

## THE BLUFFINGTON FOUR

Copyright **©** 2011 R E Swirsky

1st Edition January 2011

Printed in USA

The Bluffington Four is a book of Fiction with some of its foundation based on historical facts. Many liberties were taken with the historical facts in the writing of this book and the author makes no claim that these facts and inferences as written are historically accurate. All characters involved in the story are the imagination of the author, and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of publisher, except as provided by US or International copyright law.

ISBN-13:

978-1456357368

ISBN-10:

1456357360

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### THE BLUFFINGTON FOUR

### Chapter 1

### Aug 14 2010

A musty smell of things old and forgotten lingered throughout the attic of the house at 742 Founders Road. It had been well over twenty years that the dust had been left undisturbed upon the rows and rows of wooden trunks stacked so carefully upon the shelving along the east wall, but yesterday, the secret access to the attic was cautiously opened once again and two men rose slowly up the staircase in a humbled silence, as if what they were about to do warranted more respect than either were able to provide. As the first trunk was slowly re-opened dust began to lift high up into the air, swirling around in tight circles, as if the particles were in celebration of what was about to come. Below, the two men had returned to travel once again, disturbing the dust with their every movement. The dust continued to twist, spiraling and contorting all around the two as they planned their newest excursion. The voices of the two men echoed throughout the cavities of the attic, sometimes coupled with giddy laughter and shouts of glorious expectation. Long into the night the two mused and reminisced of the events and mishaps from a time long ago, each one being careful to avoid the reason they now found themselves facing one more unexpected journey.

And then suddenly it was all over. The night had slowly changed back into day and the two men that had chatted deep into the night until sleep finally had overtaken them had now vanished to a moment in time forgotten by all but a few.

In the attic with the men now far away in another time and place, the dust began to rest once again, transforming into its own peaceful suspension as another new day broke across the horizon. A yellow glow from the morning sun stole its way through the stained glass window high above in the rafters casting itself upon each one of the dust particles as each particle seemed to float timelessly in the air patiently waiting for the men to return.

***

### Chapter 2

August 18th 2010, 4 Days Later

Francine picked up the phone. Her hand trembled for a moment. She looked at the receiver in her hand and wondered just how many times she had called in the past few days. Carefully she dialed one of the numbers once again, and put the phone up to her ear. She could hear the phone ringing over and over on the other end of the line. Still no answer. She set the phone back down in its cradle, and slowly moved into the front room and stared out the picture window at the two innocent looking houses across the street. "Where the hell are they?"

***

Francine was out for her usual late afternoon jog. As she rounded the bend on Founders Road leading back to her house, she was startled to see a strange red headed man carrying bags of groceries in to the house across the street from hers. Bill's house. All Francine could think, was that Bill must be back, and she couldn't wait to see him. She'd known Bill for twenty plus years and suddenly he seemed unreachable these past few weeks.

As she moved nearer up the street, the strange man came back out of the house for the last bag of groceries still resting in the bottom of the open trunk.

Francine crossed the street to the other side. She needed to find out who this man was. She slowed her pace down to a fast walk and then stopped, giving a pleasant "Hi" to this stranger.

The man turned and was obviously quite surprised to see someone standing next to him. Francine was wearing a light blue cotton jogging outfit, with matching bandana across her forehead.

"Oh...Hello," the man replied back giving her the quick once over.

"My name's Francine Esterro, I live just across the street," she said motioning with a slight tilt of her head. Francine offered out her hand.

The man looked across to the house across the street then tucking the groceries under his left arm, reached out and accepted her handshake.

"Jeff...Jeff Carson," he said still taking in the striking beauty Francine's face and figure always presented. Francine could almost feel Jeff's eyes undress her as he quickly absorbed her fine athletic physique and beautiful facial features. She was used to the way men looked at her. She had heard the comments many times of how her deep blue eyes were somewhat piercing and always seemed to sparkle. Her body was strong and fit, and few men could resist following her with their eyes as she walked by.

"I was just out for a run, and noticed you going into the house there."

"Uh huh," Jeff replied, letting go of her hand.

"Are you visiting Bill?"

"Uh...Bill?" Jeff asked, looking back up to the house. "I just bought this house."

Francine's eye's opened wide, darting up to the house and back to Jeff. "You bought this house? Where's Bill?" she asked forcefully.

Jeff shuffled his feet before answering. "To be honest, I don't really know."

Francine looked at Jeff saying nothing.

"I met his daughter here yesterday, Stephanie, and it all happened rather quickly really," Jeff offered, looking like he needed to apologize for some unknown reason.

"Stephanie? I hadn't seen her since last year. She went away to college..."

"Yes, well, she came back here just to close the sale on the house. Spent the day here." He paused a moment before continuing. "I guess her dad...Bill, asked her to sell the house, right away, lock stock and barrel. Stephanie seemed disturbed by this a bit I think."

Jeff went on to tell Francine about his brief encounter with Stephanie. Jeff's first curiosity was why the house was listed at well below the market value. Stephanie was obviously upset, but she told Jeff that it was a promise she'd made to her father. She'd been attending University on the east coast when she received the weekly call from her father. He'd not called to chit chat like he always did, and instead began telling her that he was going away for a few days, but he wouldn't say where. He said it wasn't important where he was going, but what was important was that she continues on with her studies. Stephanie told Jeff that her father had often talked about the what if's. "What if you mother died?" "What if something happened to me?" It was something he'd made sure she questioned and keep near the surface all the time. She suddenly knew this is what he had been hinting at all those times. Her father was leaving, and she had no idea why or where he was going, nor if he was ever to return. Even though they never said it out loud, this was goodbye. If she hadn't heard from him within three days then she was to sell the house. He'd already made all the necessary arrangements. All she needed to do was to call the realtor in Bluffington, and then come back to Bluffington once a buyer was found. She was to sign the documents and clear out his personal belongings. She was not to worry about him or try to find him. Just sell the house he said to her. Those three days felt like three months as Stephanie worried for her father, but by the end of third day when he never showed or called, she accepted his decision and placed the call to the realtor. Jeff had seen the home on the internet and fell in love with it immediately and at the asking price, he could not refuse. He'd helped Stephanie pack up her dad's belongings, and offered the garage in the back for storage until Stephanie sent for his things. Though Stephanie was disturbed by her father's sudden departure, she was not totally surprised.

"She was only here the one day, yesterday and was soon gone as quick as she had come."

"Oh," was all Francine replied looking back to the house once again. "I just..." Francine's mind began to race. Bill sold the house? Why? Where the hell did Bill go? Suddenly she had so many questions "It's just...I don't know. I thought something was up with Bill. I hadn't seen him for a few weeks, and wondered what was up." Francine's mind couldn't help but hook on the feeling that there was nothing neat and tidy about Bill's sudden disappearance. Bill had said nothing to her about selling or leaving. This was not like Bill at all. There was not even a for sale sign posted prior to the sale. With the sale of his house, Bill was surely not coming back.

Jeff shook his head not offering anything more to Francine.

"Well, Mr. Carson, what brings you out here to Bluffington anyway?" she asked changing the subject, trying to keep some sort of focus on what was happening.

"I'm here actually, to teach a course at the University."

"How interesting. Are you a scientist or a math scholar of some kind?" she asked forcing a smile.

Jeff laughed. "Not really. Quite the opposite in fact. I'm an artist and have been contracted by the University to teach a course on the Bluffington Four. I'll be here for at least a full year for this."

Francine felt a second wave of panic pass momentarily through her body as she hadn't heard the name "Bluffington Four" spoken directly to her face for decades.

"The Bluffington Four?"

"Yes," he replied looking at the confusion spread across Francine's face. "I guess you don't know who they are?" Jeff asked, confusion clearly spreading out on his own face.

Francine froze where she was and an icy cold panic began to swell in waves, filling her veins with a sudden impending dread. She had to leave. As much as she tried to fight it, her thoughts began to consume themselves in fear over her past. The words "Bluffington Four" had somehow set off a chain reaction within her that she could not control. Was it because Bill was suddenly gone as well? She didn't know. All she knew was that things had suddenly changed and she needed to get away as fast as possible to try and think this through.

"Well it's nice to have met you Mr. Carson," Francine said directly but as politely as she could manage. Without replying to Jeff's question about knowing who the Bluffington Four were, she suddenly turned sharply away from Jeff and hurriedly shuffled herself across the street to her house.

"It's Jeff...you can call me Jeff!" he hollered across the street behind her.

Francine scurried as fast as she could across Founders Road to her own house. She could feel him watching her all the way. A part of her wanted to sneak a glance over her shoulder, but she couldn't. Not now. She needed to get back behind her own walls and collect her thoughts. She hurried into her house and a new fear surfaced as she suddenly realized that Bill's house was the key, and now the house was not under their careful watch anymore. For twenty plus years three of them had guarded that house and shared its secret. Suddenly Bill was gone, and there was someone new standing between them and the device hidden away in the attic.

Francine moved to the front window and stared at the tiny window in the attic of the house across the street. The story of the Bluffington Four had been their little secret, shared by all but discussed by none, and that device in the attic was at the root of all that happened. She couldn't walk away that easy.

***

It was late in the evening the next day when Francine mustered up enough courage to carry out what she thought was her best option. Moments later she found herself standing nervously on the doorstep of Bill's old house where this new man with the red hair was now living. Francine rang the doorbell and waited.

"Hello again," Jeff said obviously not expecting to see Francine standing there.

"It's me, Francine...from across the street. I really hope I'm not bothering you, but I needed or...I wanted to talk to you," she said fumbling over her words.

"No, not at all. I was just going over some notes."

"Uh...that's what I wanted to talk to you about. May I come in? I feel bad about yesterday." Francine reflected quickly on her sudden departure, and wanted to ensure Jeff that it wasn't something he had said that had turned her away.

"I'm not sure what you mean." He opened the door wide and motioned for Francine to come in.

"It's just...that yesterday when we talked...I left so suddenly and thought you may have thought I was rude. I wanted to apologize for that." As she stepped into the house her eyes moved quickly, making a rapid inspection around the inside of Bill's old house.

"I hadn't noticed," Jeff replied.

"I guess it was just hearing that Bill was gone. It's quite a shock actually. I mean, I just saw him a few weeks ago and the next thing I find out is he is gone and I find out after the house is sold and all. I kind of thought Stephanie would have come by. We knew each other quite well over the years."

"Well I think she was actually pretty shook up herself. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

Francine knew that this was the moment. She would need to be direct if she was to accomplish anything and stay connected to Bill's house in some way. "Nothing really, I just really wanted to apologize and also thought that maybe you might need some help or something. You know, I can help you find out information about the Bluffington Four, and I can give you the town tour if you need one. I'd be a great assistant to help you get started if you want."

It was obvious Jeff was a little disturbed by her boldness. She had only met him yesterday, but she was hoping she was offering up some assistance that Jeff actually could use. School would be starting soon and he really only had a few weeks of time to prepare. Francine watched as Jeff glanced to the stack of books on the coffee table.

"Actually I'd like that," Jeff replied.

Relief swept over Francine.

"Come, sit down," he said motioning Francine to the parlor where Jeff had numerous books and articles laid out, all the topic of Bluffington's famous four.

"I picked all this up at the University library today," referring to the mess of books on the table.

"The Buffington Four huh?" Francine asked, seeming to not know who exactly the Bluffington Four where. "That's the four artists that went missing back in the sixties isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Nineteen sixty-six to be exact," Jeff replied.

"Tell me about them. How much have you found out so far?"

Jeff began to tell Francine what he knew about the Bluffington Four. Jeff grew up not far from Bluffington, in Calgary. As a young boy, he'd heard about the disappearance of the four young artists. In the beginning it was the only story that seem to top the news every hour. As time went by slowly turning into years, the updates became less and less frequent and when the seventies came, Jeff just barely a teenager was still eager to soak up any word he heard. He could never understand how these four artists just seem to vanish without a trace. One day they were busy students going to school and riding the wave of success and the next day they had simply vanished. There was no evidence of any trouble or violence associated with their disappearance. As time passed, all theories were eventually ruled out including the possibility of this being some big publicity stunt.

Jeff explained to Francine how the Four had come to fame by deciding to market their art while still students at the University of Bluffington. There was never any doubt that they were all talented, but by the end of nineteen sixty-five they were vaulted to the forefront of the local art world when they somehow attracted one of the major art galleries to promote them. They were almost an overnight sensation and their artworks were soon the desirable purchase in most major cities across Canada. Once the Four disappeared in early nineteen sixty-six, the value of the artworks soared and it became the collectible of the day all across North America.

"And you're here to uncover the story of what happened to them?" Francine questioned, hoping that this was not the real reason for Jeff's time at the university.

Jeff laughed. "No, no. I'm only here to teach about the four. To give the students a course on these four artists, their style, their paintings. You know, what I guess I'll do...I'm still not sure yet, since I'm new at this teaching stuff, but I expect, I'll have the students review the paintings and styles of the artists, one by one."

Francine nodded at his ideas, pleased where this was going.

"Teaching, it's something I've never really done, but I think I will teach them about what I see myself when I look at their paintings. I was intrigued when I was a boy and always wanted to paint because of them, and over the past twenty five years, I'd find myself somewhere, someplace...maybe a mall, or the dentist's office...somewhere, anywhere, and I'd see a print of one the works of the Four and for a moment I'd lose myself in the painting. I'd look at the brushstrokes, and the colors chosen for the piece. I'd look at the style and shadows and somehow I could feel the message the painting was trying to put forward. I'd look deeper and deeper, until my mind was awash with the minutest of details of the painting, each brush stroke almost seeming to be placed precisely for a reason.....And then suddenly, as quick as I had gotten lost in the painting, I'd hear a loud noise or some passerby would accidentally bump me, and I would come out from whatever kind of trance it was that had momentarily enveloped me."

"That's amazing," Francine responded, looking into Jeff's intriguing eyes. "You really felt that when looking at those paintings?" She had never heard anyone talk about artworks in this way before, let alone the Bluffington Four's. She suddenly remembered back to days gone by when she and the others would sit around in a circle, easels placed in front of each one of them, all of them eager to attack the empty canvas. A pleasant shiver ran up her spine.

"Oh absolutely. It's funny though, because sometimes when I'd come out of the trance the painting had caught me in, I'd be almost embarrassed for being so wrapped up in a painting. My wife never understood this, and I never really could talk about it with her."

"My wife passed away nearly three years ago; auto accident," Jeff quickly added before Francine could offer any condolences.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Jeff said, grabbing Francine's hand and patting it. "It was a long time ago, and I'm well over it now." He smiled. Francine smiled back.

"So what can I do to help with your research?"

"Well, I wanted to find out all I could about each one of them. I've been mostly trying to find as many photographs as I can to sort of get the feeling of who each one of them was and try to maybe put some kind of personality to each of them."

Jeff held up one of the books to a page opened with the four artists standing in front of a collection of new works.

"There really weren't very many pictures of the four of them. See this picture, for example. We can see Wilfred Brofman over here. He's the big one with the big bushy hair and beard, that in every picture I've seen so far, he looks the same." Jeff grabbed another book with the four of them and quickly flipped through until he found a few more photos

"See, in every one, Wilfred always has the same bushy hair, going out in all directions and the same bushy beard. I didn't find one picture yet of him with his hair nicely trimmed, or combed down, or even his beard trimmed."

"So, what's wrong with that?" Francine asked.

"Nothing's wrong with it, I'm just trying to get a feel for each one of them."

"And what does this tell you?"

"Well, I'm guessing that, Wilfred is a down to earth kind of guy that really doesn't care about what anyone else thinks of him. He doesn't seem to put on airs in any of the pictures, and even the most recent photo, taken just before they disappeared he looks the same. He, to me, seems to be focused on the arts part and is enjoying just being Wilfred. I don't think the success really fizzed on him."

"That's pretty close," Francine responded, remembering back to Wilfred and an earlier time.

"Huh?"

"Oh, I mean, that's pretty close to what I see as well in those photographs. Who are the other three?"

