Forever Tonight

Forever Tonight By Tara Newlands

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Dedication:

For those who seek courage during dark hours.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Forever Tonight by Tara Newlands Red Rose Publishing Copyright© 2007 Tara Newlands ISBN: 978-1-60435-167-5 ISBN: 1-60435-167-5 Cover Artist: Kat Nisaá Editor: Shaiha Line Editor: WR Gabbidon All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. Due to copyright laws you cannot trade, sell or give any ebooks away. Red Rose Publishing . www.redrosepublishing.com Forestport, NY 13338

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Forever Tonight By Tara Newlands

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Prologue

Scientists say the universe is composed of almost 75 percent dark matter. Yet, no one knew for sure what resided there. The light or visible matter and the dark or hidden matter existed side by side in a balance that connected the centuries. It was in the dark matter they waited. If you saw them, you‟d think your eyes were playing tricks on you. That fleeting moving shadow you just saw had no form, no purpose or did it? For eons, their energy could not escape the dark light. So, they watched as the light matter mankind expanded and spread across the earth. They were jealous. They coveted our light, our sun and ability to shape visible matter. With cunning they plotted to overthrow, reshape and replace mankind with their biological offspring who would help them cross the rift to take over this earth. The plan was so clever and precise that we woke too late to danger. Before, anyone knew they outnumbered us three to one. The invasion started in 2008 without a shot fired. As the Earth‟s armies were subdued, they spread their message into the living rooms and televisions that covered the earth. No one had ever completely seen them. So, it was a surprise that they looked just like us. They are

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humanoids, like us. Yet, with two key differences. Their double telling traits are the dark light that they emit and the cold inhumanity of their emotion. Their dark light surrounds their bodies like an invisible cloak. It was invisible to all, but the trained eye. It is the key to telling the dark from the light and to mankind‟s fight for survival. They call themselves the „Kien‟. They promised a multitude of revelations for humankind if all would capitulate to their rule. They had placed their learned offspring into key places of power. It was surprise to none that most of mankind‟s governing officials gave their people and nations over for the vague offer of peace with power the Kien offered. Yet, there are free zones of mankind that have refused to give up control to the encroaching Kien. So, in systematic campaign the Kien‟s armies rounded up those they considered trouble makers, the very scientists who for decades had struggled to understand the matter they possessed and those still willing to fight placing them into militarized zones called the classes. Those considered the greatest threat were placed into the „Redclasses.‟ As the years have passed, a movement for change and liberation has spread through Redclasses of the world. The centre of mankind‟s rebellion is centred in Seattle in the United States of America. But, in a world gone mad love had become the only thing that that mattered. What follows now is one terran woman‟s story of hope, love, rebellion with a dose of revenge.

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Chapter One

Ann Kiply was angry as she walked the rain slick streets of Seattle alone. The night stirred dark and sober around her filled with withering unseen terrors that threatened to consume what was left of the woman she‟d been. Emptiness flooded the gate of her soul devouring her from the inside out the way that water which drips unstopped can eventually overcome the greatest of foes. It was late night and cars trickled by on the boulevard filling the dark with random hollow sounds of metallic chucks and clangs. It felt as if the questions she‟d asked herself dozens of times in the deepest parts of her heart might never be answered. Yet, she continued on the hunt for the Kien male that had almost ruined her life. Cold and damp air surrounded her as she continued down that long lonely street. Her breath whispered past cool, slightly chapped lips to hang suspended in the night air for a brief moment as she moved passed. Goose pimples moved lightly across her sienna skin under the heavy weight of the clothing she wore. She was afraid that Kien round up units had discovered her escape. She looked behind her, was it movement she saw in the shadows just east of the street lamp across the street? A shuffling to the left of her caused her to glance into the shadows of an alley across the street, her eyes strained for sight in the

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gathering darkness. She moved on. It was nothing. Her flesh felt chilled to the bone with an ache and coldness she had never felt before. She asked the silent night sky above a muted question, “is it right to do this?” It gave no answer just a mere clap of thunder in the distance. She walked on nose pointed to the ground pausing slowly outside the window of a brightly lit upscale bar. There were Kien inside with their human sympathisers drinking looking happy and alive to her tired eyes. A sudden rain began pouring from the sky in cold icy droplets. She thought maybe it was the tears of the angels in heaven for the action she was considering taking. The little icy droplets continued pouring down sinking into the fabric of her light jacket. Ann couldn‟t tell anymore where the coldness inside her began or where the tears of the night ended. The small crowd inside the bar continued about their business. Ann‟s eyes were riveted and glued to a tall solid dark haired man who stood with his back to the window. She allowed her eyes to shift into trained sight. She could easily tell now who was Kien and who was human. The dark haired man was Kien. His darklight was thickly radiating off him in a steady wave. She gave a careful meaningful glance at the others seated in the tiny bar. A man wearing a multi-colored tie glanced towards her. He appeared to be a rich Kien noble. Ann could tell by the fine cut of his suit, the Rolex watch around his wrist and the noticeable glimmer of the darklight that surrounded him.

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He looked out at her then with a cool smooth gaze. He rested his thick masculine hand on the finely boned hand of the woman sitting by his side. They both gazed at her then and the man whispered a silent comment as they slowly began to laugh. Ann was pinned in place under their silent mockery. Chilly, wet drops of rain rolled off her hair to mix with her tears as she met their gazes head on. A bitter rage moved within her body and soul at the cruelty they could so easily display until she was the rage, until she was the hate, until she was a despairing soul who‟d had enough. She gathered what was left of the woman she was and quietly put it away. She‟s become what she‟s feared, a creature of pure ancient rage. The mockery in the nobleman‟s eyes turned to quiet uncertainly. Could he see the change? Without taking his eyes off her, Ann watched him call for a waiter. But, it was too late. With a cry born of desperate years, years spent crawling searching for what had been lost; Ann laid her hands and forearms on the glass running them over the cool moist surface. She smiled at the man then, at the night and at Chaos. This was her chance to make a stand. She slammed her thickly gloved fists and forearms on the glass and watched consideringly as it shattered inward. Jagged pieces of crystallized glass floated like glittering snow reflecting silvery light at the rain outside. Mingled cries or fear and disruption moved like a shockwave in the brightly lit room. She smiled then at the surprised and worried faces. The

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order had been upset. She carefully crossed the opening she‟d made and entered the bar. “What the hell are you doing!” said the Kien nobleman. His earlier smile had faded leaving a mere line of tension in its place. She stood swaying in the moist breeze from outside listening to the muffled cries and calls for the police. “Miss, you better get out of here.” A tall husky waiter approached Ann from the side. His footsteps faltered as she gazed at him with heavy hooded eyes from under the cover of her moist chestnut coloured hair. The soft glow radiating off his body marked him as human. People stood trying to gather their belongings as they edged toward the door except for the tall Kien man standing by the bar. His mirrored reflection gazed at her and the scene behind him with cool calculating eyes as he carefully continuing drinking his beer. “I won‟t stand for this,” one stately gentleman said as he gathered up his car keys. Ann couldn‟t help laughing at the expression on his angry face, “You won‟t stand for it? My friend, I think you should sit down.” She cocked her face to the side watching his chest puff out like a roster showing off, “You‟re not going anywhere until I‟ve had my say.” She opened her jacket then revealing the device swapped to her chest. There where startled gasps then competing with harshly indrawn breaths.

