriend every week.”

Victoria laughed, “That doesn’t much surprise me.”

Deirdre smiled, “It’s not that bad, really. He’s gone a lot, and respects that I need to study, so he’s quiet when he is home.”

“Good. Oh! Have you heard from Meredith?”

“A little, not much, why?”

“Well, it looks like her new book may just get published. She’s in the final editing stages right now.”

Deirdre clapped, “That’s amazing! Good for her! I’ll give her a call.” She paused, “What about Gary? Have you heard from him?”

Victoria shook her head, “No, not really since he left for Massachusetts. Wow. That was two years ago.”

Deirdre nodded.

“Crazy. It seems like last week I started law school, and it’s already been a year.”

“Do you like it then?”

“I love it.” Victoria grinned, “I think I’m going to go into politics once I’m done. I just love the idea of how our representative government works. Being the voice for a number of people. It just seems like the perfect kind of challenge.”

“Look at us!” Deirdre smiled, “I’m going to be saving lives, you’re going to help change the country, and Nathan’s married.” She sighed happily, “We’re doing good.”

Victoria nodded, “It’s nice to be able to live our own lives, you know?”

Deirdre grinned, “It’s seeming less and less likely that we’ll be called, isn’t it? I mean, what could happen?”

Victoria sighed, relaxing, “Yeah. I just hope nothing does.”

* * * * *

My getting involved would not only not help her any faster, but it would hurt us if we ever need to surprise them with our numbers in the future. You and I need to stay far away from them.”

“I don’t like that.” Gary sulked, “But it makes sense. Damnit!” He stood and started pacing again. “I want to help her.”

“Gary,” Deirdre stood and walked over to him, “You don’t need to. I know she’ll realize the wisdom in us not getting involved. She’ll appreciate the foresight.”

He looked at her unhappily, “I understand. But I don’t like it.”

She gave him a slight hug. “It will be ok. She’ll be fine. And we’ll join when it’s absolutely necessary, and not a moment before. Leave it be.”

“You should eat.”

She looked at the plate, “It’s really tasty looking. What did you do?”

* * *

The shields were rebuilt. Jason opened his eyes and looked tiredly at Dave, who was snoring lightly. At some point, he’d gotten a chair and was sitting with his head resting on his arms on the bed. The sage smudge rested near his hand.

He looked at the clock, and realized that he had no idea what day it was. He started to stand and fell back. His knees were numb. “What the hell?” he mumbled, “I’ve never heard of knees going numb. That’s crazy.”

Dave jerked awake and looked at Victoria’s still unconscious body. “It didn’t work. You’re wasting time. We should have a doctor in here.”

Jason nodded, “A doctor is not necessarily a bad idea, but a doctor isn’t going to get her back.” He rubbed his legs, “I’m going to need help from Meredith. She’ll help me build a safe space for us all.”

“If I didn’t know that Victoria believed in all this stuff, I’d have you out on your ear right now,” Dave fumed. “But she does. And if you have any way of getting her back, then you damn well better be doing it.”

Jason nodded, “Believe me, I am.”

“I’m calling a doctor.”

“I’m calling Meredith.”

“We’ll get her back, right?”

Jason nodded, “We’d better.”

* * *

“It’s odd,” the dark man said, “In this realm, the effects of torture are completely unpredictable. See, when I whip you here,” the whip cracked across her back, making her wince, “I don’t expect to see a mark form on your legs.” He leaned in, examining her bare legs. “But there it is. You are an interesting woman, Miss Holladay.”

“Screw you,” she spat out venomously.

“While that would be fun, I don’t think that’s the point, my dear.” He chuckled and landed another blow across her legs.

“I’m not your dear, and I’m going to get out of this and kill you.” She closed her eyes, trying to gather her power, but each progressive crack of the whip across her body distracted her, and she wasn’t able to pull together the strength.

“And how,” he asked, “Do you think you’re going to do that? You can’t even get out of these ropes. Or do you think your little friends are going to be able to save you? You were far more powerful than that boy toy you’ve got with you. In fact,” he chuckled again, “I’ve only heard of one person who could even come close to helping you, and I don’t think she cares.”

“It’s a surprise.”

He guffawed, “Right. You should get on that. You’re losing energy as we speak.”

“You are too.”

“But I’ve got backup.” He grinned and came to stand close to her, looking at her naked form, “And he’s mean.”

She looked him unflinchingly in the eye, challenging him, “Bring it on.”

His eyes lost their amused twinkle, and he stared at her, “Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it.”

In a blink, he was gone. Victoria took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to gather some energy. She was wearing down, she could tell. Where were Jason and the others? She hoped she could hold out until they got there.

“Hmm.” Victoria’s eyes shot open. The red-head was back, and he had a peculiar smile on his face, “You are much prettier in person. This is going to be fun.”

Victoria glared at him and set her jaw for another round.

* * *

“We were lucky to meet up with a school principle who is sympathetic to our cause, so please, people be careful not to make a mess or burn anything with drips from candles or burning embers from your smudges.” Meredith spoke to a group of about twenty five people who had gathered. She had been happy to learn of the spiritual group in CDAR. She hadn’t been able to convince Nathan to join them yet, though, which might prove more of a problem.

Shrugging off the worry, she let them arrange themselves around the school’s auditorium. “We need to get a feel of how we all work, and make sure we’re not broadcasting our physical location to the world.” There were silent nods all around. These people seemed to have a good idea of what they were doing.

Closing her eyes, Meredith started sensing the varying amounts of energy, and working to equalize and focus it. She stood in the center of the auditorium, and gestured for them to gather closer, in a solid circle around her. Once they were in place, she again closed her eyes and started chanting. She heard matches strike and caught the first whiff of burning herbs before sinking to the floor. She sat, crossed legged, and heard the group follow suit. They would be here a while.

She looked around the field. It had altered some. The woods were denser and it was harder to see what was going on, as if there were fog everywhere. More presence there, by something.

She looked for Victoria. Or, rather, Victoria’s essence. Concentrating on the person she knew, the energy she’d known for millennia, she turned in a slow circle, trying to see, sense, discern, any clue. She reached the starting point of her circle and started again, trying harder. She could feel the energy around her building, but didn’t want to tap into it yet. It would be best to not wear out her troop so soon.

About halfway through her circle, she saw a glimmer of light. She thought. As she looked at the spot, she saw it flare up again unmistakable. Red light. It was like a flame, more flickering than steady. Something was going on. Without hesitation, Meredith moved toward the red light.

Around her, the people gathered varied in style. Some were humming. Others silent with eyes closed. Any that were watching her saw a brief flash of blue, and felt their energy being pulled gently away.

* * *

The doctor shook her head, blonde curls bouncing, “I’m sorry, Mr. Beston. There’s nothing I can do. I don’t know what caused this. She’s stable, she’s breathing on her own, and no stimulant seems to be working. You say she didn’t show any signs of personality change, no tremors or seizures, right?” Dave shook his head, miserable. “Then I don’t know. I’ve hooked her up to an IV for fluids and nutrients. She’s as well-taken care of as I can make her.” She shrugged, “All you can do is wait and hope she comes out of it. If there are any changes, call me. I would prefer to move her to a hospital, honestly.”

Jason shook his head, “No. She’d be in far more danger there than here.” The doctor looked to Dave, who reluctantly agreed.

She gestured helplessly, “As you wish.”

“Thanks for everything,” Dave said.

She nodded and let herself out of the room.

“Dave, you have to go deal with those troops now. They’ve done everything they can for our security here, and they’re going to start getting restless if they haven’t already. You know what the plan was. Go talk to them.” Jason looked haggard. He hadn’t slept in three days.

Dave didn’t look much better, but had been able to catch cat naps here and there. “I’m not leaving you alone with her.”

Jason sighed, “Fine. Have Jeff stay with me or something. But go talk to those troops.”

Mad that he’d been out-reasoned, Dave went to the door and told the man there to find Jeff. Once Jeff was in the room, Dave looked one more time, threateningly, at Jason and left.

“Jeff, do you believe in ghosts?” Jason asked wearily.

“Not as such. I believe people have spirits, though.” Jeff pondered a second, “Whether that takes the form of ghosts or just energy, though?” he shrugged, “I don’t know.”

With a relieved smiled, Jason pulled out a bundle of assorted herbs. “Let me show you something.” He lit the herbs and let them fall, flaming into a bowl. The acrid smoke rose and surrounded the two men. Jason held out his hands, and pulled Jeff so he was standing directly in front of him. “Close your eyes and open your mind.”

Jeff looked at him warily.

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to show you something. You’re not in any danger.”

“You’re not going to kiss me are you? Because I don’t swing that way.”

Jason laughed, “No. I don’t either. Just close your eyes.”

With a shrug, Jeff closed his eyes. Jason did the same and soon, Jeff gasped before opening his eyes again. “What was that? Where were we? What…” He looked at Jason with wonder, “Was that an alternate dimension or something?”

Jason smiled, “Kind of. Let me explain, and then you can help me get Victoria back.”

* * *

Nathan made sure he locked the door and turned to his desk. He looked at the small bonsai tree he’d been carrying with him since his daughter had been born, and nodded. It was time.

He turned on a soft light and moved the tree to the center of his desk. Sitting, facing it, he closed his eyes and went in search of Victoria alone.

He opened his eyes in the woods. Ahead of him was a glimmer of red light. It seemed to be getting weaker. He made his way through the trees that seemed to grow in his path, and after a few course corrections, managed to make his way to its source.

It was a small glade, and in the center, was a hole in the ground. From the hole, the red light pulsed, almost like a beating heart. He came to the edge of the hole and looked down. He couldn’t see anything. It was a small opening, no bigger than his finger.

He started digging around it and soon could see Victoria’s face. Her eyes were closed in concentration, and as the light flickered, he saw her wince. Angrily he rose. Meredith should be here already with her troops, but she wasn’t as close to Victoria as he was. He allowed himself a brief feeling of guilt for not speaking with her for so long, before he sent up a beacon of yellow light that was unmistakable.

Meredith should be here soon. While he waited, he started digging more.

* * *

Gary smiled at the young men, “So where are you guys headed? It seems like everything’s kind of at a standstill.”

“We’re actually going to the headquarters. They’re wanting us to gather there.” The youngest one leaned in, secretively, “Between you and me, they’re planning a pretty big attack on where they think the headquarters are.”

Deirdre looked excited, “Really? Where is that?”

“They’re pretty sure it’s in Illinois.”

“But aren’t your guy’s headquarters in, like, DC?” Deirdre looked confused. “Why are you coming through here if you’ve got to go all the way across the country?”

“Well, to throw them off, you see. We come in over here, and make lots of noise, like we’re planning an attack on some of the bigger Free towns on the West Coast, LA or something. Then, while they’re focusing on that, we sneak to our headquarters, and attack them from there.”

“Enough!” the older soldier said gruffly, “No more. It’s all classified information, you know. You already know more than you should. I should have stopped him sooner. You two will keep this to yourselves, right? You never know who you can trust.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Deirdre said sincerely, “I’m sorry I kept asking, I just want so badly for this to be over, and for you boys to win!”

Gary nodded.

“It still seems like a long way to go. DC to Illinois,” Deirdre mumbled to herself, sipping some of her hot chocolate.

“The headquarters aren’t necessarily in DC,” the younger soldier said. The older one stood, “Enough, soldier! It’s time for bed.” He bowed politely to the two, “I’m very sorry for his indiscretion. The last thing I want is for loyal supporters to be put in the difficult position of knowing too much. If you know too much, chances are, someone, somewhere will find out, and it’s entirely possible that the rebels will kidnap and torture you.”

“Isn’t it reprehensible,” Deirdre said, “that the very thing they say they’re trying to protect us against, they’ll do without blinking an eye.” She shook her head, “Hypocritical, all of them.”

Both soldiers nodded. “If you’ll excuse us, I think we’ll head up to bed.” The older one started up the stairs, “Corporal!” The young one jumped up and smiled, “Thank you for the tea.”

Deirdre nodded and stood, “Sleep well. If you need anything we’ll be right here. And you’ll have breakfast in the morning, right? I’ll make some more of my tea.”

“That would be tops.” He went up the stairs to the bedrooms.

Deirdre raised an eyebrow at Gary. He stood, “I’ll go get the herbs. Does the shop owner know I’m coming?”

She nodded, “I called earlier. Everything should be ready. Your idea of bringing her in on it was phenomenal.”

Gary nodded, “I do manage a good idea every so often.”

Deirdre grinned at him. “Go. I’ll call Sara and make sure she and the baby are doing well.”

He nodded and left.

She picked up the house phone and dialed, “Hi Sara. Yeah, how are things?” She listened for a bit, “Oh, no. You don’t want to come over here. This remodeling is going slowly. It’s hard to find workers, you know. I wouldn’t want you or Caitlyn to be exposed to mold or this much dust. I’m barely making it with my allergies.” She chuckled, “Yes, you will get to see my house eventually. But wait for me to be done with it, ok?”

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-25T17:11:11Z

Wow. It's been a while since I posted my progress, mostly because this whole transcribing thing is taking up all my time. Wednesday and Thursday are going to be interesting.

* * *

“It’s too bad your little boy toy decided to go off and fight,” the shattered-glass eyes twinkled, “If he were with you, you could see everything we’re doing to him,” the red-head laughed, “But c’est la vie, right, girly?”

Meredith woke with a jolt. She glared at the night, “How did he get inside those shields?” Angry, she shot out of bed, throwing the covers harshly back, and went to her shelves.

After Darryl had gone, she’d spread her supplies out, so she didn’t ever need to dig for anything again. This was useful tonight because it meant that she didn’t need a light to find what she was looking for.

Putting everything on the cedar chest, she lit the candle, and was gone almost before she’d finished putting the herbs in the bowl.

A confused expression came over Meredith’s face. Her space was clean, shields in place, and there was no way for him to have intruded. Unless she’d let him in. She searched frantically for any sign that the red-head had somehow gotten into her shields, but found none. Even if she’d let him in, for whatever reason, there would have been some trace.

She finally gave up searching and stopped to look around. As she did so, she started laughing.

The laughter brought her out of her trance. She opened her eyes “It was a dream. I have clearly been alone too long.” She stood and took care of the supplies she’d used after flipping on the light. “I should be helping Nathan more anyway.” She reached for the cell phone, and sighing at herself, she dialed.

“Hi, Nathan. Hey, where are you guys?” She listened then nodded, “That’s great. I’m going to join you.”

She chuckled, “Yes, I understand. That is why I’m letting you know that I’m coming. I’m not keen on getting shot.”

She sat on the edge of the bed, “No. I’m sick of being here, and I can probably do more for you there anyway.”

She smiled, “Oh, I should be used to being on the road. So you’re about six hours from me. That’s convenient. See you in about seven hours.”

She looked at her watch, “Wow I forgot it was so early. Why are you up?”

Chuckling sardonically, she finished, “I get it. See you soon.”

Meredith stood and looked around the room. “Might as well take everything.” If it was a problem, she could ditch things as they went.

* * *

Nathan sat, pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes were closed, and he looked to be asleep. However, when the cell phone rang, the sigh and slow opening of his eyes belied that he was awake, if weary.

“Hello?” he said tiredly, and his eyebrows creased together.

“Springfield, Illinois.”

With concern in his voice, he said, “Meredith, we’re in a war. It’s not like it’s exactly easy to get to me.”

Exasperation was next, his face betrayed how silly he thought the idea was, “Why don’t you stay where you are? You’re safer there.”

He nodded, acquiescing, “If you say so. But it’s not incredibly comfortable. We’re traveling and not always accommodated well.”

He stood and started pacing, “Well, it’s not like the leader of any army sleeps much. Or at least that’s been my experience.”

Nodding again, he said, “Be safe,” and closed the phone. Then, slowly, a reluctant smile began to spread across his face. It would be good to have another of the group around.

* * *

Gary held the written address close to his chest as he walked down the street. The early morning darkness obscured most of the numbers, so his pace was slow

Getting into the US had been surprisingly easy. The Canadian National Guard had secured all the roads. However there was a lot of wilderness out there. The CDAR troops had easily entered the US, as far as Gary knew. At least the group that he’d crossed the border with had.

Owen had been relatively unhappy with Gary’s determination to enter near Seattle. He’d wanted Gary to remain with him, to help him stay in contact with Nathan. However, since it had been Nathan’s request, he couldn’t argue very much, and he had a way to keep in touch anyhow.

Gary’s eyes lit up as he saw the right house, then confusion reigned as he saw the flag out front. He looked again at his paper. It was the correct number, and he’d checked that number three times with Nathan.

He stood, indecisive, until he saw a light come on in the window.

“Can’t hurt to ask,” he mumbled to himself and tucked the paper in a pocket. At the door he knocked lightly, not wanting to wake anyone who might be sleeping inside. After a moment, Deirdre opened the door, a look of surprise on her face.

“Gary? What are you doing here?”

He smiled, “It’s good to see you, Deirdre.”

“I thought you were in Canada?”

“Well, turns out that Canada isn’t that far away from Seattle.” He looked at her surprised face for a moment, “It really is good to see you. Though I think y our choice in lawn ornaments strange.”

“Hush, Gary,” Deirdre seemed very concerned with being overheard. “I’m supporting the Patriots now.”

“What?!” Gary yelled, “Are you insane?”

Deirdre pushed him out the door, and shut it quickly behind her, “Gary, shut up.”

“But you…” He was at a loss for words.

Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper, “Gary, I swear, if you reveal to any of these boys who you are, or who I know, I will rip your face off. Now, either stay for breakfast and as long as you like and keep your mouth shut or leave now.”

His jaw dropped and she leaned in even closer. He had to strain to hear her, “Please stay. I could use the help.”

Confused even more, he nodded.

She stepped back and opened the door. In her normal voice, she said, “I am so happy to see you. Please come in.”

He followed her inside the house and to the kitchen, where Deirdre started preparing breakfast. Silently, and still very confused, he watched. As he was about to ask a question, he heard someone coming down the stairs. He jumped up, startled.

Deirdre smoothly stepped in front of him, “Good morning, Joe, Allan, Mason. I trust you all slept well?”

The three very bleary-eyed young men nodded.

Joe smiled, “Thank you, Ma’am, we did. But I think we are all agreed that we need to have some more of that delicious tea you gave us.”

Gary’s eyes widened, and he looked at Deirdre, “Tea?”

“Yes, Gary, I made a special blend of tea for our wonderful Patriot troops, to give them a boost of energy and clear-headed thinking. Now, since you guys liked it so much, I will go to the market early today, and before you head out, I’ll make an industrial sized batch for you to take with you and share with your friends. It should last a long time, because like I said last night, you should only drink one cup each day. Otherwise, it will lose its effectiveness.” She turned and smiled at Gary, “Gentlemen, this is Gary. He’s a very old friend of mine who came into town to help me out here.” Still smiling warmly, she turned to them, “Besides, it’s always good to have a little protection around the house when I’m opening it to so many people. Not all my guests are going to be as nice as you three, I’m sure.”

Allan looked annoyed, “Why didn’t you tell us he was coming last night? It would have saved us that entire conversation.”

“Because I didn’t know he was coming last night. I just found out this morning when he showed up at my door that he was coming.”

“Now Ma’am, no offense, but that don’t make any sense at all,” Joe chimed in, “You said there was no one you could call.”

“But you see,” Deirdre turned back to beating the eggs, “I thought that Gary was in Massachusetts.”

“Oh.” Joe seemed to accept that and nodded at Gary, “Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir. Any friend of our lovely Deirdre is a friend of ours, right boys?”

The others nodded and Gary took turns shaking their hands.

“Now I have an idea,” Deirdre said, “Joe, why don’t you make some tea for yourself and the other two. I’ll finish breakfast and send Gary out to get the ingredients for the tea, and while you guys help me by gathering and chopping that firewood, I’ll make a huge batch of it to take with you. Sound good?”

She looked at the unanimous nods and smiled. “Now, Joe, the supplies for three cups of tea are there on the counter.”

“Well, I could make a cup for you folks as well,” Joe said, “It would be no problem.”

“No!” Deirdre said forcefully, “Absolutely not. This tea is for you. The men who are fighting the rebels, to help you on your way. I will fix two cups of plain old normal people tea for myself and Gary.”

Joe smiled and ducked his head humbly, “Yes, Ma’am.”

Throughout breakfast, Deirdre asked questions about the war and the strategies that the Patriot troops were up against. Gary kept silent and through their descriptions of what they fought, found out a great deal about how they fought, and where their weaknesses were.

Once they were done eating, Deirdre gave him the keys to her car, and a list of the herbs she needed, which she made sure not to let the other see, and directed him to the shop.

“Buy them out of everything,” she instructed. He nodded and headed out, amused.

* * *

“Hold fire!” Jason shouted into the radio, almost frantically. “Hold fire, these are friendly troops, I repeat, hold your fire, let them in!” He turned to Victoria, “Those damn fools should have given us more warning.”

“They did, you know,” She said, “We just didn’t get it.”

He grimaced, “Didn’t help them from getting shot at.”

“Well, we’ll see if there’s any damage when they get in here. I’m assuming they’ll need a comprehensive report of how things are going, too.” Victoria rubbed her temples, “You know? Sleep would have been far preferable.”

Jason nodded.

Dave came running into the room, “What the devil is going on?”

Victoria smiled, “You remember the support I told you about right before this whole thing started?”

Dave nodded, “Yeah, you never explained.”

“We’ve finally got Canadian troops heading our way.”

“They’re fighting for us?”

“They’re fighting with us.”

“I thought Canada wasn’t getting involved. Aren’t we opening the door to them getting help from other countries, too?”

Victoria shook her head, “No. Canada, at least the government is still saying they want nothing to do with this. As far as I know, these are rebel forces, much like they say we are. I don’t even know if the Canadian government knows about them.” She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall.

Dave stepped forward, “Are you ok?”

She opened her eyes again, “Yeah, I just didn’t sleep well, and have a headache.”

Jason stepped forward as well, bumping into Dave, “You should sit down.”

She looked at Dave, then Jason, both hovering over her with concerned expressions, and laughed, “You two are like mother hens. It’s just a headache. Now I need to go get ready to meet these troops.” She stepped between them, still grinning, then stopped in her tracks. “What the… Who… How did you…” She turned and looked at Jason, a mixture of fear and pleading in her eyes before falling to the floor.

Dave rushed forward, turned her over and took her pulse. She was unconscious. “Victoria?” He waited a second, “Victoria?” He tried lightly slapping her cheeks.

“I don’t think that’s going to do it.” Jason was as white as a ghost.

“What did you do to her?” Dave looked up accusingly.

* * *

Nathan smiled warmly, “Love you too, honey. I hope I’ll see you soon.” He flipped the cell phone closed and looked up to see Meredith raising an eyebrow.

“You love the person on the end of that line? Is there something I should know about you and Jason?”

He stood and she came around his desk to give him a hug. “It’s good to see you,” she said.

Nathan smiled, “Deirdre gave her phone to Sara when we went away. Said Sara needed to keep in touch with me more than she needed the phone.”

“Have you heard from her since?” Meredith looked concerned.

He shook his head, “No, but she can take care of herself. Besides, I asked Gary to check on her.”

