Ultimate Secret

CHAPTER 1

Anthony Vicks sat up in bed for the fifth time that night, one for each of his children. The reoc-curring dream was worsening each time it played with his thoughts. First, it was 18 year old Anna being raped and murdered before his helpless eyes. Then came the 17 year old triplets. Charles was hanging himself by a leather belt in his closet. Daniel was being strangled by one of his guitar strings while Sarah had her drumstick shoved down her throat. Finally, little Jayden was forced to watch his siblings mur-ders before jumping off the cliff to his own death.
Hot tears burned his alarmingly sharp blue eyes as he gazed at the lump on the bed next to him. The lump stirred and an even larger lump formed under the covers. He angrily wiped the tears away as he got off the bed. He put his robe on and was about to open the sliding glass door when the angel like voice spoke through the darkness.
“You can’t keep running from your fears,” his wife told him.
He paused with his hand on the door handle and glanced over his shoulder. Although he knew she was right, he slid open the door and stepped into the cool morning air of a July in Maine.
Hours later, Anthony joined his family at the breakfast table. He bent to kiss the girls’ heads and ruffled the boys’ hairs. Little Jayden giggled with delight when Anthony sat down next to him. Anthony smiled at the boy as he reached for a piece of toast. Momentarily forgetting that his oldest was telepathic, Anthony briefly thought about the night before.
“You were restless last night,” Anna said distantly, her violet eyes somewhat filmy.
Anthony looked at her and frowned. He didn’t like her using her abilities to see into his mind.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to use your abilities at the table?” he asked in a fa-therly tone.
Despite the anger he intended, Anthony joined his children in laughter. He suddenly stopped laughing when his wife, Natalie, walked into the room. Quickly following suit, the children continued eating their breakfast. Natalie grazed her fingers across Anthony’s broad shoulders as she walked behind him. He held out his hand and she smiled as she took it and slowly lowered herself into her chair.
“A gentleman,” she grinned.
He kissed her fingers and smiled. He took a bite of jam covered toast and slowly started chew-ing. The sound of crunching gravel filled his ears as he turned his head toward the window and stopped chewing.
“What is it?” Natalie asked, reaching out and gripping his forearm.
A sudden smile pulled at his lips as he thought of his sister.
“Ruthie,” he explained before standing up and disappearing down the hall.

Just as she got out of the front seat of the SUV, Ruth saw her older brother running across the large lawn toward her. She squealed in delight as she ran to him, meeting him halfway. He picked her up and spun around a few times before putting her on her feet and squeezing her.
“Careful, Tony,” she said, gently worming her way out of the tight hug. “You’ll hurt us.”
“Us?” Anthony asked, holding her at arm’s length. His eyes drifted to her abdomen and realized he hadn’t noticed the large bump it had become. He laughed in excitement.
“How far along?” he asked as she took his hand and placed it on her belly.
“Five months,” she replied with a smile as her husband, Andrew came up behind her. Their two kids, Nikki and John had already gone into the house.
“Five long months,” Andrew teased with a smile.
Ruth playfully elbowed him in the gut. He laughed and kissed her cheek.
“How’s Natalie?” Ruth asked as they made their way across the lawn. “She’s due to pop any day now, right?”
“About two more weeks,” said Anthony as he closed the front door behind them.
Hugs were exchanged in the kitchen before the seven kids went upstairs to change for the pool and the four adults sat in the living room, chatting about Ruth and Andrew’s two year family move to Europe. One by one, the kids filed out the back door a few minutes later. The doorbell rang and Anna looked over her shoulder at it.
“I got it,” she said, turning on her heel and disappearing down the hall.
Anthony put his hands on his knees and stood up.
“I sense an oncoming problem,” he said, following his daughter.
Ruth smiled.
“Is psychic one of his new abilities?” she asked Natalie, who laughed.
“Nah,” she said, “he’s just being a father.”

The boy turned when Anna opened the door and her breath caught in her throat. From his gray eyes to his tanned, muscular arms, Anna knew she was looking at the boy of her dreams. When he smiled, she felt her knees start to give out. A strong arm suddenly wrapped around her waist.
“You must be Jake,” Anthony said to the boy.
The boy nodded as he extended his hand.
"Jake Logan," he said with a smile as Anthony shook his hand.
Anna smiled as she continued to read Jake's thoughts about her.
"This is my daughter, Anna," said Anthony with a smile.
Jake extended his hand to her and she gladly took his warm, rough palm in her own.
"Jake," he said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you," said Anna as she withdrew her hand.
"Jake," said Anthony. Jake's cool gray eyes quickly darted to Anthony at full attention. "Every-thing you need is in the back all set up and ready for you and I'll get Charlie to help you bring your gear out back."