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“What are you going to do with that?” It was the waiter again for the second time. Ann smiled at the boy then, “I don‟t know. But, I‟ll have my say.” She glanced at him with cool eyes, “Tell your friend behind the bar to put down that phone and sit right over there.” The waiter glanced at his friend trying to decide what to do. For a lifetime of seconds his decision was finally made, he said quietly “Roger, put the phone down and come out here.” “But, Josh!” Ann listened to the low weeping of the Kien women in the café. “What do I want,” she said quietly to the now silent room. “I want what you want. But, you seem to think that‟s cause for laughter.” The Kien nobleman and his companion chimed in at once, “What do you want us to say, that we‟re sorry? Well, we are. You must let us go.” She refocused livid eyes on the pair, “I see you‟re used to giving the orders.” The rain continued to fall like tears outside as roaring lighting lit the night sky. Ann whispered softly to herself, “Oh, the despairing soul is a rebel.” She looked around the room. “I‟ve lived on the edge of your new world in poverty and grief. I see images of myself and terrans like me distorted, twisted for your amusement. Until I‟m nothing more than a creature of no thought or conscience, like you. Give back the lives you‟ve stolen.”

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The faces in the café were a riot of mixed emotion as she continued, “The people of the Redclass are in despair. We cry to the heavens you live in to be seen. But, you don‟t listen.” Ann stopped her urgent gently swaying movements and chuckled without mirth at the looks of startled terror on the faces in the bar all around her, “Oh, don‟t fear now is not the time. Yet, I can‟t help feeling irony at the looks on your faces. I thought the Kien felt no fear. Walking forward toward the nervous crowd she glanced at the seated men in the bar and asked earnestly, “Who will be the hero tonight?” She gazed at the waiter to the right of her noting his strength and height, “Is it you? You have a body and face cameramen love. They could catch you when it‟s all over as you stand under the streetlight across the street.” She met his amber coloured eyes while she continued, “the cameraman will shoot you from the backdrop of this broken window. The street lamp will tower above your head as spellbound masses from all over this nation will watch as you become like that tower, a pillar of strength in a night filled with madness.” After brushing away the jagged remaining pieces of glass from the broken window, she sat with a heavy sigh, “Maybe I didn‟t think this over carefully enough.” She pushed away her heavy damp hair from her face with trembling hands. A low pitched masculine came from the bar, “You should let us go.”

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“Who said that?” Ann‟s eyes met the eyes of the Kien class trooper she‟d watched earlier. He sat watching her from the bar with knowing dark eyes. “It‟s you,” she said. “It‟s not because you feel a need to save these people. But, you‟re a predator. I know your kind.” He tilted his head in silence acknowledgement of her words. His voice was mocking taunting sarcasm as he said with a snort, “You‟re right. I don‟t really care what happens to these folks. I just don‟t feel like dying tonight.” Ann continued to gaze at him a moment searching his face slowly. She gave him a slight knowing smile as whispers of recognition moved inside her, “What‟s your name?” The trooper glanced around the room at the seated and standing patrons who were watching their exchange with breathless tension. “Well, good evening everyone. My name is Theodore.” With a smile that didn‟t quite light his steel dark eyes he continued, “Ok, I‟ve told you mine. So why don‟t you tell me yours or should I guess?” “Ann Kipley. I‟m a member of the Redclass unit, section five. But, I think you already knew that.” Theodore searched the faces of the people in the bar. They stared at him now in mute appeal. The Kien woman and the men watched him as if he were a saviour who held the key to the unspoken question that now hung in the room. Would they die tonight?

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A few were gazing at him as if he were a devil in league with the woman they now found before them, “Ann, you have a story I think you wish to tell.” He turned back to take a gulp of beer, “Don‟t you think you should get started? But, know this they won‟t listen. If they listen, they won‟t understand. Life in the Redclasses is strange and foreign to most of these folks. But, by all mean continue.” There were angry murmurs between the seated diners. The laughing Kien noble from earlier turned to Theodore, “I can‟t believe this. Sir, just whose side are you on anyway?” Theodore glanced back at him with cool disdain, “I‟m not on anyone‟s side, but my own. You got the ball rolling tonight.” As the man began to speak words of denial, he continued, “Don‟t try to say that‟s not true. I saw what you were doing earlier as this young lady stood at the window. Tell me, friend how does it feel to lose the control you thought you‟d had.” Ann gave a wan smile when Theodore finished. “Oh, life is so strange at times.” Giving the huddled group a searching glance she began to speak, “I‟ve lived most of my life in Redclass five. When your species invaded the earth and took over, the world governments‟ resistance movements broke into open warfare with you in 2012, I was 13 years old. My parents were rebels and as such were some of the first to be placed into the Redclass sections in the years that followed. Daily, I had to face the broken looks in their eyes as they spoke

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of times that were no more. See, they‟d lost the will and hope to fight. They never thought anything could happen to the good old USA.” “Not the camps or the dictatorship. But, as we all know it did. The poor, the unwanted and the rebels who wouldn‟t give into your new order were rounded up for work and detainment in the new camps. My parents for years tried to flee to the free zone, but they never made it. The world they‟d knew was gone, just gone.” Ann looked at the group now as they listened with curious interest, “I forgot the happy times from before and quickly settled into the pattern of existence we now had to live in. But, I always dreamt of the day I‟d be free. I dreamt of joining the freedom fighters someday. Do any of you have any idea what it‟s like there? Any idea of what it‟s like to see cameras everywhere watching everything you do?” She sighed shaking out her mane of slightly damp brown hair laughing without mirth, “But, of course you can‟t understand because it‟s not you.” Ann wasn‟t surprised to feel tears rolling down her cheeks, hastily she brushed them away. The night sky was filled with lighting arcing across the city skyline until the towering buildings seemed to stand out like centuries. Raindrops blown inside by the wind just outside the window wet her skin and hung like diamonds from the tips of her eyelashes. She was quiet then watching the