"The one with the thinning long hair is David Dickson. He always looks so serious in all the photos. Not all but most of em...and this is Michael Plummer with the long thick brown hair and glasses. Him I haven't figured out yet, and the girl here is Selena Forester. She's quite the looker, and in all the photos she seems to be posing as if she's very proud of what she's doing. Like this sort of success was meant to be for her."

"Mmm..." Francine said softly running her fingers over the page and searching the features of the people in the photograph. She knew these photos well, but seeing them once again today felt like the first time, all over again.

"I can probably help you research this stuff. I tell you what. I can try to get as much stuff as I can, and if you want, I'll help set up something like a file system. You know, sort through and copy all the articles of interest and we can put them in some kind of order."

"Hey, that sounds good. Then I can actually teach their art in a chronological order. Go through the paintings in the order they painted them and also where they were in their personal lives."

"Yes, and leave the climax to the end of the year."

Jeff looked up at Francine as she said the word climax and suddenly she knew immediately that he liked her. His anticipation to begin the research with her was clear and obvious.

"You really want to help me on this?" he asked.

"Yes. Why not? I'm semi-retired Jeff and I would just love to do something like this. I really have nothing else taking up my summer right now and this sounds like a great deal of fun." Fun really wasn't the right word, but it would do for Jeff.

What was she getting herself into she wondered. Was this really worth it? Suddenly she wondered why she felt responsible to be the one to ensure history wouldn't repeat itself. Maybe she should turn away and close this chapter of her life forever. Say goodbye to Jeff, move away from Bluffington entirely. Somehow she knew this wouldn't happen. It had been too long. Too much time had passed, and time was slowly catching up with her.

Jeff shook his head side to side grinning at Francine. "I'm really glad you came over, you know that. I really am."

Francine looked at her watch and stood up. "I am too Jeff, but I think it's getting late and I should be going."

Jeff stood up and walked Francine to the door.

"Call me in the morning, and we can discuss how to continue," Jeff remarked.

Francine smiled and stepped out. She strolled across the road, feeling the last of the evening sun rest gently on her face. She smiled to no one, but deep inside she could not have been more excited about the opportunity to be back in Bill's house once more. When she reached the front door of her house she paused and turned back towards Bill's house. She stared up at the tiny stained glass window that was inset below the gable on the south wall, and suddenly the memories of the events in the attic began to slowly return. She let them return, and proceeded in for the night satisfied she was on the right track.

***

Francine called Jeff the next morning and was soon sitting next to Jeff in Bill's house. Things progressed quickly with Francine eagerly assisting Jeff in his research on the history of the Bluffington Four. The two of them scoured through the many books Jeff had retrieved from the library at the university. The university had collected nearly every book written about the Bluffington Four and these numbered close to a hundred.

The next two days progressed with a compilation of the facts surrounding each of the Bluffington Four. It was clear to Francine that Jeff was pleased with how she was helping him. Francine found she was also enjoying Jeff's company, and nothing seemed better than to be working alongside him. She found it difficult when she excused herself at the end of the night. She wished she could stay longer, but let herself out each time without commenting on her feelings. The mornings were no different as she sometimes caught herself pacing back and forth endlessly, walking up to the window to sneak a peek over at Jeff's house every few minutes, waiting for just the right time to go over.

She knew what was happening. Was it about Jeff or just being back in Bill's house, some sort of comfort zone, or even maybe just going down memory lane with the photos and history? She wasn't entirely sure but she wanted to find out. She hadn't felt this way about any man in years. She wondered if he was feeling the same.

***

Francine finally arrived late afternoon the next day, letting herself in after knocking, without waiting for Jeff to come to the door. There was a chill in the air as the sky threatened rain, and Francine wished she'd worn her new sweater she had recently purchased but she seemed to have misplaced it. Jeff was seated in the parlor looking over the latest articles he had found. Enthusiasm was spread over his face.

"Hi Jeff," Francine said. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Jeff nodded without looking up, still studying the newspaper article before him.

"You're not going to believe this," he said suddenly.

Francine came and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder at the article he gripped tightly in his hands.

"You see this picture?"

"Uh huh," Francine replied. She recognized this photograph immediately.

"Look at it. What do you see?"

Francine grabbed the paper from him and moved around to sit next to him on the couch. "It looks like the four of them." Francine stared at the photo, remembering back to when it was first taken.

"...And?" Jeff prompted her.

"And...they're posing in front of some of their artwork. What about it."

"You don't see it? Look at the picture. Not the four of them, look around behind them."

Jeff watched Francine as she studied the picture. She couldn't tell him about the photo. He wouldn't believe her. Francine stared at the young man on the left side of the photo. This was Michael. She swallowed hard, trying hard not to let Jeff see what she was feeling. This was the last photo she remembered being taken of Michael before...She let it go, and handed the paper back to Jeff.

"You don't see it?"

Francine shook her head, but she knew exactly what Jeff was referring to.

"Look at the room they're seated in."

Francine still shook her head.

Jeff stood up. "Come over here," he said, motioning for Francine to follow.

"Look at the picture from here he said," standing in the hallway, with the picture held up in front of them towards the parlor.

"Oh my goodness," Francine said, trying to look surprised. She continued looking from the picture to the parlor and back to the picture.

"Yes," Jeff began, "That picture was taken in this room! Can you believe it?" Jeff was clearly excited.

Francine continued her study of the picture and the parlor.

"And not only that, I began to look through some of the other pictures, and you know what I found?"

"I can guess."

"Well, you'd be right. It took me a bit to figure out, but I found seven pictures of them in their studio. The room at the back behind the dining room was where the studio was."

"Looking at the pictures never really donned on me until last night. I found this photo in the drawer underneath the silverware tray. I was just tidying the kitchen, and lifted out the tray from the drawer, and there it was." Jeff handed Francine a photo she'd hadn't seen before. It was a photo of the four of them smiling, and holding their last checks.

Francine stood there expressionless, not saying anything.

"That was taken in this room, and it reminded me of the photos I'd been looking at in all the books and magazines. This is the house the Bluffington Four lived in when they disappeared!" Jeff's voice was raised now. "This is utterly amazing!"

"No kidding," Francine said softly still studying the picture, not looking at Jeff. Of course she knew this was the house. That's why she's here right now, Jeff. This house and that thingy in the attic is the reason she came over in the first place.

"I was planning to go search for the house later, and here I am in the house the whole entire time. I'm living in the house I was going to go look for! I just can't believe this!"

"Neither can I," Francine responded, trying hard to mimic Jeff's excitement.

"This'll add great substance to the course, actually living in the very house they created all of their artworks in." Jeff was grinning, over flowing with excitement.

Francine stood silent watching Jeff in his excitement. She smiled, trying to look pleased at Jeff's revelation and watched as Jeff held each of the photographs up in front of him and looked from the photos to the room behind.

"This is the house they spent two and a half years in, painting and drawing. Studying, and going to school...and in that backroom there, was where it all was done." Jeff began pacing around still holding tightly to the photos.

"All the history of them stems from here..." Jeff said, shaking the photos as he spoke. "This is so cool, I can't get over it."

Francine had known this day would come when Jeff would realize he was in the house of the Bluffington Four. Francine also knew this would be a difficult day for her, but how difficult she had no idea. This was worse than just missing her best friends Bill and David. This was reliving memories that were long ago buried, never to be discussed, and forever to be denied. How could she possibly deny them anymore in the face of what was being presented to her on a daily basis now?

Francine and Jeff finally returned to the work at hand after Jeff finally calmed down over his new discovery. The afternoon slowly wore away and Jeff broke the formality when he departed to the kitchen, only to return with two beers, one for each of them.

"I think we need to take a break," he said opening one of the beers and passing it to Francine.

Francine hesitated at first, not sure if she should be accepting his offer.

"I think I need one of these today," Francine replied, her face breaking into a smile as she accepted the beer.

"I just thought we needed a breather from all this work."

"Yes, maybe we do,"

Jeff sat down next to Francine and suddenly the conversation went into a more personal direction than Francine was expecting. Francine realized that neither she nor Jeff had discussed any of their past and up until now and she had been okay with this. Jeff was now probing her for some history and it hurt like hell to offer up.

Francine spilled up as much as she dared to Jeff, staying very clear from the truth and her real past, and instead focused on her life since she moved into the house on Founders Road. She told Jeff the truth about her current status as semi retired from some business ventures from years ago, and explained some of her involvement and volunteer efforts in the community, but still avoided some of her other volunteer activities that Jeff really didn't need to know about at this point in time.

Francine discovered Jeff's interest in painting came about quite soon after his wife had died. Jeff fell into painting as a release and a means to cope, and unexpectedly found himself suddenly changing careers as his talent far exceeded his or anyone's expectation. He was suddenly alone and had no ties to keep him where he was. The art world was suddenly at his feet and the offer to teach at Bluffington was an escape from the constant media following that he could not pass up.

The two of them talked long about the town and other such things, each one careful to stay away from any deep personal questions, and by the time the evening ended, the two of them had each put back four beers, and a Hawaiian pizza that Jeff ordered in. Francine felt more comfortable with Jeff than she could have ever imagined.

Jeff had laughed a lot throughout the evening and it pleased Francine. She knew she was having an effect on him and he was becoming more open and comfortable with her each day. He told her he was enjoying his time since arriving more than he could have expected and that she was one of the reasons.

Jeff went on to tell her that there was only one thing that was disturbing him since arriving in town. He was having difficulty finding some personal things since he'd arrived. He was sure he'd arrived from the east coast with two large suitcases and one small one, but could not seem to find the small one around anywhere. He mentioned that he was missing a pair of new shoes and a few of his favorite items of clothing. Francine said nothing in response and reflected on her own search for her cashmere sweater earlier that seemed to have vanished sometime since last week.

Francine eventually departed, leaving Jeff alone once again, and she knew he was watching her again from his porch as she scurried back home. There was definitely a spark alive somewhere between the two of them, and she wanted more.

***

Jeff had already been working when Francine arrived the next day. He had several new articles laid out on the table and explained that he had already been over to the library and back this morning. Jeff began flipping through the different articles, relating some more personal articles about the Bluffington Four.

"Did you find anything?" she asked picking up one of the magazines.

"Not really. Just a bit more on their background, that's all."

"Let's see," Jeff said, nodding his head at one the articles Francine now held in her hand. Francine sat down next to Jeff and flipped through the magazine that had carefully placed strips of paper marking the pages of interest.

"Looks, like you were busy," she said, noticing how many pages Jeff had read through.

"Uh huh."

Jeff moved closer to Francine, and casually placed his hand over top hers, as she flipped the pages.

"I think you'll find this one quite interesting." He guided her hand through the pages to an article he had discovered earlier.

Francine felt a wave of goose bumps cross through her body, as she hadn't felt the touch from a man like this for far too many years now. She left her hand were it was and Jeff continued to move her hand through the pages.

He stopped on a page with an article on "The beginning of the Bluffington Four." Francine's attention to the page had been broken and as Jeff began to read, Francine found herself watching his face as his words flowed perfectly over the written words.

"It says here, that Selena Forester was the only daughter of Jack and Eileen Forester from Michigan."

"Uh huh," Francine responded while continuing to watch Jeff's eyes.

"Yes. Jack wanted his daughter to experience life on her own, and chose Bluffington because it was renowned around the world for its Professors. He thought that the University being just over one hour south of Calgary was remote enough and far enough away from the city life to keep her from getting involved with others not involved academically. "I really wanted Selena to be at a place that was dedicated to education. Bluffington seemed like the right place. The professors were all recruited from around the world, and Bluffington was created precisely as a University town. I thought that being in a town like this would be an experience she would learn well under without outside influences. There was no other industry in Bluffington. It was an oasis of education."

"Go on. Read me more," Francine said, not really hearing what he was saying.

"Here's one on Michael. It says, Michael Plummer grew up in Edmonton Alberta, and came here on a scholarship. He was the single son of Mary Plummer, his father having passed away from cancer the year before. Mary Plummer said Michael was a shy boy, and she couldn't see how Michael could get involved in anything scandalous or why anyone would want to harm him."

"Uh huh."

"Francine? Are you even listening?"

"Huh?...Oh, yes," She said sitting up straight suddenly and looking down at the pages in front of Jeff.

"I don't think you were."

"No...I was. I was just distracted for a moment."

"Distracted? Distracted by what?" Jeff asked comically.

"Uh..." Francine laughed. "By you..."

"What? By me..." Jeff looked up at Francine wondering what she meant.

"Yes actually. By you." Francine looked long into Jeff's eyes, and was pleased to see him hold his gaze at her.

"Oh Francine, don't be so silly." Jeff turned away and began leafing through more of the pages he had marked.

"Here's one on Wilfred. It says 'Wilfred Brofman came to Bluffington in...' "

***

Francine and Jeff continued the afternoon, going through the new articles Jeff had found. Francine continued her watch on Jeff as they worked and she caught him a few times staring at her as she clipped photos into place alongside some article, trying to keep the chronology correct. She pretended not to notice, but she did notice. He was watching her, like she was watching him. The way the lips moved, the wrinkle of an eyebrow, even the tilt or twist of the head. Francine liked it all and sensed that Jeff was attuned as much to her attraction of him as she was to his attraction to her.

Eventually it was time to move from the course curriculum research to the actual artworks of the four. Up until now the research was just that, research. It was time now to interpret and breakdown the individual art pieces one by one. Francine was amazed at what Jeff saw in the paintings of the Four. It was uncanny that he could see what she remembered as her and the others worked feverishly on their art works so many decades ago. Francine dove into the artworks with Jeff. She could tell Jeff was enjoying the exploration of the artworks, and engaged her in discussing what motivation the artist must have held at the time. Not a debate of opposing sides, but a debate of understanding the mindset of the artist at the time, and the meaning the artist was trying to convey.

It became increasingly pleasurable as the evening wore on, and the two of them laughed at some of the pieces and were caught in deep emotion with some of the others as they reached some conclusion about what they saw. They didn't always agree one hundred percent, but it was clear that they both held strong responses to the finished works. It became easy to compile the notes for this part of the course and Jeff ended the evening with a sudden expression of appreciation for what assistance Francine had been. He grasped her firmly as she was preparing to leave and pulled her in close, hugging her tightly.

"Francine," he began, tears beginning to form in his eyes, "I thank you so much for what you've helped me with so far."

"You don't need to Jeff," Francine replied pleased, yet suddenly confused by Jeff's sudden show of affection.

"Oh yes I do," he said continuing on. "I never thought I could ever spend time like this with anyone." He paused and looked deep into her eyes. "Today was like something I've never experienced before. The two of us working like that, understanding what we saw in all those paintings ... I felt so...so alive." He pulled her close and hugged her again. "I think I'm in..."

"Jeff, no..." Francine cut Jeff off before he could finish. Francine was not really so sure anymore of what she wanted.

Francine looked back into Jeff's eyes, and she could feel the tears beginning to appear in the corners as all those pent up memories of some forgotten past began to rise up.

"Oh Jeff..." Her lips began to quiver and suddenly like the first time they met, Francine broke free of Jeff's hold and escaped out the front door.

Francine dashed quickly across the road to her own house. She didn't dare turn back to see Jeff still standing there. She knew he was there, but couldn't bear to look at him. Francine burst into her house, slammed the door and fell limp against the closed door. Francine began to cry. Why she wasn't sure. A part of her was flowing with emotion, wanting more of what she felt with Jeff just now, but the past was hovering over her, and every moment with Jeff seem to bring this dark cloud lower and lower. She wasn't sure if she could carry on anymore before her past enveloped her completely and smothered her under the grief she had fought so hard to forget.

***

When Francine finally woke the next day, thoughts of Jeff jumped into her mind almost immediately. She knew she couldn't continue on this way. She was falling apart each and every day, and soon she wouldn't be able to take it anymore. What she would do next, she was not sure, but reliving her past in private with each new photo Jeff presented was becoming increasingly difficult.