Jake nodded, took one more look at Anna before turning and walking toward his truck. Anna watched him take his hat off his head and wipe the sweat from his forehead as he put the door of the bed down and pulled several tools out, such as a dirt shovel and two hoes. He noticed Anna watching him and threw her a smile. She returned it just as Charlie stepped past her and walked out to the truck. Anna was disgusted by what her brother was thinking and he seemed to sense it because he turned and grinned at her. This is what happens when you can read people's minds, Annie, his voice said tauntingly in her head, you hear things you never really ever want to hear.
Anna shook her head, stepped into the house and closed the door.
"I don't think I've ever seen you so happy before," Anthony told her when she walked into the living room. "He wasn't even that good-looking."
"You don't think he's good-looking because you're a guy, Daddy," she said with a smile. "I, on the other hand, think he is absolutely gorgeous. Charlie thinks so too."
"I worry about Charlie sometimes too," said Anthony, shaking his head.
Anna giggled and opened the back door to the deck. She walked down the few stairs and crossed the ten feet of grass to the pool area. She opened the gate and stepped onto the cool ceramic tile that boarded the large pool. She walked over to one of the lounge chairs and pulled her shirt over her head after she made sure Jake was looking. She smiled to herself as she read his thoughts as she took her clothes off and tossed them onto the chair. There was a scream from the pool and Anna turned just in time to be hit by a wall of water. Sarah surfaced and squeezed her nose to get rid of the water. She punched Daniel’s chest and he laughed before she swam to the side of the pool and pulled herself out. She walked over to the now wet and annoyed Anna and grinned.
“Sorry, Sis,” said Sarah. “The idiot over there picked me up and threw me.”
Anna suddenly smiled a smile that Sarah had only seen once and she knew what it meant. She grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her toward her. Anna watched in amusement as Sarah’s eyes went blank. Images of Jake flew through Anna’s mind as she read her sister’s mind. The sound of his voice and the look of his smile made Sarah snap back into reality.
“Cute, huh?” Anna asked with a smile.
“Where is he?” Sarah demanded playfully.
“Behind you,” said Anna.
Sarah looked over her shoulder and her jaw dropped. Standing across the huge lawn, talking to Charlie, was Jake Logan. Sarah watched in amazement as Charlie pointed to different things on the lawn mower between them and continued speaking inaudible words. Anna glanced at the boy quietly sneaking up behind Sarah and smiled when he put his finger to his lips. Anna winked at him as he wrapped his arms around Sarah’s waist and she screamed loudly. Anna laughed when Charlie and Jake turned in surprise. Sarah turned and smacked her boyfriend’s muscular chest.
“CHASE!” she shouted with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her slick waist.
He laughed as she put her hands on his chest.
“Hey Babe,” he said, bending down and gently kissing her lips for a few seconds. He pulled back and smiled. He looked at Anna. “Well if it isn’t Hottie number two.”
Anna grinned.
“Hey Handsome,” she replied, “haven’t seen you hanging around here lately. Where’ve you been?”
“Packing,” Chase replied sadly as Sarah’s arms slid around his waist and held on tight.
“Packing?” Anna asked, raising an eyebrow. “Packing for what?”
“I’m moving,” he replied, changing the way he was holding Sarah. Anna noticed he was holding her sister in the way that Sarah called it “he never wants to let go.”
“I thought I told you that he was moving to Norman, Oklahoma at the end of the summer,” Sa-rah said to Anna, who shrugged.
“When do I ever really pay attention to what you say?” she asked playfully.
Chase laughed against the top of Sarah’s head and Sarah stuck her tongue out at Anna. A slight breeze picked up and Sarah shivered against Chase, who smiled as he held her tighter. Goosebumps erupted on her arms and legs and he smiled as he gently kissed her quivering shoulder. Anna turned when someone called her name. Jake and Charlie were walking toward the wrought-iron fence and Anna met them at it.
“Anna, this is Jake,” said Charlie.
Anna nodded and smiled at him. “We met at the door.”
“Your dad introduced us,” Jake told Charlie, glancing at him and then looking at Anna again. She continued to read his whizzing mind and smiled.
“Jake is Dad’s new gardener for the summer,” Charlie explained. “So he’ll be around here a lot.”
Anna nodded. “Looking forward to it. Another boy around the house.”
“How many exactly do you have usually?” Jake asked with a smile.
“Well, I have three and a half brothers,” said Anna with a smile, “and my dad while there are only three women total.”
“Uhhh, how do you have a half of a brother?” Jake asked.
“One’s not born yet,” Charlie explained with a smile.
“Charlie!” John yelled from the pool. Charlie looked at him and the boy waved him over. Charlie nodded, excused himself from Anna and Jake and walked to the gate. Anna turned her back on Jake and rested her elbows between the wrought-iron bars. She saw Jake leaned his forearms against the gate next to her.
“So,” he said slowly.
She turned.
“Don’t you have work to get to?” she asked with a smile.
He chuckled and shook his head.