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drops continue to fall, yet her mind was a jumble of mixed emotion. Should she finish this or walk away? Would she fail Brian again if she did? For a brief instant a single drop of water rolled noiselessly down her cheek, Ann reached out a nervous hand to try to catch it. But, it slipped noiselessly passed her cupped hand and fell into wet pool that had gathered around her damp boots. Is this me? She couldn‟t see an end to the madness and someone must pay for the pain Brian had endured. Ann gazed at the Kien patrons, searching their worried faces. If not for the differences in their uniforms and the darklight they emitted, many of them were much like her. Theodore continued sitting sipping his drink at the bar and his eyes pointed at her like daggers. “None of you can truly understand what‟s happening in Redclass. Your state media are going to call me mad. Reason cooled my sweating brow many times until I almost lost the one person in this screwed up world who means something to me. Brian Williams is the dearest joy I‟ve ever known and I almost lost him for no reason other than he tried to bring the truth of the Redclass into the light.” Ann felt her heart tighten in remembered emotion as she though of his shooting days earlier. In a short time he had become the love of her life. They‟d met after he‟d hidden in the community building of the Redclass section to escape the Kien‟s death squads.

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He and two others from the resistance had been caught trying to patch into a broadcast of the nation largest television network to broadcast the plight of the Redclass to an apathetic Terran nation. But, their efforts had failed.

The others with Brian had been killed on the spot, but he‟d had escaped back into the Redclass section with round up military units hot on his trail. “You‟ve got to help me.” He‟d told Ann after she discovered him on the grounds of the community building. He‟d been hiding under the cover of dense bushes directly across from the empty parking lot of the building she worked in. He was trying hard to blend into a cramped landscape of the sharp thorny bushes. Brian‟s hazel eyes had been determined yet, pleading as he‟d gazed at her. “I can‟t help you.” He‟d grasped her hand as she tried to turn away and she gazed down at him. She hadn‟t been able to look away from the mute appeal in them. They‟d been round with tension, but still lit with hope. “If you don‟t help me, it‟s all over for me and thousands of others.” He‟d sunk back behind the bushes then as a military policeman ran up to her. Her heart had almost stopped with fright and began to beat triple time as the frowning policeman had drawn near. “Miss, why haven‟t you left this area?”

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Ann had gazed at the ground as she tried to think of a suitable excuse. “Please forgive me, sir. I was just searching for my car keys.” The guard grunted and gave a slight laugh, “Well, get going. I have more important things to do than wait with a Redclasser to find her car keys. The traitor, Brian Williams, is hiding somewhere on these grounds. We intend to find him.” Ann walked toward her car, unlocked the rusty door and glanced back to find the young man still there under the cover of the bushes gazing at her as the guard drifted away. She had slowly sat down behind the wheel of her rambler and started its old engine. Pulling out of the parking space and with a decision made she‟d pulled up alongside the building and quickly opened the door. A flood of relief covered the young man‟s face as he shot into the car beside her and ducked down. “Thank you.” Ann drove with shaky hands out of the parking lot, urging him to hide under the thick covering of a blanket she‟d bought the night before. They slowly drifted past shouting guard units and onto the open road. When they were well out of the danger zone, Brian slowly sat up in the seat. Tension was pouring from him in waves and he expelled a harsh breath. “I know this is going to be hard for you. I need your help again. I‟m Brian Williams and I need a place to hide until this blows over.” “You‟re Brian Williams? But, you‟re so young.”

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He chuckled as he said, “I‟m much older than I look. But, thanks for the compliment and for what you did back there. I know the risk you took.” Brian had gazed at her in open frank admiration then. He was tall and made her feel small in comparison. In his dark deep-set eyes were a million untold tales of the life he‟d lived. Fading sunlight reflected off his chestnut coloured hair. If not for the strangeness of their situation, Ann would have easily admitted to herself that he was wildly handsome if not a little pale. “I can‟t hide you,” she‟d said to him quietly, “what if they find you with me? I‟ve worked hard to get the little that I have. I can‟t take the risk.” He‟d watched her quietly and then gazed out the window of the rambler for a long endless time watching the people of Redclass slowly drift by, “I understand, Miss. What‟s your name?” “Ann Kipley.” He smiled at her then and gazed at her face if he were trying to read her thoughts by her expression, “Ann, do you have any family?” Ann‟s eyes took on a far away look as she thought of her father‟s death months earlier. “No, my father died a few months ago.” “I had a family once. I had three children and a wife whom I loved a great deal. They were taken away from me by these creatures that are trying to hold us all enslaved. I swore on their graves I‟d see justice done one day.”

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Ann pulled the rambler over to a side alley. The engine had been shaking loudly, yet the silence between them had seemed fathomless. “Mr. Williams I‟d be putting my life on the line if I help you.” He‟d twisted in the tiny space to face her. Reaching out Brian grasped her smaller hand in his and the expression on his face was grave. “Please, I don‟t have any place to turn. Things for the next few days will be hot here. It won‟t be safe for me to make it back to resistance headquarters. The round up units will be looking for me. It would only be for a few days.” Gazing at him then made her remember the looks of sadness that her parents carried until they died. She saw in his dirt smudged face the countless numbers of humanity who walked the streets of Redclass every day and the poverty of its children. “All right, but you must leave when I say.” He‟d thrown back his head then and gave a hearty relieved laugh, “Ann, you are a life saver!” His face grew serious again as he studied her for a long endless time, something soft and mysterious passed between them. “I will never do anything to hurt you, Ann.” She‟d driven on then and the brief hours Brian has asked for turned into months. Ann felt her mind shift back through the months she‟d spend with him to the day he‟d asked her to become his wife.