Francine needed someone to talk to. If only Bill was around she thought. Bill had always been the strong one and he'd know what to do. Isn't that why Bill was in that particular house in the first place and not her and especially not David. Especially not David. David. Where the hell is David anyway? By mid morning she called David once more, but he still was not answering the phone. Where the hell could he be she wondered silently as she stared at both David's and Bill's houses across the street?

Francine thought long and hard about her position. She couldn't go on like this. She was becoming much too close to Jeff, and each moment with him was crushing her. She couldn't bear to spend any more time with him, hiding her secret the way she was. She had to tell him something. What exactly, she would need to figure that out.

The sun moved slowly across the sky, all the while Francine pondered what to do. It was late afternoon when she finally called Jeff.

"Hello!" Jeff barked into Francine's ear.

"Jeff?"

"Yes hello. It's me." Jeff's voice was suddenly softer and less terse.

"You sound angry," she said quietly, concerned by Jeff's momentary rage. She had never heard Jeff raise his voice before, and for the moment it concerned her.

"No, no. I'm not...Actually, I was, but not because of you."

"What's the problem? Why were you angry?" she asked pressing Jeff for an answer. Silence from the other end of the line.

"I missed you today," was all he offered, his voice suddenly calm, not responding to her question. Francine was pleased to hear Jeff had missed her, but it almost felt like Jeff was hiding something.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry Jeff, for running away like that last night. I just needed some time to myself. I'll come over tomorrow. I didn't want you to think I'd...that..."

"No worries. Sounds good to me," Jeff said interrupting her in mid sentence. "Come over whenever you're ready. I have some things to keep me busy until you come over."

Francine remained silent, not sure exactly how to continue.

"Francine?"

"I'm still here," she said quietly.

"Uh, I wanted to ask you a question before you go."

"Sure. What about?"

"The neighbor...next door on the east..."

"David?" Francine replied, clearly surprised by Jeff's question.

"Uh...I guess..."

"What about David?" she asked again suddenly interested on any news about David.

"Oh, nothing really. Have you seen him lately?"

"No, have you?" she asked concerned.

"No as a matter of fact, I haven't seen anyone next door yet."

"Oh..." she replied, disappointed.

"I just...uh, wondered if you knew him, that's all."

"I've known David for quite some time. Why?

"No reason," Jeff replied, but Francine was not sure she was getting the whole truth from Jeff. What was his sudden curiosity about David? Francine let it go for the moment. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I'll be waiting. No worries, remember?"

Francine and Jeff said their good-byes. Francine hung up the phone and wondered what it was that had Jeff curious about David. She strolled to the window and stared out once more at David's darkened house. She called David, but there was still no answer.

### Chapter 3

Francine called as promised and shortly after lunch she was back assisting Jeff. Time away from Jeff had allowed her to refocus. This day held a new freshness for Francine as she felt a confidence she never had before. She realized now that she was more comfortable with Jeff than ever before. The sun was up and would soon to be blasting the valley in a desert like swelter. Not a cloud was in the sky as she had walked over to Jeff's. Inside Jeff's house, a warm breeze blew in the open windows, bringing the sounds of distant lawn mowers and the smell of freshly cut grass with it.

It was around two-thirty in the afternoon, when Francine and Jeff were suddenly distracted by a sound that could only be that of a gunshot. A single gunshot echoed down Founder's Road somewhere, making both Jeff and Francine rush to the open window.

"What the hell was that? That sounded like a gunshot!" Jeff stated looking up and down Founder's Road.

Founder's Road was empty as usual. No traffic. No persons walking up the street.

"You think so?" Francine asked, disturbed by the sound.

"I'm not sure. I've never been near a real gun being fired, but the way it echoed...it wasn't even really that loud."

"Maybe..." Francine moved cautiously out to the front porch followed by Jeff.

"Where do you think it came from?"

Jeff looked up and down the street.

"Kind of hard to tell from inside the house, but it must have been close by."

The two of them stood on the porch for a few more minutes. They saw no one except for one of the neighbors, three doors down towards the university. This neighbor too, was scanning the street like Jeff and Francine.

"I'm sure it was a gunshot," Jeff said once more.

Francine grabbed Jeff by the arm and held on to him. She stared at David's house next door. "Maybe it's just kids, down by the river." Even as she said this, she knew this was not the case.

"I don't think so. It was too loud. You know what it's like down by the river. You can't really hear anything because of the river. This was closer, like right in front of both our houses."

The two of them stood there listening for another few minutes. Francine still held on to Jeff, staring again at David's house, only letting go when time revealed no more clues about the sound they heard. The two of them sat back down, the deep concentration prior to the gunshot was totally gone.

Francine looked at Jeff saying nothing, her hand up covering her mouth. Memories from long ago began to resurface and the festering of an old wound began, leading Francine to connect the dots, and she suddenly knew that the sound was indeed the sound of a single gunshot. How could she ever have forgotten that sound? How could she have been so stupid?

"You okay?" he asked, interrupting her thought.

"Huh?...Uh, I don't know..." she answered, quickly removing her hand away, trying to look at ease, but her brow remained tight and furrowed. There was more to this gunshot and her mind was suddenly spiraling, pulling in all the events that had been happening these past number of days.

"What is it, Francine?" Concern was etched over his usually calm expression.

"It's just...that gunshot..." She didn't lie.

"I can tell its bothering you...You're shaking for Christ sake. What is it? Are you okay?"

Francine could feel the despair from so long ago coming back in waves. She couldn't believe that the sound of a single gunshot could drive up such painful memories that quickly. Memories began to rush forth like inbound missiles, bursting apart the wall she had erected to keep the past at bay. She didn't have the strength to stay composed, and she fell into Jeff's arms and held tight on to him. She was hoping the pain would diminish, but it wasn't going anywhere.

Jeff held her, comforting her as best he could. Francine calmed enough to confirm to Jeff that it was the gunshot that was consuming her, ushering forth memories from a time long ago. It was something she couldn't ignore any longer and she finally excused herself from Jeff as she needed to sort this one out alone. She gave Jeff an affectionate embrace before leaving, and indicated she would call him later once she calmed down.

Francine never did call Jeff that night as her thoughts were elsewhere. David.

***

Founders Road was a flurry of disturbing activity the next day.

Francine was already up waiting at the window when she finally saw the flashing lights of two police cars as they arrived at the house across the street. The house with the man she knew for so many years was now the center of attraction for the entire block.

Presently another police car being followed shortly by an ambulance and fire truck, all with lights flashing, pulled up and joined the others. She watched as they all parked at various angles along the street. Somehow looking at the display of erratically parked vehicles, with all their lights flashing and some doors left wide open on a few of the vehicles made Francine think that this was how it was supposed to be done in times of crisis. Almost like there was a driver's education course for emergency workers on how to park your vehicle haphazardly during a crisis. The entire scene was surrounded by an outer circle of a dozen or so residents milling about, wondering what the fuss was all about.

Something had happened, something bad, and Francine knew even before the ambulance showed up what that something was. She remembered the single gunshot, and felt a wave of guilt course through her body. Wasn't this her fault? Wasn't it her who handed David the gun so many years ago? Had David really been in that house all along, ignoring her phone calls? Christ, she never even bothered to go over and knock on his door. How was she supposed to know he still had the gun? The more she watched the scene unfold, the more she felt guilty of what was transpiring across the street.

She stood there in the window watching the officers and paramedics as they wandered in and out dozens of times. She wanted to go out and find out what had happened to this neighbor of hers, but she already knew. David was dead. She knew this yesterday. Why she waited until morning to place the call to the police she wasn't sure. Denial was it? Maybe.

Francine returned to watching the parade of lights outside, with the many people traipsing back and forth in and out of the house.

Eventually as the morning switched over to afternoon, the fire truck eventually left, followed by two of the police cars, and most of the onlookers.

Francine waited and watched. What was it that she was waiting for? The body of course. David's body. Somehow she needed to see it. Her mind raced back to the old memories of the last dead body she had seen. Her blood thickened just thinking back to that darkness of that day, strolling through the moonlight amongst the undergrowth of the forest, leading the others who were carrying the body up the side of the hill. She remembered now how the sticks and branches had cut into her calves as they pushed onward deeper into the forest. She felt no pain that day. Numbness had covered all emotion that day, and today was another one of those numb days.

It was after two, when the gurney was finally removed from the ambulance by two men, and carried casually into the house. Francine watched with curious anticipation, and when the two men in white finally emerged moments later carrying the gurney, it was really a non-event. The gurney was carried out and down the steps, one man on each end. The wheels were put down once they reached the sidewalk at the bottom. The gurney, with the cold body barely noticeable under the white sheet, was rolled without urgency over to the waiting ambulance and loaded inside.

Francine continued to watch as the back doors were closed. As the ambulance began to move away the flashing lights were finally turned off. This was the final end for her neighbor next door, her dear friend. The one she tried to, but couldn't help all those years. David was gone. First it was Bill, now David. What was happening?

The ambulance disappeared around the bend on Founders road. There was no need for lights, or sirens. The end had passed for this gentleman...David. That's what Francine called him. David. It was what she'd always called him, unlike herself or Bill. David was taking his last ride. Not a one-way ticket home, but a one-way ticket away from home. Forever. The only ticket that ever is truly one-way.

And who was the last one to see David alive?

The time had come. With David's death it was impossible to ignore the events of her past any longer. Francine retreated into her study and began to recollect the events of so many years ago. She stared at the majestic painting that hung on the wall. It wasn't one that she or the others had painted. This painting had not been seen by a solitary soul since it was stolen by the Germans in 1936. It was the only thing she kept from those days. Neither Bill nor David knew she had kept this one. She now shivered just staring at the painting thinking how brutal and horrifying the death of so many had been at the hands of the Germans and how wrong it was for her to secretly enjoy this one painting she kept concealed from the rest of the entire world.

The fact of all the good she and the others had done since returning didn't cover up the past. She stared at the painting again and knew this one must be returned as well. No, she wasn't finished yet. She would need to tell Jeff something. She remained in her study the rest of the evening pondering what to do.

***

Francine arrived at Jeff's just before noon. Jeff let Francine in and after offering condolences he immediately asked her the details about David next door.

"So what happened to him? It was the gunshot we heard, wasn't it?"

Francine simply nodded saying nothing, still troubled by the loss of David.

"I thought so...I did see him though, you know...lots of times sort of," Jeff added.

"What?" Francine quipped back, startled and slightly enraged by Jeff's comment. "What do you mean you saw him? You told me just the other day that you had never seen him!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't tell you before, because I hadn't really seen him. Well, not all of him anyways. He was acting really strange. I didn't really see him, just what he was doing."

Jeff began to tell Francine of his encounters with David over the past number of days.

He told Francine how ever since the very first day he had moved in he'd known there was someone in the house next door. It seemed that every time he'd come home or go outside he'd catch whoever it was in the house spying on him. He'd catch a glimpse of an eyeball or see the curtains fall back in place. Just a couple of days before, he was in one of the upstairs bedrooms, when he saw the lens of a camera or scope pop out between the drapes of the house next door. He'd continued to watch for a few minutes while the lens was moved back and forth searching all of Jeff's rooms on the lower level. He was getting so angry, watching that damn lens move back and forth. Eventually the lens tilted upwards towards him, and when the lens finally stopped moving, it was pointed straight at him for just a second before it disappeared once more into the darkness. Jeff told Francine he was so furious at this point and was on his way over next door when she had called. That is what he was really angry about when she called that night.

"Jesus, you should have told me this before Jeff."

"I never really thought it was important. I never even knew you knew him that well....And then just yesterday morning, shit, I spoke a little harsh to him."

"Never knew him that well? I've known him for what seems like forever Jeff!"

"I'm sorry, I had no idea you were that close. I knew you knew him, but I knew all my neighbors before, but we were never really close. Like I said, I never really saw more than an eyeball from this guy. I think this went on from the day I first moved in. An eyeball here, and eyeball through the curtains there. The last time I saw him anything of him was yesterday." Jeff continued to describe in detail yesterday's encounter.

He had woken up feeling great, wanting to find something to bide his time until Francine came over. He thought about a few things. Maybe check out the attic, see what's up there. He went up stairs looking for an access but couldn't seem to find one anywhere. It was when he was in one of the empty bedrooms a few feet from the window that he happened to look down to see the curtains moving on the house next door. He looked closer and sure enough the man next door was spying once again. Jeff continued to watch from the upper room, moving closer and closer to the window. He finally stopped so close, his breathe was fogging the glass. Fury and rage suddenly seem to grow out of nowhere as he watched the eyeball search this way and that into his home. Finally the eyeball looked upward and when it connected with Jeff's own stare, it immediately retreated back behind the drapes.

Jeff told her how angry he had become as he forgot all about his search for the attic and ran down the stairs to have a face to face with this guy next door.

"God damned son-of-a-bitch!" Jeff had said under his breath as he walked up the neighbor's porch.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Hey you...I know you're in there..." he'd said trying to sound calm.

He'd waited for a moment, listening for footsteps or some sound from inside the house.

Nothing.

"Hey! I know you're in there...! David! Come on out here!" he'd yelled hoping calling him by name might make this guy listen. He waited some more, but no one came to the door.

"I've seen you, so come on out here!" Jeff demanded sternly.

Jeff's temper rose a little higher, remembering what just happened as he stood upstairs at the window and the two had looked long and hard into each other's eyes.

"I've seen you... upstairs! I know what it is you've been doing! Come out here dammit!"

Jeff waited some more clenching his fists. This guy had no right to spy on him like he was. He wanted to kick the door in, but held himself back.

"You chicken shit little bastard! Come out here and face me! You are David aren't you...? I know who you are and I know what it is you've...You saw me. I know you did... face to face you looked me straight in the eyes...what is your fucking problem, you chicken shit?"

Jeff waited some more and after listening and realizing that this man, David, or whoever he was, wasn't coming out Jeff had to resign to the fact that this man was not coming outside and Jeff may never know what's going on with this guy.

"I looked over at the house every once in awhile, half-expecting to see the man once again with his lens poking through the curtains, but I never saw anymore movement from the windows."

"Hmm...it's just..." Francine began to say something and then stopped mid sentence.

"What is it Francine? Is this what you wanted to tell me?"

Francine waved her hand at him, dismissing his suggestion. She was still thinking about David. David had been locked up in that house for days. She now wondered if there was some real connection between Bill's sudden departure and David's bizarre behavior. She shared some of her concerns with Jeff. David had done this in the past and every once in a while over the years. David's mood would suddenly darken and eventually he'd be holed up in his house, isolated from the rest of the world, not answering his door nor the phone. She never understood why back then and wasn't so sure she understood now. What she did know was that David had been in that house the whole time, and now he was gone.

Francine reached for Jeff, and he held his arms open for her.

"I'm going to miss him." Francine began to cry softly. Jeff continued to hold her until she was done.

"I'm sorry Jeff, it's just I've known him for so long..."

"It's okay, I understand. Just take it easy..."

"There's more about me that you don't know, Jeff" she said suddenly pushing him away and looking into his eyes. She needed to let Jeff know. There was too much at stake now, both with the device in the attic and how she felt about Jeff. There was no more time to ignore what needed to be done.

"Francine, there can't be anything you can tell me that is as near important as what I want to say right now... I think I am falling in love with you." He stared into Francine's eyes. Francine stared back, shocked, but not really surprised by Jeff's sudden revelation. This was not supposed to be the time for him to say something like this. She wanted to reveal her past with him, finally having the courage to overcome the frightening belief that she might scare him away while doing so, and here he is pulling on her emotions and dragging her deeper in to him.

Francine reached out and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Oh Jeff you mean so much to me. I think I love you too, Jeff."

Francine was not so sure anymore that she wanted to go on, but knew she had to. For the past few weeks Jeff meant more to her than she could ever have imagined and now that he had expressed it out loud, a warm feeling burned deep inside her giving her the strength to show him she loved him as well.

"Jeff, I need to tell you more about me, if we are to go anywhere from here."