“You’re a feisty one,” he said as he pushed away from the fence.
“Wait, before you go,” she said, grabbing his shirt with both hands and pulling him toward her. She kissed him on the lips and pushed him back. “I’ll see you at seven.”
He blinked, nodded and then smiled as she let go of his shirt.
“Seven it is,” he said, clearly dumbfounded about what had just happened. He backed away from the fence, continuing to nod. Anna smiled at him before turning to her sister and Chase.
“Wow,” said Chase, amazed. “You are a feisty one.”
Anna read his mind and suddenly smiled. Sarah frowned when she saw her sister’s fake and annoyed smile.
“Chase, why don’t you come help me make lunch for everyone?” she asked.
“Lunch?” Sarah asked. “It’s only 10:30.”
You want to talk to me alone, don’t you? Chase’s voice asked in Anna’s head.
She nodded.
“I know it’s only 10:30,” said Anna, “but why can’t Chase and I make lunch? Or are you afraid of letting him be alone with me?”
Sarah grinned as Chase kissed her head. She slowly let go of his waist and slid out of his arms. She watched as he followed Anna into the house.
“What did I do now?” Chase teased when the door was closed.
Anna shrugged.
“Since when is it not okay for me to make lunch with my sister’s boyfriend?” she asked, pulling lunch meat out of the fridge and placing it on the counter. Chase got the bread out and divided up the pieces.
“Oh come on, Annie,” he said as she took a ham hock out of the fridge and placed it on the cut-ting board he had placed on the counter for her. She opened a drawer and took out a butcher’s knife and started to slice the ham.
Chase looked out the window at Sarah and smiled to himself.
“Do you love my sister?” Anna asked suddenly as she placed the slices of meat on the bread.
He turned.
“Do I love her?” he asked. Anna nodded. He smiled. “Yes, I love her.”
“That’s good, because she loves you,” said Anna.
“How do you know?” he asked.
“I can read minds, remember?” she asked with a smile. She suddenly flew toward him, knife if hand and pushed his back against the counter. She pointed the sharp knife at his crotch and he got scared.
“HEY! HEY!” he said loudly, attempting to push her hand away.
“By the way, Handsome,” she said, touching his zipper with the point of the knife and looking him straight in the face. “If you ever think about my sister like that again in my presence, I will personally take this knife and castrate you.”
He gulped as she stepped away from him and continued cutting the ham. She smiled as Chase paled and stared at her. A few minutes later, he carried the plate of sandwiches outside and set them on the table. Sarah climbed out of the pool and walked over to her towel. She wrapped it around her and touched Chase’s back. He turned and she saw his pale face and frowned.
“What’s up, Baby?” she asked, kissing his arm.
He swallowed and smiled. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“Nothing,” he said with a smile. She eyed him and he laughed. “I promise.”
She nodded as she slowly unwrapped the towel from her waist to show him her body. He smiled as he put his hands on her curvy hips and pressed her wet body against his.
“Come in the pool with me,” she said, kissing his chest.
“I’ll go anywhere with you,” he said with a smile as he took his shirt and shoes off before picking her up and throwing her into the pool and diving in after her.
They surfaced laughing hysterically until he wrapped his arms around her and held her against him. She pressed her mouth to his shoulder and put her fingers in his wet hair. She kissed his shoulder, neck and ear.
“I’m going to miss you,” he said softly in her ear.
Hearing this made her grip him tighter, her fingers digging into his back.
“Why do you have to leave?” she asked, pulling back far enough to look at his face.
“It’s what happens when you have a general in the air force for a father and a lieutenant as a brother,” he replied, reaching up and brushing the water and tears from her cheeks as she wrapped her legs around his waist. “You get moved around a lot. And even if I wasn’t moving, I’d still be leaving for college while you’re still going to be a senior in high school.”
“But even if you went to college,” she said, “you’d still come home on breaks. But now, you have to go to a different home on breaks.”
He put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her lips.
“You are my home,” he told her very seriously.
She nodded and kissed his lips again.
“Hey Handsome,” Anna called suddenly.
Chase looked at her. She held up his cell phone, which was ringing in her hand. He nodded and gently lifted Sarah off him and swam to the side of the pool. He took his phone and started speaking into it. Sarah watched as his back tensed and he made a tight fist. He hung up and handed it back to Anna to put on the table. Sarah swam over to him and gently touched his back and he slowly looked at her.
“I have to go,” he said sadly.
She gripped his shoulder.
“Now?” she whispered.
He nodded, turned and hugged her tight before getting out of the pool. He and Sarah dried off and put their clothes back on. Anna and Daniel watched as they walked hand in hand out of the pool area and through the side yard. Anna listened to their thoughts as they disappeared around the house and suddenly frowned.
“Oh no,” she whispered.
“What is it?” Daniel asked, getting out of the pool. John and Nikki got out too and dried off. “Anna, what happened?”