“Gary? Isn’t he in…”

“Seattle, now. He Canadian troops crossed the border two nights ago.”

“Huh.” Meredith shook her head, “So how are you?”

He sat back down, “I’m leading an army.”

She chuckled, “I noticed.”

“I’m actually pretty pissed about it,” he continued, “I didn’t want this. I wanted to be a stay-at-home dad for my daughter, and live a simple life with my wife and kid. Or kids, even. And not fight another war. This time around was supposed to be sedate.”

“At least it’s not the same type of war, right? I haven’t really heard of much fighting. Victoria seems to be taking the front on this one.”

“For the most part. It’s really hard to fight when you’ve got families split in half, towns, neighborhoods. It’s not as though this is a clear cut case of one region versus another. The worse fights have been where we happened to run across a section of their army, or they run across us. It’s heartening, though. Every town we go through, we pick up people. Sometimes only a few, but always something.”

Meredith smiled, “Good. Things have been really quiet in the astral sense as well. Maybe they’re not as strong there as they wanted us to believe.”

“Here’s hoping.” He looked at his watch, “I’ve got to go debrief the CDAR leader now.”

“CDAR?”

“Canadians Defending American Rights.”

She looked impressed, “I’ll just check the defenses here while you’re gone then.”

He nodded and left the room.

* * *

Deirdre and Gary waved goodbye to the uniformed men. Once they were out of sight, Gary turned to her, “Tea?”

She giggled.

“Isn’t that a little obvious?”

“Oh, they’re not going to get sick. This blend is a lethargy blend, you see. I made it so it gives them a boost of energy that quickly wears off. Once it’s gone, they’ll start getting more and more tired. It accumulates, so the more they drink, the more tired they are. Eventually, they’ll quit the force because all they want to do is go to bed.”

He chuckled, “Clever. How many industrial batches have you given out?”

“At least fifteen.” She sighed, “I don’t know if it’s doing any good, though.”

He turned to her, “Well, whether it is or not, you’re able to learn interesting things from these guys. I’m going to call Nathan and let him know.”

She nodded, “I’ve got more notes, if you want to look at them.” Looking down at her watch she jumped. “Oh no! I’m going to be late for work! I’ll give them to you later!” She ran into the house and quickly changed, then dashed out again and, waving goodbye, said, “If you get hungry, you’re welcome to get anything you want from the kitchen. Bye!”

Then she was gone. Gary chuckled to himself then started as his phone rang, “Hello? Jason, oh yeah, how are you doing? Thanks for the phone, by the way.” He listened and his eyes darkened, “No, she just left for work, but I’ll tell her the minute she gets back.”

* * *

Victoria’s eyes slowly opened. She was in what looked to be an old castle dungeon.

“You’re stubborn.”

She jerked around to find that she’d been bound to the chair in which she was seated, and couldn’t turn enough to see who had addressed her. She closed her eyes again. This wasn’t real. She could tell that she was not in the physical world. Concentrating, she gathered her power, and suddenly the bonds were gone, and she stood to face the man who’d spoken. He had flame red hair, and blue eyes that looked like broken glass.

He looked surprised, “More powerful than I’d thought, too. Huh.” Then he smiled, his eyes glinting. “Not powerful enough, though, I’m afraid.”

More ropes closed over her arms and legs, suspending her upright in the air.

“Who are you?”

He shook his head, “That would be telling.”

She glared, “Do tell.”

He laughed, a sound more like a crazed animal than an amused man.

Victoria waited.

He soon stopped and resumed looking at her, “You’re prettier in person than on TV.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“It’s too bad I’m not supposed to torture you. There are some really fun things I could do to you.”

She managed to make herself look bored.

He came closer, “I could make you scream.”

The bored expression remained, “Sure you could.”

His eyes flashed, broken glass in firelight, “You don’t think I could?”

She shrugged slightly, “Doesn’t matter, you’re not supposed to.”

He cursed, “It’s that Rick. Ever since he got pulled from spying on that upstart Nathan, he’s been a pansy.” He turned away, and Victoria allowed a small expression of triumph to cross her face. By the time he turned back, it was gone.

He stepped forward again, right up to her, where she could see his pupils dilating, “I could wipe that expression right off your face.”

She raised an eyebrow and sighed.

He growled and grabbed her by the neck. Suddenly she was interested, though not as scared as he wanted.

“Hands off, Thomas,” A new voice, smooth but dangerous.

The red head jerked back as if burned, “I’m sorry, sir. She provoked me.”

There was a chuckle, “I’m sure she did. Now leave us.”

In the blink of an eye, Thomas was gone and Victoria was hanging in front of a man with dark hair, dark eyes, and dressed in black.

“Going a little overboard with the dark master thing, aren’t we?”

He chuckled, “I prefer being over the top. It makes me less accessible.”

“Why do you have me here?”

“Because I can’t very well have you continuing in the real world, can I?”

“Why? I don’t see why you and your kind need to take the rights of the regular people, what do you gain?”

“It’s about power,” he chuckled again and stepped close, caressing the rope that held her. “You see, Miss Holladay, if there are brain dead masses, over-fed on Pringles and Jerry Springer, they don’t care about their rights. They are even happy to leave them for someone else to deal with. If they give them up, we get them, and we gain the power. If you and yours win, however, I face challenges, and I don’t like challenges.”

“We will win.”

“Not without you.”

“You underestimate these people.”

“You underestimate your importance.”

“I’ll get out.”

He smiled, a not unattractive smile, and reached for a whip hanging on the wall. “Not in any shape to think straight.”

* * *

Jason and Dave were at an impasse. Dave stood stolidly beside Victoria’s bed, which was still heavily scented with incense, and Jason stood at the foot.

“You have to go deal with those troops!” Jason yelled.

“I’m not leaving her alone with you again!” Dave yelled back.

Jason stopped, looking around desperately. He pulled a sage smudge from a box, and held it out to Dave, “If you’re going to stand there, you’re going to help.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a sage smudge. Just hold it.”

Dave looked at him suspiciously, but held onto the herb. “Help what?”

“Get her back.”

“How?”

“Shut up.”

Jason lit a candle and knelt at the bottom of the bed, touching Victoria’s ankles. He let his mind expand and noted with pleasure that the sage managed to dampen all of Dave’s disbelief. He noted that Victoria’s energy was nowhere inside of her, though there was a small bit left to keep her alive. He also saw that the shields he and Victoria had so carefully erected and protected were in shambles. It seemed they had gravely underestimated their enemy in this matter. He swore and started rebuilding.

* * *

Meredith ran to where the man had said Nathan’s office was. She knocked on the door and waited impatiently. Finally, she heard him telling her to come in and opened the door. She stopped when she way the other man in the room.

Nathan stood, “Meredith, this is Owen. He’s the leader of the CDAR troops.” She nodded, and Nathan finished, “Owen, this is Meredith. She is,” he paused, “part of our defense team.”

Meredith barely waited for him to finish, “Owen, it’s wonderful to meet you. Nathan I need to talk to you.”

Owen stood, “Well, that’s convenient. We were just finishing up. I would love to talk to you about defenses at some point, though.”

Meredith nodded again, shortly. “Sounds great. Thank you. Good bye.” She escorted him to the door and practically pushed him out.

Nathan raised his eyebrows, “There better be a good reason for that.”

“I’ve got bad news, and worse news.”

“What’s the bad?”

“I just got a call from Jason. Victoria collapsed, apparently they took her psyche prisoner, like they did me, but now they’re able to break in and take, rather than lure out and trap. Very bad.”

Nathan looked confused, “They took your psyche prisoner?”

“Oh yeah,” she rushed, “You didn’t know about that. I’ll tell you later.”

He looked at her expectantly.

“The worse news is it seems like they’re mounting a huge attack.”

His eyes popped, “Where?”

She touched her head.

“I hate this woo-woo shit.” He shook his head, “Are you sure?”

She nodded, “It’s going to be bad. I take it you don’t have any woo-woo people, do you?”

“I’ll have Eric ask around, and check with Owen, but most likely not.”

“I can’t do this alone. Even with your help, I can’t.”

“Can you find out where they are physically? These psyche kidnappers?”

She shrugged, “Not yet. I’ll try more. Let me know as soon as you find anyone who can help.”

He nodded and she left. He watched her go tiredly and picked up his office phone.

* * *

Gary paced the house. Deirdre hadn’t told him when she’d be home, so he didn’t know how long Victoria would have to wait. So he paced the house. He’d already cleaned every room, cut more firewood than Deirdre could use in a lifetime, and made lunch for himself. He started in on an elaborate dinner, to bide the time, hoping that her shift was eight hours.

By the time her car pulled up, Dinner had been waiting for an hour. She came in the door to find him standing in the hallway waiting for her. “Jason called. He said that something happened to Victoria. She just collapsed. He said he thought it was a psychic attack, and that she couldn’t get out. You have to help her!”

Deirdre blinked and turned to shut the front door. She slowly took off her jacket and went into the kitchen. “It smells good in here.”

“Deirdre!”

She turned to him, “Victoria can take care of herself. Me getting involved now would be terrible. Hey don’t ‘know I exist. I can do far more to help our cause by staying out of it than by jumping in. You as well. From all indications they’re completely unaware of you. So don’t get any ideas and get yourself caught yet.” She stopped and turned to open the oven, where a plate covered in foil was waiting for her. “Thank you for cooking.”

Dumbstruck, Gary watched her set the plat on a hot pad, pour herself a glass of Mountain Dew, and deliberately started eating.

“No!” he yelled, “you can’t just do that! You can help her! You have to.” He sat across from her looking intently into her eyes, “Deirdre, she needs you.”

Deirdre smiled, “No she doesn’t. She’s got Jason, and Meredith and Nathan. Right now, she is fine.

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-21T17:29:04Z

Here's the rest that I've gotten done so far. I rock.

Deirdre jumped at the pounding on the door. It stopped after a second, so she figured it wasn’t an angry mob trying to break down the door and looked out the window. Three armed men in United States military uniform stood, looking mildly worried. She put on a smile and opened the door.

“Good evening, Ma’am,” the one in front said, “Do you mind giving some hungry soldiers a place to stay for the night?” He had a pleasant southern accent.

Deirdre shook her head and stepped back, “Not at all, come on in. Only three of you?”

He nodded and stepped in, “Just a small group of us moving through town.” He glanced back outside at the flag on the lawn, which was now mildly tattered, “It’s good to see that there are still some patriots among us.”

She shut the door behind them, “Well, it’s good to see you gentlemen, too. How’s the war going?”

The second one, a gruff looking young man answered, “Hellish. These rebels are everywhere. They’re like cockroaches.”

The first one smiled, “Allan has just joined us from Southern California. The rebel forces are strong there.”

“They’re pretty strong here, too. Where are you from?” Deirdre asked.

“I just came from Alabama, Ma’am.”

“I thought that was an Alabama accent. Well, you, all three of you, are welcome in my home. My name is Deirdre McAllister.”

The first one bowed, “We thank you kindly, Ma’am. My name is Joe Tracey. This here is Allan Voigt, and our silent partner here is Mason Lyman.” The other two nodded.

“Well, come on in, make yourselves comfortable. I’ll get a fire going, and you are welcome to any of the bedrooms on the second floor. I’ll start dinner soon.”

Mason stepped forward, “I’ll get the fire going for you.”

Deirdre jumped back as he rushed by her and went to the fireplace. At her look of surprise, Joe laughed, “Mason is our good boy scout from the fine state of Utah.”

Deirdre nodded, amused, “Well, thank you, Mason,” she said into the living room. He didn’t respond. “Ok then.” She turned back to Joe and Allan, “You two are welcome to make yourselves comfortable. I’m going to start on dinner.”

Allan looked at her for a second, “Thanks,” he said, and went upstairs.

Joe grinned, “If there’s anything I can do to help you, Ma’am, I am certainly willing and able.”

She smiled, “Well, do you mind keeping me company in the kitchen? I’d love to hear news of the war.”

“I’d be honored,” Joe smiled a charming smile. His eyes were deep blue, and his dusty blond hair cut short. He was just a bit taller than Deirdre, who was on the tall side, and of course, he was in great shape.

Deirdre went into the pantry to find suitable food. She pulled out a bag of herbs, and a bag of potatoes. Going back out into the kitchen, she asked Joe, “Would you guys like some tea with dinner? It’s a special herbal blend I made myself, just for any Patriot men who stopped by, to give you all a boost.” She smiled, “Of course, it’s nothing like your sweet tea back home, but it’s something that you all can enjoy.”

Joe shrugged, “I have learned to never say no to a kindness extended from a supporter.”

Deirdre smiled, “Good. Now I might need to run to the store to pick up a meat dish for dinner, unless one of your guys wants to go?”

Joe grinned again, “Hey, Mason,” he called into the living room, “How’s that fire?”

Mason came into the kitchen, “It’s going.”

“Well, then, how about you and Allan go to the store for this nice lady and pick us up some meat for supper?”

Mason shrugged, “Ok.”

“Go on up and get Allan.”

Without a word, Mason turned and went up the stairs.

“They don’t teach them Mormons no manners,” Joe shook his head.

Deirdre chuckled, “I’ve known quite a few very well-mannered Mormons.”

“Huh. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

The two men came pounding down the steps, “What kind of meat do you want?” Allan asked.

“I don’t care. Whatever you two think best,” Deirdre replied. “Let me get you directions to the store. It’s a ways away, but it’s Patriot friendly.”

Allan mumbled, “Thank God,” which drew a baleful glance from Mason.

Deirdre chuckled and wrote out the directions. Handing them the keys to her car, she said, “The fish is really good, as is the beef.”

Mason grabbed the keys, nodded, and left, with Allan following closely behind.

Deirdre turned back to the potatoes and as she started washing them asked, “So, Joe, tell me about what’s going on with the war. I only get the news from the other side here, since all the radio and TV stations are Free.”

* * *

Gary paced the room. He was doing that a lot lately. Owen sat, playing a game of Solitaire.

“Why aren’t we out there yet?”

Owen put down his hand and looked up at Gary, “Because we don’t need to be out there yet. It’s going fairly well for the Freedom Party, and I’m not sending out my people unless there’s no other choice.”

“But this has been going on for three months!” Gary exclaimed, “If we went out there, it could be over so much sooner!”

Owen sighed, “Maybe. Maybe not.”

Gary slammed his hands down on the table, “No!” he yelled, “It’s time for action! These men,” he gestured around the room, “are ready! They chose to do this, and you are being too slow in letting them help.” He turned to the rest of the room, “How about it? Are you all ready for action?”

The men applauded, looking livelier than they had in weeks.

Owen looked at them, almost sullenly and nodded, “If you say so.” He stood and went toward his office, “Commanders, come with me. Gary too. And get your contact who’s leading that bunch of rabble down there on the phone. It’s time we all speak with him.”

Gary nodded at his receding back and pulled out his cell phone. Quickly dialing, he was surprised when Nathan answered on the first ring. “Hi, it’s me. The leaders of CDAR here want to speak with you. Can we do that now?” He paused, “Ok. Talk to you soon.” Flipping the phone closed, he went into Owen’s office.

“He’s going to call us back when he’s in a secure location. He said it would be about twenty minutes.”

Owen nodded, “Good. That’ll give everyone a chance to gather.” He nodded at the rest of the men in the room, and they filed out.

“Gary, stay.” Owen sat behind his desk. Once everyone was gone, his dour expression softened with amusement, “I was wondering how long that would take.”

Gary was confused, “Huh?”

“I was just waiting for you to break. You held out a lot longer than I thought you would.”

“You mean to tell me that you’ve let this go on so long because I didn’t say anything?”

Owen nodded.

“You were testing me?”

“More like experimenting,” Owen chuckled, “Don’t worry. If it had gotten to the point where we were really needed, I would have gone.”

“Why?” Gary demanded.

“I wanted to know what your breaking point was.”

“Why?”

“To know how much it mattered to you,” Owen stood, “You see, you seem to care a great deal, but I had the idea that maybe that was more from a sense of duty than really caring. Turns out I was partially right. The fighting is ever so slowly moving toward Wisconsin where your friend, Victoria Holladay lives. You didn’t care until you heard that. Now, you care a great deal. Am I right?”

Gary glared, “You pompous son of a…” he took a deep breath to stop himself, “I have always cared, but I realized you weren’t going to do anything today.”

Owen nodded, smiling. “Ok, whatever you say.”

Gary opened his mouth to respond, but the door opened and a couple of the commanders walked back in. He sat down sullenly, looking at his phone.

When everyone was back, Owen started going over strategy until the phone rang.

Gary answered, “Hello. Yes. Do you mind speaker-phone? Ok.” He hit the button, and put the phone down on Owen’s desk, “Nathan? You still there?”

Nathan’s voice rang clear and loud, “Yep. This is speaker?”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds great.”

“Here too.” Gary stopped, “Owen, the leader of CDAR is here, along with all the commanders.”

“It’s really good to hear from you folks.”

Owen started right in, “So, we are prepared to enter the United States at eight locations. We can do whichever combination is going to help you most.”

* * *

Victoria sighed, “We have to do it again, don’t we?”

Jason nodded, “One bad thing about security, someone always finds a way to break through eventually.”

“Dave always gives me these funny looks when we disappear into seclusion for an entire day.”

“I can’t believe you kept him on,” Jason scowled.

“I trust him.”

“He was spying on you!”

“He’s got a crush,” she smiled, “Besides, he’s good at what he does.”

“What does he do.”

“He keeps me out of trouble.”

“You keep yourself out of trouble, he just frets and worries and meddles.”

“Which keeps me from having to do so.”

“I don’t like him.”

“You’re jealous.”

“Do I have anything to be jealous of?”

She raised an eyebrow, “Do you have any right to be jealous?” She shook her head, “All you men, vying for my affection. I can love you all, you know. In my way. Anyway,” she turned back to the subject at hand, “How bad is it?”

“Bad enough that it needs to be fixed immediately.”

“Ok, let me finish the conference call with the other senators, and we can work on it after that.”

He nodded.

“Have I mentioned how glad I am that I had you come up here?”

“Not recently.”

“I really am. It’s good to have one of us right here, you know?”

He nodded, “That I do.”

She turned and went into her office for the conference call. When she emerged, Dave was waiting.

“How’d it go?” He asked nervously.

“They eventually agreed.”

Overwhelming relief came over his face.

“It really wasn’t hard,” Victoria said, “It’s pretty obvious that I’m not the right person to take over if we win this. I know next to nothing about running an entire country.”

“Well, it’s good to have everyone on the same page anyway.” He paused, “What are our chances of winning this?”

Victoria smiled, “I’d say pretty good. We’ve got help coming.”

Dave looked confused.

“Now, Jason and I need to go over some pretty detailed security plans. Can you see that we’re not disturbed for the rest of the day?”

Dave scowled, “I don’t like it when you are out of commission for that long. Can’t he do it on his own?”

“Dave, this is a joint project for him and me. You two need to kiss and make up. I’m getting a little tired of the two most important people in my life constantly bickering.:

He scowled some more, “It’s his problem, not mine.”

“Goodbye, Dave.”

“Be careful.”

“Walking? There’s nothing to be careful of, we’re going over security.”

“Still. Be careful.”

“I will.” She walked toward her private set of rooms, rolling her eyes.

As she entered the room, she was hit by an overwhelming wave of incense.

“Phew! Jason?”

“I’m in here,” It sounded as though he were in the bedroom. She made her way to him, nearly choking, and realized that the scent and smoke were getting thicker as she went in.

“Good night!” she exclaimed when she saw him. “How are the smoke alarms not going crazy?”

He grinned, “They’re disabled.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea, so when we’re both wandering around in a trance and knock over a candle, we’ll both die in a tragic fire.”

He laughed, “The sprinklers still work, but today isn’t a candle day, anyhow. It’s an incense day.”

“Yeah, I could tell. So what’s the plan?”

“Well, I’ve pre-arranged everything, so have a drink,” he held out a class of water, “and as soon as you’re ready, we’ll put this,” he held up a root, “on top of that,” he pointed at the smoldering bowl of incense, “and get the show on the road.”

“I’m going to be useless tomorrow, aren’t I?”

He chuckled, “Likely.”

“I didn’t realize it was this bad. Why did you hold off so long?”

“Well, you’re busy, and it wasn’t an immediate threat. It’s just the outer perimeters that are down.”

“How many?”

“Five of the eight.”

She whistled, “Right, water, restroom, and this all night. Fun.”

She drank the water quickly, screwing up her face at the bitterness, “What was that?”

“Tea tree. Cleansing, sorry.”

She glared at him and went to the restroom, where she changed into far more comfortable clothing. When she came out in sweats and a t-shirt, he laughed.

“Shut up.” She moved to sit across from him, crossed legged on the floor. The bowl sat to his right and her left, right in line with where their knees met.

Both of them left off joking and became very serious. She closed her eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath. He did the same. When they both opened their eyes, he held up the root. With her left hand, the held his right, and together, they put the root into the bowl. They watched to make sure it caught and started burning slowly, and when it did, they joined both hands and looked deep into each others’ eyes. Together, they started rebuilding the massive defenses.

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-21T05:57:45Z

Up to the big break. This is through the end of Part 1. I have no idea how many parts there are. Or how long this thing is going to turn out to be. I can say that I'm currently at page 80, with double spacing between paragraphs, but single everywhere else, in Times New Roman 12. Whee.

He marveled at the luxury of Owen’s compound. It was an old building that apparently used to be a school, but it had been renovated, and now held bedrooms that were small, but adequate, a gathering hall that was the school’s old gymnasium, several offices, and a rec. room. They also made use of the cafeteria and kitchen facilities.

The compound was where all the leaders in the Canadian Defenders of American Rights resided when they were in town. Which, for most of them, was at least a week of every month.

Gary arrived at Owen’s office and peeked in the open door. Owen was talking on the phone. He looked up and gestured Gary inside. As Gary was getting himself settled, Owen ended the call and turned to him.

“What can I do for you, Gary?”

“I have a,” Gary paused, “An odd question.

Owen waited.

“See,” Gary continued, then stopped. “You are going to think I’m insane. But I’m wondering if you have anyone in the CDAR who is adept at,” he paused again, “spiritual things?”

Owen raised an eyebrow, and Gary rushed on, I don’t mean like a priest with communion and confession and all that, though they can be adept at what I’m thinking, but not necessarily a priest. Just someone who can, say, scry, or hide things from others?” Gary halfway cringed as he looked up at Owen, who had a look of vast amusement on his face.

“You mean, do we have any delusional witches among us?”

Gary winced, “Something like that.”

Owen laughed, “Well, Gary, I never would have taken you for that type, but yes. We have a couple people like that. You want to go talk to Chris Brighton. He’s in the north wing, usually.” Gary nodded and stood to go. “But, Gary?” Owen added, “Don’t waste any energy on this. I need you helping me with the training and maintenance of weapons.”

Gary nodded, “No problem. I just need to talk to him.”

* * *

“The security forces in America have released a small number of those who were arrested last week,” Victoria said, gravely into the cameras, “However, the vast majority have been retained.” She paused to let the words sink in. “According to our numbers seven hundred and twenty three American citizens are being held for an undisclosed crime, in an undisclosed location, for an indefinite amount of time. I tell you that this is unacceptable!” She stopped again, and changed the direction of her gaze to follow the filming camera.