She began with her relationship with both David and Bill. She started by getting him to understand that the three of them had not only lived in the same neighborhood, but they also had a very tight relationship on watching over each other, even if they rarely saw each other at times.

By the time evening had rolled around, Francine had discussed how her life and those of both Bill and David had been intertwined so much over the past twenty years. They shared vacations together, thanksgiving and Christmas. Francine had been there when Bill's daughter took her first steps, and was there when she finally graduated and went off to university. She knew that by being able to discuss this with Jeff, she was coming to terms with the loss of two very close people in her life. She was beginning to feel stronger and safer with Jeff. Maybe he could now understand how she felt about these two friends.

Jeff called out for pizza. Francine was pleased as both of them were weary of the mind from the hectic pace of the past few days, and she needed to stay and finish this.

Jeff grabbed a couple of Kokanee's from the fridge and twisted off the cap off one and handed it to Francine.

"Thank you so much. I really need this tonight."

"What's pizza without a beer?" Jeff asked, and he twisted the cap off his own beer and sat down next to her. He said nothing more and just relaxed next to Francine. This had become her night, and she could feel Jeff was letting her have what she needed.

Francine took a long swig of beer, grabbed Jeff's hand and mused over the direction life had taken her. Her past twenty years had been her little secret. No, it had been hers, Bill's and David's little secret. Those two were gone forever now and there was no one but her left to protect what needed protecting and at this point nothing more to fear. The layers of her life were shedding quickly, and she had only the skin of truth remaining, keeping her from moving forward in her life. She needed to shed this last layer.

"Well, here it goes." Francine took one big breath as if she was getting ready to leap out from under an ocean of lies.

"I am not really Francine Esterro," she said biting down on her lip staring at Jeff for some quick outburst or stunned reaction.

Jeff said nothing for a moment, and simply stammered. "Uh...uh. What?"

"I'm not Francine Esterro. I mean I am, but I'm not." Francine let out a deep breath and blew up toward the ceiling blowing her hair out from her face. "I am Francine and have been for such a long time but that is not my real name...I changed it when I was in my twenties."

Jeff put on a bit of a frown, clearly not understanding what she was saying. "What do you mean?...I don't understand. You changed your name when you were in your twenties? What does that have to do with anything? I really don't understand."

"You will."

Francine explained how she had moved to the neighborhood in nineteen ninety and that Bill and David moved into theirs in nineteen eighty-nine the year before. She explained that it was no coincidence that they all happen to move into the same neighborhood next to each other. Bill's house was up for sale first and it didn't surprise any of them that this house was available when the three of them arrived in eighty nine. David made the owner next door an offer he couldn't refuse about six months later, and I bought my house a while after that. "We wanted to be together... even more we wanted to be near this house."

"This house? Jeff remarked clearly puzzled. "What's so special about this house? Well, other than being the house the Bluffington Four were in for a while."

Francine didn't tell him. She handed Jeff a note pad and pencil and asked Jeff write down the names of her, David, and Bill, one below the other. Jeff was clearly confused, but did as she asked.

"I don't get it," Jeff stated staring at the names.

"You will when I tell you what to write beside each one of those names in just a minute. What I want you to write now is..." Francine was interrupted by the doorbell.

"That's gotta be the pizza." Jeff put down the pen and paper with the list of names and headed to the front door.

The pizza delivery guy was a young kid in his late teens, probably a university student trying to make as much money as he could before the semester started. Jeff handed him a seven-dollar tip. Francine suddenly remembered her own struggle for funds when she was a student in this very house. The pizza guy gave Jeff a really big "Thank you so much mister," and left quite pleased.

When Jeff returned into the living room with the pizza's, Francine had already been to the kitchen and back with two plates, napkins, and two more beer for later.

Jeff sat back down next to Francine, grabbed a slice of Hawaiian and leaned back and put his free hand around Francine.

Francine grabbed the piece of paper back from the table with the pen and handed both back to Jeff, holding on to his hand for a moment before letting go.

"Look at the names," Francine told Jeff.

Jeff looked down at the three names. He shook his head in confusion.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"I want you to write another name down beside mine." Francine stood up and walked to the window and stared off into the distance to the lights of the Sherman Subdivision nestled in the hills on the opposite side of the valley.

This was the moment. Francine had walked to the edge of the cliff. She was jumping; entrusting the truth with a stranger whom she hoped won't turn tail, leaving her to crash alone at the bottom.

"What name?" he asked.

"Selena Forester," she replied and continued to stare out the window into the darkness.

"Selena? Selena Forester? One of the Bluffington Four? Why her?"

"Just write it down," Francine said quietly.

Francine could hear Jeff scribble Selena Forester on to the sheet. "Done," he said.

"Look at the two names Jeff."

Francine Esterro Selena Forester

"What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Write down the other three Bluffington Four names in this order next to those already on the sheet and next to David's name write David Dickson, next to Bill Forman's put Wilfred Brofman. You can write Michael Plummer down too."

Jeff did as he was told and looked at the names he had written.

## Francine Esterro Selena Forrester

##

## David Sonick David Dickson

Bill Forman Wilfred Brofman

Michael Plummer

Jeff's mouth dropped open as he stared at the names. He looked up at Francine and back down to the sheet.

"This is impossible? Do you even know what you are saying here? You? Selena?"

"I do Jeff, and I'll tell you everything, but I'll need you trust me." She paused. "...and to do one thing for me when we're done tonight."

"Like what?" he said still staring at the names on the page.

"Just agree right now that when I'm done and all this makes sense to you that you will go somewhere with me later tonight." She stared hard at him, trying to gauge his reaction, but she was getting nothing. Jeff remained staring at the names on the sheet.

"Uh...I guess so."

Francine walked over next to Jeff and looked down at the names on the sheet.

"I haven't seen all those names written down like that since...for many, many years." Tears welled in her eyes.

"What does it mean Francine...or should I call you Selena," Jeff said still staring at the names.

"It doesn't matter Jeff. I have been Francine for so long now that I wouldn't even blink if someone called out the name Selena to me. Funny, it doesn't even feel right to say that name anymore."

"If you are really Selena, then Bill and David are..." Jeff's hand went up to his mouth. He suddenly understood how big the picture really was of what Francine had been in the process of revealing. Jeff rose from his position. "... I don't know what to say ...I...I'm...Oh my," he said. "...and you all stayed right here in Bluffington?"

"We had to..."

Jeff moved close to Francine, and pulled her in next to him. "I am so sorry. I had no idea about Bill and David and that they..." but he never finished the sentence.

"Part of me needs to believe you, but logic tells me this is impossible. How...you can't possibly believe you are Selena?" He looked her up and down and his eyes fell back to the list of names. "You'd have to be at least thirty years older if you are Selena. You'd be nearly seventy! ` I don't...I...I really don't understand. This is impossible Francine."

Francine reached for her beer on the table, and slowly took a sip. "I may need a lot of these tonight before I'm finished. Jeff, I'm so sorry for this...for you I mean." This was becoming way more difficult than she expected. She was struggling for words. "...If only you hadn't been who you are then maybe we could have...could have avoided this." She watched Jeff's eyes as they darted back and forth madly as he tried to make sense of all of this.

Jeff grabbed the magazine from the table and stared at the image of Selena taken nearly thirty five years ago. He looked back at Francine, his mouth hanging open in awe.

She stared at Jeff, and couldn't help but think of how close the two of them had become in the past few weeks. "Jeff, I need you now. Especially now."

"Francine," Jeff spoke. "I just don't know. I find this a little difficult, if you know what I mean, to believe." Francine watched as Jeff's eyes continued to dart back and forth across her own, and down to the photograph. She could sense his apprehension, and why not? She was telling the biggest fantasy he could have imagined, but it was all true. He shook his head and stared long and hard at her. Francine was not sure if Jeff was going to continue to listen.

"Go ahead and tell me. Tell me." Jeff looked at the sheet with the names once more. "...and how come there is no other name beside Michael's?"

"Only David and Wilfred lived here. Michael...well, that's really the whole story isn't it? You're sure ready for this? I never told anyone, any of this before."

"I've listened to this much. I don't know...go on then."

"I'll need you to promise me though...one more thing."

"What now?"

"That you'll tell no one what you may hear from me tonight."

Jeff looked away from her momentarily, thinking.

"Uh...sure, Ok."

Francine tried to understand how Jeff must be feeling, but it was already too late to worry about that now.

"You're sure you're ready for this?"

"I think so. As ready as I'll ever be." Jeff took another drink from his beer and leaned back and stared up at the ceiling as Francine began to tell her story.

***

### Chapter 4

"Okay then. Let me see. It would have been in the fall of 1963 that I was first enrolled at Bluffington University."

"1963," Jeff replied with an undertone of doubt. Francine could feel his words doubting she was even born in 1963.

"I didn't choose Bluffington. My parents did. They thought, I wouldn't get sidetracked. Like Bluffington kept me from getting sidetracked."

"Anyways...I enrolled in the Arts Program, as you already know by now, and this is where I first met Michael. Michael was also entered in the Arts Program and he was one of those guys that seemed a little overwhelmed by the university scene. The number of people seem to intimidate him, the size of the classes seemed to bug him and I think the girls most of all scared him."

"He was in most of my classes the first semester and I never really paid much attention to him. When the second semester started, it seemed that all my closest friend's classes were all different than mine and the only face I kept seeing in all of my classes was Michael's, so of course we sort of hung around off and on together in the halls and cafeteria."

"I really got to know him in that second term. He started to show off in his little ways and always was doing some goofy thing to impress the other students whenever I seemed to be around. I guess I sort of encouraged this because I always used to laugh at him when he did the things he did."

"Somehow one evening in late February that first year I went to the library to study up on impressionist art and the Nazi pilfering that went on. I can remember so well that snowy night. The snow was falling thick and heavy, which I was told was unusual for February here. Usually the snow blew in under a strong northwest wind and the flakes were small and dry and only collected in piles in the drifts created by the wind blowing so hard. This night was different. The snow was coming down and it was coming down heavy. Big wet soft flakes that stuck to everything, sucking all sounds away with it. There was an uncanny quietness that night and the more it snowed, the more the sounds outside seemed to be stolen away."

"I had just finished walking from my dorm to the library and was shaking the wet snow from my toque inside the entrance when Michael stumbled in right behind me. And I mean stumbled in. He came through the door and I am not sure even if he saw me or not but he was coming in so fast he slipped on the wet floor and lost control. Suddenly there was Michael with his arms flailing. He couldn't stop on the wet floor and plowed square into me, and both of us went sprawling across the library floor. I was a little upset, but he was laughing so hard I found it hard to get angry with him."

"If he had been a stranger I am sure I would have said some pretty unladylike words that night, but this was Michael, running and laughing and full of life."

"I just sat there on the floor at first, watching him, amazed at how open and alive he seemed at the moment. I think this was this what first attracted me to him. He wasn't being the usual shy timid fellow, with the occasional show-off stunts I had known the past few months. Michael just lay on his back on the floor, grinning and laughing."

***

### Chapter 5

### Michael 1963

"Whoa, this is so great!" Michael yelled, his voice echoing everywhere across the silence of the library. "Don't you just love this?" Michael asked Selena as she lay amid her array of books spread across the library entrance. The door to the library remained open allowing the escaping warm air to mix with the cold outside air bringing more flakes of snow down upon the two of them.

Selena stared at Michael in disbelief that he could be so careless but something about him tonight prevented her from getting angry.

"Love what? Being knocked to the floor? No I don't love this," she said sarcastically.

"I didn't mean to knock you...I'm sorry, but this is such a wonderful night don't you think?" Michael sat up on the floor next to Selena and stared up at the flurry of flakes still billowing in through the open door. "I mean...we never see snow like this, this is snow, real snow, like up deep in the mountains where the snow stacks up on the branches of the trees." Selena could see that Michael was having the time of his life right now. You'd think he had never seen snow before.

Michael began to help Selena gather up her books apologizing for the first time. "I'm so sorry," he said still laughing. His failure to stop laughing put a smile on Selena's face as she didn't expect the evening to start out this way and here was goofy little Michael bumping into her, knocking her books flying and laughing his head off in joy the whole time.

"It's okay...It's okay Michael," Selena replied back while taking the books from Michael and putting them back in her bag. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"The snow Selena. The snow...you've been outside. Can't you feel it...can't you feel the difference? Tonight there's more than just snow out there! You can feel it the moment you step outside. The whole air seems to press you from the outside. Take a breath and you can feel how crisp everything is...It's just wonderful!"

"It's just snowing Michael," Selena replied back but she too felt it tonight. The air was different. The air did seem to press all around her and he was right about breathing the air out there. She had almost decided to go for a walk herself around the campus before stepping in the library because the air was so sweet to breathe in.

Michael shook his finger at her. "Oh it's more than that and you know it." He paused. "You know what I mean. You've breathed it out there. We never get snowfalls like this here, it's so beautiful."

Selena thought he was getting a little carried away with this snow thing.

Selena closed the main door to the library stopping the snow from entering and apparently it stopped Michael's ranting about the snow.

"So, Selena, what are you doing here tonight?" he asked, the laughter gone now but the smile still remained on his face.

"Impressionists," was all she said.

"Oh, me too. I didn't quite get what old Grizzly was talking about neither," Michael replied. Old Grizzly was the student's nickname for Mr. Bowerman, who was the shortest of the professor's and sported a full gruff beard below his shoulder length hair.

"Do you want to study together?" Michael asked shaking his head, throwing off the last of the wet snow from his shoulder length hair. Droplets of melted snow clung to the surfaces of his glasses.

"Actually, that would be nice," replied Selena, quite surprised herself that she accepted, but she hated studying alone and Michael seemed very pleasing to her.

"Well golly," Michael said removing his glasses and wiping the droplets of melted snow on his shirt, but the golly´ was stretched out like Gomer Pyle would currently be saying at least once a week on TV.

"C'mon," Selena said, rolling her eyes as she headed toward the tables at the back. Michael returned his glasses to his face and followed close behind with a quite noticeable spring in his step.

Selena grabbed a table in the corner, away from the other students, trying to find a spot where she could really begin to bear down in a class that right now seemed a lot tougher than she expected. Michael threw his pile of books on the table and took a seat next to Selena.

Selena watched as Michael began to root through all kinds of papers that seemed to be stuffed haphazardly in all of his notebooks.

"Man, I never can seem to find what I'm looking for sometimes," Michael said.

"By the looks of your books, it's a wonder you can find anything."

"It's in here. I just put the assignment in here before I left rez to come here." He continued to rummage through his different notebooks and binders, all the time pulling out handfuls of crumpled papers and handwritten notes taken from the different classes.

Selena took her book bag from her shoulder and laid it on the floor. She removed her assignment while Michael had eventual turned to dumping all the loose papers from the binders and notebooks on to the table.

"Ah here it is," Michael said grinning. "I knew it was in here."

Selena wanted to reply in some derogatory way, amused at how anyone seemingly as unorganized as Michael seemed to be, could survive even one semester let alone four years of intense study.

"I'm going to grab some books...I'll be right back," Selena said and rose from her chair and disappeared into the rows and rows of shelving.

When she finally returned with a few books on impressionist art, she noticed Michael had put, or probably stuffed was more like it, all his papers somewhere in his notebooks and binders. He was reading so intently he did not seem to notice that she had returned. His hair, still damp from the snow, hung down the sides and front of his face. His left hand was curled into a soft fist under his chin and it reminded Selena of how someone holds an ice cream cone. She could see his wire frame glasses but the rest of his fine features were obscured and hidden by his shoulder length hair.

Selena opened her book titled "The Works of Impressionist Artists during the early 1900's" and began looking through the index for names of various artists and began flipping pages and shoving long pieces of neatly cut paper, between the pages marking the ones that had some reference to what she was looking for.

It was Michael's turn to watch Selena now as she methodically placed, what seemed like hundreds, although it really wasn't, pieces of paper into the books. All the pieces Selena had obviously previously pre-cut just for this type of researching.

Flip, flip, flip...insert. Flip, flip, flip...flip, flip, flip...insert, flip...insert, flip, flip, flip, flip...flip, flip insert.