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Chapter Two

“I miss the mountains, Brian.” She‟d whispered to Brian one night as she stared out into the dark night sky at the stark city skyline outside her third story apartment. She turned, gazing at him as she hastily brushed away small diamond bright tears. The living room of her small apartment was dark as she‟d returned to gazing morosely back out into the night at the soft golden yellow light of the street lamp below her. She‟d felt faint, weak and weary like a world that had become undone. Brian had walked to her then on bare feet across the tan threadbare carpet that covered the living room. She felt his warm steadying presence behind her before a solid steady hand softly grasped her trembling shoulder. “Tell me what I can do to help, sweetheart.” He had said gently as he wrapped his arms around her and laid his chin on top of her head. Brian quietly pulled her closer to him as she began to talk of the people, the places and the sights she desperately missed. He‟d listened without responding with a wealth of understanding written in his eyes. People of all sizes, colours and shapes wearing heavy boots and coats to ward off the evening chill walked along the ice covered street outside, but inside the space she and Brian occupied had glowed bright and warm.

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She remembered his eyes as she told him, “When I was a child my parents would go for long trips into the mountains, they‟d hike and fish. We‟d have cook outs and my father would tell me make believe stories of brownies and elves who aided lost travellers and danced under moonlit spring skies.” Brian‟s calming presence behind her had been a balm to her heavy heart. She thought then of how he smiled as she‟d said, “I use to pretend to be a pirate queen. A bent wooden pine stick had been my sword. I‟d run though our camp yelling to whoever would listen „blackguard‟s beware of the wrath of pirate Ann!‟ Her voice had taken on a wishful tone then, “The sky was always bright with stars. I‟d make a wish on every single shooting one, everything seemed possible. I don‟t know what‟s happened to the world, Brian.” Brian‟s breathing grew deeper as he said, “What did you wish for?” He placed one long graceful finger under her pointed elven chin and raised her eyes to meet his. She‟d laughed softly as she placed a kiss on his slightly parted lips, laying her right ear on his chest listening to the steady thump of his heart under her ear. “I wished for someone warm, strong and sexy to come into my life. I guess I was wishing for you, Brian.”

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She smiled up as him then with eyes that shinned with the deepest love. There was a glint of mischief in his eyes as he‟d replied, “Sweetheart, I wished for you as well.” He swept her up into arms that felt like living steel on her flesh and carried her toward the rumpled unmade bed where he‟d proceeded to show her just how much he‟d wished for her. In his arms, Ann melted like warm soft butter. Brian‟s lips drifted over hers. His kisses were smooth, gentle and soft growing more intense with each passing second. There in the silence of her warm apartment, they shared their love. It wasn‟t the hurried frenzied passion of new lovers or one night stands. What Ann and Brian shared that night changed her life and she had never been more grateful. Loving him was a feast. His pale hands drifted over her cocoa brown skin, sinuous and simple. Yet, simultaneously driving her mad with intense desire, his breath was a heated rush against her ear as he whispered, “I love you, Ann.” Their lips, mouths merged and collide as they shed their clothing. Brian‟s smile had been saucy as he tenderly nipped at her nipple which plucked in response. It was love they shared that night and the many nights that had followed. Ann felt her thoughts drift deeper into the past to the day he‟d asked her to become his wife.

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The day Brian had asked her to be his wife had been magical. It had been on a quiet Tuesday afternoon and Ann left the community building were she worked walking outside she discovered a disguised Brian sitting on a brick red bench waiting for her. “There you are.” He smiled. She tilted her head to the side and gave him a puzzled look glancing around with slight alarm as the milling crowds drifting passed. “Brian, what are you doing here?” His eyes shinned with good humour and love. Almost as if he couldn‟t help himself, he‟d reached out and gently cupped her chilled cheek in his palm. “I‟ve been missing you, “he said softly, “Come with me now, I have someplace I‟d like to show you.” Ann followed him toward her waiting rambler and climbed inside. Pulling his warm brown jacket tighter around him, he climbed into the driver‟s seat. “What are you up too?” She said with wary humour. He just shook his head and smiled. They drove thru the streets toward a group of abandoned buildings on the edge of Redclass, continued past a group of street singers wearing torn ripped clothes, passed open air markets where

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the food never came cheap until they reached an area of empty unused buildings facing the east toward the snow-covered peaks of Mount Rainier. Jumping out of the rambler, Brian ran around to her car door. With a sweeping motion he opened the slightly rusty creaking door and grasped her hand in his. “Hi, Ann” a voice came from the shadows of a darkened building directly in front of them. She gave a slight jump at the sound and tightened her hand around Brian‟s in fear. “Sweetheart, relax. Jeff, will you come out of there.” Brian‟s voice was placid as Ann gave a sigh of relief as the sight of Brian‟s best friend, Jeff Wilcox slowly emerging from the darkened space of the building to regard them from the top step of the building. “Everything is ready to go, buddy. Tom and Leann just left, I wanted to wait here until you got there.” Ann gazed at the two friends in confusion, “What in the world is going on?” Jeff smiled at her fondly then descending the steps while whistling a jolly tune, “Brian is a man in love, Ann and all you need is love.” Brian carefully wrapped Ann‟s fingers around his as they walked up the stairs and entered the building. All of her protests and questions ceased as the first thing Ann noticed was the building‟s fresh pinewood smell. There were signs of a cleaning throughout the area and in the distance coming from

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somewhere from above their bent heads came the sound of gently flowing water reminding Ann of the echo of a clear running brook. Brian looked at her then, “I remembered the story you told me of how you missed the mountains and the camping trips you‟d once had.” They‟d walked up to the second floor landing and stood outside the solid sienna door of apartment seven. Ann gave Brian a puzzled look as she gazed around at what appeared to be clinging vines covering the outside of the door. There was tall rubber tree plant by the door. “Brian, what‟s all this?” His eyes seemed to shine with an unnamed emotion, his voice sounded loud in the soft silence space, “Ann, I know things are hard for us now. Things all around use are chaotic and uncertain. Yet, I want you to know just how much I love you. I love you for that you are and what we can be together. I want you to kick off your shoes and close your eyes.” Her heart raced in her chest as she complied with his request. The soft click of the apartment door opening greeted Ann‟s ears, followed by the strong scent of pine and ylang yang. Brian carefully grasped her hand leading her inside the quiet apartment. Soft plush warmth caressed her bare feet. “I knew how much you missed those times when you were a child and I wanted to make up for it somehow,” Brian murmured quietly, “So, Sweetheart welcome to your own private woods. Open your eyes.”