“They got into a fight,” said Anna, looking at her brother.
“Sarah!” Charlie suddenly yelled, running around the pool and out the gate door.
Sarah was running as fast as she could across the yard.
“Charlie!” Anna called, running after her brother.
He skidded to a stop and she put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her.
“We need to give her some time,” said Anna, taking her brother’s hand. “If we chase her, she’ll keep running.”
Charlie nodded and they started walking back to the pool. Anthony had come outside when he heard the sudden shouting. Daniel told him what Anna had heard and he slowly nodded before walking back into the house. Daniel gathered the kids and the sandwiches and led the way into the house for some air-conditioning. Everyone ate in silence while Anna just picked her sandwich apart. Charlie reached over and took her hand and she looked at him.
“I’m giving her a half hour,” he told his sister, who nodded.
“So Anna,” said Ruth, trying to start a conversation. Anna looked at her. “You ready for your graduation present?”
“You didn’t have to, Aunt Ruth,” said Anna, “really, you didn’t.”
“It actually wasn’t us who did it,” said Andrew, taking an envelope out of his back pocket. He slid it across the table.
“Then who was it?” Anna asked, picking up the envelope and opening it.  A smile pulled at her lips as she took out several brochures of France. She pulled out four plane tickets and looked at her family.
Anthony pointed his finger at her.
“Those four tickets are for you,” he said, “you can bring anyone you wish with you.”
Anna squealed and jumped from her seat, knocking the chair backwards. The German Sheppard and the black Labrador, Max and Teddy, jumped up in fear and started barking at the over thrown chair. Anna ran around the table and squeezed her father from behind, pressing her cheek to his and hugging him. He laughed as he put his hand on her arm and she kissed his cheek.
“I love you, Daddy,” she said before running to find the house phone to call her friends.
Natalie gripped her husband’s hand and he looked at her. He lifted her hand up and kissed her fingers and smiled. Daniel and Charlie rolled their eyes and stood up from the table. They went into the kitchen and took care of their plates before dropping on to the couch and recliner and watching TV. Twenty minutes later, Anna came back into the room.
“Katelyn is going to ask her mom,” she informed her father before swooping down and kissing his cheek again. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he said with a smile. “You’ve earned it.”
Anna smiled and walked over to the couch and hit Charlie’s stomach.
“She needs us,” she said.
He sat up and nodded.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“Where do you think she is?”
Charlie stood up and wrapped his arms around his sister and the familiar rush of wind and color engulfed them as they flew into the air. When they had materialized again, Anna was sitting behind her sister on the floor of the large tree house they had built growing up. Anna wrapped her arms around Sarah and held her against her chest.
“Oh Annie,” Sarah whispered, touching her sister’s arm and turning her face into her neck.
“Shh,” Anna whispered, “it’s all right.”
“No it’s not,” Sarah said, shaking her head. “He is leaving in four days and we had a fight. Now he’s mad and probably won’t talk to me again. I screw every relationship I have up.”
Anna shook her head and took Sarah’s hand.
“That’s not true,” said Anna with a smile. Sarah looked at her in disgust.
“Oh yeah?” Sarah asked. “What relationship haven’t I effing screwed up?”
“Ours,” said Anna with another smile as she kissed Sarah’s teary cheek.
“And ours,” said Charlie, appearing on Sarah’s other side.
Sarah laughed and shook her head.
“I hate you both,” she said with a smile as her siblings hugged her.
“We know,” said Anna, kissing Sarah’s head. “But we love you. And if it makes you feel any better, I threatened to castrate your boyfriend.”
Sarah burst out laughing until new tears rolled down her cheeks. Anna joined her while Charlie instinctively put his hand on his crotch.
“Why would you threaten him with that?” Charlie asked when the laughing died down.
“You should have heard the way he was thinking about my little sister!” said Anna loudly.
“Why? What was he thinking?” Sarah asked.
“He was thinking about what it would be like to butt-rape you,” said Anna.
Sarah laughed even harder. “That’s disgusting!”
“That’s why I threatened to castrate the bastard,” said Anna with a smile as they stood up. Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled as she hugged Anna. She pulled back and smiled.
“So where are you and Jake going to go?” she asked with a mischievous grin.
“How did you-?” Anna began, shutting her mouth when she realized that her sister had seen her kiss Jake. “Never mind. You were there.”
“Yeah,” said Sarah with a smile.
“Wait a minute,” said Charlie. “You have a date with the gardener? Already? He’s been working for us for like an hour and you already couldn’t keep your hands off of him.”
“It’s okay, Charlie,” said Sarah, patting her brother’s shoulder. “You can get the next hot guy.”