“These citizens must be released. If they have committed crimes, let the government go through the proper channels. Give them a trial, quick and just, not indefinite imprisonment without clear cause.” She changed directions again, “We of the Freedom Party of the United States call for immediate action. Our numbers are vast, and our influence cannot be questioned, so this demand goes out to those in charge of these renegade security forces.” She stopped, and her eyes burned, “Either bring these people up and charge them with a real, not imagined crime, give them access to lawyers, and put them to trial, to let them go!” She paused, and with a voice low and dangerous, continued, “Otherwise, you may see an uprising, the likes of which this country hasn’t seen in over a hundred years.” She stopped and looked at the stunned faces of the audience of reporters.

For a moment all was silence, and then the room erupted into a maelstrom of questions and chatter. Victoria answered them solemnly, her usual charm and smile conspicuously absent. She let the reporters ask all the questions they wanted, and when the well finally ran dry, she thanked them for coming, and quickly left the room.

Dave met her in the back hall, “You want to lead the country into a civil war?” He was in shock.

She looked at him, a mixture of determination, hopelessness, and just a touch of resentment in her eyes, “Do I have a choice?” Without waiting for an answer, she turned and continued down the hall. He hurried to keep up.

“Victoria…”

“I need some time alone, Dave,” she said tiredly, “Do you think you can arrange that?”

He nodded, worried, “Is there anything I can get for you?”

She sighed, “Can you find me a kitten, or puppy, or something cute and alive to pet?”

He looked perplexed, “I’ll try.”

“Thank you. Knock before you come in.” She entered her office without looking back. Dave stood for a moment looking at the closed door, then he turned to go find a puppy.

Once inside her office, Victoria switched on the soft table lamp, leaving the harsher fluorescent off. She walked to the soft chair in the corner, and plopped down into it, leaning her head back with eyes closed.

She sent out her feelers, sensing the shields that Meredith had erected. She smiled when she realized their strength, then she started building on them, making sure the energy that they emitted was hers, not Meredith’s. She added more layers and put her own twist on the trap theme. Partway through creating a maze-like layer, she was interrupted by a knock on her door.

She opened her eyes, “Yes? Come in.”

Dave opened the door and a golden lab puppy bounded in. Dave followed, closing the door behind them.

“Oh, puppy!” Victoria grinned and reached down to draw its attention to her. It bounced over and licked her outstretched fingers. Victoria was smiling, “Thank you, Dave. This is exactly what I needed,” she looked up at him gratefully, “Do you think you could give me… How long has it been?”

“About a half an hour.”

“Do you think you could give me another half hour alone with him?”

Dave nodded.

She stood and hugged him, “Thank you, Dave.”

He smiled, “You’re welcome.” He then turned to leave.

Victoria washed him go and took a deep breath once the door was closed, she turned to the puppy, smiling again “Hello little guy!” He bounced around, and she picked him up, settling back into the chair. He ran back and forth across her lap. “Think you could calm down a little for me?” He sat, and she smiled. Pulling him up into her arms, he nuzzled down and fell very quickly asleep. She leaned her head back and started again on the maze.

Twenty minutes later, she was satisfied that her defenses were adequate and opened her eyes. The puppy twitched itself awake, and licked her hand. When Dave knocked a few minutes later, she was ready for him. Looking at the puppy, she said, “Make sure this little guy has a good home. I need to make some phone calls. I feel worlds better. Thank you, Dave.”

He smiled, relieved. “I’m glad.” Then he took the puppy and shut the door behind himself.

Victoria looked around the room, took out her bug scrambler and flipped off the light. Working by feel, she plugged the ear piece into her phone, and hurriedly dialed.

“Nathan, this is Victoria. Did you see it? Good. Now listen. If we’re going to do this, we have to do it right.”

* * *

Sara sighed, “I wish you didn’t have to go. I know,” she added as Nathan opened his mouth to speak, “I know it’s necessary. I just wish it wasn’t.”

“Me too, hon. Me too.” Nathan said wearily. “I never thought I’d have to lead an army this time around.”

Sara looked down, “I still don’t like that you’re working with Victoria.”

“I don’t see why,” Nathan said, “and I don’t have much choice. I’m in charge since Rick disappeared.”

She nodded, “I know.” Looking back up, there were tears in her eyes. “I love you, Nathan. Come home to me.”

“I will.” He held her close and as his eyes welled up, let her go. “Stay safe for me,” he said roughly, and turned to go.

* * *

“There will always be a safe place for you here,” Deirdre said, and hugged Eric. “Nathan knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep you as safe as he can. But make sure you don’t do anything stupid like get yourself hurt, ok?”

Eric laughed, “I’ll do my best.”

“Seriously, though,” Deirdre said, “Take care. Come back to me safe, ok?”

He nodded, “I will.” He glanced out the window and saw Nathan pulling up. “Time to go.”

She nodded and went with him out to the car. Nathan rolled down the window, “Deirdre, you be careful. You’re going to get lots of people coming and going, I think.”

She nodded, “You too. We’ll all be watching after you.”

He smiled, “You have no idea how comforting that is.”

“Take care.”

He nodded, “See you on the flip side.”

Eric kissed her soundly before getting into the car.

She stood on the steps and watched until they were out of sight. “Good bye,” she whispered after them.

Turning, she looked at the two flags on her lawn. With slow, deliberate steps, she walked to the Freedom Flag and pulled it up, leaving only the Patriots’ Old Glory waving in the breeze.

* * *

Meredith smiled in relief. She was done with the layers of armor and shielding that her companions would need. Only Deirdre had refused, saying that she had it under control.

Now it was time to hunker down and prepare for the war. She went through her cedar chest, making a list of things she would need, concentrating on psychic offense and defense. She would need a good amount of scrying materials, and loads of candles. She added to the list a small sampling of psychic healing supplies.

Turning to more mundane things, she went to her pantry, making a list of things she should get that would keep if it got really bad, and the power went out. Flour, salt, sugar. Staples. Non-ritual candles, for light, and heat. Canned fruit and vegetables, and an extra can opener or two. Dried milk and fruits. Jerky. Bottles of water, not the expensive kind either, big jugs that were empty. Those could be used for water as well.

Looking around the apartment, she added a grill to the list. It could serve as somewhere to cook, and somewhere to burn things, should it get cold. Tons of fabric to make and repair clothing, along with hand-sewing supplies.

She hoped it wouldn’t come to it, but she was determined to be prepared should all hell break loose, and everything go to the dogs. Looking over the list, she nodded. Then inspiration hit, “Chocolate!” she exclaimed, and added cocoa powder. Another thought prompted her to put down soap.

“I’m probably forgetting something,” she mumbled as she went out the door, clutching the list.

* * *

Jason looked at his empty basement. Everything of value was in his truck. All that was left were some scraps of paper and a lot of dust. Grinning from ear to ear, he whistled his way up the stairs to the main level of the house, where looking around, he wondered at the amount of stuff he’d managed to accumulate that didn’t mean a thing. His sister had long ago gone to safer climes, and took all the animals with her, and all that was left here was ultimately useless furniture, dishes, most of his clothes, towels, movies, books, junk. All of it was junk. He made sure his duffel bag had the clothes, toothbrush, and one towel that he needed, along with a couple pairs of shoes.

With one last look, he shook his head, and locked the door on his old life. He got in his truck and went to the gas station, where he stocked up on munchies and caffeine. It was going to be a long drive up to Wisconsin.

* * *

It was good to be home, Victoria decided, even in the circumstances. She was walking around the perimeter of her property, which was far less picturesque than it used to be, with the high barbed wire fences and guards every twenty feet. She reached her starting point, and the guard there smiled at her, “Like what you see, Ma’am?”

She looked wistfully through the fence to the foliage beyond, “No, but that’s not your fault. It looks very secure.”

He nodded, “It’s not as pretty, but it sure is more safe.”

“Do you know where Mr. Beston is?”

The guard radioed, and got a quick reply. Seeing she’d heard, the guard nodded, wordlessly.

“Thank you.”

“Any time, Ma’am.”

She found him in the greenhouse. He was admiring the citrus trees, which were becoming fruit-laden. “Don’t they look beautiful?”

He jumped at the sound of her voice, “Yes,” he said after collecting himself.

“Dave, I want to let you know that I’m bringing in a new person to be in charge of security.”

He look of righteous indignation made her wince. “I haven’t been doing enough for you?”

She shook her head, “To the contrary. You’re doing too much. I really need you to be able to concentrate on public relations now. I’m leading these people into a war. It’s going to take all the spin you have to keep my place secure in their hearts. I figured the best way to help you out was to take something off your plate, and security was the most likely candidate.”

He narrowed his eyes, “So, what? You just went out and hired some security company?”

She laughed, “No! I don’t trust them, of course. This gentleman is a long-time friend, who I absolutely trust. With my life.”

His eyes got narrower, so he was squinting more than glaring, “Is this the one who sent you all that money?”

She laughed again, “No, this is another one.”

“What are his qualifications?”

“That I trust him, and know what he can do. Dave you have to believe me on this one.”

“When will he be here?”

“In two days is my guess.”

“Guess?”

“It depends on the roads.”

“I had no choice in this, did I?”

“I’m sorry, Dave, but I really believe it’s necessary.”

He shrugged, angry, “Ok.”

She sighed and left the greenhouse. The cold autumnal air was a shock after the warmth of the greenhouse, and she shivered as she rushed back to the house.

* * *

“Now what?” Gary asked Owen.

“Now we watch how it unfolds, and if it looks like we’re needed and will be of use, we go in. I trust that I’ll be able to get the real reports of how things are going through your contacts, right?”

Gary nodded.

“Good. The security at the border has been greatly multiplied, and luckily, it looks like the rest of the world is waiting with bated breath to see the United States destroy itself in civil war, and are too happy to just let it be without interfering, so our chances are good.”

Gary shook his head, “I never thought I’d see the day.”

Owen nodded, “Nor did any of us.”

At the end of this section, I'm at 29,572 words. I've got more to transcribe that I wrote today. Yeah. I'm a day behind in transcription. So sue me. Maybe I won't get too tired before I'm caught up.

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-20T03:53:44Z

Here's some more.

* * *

Jason looked at his spreadsheet and nodded. The numbers were increasing drastically. Sending out his network to gather the information had been a great idea. It was far more productive than blowing things up, and just as fun. Kind of.

His cell phone rang, and he furrowed his brow. It was late. There must be some emergency. He picked up, “Hello?”

He stood, alarmed, “You were arrested! How are you calling me?”

“Just like that?” he listened intently.

“Huh. You’re sure you’re not bugged?”

Nodding, he sat and went back to his spreadsheet, “You have a point. Just do me a favor and make sure that any of this information you record is safe.” He paused and shuffled, “I divided the country into five regions. There’s the north east, the south, the midwest, the south west, and the west coast. In the north east, there are varying amounts of support, though the numbers there are pretty high so far. From what we’ve gathered, there are right around ten thousand, so pretty strong. In the south, the numbers are surprising so far. Not as much support, but it’s a bigger area, so it kind of evens out and is right around ten thousand as well. The Midwest is around eight thousand. The south west is smallest, at around five thousand. And the west coast is huge. We’ve got around sixteen thousand.

“Now, all of these numbers are estimates. We’ve been unable to get to every city, but we’re getting contacts all over. From what I’ve heard, the arrests were far more widespread than anyone was than anyone was led to believe. From current count, there were about a thousand, which proves to me that they have a far more collected and organized operation than us, which is unsurprising, but is good to know. Now I just need to know what you’d like me to communicate to my people. I’m getting the impression that it’s come time for everyone to come together.” He took a deep breath and started typing.

* * *

“Have a good day at work.” Meredith hugged Darryl, who held on tightly.

“Are you sure you’re ok for me to go?”

She nodded, I’ll be fine, just piddling about all day, taking it easy.”

He hugged her tight again, “Call me if you need me.”

She smiled, “Definitely. Now go! Make money!”

He walked out the door, and she waited until she heard his car drive off before rushing into the bedroom. She pulled out the cell phone and dialed, then, holding it between her head and shoulder, she opened her cedar chest and blinked at the strong scent that emerged. The frankincense was certainly doing well protecting it. She nodded and closed the chest.

“Hi, Nathan,” she said into the phone, “I don’t have time to talk. I’m glad you’re out, but they know you and I are connected. While you were in there, I put shields up around you. I want you to shield your house, yourself, anything you can to protect yourself. I’m not sure how closely they’ve been able to watch me, but I’m doubling, at least, my protections here. Protect yourself. I’ll try to do the same for you, but anything you can do for yourself will help. Ok. Gotta run. Bye. I’m glad you’re ok.” She stopped and took a breath, then turned to her shelf, and pulled out a sage smudge. She dripped the phone on the bed, and lit the smudge with a match, then using the same match, lit a blue candle.

She carried both around the room, running the smudge up and down, humming. When she’d gone around the room clockwise, she went to the living room and did the same. After completing a circuit of the house, she stopped and closed her eyes. Satisfied that the residual energies of any past projects were cleared. She stamped out the smudge. The candle she left burning on a window sill.

With a deep breath, she opened the cedar chest again and pulled out a baggie of the ground resin, a strip of sandalwood, two sprigs of rosemary, and a crystal bowl. Closing the cedar chest, she poured the resin into the bowl, topping it with the rosemary and kept the sandalwood in her hand. She pulled the candle from the sill and put it on the chest behind the bowl. She closed her eyes, cleared her mind and started chanting. The words came to her, as if she’d memorized them, however she’d never spoken them before. She opened her eyes, which had a faraway look, lit the sandalwood with the candle. She dropped it into the bowl and the rest of the incense started smoldering, releasing an almost sweet scent into the air. She closed her eyes and breathed it in, drawing its protective power into her being.

Meredith looked around her space. It was swimming with outside influence. No wonder Darryl hadn’t been sleeping well. She gathered the protection of the herbs and started building a bubble. Concentrating, she expanded the bubble, pushing everything that wasn’t hers or Darryl’s out. She paused when it had expanded to the point that it felt weaker, and bolstered it. Once she felt it was strong enough, she expanded again.

She continued this process until the entire apartment was secure, then proceeded to build up several layers of defense. Once finished, she stopped chanting and her eyes came back into focus. She looked at the pile of ash in the bowl and smiled before blowing out the candle.

She picked up the cell phone and dialed, “Hi, Victoria. Don’t speak, just listen. There’s some astral stuff we’re dealing with here too, so make sure your shields are stronger than normal. They know I’m connected to Nathan, and I assume they know about your connection to him, since you got him out, so make sure you’re safe. I’m going to be bolstering all of our shields, but it will take a while, so make sure yours are functioning and strong. Ok. Good luck, and congratulations! Bye!”

She looked at her battery. It was still full. She smiled. She still needed to call the others.

* * *

Gary hung up the cell phone and wrinkled his nose. Sitting on his bed, he pondered. Finally, he scooted back and sat crossed-legged with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes and started concentrating.

After ten minutes, he opened his eyes and made a face. With a shrug, he got up and went to find Owen. As he walked, he mumbled, ‘He’s going to throw me out by my ear as a crazy person. And I don’t blame him. I would too.”

He marveled at the luxury of Owen’s compound. It was an old building that apparently used to be a school, but it had been renovated, and now held

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-20T01:03:03Z

This is what I had as of Thursday evening.

* * *

Nathan pondered his situation. He’d never thought it would come to this. He was sitting alone in a bare cell, handcuffed and naked. There wasn’t even a place for him to relieve himself. Hours of screaming had managed to produce anything but the loss of his voice, so now he was sitting in a corner, waiting for whatever was next.

Presently he heard a lock in the door, and hurried to stand. By the time the door was open, he was upright, and had mustered as much dignity as he could, which was a surprising amount, considering his unclothed status.

“By what authority have you brought me here?” he demanded of the two men with guns who had entered.

One of them laughed and patted his gun, “This is our authority, now shut your terrorist mouth.”

Nathan gaped, “Are you kidding me? A terrorist? I’ve never done anything that could be construed as such.”

“Oh, really?” the other one said, “What about this militant group you lead? They’re plotting to take down the government, if that isn’t terrorist, then what is?”

“We’re not plotting anything,” Nathan sighed, “I want to speak to the person in charge.”

The first guard looked to the second, “Oh, well, isn’t that convenient? He wants to speak to the person in charge.” He turned back to Nathan, “It just so happens that he wants to see you too.”

The two moved into the room and roughly pushed him out the door. They flanked him and took him down a long hall to a small room. The room was empty save a small table. There was a door directly across from where he stood.

After a few minutes, the door opened, and a well-dressed man with red hair entered. The guards pushed Nathan forward and the man nodded at the two of them, “Go get us two chairs,” he said to one, then looked to the other, “Go get him a robe. We want our guest to be comfortable.” The two guards hurried to obey.

“I’m quite comfortable, thank you anyway,” Nathan said.

The man chuckled, and stepped close, “Well, I would just as soon not have your bare rump on my chairs, so we’ll get you a robe.”

“My rump wouldn’t be bare, if your people hadn’t stripped me.”

“Good point.” Nathan noticed his eyes sparkled like shattered glass. “But necessary. We must take every precaution.”

“Why am I here?”

“Because you’re a suspected terrorist.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“Oh, I beg to differ,” the man stopped when the guards came back in with the chairs and a robe. One set up the chairs facing each other across the table, and the other draped the robe over Nathan’s shoulders, hiding his handcuffed arms. “Go ahead and tie it,” the red-head said to the guard, who sneered and tied the robe tight. Once they were done setting up, the man nodded and said, “You can leave us.”

The two left the room, closing the door behind them. The man gestured to the chair nearest Nathan and took a seat across from it. Nathan scowled and sat.

“Now, as I was saying, your activities can be seen as wholly terrorist. For example,” he steepled his hands, “You’ve joined a militant group whose sole purpose was to overturn the government. Who did you think would get hurt on the way? Loyal citizens, whose only thought is to protect their country for their families.”

“We didn’t have plans to overthrow the government! We had plans to only fight if it became necessary.”

“To what end?”

Nathan stopped, “I… hadn’t thought about it.”

“To overthrow the government.”

“No. To… make sure our rights were protected. Our freedom.”

“By overthrowing the government.”

Nathan shook his head, “No.”

The man smiled, “Ok, then when would it become necessary?”

Nathan pondered, “When the violations of our rights became so huge that it was the only recourse.”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“We haven’t done anything wrong!” Nathan shouted.

“What about conspiring with a militant group from another country?”

Nathan blinked in surprise. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your friend in Canada?”

Nathan shook his head, “I don’t have any friends that live in Canada.”

The man stood, “Oh really?” He walked around to the front of the table, “I’ve heard differently.”

Nathan looked up at him blankly and shrugged.

* * *

She’d found him! The red-head with shattered glass eyes! He was talking to someone, but she couldn’t see who. The slow and steady picking she’d been doing was working! It seemed as though they hadn’t expected someone to look so closely at their defenses. Meredith filed that little bit of knowledge away. It would help her in building her own shields.

She continued picking away, and caught a small glimpse of whomever they had hidden inside. There was a flash of blonde hair, and then it was gone. The person the red-head was talking to most certainly hadn’t wanted to be found. This wall was incredibly dense, but she was slowly breaking it down. She chuckled evilly.

After working at it relentlessly for what seemed like ages, and finally, she was able to see the person’s face, and gasped.

“Nathan?” He looked surly and defiant.

She looked again at the red-head. The smile she’d thought had been friendly, she now realized was the same smile he’d turned on her when she’d been his prisoner.

Anger overwhelmed her, and in an almost surprising burst of energy, she tore into the wall again. Suddenly she stopped, glared at it, and gathering every little bit of energy that was around her, she let go a concentrated blast of fury, and the weakened wall crumbled. She saw Nathan sitting down in a robe. His eye was black, and he looked tired. She also saw what looked like little fireflies dancing around him. Every time one would move in on him, he would almost imperceptibly flinch.

“Oh no you don’t!” Meredith closed her eyes and started pouring out friendly energy, and wrapping Nathan inside a tight cocoon. Once she was sure every inch of him was covered, she took a step back. The fireflies were buzzing around confusedly. Quickly, Meredith started on layer two. This one was a more sturdy layer, but had some possible gaps, like armor. Once it was done, she started layer three, which was the castle wall. She made sure all three layers would travel with him wherever he went.

Finally, she was done. She turned around to see the red-head looking straight at her. She stepped to the side and his gaze followed.

“Oh, this is rich,” he said, and suddenly Meredith was awake.

With a yell, she tried to go back, but it was no use, she was too exhausted. Darryl came running into the room. Meredith swore a blue streak, then seeing his concerned, ragged face, softened.

“Come here.”

He did, and she wrapped him in a hug. “I’m sorry, Darryl, this has been like hell for you hasn’t it?”

He nodded almost imperceptibly.

Internally cursing herself for being so insensitive, she held him close, “I promise, I’ll never make you do it again.”

He looked at her hopefully, “Really?”

“Really.” She guided him to the couch, where they both collapsed in a tired heap and closed her eyes. It would be more dangerous this way, but also harder to get thrown out. And Darryl would never have to know about it.

* * *

“That arrogant, pompous, power-hungry fascist pain in the ass!” Victoria stormed around her hotel room.

“Calm down, Victoria.”

“No!” she yelled, “I will not calm down. He invites me in to see him and proceeds to lecture me on the importance of supporting him and how my dissenting voice is strengthening the terrorists, and Muslims that was to see our great” she said the word with scathing sarcasm, “country, and that what I stand for is really misguided and I should put my efforts into something useful, and why don’t I look for a nice husband?”

Dave’s jaw dropped, “He didn’t.”

“Oh, he did. What I need to do, he said, is to ‘find a good, Christian husband’ then I’ll be ‘happier, and better able to support this fine country.’ I about killed him right then and there. He all but said that he really wanted me where I belong, ‘barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen!’”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh, it was.” She stopped, “And then I had to go and calmly tell the people that I represent that we’re working toward an accord.”

“Why did you have to tell them that?”

“Because, Dave, what else am I going to say? ‘Come on, people! Follow me into a hopeless war?’” She shook her head, “No. The only other alternative is war, and how in the world would we win that? We’re hopelessly outnumbered, underfunded, and completely unequipped. Do you really think that a few small militias in a few states would be able to stand up to the United States Armed Forces?”

Dave looked down, “Have you seen the Freedom Party numbers lately?”

“Last I saw was a few days ago. We weren’t near strong enough.”

“You may want to check that again.”

She shook her head, “Dave, I am really not in the mood for games. If there’s something I need to know, just tell me.”

“There’s been astronomical growth today. I don’t have the accurate numbers at the moment because it’s been a while since I checked, and the growth is just off the charts.”

“Well, go get me the numbers then!” Victoria allowed herself a little hope. Maybe something could come of this. As Dave left the room, the black cell phone started buzzing.

She picked it up and flipped it open. “Yeah?” A look of surprise crossed her face, “Gary? What?” The surprise turned to confusion, “You’re where?” She sat down to listen.

* * *

The red-haired man sat, watching Nathan struggle to get away from the guard who was holding his face in the water. He nodded and the guard let him up.

“Are you sure you don’t know anything about Canada?”