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The sight that greeted her senses had taken her breath away. Everywhere she looked she saw living hues of green and brown. In the old decaying building, Brian had brought a childhood memory back to life. Tears of joy and wonder slipped from her eyes as she saw her childhood playground had been returned to her. On the walls of the room were painted trees and dark wood grasses. Covering the roof above her head was a dark painted night sky with a million pinprick stars. Green curtains lay open in front of a large window with a view of Mount Rainer in the distance, in front of the picturesque glass stood a full sized tent large enough for two. She gave a delighted laugh as she continued to survey the room. A small pile of firewood sat in an earthen clay pot to the left of her. Rubber trees of different sizes and colours filled the space with soft living smells of jungle green and jade. Under her feet was a dark green carpet covered with dried autumn orange red leaves reminding her of the forest floor, “Brian, I don‟t know what to say.” In front of the tent laid a red-checked blanket on which sat a wicker basket, more blankets and odd shaped pillows. Brian walked toward her, cupped her tear streaked face in his and lightly, almost fervently kissed her gently tearing closed eyes. “Do you like my gift? Ann wrapped her arms around him then in a deep hug. “I love it.”

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He gave her a warm tender smile as they walked hand and hand to the blanket sitting down with happy sighs. “Brian, how…”She began only to be stopped by her lover‟s fingertips on her trembling lips. “A man in love has his ways.” The sky outside the window was silver grey with a hint of a storm in the distance. But, in their private place the world he‟d made her burned steady and bright. They drank rich red wine, ate a feast of flavourful cheeses and chilled spicy chicken. Brian moved closer to her, “Ann, I love you. I didn‟t think it could happen again, not with the world the way it is. But, I do love you. You‟ve brightened my days and given me back something that I thought I‟d never feel again. You‟ve given me back my heart.” Ann felt as if her own was about to burst with emotion as she watched the sky outside open wide spilling out rainbow coloured rain reflecting the multicoloured hues of the slowly fading sun above. It fell lightly on the thin old glass of the windowpane sounding like a soft musical accompaniment to her lover‟s voice. “I want us to be together, Ann. We‟ll take on this world and we‟ll win. Say you‟ll marry me.” Ann‟s heart and mind leapt at his words. She threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Brian. When I‟ve been afraid, you‟ve given me hope. I can‟t even begin to give you back the gift you‟ve given me. I will love you always. Of course I‟ll marry you!”

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He gave her a soft heart stopping smile then making her feel sheltered, protected and loved.

Ann‟s world had spun out of control when Brian had been shot three days earlier. They were meeting in the centre of Redclass for their drive home on the day he‟d been shot. She‟d felt her heart sink into a vice of terror when she saw uniformed Kien guards approaching Brian from the south side of the square. Brian saw them the instant she had. With a sight nod of his head, she knew to follow the plan they‟d set up months earlier. She slowly walked back toward her car as she heard shouts, “Brian Williams, you are under arrest for the crime of trying to overthrow the state!” Ann climbed behind the wheel of the rambler and gunned its ancient engine. She watched as Brian fled from his pursuers‟. There were muted muffled shots in the distance. Driving in frenzy toward the east end of the square, she‟d waited on Hope Street for him. Gunfire erupted again, moments later Brian rounded the corner clutching his side. He sipped into the rambler beside her and she quickly drove away. Blood gushed like a river from an open hold in his side. “Brian, you‟re hurt!”

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“Ah, my love” he sighed painfully, “You‟ve a way of understating things.” His chuckle was wan. His breath sounded rushed, husky and laboured in the car‟s metal confines. There was harsh deadly pallor to his skin that scared her. “Brian, I‟ve got to get you to the hospital.” He reached out and held her hand, “Ann, let‟s go home.” She shook her head in denial feeling tears swim in her eyes as she gazed at his still pained expression. Brian sat on the old sienna cloth of the seat of the rambler gazing at her sadly, “Please. I want to go home. I need to lie in the bed where you first told me you loved me.” “But, you…” She trailed off at the serious request in his expression. Knowing she could deny him nothing, she headed for home. They drove though the drab stone streets until they reached her building. Sneaking carefully up the backstairs reaching the third story landing leading to her unit, Ann turned the key in the lock with Brian leaning weakly against her. Tenderly, she placed him into the bed with only a dim bedside lamp to light their way. Wailing sirens in the background drifted in on the night breeze through the slightly open window to settle loudly in Ann‟s ears. Had they been found already? She struggled to stem the tide of blood flowing from his body. Its harsh pungent fragrance hung like a muted killer in the cool clear evening air.

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Hours later Ann had wept softly as she said, “Brian, bleeding has slowed. But, I need to get you to a doctor. He drifted on the edge of passing out. She shook him lightly and after a brief time his eyes slowly emerged back into focus. The light from the lamp highlighted his weakened gaze. “Ann, you must promise me that you‟ll survive. I was going to say something noble about this, but I don‟t want to lose you. Not when I‟ve just found life again, go to resistance headquarters, they‟ll watch over you.” Hot salty tears began rolling unchecked down her slightly sweat dampened cheeks to coat his bare skin, “I‟ll do my best. But, I‟m not leaving you!” He smiled and lightly traced her lips with the tip of his finger. The familiarity of his touch brought fresh pain to her already breaking heart. Outside the sound of sirens came again and grew closer. Ann carefully laid Brian‟s hand down on the bedcovers. She walked on nervous feet toward the lightly swaying curtain by the open window pulling back the drape with a carefully steady hand and gazed down to the street below. A Kien prisoner round up truck was parking just at the curb; guards in full riot gear climbed out of the steely black confines of the monster vehicle and lined up in a solid line facing the building. The captain of the unit spoke via web conference telecom from a monitor on top of the truck, “Tenants of Redclass section, building G give me your

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attention. By order of the high command of Redclass, you are informed we will be conducting a search for the rebel, Brian Williams. We know he was seen entering this building two hours ago. Let it be known to the person or persons hiding Mr. Williams you are in direct and insolence defiance of Redclass directive one.” The captain continued speaking as Ann moved away from the window back to Brian seeking a means of escape, “You will be shipped to Gardenwood Re-education centre for correction. The rebel, Brian Williams will be tried in the high court. Do not attempt escape, doing so will mean death on sight.” Ann‟s heart leaped in terror at his words. They must escape!

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Chapter Three

She reached Brian‟s side as the unit entered the building with a slam that echoed throughout the old building. “Brian, I‟ve got to get you out of here.” He sat up weakly pulling his taz pistol from the bloodied waistband of his jeans, “Ann, you‟ve got to get out. You don‟t know what they do at those centres, but I do.” So, far the Taz pistol had been humankinds‟ only defence against the darklight power of the Kien. It reduced, reshaped and shifted Kien darklight aura weakening it to allow a metal piercing from the gun to break through. Brian pushed the pistol into Ann‟s hands. He pulled her into his arms clutching her to him as a man possessed, “How could I have made you a part of this!” Tears rolled down his cheeks, “Take my gun and get out of here. Hurry! Please they‟re almost here.” She clung to him in apprehension, “No, I won‟t go without you!” He pulled away from her. “Dammit, you do what I say! I won‟t let them do to you what they did to my family. I can‟t go though that again, please I‟ve got to believe that everything is not lost.”