Michael now lost complete interest in what he had been reading and was more interested in Selena's methodical approach to study.

Flip, flip....insert. Flip, insert.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked his face now showing confusion.

Flip, flip, flip...insert.... "Huh..."

"What are you doing with all the pieces of paper?" Michael's famous grin was beginning to come back, the confused expression slowly disappearing.

Flip, flip, flip...insert. "What...Oh..." Selena stopped flipping the pages momentarily and looked at Michael.

"I'm marking my study points. Why?"

"I dunno. It just looks funny that's all?" Michael's smile had finished forming and was now wide across his face.

Selena returned her gaze to her book. Flip, flip...insert. She could feel Michael still staring and looked back at him somewhat annoyed.

Michael ducked his head and imitated Selena. With his hand he made the motion flip, flip, flip and then looked at Selena with a shallow smile.

"I'm studying that's all." Selena replied and looked down, a little embarrassed now.

She raised her head back up a bit "And how do you study?"

Michael began to make the flipping motion with his hand again mocking her.

"What?" Selena asked more deliberate now, but Michael just kept staring at her trying not to break out in laughter. "You see what I do is scan the books real quickly for anything that might be related to what I'm looking for and I slip a marker in there. Then later I scan the pages I marked for more detail and make notes in the slips of paper like tags. Most slips get removed and what I am left with is a number of tags in each book labeled with the different topics. It makes it real quick to source the info after." Selena could see Michael wasn't really interested in her methodology, but enjoyed the little taunting session.

"...And how do you study, Michael? I'll show you." Selena began to grab a few sheets of foolscap paper, and quickly scrawled some irrelevant notes on to each page. She then looked directly at Michael, crumpled the first page up and stuffed it into her book bag. She grabbed the second page held her stare at Michael and scrunched this page up and stuffed it into the pages of her binder. The next two pages she didn't even crumple but just pushed into some dark corner of her book bag.

"There, that's how you study."

"I do not," Michael replied, not really having expected this insulting rebuttal from Selena.

"You do too, I just saw your binders, with everything stuffed anywhere and everywhere."

"Noooo...I think you're mistaken." Michael said shaking his head slightly side to side. His glasses slid down his narrow face and he pushed them back up.

"Okay mister," Selena said. "Let's see...ummm...notes from history class."

"Okay," Michael said and turned away from Selena, opened up his binder and removed four pages of notes from the inside pocket and laid them on the table.

"There," Michael said looking at Selena.

Selena felt a little perturbed by his luck. "Okay...that was lucky. How about watercolors?" Selena chose this because the watercolor course was more of a practical course and very few students ever took any notes in class.

"Sure." Michael quickly reproduced two pages of notes taken during today's class. Selena grabbed the two sheets and studied them, and although slightly crumpled with a few water stains, they were indeed the notes from the class earlier today. Selena felt a little irritated and confused. She handed them back briskly and watched as he carefully returned them to his binder.

"What..." Selena hadn't put it together quite yet and she hated being wrong. She remembered Michael had dumped his papers on the table, and the big mess it was.

"I saw your binders, Michael." She raised her eyes towards him. "...and they weren't very organized".

Michael began to grin widely again. "Oh that... I never have messy notebooks. It's just tonight I was in such a hurry to get over here. I took a header outside in the snow. Some of my books and papers went sprawling everywhere and I didn't want them to get too full of snow so I grabbed them as quick as I could. I dusted off most of the snow and stuffed 'em all back in as quick as I could." Michael laughed.

"That's another reason I was running in here so fast. I didn't want anything to get wrecked by being laid out in the snow."

"Oh...and that's why you..." and Michael joined in as they both finished the sentence together "...dumped the papers onto the table."

"...To put everything back in order." Selena said and she too was laughing despite feeling foolish over her Michael impersonation.

They both stared each other laughing and snickering. They paused a moment from the laughter and gazed into each other's eyes. Selena pulled her eyes away from his back towards her book but she felt him still staring at her. She couldn't help but look back to see him still watching her, the smile still remained on his face. She held her eyes on his for a moment more, returned the smile and uncomfortably turned her eyes back to her study book.

Michael turned back to face the table and following Selena's lead, began reading again. Selena pretended to read, now turning the pages...flip, flip, flip...but not comprehending anything. Her mind couldn't help but focus on Michael's gaze and how hard it was for her to pull away her own gaze just a moment ago. The gaze itself had only been...what?...Maybe two seconds...maybe three...but it seemed so much longer to Selena.

Selena realized she was having feelings for Michael.

Selena forced herself to return to the studying and she shuffled her way through the works of August Macke, stuffing a few slips of papers in the artworks that interested her, but suddenly it was more difficult. Her mind kept wandering down the Michael road. All thoughts turned to Michael. She would read a page or two, trying to focus on the deep vibrant collage of colors August Macke used in the background of some of his paintings but by the third page she was only thinking Michael again. Did Michael think the same as she did? Michael held the gaze as long as she did. In fact, Michael held it even longer than her. She could feel it.

Selena realized the intense studying she came over for was not going to happen tonight. She slowly worked her way through the books, marking the pages of other artists like Canada's Maurice Brazil Prendergast and his way of outlining his faceless characters and images with darkened shadows. She liked Prendergast's style and the moments in time he seemed to capture in many of his paintings. She was caught in her own moment in time right now, caught by thoughts of Michael. She placed another slip of paper in the book next to this photo of the painting of a gathering down at some cove, but she had no intention of going back through the pages in detail tonight to label each slip of paper or remove it as irrelevant. The concentration just was not there.

Michael studied his own way, but from what Selena could tell he seemed nonplussed by their gaze earlier and managed to work his way through a few different study books and a five full pages of notes.

The night ended earlier than expected with Selena excusing herself because she still had some other reading she needed to do before she went to sleep. Michael stayed seated at the table and casually said he would see her tomorrow and the magic that was there at the start of the evening faded away into a routine ending typical of any other school day.

Selena walked back slowly to her dorm, the heavy white snow still falling. The only sound she could hear was the muffled scrapes of snow shovels against cement in the distance as the yards crew tried to keep the walkways cleared as best they could. It still felt magical out here again just as it did earlier. Selena took a deep breath and let it fill her lungs. The air was moist and alive, and as good as it felt to inhale at this moment, it also annoyed her that she wasn't feeling as good about this whole evening as she wished. She paused for a moment and turned to face the library. The mammoth curved archway above the entrance still held its intimidating power as it was intended when it was built some half a century before, but tonight with the heavy snow and what had happened in the library this evening between her and Michael, the structure seemed to have lost some of its strength. At the moment it appeared to Selena to be just a building like any other.

Had she imagined a magic moment in the library tonight or was it real? Selena wondered if it was as Michael had said, something in the air tonight, that slowly seem to dissipate after being indoors for a few hours. She didn't know and she didn't really care at the moment. All she wanted was for another moment like tonight with Michael.

Selena slowly turned away from the library and continued the long walk back to her dorm through the falling snow.

***

### Chapter 6

"I almost knew then that I loved him," Francine said as she reached for her beer on the table conveniently allowing her to take her eyes away from Jeff.

She looked back at Jeff as she took another sip from the bottle. Jeff said nothing and let her continue.

"As the weeks and months of the second semester wore on, Michael and I began to spend more and more time studying together, each of us aware of each other's attraction. We didn't do anything about it just then. I think it was nearly three months later, in the third semester when we finally connected. We were hardly ever in the same classes that semester and whenever we'd have the chance to see each other we were both giddy with laughter. On one of those encounters, I finally broke down and told him how much I was missing him each day. He confessed he was feeling the same and from then on we grabbed every moment we could to be together.

"I think that semester was one of my best memories of those days."

Francine took a long sip from her beer, giving Jeff the cue to respond.

"I don't see where this is going. Why all the details of you and Michael?"

"I think it's very important you understand my relationship with Michael. This is very hard for me Jeff, but I never have told this to anyone and I need to get it out now or I never will." She stood up and stared out the big picture window once again.

"Michael and I became real close over the rest of that first year, and as the end of that first year came closer and closer to ending, we both conveniently ignored the fact that we may soon be apart from each other." Francine spun her head slowly over her shoulder and looked at Jeff. "We hadn't slept together if that's what you were waiting to hear but we had become involved. We couldn't go for more than a day without being with each other and we surely didn't look forward to being separated over the summer."

Francine turned back to Jeff and brushed her hand through her hair. "This is so hard, but it is still so clear to me Jeff. It's like it just happened yesterday."

"You're doing just fine," Jeff replied back.

"Michael had this idea. He came up with a way we could be together over the summer. My plans were to go back east to my parents place and find some summer work out there but Michael thought we should stay here over the summer."

"I had no idea how we would do this. It seemed a stretch that this was even possible. The dorms were closed over the summer. What would we do for money? What would my parents say? I had so many questions."

"Michael said he knew a couple of students in one of his classes that rented a house in Bluffington near the university and two of the roommates would be graduating and leaving at the end of the school term. The house was rented out year round he told me, and they needed to find two people to help pay the rent for at least the summer and maybe longer."

"At first I was uneasy about the whole idea. Michael said he had a line on a couple of jobs building hiking trails in the mountains for the parks dept. He said they paid well, and we could spend the summer working and we could even use our time and exposure in the mountains for our artworks."

"The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea only if he could be sure we got the work. Well, the truth was Michael had already secured the positions if we wanted them."

"This is when I met David and Wilfred for the first time. I had seen them in the halls but the two of them had never been in any of my classes. Michael said we were invited to go over to the house and take a look." Francine looked at Jeff and watched for a reaction as she continued on. "We came here Jeff, to this house..."

"This house?" Jeff stated looking around the room.

"Yes," Francine said, still catching Jeff's underlying doubt of whom she is claiming to be.

"That was the summer of 1964?"

"Yes, and we never left after the summer as we had originally planned. Everything seemed to fit so perfectly all of a sudden. Here we were Michael and I, two young art students, spending the summer in this very house for no more reason than to spend time with each other." Francine paused in thought for a moment as more memories suddenly came back. "We all seem to blend so well together, and as it turned out, David and Wilfred also were art students. We all took other course studies as well as art. Mine was history, Michael's was business, Wilfred was taking marketing and David was taking literature...but the fact that we all were art students living in the same house was something special for all of us."

There was something different about this house, right from the beginning. Francine began to tell Jeff that this house had its own history. In 1955 the body of a dead man was found up in the attic. It had been rotting away for weeks before being discovered by a couple that had just started renting the place. Apparently, the two began to notice an awful smell in the house within the first few weeks of moving in. They never could locate where the horrible smell was originating, causing them to contact the police because they were unable to reach the landlord. The moment the investigator entered the house he knew that smell. It didn't take him long to before he'd searched his way up to the attic. A dead man was found hanging from one of the beams in the nearly empty attic in what looked like a suicide, flies buzzing around his remains. It was a bit of a scandal, as the police at first accused the renters of murdering the man but later cleared them when the autopsy report ruled the man had died from blunt force even before the tenants had moved in and it was no suicide. They eventually found the owner who was on business overseas but could make no connection to the dead man and eventually ruled it an unsolved murder. Who the man was, and how he ended up hanging from the rafters was never known. The couple moved out, the house was put up for sale and a local business man, bought the place in 1955 or 56 as an investment. The house had been rented out to students ever since. The story of the dead man in the attic was always the major draw for students.

"So what happened to all of you?" Jeff had straightened up his body and moved forward on the edge of the couch. Francine could see Jeff was starting to connect some of the dots of her story and his curiosity was increasing.

"I can't tell you that yet," Francine replied. "There's more I need to tell first."

"We went over, Michael and I, to view this house, even though I was still a little reluctant about the whole thing."

Francine cracked open her second beer.

***

### Chapter 7

### JUNE 1964

Michael led the way up the steps to the front porch of 742 Founders Road. The walk over had not taken as long as Selena had expected, the house being only a few blocks off the main entrance to the university grounds.

Selena reached for Michael's hand as Michael rapped on the stained glass panels crafted into the thick oak of the front door. Selena glanced around the deck taking in the detailed craftsmanship that was characteristic of all the stately houses on Founders Road. Six large ornately crafted white columns anchored the large covered porch, with similarly carved railings between the columns enclosing the entire front of the house and steps.

Michael grinned at Selena. "Pretty nice hey? The guys said it was unbelievable on the inside, and they didn't want to risk losing it."

Suddenly the door opened and a heavy set young man with overly bushy hair and beard with deep set dark eyes was standing there. His expression changed suddenly as Michael turned toward the open door.

"Michael!" the big man said smiling. He reached out his large hand toward Michael.

"Hi, Wilfred," Michael replied accepting Wilfred's hand with his own. "This is my friend Selena I told you about."

"Hello," Selena said a little timidly.

"Selena," Wilfred said looking first at Selena then back at Michael. "She's much more beautiful than you let on my friend."

Selena blushed. "Oh thank you so much." She slugged Michael on the arm.

"Come in, come in," Wilfred said holding the door wide open with his one hand and waving his other, ushering them both inside.

"David's in the back working right now...I'll get him. Wilfred walked to the back of the house leaving Michael and Selena alone inside at the front entrance. "David, Michael's here. C'mon out an be sociable," Wilfred could be heard saying from the back of the house.

Selena looked around the house from her position and was immediately taken by the grandeur of this old house. "Oh my god Michael! This house is beautiful!" Selena exclaimed with her mouth hanging open.

The walls were all finished with a rich oak paneling, the upper portion containing recessed panels which were either wallpaper or an original hand painted scene depicting an ocean expanse with a soft blue sky and a hint of cloud here and there. The thin strip of the ocean at the bottom was littered with the soft white caps from a summer's breeze.

The ceilings all contained a criss-crossing woven pattern that was recessed about six inches from the bordering trim. The trim and recessed portion appeared to be hand carved from plaster.

Wilfred returned from the back of the house. "David will be along in a minute I guess, but I'll give you the tour," he said leading them first over to the large kitchen with its oak cabinetry and slate floor and counters. In the back of the kitchen again were the built in oak cabinets and buffet, the only furniture being the antique press back chairs situated around a large built in kitchen table.

Selena couldn't contain herself at the beauty of all this. "This is incredible," she said short of words.

"I thought the same thing when I moved in," replied Wilfred. "It was so cool not having to bring any furniture in to this place. Look at those chairs alone." Wilfred pointed to the kitchen chairs. "Those are antiques and I'm told they have been here for decades, always stayed with the house."

"I'm surprised some student never stole them," Michael pondered. "I mean, what's to stop anyone from taking them out of the house?"

Wilfred looked at Michael and shook his head. "Look at this place Michael."

Michael did look around.

"This place kind of grows on you when you're here and I can tell you man, that there ain't been anyone living here while I was here that would ever have taken anything." Both Michael and Selena could tell he believed what he said.

"You want to see something real special?" Wilfred asked as he suddenly became excited by the interest Michael and Selena were showing in the magnificence of this house.

Just then David came out from the back. "You're not going on about that again all ready are you?" and Selena saw the lean small framed young man with the fine thinning hair come out smiling from the back hand extended. "My name's David. David Dickson." He reached first to Selena's outstretched hand and then shook Michael's and winked.

"David, this is Selena I told you about," Michael said still shaking David's hand.

"How does a skinny ass guy like you get a girlfriend that's a bombshell like this?" David asked smiling at all of them. Selena blushed again but enjoyed the complement once again. Michael blushed this time as well.

"No, you gotta see this, you gotta," Wilfred interrupted.

"He does this every time someone new comes over," David said a little embarrassed. "I guess you better humor him and go now or he'll keep on you all night until you do."

"No really, you gotta see this, I've never seen anything like it," Wilfred said a little more pleadingly now.

David nudged Michael and then as Michael began to move, Wilfred almost bolted down the hall to the first room on the left. "In here. In here," he almost yelled. Wilfred had led them to another room, the dining room.