“It’s cold.”

“Funny.” He nodded again, and the guard pushed Nathan back down.

The door opened, and a new guard stepped in, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but word just came from Command. We’re to let this man go, and a couple others. They’re trying to keep the peace and ease people’s minds.”

“Why this one?”

“Because he’s the friend of that Wisconsin Senator.”

“What? This is her friend?” The red-haired man laughed and nodded to the guard who held Nathan down. “Let him go,” he said with a smile.

The guard looked on, confused, as the red-head left the room.

* * *

Deirdre put an American Flag next to the newly created Freedom Flag on her lawn, effectively declaring her house a neutral ground.

Eric shook his head, “That’s like betrayal right there.”

Deirdre looked up at him sharply, “I am not betraying anyone. That is the point of this.”

He chuckled, “Yes, I know it. And it just might turn out to be an excellent idea.”

“Here’s hoping,” she stood, “How’s Sara doing?”

“She’s surviving. I think she’s really thrown herself into her work, and is trying not to think about it. I don’t know how long she’s going to be able to keep that up, though. I just hope they don’t keep Nathan long.”

“They’d better not. They’ve got Victoria on their heels, and that’s dangerous.”

Eric nodded, “You know? I’ve never seen her truly angry. I think I’d be scared if her wrath were turned on me.”

Deirdre shook her head, “It’s not pretty. They’ll cave soon enough.” She turned to go inside, “Is Sara coming for dinner tonight?”

Eric didn’t follow, “No, actually. She asked that I invite you over. She said that you’d done so much for her that you deserved not to have to cook for a night.”

Deirdre stopped and turned, “Well, that’s kind. I’ll just go in and get ready.” She turned and still Eric didn’t follow, so she turned back, “You don’t have to stand out here in the cold.”

“You can get ready there, just come now.”

She gave him a look, “I need my wallet.”

“Leave it, just come with me now.”

“My brain?”

“You don’t need it. Come with me now.”

She smiled and turned to him. “Ok, this is odd.”

He nodded, “Yep.”

Throughout the drive to the house, he wouldn’t say much, and Deirdre eventually gave up asking questions and sat in amused silence.

They got to the house, and Eric led the way in. It was quiet, and no one looked to be home.

“Sara’s getting home later?”

Eric nodded and grabbed her hand. He led her into her old bedroom, which had been turned into a living room. “Stay here.”

She giggled and watched him leave. He came back carrying a big box, which he handed to her. With a questioning look, she started opening it. She gasped when she saw the light brown and white silk and velvet dress emerge. It was flowing and beautiful, and perfect for her.

Eric grinned at her reaction and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. She put the dress on, admiring the fit, and how it seemed to smooth out those troublesome spots that she never felt were quite right. She took off her socks and padded, barefoot to the door, out of which she peeked, shyly. Eric wasn’t there, but there was a pair of shoes that matched the dress. She stepped out of the room, and into the shoes, which also fit perfectly.

She heard music start and followed the sound down the hall and into the dining room, where Eric stood wearing a suit and tie that matched her dress. She gasped again, “What is all this?”

Eric grinned, “You’ve been working so hard, and rarely get a word of thanks, so I decided to make a special night for you.”

She ran over to him and gave him a deep kiss. He kissed her back and led her to a seat. There were candles on the table. He slipped out of the room and came back in with a bottle of wine, which he poured for her, then went back to the kitchen and pulled out a tray of hors d’oeurves.

As they were finishing dessert, the front door opened. Eric looked at his watched, confused. “Sara isn’t supposed to be back for another couple hours at least.”

They both stood, apprehensive, waiting to see who it was. When they saw Nathan, they both rushed forward.

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-17T23:32:00Z

Here's another chunk. Another to come at some point soonish, once I get it transcribed.

“Of course, I must ask that everything from here on out be off the record,” Victoria said softly.

The reporter nodded and clicked her tape recorder off.

Victoria nodded, grateful, and lead the way to the dining room. Dave looked up, startled, from some papers, “Oh, you’re done already?” He noticed the reporter, “Oh!” he hurriedly started gathering the papers together.

Victoria laughed, “Dave, this is Kelly Raye. She’s the reporter with the Isthmus. I’ve invited her to lunch.” She looked to Kelly, “This is Dave Beston. He’s my right-hand man in security and the campaign in general.”

Kelly nodded, “It’s good to meet you.”

Dave smiled, his eyes betraying his panic, “Welcome to our headquarters. Do you mind if I steal Miss Holladay for a moment?”

Kelly shook her head.

“Well, make yourself at home. I’ll get you something to drink. We’ve got water, milk, orange juice and lemonade, I think.” Victoria said.

“Lemonade would be excellent.”

“Beautiful! We’ll be right back.”

Victoria escorted Dave from the room, pausing while he finished collecting all of his papers. Once they were out of the room, Dave looked at her, furious, “You invited a reporter to eat with us?”

“Dave, she’s a very nice girl. Besides, I think it will be good for everyone to learn to watch what they say.”

Dave just stared.

“It will be fine, Dave.” Victoria grinned and pulled out a carafe of lemonade. She poured two glasses and held up the carafe for Dave to see. “Want some?”

He shook his head, “No. You make it too tart.”

“Orange juice then?”

He nodded, and Victoria pulled a glass from the cupboard. She smiled mischievously as she poured it, and turned to hand it to him. “Who is bringing lunch today?”

“Janice.”

“Good. She’s an excellent cook.” She turned and carried the two lemonades back to the dining room.

“Here you go, Kelly.” She presented a glass to the reporter. “I suppose I should warn you, this is fresh, homemade lemonade, and Dave tells me that I make my lemonade far too tart for the normal palate, so if you need some sugar, feel free to let me know.”

Kelly chuckled, “It should be fine.”

“Well, if it’s not don’t worry about offending me. I’m notoriously hard to offend.”

“You are a very unusual woman.”

“Oh, sweetie, you have no idea.” Victoria grinned, “But enough about me! I want to find out about you. Are you from Madison?”

* * *

“Did you vote today?” Deirdre asked.

Eric nodded, “Of course. I’m full of civic duty.”

“Have you figured out what you thought of that movie yet?”

He shook his head, “It was interesting… I’m still not sure what I think, though.”

“Very well. I’ll let you process more. Will you let me know when you do figure it out, though?”

He nodded, “Without a doubt.”

She kissed his nose, and then her eyes lit up, “Ooh! Let’s go get ice cream!”

He smiled, “I could definitely go for some mint chocolate chip.”

When they got back to the house, Eric stopped outside the door, “I should head out.”

Deirdre shook her head, “No. Come in for a little longer, at least.”

He grinned, “Ok, if you insist.”

Leaning into him, she whispered, “I do.”

They came in the front door, closing it behind them, and stopped short in surprise.

“Jeremy! Hi.” Deirdre stepped forward, “Are you ok?”

Jeremy was a skinny young man, about 20, who always looked gaunt and hunted, but tonight, he looked near panic and emaciated. He shook his head, “No. Not in the slightest. I heard that they’re going to be going on raids, arresting people they see as threats tonight, starting at midnight. We’ve scattered, and I made sure I wasn’t followed here. I even bought new clothes and ditched my old ones, just in case they’d put a tracking device on me. I brought my little sister here. I hope you don’t mind. She’s only 12, but she knows what’s going on, and I couldn’t stand the thought of her being arrested and tortured.”

Deirdre shook her head, “No, I don’t mind. You’re sure you weren’t followed and no one knows you’re here?”

He nodded, “Absolutely. Does anyone else know about this place?”

Deirdre shook her head, “Only Eric’s roommates, and I doubt that they’re targets, or even know that I’ve started lodging people.” She looked to Eric for assurance.

He shook his head, “No, for all they know, you’re still fixing the place up.”

Jeremy looked around, “Good. Alison is asleep upstairs. I am going up now too. Sorry to intrude unannounced, but there was nowhere else to go.”

Deirdre shook her head, “No apology necessary. You’ve paid for the room. It’s why I got this place.”

He barely acknowledged her before running up the stairs. He didn’t turn on any lights as he went.

Deirdre looked at Eric, her eyes wide, “I’ve never seen him quite so wound up.”

Eric nodded, “Well, you did say he was paranoid. All we can do is hope that he’s still being overprotective. If they do go on raids, I’m sure we’ll hear about it in the morning.”

“What if they come here?”

“They’ve got no reason to. You haven’t done anything remotely worthy of it.”

“Neither has Jeremy’s little sister.”

He hugged her. “Don’t worry. It will be ok.”

“Would you stay tonight? Just in case?”

“Of course.”

She broke away and walked toward the bedroom. “I’m going to change into my pajamas. I’ll be right out.”

Eric nodded and went to the living room to sit in front of the fire. When she came out, he moved over to make a spot for her. She cuddled up to him. They sat like that, not speaking for quite a while, until she started snoring softly. Eric looked down at her, smiling. He gently roused her, and led her to her bed. She scooted over and made room for him, and so he joined her. They were both asleep within minutes.

The clock said 4:07am. Deirdre grumbled at the ringing phone and stood to go get it.

“Hello?” The grumpiness in her voice made it absolutely clear that she was not happy with being awakened that early.

“Sara? Wait, hold on a second. What?” She shook her head to clear the sleep-induced grogginess, and Eric came to the door of the kitchen, a questioning look on his face.

Suddenly Deirdre was wide awake, “They who? Wait, Sara, who?”

Eric walked toward her, his look of concern deepening.

“Oh. Oh no. Are you ok? All right. Eric and I will be right over. No, stay put. We’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone.

“What?” Eric asked.

“They arrested Nathan. Just barged in about twenty minutes ago, dragged him out of bed. They wouldn’t answer any questions, or tell her anything. We need to go right now.” She ran into the bedroom and started putting on her shoes.

Eric followed her in and quickly put on his shirt. “I’ll go upstairs and tell Jeremy we’re leaving.”

Deirdre nodded. He ran up the stairs and she picked up the black cell phone.

“Hi, Victoria. Nathan was just arrested. Can you see what you can find out? Ok. I’ll call later with more details.” She hung up and went to meet Eric at the foot of the stairs.

* * *

Meredith looked around her. Everything was just a little translucent. An effect of not being completely here, she assumed. She looked around the field again, wondering where she should start. Her gaze fell on a shimmering spot. She squinted to try to make out why it was shimmering, but it wouldn’t come into focus. As she walked toward it, she realized it had the same feel as the dark globe she’d fallen into. Rather than walk into another trap, she walked around it. It was in the shape of a large circular column. She backed away a bit, and sat, watching. If she studied it long enough, maybe she’d see some sort of weakness. As she sat, she melded into the field, becoming completely camouflaged.

After an indiscernible amount of time, she thought she caught a glimpse of the red-head with shattered glass eyes through some sort of hole. She jumped up and followed it. It was turning counter-clockwise around the column. As she looked through it, she saw the red-head talking to a taller man with dark hair and eyes. The dark man laughed and patted the red-head on the shoulder, then turned toward the window. Meredith jumped out of the way, and merged herself with the surroundings again. She saw a blur of darkness move through the window, then everything turned a little more transparent as she heard from a great distance, Darryl’s voice.

“Meredith, eat.”

Keeping herself here, looking at the area, she quickly obeyed, and made sure to give him a hug before immersing herself again in the vision. She focused once again on the shimmer. It was gone.

She muttered curses and looked for it again.

* * *

Marie looked around carefully. She was sure she hadn’t been followed, but ducked into the wrong doorway, just in case. She watched from the shadows for ten minutes before quickly coming out and turning the corner toward the restaurant.

She entered and spoke to the hostess, “Reservation for Michaels. We’re supposed to have a private dining room.”

The hostess smiled, “Special night?”

Marie nodded, “I’m hoping.”

The hostess led her back to a private room. “I’ll send Mr. Michaels back when he gets here.”

Marie smiled, “Thank you.” She took off her coat, revealing a tastefully skimpy red dress. She sat, facing the door and waited. Soon after, the hostess returned with a young man. He had sandy brown hair and big blue eyes.

Marie admired his taste in clothes as he took off his trench coat, under which was a tasteful suit and red tie. He turned and took her in, admiring his view as well. The hostess quietly shut the door behind herself as she left.

“Danny.” Marie said warmly. She stood and gave him a hug, “You look marvelous.”

He hugged her back, “Why, thank you. You look absolutely stunning yourself.”

“Oh, you flatter me.” Her gentle southern accent lent charm to her words, and she turned to sit. Danny held her chair for her. “Why, thank you, honey.”

He sat across from her, “So, this is fancy.”

She nodded, “Well, it’s a special occasion.”

He raised his eyebrow.

The door opened, and she took his hand, looking dreamily into his eyes while the waiter filled their water glasses. She let Danny order for her, nodding at his choices. Once the waiter was gone, she released his hand and reached down to her purse. She pulled out a scrambler and switched it on, dropping the contraption back into her purse once the red light was lit.

“I wanted to tell you in person that I’m out.” He looked up in surprise. “This is going to far. I’ve called everyone off, and they all agree with me. I can tell you now, that I was the top of the pyramid. I didn’t want that to get out for obvious reasons, but I’m out now. I don’t want you to do anything else. We’re done.”

“But what about…” he was cut off by her finger on his lips.

“Done, honey. We needn’t talk about it any more. Let’s just enjoy our dinner.”

“But Marie…”

She shook her head. “I’m not saying another word about it. Now how is your mother doing?”

She continued to chit-chat and avoid answering any questions through the meal. Once it came time for dessert she stood, “Time to make my exit, darlin’. Good luck in everything.”

She pulled on her jacket and quickly opened the door, “You jerk!” she said loudly into the room and stormed toward the door of the restaurant.

The hostess raised her eyebrows. “He’s a dirty rotten cheater. Never trust those big blue eyes!” Marie said before leaving.

Once out of the restaurant, Marie ran down the street and ducked down an alley. Halfway down, she stopped and hid behind a garbage bin, watching the street she’d come from. She stayed hidden there for twenty minutes, before turning and continuing on. After an hour of slipping down allies, backtracking, and going in quick circles, she arrived at the meeting place, and sat down on the park bench to wait for Jason.

* * *

“You’ve got your acceptance speech?” Dave looked nervous.

“Yes, and my concession as well.” Victoria was uncharacteristically fidgety.

“You’re going to win, you know. All the polls say, you’re way ahead.”

“I don’t trust that. I just need to be prepared for both outcomes.” She stood and started pacing. “What time is it?”

“Just eight.”

Janice rushed into the room, “We’re getting the initial numbers now!”

The three ran to the other room of the conference center, gathering around to hear. Before Victoria could make anything out, Janice was screaming and jumping up and down. Jeff soon joined her.

“They’re calling it for you! Already! Sixty percent! You won!”

Victoria shushed everyone. “We have to wait for the official numbers.” She shook her head. “I can’t do this. Just call me when the official number is out.” She left the room, finding a private room in which she could be alone.

Once she was there, she sat, crossed legged on the floor, not worried about wrinkling the beige pantsuit she’d bought for this night. She closed her eyes and invited calm energy. There wasn’t much in the area to draw from, but what little there was gathered around her, creating a cocoon. She sat in her realm of calm until Dave found her.

“Miss Holladay?” She opened her eyes and he continued, “It’s official. You are now Senator Holladay.”

She stood, smiling, then jumped over to him to give him a hug, “We did it!”

He hugged her back, “You did it.”

She bounced a little more before collecting herself. Still grinning, she left the room toward the stage.

* * *

“Have you heard?” Gary asked Owen first thing in the morning. “It seems that the majority of the people who were leading the militia groups in the US have been arrested.”

Owen looked up. “How many?”

“As far as I know, around twenty. There may be more, but I haven’t heard of them.”

Owen shook his head, “So this is it.”

Gary cocked his head, “This is it?”

“This is the moment of truth. If your Senator Holladay is really going to stick to her words, she can’t sit back and let this happen. If that’s the case, she’s going to need an army. She’s going to need to take over the government.” Owen stood. “Let’s go see what she has to say.”

Gary looked confused.

“She called a press conference this morning. I can only assume it’s due to the arrests.”

Gary followed as Owen went to a large room with a giant TV. There were other men gathered around. The mood was subdued.

On the TV, an American reporter was talking about multiple arrests that had been made the night before. He said that the administration was claiming that the people arrested had been suspected terrorists in a plot against the people of the United States. There were muttered objections throughout the room. Gary looked around at his fellows, pondering what motivation had caused them all to join. His rumination was cut short by the sudden onscreen appearance of Victoria. He caught his breath seeing her. She looked radiant. The room quieted for her speech.

“My fellow Americans, I come to you on this day which should be a day of rejoicing to decry an act of pure malice and deception by this administration. This morning at seven o’clock Eastern Pacific time, I received a telephone call from a dear friend of mine. We have known each other since college. She was calling to tell me that another dear friend had been arrested in the middle of the night. They live in Seattle, and at 3:30 this morning, their time, the crooks who call themselves our leaders had him pulled from his bed, where he was sleeping next to his six-month pregnant wife, and arrested. They did not tell her why, or where they were taking him. They did not explain why they could barge into her house in the middle of the night and take her sleeping husband, and I can only assume that they are now holding him, without cause, and without letting him know his rights, because they assume that he has none. The only thing this man has done wrong is to join and be elected to lead a militia group that has not acted at all outside their rights as they should stand.

“We must make this stop. We must make this administration see that such actions against citizens of their own country are wrong. Today, I am going to the White House. I am going to talk to the President of this country, and if he doesn’t let me in, I will stand outside and wait until he does. If you can, please join me there. Be outside to encourage me and to show them that WE WILL NOT HAVE OUR RIGHTS REMOVED!

“This is so important. Who knows who will be next? If you can’t get to the white house, go to your state capitol. Show them that you care, and that you will not let them arrest your brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, or friends without cause and without any rules. We cannot stand for this. Join me today.”

Victoria bowed and the reporter re-appeared. Gary looked at Owen, who looked cynical. He gestured for Gary to follow him and left the room. Once they were in his office, he stopped at looked at Gary.

“You said you know this woman, right?”

Gary nodded.

“Can you get in contact with her?”

Gary hesitated, and nodded again, slowly.

“Do so. Tell her she’s got support here, and that we feel that the time for talk is over. If they can arrest their own people for nothing, they can certainly declare war on us.” Owen stopped and began pacing, “I knew she’d be to soft on them,” he looked up at Gary again, “Go call her.”

Gary nodded and left the room.

By the by, I understand if no one is reading this anymore. it's a lot of words... :)

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-15T05:57:38Z

Got a lot done tonight! yay!

“So how did you gather so many people?” Gary sipped a cup of coffee across from Owen in the back room of an upscale restaurant.

Owen shrugged, “Well, we sent out runners. We’d send people to various towns, and they’d live there for a little while, to feel out the mood. If there was already a group getting together like this, they’d join them, and introduce them to us. If there wasn’t a group, they’d try to start one. And if the mood of the town was hostile, they’d just move on. It was really quite simple.”

“It sounds it.” Gary pondered, “I should tell them to do that in Seattle.”

“About them,” Owen said, “How much do they know about us?”

“Not that much. Nathan there is the only one who knows who I am. He suggested we keep it pretty hush hush, for safety reasons. I thought it was a good idea.”

Owen nodded, “I agree. How many do they have?”

“Right around a hundred, he said. But they’re growing every day.”

Owen smiled, “Good.”

“How many do we have?” Gary inquired.

Owen didn’t answer for a bit, he looked to be thinking. Finally, he said, “A few thousand. But that’s spread all across Canada. I’m positive there are more in the US. There’d better be.”

Gary nodded, “They need to find out.”

* * *

Meredith walked into the house and took a deep breath, “Home, sweet home.” The cat ran up to her meowing. “Aw, Valentine! Did you miss me?”

Darryl edged in the door behind her, “She probably missed her food.” He walked past Meredith, to the cupboard and pulled out the cat food. The cat immediately forgot about Meredith and followed the crinkle of the bag.

Meredith chuckled. “It feels so good to be out of that hospital!” She collapsed onto the couch. “Oh!” She sat up again, “I’m going to take a shower!”

Darryl laughed and watched her trot into the bathroom. He bent over to pet the cat, who was hungrily scarfing down food. When the cat started growling at him for disturbing her meal, he straightened up and walked toward the bedroom. As he caught sight of the candles in the same place as when he found Meredith, he stopped in his tracks. He stood, immobile for what seemed like eternity, then turned away to sit down, his eyes closed.

When Meredith came out of the bathroom, he was still sitting.

“You ok?”

“What you were saying, when the doctor came in,” he said, “I don’t get it.”

She nodded, “Yes, he did come in at a bad time.” She stopped, “You know? It might be easier just to show you.” She stood, ignoring his confused look, “Come with me. I’ll show you what I mean.”

He stood and followed her around the couch to the bedroom. She pulled a silver bowl from the shelf and put the candles on the cedar chest away, after un-sticking them from the grey silk. She shrugged as she threw the silk into the garbage, and placed the silver bowl in the center of the chest. Turning around, she spotted 4 littler white candles and pulled them out, placing them around the bowl.

“Help me move this out from the bed.”

Darryl came forward, and helped her pull the chest out, far enough from the foot of the bed to allow her to sit. Meredith pulled a tin and a bottle from a shelf, and left the room to fill the bowl with water. She put the bowl back and pulled matches from under the bed. Looking up to Darryl, she smiled and held out her hands. He hadn’t moved from the end of the chest.

He took her hands and knelt in front of her, with the bowl between them. She smiled again, reassuringly, and got up to shut the bedroom door. When she flicked the lights off, he was plunged into darkness. He heard her coming back to take her place across from him, and was startled by the sudden light when she struck a match and lit one of the candles. She lit the remaining candles moving in a clockwise circle, and when she was done, brought out the tin.

She opened it, and pinched some of its content into the bowl. “Sea salt, directly from the Dead Sea,” she explained. Next, she pulled out the bottle, and poured a few drops of fragrant oil onto the water.

When she was done with that, she held out her hands to him, and started humming a tuneless, yet beautiful melody. After a while, he felt lost in the song, and noticed that her gaze was going into the bowl. He followed her gaze.

* * *

“I want to go with you.” Sara stood.

“You can’t while you’re pregnant.”

“In other countries, women work in the fields until they have their babies. I can go train with you.”

“There is no way I’m going to let you risk that baby’s health just so you can make a point. Not a chance.” Nathan turned back to chop some vegetables. “Besides, It’s not like this is a cause you believe in anyway.”

“Fine, then I’m joining after the baby is born.”

Nathan looked up at her, “Are you crazy? No.” He shook his head, “The baby will need her mother.”

“She’ll need her father, too!” Sara countered, “At least if we’re doing this together, we’ll be together!”

Nathan shook his head again, “Sara, no.” He scraped the vegetables into the hot wok, and the argument paused while the sizzling was too loud to speak over.

“How are you going to stop me?” Sara demanded.

“Oh, I’ll find a way.”

“I’ll just join without you. I don’t need your permission.”

“Sara, I’m in charge down there. No one gets in without me knowing about it. And if I don’t want you in, you’re not getting in.”

She looked at him defiantly, and suddenly started to cry, “You don’t like me anymore!”

He stopped stirring and looked at her in shock, “What?”