CHAPTER TWO

Jake Logan had been staring into his sink for the past twenty minutes before he finally lifted his head and looked in the mirror. He was wearing a black suit jacket, a red Ralph Lauren polo and jeans. His black Chuck Taylor’s were waiting by the front door and so were his car keys. His short black hair was combed forward and the front was styled into a duck tail sort of hairdo. He turned the bathroom light of and left the room. He sat on the bottom step, put his shoes on and tied them. He grabbed his keys and his wallet and slid it into his back pocket. With his hand on the doorknob, he took his wallet out and opened it, sighing in relief at the sight of dollar bills. He slid it back into his back pocket, called out to his mother and left the house.
With a click of a button, the Dodge Ram 2500 pick up’s lights blinked as it unlocked. He opened the driver’s door, did a quick scan to make sure the leather interior of the truck was somewhat clean and put the keys into the ignition.

“I’m jealous, Annie,” said Sarah with a smile as she took a small section of Anna’s dark hair and began to braid it with quick and nimble fingers.
“Why on Earth would you be jealous?” Anna asked as Charlie knocked on the bathroom door and walked in. He smiled at his older sister in the mirror.
“If I wasn’t gay, I think I’d have issues,” he said with a laugh as Sarah switched sides and began braiding a piece on the other side of Anna’s head.
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Anna asked in mock disgust.
Charlie wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek.
“You look phenomenal,” he told her with a smile.
Anna took the pony tail holder from Sarah and in seconds, had a bun on the back of her head. She secured the bun with two more pony tail holders before standing up and smoothing out her dress. The thin fabric was knee length and cut into a spaghetti strap. Its green fabric made her violet eyes sparkle against her olive complexion.
“Just out of curiosity,” said Charlie, scratching his chin. “What shoes are you going to wear?”
Anna’s face went blank just as the doorbell rang. Sarah and Anna giggled as Charlie pulled them out of the bathroom and into Anna’s room. He sat her on the bed and went into her closet, pulling out several pairs of shoes. Sarah could hear Daniel and Jake’s voices coming from downstairs.
“Hurry up!” she urged Charlie.
He turned and glared at her.
“Well, if you had already done this in the first place,” he said in a high voice. Sarah and Anna giggled against their hands. “Then I wouldn’t have to do it!”
He started swaying his hips and waving his hands as he walked across the room toward the bed. Sarah and Anna were now laughing so hard they were holding their stomachs as Charlie placed the shoes on his sister’s feet. When he put a pair of short black pumps, he smiled and waved his hand.
“Oh my God,” he said in the same high voice, causing his sisters to laugh even harder. “You look gorgeous.”
He pulled Anna to her feet and she hugged him.
“Thank you, Charlie,” she said into his chest before pulling back. She kissed his cheek and he smiled.
“Anything for you, love,” he said, holding out his arm.
She grinned as she wrapped her arm around his and they walked out of the room. They stopped at the top of the stairs and Charlie cleared his throat. Jake and Daniel looked up.
“Introducing,” Charlie began before Anna hit his chest playfully. Both she and Jake had gone bright red. Charlie, getting the hint, walked his sister down the stairs and stopped in front of Jake, who smiled. Anna could feel her knees start to give out so she tightened her grip on Charlie’s arm. Jake held out his arm and Anna smiled as she took it and let go of Charlie just as Anthony walked into the room.
“Have her home before one, Jake,” said Anthony in his fatherly voice as Sarah wrapped her arms around his big arm.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Vicks,” said Jake with a smile as Anna gripped his forearm. “I’ll have her home in time for bed.”
Anthony nodded as they turned to leave. They walked out the door and to the truck. Anna was about to get into the passenger seat when someone called her name. She turned and saw Charlie running toward her, holding something.
“You forgot your jacket,” he said, coming to a stop in front of her. He held out her jacket and she took it.
“Thanks, Charlie,” she said with a smile as he took her hand. He gently kissed the back of her fingers and let Jake help her into the truck. Jake nodded at Charlie before walking around the truck and getting into the driver’s seat. The headlights came on and Jake turned to look out the back window to reverse. When he turned forward, Charlie was gone. He stared at the empty spot for a few seconds until Anna put her hand on his.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Absolutely nothing,” he smiled as he reversed and turned to drive down the half mile drive way.

After a romantic dinner of sushi at Hooked, Jake drove to the beach. By the time he had turned the car off, got out and went around, Anna was already on the boardwalk with her shoes off. She turned her head and giggled as he jogged to her. She held out her hand for him and he smiled as he took it, lacing their fingers together as they walked down the dark boardwalk. A slight breeze picked up as they reached the end of the boardwalk and stopped under the lamp. The yellow light cast their blurry shadows onto the dark ocean below them. They turned to face each other and a smile pulled at Jake’s lips as he reached up and touched Anna’s cheek with his fingers.
“I won’t pull away,” she said softly, shaking her head.
He stared.
“How did you?” he asked in surprise. He shook his head. “Never mind. You can probably see it in my expression, huh?”