This room too was very impressive with similar detailing on the ceiling and walls, and had an additional stone fireplace imbedded into the oak woodwork on the north wall. The opposite wall contained oak cabinets, and built in buffet.

"This is gorgeous," Selena said out loud as she looked around.

"It certainly is," added Michael, also amazed at not only the details, but at the condition of this old house.

"Not there," Wilfred said with total annoyance on his face. "Over here." He pointed to the table in the center of the room.

Selena was a bit puzzled but impressed by the broad expanse of the dining table with its tooled edges. "Yes, it is very nice."

"No you're not looking at the right place." Wilfred pointed to the floor under the table.

Under the chairs surrounding the table Selena took in the oak flooring. At first it didn't seem that out of the ordinary as she had seen pictures of inlaid oak flooring before but when hers eyes went back and forth across the floor, the pattern of the inlaid wood immediately revealed itself to her. The entire room was surrounded with interlocking pieces of rich dark oak, running parallel to the exterior walls. Inside this one-foot border however, the multi-colored boards all angled together towards two central points in the room. The inlaid boards were laid out in two distinct star patterns that were centered on each of the two table posts, but something didn't look right.

"See...see...now how do you suppose they did that?" Wilfred asked quite excited and bouncing a little on his feet.

"I...I" was all Selena could say.

"Wow!" Michael stated as he was in as much awe as Selena was. Both of them stared at the floor puzzled on what they saw.

The inlaid boards making each star pattern on the floor started out like any inlaid floor, but at the center of the star, instead of the boards stopping and meeting in the center like one would expect, the boards curved out of the floor and twisted upward, twisting around each other and rising into the air forming each supporting leg of the table.

Selena looked at the other star and sure enough it too was identical. The floor boards were like any other floor boards until they reached the centre of the star pattern, changing into intricate spiraling table legs.

"How could anybody make this?" Wilfred was saying again obviously feeling proud that he was the one to get to show them this.

"Incredible," Michael said as he bent down and traced one of the inlaid boards with his finger from the outside of the star to the center as it curved up and twisted six times along with the other boards of the floor, all of them together forming one of the two table legs.

Everyone stood there quiet for a moment until David broke the silence. "C'mon, there's more to see in this house." Slowly they all left the dining room and moved on to the study, Selena's head still turned back studying the table legs as they left the room.

Wilfred was in front as they headed down to the last room behind the dining room. As they walked in, Selena now understood what kind of work David had been involved. This room in all its grandeur had been transformed into a studio they were using for their artwork. The room was larger than the dining room and was now filled with the tools used for creating many different forms of art works. She could see clearly the easel with the canvas where David had been working. Around the room were two other easels, paint supplies, a spinning turntable for clay making and many finished works were leaning or standing against the walls. The shelving that ran across the outside wall was filled with different art mediums, brushes, cans of paint thinner, bags of clay powder and other materials. Both Michaels and Selena's hearts skipped a beat as they saw themselves working in such a studio. This was too good to be true and Selena knew that this is where she wanted to spend the summer. She grabbed on to Michael's arm as if she needed to feel someone solid to be sure what she was seeing was real.

Wilfred could see Selena's enthusiasm. "This could be your studio too, if you decide to stay the summer."

"Oh Michael." Selena pulled tighter on Michael's arm and bounced on the tips of her toes. "I think I want to stay here forever."

"I know what you mean," Michael said as his eyes scanned at the promise this room could hold for him.

"There's more upstairs," David added and turned back down the hall toward the staircase at the main entrance. Selena and Michael looked at each other smiling, Selena still holding tightly to his arm trying to contain her excitement.

David led the four of them up the impressive staircase and proceeded to show them the four bedrooms on the upper floor.

"This here is my room," David said and led them down past the first room to the one opposite. "This here's "Wilfred's."

"Sorry for the mess," Wilfred said, and Selena looked in the open doorway and could see what he was talking about. His room was what you would have expected of a bachelor away at school, with his clothes scattered all around the room, piled up in most every corner with books and papers stacked in a couple piles. His bicycle leaned up against the fireplace.

They continued on down to the end of the hallway. The hallway also was detailed with the same oak wainscoting on the lower part of the wall. Above the wainscoting was what Selena was now sure, was hand painted wall paper showing an expansive scene that began near the top of the staircase as roving wild prairies with buffalo and grizzly bears, that changed to native Indians on horseback and what she took to be early explorers half way down the hall. As she neared the end of the hallway the prairie scene changed to sod covered shelters and homesteads and finally ended at the far end of the hallway with a dirt covered prairie town with its boardwalks and wooden front facades reaching high into the air. Horses were tied up to hitching posts in front of the many buildings and cowboys and fair maidens strolled along the boardwalk or flirted with each other.

"These two rooms are the ones available," David said opening the door to the two rooms.

Selena and Michael walked inside the first room and were not surprised now to see that this room had a fireplace embedded into the rich oak paneled wall on end of the room. The opposite wall had a huge crafted oak paneled wall that obviously to Selena hid the wall bed. On either side of the wall bed was again built in shelving and cupboards on the lower section. Against the exterior wall running the entire length was more built in cupboards for storage and a large walk-in closet.

"Hey, all the fireplaces are a little different... Did you notice that Michael?" Selena asked out loud.

"Oh, I guess they are," Michael replied, as he looked a little closer at the buffalo head carvings in the Mantle of this room.

Selena turned to Michael. "I love this house Michael."

"That's good to hear," Wilfred said from behind the group, "Because the rent is due July first."

"Michael, what do you think?" Selena asked him excitedly.

Michael turned to face Selena and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I think it's going to be a great summer." He kissed her gently on the side of her cheek.

"Hey," Wilfred said, "We need two rooms here to rent out," implying a little more then he said.

Selena caught his comment and understood his concern. "Michael and I..." she started letting go from Michael's embrace, "...are just friends. He's my boyfriend." She looked at Michael. "...And I'm his girl friend, but we are not sharing any room, so we'll need both."

"Michael threw his arms up in the air grinning. "I was hoping we could get away with just one, but...can't blame a guy for trying."

Wilfred and David looked at each other with smirks on their faces as Selena swatted Michael on the arm again. "Would you quit talking like that Michael."

They looked at the other room and it too was spectacular.

"This house is perfect for students like us," Michael said to Selena. "It has everything, and we don't' even need to find furniture. Everything is built in... It's so cool."

"Now you understand why we need roomies right away," David cut in. "We'll need the rent before next week."

Michael looked at Selena. "No problem."

***

### Chapter 8

"So the day after classes ended, both Michael and I moved into the house."

Jeff raised his thick body from the couch obviously disturbed by the story unfolding before him.

Francine reached for her beer and tipped back another mouthful as Jeff walked down the hallway to the dining room and paused at the entrance looking in. Francine watched and knew that he was staring at the table's legs. She wondered if he had even realized that they were part of the floor. He said nothing and walked back to the kitchen, opened the fridge and pulled out a couple more Kokanee and set them on the counter. Jeff remained in the kitchen, saying nothing at all.

"Jeff?" Francine called from the front room. "Are you okay?"

"Ya, ya, I'm fine," he called back. Francine could hear his footsteps as he shuffled around in the kitchen. After a few minutes alone Jeff returned to the living room and placed two more beers on the coffee table.

"Are you sure your okay Jeff?"

Jeff let out a big sigh. "It's just...this is so unbelievable Francine. I'm having a hard time digesting all this."

"Jeff." Francine rested her hand on his thigh. "I know this is hard for you to believe, but...but I need to finish this." Francine looked at Jeff, trying to see some understanding in his eyes, but Jeff kept looking away.

"Once I'm done with the story, you can make up your own mind...or...I'll show you Jeff.... I'll show you." Francine moved her hand up and down on Jeff's leg firmly trying to make him hang on for just a while longer.

Jeff suddenly turned his head back toward Francine and asked, "How are you going to show me?" He grabbed her hand from his thigh and held on tight. "How can you show me any of this? Are you going to show me David and Bill? They're both gone already. What can you possibly show me?" Francine knew Jeff wasn't yet buying any of this, but he was still listening at least.

"Jeff, I need to finish the story first," Francine repeated again as she had so many times already, her eyes looking at Jeff's eyes, moving from one eye to the other and back again. "You need to trust me here. I need to tell the whole story."

Jeff gave a forced smile and nodded at her and said nothing. He let go of her hand and reached for one of the beers, twisted of the cap and leaned way back on the couch and stared up at the impressions in the ceiling once again.

Francine began to tell him how they had gotten on over the summer, her and Michael building hiking trails up in the mountains for work. In the evenings and weekends the four of them would gather in the studio to work while engaging each other in the intricacies of the world of art. The four of them soon became the coaches and critics of each other's work, all the while expanding and perfecting their own unique talents and techniques.

Francine told Jeff how they would set up the easels in a huge circle, all facing to the center so no one could see what the others were working on. They became competitive as each was trying to outdo the other in their creative qualities. Sometimes they would play art games, as they called it.

"We would all put a number of topics or ideas into a bowl and pull one out. The idea was for all of us to try to create the best painting based on the idea pulled from the bowl. It became apparent real quick that we all had different styles but we all seemed to respect these differences and recognized the talent each other had."

Francine began to laugh. "Since we knew each others' preferences, we threw topics into the hat that would be difficult for some of the others to paint. For example, I typically painted interpretations of historic art, like, imagine what the scene or time was like in history." Jeff was still staring at the ceiling. Of course Jeff knew quite well what kind of art Selena had painted, having studied every known piece in the past few weeks. "David painted more abstract drawings and could cover almost any topic, and I knew it was him that put in "nuclear physics" into the bowl. I knew it was him by his little evil snicker he had when he thought he had pulled a good joke off or got one up on you."

"How the heck was I supposed to paint nuclear physics in a historical interpretation? That weekend was so enjoyable. I had painted scenes of cities before the buildings were there, I painted cowboys, and explorers but nuclear physics? I did figure out how to do this and stay within my own style. David had painted a simple abstract of colored lines in diminishing arcs shooting across a background of various shades of blues. I understood this and the effect was amazing."

"I know, I've seen this one," Jeff replied pointing to the wall opposite where they were sitting. A small print of this piece was framed and hanging on the wall.

Francine looked at the small, framed print on the wall. The size and quality of the print did not quite represent the image she remembered. She quickly dismissed the thought and focused back on her story.

"What I came up with was a scene depicting the deserts of New Mexico where an aged explorer with a weather beaten face was crossing a dusty trail. He walked alone, tired under the heat of the desert sun. The ground was arid and dry and not a thing grew in the ground and it didn't look as if anything ever would. Sweat was dripping down the old man's face. His eyes looked off into the distance well beyond the scene on the canvas. His eyes were searching for something unexplained. He pulled along behind him a fragile packhorse that was burdened down with many packs. Peeking through the packs were the tops of various glass bottles and vials. The old man had frizzled white hair coming out in all directions. He wore a dusty old tattered long coat with multiple pockets that was once snow white in color. If you looked closely at the pockets, you would see that some were torn with large holes, and some were frayed but still intact. Inside the pockets through the open tears you could see pieces of paper with what looked like mathematical equations written, though very hard to see. On another pocket poked out a slide rule and pencil, as if anyone now would even recognize what a slide rule looked like. In the distance a much desired thunderous rain cloud rose up high into the sky tens of thousands of feet in a mushroom shape."

"I thought it was a very effective statement." Francine stared at Jeff as she finished.

"What happened to that picture?" Jeff asked curious.

"I sold it shortly after. It must be in some private collection or up in some attic somewhere. I've watched for that picture to show up over the years but it never did."

Francine suddenly thought of the irony of going to a garage sale of some recently deceased grandmother and in amongst the collection of old readers digest books and games with missing pieces was a dusty old framed picture painted by one of the Bluffington Four, perhaps worth tens of thousands of dollars with a piece of masking tape labeled five dollars.

"My point was," Francine continued "that we grew enormously in our talents once we were together. We just seem to produce and produce and produce, each of us trying to outperform each other."

"We were producing so much art work and but selling only a few of them for a few dollars that during one of our weekend sessions David spoke up about Wilfred's marketing courses."

***

### Chapter 9

### Fall 1964

Michael squeezed out a tiny amount of sienna red and ochre from the tubes onto his palette and with his fine point brush began blending the red and ochre with a portion of the gray-purple mixture and yellow he had already set aside.

"I really think we ought to do something about all our artwork," he said without looking up as he carefully began to apply the new color to a select part of his current mountain scene.

"What do you mean?" Wilfred mumbled back, only his bushy dark hair visible, the rest of him blocked out by the artwork on his own easel.

Selena listened quietly behind her own easel, in the process of transferring her latest sketch to the canvas.

"I mean we have so many artworks in this room." Michael continued to painstakingly add his newest specific color into the eastern slopes of the mountains, mimicking the glow of an unseen sunrise. "Look at em' all scattered around. If we keep on the way we're going, we'll run out of room in here."

Selena took her eyes away from her canvas to glance around and could see David had as well. Selena caught David's eye and they both shrugged. David went back to his work, but Selena paused for a moment and quickly estimated the number of completed works they had in this room alone, leaning against every wall available.

She sat upright momentarily so she could see over her artwork. "You know he's right. We've only been together here for three months, and I'm guessing we have over sixty artworks in this room alone. Probably close to ninety if we counted the ones around the rest of the house."

Michael popped his head up to reply, first pushing his glasses back up. "Maybe we should sell them, or give them away."

"I think you'd have to give yours away, Michael. Mine I can always sell." Wilfred said to Michael, his deep voice resonating throughout the room.

"Very funny," Michael replied. "You could sell yours I'm sure..." and Michael began to grin. "...to people who need paper to start their fireplaces." Michael looked around the room his head bopping up and down as he smirked. "Actually, they wouldn't even need logs, with the amount of oil you apply. They could probably heat one house for a few days with one canvas," and Michael began to roll with this. "Hey, and you can advertise this, you could roll them up in a roll like a log and call them Willy logs."

Selena could see Michael was enjoying this, and couldn't help but laugh.

Wilfred put his brush down and got off his chair. He puffed out his chest and made himself as big as he could, spread his arms wide stared up toward the ceiling, leaned back and roared "Aaaaarrrrrgggghh!"

The room immediately filled with everyone's laughter. They were all used to Wilfred giving a loud roar when he'd felt he'd been bested in battle of wits since he was not very good at comebacks. He'd let out a roar and that was the end of that as far as Wilfred was concerned.

Wilfred smiled and pleased with himself that everyone was laughing, sat back down on his stool.

While everyone was slowly calming down David spoke up with a serious look on his face, the laughter totally gone. "No, No, I think maybe what Michael said is right." Everyone was looking at him now. "Look around this place. Selena's right, we're gonna have to do something with all our work eventually."

Selena nodded unconsciously in agreement with David and could see Michael had actually brought up a subject that all artists eventually face. All this artwork...Now what?

Nobody responded and David carried on. "We should try to sell our work," emphasizing the word "should". "Somehow, some way, maybe...maybe put our artwork in the mall or have our own show." David's narrow head was turning left and right all the time he was speaking, trying to get some agreement and response from the others.

"Our own show?" Selena asked. "I don't...I mean, does anyone even know how to go about having a show?" They were all art students, and no, at least Selena for sure had no idea how an art show even works.

"Well what about Wilfred?" David asked. "Wilfred's been taking all these marketing courses." All eyes turned to Wilfred.

"Uh...we never took any course about art shows."

"Isn't marketing about selling things?" David asked back to Wilfred.

"Ya..." Michael jumped in "What are they teaching you over there? How to sell Willy logs?" Michael broke out in laughter again. Selena smiled, but she seemed to be the only one. Still, this issue struck a bit of a nerve in her. What would she do with all her artwork? Sure she can sell one or two pieces here and there, but it is a difficult path she chose as an artist, and she knew it would be tough, but her love of art always ignored the reality of a steady income.

"No, wait a sec Michael," Selena said at Michael straight faced. "I think we should discuss this for a few minutes." She looked at Wilfred as if waiting for an answer.