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His body rippled with pain. “I‟m done for. But, you‟ve got to make it for me.” The sound of a slamming door against wood came from the apartment below, “Ann, go now!” She drank in the sight of him sitting on the edge of their bed. She backed away toward the door, words of denial steadily seeking exit from her lips.

Carefully, she sipped into the hallway. She stopped briefly to look back at him. “Go” he cried softly. With her breath trapped in a half cry, she closed the door and did as he asked. Still in her work clothes strained with Brian‟s blood, she cried in dismay as she searched for the means of her escape. After what seemed an eternity, Ann gingerly opened the door leading to the stairwell outside. She would have stepped out slowly if not for the Kien guard who manifested suddenly through a darklight gate at the bottom of the stairs with his back to her. She quickly, firmly and quietly stepped back inside shutting the door with a carefully click. Ann‟s heart was beating wildly in her chest like a humming bird‟s as the angry feet in the building grew still closer. She was trapped. Ann glanced around again for a place to hide, wishing that the floor would open up and consume her whole when her eyes settled on the old wash chute in front of her.

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She‟d barely climbed inside and shut the rusty door when the prisoner unit reached her floor. Her slight frame must have been too much for the small space because the chute gave a slight groan as it slowly moved down toward the darkness below. There were muffled shouts coming from the direction of her apartment. The unit had reached her door and then she heard Brian‟s muffled groan of pain. The news of Brian‟s discovery caused the captain of the unit to give a hearty shout of victory over the quick moving picture on the telecom outside, “Where‟s your partner, Ann Kipley?” Brian‟s answer was a groan that chilled her soul and she wanted nothing more than to run to him, but the rushing movement of the chute drifting down toward the dim light below became her immediate concern. The air in Ann‟s lungs was knocked out of her as the chute spilled into the dimly lit room. She laid there a moment in a daze as fresh frenzied movement came from just outside. “People of Building G, the traitor Brian Williams as been found,” the captain of the prisoner unit said, “as punishment for his discovery in your building your food rations will be cut by 25%.” Ann stood stealthy and stumbled to the small opening of the window. She barely tipped her head above the rim of the window, but saw all she needed to see. Brian was held up by two guards on each side of him. He was barely

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alive. He didn‟t seem to know where he was as his head rolled uselessly from side to side. “Tell us! Where is Ann Kipley” the captain of the unit demanded again. Brian gave a soft laugh, “she‟s someplace where you‟ll never find her.” His voice was sure and strong as he said the words. The captain gave a grunt of anger as he shook his head, “It doesn‟t matter right now. We got who we came for. My commander will be proud.” The captain paused leaning closer to the telecom monitor in front of him as he said, “Williams, you‟re not looking well. Who did this?” The guard standing to Brian‟s left said proudly, “I did it, sir. I told you I thought I nailed him earlier today in the square.” Ann studied the Kien male‟s profile committing it to memory. “Young man, that‟s good work” the captain sighed, “Williams, please try not to die before the public knows we‟ve captured you.” Turning his attention toward the guards who held Brian, the captain‟s parting words to him were, “Williams, we will find Miss Kipley. She‟s one woman without your training and we found you.” Brian made no response to captain‟s words. The guards turned dragging him toward the van parked at the curb. For a brief moment their dazed eyes met. He winked as she whispered as she touched the old pane window in sorrow, “Brian.”

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His eyes lingered lovingly until he was thrown inside the van‟s dark confines, the guards climbed in after him as the van drifted away. Ann‟s tears of grief sounded piecing and loud in the darkened room. She didn‟t know how long she sat here, but the next thing she clearly remembered was the colour of the yellow-gold sun as it peered though the dusty window of the wash room. She made her way to the resistance headquarters the next day begging them to help Brian. Yet, she knew there might be nothing they could do. The state run newspapers headlines had screamed, “Rebel leader captured!” No one knew of Brian‟s whereabouts until the two days later when a truck dumped his body in Redclass square at dawn. Ann had wanted to go to him immediately, but she had been locked in her quarters by concerned members of the rebellion. Jeff had tried to calm her anger at the situation explaining that prisoner units were watching the square in an effort to capture more of them and they‟d make a move to free Brian when the time was right. That night after a skirmish with hidden patrols in the square, Brian had been rescued. He was brought back to resistance headquarters barely alive. He was gaunt, pale and clinging to life, but doctors believed they could save him. “Ann. Where‟s Ann?!” Brian had called refusing to settle until he had her in his sight. A round of fresh tears spilled from her eyes as she‟d gazed down at him, but they‟d been tears of joy. “I‟m here.”

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The men carrying him placed him carefully on a cot in the corner of the room and quietly left. Ann held his hand with bated breath. She slowly sat closer to him and placed his head in her lap. He given a short raspy breath. Brian looked up at her a silent moment before he‟d spoke, “Sweetheart, I‟m glad to see you. I told them they wouldn‟t find you because I taught you too well. I love you. Will you hold me awhile?” She stroked the hair away from his face and carefully kissed his slightly parted lips.

With a violet start, Ann‟s musings were brought back to the present by a sound to the left of her. The waiter had made a halting move toward her. Her soft hazel eyes darkened to the colour of ominous amber stones. “Stop right there,” she said quietly, “what are you doing?” The waiter shrugged his shoulders restlessly. “Well, I was going to try to subdue you until the police arrived.” She gazed at the young man in admiration for his truthfulness. Theodore sat silently watching her from the bar. There was an open challenge in his cold eyes as he scrutinized her. She stood quietly as their eyes met. The tension in the room took a fever pitch as if the people could sense the shift between them.