“You don’t like me anymore. You spend more and more time away from home, you don’t want me joining you, and hell. I don’t blame you! Even I don’t like me anymore either!” She sat down at the table and sobbed.

Nathan took the pan off the heat and came around the counter. “Of course I like you.”

She looked at him like he was crazy, “Oh, no you don’t! All I ever do is argue and whine and yell at you and cry! How could you like me?”

He hugged her, “Because I know the real you, and I know that this is not normal. It’s due to the pregnancy. You’re hormonal, that’s all.”

She giggled a little through the tears, “I hope you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. We’ve been together too many years for you to surprise me now.” He continued to hold her, stroking her hair, “We’ve only got three more months of this, then we’re in the clear, with a brand new baby girl. Our little girl.”

She stopped crying and held him close, “Have you picked your favorite name yet?”

Nathan nodded, “I was thinking Caitlyn.”

* * *

Jason was studying his computer screen. Suddenly, he let out a yell of triumph. “Gotcha! You good for nothing narc! Oh, that makes my life so much easier!”

He picked up his black cell phone and dialed, “Hey, Mer! What can you do for me in terms of erasing bits of someone’s memory?” He paused, “Hold on a second. Let me get a pen and write this down.” He pulled out a pen and a piece of paper, “Ok.” He jotted down a list of items, “Now what do I do with them?” He nodded, “Well, that’s easy enough. Great! Thanks!” He closed the phone.

Looking at the clock, he nodded, “Plenty of time.”

He bolted up the stairs after shutting down the computer, and left the house. The florist raised an eyebrow when he entered the shop. Jason smiled sheepishly, “I’m in the doghouse.”

The florist laughed, “What can I do for you?”

“Well, do you have any orange carnations?”

The florist nodded.

“Could I get just one, with a pretty orange bow?”

The man nodded and filled the order. Jason paid with cash, then took the carnation to the cemetery, where he left it on the gravestone before going out to procure the items on his list.

Later that day, Jason drove up to the Waffle House and parked his car. He checked his rearview mirror and jumped out.

Entering the establishment, he quickly saw her, and walked over to the booth, “Hello, Marie! I’ve got company coming, so I’m going to have to go home earlier than expected.”

The petite blonde looked up at him, “Well, that’s too bad, Jason. Do you have time for a bite to eat?”

He shook his head, “Nope. But I can have a cup of coffee.” He joined her at the table, “So, how’ve you been? How’s the family?”

“Well, they’re mostly ok, thanks for asking. Though I think the kids are running amok. Especially that Joey. He’s a handful.”

Jason shook his head, “No, Joey’s a good kid, he’s just young. If you want bad seeds, you need look no further than my cousin Danny. He’s a real hell-raiser. He’d do anything for a buck.”

Her eyes widened, “Danny?” She collected herself, “Well I always thought he was such a handsome man.”

“Handsome he may be, but he’s a snake through and through,” Jason nodded, “You steer clear of him, you hear me?”

She nodded back, “Well, thank you kindly for the warning. You are a good friend.”

“Just trying to keep you safe.”

* * *

Darryl gasped as the water he was watching turned various colors and the spot of oil separated into two. One went toward Meredith, the other toward him. Then it seemed to float up out of the water until it formed a translucent sphere. As he watched, the sphere became less translucent, and he could suddenly see a field. In the back of his head, he heard Meredith’s voice, “You can look in on anyone you know.”

He thought of his mother, and instantaneously, the field turned into his parents’ living room. His mother was sitting on the couch reading a book. As he watched, his father came in and said something, which caused her to look up and respond with an eye roll. She quickly turned back to her book, and his father left the room.

The picture started to fade, and he watched the sphere float gently back down to the bowl. He blinked and everything was back to normal. Meredith looked at him, “See?”

He nodded, unable to say anything.

She let go of his hands and rose to open the door. When she flipped on the light, he squinted against the brightness.

“That is a far easier version of what I was doing when I was trapped.”

“How did you get trapped?”

“Someone set a trap, and I foolishly stumbled into it. They thought I wouldn’t ever find a way out, but they underestimated me and my friends.”

“So someone is out to get you?”

“Apparently.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. I’m working to find that out, but they’ve hidden themselves well. Which is why I need your help. See, not only do I want to break through their barriers, but I need to figure out how they made them, so I can make something similar, but stronger for us.”

He nodded, “But what do you want me to do?”

“Well, it took a week for Dee to get me out of there, so I figure it will be at least a week for me to do this. During that time, I’m going to need to spend as much of my concentration on it as possible. So I’ll need you to give me food when I’m supposed to eat, water, when I need to drink, and make sure I’m occasionally reminded to use the restroom. I will be conscious, but like a zombie. The less I have to think of anything aside from what I’m doing, the better. When Dee had someone stop by and had to be aware enough there to send them on their way, we lost almost a day of work. So it will be really important.”

Darryl nodded, “There’s no chance of you getting trapped again is there?”

She thought for a minute, “No. I’m not going to be totally there like I was last time.”

He nodded again. “Ok.” Then he looked imploringly at her, “Tomorrow?”

She laughed and gave him a hug, “Yes, tomorrow.”

* * *

Victoria smiled at the reporter, “Well, I think that’s a great question, honestly. And this is where a lot of the other politicians would talk around the question, but I’m not going to do that.” Victoria paused, “To tell you the truth, I think that these groups are an excellent idea. As long as they don’t take matters into their own hands and don’t promote unnecessary violence, I don’t see how a militia that is formed to protect the rights of the people can be bad.”

“So you promote these militias?” The reporter was surprised.

Victoria shook her head, “No I wouldn’t say I promote them. I’d say I support them. If there were a way for the Freedom Party to work with these fighters for our rights, I think that might be a very beneficial thing.”

The reporter nodded, “Speaking of the Freedom Party, how is that going?”

Victoria leaned forward conspiratorially, “Honestly, I never thought it would get this big. It is amazing the amount of support we’re getting. It’s wonderful to know that I was in some way able to answer a need that so many people seem to have.”

The reporter smiled, “That sounds exciting.”

“Very much so. I love that feeling.”

The girl looked at her notes, “Well, Miss Holladay, what’s next for you? According to the polls, you’re set to win this election by a landslide, which is quite amazing, when you think about it. Once you do, what next?”

“Well, I tend to not put much faith in polls, myself, so I’m concentrating on getting my message out right now. If I do win, I’ll do my very best to represent the needs of the people of Wisconsin, and make sure their rights, all of them, are protected.”

“And what about the ‘Voodoo Vicky’ rumor?”

Victoria laughed, “Oh boy, that’s a good one isn’t it?” The reporter nodded, “See, I like going on walks to clear my mind, and honestly, cemeteries are great places for it. They have beautiful statues and stonework, they tend to be well cared-for, and people tend not to go to them often. Especially in the middle of the night.” Victoria chuckled, in a slightly self-deprecating manner, “I just got caught trying to be alone. I knew better, but I really just wanted to get a chance to breathe, you know?”

The reporter nodded, “I can totally understand that.” She glanced at her notes again, “Now, this new method of video-conferencing for talks and rallies, how is that going? It’s quite revolutionary.”

Victoria nodded, “Yes. It is very unique, but really it’s turning out to be quite a phenomenal resource. The biggest effect we’ve seen already is the drastic reduction of costs to the campaign fund. I would say that within the first week, the equipment has paid for itself in hotel costs alone. Then there’s the effect on my time. See, I spent so much time on the road preparing to travel, traveling, where I can’t read because I get horrible motion sickness, and eating out, that I had to ignore some of the research and less pressing items. There just wasn’t time in my day. Now I’m able to read every letter that comes to me, research all the issues in great depth, and learn more and more of the ways in which the regular American is being stripped of their rights. Not to mention how to fight it.”

The reporter laughed, “Wow. It sounds like you’re busy! When do you find time to sleep?”

Victoria smiled warmly, “Oh, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“So will we all, huh? Well, I think that’s all I have for you. Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.”

Victoria stood and shook the girl’s hand, “Oh, it was my pleasure. It’s rare that I get to have a little down time to talk to anyone. If you’d like to stick around, we’re just about to have a little lunch.”

The reporter nodded, “That sounds wonderful, actually.”

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-14T18:02:10Z

Short bit written at home this morning. I'm off to work now, so more tonight.

Eric shook his head, “You know? You’re a strange person.”

Deirdre giggled, “Yes. I do know that.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Oh, yes. My boss is a little peeved, but what can they do? I work in a hospital, I’m bound to get sick every once in a while.”

“You look better.”

“I was pretty out of it.”

“Thank you for letting me back into the house.” He hugged her.

“I just didn’t want you catching what I had.” She nestled into his arms, “You can’t leave those kids for a whole week.”

He nodded. “I appreciate it.”

Snuggled up with Eric, again in front of the roaring fire, Deirdre was content to just lay there. “Do you want to order pizza tonight? I don’t feel like letting either of us cook.”

He chuckled, “I could never say no to pizza.”

She stood to go to her phone and order. While she was gone, Eric looked around the room. It looked different somehow. Felt a little cleaner. He leaned forward to examine the coffee table. There were spots that seemed to have a residue on them. He didn’t remember seeing those before. Using his fingernail, he scratched at one of the spots. It was waxy. He shrugged and sat back. “Maybe it’s the smell,” he mumbled. There was a lingering scent of incense in the air.

Deirdre came back into the room and saw his confused expression. “What?”

He shook his head, “I don’t know. This place seems,” he paused, searching for a word, “Cleaner, I guess. But that’s silly.”

“It’s not silly. I cleared a lot of the air right before I got sick. It is cleaner.” She smiled, “You like it, right?”

He grinned, “I like you. Come here.”

She eagerly bounced onto the couch by his side, “Why? Have you got something in mind?”

He raised his eyebrow and smiled, “Maybe.” His hand reached forward, and pulled her head toward his. He stopped just before their lips met and whispered, “If that’s ok with you.”

Her closed eyes opened to reveal an almost predatory gaze. Not speaking, she closed the gap between their lips. Her eyes remained open as she pushed him back onto the arm of the couch.

The fire crackled as she pulled his shirt off, leaving her hands holding his wrists down while she kissed his chest. She stopped after a few minutes, sitting back, and giving him a self-satisfied gaze. “Let’s watch a movie.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself, and smiled knowingly. “Sure. What have you got in mind?”

She went to her DVD shelves and pulled out secretary. “Do you know of it?” He shook his head. “Good. It’s fun.”

She put it in, and came to sit next to him. A few minutes in, the doorbell rang and she went to fetch their pizza.

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-14T16:18:09Z

More!

Darryl ran back into the room, triumphantly holding a toothbrush and toothpaste. He stopped when he saw Meredith sitting and nodding at the nurse, “You’re awake!”

Meredith grinned, “So you keep telling me.”

The nurse finished her ministrations, “Now, honey, I’m going to let you rest. Just stay here and relax. The doctor will be in later today to do some tests and talk to you. If you need anything, you can just press that call button.” She gestured toward it and Meredith nodded, “Thank you.” The nurse left the room.

Meredith tried to move, but was held back by the heart monitor. She scowled and pulled the monitor off.

“Are you sure, it’s ok to do that? She said you should rest.” Darryl looked worried.

“I’ve been resting for a week. The last thing I need now is to rest more.”

The heart monitor was making a hideous beeping noise, and the nurse rushed back in, “Oh, honey. Don’t do that to me!” She turned off the alarm, “What are you doing? You need to rest.”

“I’ve been doing nothing but rest for a week. I really just want to brush my teeth.” She looked pitifully up at the rotund lady, “Please?”

The nurse looked around, “I suppose I can allow that. Heaven knows I hate the feeling of slimy teeth. But you’re not supposed to be unhooked from the heart monitor, so hurry up and then you get to stay right here in bed.”

Meredith nodded and looked down at the catheter to which she was still attached. The nurse followed her gaze. “Let’s just get those off of you.”

“Thank you.”

Finally, the nurse was able to leave again, and Darryl moved forward to give her the toothbrush and help her down from the bed. She looked at him lovingly, “You never left my side, did you?”

He shook his head.

“I do love you. Thank you.”

He hugged her and helped her down.

She walked to the bathroom, pulling the IV stand along with her. Once she was done she looked at herself in the mirror, “I need to call Victoria.”

When she came out, Darryl was standing nervously by the door. She gave him a long kiss and he walked her to the bed. Once she was again settled, she asked, “You didn’t happen to bring that black cell phone along, did you?”

He nodded, “Actually, it rang a day after you were here.” He turned sheepish, “I answered it. The person didn’t say anything, but I told them that you were in a coma. Then they hung up on me.”

“I’m glad you did. But don’t ever again unless a similar emergency arises, ok?”

“It won’t, right?”

“Gods willing.”

“Anyway, here,” he handed her the phone.

“Thank you,” she quickly dialed.

“Hi, it’s me. Listen, you’ve got some money coming your way. Use it to bolster your security. It’s clean money. Just use it to make sure you’re safe.” She paused, listening. “He’s not wrong. Yeah. You can trust him, mostly. He’s a little stalker-like, but he’s ok. I’ll tell you later. Bye.”

Darryl was looking at her in confusion. She sighed, “Love, I think there’s something you need to know. It has to do with why I went into this coma. And you’re going to think I’m crazy.”

* * *

“We need to lay low?” Jason was incredulous. “Mer, I don’t think you understand our vision.” He listened, “Oh.” His eyes got wide, “Oh! Do you know who?” His brow furrowed, “Uh huh. Ok. Thank you for the warning. I’ll take care of it.” He flipped the phone closed. “Well, shit!”

He sat there, thinking for a while. Finally he nodded and turned to the computer screen. He signed into the chat program and started typing.

“Hello, Darling! Are you planning on wearing your red dress tonight?”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but I can.”

“Please do. I’ll meet you at the restaurant at 7:30.”

“I’ll see you there!”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He put on a pair of latex gloves, and an alcohol wipe with which he wiped the surface of his desk. After making sure there was nothing on the desk, he pulled out an unopened ream of paper, and with his off hand, starting with the last character, wrote “Code Red. 10:30”. He pulled out a box of unopened self-adhesive small envelopes and folded the piece of paper away inside one of them. Opening another new box of unopened envelopes, bigger, he folded the first envelope into the second, and sealed it. Then he pulled out a plastic baggie and sealed the note inside it. He removed the gloves and picked up his house phone.

“Hi, Joe! Hey, listen, I heard some great news about the Red Sox. Can you meet up for lunch, and I’ll tell you what’s up? Sounds good. See you then.” He hung up.

Gathering the baggie, he pulled a large red ribbon from his desk and headed upstairs. He tied the ribbon in a bow, and put a little half-loop in the top, between the two normal loops. He pulled his jacket from the closet, tucked the baggie into the inside pocket, and, carrying the bow, walked out his door.

After securing the bow to his front gate, he went to the side of the house and pulled a red rock from a pile. He tossed it into the passenger side of his truck, and drove to a florist, where he bought five red roses, with cash.

On the way to the bar, he stopped at a cemetery, and placed the roses on a gravestone. His second stop was at a park, where he removed the envelopes from the baggie, ripped open the bigger one, and careful not to let it touch him, let the smaller envelope fall into a metal box that was partially hidden by kudzu.

He got back into his truck and turned on the radio.

* * *

Nathan stood, smiling at Rick, who reached out to shake his hand. “Congratulations. You’ll now work directly with me.”

Nathan took the proffered hand, “Thank you. It’s a great honor.”

“Welcome to your new position. Now, we just need to keep the men happy, and everything’s good. Of course, if they aren’t pleased with our performance, there will be hell to pay.”

Nathan chuckled, “Yeah. I think I caught that drift when they told me that if they didn’t like my style I’d be out on my ear.” He paused, a serious expression replacing the smile, “I received some information that might prove quite useful to us.”

Rick raised his eyebrows, “Oh really?”

“Yes.”

“Well, let’s sit, and you can tell me.” Rick sat and gestured for Nathan to do the same, which he did.

“It will come as no surprise to you that there are other groups such as ours throughout the country. In fact, you’ve probably heard of a few.” Rick nodded. “What may surprise you,” Nathan continued, “is that we have international counterparts in Canada.”

Rick rocked forward in his chair, a look of intense interest in his eyes, “Really? How do you know this?”

Nathan winced, “Well I actually can’t tell you that.” Rick raised his eyebrows again. Nathan quickly continued, “The source I received the information from is very private. Very reliable, but very private. I do have someone I can call for confirmation, if you’d like. I can also maintain contact with him to coordinate training, and if it comes to it, movement.”

“Why don’t you give me that contact’s name and number, and I’ll handle that?”

Nathan hesitated, “Here’s my thinking.” Rick pursed his lips. “He knows me,” Nathan went on, “and I know him. Now we’re not doing anything illegal here, but, what with the current climate, us being caught and arrested as terrorists is getting more and more likely. If they do that, who knows how far they’ll reach? So the fewer people who know of this particular contact, the better, right? That way, no matter what happens, if anyone finds out about him, it’s my responsibility.”

Rick narrowed his eyes, “Yes. True. You have a point, Nathan. No wonder you’ve risen so far so fast.” He smiled, “Aside from your contact information, though, I expect you to tell me everything, though.”

“Of course, Rick.” Nathan stood, “Ok. I think it’s time to run some drills.”

Rick nodded, “Keep them on task. I think this is going to work out well.”

Nathan smiled and casually saluted as he walked out the door.

* * *

“Victoria!” Dave was agog, “Where did this money come from?”

She looked up. “A campaign contribution from a business in Massachusetts. It’s owned by an old friend of mine.”

“That is a huge amount of money. What did this friend of yours want in return?” Dave looked suspicious.

“Oh, he probably wanted to sleep with me.” Victoria laughed at the shocked look on Dave’s face, “Really, Dave, he’s an old friend. He found out what I was doing, and he knows how committed I am to doing it. He agrees with our cause.”

Dave maintained his suspicious expression and didn’t say a word.

“Seriously, he lives in Massachusetts. What could he possibly want from me in Wisconsin? He wants me to succeed. I trust that. I trust him.”

Dave shook his head, “I don’t trust that.”

Victoria smiled, “You’re being protective, and that is sweet. But really, Dave, he said he was worried about me. He said he wanted a lot of this to go toward my safety. I was thinking we could let me stay in one place, and invest in two way video conferencing equipment. It’s a lot easier to secure one house than every hotel room and conference center to which we travel. Not to mention, cheaper.”

Dave stopped in his tracks, “That may be the best idea I’ve heard all year!” he said excitedly.

She nodded, “If we were able to afford 2 sets, we could even do multiple conferences each day, and I could do interviews and have more time for other things while at home. It will save on hotel costs, too.”

Dave jumped up excitedly, “Your house can be a fortress! No one getting in or out unless we know about it.”

She smiled, “Well, let’s figure out the logistics of the conferencing equipment first, ok?”

He nodded, “I’ll look into how much, and what we need.” He rushed out of the room, completely forgetting his earlier suspicion.

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-13T04:02:13Z

Today's fruits:

“A bomb explosion Thursday in Chattanooga has Patriots up in arms. This explosion is just the most recent in a string of killings of Patriot rallies in the south.” The TV reporter went on blithely.

“That’s what kind of thing you’re involved in, no, you know.” Sara grabbed a blanket and headed toward the bedroom. “You’ll get caught up like those terrorist freaks, and then you’ll be no better than them either.”

“Sara, they’re doing it all wrong!” Nathan protested, “They’re fighting with fear and hate. We’re working to make sure it doesn’t come to that. We won’t fight unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Sara scoffed, “Sure. Like you personally have any say anyway.”

“But I do. This isn’t like the army, Sara. People are asked to lead based on their abilities. I’ve been asked to lead a whole company. Soon they’ll be asking me to be second in command. I know what I’m doing, Sara, and they can tell.”

She stopped and looked at him, unbelieving. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.” She blinked thoughtfully and turned to enter the bedroom.

Nathan looked after her confused.

* * *
</i>Meredith came to the light and found someone there. He had red hair and blue eyes like shattered glass, and he looked at her with a twisted smile.

“Well, well. I knew you’d come eventually.”

“Who are you?”

“Oh, sweetie,” his voice was sickeningly sweet, “That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you’re here now.”

“What is this place?”

“It’s a prison.” He nodded at her shocked look, “Yeah. You’ll never get out of here.”

“Why?”

“Because we can’t have you and your friends ruining things for us. If you were to succeed in your goals, our plans would be for naught.”

“What plans?”

He chuckled, “Well, you’ll just have to find out for yourself in due time. Here,” he produced a clear crystal ball, “stereotypical, I know, but I like them so.” He smiled, “Just look in this and you’ll be able to see the real world. It will show you whatever you think of. Of course,” the ugly chuckle returned, “you can’t use it to contact of change anything that’s happening. It doesn’t work that way.”

She took the proffered ball, and lobbed it at his head.

He easily dodged and laughed. Then he was gone. She looked around. She stood in the light, surrounded by darkness on all sides. The crystal ball rolled back to her feet. She kicked it angrily and turned to walk away. She didn’t know where she was walking, but maybe she’d reach a thin point, or an edge that she could break out of. She walked until the light faded behind her. A while later, a light emerged ahead of her, and she went toward it. When she finally got to the source, it was just another bright spot of light. She sighed and looked around. The crystal ball caught her eye, and she let out a stream of curses.

“Ok. Calm down. You’re wasting time.” She paced around, trying to calm herself. Once she calmed, she sat in the middle of the circle of light and closed her eyes. A slow grin started on her face and she opened her eyes. “Never get out my eye.” She pulled crystal ball toward her and sat it in her crossed legs. As she looked into it, it darkened. Fuzzily in the center, a figure appeared. For a moment, it cleared, and she could see Deirdre asleep. The clarity faded, and slowly, Meredith looked up.

“Please, Goddess, let her have heard me.”

* * *

“The bombings and killings are tragic,” Victoria stated, “Whomever is responsible is taking matters into their own hands in an irresponsible and reprehensible way. They need to be stopped.” She paused for applause, “Our sympathies should, and do, go to the families of those who have been killed or injured. However, the fact that we sympathize does not change the fact that we cannot agree with the message that the Patriots send.” Another pause for applause, “They say that no matter what our loss of freedoms, by any means necessary, the government should be allowed to do what they see fit to defeat the terrorists. We say NO! We Demand our Rights! We demand the freedom upon which this fine country was established! We are the true Patriots, and we will no longer be ignored!” The crowd erupted. She waited, smiling, for the cheers to fade.

“Now, before I leave you for the evening, I have two things to say. First, I want to thank you all for your support. Your donations, excitement, and especially, your emotional support have, and will continue to give me the courange and strength to continue on this path. Second, I want to tell you of a new political party. As you all are probably aware, my stances have drawn fire from both of the major political parties in his country. So, rather than be the,” she paused and laughingly flipped her hair, “redheaded stepchild of one of them, we have formed our own. We will be called the Freedom Party, and there are people running under our party in 13 states!” She took a breath, “We welcome members of any party to support us. The only party line we will ever have is this, plain and simple, ‘We Stand Up For YOUR Rights’.” The crowd cheered again. Victoria smiled, “Again, I thank you, Green Bay, for coming out and Standing for YOUR freedom, on this chilly day! Spread the word, there is a new party in town, and we will be listening to your voices, and standing up for you!” She took a small bow and left the stage.

