Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 

While the boys are searching through the corridors of time Linda is in a panic as the door of the room opens; finding her son and everyone missing except for Danny crying who has awakened by all the noise in the room. Jim and the girls running down to the boy's room, “what you mean he's gone, Linda? He couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. They must have taken him out the window.” Jim replied with anger in his voice.

“No Jim! I saw a man in here before they came and he took him.” Linda said as the tears rushed down her face.

“Nonsense. Complete nonsense! You think you saw someone because that's what you want to believe. In fact, I bet the truth is he ran away like he always does. You needed someone else to blame and you are afraid to admit it so you made this whole thing up. Just so I would have to go look for him again. Well. I am not, oh no. not this time.”

Jim's knuckles turned white as he shoved them in her face. “I have better things to do than listen to a bunch of ghost stories and go looking for somebody that doesn't want to be found. When you know perfectly well where he has gone to. I say good riddance to bad rubbage,” slamming the door behind him.

Linda tries to calm Danny down rocking him back in forth in her arms while looking at the empty bed now torn to sheds. “Danny, you believe me don't ya son?” Linda asked.

Danny nods, “yes mamma, why did that man take EJ?”

“I don't know Danny, I don't know.” Linda thinking he did look familiar, those eyes, where did I see those eyes before?  Danny falls back to sleep after some time as she covers him back up and tucked him back into bed.

Linda walked down the hall to her room opened the door not saying a word gets dressed walks out the door down the street. To go look for her son, stopping at the Mrs. Trenny, knocking on the door. “Mrs. Trenny, have you seen my son… EJ he's missing?”

“Missing? Come in child you’re shaking,” as Mrs. Trenny she puts her arm around her.

Rena and Doc Whitmore came down the stairs to see what’s happening at this hour of the night “Yes he's missing and I can't find him.” As she breaks into tears, Rena tries to comfort her as Rose makes some hot tea to warm her up. Linda tells them the story watching their faces go pale with fright. Right down to what Jim did that following night as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Will and Robert are gone too with Mr. Faith. I am not sure anymore, the door closed shut. All I heard was glass breaking and the lightening in the room. I guess they could have gone out through the window. But I know EJ didn't, a man took him with red glowing eyes Doc.” Linda said sipping her tea, “That's why I was hoping they were here,” taking another sip.

Kollie and Rena eyes locked for a minute and back at Linda, “you mean their not?”  Linda stands frightened.

“We haven't seen them all night Linda and we were getting worried, thinking that it was the boys knocking at the door,” Mrs. Trenny replied.

“Calm down everyone. We don't know what's going on yet.” Kollie said as he looked out the window down the road as far as he can see which wasn’t much. “Farr's we know the boys are safe and sound we shouldn't jump to any conclusion,” Kollie trying to calm Linda down. “The boys and I will go look for them. I am sure they haven't gone far.”  Putting his hand on Linda's shoulder looking her straight in the eye, “don't worry Linda will find him.” Kollie putting on his jacket running up the stairs to wake the boys and gathering flashlights they were off searching down the road, searching for Will, Robert, and EJ.

Kollie and the boys searched up down the road for hours, finding nothing. not even a trace of the boys. As they comb the high thicket's of the weeds and looked in dark corners for possibilities. All they found was Mr. Faith's horse tied to a tree branch near EJ house and two broken windows as they search the ground. No blood among the blades of shards of glass as the boys examine the site around them. “Everything quiet here except for night noise Pa,” Peter replies as he shines his light on the house.

“We must keep looking boys. They got to be somewhere the question is where?” Kollie replied looking back down the road toward Mrs. Trenny house for any clues he might have missed. Kollie and his boys go around to the front of the house. “We must get inside and take and look see if they left us any clues there,” he said as they climb the stairs.

The boys swallowed hard watching the shadows dance about the place the air feeling cold. Kollie knocks on the door until Jim answered. Jim hangs his head, “I see my wife sent ya,” Jim points down the hall towards the boy's room. “You won't find him there,” Jim laughed. “He on the trail and she knows it. He run off like he has always done. Never did have a lick of sense that boy, always in trouble ever since he was born. Bad genes I tell ya, she says we thought he had grown out of them by now. I guess not,” Jim replied shaking his head pointing to the windows. “Now I have two to replace in the morning and another mess to clean up. Promise's you can keep them,” as he looks at the empty bed then leaves the room. Jim mumbles, “Plain foolishness,” waits in the living room not looking back.

Kollie awakens Danny wraps him in quilt putting him in his arms. “Let's take this one back to his mother boys at least,” as they looked about the empty room finding no clues. Kollie and his boys walked back down the hall into the living room. “Jim we’re taking Danny to his mother. She’s at Mrs. Trenny house since that room not fit for children.” Kollie and his boys staring straight at him then started heading towards the door. Kollie turned just before leaving. “Just so you know Jim… EJ nor Danny does not have bad genes. I would know considering I am a Doctor. It’s you they have a problem with,” leaves him standing there as they closed the door behind them.

Kollie and the boys walked back to the horse, “what do you think Pa?” Frank asked staring back at the house.