She nodded and took a step closer to him, pressing her body against his chest. He gently kissed her forehead and when she didn’t pull away, he smiled. He kissed the tip of her nose and was about to kiss her lips when she put her hands on his chest and held him back as she turned her head to the side.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
Jake lifted his head and strained to listen. All he heard was the sound of the breeze and the waves washing up against the shore.
“What is it?” he asked her, touching her bare arms.
“Something isn’t right,” she said with a frown and a shake of her head.
She suddenly took off running down the boardwalk.
“ANNA!” Jake shouted after her as he ran to catch up.
She sprinted down the steps and onto the dark sand. When Jake saw the large dark mass on the sand about 50 yards in front of them, he ran faster. Anna dropped to her knees next to the dark shape and touched it. Jake came to a stop next to her and when he saw what the dark shape was, he gasped and took several steps back.
“Jesus Christ,” he whispered in fear.

Anthony closed his cell phone and closed his eyes. He would have to tell his daughter the news personally. He walked up the dark stairs and into Anna’s room, where Charlie and Sarah were sitting on the bed, talking. Sarah looked up at her father and frowned.
“What is it, Daddy?” she asked.
“There’s been an accident,” Anthony mumbled, slowly shaking his head. “On the beach. Anna just called and there is something you need to know.”
“What happened!” Sarah shouted, standing up.
“Chase was attacked,” was the reply.

Anna looked up at Jake with fear in her eyes before turning her attention to the young man in her lap. His shirt was torn and bloody, his lips were thin and pale. Blood had soaked through his clothes and spread out in a wide circle on the sand around them. She gently pushed the hair off his forehead and his eyes fluttered and slowly opened.
“Annie?” he whispered as she took his hand and gripped it.
“Hey Handsome,” she replied softly as she felt Jake kneel in the sand next to her. He took off his jacket and gently placed it over Chase’s torn up and bloody chest. Anna looked at him and gave him a small smile when he touched her cheek with his fingers. She turned her attention back to Chase when he coughed and groaned deeply.
“What happened to you?” she asked him.
Chase turned his head away from her and with great difficulty, pointed to his left. Anna and Jake looked up and what they saw made their blood freeze in their veins. Staring at them from a distance was a pair of yellow eyes. The sound of growling filled the silent night as a mouthful of teeth emerged through the darkness.
“What the fuck is that?” Jake demanded in a terrified voice.
“Whatever you do,” said Anna, “don’t make any sudden movements.”
Jake nodded and put his arm around Anna’s shoulders. Shouts filled the air as flashing lights shone on the beach around them. As the voices and lights neared, the creature disappeared into the darkness. Several men with flashlights ran up behind Anna and Jake and Jake was pulled away from Anna. He shouted her name but was forced off away from her before she could respond. He was led along the beach, up the stairs and off the boardwalk, where there were several ambulances and flashing police cars waiting in the parking lot. He was led to the ambulance and a thick blanket was wrapped around his shoulders before the men disappeared.
Chase was gently lifted from Anna’s arms and placed on a stretcher. He gave her hand a squeeze before they were forced to let go and he was carried up the beach. Anna looked down at her bloody dress and hugged herself against the breeze as she started walking after them. She saw her father running toward her.
“Anna!” he shouted, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up.
Instinctively, Anna wrapped her legs around her father’s waist and hugged him.
“Oh Daddy,” she whispered in his ear.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said, holding her even tighter. “You’re all right. I’m here. Nothing will hurt you.”
“Chase,” Anna began as she pulled back.
Her father had tears in his eyes.
“Chase is going to be fine,” he said, putting her down. He took off his sweatshirt and gave it to her. She immediately put it on and smelled the collar. She looked up at him and slowly nodded as he put his hand on her back and guided her away from the bloody sand.
Sarah screamed and pulled against her brother when she saw Chase on the stretcher.
“Chase!” she screamed, managing to free herself from Charlie’s grip and rushing over to the stretcher.
He slowly turned his head and looked at her and a very small smile lifted his lips as he held up his arm. She took his hand and gripped it before she was pushed away by the paramedics. Chase was loaded into the ambulance, the doors were slammed closed and it soon disappeared into the distance. Sarah sobbed into Charlie’s chest as the reporters swarmed the scene. With a quick swoop, Anthony pushed his children out of the area and nodded to Charlie, who nodded back before wrapping his arms around Sarah and disappearing into thin air. Seconds later, he was back.
“Daddy,” Anna began, taking her father’s hand.
“Go home with Charlie and change,” Anthony instructed. “Then meet me at the hospital.”
His two oldest nodded and soon disappeared just as the reporters swarmed Anthony.
“Lieutenant Vicks,” one of them spoke, shoving a recorder into his face. “How do you explain this attack?”
“No comment,” Anthony growled as he spotted his father in the crowd. Jeremy spotted Anthony and nodded as he made his way through the sea of reporters.