Backstage, before heading out to speak to the people and answer questions, Victoria rubbed her head.

“Dave, do you have any pain killers?” Dave nodded mutely and handed her three pills with a bottle of water. Victoria downed the pills.

With a tired smile, she said, “I don’t suppose I can hang out here until these kick in, can I?” Not waiting for an answer, she took a deep breath, smiled, and walked into a fog of flashing camera lights and yelled questions.

* * *

Gary sat at the booth in the café, nervously fidgeting with the napkin-wrapped utensils, “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” The waitress asked as she passed by for the third time.

Gary looked up at her, “Do you have pie?”

“The best in the city.”

“Can I get a slice?”

“Sure! What kind?”

“Surprise me.”

She nodded and went to the back. Gary continued fidgeting. Two men walked in the door, and Gary straightened. The two men sized him up and the shorter one, blonde, with a well-trimmed beard nodded. They moved toward him, and he stood.

“Mr. Morris?” the blond man asked. Gary nodded.

“And you must be Owen.”

The bigger, dark-haired man looked cautiously around at the empty diner. He then gestured for the two men to sit and went to stand by the door.

Gary raised his eyebrows, “It’s that dangerous for you?”

Owen chuckled, “Well, Michael can be a little overprotective.” He paused, “But it’s getting worse. There is a lot of opposition to our cause here.” At Gary’s skeptical look, he nodded, “Yes. You see, the Canadian people have a lot of trouble accepting that what happens in America effects them. So when they hear about us, our group, they become somewhat angry, thinking that we are interfering where we should just let things go.”

“But doesn’t it seem incredibly likely that if this regime in America succeeds, they’ll try to take Canada over?”

“To me, and to you, yes. But to most people? The chance seems so remote that it’s almost ludicrous.

Gary shook his head.

“But,” Owen continued, “we do have a decent-sized following, and it’s growing every day, so all is not lost.”

The waitress came with Gary’s pie. It was a warmed cherry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it smelled heavenly. “Oh, I didn’t realize you’d got company. Would you like anything, sir?”

Owen nodded, friendly, “A cup of coffee and a slice of that pie, please.”

She nodded, smiling and left to fill the order.

“I’ve been paying close attention to the politics down there,” Owen continued, “there are interesting things happening.”

“To tell the truth, I haven’t paid much attention to the politics, or even news lately,” Gary took a bite of pie.

“Well, there is a newcomer, in Wisconsin. Her name is Victoria Holladay. She seems to be gathering quite a following. She’s got the charisma and leadership skill that your movement needs, though I fear she may be a little soft-handed if it ever came to fighting. Are you familiar with her at all?”

Gary had stopped chewing at the mention of her name. He quickly swallowed. “Politics?” He chuckled, “Well, I guess that isn’t completely unexpected.” He looked back up at Owen, “I know her.”

Owen raised his eyebrows, surprised, “You know of her, surely. You didn’t mean personally, did you?”

“We haven’t spoken in years, but yes, personally.”

“Very interesting.” Owen thought for a moment. “Perhaps there is a way we can help you, her, and your cause.”

Gary looked and waited in askance.

“As I said, we are gaining support here, but ideally, whatever forces we raise will never need to be brought into play. In order to help that along, maybe we can, through you, contribute a large amount to Miss Holladay. It will help her increase her security, improve her campaign, and hopefully, not only win the election, but stick to her convictions and return your nation to its less threatening state.”

“Huh.” Gary nodded, “That might just work. Since I don’t live in her state, and my business could make the contribution. It just might work.” He stopped, “But how much money are we talking, and what is the string?”

Owen laughed, “There is no string. As I said, just so she does everything she can to assure that this new power for which your government is grasping for is kept with your people, and not the crooks who are in power now. As to your other question, a great deal.”

* * *

Meredith’s eyes fluttered open. The heart monitor sped up, and Darryl shot out of his chair. “You’re awake!” He grabbed her hand, “You’re awake! Are you OK? What happened? I came home and you were… but now you’re awake! Say something! Are you OK?”

She smiled, “If you’d let me get a word in edgewise, I would say something, silly boy. I’m not sure what happened.”

“They said you’d maybe never wake up. They thought you had a stroke or something, but they couldn’t find anything wrong, so it was totally confused and absolutely no good.”

“I doubt it was a stroke. I can move ok.” She sat up, “How long do you think they’ll make me stay here?”

“They have to make sure you’re ok. They won’t let you go for a while, I think.” He was bouncing, “You’re awake.”

She hugged him close, “How long was I out?”

“A week.”

She nodded, unsurprised. “I love you.”

“Oh, Meredith, I love you so much! I was so worried. But you’re awake!”

“And I have dragon breath!” She laughed, “Did you bring my toothbrush?”

His face fell, “No. I didn’t think. I could go to the gift shop and get you one!”

She nodded, “Please. Then I can kiss you.”

He beamed, “You’re awake!” and left the room.

Soon after, a nurse came in, “So he was right! Welcome back, Meredith.” She proceeded to take temperatures, blood pressure, and other standard tests.

Darryl ran back into the room, triumphantly holding a toothbrush and toothpaste. He stopped when he saw Meredith sitting and nodding at the nurse, “You’re awake!”

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-13T01:30:18Z

I got some done last night

Dave nodded. He looked almost miserable. She reached out to touch his shoulder, “Dave, we’ll work on this together. We’ll have meetings as often as you want to discuss security issues, and figure out solutions. Will that be good?” He nodded again, but looked a little less unhappy.

“Yes. That will work.” He stopped, letting his mind work around the concept. She could tell that ideas were forming. “First things first.” He started.

* * *

“I need your help!” Deirdre saw Meredith through a dense fog. Meredith looked scared, and couldn’t come forward. Deirdre reached for her.

Deirdre woke to a quiet house. She listened closely. Something had wakened her, but she couldn’t figure out what. Now, however, she was wide awake, so she might as well get up and make a cup of tea. Since it was almost time for her to get up for work anyway, it would be nice to have a long, leisurely morning.

As she stood, she remembered seeing Meredith in her dream. Her eyebrows drew together, and she bit her lip. The clock said 5:30am. That meant 8:30 where Meredith was. She nodded. It was worth a shot.

She dialed the cell phone she’d got from Jason, and waited as it rang. When a man picked up, she stopped what she was doing, and didn’t say anything. She listened for a bit, and hung up the phone. She dropped the phone on the bed and ran into the kitchen. Picking up her house phone, she called in to work, faking a cough, and then went to the den. From a cabinet that she unlocked, she pulled six candles and a stick of incense. A sage smudge completed her armful, and she placed everything on the coffee table. The candles she arranged in a circle, and put the incense in the center. She looked at it and shook her head, looking around the room. Light dawned in her eyes, and she snatched a glass dish filled with wrapped candies. Unceremoniously dumping the candies on the couch, she put the incense into the dish after wiping it out with her sleeve.

She took a deep breath, pulled some long matches from the hearth, and lit the candles one by one, leaving a blue one for last. Before lighting that one, she lit the incense. She started the sage burning, and turned to the east. Walking in a clockwise circle, she traced a circle in the room, stopping at each cardinal direction to trace some circles in the air with the smudge. Once she got back to her starting point, she walked one more circle around the room, not pausing this time. She came back to the center and knelt in front of the coffee table. She closed her eyes and stayed there for quite a while.

* * *

When Meredith’s special cell phone rang, Darryl started. He looked at it for a second. She’d told him he wasn’t to touch it, but maybe, just maybe on the other end was someone who could help her. At the very least, they should know that she was in a coma. He picked up the phone.

“Hello?” There was no response. “Look, I’m guessing you’re a friend of Meredith’s, and if you are, you’ll want to know, something’s happened. She’s not well. At all. She’s in a coma. I don’t know who you are, but if there’s anything you can do, please, do it.” He stopped, listening for a response. The phone went dead.

He shook his head and dropped the phone. A tear fell down his face as he went to sit by the bed where Meredith lay, attached to monitors.

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-09T23:13:58Z

More today! Woo!

“What is this?” Victoria, tight lipped, tossed a newspaper on the table. Dave looked up at it and dropped his spoon into his bowl. His eyes widened at the headline, and his jaw dropped when he read the first paragraph.

“Who?”

“Voodoo Vickie, Dave.” She was fuming. “Isn’t that what you said? Who saw me that night? Where is your spy? I want to talk to him!”

“Now, hold on just a second. How do you know he was the only one to see you?”

“Because, Dave, I was wearing a thick jacket, a scarf, and a hat. For anyone else to recognize that it was me would have been impossible. Where is he?”

“Let me call him”

“I want to talk to him.”

“Now, Miss Holladay, just remain calm. Let me talk to him. If we put him on the defensive right away, he’ll never tell us what he knows.”

She glared at him and nodded. “You are to call off all of your watchdogs. I want no one following me ever again! You got that, Dave? I didn’t like it before, but now, it will not be tolerated. Period.” She turned and stormed away.

Once in her room, she called room service and ordered her breakfast. While she was waiting, she pulled out the cell phone Jason had sent. She’d been very fortunate that she had been forewarned of the package. Being able to quickly say it was a new shirt had taken any scrutiny off of it. She’d even managed to buy a new shirt without anyone noticing prior to its arrival.

She started hot water running on the shower, and left the door to the bathroom closed as she went about packing her belongings. Once the food came, she placed it on the bed, pulled a robe from the closet, and hiding the phone in the robe, turned on the TV, to CNN, on full volume. Then she went into the bathroom, where everything was nicely steamed up, placed the phone and robe on the counter, and re-emerged to take her breakfast into the bathroom.

She shut the door to drown out the noise of the TV and placed the plug into the tub. Once the water started filling the tub, she grabbed the phone and dialed. “Hi. Yes, you hear the TV and the bath. Listen, Jason. I need your help.”

* * *
He put the phone down, a smile on his face. His computer screen blinked, and he looked at the message.

“Will I get to see you tonight, Baby?”

He typed back, “No. Work got in the way. You’ll just have to make me a special dinner, say 7:45, give or Take 7ish minutes, on Thursday.”

“Couldn’t we just go out? I’m sick of cooking.”

“But I was really looking forward to your explosively spicy chicken. You know, you could take out a crowd with it, it’s so spicy.”

“Well, I guess I could do that. But will you take me out next time?”

“Sure, baby. Anywhere you want. I heard there’s a nice place in Chattanooga, if you’re interested. I’ll have to look up the name and tell you on Thursday.”

“Chattanooga would be fun! I like it out there.”

“Ok, darlin’. Work calls. I’ll see you Thursday.”

“Love you! *kiss*”

“Love you too, bye!”

He checked his watch. Still a few minutes before he had to go. Enough to check for the scrambler Victoria needed. Searching through his drawer, he started whistling. Everything was going so well.

* * *

Meredith stood in the middle of a large grey expanse. She was surrounded by glowing globes that floated around her. Most glowed faintly, giving off very little light. There were several, though that gave off bright lights, she plucked a red-tinted one from nearby and looked into it. As she gazed, the glow lessened and she could see Victoria giving a speech to a rapt crowd.

Meredith smiled and let the globe go. It hung in the air where she left it. She pulled a green one next. Looking into it, she saw Gary sitting in a waiting room. Raising her eyebrows, she let that one go. She surveyed the area, and something caught her eye.

Effortlessly, she moved through the globes, which seemed to move out of her way, toward one that was dark. She reached it, and hesitated, her brow furrowed. After walking around it, trying to catch a glimpse of something, she reached out to take it. Just before she touched it, she sensed someone watching her and stopped. Her eyes scanned the expanse, searching. There was nothing there. She searched for a while more, worried, they turned back to the dark globe. Like a jaguar, she warily circled it once more, before reaching for it.

The minute she touched it, she was in a different place. It was dark here, save a small light in the distance. She looked around, and walked toward the light.

When Darryl came home from work, he found Meredith lying on the floor, as if she’d collapsed. She’d been sitting, facing the cedar chest, upon which were some thick white candles that were burned almost totally down. The wax had made puddles around them on the grey silk cloth. Meredith was breathing shallowly, and wouldn’t wake up.

* * *

“It’s working!” Deirdre exclaimed excitedly. She put a log on a now roaring fire. Her living room glowed with warm, yellow light. Eric laughed at her excitement.

“See?” she walked to the couch on which he was reclining, “Jeremy was a good idea.”

“He certainly is handy, and gone a lot, which I like.”

“Well, part of the deal is that they don’t come if they can be followed. I think he’s really paranoid, but I’d much rather that than have him lead anyone I don’t want here.”

“Well, it suits me.” Eric pulled her close, and put his arm around her shoulder.

She sighed and leaned into his embrace. “Thank you for coming.”

He chuckled, “Oh, believe me. It’s my pleasure.”

“Things still going badly at the house?”

“There’s at least a fight a day.”

“Wow.” Deirdre shook her head, “You know? I like Sara. I always thought she was so rational. So together. I don’t understand why she’s being so obtuse about this.”

“I think that a lot of it has to do with the pregnancy. She’s even said that because of it, most times she feels like a different person. I guess it’s the hormones or something.”

“Well, you’re always welcome here.” Deirdre smiled and snuggled into his embrace. “Even if they stop fighting.”

He kept his arms around her with a smile, and very lightly started stroking her arm, then her face and hair. “It’s definitely a great place to be.”

She looked up at him happily and he leaned over to kiss her.

* * *

“I understand what you are saying, Mr. Morris. But there is nothing I can do to help you.”

“Well, then who can?” Gary let his frustration into his voice despite trying to remain calm.

“Mr. Morris,” the man said calmly, “The Canadian government will have nothing to do with rebels, or fighting or anything even remotely connected to your trouble with the U. S. I advise you to go home. If you’re that passionate about it, do something there.”

Gary slouched in his chair. “I’m not supposed to be there,” he mumbled, “I’m supposed to be here, getting support.”

“I hate to disappoint you, Mr. Morris.”

“Sure you do.” Gary stood.

“Mr. Morris,” the man started writing something, “As I said before, the government will not intervene. We have no interest in whatever political uprising may be occurring in your government. I do wish you luck in your search.” He quickly folded the paper, and handed it to Gary, then stood.

Gary took the paper and started to unfold it, but was interrupted by the man’s hand on his shoulder. “I’m afraid you have to go now, Mr. Morris. Good luck.” The man put his hand over the paper, and led Gary to the door. Gary folded the paper back up, and put it in a pocket. Then he opened the door.

“Goodbye Mr. Morris.”

“Yeah. Good bye.”

The door slammed abruptly shut. The secretary raised an eyebrow and studiously continued her work.

Gary tried to muster some dignity and left the building. Once he was in his truck, he pulled out the paper. It had a name and a phone number on it. “Huh. Guess it’s time to see if that cell phone works in Canada.” Gary turned on the truck and his jazz CD and pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

Victoria’s brow furrowed. She leafed through the pile of papers in front of her. “Why didn’t I see any of this before?”

Dave cleared his throat, “I, uh, didn’t think they were important.”

She closed her eyes briefly. “Ok,” she took a deep breath, “could you make sure I get all of the letters sent to me by any of the people that I’m saying I want to represent?”

Dave nodded. Victoria looked around the room, “How about we do this,” she stood, “Who here is a fast reader?”

Janice raised her hand along with a few of the other campaign workers. Victoria nodded.

“Ok, so I want you folks to be the mail team. Janice, you’ll be the lead person. I want you all to read and sort all the mail.” She paused, “Let’s see. The general idea is that anything that I can actually do something about should be the highest priority. So any mail that says nothing aside from ‘I like you’ can go in one pile. And any mail that says nothing aside from ‘I hate you’ can go into another. Any, and I mean any threats, serious sounding or not, should go directly and immediately to Dave.” She looked over at him and smiled. “Any suggestions that are way out there into another pile, and any viable suggestions into another. I want to have pretty much constant access to these files so I can read the letters whenever I get a chance.”

She looked up at Janice, who was scribbling away furiously on her notepad. “Thank you for your efforts.” She glanced at Dave, “All of them. Now. Is there anything else to be discussed at this meeting?”

Looking around and finding nothing but blank stares and shaking heads, she nodded, “Good. Dave and I are going to have our own meeting now. If you would all excuse us.”

She gestured him toward the door with her head and he followed her out. Once in the hall, she turned toward her room, and led the way. When he was in the room, she shut the door and turned to him. He winced, expecting her to be angry. The look she gave him, however, was sad.

“What’s going on, Dave?” She sat on the edge of the bed, watching him, “I asked you to do this for me because I trusted you. And Dave,” her look turned almost pleading, “I still do. But I need to know what’s going on. You’re hiding things from me. You’re having me followed, spying on me. All of this makes me really unhappy. Please, give me your reasoning. Make me feel like my trust wasn’t misplaced.”

Dave looked at her, agonized, then turned away and sat on one of the chairs, looking down at his feet.

“I just.” He sighed and looked up at her, “I just wanted to protect you. I wanted to know you were safe, and looked after, and I wanted to save you stress and time.” He stood and started pacing, “I knew that if you knew about those letters, you’d want to read them, and that you’d want to read all of them, even the bad ones, and I knew you’d stress yourself out about them, because that’s what you do. I didn’t want o you to have to worry about it, so I didn’t want you to see them.” He sat back down. “I’m sorry, Victoria. I just didn’t know what else to do.”

She nodded slowly, “Dave, I appreciate it. Your concern for my well-being is amazing. But I can handle more stress than you know. And what these people are saying to me is important. I don’t plan on replying to all of the letters, but I need to see what they say. I can’t ignore the voices of the people I’m out to protect.”

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-09T15:26:52Z

I have been very lax in posting these. Sorry. I'm a little behind. Not horribly so, though. I should definitely be catching up as my hours at the job are going way up.

She nodded, “Yes. I’ll try to contact them. Let’s hope I can.” Another pause, “Good luck, Dee.” She hung up the phone.

Looking around the room at her sewing, she sighed. “Guess I’ll get to you later.”
She turned to the bedroom, and took a deep breath. Her eyes searched the room, and ended up resting on her candles. They would work very well. She walked over and carefully pulled one red, one black, and one white candle from her shelf, along with a small mirror and a smoky quartz crystal.

With her arms full, she moved into the bedroom, and gently placed the items on the bed. She cleared off the cedar chest her mother had given her, and placed a satin cloth over the top. She arranged the candles in an arc, red in the center black on the left, and white on the right, then put the mirror down between the three. The crystal she put on the center of the mirror. Looking at the configuration critically, she adjusted the white candle. She then took a step back and looked at it again.

With a brief nod, she turned to pull matches from her drawer. Once she had them, she lit the candles, starting with the red.

* * *

The package arrived the day before he was set to leave. It was from Tennessee. Gary looked at it confused. He didn’t know anyone in Tennessee. There was a note inside with a number written on it. He dialed the number and listened to the message. His eyes grew wide, then wider still as he listened. After the message was done, he pushed the little red button to end the call. He set up the password, and closed the phone, a little dazed. He threw the box and note inside it into the fire, tucking the phone away.

The fire crackled around the cardboard, smoking away, as fire does. Gary sat and watched as the box and note were completely consumed. He pulled out his laptop and checked the news sites. Everything was going down the tubes. Militias were popping up everywhere, rebel groups that were causing violence, politicians eating each other apart, and everyone else just wanting to hide underground. Canada was talking of beefing up it’s border security, North Korea, China, Iran, and Russia were all looking on with keen interest in the nation that looked to be tearing itself apart at the seams, and a number of allies seemed to be losing hope and distancing themselves. Even if the midterm election changed the tide, there was no guarantee that it would be enough.

Gary shook his head. If he was going to go, he did need to go tomorrow. He hoped that the cell phone would work internationally. He stood and packed away the laptop. Surveying the room, he realized that his world was packed away into boxes upon boxes of leather and sewing supplies. When he left tomorrow, he’d be leaving an empty shell of a house. He shrugged and started piling the boxes closer to the door.

* * *

“What do you want with us, Child?”

Meredith looked at the three sisters standing before her. She couldn’t see their faces, but that wasn’t new. “I need your help,” she started, “we’re being called again, but one of us hasn’t heard the call, and we don’t know of another.”

“All have heard the call, Child. It is a matter of whether they listen.”

Meredith sighed, “Well, what can we do to make them listen.”

“There is only one who does not do so. And he will. Do not fear. We chose you for your sense of responsibility. Each of you has it, and cannot deny it for long. You can do nothing but let time take its course. However, to ease your mind, we will send another call to him.”

Meredith nodded, “Thank you, Ladies.”

The red one nodded.

Meredith opened her eyes. The candles had burned down about halfway. She blew them out and stood. Her crossed legs were stiff. She smiled.

* * *

“You’re here because you want to be, right?” Jason looked around the room at the nodding faces. Each of these people were friends. People he trusted. People who shared his goals.

“If you’re not up to becoming a target, in leaving the good side of this damnable government, then you need to leave now. No hard feelings. No derision. But if you’re not willing to go that far, please do leave.” He nodded amiably at the two men who stood to leave. “Take care, guys.”

“Now,” Jason continued once the two men were gone. “What we’re doing is not necessarily pleasant. It is not necessarily fun. It is, however, necessary.” He started pacing in front of the small group, “What we’re here to do will not make us any friends in government. In fact, it may not make us any friends at all.”

Looking at their faces, he wondered if he should just tell them all to leave. Maybe he shouldn’t get them involved in this. But they wanted in. They knew the need. And he needed help.

“You. The six of you,” he paused at the significance of the number, “are my top tier. My trusted friends. Anyone you recruit must know nothing of me. And I must know nothing of them. This way, we’re all protected. This structure can continue up or down as far as we can. You don’t know if there’s someone over me. If there is, all they will know is that I’ve got six people working with me directly. The only thing I need to know about your team is how many people you’re working with directly. Each of you will receive a secret method of communication. None of them will be the same. There are two signals that are universal. If I am arrested, my family will hang a red sheet out of a window on the second story of the house. If that happens, you are to disappear. I have no doubts that those doing the arresting will employ any means necessary to find out about everyone else, and while I’d love to say I won’t ever give you up, I can’t guarantee it. So if there is ever a red sheet hanging out the top story of this house, get out. Disappear. Fake your own death. Whatever you need to do to not be found. You will need to figure out a signal of your own, for your family to do if you are arrested, because I am going to be keeping an eye on all of your houses for such signal. If I get it, I will hang a red sheet from a lower story window. In that case, I will be disappearing, and I expect the rest of you will do so as well. Any other information you need to know will be conveyed in the method I’ll set up for you.” He sat in front of them.

“Now, if you still want in, gather round.” They all scooted their chairs into a circle. “We’re going to do something that will hopefully help us all if one of us is caught.”

He picked up his black cell phone and dialed. He turned on the speaker phone, and they all listened to it ring.

“Hello?” it was a woman.

“Mer? We’re all here.”

* * *

Nathan was lying in a field. The warm sun was beating on his closed eyelids and he could feel a gentle breeze across his skin. He heard a bird chirping and a stream gurgling somewhere nearby.

A hand gently took his and pulled him upright. “I don’t want to open my eyes, do I?”

“Almost never.” Victoria’s gentle voice made him wince.