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“Young man,” Ann said to the waiter, “I want you to go outside to the phone across the street and call the new media. They‟ll be interested in what happens there tonight.” She slowly removed her jacket and threw it carelessly on the littered tile floor. Theodore spoke softly, “By the look in your eyes, I guess you‟ve figured out who I am. At least, give me a head start. I‟m not sorry that Mr Williams is dead. I‟m just sorry I didn‟t nail him sooner.” Hastily indrawn breaths filled the room as the young waiter rushed cautiously pass Ann toward the closed bar door. When she didn‟t try to stop him, he opened the glass door and ran out into the pounding rain to comply with her request. “Guess what, everyone” she said carefully, “this night is about to take yet another turn.” She shook her head thoughtfully, “You‟re all going to have quite a story to tell tomorrow. How many of you would care to take a guess on the likelihood of me finding the one Kien man in the city I despise the most sitting drinking in a bar three days after trying to take my lover from me. I have news for you, Theodore. Brian is very much alive.” Theodore stepped down from the bar stool and gave a taut curt bow to everyone. All eyes focused on him as he spoke, “Yes, Ann. I‟m the one who shot Mr. Williams. But, now it appears my victory party is a hollow one. I‟m

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disappointed, but I can still give him some sleepless nights if I kill you. But, first how did you figure out my role in this expanding drama?” “I saw you that night as you boasted to your commanding officer,” Ann spat the words out. Across the street, Josh got off the phone with the police. He prayed silently, they‟d arrive soon because things looked as if they were coming to a head in the bar. Ann gazed at Theodore and glanced around the room. Suddenly, she felt alone, alone as if she were five again standing in the middle of a playground filled with bullies. Outside, she saw the young waiter watching the scene from the cover of a parked car. She turned to all the seated pairs. “Go home,” she sighed pointing to the open door the waiter had exited moments earlier, “Go home to the comfortable towers you live in and pray no one blows them out from under you.” There were sighs and cries of relief from the seated patrons, both human and Kien as they stood and ran past to the open door. Some dared a glance in Ann‟s direction, but most were focused on escape. While her sole focus lingered on the man who stood before her. After the crowd ran across the street or further into the night away from the unfolding duet between Ann and Theodore, she kicked a piece of broken glass with the tip of her thick brown boot.

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She wanted to cry at the refection of her anger looking back at her, “So, Theodore. How will we settle this?” He slowly moved back behind the bar to pour himself a drink watching Ann with a hawkish gaze. His darklight had taken on a purple muddy haze. Brian had often told her it was the colour they emitted before an attack. “Let‟s you and I play a game,” he said softly, “After I‟m done with this drink. I‟ll go outside and we‟ll have an old fashion fox hunt. Only both you and I will be hunter and prey. Whoever finds and kills the other one first wins.” Sirens in the distance were drawing near. He gave a quiet curse of anger under his breath. “Damn, I thought I‟d have enough time to finish my drink, but I guess not.” He jumped on top of the bar in a single leap, kicking half full glasses of exotic drinks in all directions. A heavy goblet flew toward Ann. She ducked to avoid contact with it and it shattered behind her spraying golden droplets in every direction. A fire lit in her eyes at the cold feel of liquid on her skin. She longed to finish him as he stood regarding her from the bar. He smiled at the look of fury in her eyes. “Ann let‟s get started. We don‟t have much time.” He jumped down from the bar with a thump and clutched his knee in pain, “Damn, I think I just hurt my knee. You‟re going to have to pay for that.” He turned with a slight running limp toward the neon red exit sign in front of him.

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The rain outside continued to pour down in buckets as Ann turned walking back to the broken window, lighting and thunder mixed in an harmonious opera of power as she looked out toward the street light where Josh, the waiter stood. Sirens and metallic street sounds drew closer. The flashing red and blue of approaching patrol units became eerie shadows against the drab grey of the moist wet night. Just outside came a loud rapping sounding like a stick slamming on metal. The sound grew sharper, louder in the cool night air. Ann walked to the open door. Her heavy leather shoes crunched on broken pieces of crystallized glass grinding smaller pieces to a delicate white dust. She knew Theodore waited somewhere outside and the rapping that continued was his signal to come out. Taking a deep calming breath, she squared her broad yet frail woman‟s shoulders, thrust out her small chin and walked out to face whatever the night and fate still had in store. Theodore stood in the pounding rain under a flashing yellow sign shaped like a bright diamond. The buildings around them flashed in weaving blending patterns of yellow, blue and red reflecting off the moving steel grey sky above as state patrol units grew still closer. “Tag, you‟re it!” Theodore said as the flashing pulses of the approaching patrol units and the lighting above highlighted his dark eyes making them shine with demon fire. His grin was wide, slightly mad and demented as he ran

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toward the street, pausing to look in each direction as if checking for nonexistent traffic and then he noticed the waiter standing at the edge of the street. Theodore ran up to him as Ann followed him out into the street, “Young man, “he said, “What the heck is your name?” The waiter‟s brown eyes were wary and scared like a frightened rabbit‟s. “It‟s Josh.” Theodore grinned like a cat which had a tasty morsel under its paw and with misty rain water running non-stopped in his eyes said, “When I signal you I want you to go and tell the arriving units I‟ve found Ann Kipley.” Josh shifted uncomfortably in his wet, sodden clothing. He looked as if he were about to faint with fear. With a voice like a half spoken sigh, Josh agreed to his request. “Good!” Theodore called over his shoulder as he ran back toward the bar spinning around as he called out to Ann, “Ann come on! Let‟s do this.” With a clap of thunder, the crystal clear wetness which had continually poured from the slowly moving clouds stopped until it was nothing more than a light misty drizzle brushing the unforgiving ground. It seemed as if an audience in the heavens wanted to watch the show below without the hindrance of the night‟s constant steady stream of rain. Both opponents‟ could feel the heavy pounding of their hearts in their ribcages as the hunt began. Ann felt her skin go cold then red hot listening to the sounds as she pursued the man who‟d shot the man she loved. Her life on

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the side lines had ended the night before as she gazed into Brian‟s pain filled eyes. She knew he‟d pull though. Yet, knowing how he‟d suffered was more than she could bear, the mere act of living or dying had taken on new meaning for her now. It mattered to her that the man she now hunted paid for the crime of trying to strip the world of a hero and a good man. Ann‟s heart slammed in her breast with fear, a strange anticipation and her insides churned with suppressed dread. She couldn‟t remember a time when she‟d been more afraid. The street below was eerily quiet as she followed Theodore back into the now empty café, the rank smell of her fear, of her tension laid harsh and pungent in her nose. She slowly withdrew a black taz pistol from the moist waistband of her pants. It felt has heavy and cool as the one she‟d watched Brian practice using dozens of times before. The flashing neon exit sign was the only machine lighting the darkness of the vacant room. Her eyes strained in the darkness, trying to spot the merest flicker of movement. With her voice a harsh whisper, Ann called out “Where are you!” Still there wasn‟t a sound in the room. Her boots crunched on the littered floor as she made her way toward the flashing sign. A sound on the cool evening breeze drifted in to land softly in Ann‟s straining ears. It was the sound of a light click in the room just above her.