“Detective Vicks,” another reporter began as Jeremy pushed through them and put his hand on Anthony’s shoulder.
“When the police know something about this attack, you’ll know something,” Jeremy said to all the reporters around them. “As for now, neither my son nor I have anything to say.”
“Thanks, Dad,” said Anthony when they were free of reporters. “I owe you one.”
“No,” said Jeremy with a shake of his head. “You owe me nothing. Now, we have an attack to solve before it happens again.”
Anthony nodded and the two of them went down the stairs and onto the beach, where the bloody sand had been illuminated with battery powered flood lights and was taped off with yellow police tape. Anthony looked at his watch. All of this had happened before one in the morning.

Sarah had been squeezing her sister for ten minutes before she finally slid out of the hug with tears running down her cheeks. Anna gently wiped them away only to find that even more fell as she looked into Sarah’s indigo eyes. Anna had changed into a pair of Charlie’s University of Maine sweat-pants and another one of her father’s sweatshirts before hugging her sister as hard as she could.
“Is he?” Sarah breathed, gripping Anna’s hands.
“Is he what?” Anna asked, trying to decode Sarah’s mangled thoughts.
“Alive?” Sarah managed to whisper.
“At the moment? Yes,” said Anna with a nod. “He’s alive and he’s thinking about you.”
More tears fell.
“What about me?” Sarah asked softly.
“He’s thinking about how much he loves you,” said Anna with a smile. “God damn, sis, I wish I had someone to love me as much as he loves you. You’re perfect for each other.”
“So we’ve been told,” Sarah muttered, pulling away from Anna and hugging Charlie. Daniel came into the room.
“You ready, Sarah?” he asked.
Sarah nodded and let go of Charlie. Charlie clapped his hand to Daniel’s and they disappeared. Charlie reappeared two seconds later. He wrapped his arms around Sarah and disappeared before re-turning for Anna.
When Anna opened her eyes, she saw that they were standing in a broom closet.
“Really, Charlie?” she asked in mock disappointment as he reached for the doorknob. He pushed the door opened and they quickly walked down the hallway, completely unnoticed by anyone. They entered the waiting room and saw Sarah sitting in a chair with her fingers buried in her messy hair. Daniel walked in with a cup of steaming tea and kneeled in front of her. He touched her back and she looked at him as he handed her the cup. She thanked him and took a small sip, grimacing at its hot temperature as it burned her throat.
“Hey, I’m going to see what I can do to get us more comfortable accommodations,” Charlie whispered in Anna’s ear.
Anna nodded and walked over to her sister, sat next to her and put an arm around her. She pressed their head together and they both closed their eyes. Images of Chase lying on the sand, bleeding, filled Anna’s head as her sister used her telepercption to see the past that neither of them really wanted to see. The pair of yellow eyes blazed against the dark night and Sarah gasped and pulled away. She stared at her sister.
“There is no way that was what we think it is,” she said strongly, shaking her head.
“Then what else would it be?” Anna asked angrily. “You saw it with your own eyes, well sort of, but anyway, what else could a thing that big be?”
“A bear?” Daniel suggested with a sly grin. Anna kicked his arm and he couldn’t help but laugh as he rubbed it.
“Don’t listen to that idiot,” Anna told Sarah, who managed a laugh through her tears.
Sarah wiped her cheeks as Charlie sat down in the chair next to her and wrapped his big arms around her trembling body.
“He’ll be all right,” he assured her softly, rubbing her back as she trembled in his arms.
“I’m scared, Charlie,” she whispered.
“I know, Sarah, I know,” said Charlie, glancing up at the doorway.
Anna turned and saw Jake standing there in his red shirt and jeans with several burgundy spots on them. she stood up and went to him, taking his hand and pulling him into the hallway. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him hard.
“Anna,” he said in her hair.
“Are you all right?” she asked as she pulled back to look at him. He nodded.
“Are you?” he asked in concern.
She nodded and he sighed in relief.
“How’s he doing?” Jake asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Anna replied, taking his hand and pulling him down the hallway and into the elevators. She led him downstairs and into the 24-hour diner that was attached to the hospital and they sat across from each other in one of the booths in the back by the window. Jake frowned.
“You’re shaking,” he said, taking her hands, “and I don’t think it’s because you’re cold.”
Anna nodded and looked out the dark window as the rain started to patter against the window, blurring her vision of the dark world outside.
“I’m scared,” she said softly.
“Because of what happened?” he asked.
“Because that thing is still out there somewhere,” she said, “it could be out there, killing inno-cent people right now. Right this second, someone could be screaming their lungs out before the crea-ture can rip them out of their chest.”
He flinched at the thought but quickly recovered himself.
“Hey, look at me,” he said.
She looked at him as he stood up and sat on the bench next to her, gently pushing her against the wall.