He opened his eyes, and she was sitting cross-legged in front of him, a sad smile in her eyes. “My long lost brother.” She took a breath. “How I miss you.”

He looked down, embarrassed, ashamed, and a little angry.

“But that is not why I am here.” She stood, holding her hand out to him, waiting for him to join her.

He rose, taking it. She led him across the field, toward a thick grouping of trees. As the approached, darkness crept in. Nathan had to squint, and still couldn’t see into the dense forest.

Her insistent hand pulled him forward through the trees, though he was mostly blind in the dark. She broke into a run, pulling him with her, and he had to look down at his feet. He could barely make them out. Suddenly she stopped, and he nearly ran into her. When he looked up , she was looking ahead of them. He followed her gaze, and was looking down a hill. At the bottom, were a group of obviously untrained men going through weapon drills.

One of them slipped and actually hit the man in front of him. The man turned and swore, jumping on the clumsy one. Someone started yelling for order, ostensibly the leader. No one listened, and it turned into an all-out brawl. Nathan winced at the sounds of solid punches landing on their intended targets.

“They need a leader, Nathan. They need you.”

He shook his head, “Someone else can do it.”

She took both his hands and stepped fully in front of him, facing him earnestly, “Nathan.” Her eyes pleaded, “This is your duty. You know that. You can lead them. You know that they will need all that you and only you can bring to them. I know you know it.”

He shook his head again, stepping back, “No. My wife and my child. I can’t just abandon them.”

“You don’t have to. All of us are doing everything in our power to make sure that you don’t have to lead this group into real battle. We’re doing everything we can. You know that, too.”

He shook his head again. “Sara. She doesn’t want this. I’d be going against everything that she wants. I couldn’t do that.”

Victoria’s eyes flashed angry, “Oh, for Gods’ Sake, Nathan! Is that what you’ve become? Afraid to do anything for fear of offending your little wife?” She stopped and gathered her calm, “If you don’t do this, there is a very real chance that her wishes won’t matter to anyone for all the good they’re going to do her. This won’t go away, Nathan, and as hard as I’m working to stop it, things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better. If you don’t believe me, look around you.”

He looked at her. In her eyes, he saw that she truly believed it. And in his heart, he knew that he did as well. “Damn it,” he muttered. “So you want me to waltz in and take the group over?”

She smiled, relieved, “No, actually. Join them. Once you’re in, they’ll promote you on your merits, I’m sure.”

He chuckled, but not from mirth. “You guys are going to ruin my marriage.”

“Chances are, she’ll respect you more when you stand up for yourself.” She stopped and looked around. “It’s time to go. It’s been good seeing you, Nathan.”

He stepped back and watched as she faded out. “I’ve missed you too,” he said when she was gone.

Nathan woke up gently, and opened his eyes to the night. Sara was asleep by his side, her bulging belly pressed into his arm. He took a deep breath. He wouldn’t be sleeping the rest of the night. He’d be worrying about what she was going to say. He slid carefully out of the bed and moved silently to the drawer where he had hidden away the cell phone. He pulled out the phone and the note with it and quickly left the room. Once in the living room, he turned on a small lamp and dialed the number on the note.

* * *

Victoria started awake. She blinked a few times to try and clear her head. The details of the dream pressed in on her, and sadness started to wash over her in waves.

Nathan had meant more to her as a ‘found’ brother than her own real brother did. While she managed not to grieve the majority of the time, there were nights, or days that managed to sneak up on her and brought back the pain of the loss of his friendship as if it were brand new.

Now was one of those times. She curled into the fetal position and let the tears come.

In his room, Dave listened to the sound of Victoria’s sobs, clear as day, they came from the bug in her suitcase.

“Why are you so sad?” He was perplexed. He’d never seen this type of sadness from her. And he would have noticed it.

The next morning, when she emerged from her hotel room, she was bright and smiling as always. The only hint that he could find of her late night sadness was a trace of red in her eyes.

“How are you this morning, Miss Holladay?” he asked sincerely.

Her eyes swept over him, and she smiled when she saw his concern. “I am absolutely wonderful, Dave. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m just fine. We’ve got some numbers to go over, if you’re up to doing it over breakfast.”

“Of course!” She grinned, “What goes better with grapefruit juice than some crunchy numbers?”

They walked together to the hotel restaurant.

* * *

“How do you have this much stuff?” Eric lugged a box from the front door to her car while Deirdre artfully pushed a bag into a space that, by all rights, should not have held it.

“One can never be too prepared.”

Eric laughed.

She smiled at him. “Thank you for your help with this. It would have taken me at least twice as long without you.”

He nodded, “I believe it.” Lifting the box into the one free spot left in the car, he grunted. Once it was in place, he took a step back, surveying the work, “I cannot believe you got all that in there.”

She nodded, “It’s the wonder of Mary Poppins packing.”

“Can I help you unload at the new place?”

“I won’t say no.”

“Then I can see it over there.”

She looked at him, searchingly, “I didn’t know you were interested.”

He shrugged, blue eyes looking down, “Just want to make sure its adequate. We can’t have our safe house leader in a dump now, can we?” grinning impishly at her, he added, “If it is, I might not help you move this stuff.”

She laughed, “Well, like I said, I won’t say no. It’s going to be odd, living on my own after so long.”

“What? You weren’t here that long.”

“No, but before that I wasn’t living alone either. I’ve only ever lived alone once, for a short time. It will be odd.”

“If you get lonely, we’re only a phone call away.”

She chuckled, “Yeah, I’m sure Sara and Nathan would rush to my side.”

“Eh, forget them. I would.”

She smiled at him again, “I appreciate it.”

The conversation lagged, and an awkward dance of dodging eye contact, then making eye contact, then dodging again commenced. Finally, Deirdre shook her head and laughed nervously. “We should go.

He nodded, “I’ll follow you over there in my car. There’s certainly no room in yours.”

She giggled, “That’s the truth.”

“Ok.”

“Ok.”

“See you in a few then.” He turned and walked to his car. She watched him a bit longer than she should, and quickly turned to get into her car when he glanced back.

She started the car and sat, slightly dazed until he was behind her, ready to leave. Then she started off.

“He couldn’t like me, right?” she whispered to her car. It rumbled in response. Throughout the drive, she kept his car in there rearview mirror, making sure she didn’t lose him.

They arrived at her new place in good time, and he pulled up behind her to park. She got out of the car, and stood on the curb, looking up at the building. It was very impressive, actually. She’d managed to find an amazing deal, and with her raise from the hospital, along with some savings she had, she’d managed to put up a substantial down payment for the three-story house. With a bathroom on each floor, a half-finished basement, and six bedrooms, the house was perfect for her purposes. She would convert the ‘den’ on the main floor into her bedroom, and offer up the six bedrooms at a cheap price to anyone who found themselves unpopular, and needed the safety she could offer.

“It’s big,” Eric stood beside her. “Kind of falling apart, though.” He wasn’t wrong. The house definitely needed work.

“It was a good deal,” she said, “And besides, he people who move in can help fix it up.”

“See? You won’t be living alone from that long.” He looked back at the house, “Do you have anyone in mind?”

“I’ve put a couple bugs in people’s ears.”

“Hmm.” He looked back at her car, “Shall we?”

She turned and unlocked the trunk. “Put everything in the first floor, that’s where I’ll be living.

“Nice,” he grinned, “I like not having to haul things up stairs.” He turned to the trunk and saw the box he’d last put in, “Huh. This looks familiar.”

She smiled and pulled out a bag.

* * *

“Hey, thanks for letting me crash here,” Gary shook John’s hand, “It’s been fun.”

“No problem, my friend,” John patted his shoulder, “I only wish I could help more.”

“You gave me a name. That’s better than I had to go on before.”

“I hope he can help you.”

“Me too.” Gary threw his duffle bag into the front of the truck. “Thanks again, man. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Hey!” John looked concerned, “How are you planning on reaching him?”

“Well, I was planning on just going to his office and asking to speak with him.” He shrugged, “I figure eventually, I’ll be able to, right?”

John thought for a minute, “One can always hope. But why don’t you try calling first? You can stay here, and set up a meeting later that you can travel for. That way you won’t be in another city, with nowhere to stay.”

“Well, I’ve got a friend there, too, so that’s not a problem.” Gary grinned, “Thank you, though.”

John nodded, “Ok then. Good luck.”

Gary saluted and jumped into the truck. As he pulled out, he mumbled, “Fruitless. I hope I find more success in Ontario.” He flipped on the jazz CD in his stereo system and started humming along.

* * *

“I am so sick of you running off to play with your manly macho toys and leaving me here to take care of the practical matters!” Sara slammed her mug down onto the table, sloshing hot chocolate onto the placemat.

Nathan sighed, “Sara, do we have to do this again?”

“We wouldn’t if you’d give up this sudden obsession with a pointless cause and stay home where I need you.”

“You know, I’m doing this for us.”

“Oh, no you’re not!” she screeched, “You’re doing it for you, or for her!”

“I keep telling you,” Nathan’s voice got quieter, “I haven’t spoken with Victoria since we left the Midwest.”

“But it’s funny, isn’t it, that you automatically know who I’m talking about?”

“Sara, she’s the only one who can bring that particular screeching tone to your voice. Just calm down. Seriously. I’m doing this to protect this country for our daughter. For you.”

“You’re doing it because you want to have all the glory for yourself. What you don’t realize is that it’s pointless.” She fell back to the argument they’d had since he started with the militia group, “This is going to go nowhere! Everything is going to go back to a standstill next month, when the elections happen. Just you wait. Nothing will ever really change!”

“I really do hope you’re right, Sara.” Nathan sighed. “But I just can’t put all my eggs in that basket. As I’ve said before, I just can’t trust that. If things keep going as they are, if those pigs stay in power, I need to have something else to fall back on. I refuse to leave our daughter’s future to pure and simple hope.”

“You’re just itching for a fight, and when we win the election, your little group will find something else to fight about. Find something else to rebel against. Groups like that always do.”

“I’ve had quite enough fighting to last a lifetime,” Nathan said sadly.

She turned away and yanked a rag from the sink. “Just go. I’m sick of this.”

He sighed, “I love you, Sara.”

She didn’t look up. He walked out the door. Once in his car, he slouched down. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell her that he’d been asked to lead a squad. Not that she would care.

* * *

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-06T03:20:04Z

Writing at work is a very good thing. Especially because they don't mind.

The world was a bright glow. Slowly the brightness shrank and divided. She was looking at the stars.

“I wondered when you’d show up.”

Meredith was standing beside her. They were on top of a mountain.

“I wondered if this was possible.”

“Of course it’s possible, Vic. It’s a matter of how, not if.”

“Well, you’re how. I couldn’t do this on my own. Not my specialty.”

“No. You make people like you. Which you have to keep doing. You have to win this race.”

“Working on it.”

“Jason is going to be sending you a phone. Don’t say who it’s from to anyone. Only use it to contact one of us. Make sure you can’t be heard. I’m sure your rooms, cars, and even clothes are bugged. Trust no one.

“You act as if I’m young and naïve.”

“If the shoe fits…”

“I’m older than you, Missy.” Victoria laughed. “I think it’s time to go. There’s a cemetery that’s calling.”

“Take care.”

“You too.”

Victoria opened her eyes. The guard was asleep. The cemetery had been calling to her since she’d arrived. No one cared for it, and it needed an energy boost. Spending some time sitting in the center while letting energy flow through her would be good for both her and the cemetery.

* * *

“There’s one for you, too.” Deirdre handed Nathan the package.

He ripped it open and stared. “Wow.”

“It’s a phone,” Sara was unimpressed.

“It’s a secure phone,” Nathan corrected, “Who would send this?”

“My guess is Jason,” Deirdre looked at the address on hers.

“I’ve never met Jason. Why would he send me a phone?”

“Because you’re still a part of us. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not.” Deirdre turned and stormily exited the room.

“What’s wrong with her?” Sara asked.

“She’s living in a fantasy world.”

“What’s new?”

“This one involves me.”

Sara raised an eyebrow, “It’s that thing with Victoria,” she spat out the name, “and all of them isn’t it?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Are you talking to her again?”

“I haven’t talked to her for years. Sara, let’s drop this.”

“No.” She stood, “You know what? This has been hanging over my head since we met. Victoria is a problem. And now you’re back in it.”

“I’m not back in it. You heard Deirdre.”

“Nathan, you’re getting secure phones from people you’ve never met. How is that not back in it?”

“Because I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t even know about it, and I am not going to get involved in it. End of story.”

“And what about the thing with Victoria?”

“For God’s sake, Sara,” his voice got quiet and dangerous. “There was never anything with Victoria. I haven’t talked to her for almost 5 years. We were only ever friends before that. Why are you so obsessed?”

“I just don’t trust her.” Sara stopped and sat. She looked up at him plaintively. “Stupid being pregnant. I’m totally irrational. I’m sorry, Nate. I believe you.”

He sat beside her, encircling her with his arms. “Crazy things are happening. But we’ll get through this. I love you, Sara.”

She smiled at him.

“Are you hungry?”

“With this?” Sara looked at her ever-growing belly. “How can I not be?”

“I’ll make dinner.” He stood to go. At the door, he paused, to look back, almost said something, and thought better of it.

* * *

“I now have confirmation that Meredith and Deirdre have their phones.” Jason spoke into his headset. “All other member’s numbers are programmed into your phones. I set it up that after this call, you must program a password into your phone so that only you can make calls. If you receive a call, and it is not the person it is supposed to be on the other end, hang up immediately. I sent these phones to you because I’ve felt that we are all going to have an important role in times to come, and being able to communicate securely with each other is going to be a big deal. Do everything you can to assure that you’re not overheard.” He ended the call. “Let’s hope they call soon.”

He looked around the room, his eyes ending up on the silenced pistol. He’d have to retire it now. The events were getting wise to the method. Time for something new.”

* * *

“I’m moving out next week.” Deirdre spooned some corn onto her plate. “The hospital gave me a raise, and I found a nice place.”

“Oh, good for you!” Eric smiled, “It’s been fun with you here, but you can’t have enjoyed being crammed in like sardines all that much. Congratulations on the raise.”

“Thank you,” she ate a few bites. “You know, I’ve been watching the political climate. I’m going to be setting up a safe house. If any of you feel the need to stay there, you are welcome. But please don’t tell anyone else about it unless you’re absolutely positive they can be trusted to keep it from the government. The last thing I want is for my safe house to be raided.”

Nathan looked up, “I think you’re overreacting.”

Deirdre shrugged.

“Well, she might not be,” Eric said, “Have you seen what’s going on? More and more, the people who speak up against the government are denounced as terrorists, disappearing, or arrested. The candidates in the south who are for the government are slowly getting picked off one by one. There are more and more protesters, and it looks like a couple cities are on the verge of riots. It’s not necessarily a safe time, so a safe-house is probably a really great idea.” He stood to clear his plate. “They even told me at school to be sure not to say anything either way, for or against the government. They’ve recalled the US history books, and given out new ones that focus on the ancient history. There’s little to nothing about the founding fathers, or anything like that. It’s like they’re trying to make sure that the kids don’t start getting any ideas.”

Deirdre shook her head, “I just want to have a place set up with medical supplies, so that if anything goes completely wrong my friends and I can do everything we can to help people out.”

“Well, good luck.” Nathan stood, “I’m just keeping my head down. It will blow over.” Sara nodded agreement.

“Well, I heard about a militia that’s being formed in the city,” Eric said, “They’re calling themselves ‘The Right Fighters’. So far I haven’t heard them say anything but that they’re training. They seem to want to hold off fighting unless it’s absolutely necessary. But they want to be prepared if it is. I was thinking of joining them.”

“Are you crazy?” Sara asked, “Seriously? That’s like joining the army, or a gang, or something. I doubt it will be easy to get out of. And once this has blown over, they’ll find another cause something to go to war with, and you’ll never be free. No. This is stupid.”

“So what?” Eric was getting angry, “Just let them go ahead and take all our rights away to keep the peace? Do you really want your daughter to grow up in a fascist society where she’s not allowed to think or act differently than anyone else? Where she’s not allowed to voice an opposing opinion. Where doing so would make her a terrorist?” He took a breath and started again, slightly calmer. “She’s not even mine, and I don’t want that for her. Which is why I want to join these guys. Why I want to stand up for us.”

Sara shook her head stubbornly, “I can’t believe it would come to that. This election will change all of it.” She stood to leave. Nathan took her arm and led her through the door.

Eric watched them leave with mute fury. Deirdre stood and put her hand on his shoulder. He sighed and shook his head, then started gathering dishes. Deirdre silently helped him. When they were done, she looked at him with concern, “It will be ok. Nathan will figure it out.”

He scoffed, “I just hope it’s not too late.” He slammed a chair into its place and stormed out of the kitchen.

“Me too,” Deirdre whispered.

* * *

Gary sat bolt upright in bed. “That’s not what they said!” He scooted off the bed and began pacing restlessly. “That’s not what they said the first time. What did they say the first time? Something about being together, always together, but they didn’t talk about going abroad, that’s new.” He stopped pacing. “So they want me to go abroad. But,” he shook his head, “where? I mean, I could go anywhere, but I need to make a connection. I need to be able to get people to help.” He plopped back down onto the bed. “Canada! I have friends in Canada. I’ll start there.” Easing himself back into bed, he smiled.

* * *

“Miss Holladay? You have a package. It’s from Tennessee.” The aide walked into the crowded room. Victoria looked at her and smiled, “Thank you, Janice. It must be my new shirt. If you could just pit it on my bed, please.” Janice nodded and took the package back out.

Dave raised his eyebrow, “More new clothes?”

“My dear Dave,” Victoria smiled winningly, “Never underestimate the power of a great wardrobe.” There were a couple chuckles from the group.

Dave smiled back at her, and turned to the room. “Now, as reports of disappearances and arrests increase, we are getting more and more support. So we need to keep track of them, and if you can find out any more stories of real people and real arrests, please let either me or Victoria speak to them in person.” The group of volunteers and paid aids were paying close attention to him. “We’re calling everyone we can reach, trying to prepare the town for Victoria’s arrival, and getting as much information about her message out there as we can. Don’t berate people, no arguing, as always but be real, and passionate. Together we can win this.”

Victoria smiled and stood, “Remember, guys, what I care about most is the freedom of the people. Their freedom. Your freedom. Don’t ever forget that. And don’t let them!”

There was a brief round of applause. Victoria nodded, and turned to leave. Dave touched her arm. “I need to talk to you,” he whispered. She nodded and said, “Dave and I are going to be conferencing in his room. If you find someone with a story, ask them if they would mind a call from one of us and mark their number. If you have any questions, Jeff has been with us from the beginning, he can answer them.” She indicated a skinny redhead who nodded. “Have at, people!”

The pair left the room in a flurry of dialing, and turned down the hotel hall to his room. Once inside, he shut the door behind them.

“Uh oh. I must be in trouble.” Victoria grinned.

He looked at her for a second, almost perturbed. “You went to a cemetery?”

She winced, but with a smile, “You caught me.” Her expression changed to one of confusion, “How did you catch me?”

“I am responsible for your physical, mental, emotional, and political well-being. Do you really think that I’d let you do anything without me knowing about it?”

“You know, that’s pretty creepy.”

“You went to a cemetery.”

“No one saw me, Dave.”

“Wrong! Someone did see you!” He was turning red, “Fortunately for us, it was someone on my payroll.”

“Dave, listen to yourself.”

“What if this got out? You visiting cemeteries in the middle of the night? They’d start calling you Voodoo Vicky or something of the sort! Why did you do it? Why a cemetery?”

She sighed, “Cemeteries are quiet. People tend to avoid them, in the middle of the night especially. They’re good places to sit and think and be all alone.”

”Well, don’t. Not until after you’re elected, at least. Please!”

“Dave, if I don’t get my breathing space I will go insane. And I will stop being able to read the crowd. I will lose my edge. We can afford that even less that if some stupid nickname starts floating around.” She stood. “I appreciate your concern, and I will be more careful. But if I need space, you are going to have to learn to give it to me.”

He put his head in his hand and took a breath. “I just really want you to win this.” He looked up at her. “I want you to succeed.”

She smiled softly and walked to him. “We will. Have no doubt. We will.” She chuckled, “Now I am going to try on my new shirt. See you in a few.”

Dave sat down heavily and watched her go.

* * *

Meredith looked around the room to make sure everything was set up correctly. If she was going to finish all these clothes, she’d definitely need an efficient workspace. Everything looked just about right. She set to work on the first shirt, humming along with the mp3 player.

Halfway through the first song, her phone rang. The new one. She dropped what she was doing and ran to pick it up. It was Deirdre.

“Hi! Is everything ok?” She paused, listening. “Oh. I thought that might be his reaction.”

* * *

The package arrived the day before he was set to leave. It was from Tennessee. Gary looked at it confused. He didn’t know anyone in Tennessee. There was a note inside with a number written on it. He dialed the number and listened to the message. His eyes grew wide, then wider still as he listened. After the message was done, he pushed the little red button to end the call. He set up the password, and closed the phone, a little dazed. He threw the box and note inside it into the fire, tucking the phone away.

The fire crackled around the cardboard, smoking away, as fire does. Gary sat and watched as the box and note were completely consumed. He pulled out his laptop and checked the news sites. Everything was going down the tubes. Militias were popping up everywhere, rebel groups that were causing violence, politicians eating each other apart, and everyone else just wanting to hide underground. Canada was talking of beefing up it’s border security, North Korea, China, Iran, and Russia were all looking on with keen interest in the nation that looked to be tearing itself apart at the seams, and a number of allies seemed to be losing hope and distancing themselves. Even if the midterm election changed the tide, there was no guarantee that it would be enough.

Gary shook his head. If he was going to go, he did need to go tomorrow. He hoped that the cell phone would work internationally. He stood and packed away the laptop. Surveying the room, he realized that his world was packed away into boxes upon boxes of leather and sewing supplies. When he left tomorrow, he’d be leaving an empty shell of a house. He shrugged and started piling the boxes closer to the door.

* * *

He was lying on his back in the sun.

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-05T23:11:14Z

I'm a slacker. Or I was. I wrote a grand total of 9 words. Yesterday was better. Here are the fruits of that labor:

After a while, Meredith closed her eyes and shook her head, amused.

“What?” Darryl was impatient, “What was it?”

“This is what he calls a secure phone, apparently it’s untraceable and untappable.” She laughed dryly.

“Your friends are a little scary.”

“I know it. Just don’t touch the phone, ok?”

“I don’t think I’d dare.”

Meredith smiled, “I’m going for a walk.”

“Pizza for dinner?”

“Please!”

Darryl nodded. Meredith pulled her jacket from the closet and tucked the new phone in the pocket. She walked outside into the brisk fall air.

She made her way to the park at which she’d found a little-visited glade. Once there, she situated herself in the center of the area, sitting toward the east, where the moon would rise. With closed eyes, she began concentrating.

* * *

“I don’t know how you do it.” Dave looked flabbergasted.

Victoria sat heavily on the cushy chair in the hotel suite. She looked around and realized that it was not at all unlike a hotel at which she’d worked right after college. “Do it? Neither do I. I’m exhausted.”