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The ceiling above her upward bent neck suddenly began to shake and groan as the sound of a radio blasting an old Elvis tune called “A Little Less Conversation” filled the night. Theodore yelled from the above the roar, “Ann, will you come on! Damn, this is an oldie, but a goodie. I love this song!” It sounded to her straining ears as if he were dancing, swaying and moving in some type of demented spirit dance causing the floor to groan and moan beneath his feet. Ann burst through the exit door with her heart slamming in a rapid tempo in her chest, a single flight of stairs to her right lead to the room in which Theodore danced his manic dance. As abruptly as it had began the pounding beat silenced in mid-cry, leaving the already silence building in deeper more anxious silence as she quietly climbed the stairs. Ann‟s breath escaped in slow, croaked pants. She fought a tense inner battle for control of the raising tide of fear tormenting her and that threatened to engulf her. After an endless time, she reached the second floor landing where a single door stood ajar. She approached it on unsteady shaking legs. With the tip of one thick covered boot she pushed open the door to reveal an empty apartment. Her heart beat in a single monotone beat against her fragile rib cage. Ann feared its loud rapid pulse could be heard clearly in the still, now humid space. The apartment was almost aseptic in its blandness. On careful quiet feet, she

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moved cautiously toward an open window leading to the fire escape. Then Theodore‟s darklight eyes floated in the space in front of her. “Hey you, I see you,” his voice drifted down to Ann from somewhere above, “come on up! You should hurry we‟ve got company coming.” Ann wanted to howl with rage at his amused tone. With an abrupt cry, she climbed out on to the slippery fire escape. She climbed the stairs in frenzy as the wet soles of her leather boots continually slipped delaying her progress to the top. The cloudy night sky above her cleared in hushed calm. She could see a thin pale band of flicking light changing the hue of the city sky line just to the east. The rooftop appeared still and vacant of life as Ann hopped down on the black tar gravel surface of the roof surveying the scene with rapidly moving eyes. It appeared to be empty. Theodore was no where in sight. She held her taz pistol down toward the ground, but ready for action as she walked across the endless space toward a thick stone enclosure that lead back into the building. She tested the silver grey doorknob. It didn‟t budge. “Damn, you show yourself!” There was no answer, merely the sound of a dozen footsteps striking the sidewalk below. She ran to the roof‟s edge and peered down. From the west, a

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Kien round unit with their human counterparts approached split into two four man teams on each side of the street. “God, help me” she murmured. The unit was a few blocks away and gaining on the building. Ann ran toward the northern edge of the roof to glance at the building next door trying to spot Theodore‟s hiding place. “Damn you come out” she screamed. A hushed voice came from just behind her, “Ok, I will.” Ann‟s eyes registered a blurred form materialise and sail across the space between the buildings to slam into her heavily. It was Theodore knocking the pistol from her hand. It sailed across the roof‟s gravelled surface away from her. Theodore settled his full weight on her, trying to pin her to the ground. With a strength born of savage anger and fear, Ann fought like a wild cat. Theodore was in fully darklight mode as his flesh body appeared and disappeared during their battle. Ann panted with strain as she struggled to free herself from his harsh hold. “My goodness, Ann you‟re strong” Theodore panted above her. “But, I‟m afraid I‟m a bit stronger than you.” Pinprick multicoloured spots swam in front of her eyes. Ann knew that if she didn‟t break free from his cruel grip he would most certainly kill her. The naked, bitter rage on his face burned her with its intensity as she hovered on the edge of passing out. Then, as clear as a soft musical bell Brian‟s beloved face leapt into her mind.

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“Remember, Ann” he‟d told her one day as they practiced escape movements at home, “a human can’t match a Kien in physical strength alone. You’ve got to use your whole body and mind in a fight.” He‟d taught her a method that could pierce a Kien‟s darklight armour for a few brief seconds if the human fighting them was close enough to do it. Ann went completely still under Theodore‟s weight just as Brian had shown her. She focused all of her will and might on his solar plexus where the Kien were said to be attached to the physical world and most vulnerable. As his grip loosened in bewilderment, she drove a heavy, hard knee into his midsection. “Oh, Damn” Theodore said landing on his rump beside her. As he rocked back on his knees groaning with his injury, his pain filled eyes met hers in the dim light. Slowly, his eyes darkened to the colour of navy blue storm ridden seas. She backed away from his warily knowing he was preparing to strike. With a savage, roar of fury, he sprang to his feet running at her with all the power and fury of a desert dust devil. With a mere split second in timing, Ann grasped the lapel of his jacket and wide black belt as she fell heavily backward with a twist. The speed and unexpectedness of her move threw him off balance carrying him over the arc her body made to the edge of the building where he

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stumbled a mere faction of a step on his already weakened knee, then fell like a broken rag doll to the solid pavement below. Ann had struck her head on the tar-black surface of the roof. Tears swam before her line of sight. Her head and back ached with a powerful steady throbbing as she grasped the stone edge of the building and hauled herself to her feet carefully looking over the side. Theodore lay in the middle of the wet sidewalk below. His limbs were spread apart limp and still. He was dead. The waiter, Josh stood over the prone still body glancing down at it in disbelief. His eyes swept upward scouting for any signs of movement from above. Ann crouched down behind the low stone wall in an effort not to be seen. “If you‟re still here,” he yelled, “you better get out of there!” In that moment, a silence unspoken understanding passed between them. They both knew that from that point on they would never see their worlds quite the same. Both, the slayer and witness had disappeared from sight as the prisoner unit arrived and walked on quiet feet to stand in a circle above their fallen comrade. At the corner of 36th and Broadway, the witness and slayer arrived on opposite sides of the street surveying each other with surprise. Ann gave Josh a silence acknowledgement that was not returned. As the sun continued gaining the sky, they parted. Josh moved on foot west toward

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his home while she moved east toward Redclass. As her boots continued to beat on the hard sidewalk, Ann quietly whispered to herself, “Brian, I‟m coming home.” Then, the lights went out on Broadway.

The End

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SHORT AUTHOR BIO:

Arizona Native, Tara Newlands currently resides in the United Kingdom with her husband Bruce and daughter. A graduate of Pima College, Tara has always been amazed and inspired by a book‟s ability to take readers to different worlds. As well as writing novels, she has contributed various articles to several well known paranormal research sites.

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