“Nothing will happen to you,” he told her.
“How could you possibly know that?” she asked, looking him straight in the eyes as he touched her cheek with his right hand.
“Because I won’t let it,” he said, leaning forward and touching his lips to hers.
The first kiss was brief and soft. The second was long and intimate. She parted her lips when she felt the warm, moist touch of his tongue touch her mouth. Her tongue met his and wrestled for a few minutes before they withdrew, tilted their heads and attacked.
His fingers had wound in her hair and locked as he kissed her. The kiss slowly ended and when it did, he gently rubbed the tips of their noses together before opening his eyes. Her eyes were still closed and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed deeply.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered.
Although she couldn’t see him, he nodded before kissing her again. His hands slid up her sides and when he tried to touch her breasts, she pulled his hands away and ended the kiss.
“Too fast,” he said, pulling away from her.
“Just a bit,” she replied with a nod.
Charlie suddenly appeared out of thin air behind Jake.
“Anna!” he said breathlessly, making it seem like he had been running. Jake whirled around at the sound of his voice.
“When did you get here!” Jake exclaimed as he jumped up and stared at Charlie.
“Just now,” Charlie told him. His blue eyes turned to his sister. “Something happened.”
“What happened?” Anna demanded as she stood up and grabbed her brother’s shirt.
“You have to come see,” said Charlie, taking her hand and pulling her out of the diner with Jake behind them.

Anna burst into the hospital room and could feel her breath catch in her throat when she saw her sister lying in the arms of the man she loved, sobbing into his shoulder. Chase’s face was bandaged on the left side, covering his left eye. But when he looked at her and the smile lifted his lips, Anna couldn’t help but smile. He held out his arm and flexed his hand, which was also bandaged, several times.
“Come here,” he said softly.
Anna slowly walked to him and took his hand as gently as she could. The warm smile stayed on his lips as he brought her hand to his mouth and gently kissed her fingers.
“How you holding up?” Anna asked as she gently sat on the edge of the bed.
Not so hot, his thoughts replied.
“All right, I guess,” his words lied as he kissed Sarah’s head and held her closer.
Sarah lifted her head and looked at him. he smiled as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. She frowned and pulled away. She reached over to Anna and took her hand and her frown deepened as more tears formed.
Even though I can’t read minds like you guys, I can read expressions, Chase’s voice said inside both Anna’s and Sarah’s heads. Yeah, I’m not doing so hot. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with me, but something got into the wounds and infected them within minutes of the attack. So I guess you could say that I’m dying.
“NO!” Sarah suddenly shouted aloud, startling Jake out of his seat.
Chase grinned. “No what, baby?”
“Just no,” said Sarah, shaking her head as Anna turned and waved Jake back into his seat.
I’m so sorry, Sarah, he continued, but if it’s my time to go, then I gotta go. You know I love you more than anything in the entire world and I will always be with you, no matter what happens to either of us. Annie, can I ask you a question in private real quick?
Anna looked at Sarah, who slowly nodded and let go of her sister’s hand and got off the bed. She walked to the other side of the room and stared out the dark, rainy window.
Do I have your permission to ask your sister to marry me? Chase asked hopefully.
Anna nodded and Chase smiled.
“All right, Sarah,” said Anna with a smile. “Come here.”
Sarah went back to the bed and Anna let go of Chase’s hand, took Jake’s and left the room. She closed the door quietly behind them and wrapped her arms around Jake.

“Sarah, I love you, sweetheart,” Chase said with a smile as he pushed the hair from her red face. “And I am about to make you the happiest person in the world.”
“How can I be when I’m losing you?” she whispered into his palm.
“Look at me,” he said forcefully.
She looked at him.
“You’ll never lose me the way you think you will,” he told her, “no matter what happens to me, I will always be with you.”
“How can you be sure?” she asked as he wiped her tears with his thumb.
He reached up to his neck and lifted up the necklace he was wearing with his thumb. He gave it a tug and it snapped off his neck and he closed her fingers around it.
“This is how,” he whispered, giving her hand a squeeze. “Marry me.”
“What?” she breathed, astounded at his request.
“I want you to marry me,” he said with a serious expression.
“Chase, I can’t,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not old enough.”
“You think I care?” Chase asked with a smile. “Because I don’t give a flying shit. You’re old enough to get engaged, just not to be physically married.”
“Yes,” said Sarah with a smile.
“Yes what?” he asked.
“Yes, I will marry you, Chase,” she said before kissing his lips.
“I think you just made me the happiest man in the world,” he told her as she put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“I love you so much,” she whispered against his neck before kissing it.
“I love you,” he responded, glancing at the heart monitor that was slowing down. “Sarah?”
“Hmm?”
“As long as you are touching me, you can read my thoughts, right?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” she said.
“That’s good,” he said in a whisper. Because I really do honestly love you.