What now, was Derek's first thought when the guard called regarding
something strange occurring outside. He stood up casually, not wanting to
alarm anyone, particularly Kat. "There is some work I must tend to, if you
ladies will excuse me." He left the room, leaving Kat, Alex and Zandra to
their game, stopping only long enough grabbing his jacket as he rushed out
the front door.
Derek hurried across the expansive manicured lawn. Apparently it had been
raining, though Derek hadn't noticed it. He shoved the thought away,
dismissing it. He had, after all, been fairly distracted for the last two
days. What was missing a little rain in the grand scheme of things really?
Still it gave him a rather unsettled feeling.
At his first sight of the figure on the ground, the precept's thoughts
immediately turned to the mysterious vanishing body in the woods. Had it
somehow managed to return? However, as he drew near it was obvious that
this person was in fact alive.
"Are you injured," Derek asked as he reached the woman's side and kneeled
down beside her. When he finally got a good look at her face, he froze.
How could this be possible? He stared at her the shock plain in his eyes.
His decision to send the young woman out on her own that day had given him
many sleepless nights, though he did his best to hide this from the others.
They were in a dangerous profession and sometimes things went wrong that
could not be corrected. It was best just to accept it and move on, lest it
eat you alive. Now as he stared into Julia's face, he felt many of those
old feelings mingled with relief, joy..... and suspicion. It was too good
to be true, the fact of the matter was that Julia was dead and she should
not be here, yet she was. Which generally meant that something was amiss.
"Julia," he finally managed to say, his voice slightly hoarse.
Derek
----- Original Message -----
From: julia walker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"What the...?" The guard at the gate was out of the small check-in gate at
the sudden flash that landed smack dab in the middle of Mister Rayne's front
yard.. and what he saw.... "Holy mother o' god..." He was back inside his
station and calling up to the house. There was a woman laying sprawled out
on the now wet grass, dressed in what looked like an over coat and soaked to
the skin.
Julia suddenly stirred and coughed, pushing up on her hands and knees and
wondering why she felt like death warmed over.. then she spotted her hands
and clothes... scraps and torn....
She looked up at the house, the rain now gone but having giving her a good
beating. She felt the chill all the way through her clothes and then some.
But how did she get here?
[to be continued ;)]