Wilfred poked his head around the canvas in front of him, his eyes looking to the left and right, and then his head disappeared back behind the canvas.

"Wilfred?" Selena asked. "Isn't marketing about selling things?"

Wilfred's dark eyes appeared around the canvas again and looked at Selena. "Yeah it is, but there's a whole lot more courses I'm taking." He continued to stare at Selena, not really sure what they expected of him. Selena could see Wilfred was hard in thought.

Michael stood up from his stool and looked at Wilfred, stretching the cramps out of his legs from sitting so long.

"Like what courses?" Selena asked.

"Well we learn about things like supply and demand, market studies, and stuff like that." Wilfred scratched his head and looked at Michael.

"Right now we're looking at examples of a product, and the marketplace...such as TVs. If you want to sell TVs, you can open a store and sell TVs, or you can do your market study first and find out things like, how many people have TVs in the area you want to sell? How many people don't have TVs? Now that's the important part. What kind of TV's do the people want? How much do they want to pay? Then you have to look at what kind of TVs are you going to sell, how much do they cost you to buy, and where are they coming from, how long is the delivery time, what is the shipping cost, and on and on it goes."

"There are so many other things to include. Most of the focus so far has been on the marketplace. What is the market place demand for the product? Once you know the demand we can figure out our costs to see if we can be profitable. We then add to the cost some advertising and work the results of an advertising campaign into the formula to see how the profits increase with a modest advertising budget." Wilfred had finished and looked around, and he scratched his head once more.

"So you're saying we would need to know who wants to buy our art first," Selena responded a little puzzled about this part.

"How would you do that?" Michael asked. "People like your art or they don't. If they like it they buy it."

Wilfred was now rubbing his whiskers with his hand, listening, but thinking a little deeper, looking to the left and right at whomever was speaking.

"No, no," David said. "If we were to do a market study, we could find the people that buy and sell art as a business and then we sell to them." Michael was still standing and had momentarily lost all interest in his canvas and moved away from his easel to his left so he could see everyone a little easier.

"I think..." Wilfred said rising up from his stool "...that there might be something to this." Everyone was listening very closely now.

"We probably don't need to find the individual people that buy art," Wilfred began, looking a little confident as he spoke. "Like David said, we would only need to find the galleries that buy and sell art. You see, these are the ones that promote the art. They are the ones that do the marketing. Good marketing for their artists would be what the good galleries do that make them the biggest galleries."

"I think I see..." Selena responded.

"We wouldn't need to do the market research of the buyers, we would really only need to do our homework to research all the best galleries." Wilfred looked around to see if they all understood what he was saying.

"I don't get it," Michael said.

"Think of all the artists in the world," David said looking around to all of them. "What makes any artist better than any other? You've all seen artwork in the galleries. Sure there is some pretty fine work in all of them, but there is also, at least in my opinion, a lot of pretty mediocre artwork. But they are in the gallery selling their work at a high price. How did that artwork get picked up by a gallery?"

"Willywood!" Michael said looking at Wilfred.

Wilfred cleared his throat with a big "Hrumph" ignoring Michael and said, "I think I know why they can sell some pretty poor art at these galleries." Wilfred had their full attention.

"If someone pays a high price for a piece of art from a better gallery, then the market price is set for that artist. Some buyers, I would expect, purchase art, based partly on what they like, but more importantly on price. If they paid two thousand dollars for a piece from an artist that others paid two thousand dollars for other pieces from the same artist, then the buyer would contend that he has a valuable piece of art. If on the other hand he can buy the same piece for fifty bucks, and all the other works from this same artist only sell for fifty bucks, then the buyer would probably not purchase the piece because it and the other pieces by that artist have no value. He could go buy a fifty dollar piece of artwork anywhere."

"Do you see what I am saying?" Wilfred looked at all of them, dipped his brush in his can of thinner and began to clean his brush.

"What you're saying is we need to find a way to bump up the price of our artwork and have them sold at a high price, and then our other artworks would be easier to sell and would sell for a higher price as well," Selena said a little shocked that she understood what he is saying.

"Exactly!" Wilfred exclaimed staring at Selena, obviously excited. "Just how we go about this I am not yet sure but I think my marketing courses are going to be a lot more interesting from now on." Wilfred pushed out his large chest unconsciously and sat back down on his stool looking from one to another of the people in the room.

No one said anything for over a minute as they all were thinking of the possibilities.

"...But what do we need to do to start this whole process?" David asked no one in particular, but looking at Wilfred.

Wilfred saw David looking at him and replied, "I think, we need to take our time and put a plan together. Something unique and something original that would make it easier for us to do this while we are still spending most of our time in school." Wilfred put his brush down with his other brushes. "We don't have the time to put in a lot of effort, so we will need to create something new...something that sets us apart, so people will come to us."

Wilfred got up from his stool, looked at his watch. "It's after four thirty. Does anyone want a beer?" He walked out of the room leaving the others silent for another moment, digesting the conversation of the last few minutes.

"We'll I think I'll join him," Selena said looking at Michael. "Are you going to come too?"

"I just got to clean up and I'll be out in a few," Michael replied.

David's eyes focused on his artwork, his brush held tightly between his fingertips. "Ya...I think I lost my train of thought here too. I'm just going to finish up this one color, and I'll see you guys in a bit."

***

### Chapter 10

"You know, I followed Wilfred out to the kitchen and we both grabbed a beer and sat down at the kitchen table. I followed him because of the way the conversation ended in the other room. I thought it needed more input. Wilfred seemed to end it too quickly when he left." Francine paused and took a long slow sip of her beer.

"We never did though," Francine said staring out the window.

"Never did what?"

"We never did talk about the idea of marketing our work." Francine looked at Jeff. "Well not anymore that day is what I mean." Jeff nodded, understanding what she was talking about.

"It must have been two or three weeks before the topic of selling our artwork was brought up again. We all seemed to want to do this but, I guess we were like most people who have a dream but are scared to take the risk," Francine said looking around the room, but nowhere specific.

Francine looked at Jeff. She reached over and kissed him quickly on the cheek and rose, leaving him sitting reflectively on the couch as she strolled off down to the washroom to relieve herself from the effects of the beer.

Francine returned, unaware that Jeff was watching her as she unconsciously ran her hand along the woodwork of the wainscoting remembering a different time.

"After a few weeks I sort of dismissed the whole idea, since it hadn't been brought up again, but it was Wilfred who brought the subject back up. He had been taking this idea very seriously and had numerous discussions with a number of his professors, without actually telling them what it was he wanted to market."

"Anyway, he came back to the house one evening and told us how it was going to happen."

***

### Chapter 11

### Winter 1965

The front door opened and Wilfred came in, a thick woolen scarf was wrapped tight around his head to keep the cold northern air from freezing his ears in the blustery walk back to the house from the university.

"Hey Wilfred," David said from the kitchen. David had been preparing his mother's special spaghetti sauce for the four of them. They usually took turns cooking the meals, but the Friday night meal was always David's realm.

"Holy shit it's cold out there tonight!" Wilfred replied, his cheeks the color of roma tomatoes. Wilfred stomped his feet, shaking off the snow from his boots before removing them.

"It's only November," he said as he placed his boots in the closet along with his thick scarf and puffy down jacket.

"Well, I'll have something to warm you up, but you'll have to wait an hour or so before it's ready," David replied while pressing some garlic down with the flat side of a knife to partially crush it before chopping.

"That's fine. Where is everybody?" he asked curiously.

"Michael's in the back painting already and Selena, I think is up taking a shower or something. Why, what's up?" David continued to chop the garlic. He added the chopped garlic to the small bowl of celery and onion he'd already hacked into small pieces.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to everybody." Wilfred walked into the kitchen to see what it was David was preparing.

Wilfred lifted the lid of the pan sizzling on the stove to see what was underneath. "It's just ground beef," replied David and he quickly grabbed the lid away from Wilfred and began stirring in the chopped onion, celery and garlic to the almost cooked ground beef. He gave them a quick stir and put the lid back on.

"Smells good, can I try," Wilfred asked, motioning toward the pot of crushed tomatoes simmering in a large pot next to the beef.

"No you can't," David said, annoyed that whenever he began cooking Wilfred always insisted on being the official taste tester from start to finish. "What you can do is go in the pantry and grab the bay leaves, oregano and basil for me if you want to help." He proceeded to add a bit of salt and pepper to both the beef and the tomatoes.

"Okee dokee," Wilfred said and headed for the pantry.

"I've got some news, that's all," Wilfred said. "I wanted to discuss it with everybody at the same time."

"What kind of news?" David queried, waiting for Wilfred to come back with the spices.

Wilfred wandered back and put the spices on the counter next to David. "The kind that everybody wants to hear," he said with his eyes alight. "Good news...no, actually great news."

David had placed three bay leaves into the simmering tomatoes. "Can't you tell me?"

"Nope. But if you let me try some I'll give you a hint about what it's about." Wilfred watched as David added some basil and then twice as much oregano to the mixture.

"It's not ready yet for testing Wilfred, so go do something else if you're not going to tell me," David said a little flustered at being distracted while cooking.

Wilfred said nothing but simply watched and waited as David repeatedly stirred the mixture of beef and chopped veggies until it was done.

"Am I bothering you?" Wilfred asked smiling. He grabbed a spoon from the drawer ready to test David's mixture.

"Yes you are." David began draining the grease from the beef mixture.

"It smells so good though." Wilfred remained where he was, bouncing the spoon up and down in his hand.

David added the beef mixture to the tomatoes and stirred them all in.

"Can I test now?" Wilfred knew if he hung around long enough, David would always let him try some.

"Not yet," David said, adding a modest amount of merlot to the sauce. "What's this big secret about anyway?" he asked and turned toward Wilfred for the first time since Wilfred arrived.

"Scoop?" Wilfred asked motioning with his spoon toward the pot of spaghetti sauce.

"Oh...okay, but I haven't added the tomato paste yet, so It'll be a bit runny, and watch out for the bay leaf. You wouldn't want one of those to get caught in your throat." David watched as Wilfred dipped his spoon into the pot and made a quick stir before digging out a large spoonful of the sauce. He lifted the spoon next to his lips and blew on it. David waited with mild anticipation for Wilfred's approval.

After a couple of seconds of blowing on the spoon, Wilfred consumed the sauce in one quick gulp and wiped the drip from his chin with his finger, which he quickly sucked the sauce from.

"Fantastic!" Wilfred announced and motioned to get some more form the pot.

"No way, man," David replied moving in front of him. "I'll let you have some after I add the paste," motioning Wilfred away from the stove area.

"Now it's your turn to scoop. What's the big story you want to tell us?"

Wilfred leaned back making himself taller, and strolled slowly around the kitchen obviously very proud of himself.

"I did it," he hunched over and whispered toward David across the room.

"You did what?" David was now more curious because of Wilfred's demeanor.

"I did it," he whispered again, and stole a peak toward the staircase as if someone might be coming down that shouldn't hear this. "I came up with a marketing idea for the four of us to sell our art to a gallery."

David stared in awe at Wilfred, not sure what to say. "Uh...you mean...uh...what we were talking about a few weeks ago?"

Wilfred nodded softly.

"How?...I mean...tell me about it." David crept closer to Wilfred. Wilfred kept peeking toward the staircase, still hunched over to watch and hear if anyone was coming. He leaned over and held his hands together almost as if in prayer and said "I even got us a gallery, but I need to hash this over with everyone before committing us all."

"Holy shit..." David exclaimed loudly. "Are you serious?" he whispered back.

Wilfred said nothing, nodding his head and grinning.

"When are we..." but Wilfred had lifted his index finger to his lips and shook his head cutting David off.

Wilfred stopped grinning and simply said "I'll tell the rest when everyone is here..." David nodded his understanding. Wilfred moved toward the pot of sauce once more. "Now I think you better put that tomato paste in there because I think I want another taste test," Wilfred said smiling.

David quietly responded to Wilfred's demand opening the two cans of paste and stirring them in, thinking the whole time, not about his spaghetti sauce, but about what Wilfred was about to reveal. Could it really be true he wondered?

Wilfred stirred the sauce again with his spoon, making sure he captured as much as he could in one scoop, but was distracted by the thumping of footsteps and laughing upstairs.

***

Upstairs, Selena had been taking a shower. The cold outside had permeated her entire body by the time she had arrived back at the house. Michael had a study period in his last class and had been home earlier than everyone, and had gone straight to the studio to work on a piece he had started over a week ago. Selena found that a long warm shower on days like these would quickly steal the cold from her bones, replacing it with the warmth she so much craved on days like these.

Selena began drying herself off, thinking about how much studying she needed to do over this weekend. She bent over forward and rubbed the towel forcefully through here long blond hair. She wrapped the towel skillfully around her head holding her still damp hair inside and grabbed another towel and carefully wrapped it around herself just above her firm breasts, tucking in the towel to make it hold in place itself. She picked up her clothes she had worn earlier, and could still feel the cold from the outside embedded in the garments.

As Selena stepped out into the hall intending to return to her bedroom, she noticed the door to her room had been closed, but not by her. She had only advanced a few steps when suddenly her towel was ripped from her body, leaving her standing naked in the hallway. She immediately covered her breasts up with her clothes she held in her arms and gave a quiet little scream as she rushed the few steps towards her room. Michael's snickers behind her immediately set relief to Selena and she couldn't help but giggle as she knew this was Michael and as much as she hated what he'd just done, she loved this kind of attention from him. She tried to open her door to her room but it wouldn't open. Frantically she tried, twisting and turning on the doorknob with one hand, the other held tightly on to the clothes covering her chest.

Michael immediately ran up behind her and gave a quick smack to her backside. In her flustered state she couldn't open the door and she turned and ran, feet thumping, down the hallway, not knowing where she could go but she wanted to get out of sight before Wilfred and David saw her. Michael gave chase down the hall towards the staircase, both of them laughing madly and feet thumping on the floor. Selena turned to rush into David's room, hoping he wasn't in there at the moment, but Michael rushed up behind her, grabbed her free hand and quickly turned her towards him with the towel held up for her.

Selena grabbed the towel and continued to laugh while she tried to scold Michael.

"What are you doing?" she asked still laughing but trying hard to stop.

"I missed you all week, that's all," Michael replied grinning as Selena wrapped herself back up and held both arms tightly against the towel in case Michael tried to pull it away again.

"Michael..." Selena whispered and glanced down the hall to the top of the staircase. "What if David or Wilfred was here?" Selena smiled while stealing glances down the hall.

"They're in the kitchen," Michael replied and stepped closer to her. Selena did not move away. Michael moved even closer and gently pulled her body against his and placed his hands caressingly upon her buttocks.

"Michael, stop," Selena said laughing. She dropped the clothes and tried to push his hands off her with one of her hands, the other still holding the towel firmly.

"Just..." Michael looked in her eyes. "I missed you, and we haven't been alone for such a long time." Michael began gently massaging her buttocks.

Selena could feel his manhood now, through the towel, and was flattered by his spontaneity. Selena let him hold her for a moment. She enjoyed feeling how hard he was and she slowly pressed her pelvis forward into him.

"I can tell," Selena said motioning her eyes downward for a moment, "but you know..." Selena kissed Michael squarely on the lips. She pulled her head back from Michael and looked at Michael in the eyes. "I love you so much Michael." She hugged him with her free hand. "It's just, we agreed we can't...you know..." and she glanced back down again, "until we both finish our schooling ...we agreed."

Michael stared at her eyes still smiling and kissed her back. "I know, I know... I just wanted a little preview of what I'm waiting for, that's all," he said back and kissed her gently on the lips.

"What's happening up there?...Selena, are you okay?" Wilfred's big booming voice suddenly arose from nowhere.

"I'm okay Wilfred," Selena yelled back down the staircase, giggling still. Michael moved away from her and reached down and picked up her clothes. He followed her quietly back down the hall and casually reached in front of her and opened the door to her room.

Selena smiled at him. "I don't know why I couldn't open it before. All thumbs I guess." She whisked herself inside and closed the door behind her.