“No, I mean,” he paused, searching for words, “you know exactly what to say. You know how to communicate with every crowd. It’s almost like you’re psychic.”

“Oh, now Dave, you don’t believe in that stuff, do you?” Victoria smiled, “You know I do extensive research before each appearance. It wasn’t that hard to figure out that a college crowd would go for the story of the boy who was just out of college.”

“It’s not only that,” he sighed. “You just… you know when to shift tactics, you know when to crack a joke, or be serious, or get angry. It’s just amazing.”

“Well, thank you.” She closed her eyes, “I just know how to read people.”

He shook his head. “Anyway. You get some sleep. Tomorrow we travel all day so it should be a good day for research.”

“Going north?”

“North-east, actually.”

“Good.” She opened her eyes, “Dave, I need some air. I think I’m going to take a walk.”

Dave jumped to his feet. “Oh no! No you don’t! You heard about the shooting in Knoxville, and there was another one in Memphis, and I heard today another one in Little Rock. No, you are not going anywhere alone. We’ve bumped up the security at everything. You are to go nowhere alone!”

She looked at him balefully. “Fine. I’m going to bed. See that I’m not disturbed until morning.”

She stood, and the pair moved toward the door. “I do appreciate all you do, Dave. Don’t think I don’t. I’m just tired.”

He nodded, “Get some sleep.”

She chuckled, “If I can.”

“Are you sure you don’t want anything to help with that?”

“Oh, yes. A world of yes, I’m positive. Those things always make me feel like death warmed over the next day.”

He walked to the door and stopped to look back at her. She saw a flash of affection in his eyes, “If you need anything at all, I’ll be right down the hall.”

“I will call if I need anything. Dave, you need as much sleep as I do. Go to bed. I’ll be safe and secure here. Don’t worry.”

He grinned, “I can’t help it. Goodnight, Miss Holladay.”

“Goodnight, Dave.”

As he closed the door behind him, she took a deep breath. The guard outside was there to keep anyone from getting in, but he served just as well to keep her from getting out alone. But he was sleepy, and it was only a matter of time.

She laid on the untouched bed and smiled. Her mother had always made sure to remove the bedspread from every hotel bed before either of them touched it. She said that they were dirty, and not washed near enough.

Victoria closed her eyes and let her consciousness expand. The ritual, if it could be called such, was relaxing. She could sense the town, the depressed, hanging on for dear life town, with a bright spot that was the life and energy of the college. She expanded more and got tingles from Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison. She rose even further and could sense the outrage of a country at odds with itself.

Suddenly, she knew she wasn’t alone. The realization jolted her, and she nearly lost her connection. The familiarity of the presence grounded her and she held on. Then it was as if she was taken by the hand.

* * *

Today's been far more productive. Get to that later.

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-03T19:51:01Z

Slowed down severely after the first day. So here's the second installation. The request to not offer any suggestions for change until December still applies.

“Can I talk to you?” Deirdre softly asked.

Nathan pursed his lips. After a brief pause, he nodded. She led him to her room and shut the door.

“Are you OK? You’ve been,” she paused, “on edge lately.”

“I’m fine. I’m worried about Sara, and the baby.”

“Have you been having odd dreams? I have.”

Nathan paused, looking at her. “What kind of dreams?”

“Well,” she searched for the right words, “Dreams about the past. Past lives.”

He smiled, “Are you wishing for a return to those times? Because I know they weren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”

“No,” she grinned, “I remember. I’ll take now any day. I just feel like we should be doing something. I feel like we’re missing it.”

He shook his head. “Look, that was then. Now we need to live our own lives. It’s not as if we’re bound to that duty all the time. Even more than just a couple times. You’ve got to move on. It’s time to move on.”

Deirdre sighed. “I just feel like something is going on. Something we need to be part of.”

“We’re not that special anymore, Deirdre,” he looked at the door. “We’ve got our own lives. And we can’t be as important today as we were then. It’s just not possible.” He stood. “We have to live our lives now, not in the past. Otherwise we’ll never be happy here. Now I’m going to go spend time with my wife. Please, Deirdre, just leave this be. Let it go.”

She sat heavily on the bed as he left the room. “He’s wrong. There’s something going on.”

* * *

“Hello?” He sounded rushed.

“Jason? Where are you? Are you OK?” Meredith couldn’t conceal the relief in her voice.

“I’m on my way home. I was just at a political rally. It was crazy! The guy was going on and on about how we need to give the government even more power, and in the middle of it, he got shot! I’ve never seen anything like it. Everyone went crazy, rushed out the doors. I doubt they’ll ever figure out who did it.” He sounded a little too happy.

“I’m glad you made it out ok. It’s a good thing it wasn’t a bomb.” She paused. “You don’t know anything about it, do you?”

“Of course not! How would I? It was crazy! Oh. I should go. I need to get home.” The line went dead.

* * *

“Good evening, Beloit College!” Victoria looked around the room. It was a surprisingly large turnout for such a small college. “I am glad I could make it here tonight. I sincerely wish it was under better circumstances.” She stopped, trying to gather the energy of the room. What would they rather she focus on? “I heard a story the other day. A young man, just out of college was on the street with a sign. It said ‘Ask about my brothers’. A friend of mine was passing by, and she did.”

* * *

“You have a package,” Darryl yelled from the door.

Meredith quickly pulled a t-shirt on and went to see what it was. She signed the electronic pad and smiled at the man, who grinned back. As she closed the door, she rolled her eyes.

“What’d you get?” Darryl was curiously bouncing beside her.

“I don’t know. Get me a knife.”

He ran to the kitchen and pulled a steak knife out of the drawer. She walked halfway back to meet him. The return address was Knoxville. Meredith swiftly opened the package, and looked at the contents, confused. There was a scribbled note with a phone number, and a black cell phone.

“I don’t get it. Who is this from?” Darryl looked concerned.

“Do you remember Jason, I told you about him. He treated me like a sister. I’m guessing he wants me to call him on this.”

“Ok.”

She picked up the phone and started dialing. Her face crept into a frown as she listened.

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-02T15:02:38Z

So, this month is National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novella starting yesterday, and ending on 11/30. I am participating with my newfound free time. I'm going to post my daily progress here, under a cut. But, here's the thing. I would LOVE positive comments, "Ooh! I like that part!" or "That dialogue was great!" BUT.... I don't want any suggestions or critiques. I don't have TIME to fix anything yet. Once the month is over, feel free. But until December 1st, NOTHING!! Otherwise I'll go back and start editing, and fall hopelessly behind, and it will be BAD! BAD I TELL YOU!

So yeah.
“Oh no,” she whispered. Her eyes were glued to the television, where a reporter was blithely going on about her report. Deirdre pulled her long blonde hair up into a hasty ponytail. She ran up the stairs, trying to decide how she could persuade Nathan of the severity of what she’d just heard.

* * *

Victoria smiled magnanimously, the cameras catching the highlights in her shoulder-length red hair. She walked to the podium, beyond which, she could see hundreds of hopeful and adoring faces. Being a late-comer to the race hadn’t seemed to hurt her much. Her message was simple, and appealed to everyone.

“Good evening, my friends in Madison,” she smiled. “It is a pleasure to be here.” Her smile turned sad, “Unfortunately, I wish I had better news to share with you.” The smile was gone. “Today your rights as citizens of a democratic society have been gravely damaged.” She checked the position of the camera, and swept her eyes over it, then the crowd in that area. “Today the president of our nation has become a despot. These times are the times we are required to fight. To stand up for our rights as free citizens of a free nation!” She paused for the applause. “Now, more than ever, you need someone to stand up for your rights. To fight the people, whomever they may be, who threaten your freedom.” The crowd roared.

* * *

The Cincinnati lights drowned out the stars. Meredith stood on the sidewalk, looking up at the haze covered sky. Her thoughts were flying. Without warning, she needed to write. She turned toward home, started walking, and as the need grew, running. She tore in the door, dodged the cat, and flew onto the bed, pulling her laptop toward her.

Darryl looked into the room, smiled and shook his head. “Do you want some hot chocolate?”

Without looking up, she nodded.

* * *

Jason looked around his basement. The lack of supplies was a problem. If things went as he expected, no, wanted them to go, he’d need a lot more than he currently had. He shook his head and bounded up the stairs for a piece of paper. It was time to take stock.

* * *

Gary looked up from his leather, his eyebrows knitted together. “Hmm,” he grunted. There was no one there. “I could’a sworn.” It was impossible, of course, Victoria hadn’t been part of his life ever really. Much less now that he was in Cape Cod, and she was in Wisconsin. He shook his head and went back to his bodice, scowling. The stock was low after the summer faire season, and now was the time to create more. And the more he created, the more lovely bosoms he would be able to tie into his creations. The scowl turned to a smile. “I love my job.” He began whistling.

* * *

Sara and Nathan were in what would be the baby’s room, contemplating colors. As Deirdre came into the room, the tall lanky blonde was smiling adoringly at his shorter wife while she ranted about the evils of pink, and how if he thought he’d manage to get her to agree to the horrid color, he had another thing coming.

Deirdre waited until the rant was finished to clear her throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but I just saw something on the news that I think you guys need to hear.”

Nathan looked up and raised his eyebrows. “Ok, what is it?”

Deirdre paused. “Do you know that bill? The one that gives the government the right to arrest you with no cause?”

Sara interrupted, “Yes, we’ve heard, what about it?”

“Well, they passed it today.”

Nathan scowled, “This country. I swear, we’re going to move to Canada soon.”

Sara looked up, “Not until the baby is older, right? Come on, this isn’t going to affect us. It’s for terrorists. Not normal people.”

Deirdre stepped into the room, “But who’s to say who’s a terrorist or not? This is huge! This is REALLY bad!”

Nathan smiled, “Deirdre, calm down. You always overreact to these things. It will be fine. We’ve just got to wait until the next election. We’ll win back everything and reverse the bill. You’ll never even remember this.”

Deirdre sighed. “I’m going to call Victoria.”

Sara scowled at the name. Nathan nodded, “Good idea. Have fun.”

“Want me to tell her hi for you?”

He shrugged, “Whatever. We’ve really got to pick out these colors, now.” He turned back to Sara, dismissing Deirdre.

* * *

“That went well, Miss Holladay.”

Victoria scowled at her advisor, “Of course it went well. I’m telling them their gravest fears are coming true. Not only that, but they ARE. So yeah, they’re going to respond. That doesn’t take a genius to figure out.”

The pudgy man nodded, “Well, you did very well out there. Without your charisma, the message would be lost.”

“Well, thank you.” Victoria shook her head, “I just hope I’m actually able to do something about this if I get elected. I’ll only be a senator, after all. And we all know how effective one senator actually is…”

She was interrupted by a young lady, “Excuse me, Miss Holladay? Phone for you, she says she’s an old friend and it’s urgent.”

Victoria raised one eyebrow and took the phone. “This is Victoria Holladay.” Her expression changed to one of surprise. “Deirdre! I hadn’t thought to hear from you. How are you?” She shooed everyone out of the room.

* * *

Jason smiled as he unloaded his truck. Getting everything had been easy. All he’d had to do was start out in Tennessee, drive over to North Carolina, and back, and pay cash. Now his personal stockpile was complete, he just needed to sit back and see how things went. He thought of calling Deirdre, to see how she was making out. His little sister wouldn’t appreciate it much, he decided. Victoria, however… He took out his phone.

It rang, and some aide picked it up. He growled and hung up the phone. It was time to get a safe form of communication that would be sure to get her. Being who she was, she probably needed it more than any of the others.

A thought crossed his mind, and he dialed another number. “Meredith! Hi, darlin’ how are you?” He smiled. “Good, me too. Hey, you got any sense of things? Oh yeah? Well, things going how I think they’re goin’, I think we’re all gonna be needed. Yeah. All. Well, keep your eyes open, ok? Talk to you later, love.”

* * *

Nathan looked down at the field, surveying the green. His horse was oddly restful , sensing his despair. He heard Victoria next to him, and didn’t look at her.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said.

He didn’t respond. Just looked at the mist, being eaten by the rising sun.

“They went of their own free will. They knew the risks. He knew the risk.”

“I know he did, Vic. I told him. I should have gone. It IS my fault. I shouldn’t have let them go. I should have made sure they didn’t. I should have…” He trailed off, a hoarse breath catching in his throat.

She silently stayed by his side. He could hear the sounds of camp being broken down very softly in the distance. Before the last wisp of mist cleared from the empty green below, he turned abruptly, still dry-eyed, and rode hard back to camp. He heard Victoria’s lack of movement, and glanced back. He saw her hunched shoulders, head in her hands, and knew she hurt as much as he did. He turned back to the camp. Now was the time to go. They’d stayed in this ominous place too long. And it had been his fault.

Nathan gasped and sat up in bed. His wife lay beside him, snoring softly, her bulging stomach in front of her. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the images from the dream.

“No,” he said softly, “No. I want nothing to do with them. I want to live my life. No. My wife needs me more than they do. My wife. And my daughter. This time they’ll have to do without me.” He stood and walked to the bathroom, where he looked at his eyes in the mirror. Running the water, he shook his head. As he splashed the cool water on his face, Sara entered, blinking sleepily.

“Are you OK, Nate?”

“Yeah. I just had a bad dream. Let’s go to bed.”

Just the sight of her made the dream and his past seem insignificant. He smiled at her and flicked the light off on the way to bed.

* * *

Gary grunted as he pushed the needle through the leather. The radio in the background played a soft jazz melody. Victoria would have laughed at him if she heard the music, but it reminded him of days past. As he worked, he could just imagine being back in the times he remembered – horses and castles, kings and queens. And Victoria in his tent.

Of course, those were times past. This time around, things were not so god. His search for Victoria had ended years ago, but his disappointment hadn’t. If only she’d remembered. He sighed and turned back to his work, viciously piercing the leather, creating beauty from formless hide. At least he still had this.

* * *

Deirdre rushed to work, the Seattle wind catching her ponytail, trying to take it away. She smiled, remembering the entertainment of last night. Eric was ever a character, and watching his expressions as she’d handily beat him at cards was priceless.

Nathan and Sara, however hadn’t been as happy. Sara seemed to get crabbier as time progressed and her discomfort increased.

Deirdre glanced up and was surprised to see a protester holding a sign. “Ask me about my brothers.” It read. She walked up to him.

“Tell me about your brothers.”

He looked at her, anger flashing in his eyes. “My little brother, Micah, joined the army. He died in this stupid war. He was overseas and all alone. My older brother, Jordan was furious. He started protesting, led marches, tried to hold those responsible accountable for their actions. Three days ago, they came and arrested him. We don’t know where he is. We don’t know when he’ll be back. Hell, we don’t even know why he was arrested. And you know? No one seems to care. They say he must have been a terrorist. He must have done something wrong. But he didn’t. And the police won’t tell us anything, and our lawyer says they don’t have to. He could be in prison forever.” He stopped.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m taking up Jordan’s cause. I’m protesting. I’m going to spread the word. We need someone who will fight for our rights. So I’m going to make sure people know it. There has to be a way.”

Deirdre nodded, her mind racing. She noticed that she was going to be late. “Good luck,” she said, and walked away.

* * *

“These terrorists must be stopped! The only way our government has the power to fight them is if it is undisputed and able to use any means necessary to root out this evil!” The crowd roared in agreement. “Here in the fine town of Knoxville, Tennessee, you have the power to make sure we eliminate the evil among us!” The crowd erupted again. As the applause went on, the fat, smiling man on the stage was quite suddenly not smiling anymore. The crowd went silent as he crumpled to the floor, blood spreading on the stage under him. Then the screaming started, and security tried its best to stop the stampeding masses, but fear overcomes reason, and by the time they realized where the bullet had come from, the assassin was long gone.

* * *

Meredith gasped and shook her head. The crystal bowl at which she’d been staring held a liquid that was quickly turning red. The candle sputtered and she leaned over to blow it out, dazed.

“He couldn’t have,” she whispered. “He wouldn’t.” She picked up the phone and dialed, praying that Jason would answer.

* * *

“You need to leave me alone. All of you. I need time alone, right now!” Victoria’s voice rang above the hubbub in the room.

“But you go onstage in ten minutes. We need to go over these notes,” her advisor started.

“No,” she nearly yelled. “Dave, I need to gather myself. I need to think, and I need to be ALONE.” She looked at him imploringly, “Please.”

He nodded. “You heard her, everyone. Out. Now.” The group filed through the door, Dave ushering them out.

Victoria smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you.”

He nodded as he shut the door.

She turned quickly toward the empty room and pulled a compass from her pocket. Looking at its face, she turned to the East and pulled a long necklace from under her shirt, on which hung a pentacle encircled in a Celtic knot.

“I call upon the Guardians of the East, spirits of water and change…”

* * *

Gary was ushered into a small, dingy room. He laughed, “Ok, the game’s over now Siena. Let me out of these bonds.”

“Just give me a little more time, Gary. I’ll let you out soon enough. One more room.”

He sighed. “This game is getting old.”

Without replying, she let him to another door. “You get a blindfold for this one.”

“Oh, now come on! This is utterly ridiculous.”

“Be a sport. As soon as I get the blindfold on, I’ll untie your arms, ok? Just hold still for a minute.”

He growled but held still. The blindfold made him growl again, but as she untied him, he relaxed.

“Now just follow me in here, and after I let you go, count silently to 10. Then you can do whatever you want.”

“This is silly.”

“Indulge me.”

He sighed and followed as she opened the door. He could tell the room was bigger, it had a different sound. She let his arm go and he started counting to ten.

“Who’s there? Who are you?” An unfamiliar voice yelled.

In the next instant, he heard the door behind him slam shut. He whirled and ripped off the blindfold. Not that it did him much good. It was pitch black in the room. He turned slowly trying to see anything. What was Siena playing at?

“Who are you?” The man yelled again. Gary turned to face the voice. It seemed to come from a long distance.

“My name is Gary. Who are you?”

“Nathan. Why are you here?”

“I don’t know. My wife, Siena brought me.”

“Then you’re better off than me. I woke up here.”

Another door opened, to Gary’s left, and he realized that the room was circular. He was blinded by the light, but could make out three figures. One coming in at sword point.

“I’ll find you and kill you all!” the man at the end of the sword swore.

Just as suddenly as it had opened, the door closed. Gary heard the man attacking the door.

“I swear to you I’ll get out of this!” he yelled.

“Hopefully, we all will,” Nathan spoke up.

The newcomer got quiet. After a long pause, he spoke, “Who are you?”

“My name is Nathan. There is another fellow here by the name of Gary. And who might you be?”
“Why am I here?”

“Your guess is as good as ours. Now answer my question.”

“The name is Jason, and I’m going to find a way out of here.”

“I’d help you, but whatever they drugged me with is still wearing off. I can’t walk straight, much less run,” Nathan paused. “So Gary, why would your wife do something like this?”

Gary shook his head, and realized the two men couldn’t see him. “I don’t know.”

Another door opened, on the opposite side of Jason’s door. A figure carrying someone over their shoulder knelt and gently lowered the figure to the floor before jumping up and bolting to the door. They shut it just in time to let Jason slam into it. He swore and hit the door again for good measure.

Another door opened near where Nathan must be, and a figure was pushed in. The door shut almost immediately. Gary heard a muffled female voice and some scuffling before suddenly a stream of curses that made him blush with their severity poured out. On the tail end of the curses, some foreign-sounding language in almost a chant. There was a spark of light, and he saw clearly, a small woman with long dark hair standing and chanting. A split second later, the darkness descended once again, causing yet another stream of curses.

Gary stood, shocked.

“I see we have a sorceress,” Nathan said dryly. “Any ideas how to get us out of here?”

Before she could answer, a groan emanated from the body by Jason. Another woman.

“I am Meredith.” The sorceress ignored the groan.

“I’m Nathan, there’s a fellow named Gary, a fellow named Jason, and our unconscious friend. I wonder how many more people they intend to put in here.”

As if in answer, another door opened, and two men entered, carrying a struggling person between them. They tossed her into the room and exited just before both she and Jason hit the door.

“Who the devil are you, and why am I here?” the woman yelled.

Gary heard a scuffle. “Whoa now!” Jason said, “I have no idea why I’m here, much less you. Why did they let you keep a knife? They took all mine.”

“Name.”
“Jason. No need to get rough. Like I said, I know nothing about what’s going on.”

“It seems none of us do,” Nathan interjected.

“How many are here?” the woman sounded a little intimidated.

“Six, it seems,” Nathan answered.

Another groan came from the woman on the floor. Gary made his way to her, making sure not to kick or step on her.

“Are you well?” he asked.

The sorceress started chanting again.

“I think so,” the woman answered. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“My name is Gary. I have no idea where we are. Who are you?”

“Deirdre.”

A slight glow began in the center of the room. It slowly increased in strength. The sorceress stopped chanting. As the room brightened, Gary saw the sorceress looking at the area from which it emanated with suspicion. She was dressed as a gentlewoman, a rich silk dress, with her hair up in the latest fashion. He saw a glint, and looked to where Jason and the new woman were. She was tucking a knife into a leather bodice. She wore light leather armor, and looked to be a mercenary. Her long red hair was tied simply back. Jason was dressed in all black, which Gary had seen once on one rumored to be an assassin. He looked to where Nathan sat. He was a lanky blonde man who looked to be an army man. His armor looked well used and well cared-for. Deirdre had long blonde hair, and plain, but high quality peasant’s clothing. His own blacksmith’s attire seemed simple in comparison.

A figure in red robes appeared in the center of the room, followed closely by one in white and one in black. Gary couldn’t see their faces.

A woman’s voice rose from the three. “You have been called. You Six, in this troubled and turbulent time. You must arise and go forth. You must fight for the good of the world, and you must succeed. Nathan, General, with your tactical mind, you will lead the armies that flock to your cause. Victoria, Mercenary, with your knowledge of people and skill with crowds, you’ll gather people to your cause. Deirdre, Healer, with your caring, you will provide people a safe place, and use your skills to learn of the enemy. Jason, Assassin, your knowledge and skills will undermine the enemy. Meredith, Sorceress, your power will aid and strengthen your companions, and Gary, Craftsman, your simple style will bring your message abroad. Rise now, and together you will win this war.”

Gary started awake. He shook his head. They couldn’t… It wasn’t… Were they being called again?! In his head, he heard the woman’s voice, “Yes.”

* * *

Food

2006-10-13T12:16:37Z

I really need to actually write something to put on this journal. It's supposed to be a writing journal, afterall.

OK The remainder of last night was an exercise in BAD EATING HABITS:
1 Whopper Jr. w/cheese - 450 Calories, 28g Fat
1 Small McDonald's Fries - 250 Calories, 13g Fat, 3g Fiber
6 Pc. Chicken McNugget - 250 Calories, 15g Fat
1.5 Tbsp really amazing honey - 96 Calories

Total for yesterday: 2340 Calories, 151g Fat, 5g Fiber

Today, I had a "Mega omelet sandwich" from PDQ - 898 Calories, 53g Fat, 2g Fiber
and a 20oz fake horrible chocolate brownie fudge cappucino from PDQ - Something like 600 Calories, 10g Fat, 2g Fiber.

Not an incredibly pleasant start to the morning. However, I'm functioning, so....

Total so far today: 1498 Calories, 63g Fat, 4g Fiber