“Not sure son, but something must have happened,” he replied as thinks about what Linda said about Jim. “Whatever happened, they are long gone by now, at least their all together safe and away from here, where we should be,”

Kollie climbs on to the horse with Danny with his boys beside him heading back to Mrs. Trenny place at nice clipped clop. They tied up the horse in the yard carrying Danny into the house. Linda sees Danny then looks back at them with tears in her eyes waiting for some kind of answer. “Sorry, Linda… he wasn't out there,” Kollie handing her Danny to hold, “but we will keep searching for him in the morning. I’m sure his all right if he is with his brothers and Mr. Faith.”

With tears streaming down her cheeks, “their not… I tell you their not,” as she looked back towards the door as if there would be another knock and it was them, but knowing it would be unlikely. “That a man took him just before they reached him with those red glowing eyes, I saw him just minutes before,” holding Danny tight in her arms. “Please believe me.” looking into their eyes as the tears streamed down her face, “he's not with them.” Linda begins to swoon a bit due to the stress knowing her son is really is missing and three others. “What mess this weekend has turned out be.”

Rena and Rose catch her “easy dear,” sitting her back into the chair trying to calm her down. “We will find him, dear,” Rena patting her hand as she herself takes Kollie’s.

Rose makes up another bed downstairs in the corner for Linda and Danny. Rena gives her some more tea with a couple of drops of her husbands sleeping medicine. “Here go, Linda, I want you to drink all of it.”

“But ...” Linda replied.

“No buts dear, it will help,” Rena said as Linda starts to yawn as they walked her to a bed in the corner of the room as she tries to fight them.

“What about my girls?” As she yawns.

“Jim can watch them for one night… I think you got your hands full here,” Rose said as Rena pointed over to Danny already back to sleep. Without any more fuss, she was out like a light as they pulled the covers over her shoulders tiptoeing out of the room, closing the door behind them.

“So you boys didn't find anything to back her story up?” Rose asked.

“Just a stray horse, two broken windows and empty room. Other than that, not one bloody thing… we search from here and back nothing. We will try again in the morning when we have more light. Best guesses their held up in some barn somewhere knowing the boys. Jim has done something horrible tonight… not that he hasn't done enough already, and they felt they needed to get him out of there for his own safety, but why leave the horse?” Kollie said looking outside.

Kollie rubbing his chin, “and not head straight back to this place where we would be?  Is what I can't figure out,” he said.

“Unless? Rena, you wouldn't suppose they wouldn't try to head for home on their own?” Rose asked as she paces back and forth of her kitchen.

Rena headed for the phone hanging on the wall “Kollie they do have right to know their sons are missing.” She replied, “We need to know if they are safe.”

“I know, but couldn't wait least until morning?” he replied.

“No it can't, and you know it,” Rena points to the closed door of Linda's little room. “We need answers and they may have them and she needs to know if her son is safe and not missing,” Rena said as the number is dialing and lets it ring until someone answered it.

“Hello... Martha. This is Rena... Are your boy's home?” She asked

“No, you know that they should be with you ... Why what's going on. You sound worried. Has something happened?” Martha replied as she whispers over to Wayne, “something's wrong I can feel it. Rena. Tell me please, what's going on down there? Are they hurt? What? I need to know?” Martha asked.

“That's it Martha we don't know, their missing all three of them at this point. We were hoping they are with you or on their way home.”

Martha swoons as she dropped the phone at the news.Wayne quickly grabs her before she hits the floor, leaning her against the cabinet. “This Wayne, Martha fainted a bit can you repeat that last message for me.”

 “Sorry Wayne the boys are missing and we can't find them.”

“I see, we’ll be right over.”

“Martha you are not doing the boys any good down there dear,” helping her back on her feet. “We're going over to Mrs. Trenny place to see if we can make some sense of this and find our boys.”Wayne picking her up, pointing her to the bedroom, “I'll pull the pickup around,” pulling on his boots.

Aunty M comes flying down the stairs, “I heard the phone ring,” watching Martha and Wayne leaving out the door. “What's going on?” She asked.

“The boys are missing that's all, keep an eye on the place,” leaving her standing there as Martha picks up the baby headed for the door.

Jumping in the pickup they headed on down the road pulling in front Mrs. Trenny house Kollie and Rena came out to meet them. “Sorry Martha, sorry Wayne,” Kollie said, “we been searching for hours before we called,” as he walked them into the house.

Once inside Rena fills them in on the details what Linda has told them watching their face go paler by the news? Martha looks at both of then turns towards the closed door where Linda and Danny are sleeping. “This not the first time Rena,” Martha whispers looking at the door, “I too believe I once saw this man she speaks of or a glimpse of him anyway,” as their eyes locked. “And I believe Aunty M knows him by name and I believe more about him then she has told me. If we need an answer I think we should start there,” holding Wayne's hand.

Wayne nods, “your right dear,” squeezing it tight, “but I don't think we're going to like them answers come morning, not these answers dear.” As he watched the dawn breaking over the sky through the windows of Mrs. Trenny home as the shadows slowly disappear in and from the sunlight.