***

Michael and Selena came downstairs a while later. David was filling the large stockpot with water.

"Hi," Selena said quietly as she walked into the kitchen, Michael following like a puppy right behind.

"What was that all about upstairs earlier?" Wilfred asked.

Selena looked at Michael and replied, "Nothing really." Michael looked back at her grinning.

Wilfred watched the two of them and knew they had been up to something again. "Oh, I get it now," he said rolling his eyes. "Just the love birds at it again."

Michael just shrugged and kept on smiling.

David meanwhile had put the water on to boil and added salt, not paying any attention to the others for the moment.

Wilfred slowly worked his way back over next to the stove, trying to wait for an opportune moment when David was looking away, to steal another sauce sample.

Selena walked over and grabbed the kettle. "Michael? Anyone want some hot chocolate?" Selena moved over to the sink and began filling up the kettle.

"Oh that would be good," Michael said while looking out at the frigid wind blowing past the kitchen window.

"Sure," David added as he removed the romaine lettuce from the fridge.

"Wilfred?" Wilfred had taken the opportunity while David went to the fridge, to reach with his spoon into the sauce. He quickly scooped out a large spoonful and stuffed the piping hot sauce into his mouth.

"Mmnmnn," Wilfred replied his mouth full of hot scalding sauce. He tossed his head to the left and right with his hand over his mouth, not expecting the sauce to be so hot. Selena quietly laughed and watched as David turned to see Wilfred's face all contorted, and he knew Wilfred had been back in the sauce. "Jesus fuck, Wilfred!" David shook his head with annoyance and moved over to the sink and began peeling the leaves off and washing them under the tap.

Wilfred was now squirming and everyone but David was watching him as he opened his mouth and began fanning his tongue with his hand.

"I didn't get that," Selena asked laughing. "What exactly does Mmmnmmnm mean?"

Michael joined in laughing as well when David interjected while still busy stripping and washing the lettuce. "It means he can't keep his fucking mouth out of my sauce." Michael and Selena roared with laughter at this while Wilfred ran to the fridge and grabbed an ice cube and began sucking on it making Selena and Michael laugh even harder. David ignored them all, annoyed at being disrupted while cooking.

"Lighten up there David," Michael said. Selena plugged the kettle in still amused at the whole Wilfred scene.

"Rah, righten urp," Wilfred said trying to talk with the ice cube in his mouth. Wilfred began laughing as well and almost swallowed the ice cube, bringing up another burst of laughter from both Michael and Selena.

David began to finally smile. No longer could he ignore the levity in the room and turned to face them all. He raised the hand still holding the lettuce, and shook it as he spoke. "One of these days," he said looking at Wilfred, "you're going to be messing about like this and I'm going to end up making some big mistake and the whole recipe will be spoiled and unfixable. And who's fault is that going to be? We'll it ain't going to be mine. You're going to be the one with the burden on his shoulders as we all sit to eat what you, Wilfred, fucked up." David shook his head side-to-side smiling and turned back to finish with the lettuce.

Everything slowly calmed down. Selena made them all a cup of hot chocolate, including Wilfred who complained he couldn't taste it because he'd scorched his tongue. David simply replied "That's too bad you can't taste things, because the spaghetti sauce recipe tonight is flawless. The best I ever made."

Wilfred brought out candles and a bottle of Chardonnay he had purchased on the way home and casually set them on the table that Michael and Selena had laid out

"What's with the candles and wine tonight?" Selena asked quite seriously as Wilfred rooted through the cupboards for wine glasses. Selena noticed Wilfred and David steal a cautious look at each other.

"David?" She looked at Wilfred once more. "What's the big secret?"

David said nothing and simply smiled at Wilfred and took a seat with the others. "I guess you're on big guy."

This comment elevated both Selena's and Michael's attention.

Wilfred puffed his large chest out and nervously scanned everyone. "Let's dig in first and I'll tell you while we eat." He reached over and began piling his plate with spaghetti and sauce. The other's followed and once the wine was poured and they all had their Caesar salad and spaghetti in front of them Wilfred began to reveal his plan.

"I've got some news", he said scanning the others as he dug into his salad. "It's about selling our artwork. I've come up with a plan that I think you all should listen to before saying anything."

Selena and Michael nodded while digging in to their own salad.

"I've been doing a lot of research about what we talked about a few weeks ago and I think I've figured out how we can go about marketing our artwork. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure it'll work." Wilfred scooped up more of his salad and he was pleased to see that they were all extremely interested to hear what he had to say.

"I've been working on this since we last talked and have gone over many different ideas on my own and have discussed some of them with a few of my professors. I didn't tell them exactly what it was I was trying to market but I got enough feedback to put this idea together and it seems pretty solid. The plan is to use a very well known gallery to market our art."

Selena had not expected this degree of surprise and an excitement was aroused inside her as the possibilities were well beyond her expectations.

"I've been in touch with the Sandstone Gallery in Calgary. The Sandstone Gallery represents the biggest artists in Alberta and is also affiliated with the Lions Gate Gallery in Vancouver and the Royal Art Gallery in Toronto. If you get your work in one, you get in all three." Wilfred pushed his salad bowl aside and began twirling his fork into his spaghetti.

"How..." Selena injected excitedly, but Wilfred put his hand up to stop her.

"I first put together my plan over the last few weeks. I took my plan and some artwork from each of us, with me when I went down last week to pitch my idea."

"So that's why it looked like some pieces were missing from the studio but I couldn't figure out which ones," David said looking back and forth at Selena and Michael.

"The dentist," Michael offered smugly.

"What?" Selena replied looking at Michael.

"Remember last week, Wilfred said he had to go to Calgary to see the dentist because he had an infection and they couldn't do the procedure here."

"Oh ya..." Selena said watching Wilfred's eyebrows go up and down.

Wilfred raised his arms up and shrugged; his mouth full of spaghetti. When he finished chewing he said, "I didn't want to tell any of you in case it didn't work out."

"Go on, tell us how this is supposed to work," Selena said, beginning to work on her own spaghetti.

"Okay...the idea is quite simple really. First I had to show them what kind of art we were producing. I took six pictures from each of us so they could see what it is we do. The fellow I met with, uh ...Braden Marku liked what he saw, but he also said that the gallery has so many artists coming in wanting them to represent them that it was unlikely the gallery would be interested."

Wilfred helped himself to more spaghetti. "I needed him to give me a real critique of our art work and believe me it took quite some time before he really sat down and looked at it. At first he just looked and said ya, ya, ya. But I impressed that I needed to know if our quality compared to the other work in the gallery and insisted he show me around the gallery. The fellow had no problem with this, and we discussed the various artists and I got a very good idea of what the gallery was looking for in an artist. What he kept commenting on through the tour was the techniques used by the various artists and how the technique of any particular artist seems to carry through all his work...or hers." Wilfred looked at Selena as he picked up his glass of Chardonnay and took a quick sip.

"He also wanted to show me the consistency in the work from one picture to the next. The same artists, the same consistent quality. It meant to them that they could count on the product from the artist being consistent, and with this they could effectively promote the artist. He explained that promoting an artist can take quite a bit of money to move the artist's work. Especially a good artist, the promotion work meant that the future artworks by an artist were in demand even before the artist produced them. This is what brought the price up."

Wilfred looked around at everyone. "Does everyone follow me so far?"

They all nodded in agreement, continuing to consume both the spaghetti and wine.

"Now that I had this much out of him, I was pretty sure I understood the way he was thinking. This was better than I had expected."

Wilfred moved forward in his chair, his excitement and pride of his success was quite evident in his eagerness of communicating the entire details of how he had accomplished this.

"We went back to his office and I re-arranged our paintings into four groups, one for each of us. I asked him to now look at the groups one at a time and tell me if we have the qualities he was asking for."

"At first he had this funny weird stare, I don't know how to explain it, but he just looked at me for a few moments." Wilfred took a pause and a deep breath. "Finally...he looked at the artworks slowly one at a time. He hesitated for a while and went back and forth between the works, and then walked right out the room without saying a word to me. I had no idea where he went!" Wilfred raised his arms wide as if in frustration. "I didn't know whether to leave or stay so I stood there. After about five minutes I was walking over to the art work to gather them up and leave, when the door opened and he came back with Simon Peters, the owner of the gallery." Wilfred looked around for astonishment in the other's eyes, but seeing just frozen curiosity on their faces he continued. "Simon didn't even look at me when he came in. He leaned over and whispered something into Braden's ear and then Braden asked me to step out of the room for a moment while they examined the art and discussed it in private. I did as I was told and politely left, and wandered around outside the door for about twenty minutes. This was good I figured because they were at least taking some time to look at the work. Finally Simon came out himself and motioned me back inside with a couple quick waves of his hand. Once inside he told me to take a seat."

"He said the gallery really is unable at this time to represent us although our artwork is fine." Braden said that, not the owner. The owner just sat there saying nothing. I asked them both to be critical if they would, of our art. The owner, Simon, began speaking for the first time. He clasped his hands together below his waist and stood with his legs slightly apart. "Your art work is fine. As a matter of fact it is very fine. It has all the qualities of any of the art we carry here, in fact better than some." He paced back and forth looking at me the whole time and said that the art is not the problem. The problem is that this is a gallery that only represents the finest artists." He pinched his fingers together in his hand and shook them softly as he spoke to me. "Finest, meaning the art work sells for a large price." Wilfred paused for a moment and took another sip of wine. All this talking was drying his mouth out.

Selena watched in anticipation of what was to come as Wilfred helped himself to another plateful of spaghetti. "Good spaghetti tonight, David. You should make this more often."

Michael flashed a glance at Selena and spoke quickly, "C'mon Wilfred, what happened after that."

"After what?" Wilfred replied trying to be funny, but no one laughed.

"Well, I responded by suggesting to him that he didn't think our artwork would sell for a high price. More of a question that a statement."

"He said not really. He said that it would take too much time and money from the gallery to promote our work, and the gallery was not in a position at this time to put up any funds to do this."

Wilfred's eyes lit up and he swayed back and forth as he continued on, ready to get to the crux of the whole idea. "This is really what I was hoping to hear from him at some time during our meeting. He just gave me the opportunity to pitch the plan." Wilfred stopped again and raised his glass to everyone. "C'mon, raise your glass if you want to hear the rest."

The others shuffled in their seats and all did as Wilfred asked and reached their glasses high into the center of the table. Wilfred was beginning to bubble with excitement. To Selena the big old gruff likeable teddy bear image had returned.

"To the best salesman in Bluffington!" Wilfred toasted, meaning himself. The other's all cheered Wilfred on cautiously, not sure why yet, since they hadn't heard the plan.

"You see, the only reason he wouldn't take our art he told me, is because of the revenue stream and the costs of promoting new artists. I told him this, "What if it didn't cost him a thing to promote us?" He just looked at me as if I was talking nonsense. I then said to him that I figured that the gallery normally takes about five to ten percent commission on all the art works. He immediately corrected me and said they take minimum fifteen and as high as forty." Wilfred fixed his upon everyone around the table.

"I told him I had a proposal for him that should satisfy him, but he again said they weren't interested in any proposals right now and he moved quickly towards the door as if the conversation was now over. I didn't get up. I just sat there on the couch. I said for him to listen to this, and think about it for a few minutes before replying. He just glared at me as if I was wasting his time now."

"I suggested that if he sold a painting worth five hundred dollars he would make twenty percent or one hundred dollars, and that this was a good thing. He nodded slightly at me. I then said that I guessed that from the one hundred dollars commission, a lot, probably most of that money went in to promoting the artist. That left very little in the end for the gallery from most artworks, especially after salaries and overhead costs. He didn't deny this, but he didn't imply I was correct either. I then suggested to him this. Wouldn't it be better to sell the painting for five hundred dollars and keep almost all the money...say eighty percent? If you then applied say sixty percent of that eighty directly to marketing, that would leave a full twenty percent profit for the gallery which is considerably, almost three times as high after overhead from what he is currently receiving for most paintings. He didn't say anything for a few minutes and I actually thought he had listened to what I said about waiting before speaking."

"He looked at me and tilted his head to the side and almost smiled. I could tell that I had triggered something in him. He began to stammer when he first opened his mouth and asked how he would be able to get eighty percent commission form anyone. That is not how it's done."

"I told him that this is exactly what I was proposing. ...if he would represent us." Wilfred looked around and could see David, Selena and Michael trying to digest this just as the gallery owner had done.

"But...what about making..." Michael began to say but Wilfred quickly lifted his hand to quiet him.

"What about making money you ask?" He looked hard at Michael. "Exactly how much do you sell a painting for now Michael?"

Michael could feel all eyes on him and was almost embarrassed as he replied. "Ten to fifteen dollars."

Wilfred crossed his arms and leaned back letting everyone do the math.

"I...I think I understand," said David, "But it just doesn't feel right. It feels like I'd be prostituting myself for cheap to some pimp who's getting rich off me..." David looked at Michael and Selena hoping to get an agreement from them but they just stared at David waiting for him to expand on his thoughts.

David looked at Wilfred. "You're asking us to give all our money away from the sales of the artworks?"

Wilfred squinted at David with rebuke and then looked at Selena. "Selena what do you think?"

"I'm just not sure yet..." was all she could say.

Wilfred leaned forward once again resting his elbows on the table hands held together. He gave a small sigh indicating he would give in and explain the details more clearly. "The idea is this. If we let them promote our art and give them eighty percent of the commission, they will have the resources to promote the art, and for that they get a big commission of twenty percent, free of all promotional costs. They have way more resources to do the promotion, they get more commission and we get two things. First we get about one hundred dollars a painting if they sell for five hundred and we also get our artwork out there, in the public." Wilfred looked around at the stunned faces.

Michael grinned in defiance at Wilfred and squirmed nervously as he said, "You really think any one of us can sell a painting for five hundred dollars?"

"Ya, I don't get it," David said.

Wilfred began speaking very slowly to them all. "I walked the gallery floor with Braden. We looked at many, many pieces of artwork. None of the artwork had prices on them, and when I asked Braden what some of the pieces sell for, he casually told me that this gallery specializes in selling to private collectors for the most part. Some of the buyers attach themselves to certain artists and have paid up to two thousand dollars to purchase some of these pieces before they are even finished. Some of the pieces hanging in the gallery were already sold before they were hung for viewing. They really aren't for sale, but the new owners want to be sure the other buyers see the artwork that they can't have. Then they invite the other art enthusiasts over to their lavish homes and there the elusive painting is, hanging framed for all to see."

"For some purchasers of art, it becomes more than the artwork, he said. It becomes a game of who can acquire the new works the fastest and in some cases the private bidding is incredible." Wilfred could see the stunned expressions around him. "Most of the artworks sold for five to eight hundred dollars."

"Getting back to Simon, he didn't quite get what I was proposing. I then told him I was not only an artist but a marketing student at the university as well, and understood very well the dynamics involved in advertising and the components involved in effective promotion. He listened as I laid out the three-year plan that would see the gallery get eighty percent the first year, sixty the second, and forty the third. Out of each year, the first year sixty percent of the sale price must go into promotion, the second year forty and the third twenty, the gallery keeping twenty percent, free and clear of all marketing costs. After the third year we would agree to negotiate with him for terms after that. Simon began pacing back and forth and I could tell he was doing the numbers in his head, and the whole time he kept staring at the four sets of artwork as if he was already planning promotional strategies."

"So he liked it then?" Selena asked.

"He wasn't quite sold yet. He wanted to know why any artist, let alone four very fine artists with obvious talent would sell themselves so low. This really seemed to puzzle him. I asked him how old he was. Simon snapped his head back, wondering what this had to do with anything. I asked "You owned this gallery for how many years?"

"Eighteen," he replied.

"Exactly," I said. "...And it is very successful now. I bet it wasn't when you first opened it."

He paused quietly for a moment and then slowly raised his hand, finger pointed out to me. He said, "You understand more than you should about some things at your age."

"He knew what I was getting at."

"I don't," Michael piped in. "I don't get how giving away our art so cheap for such a long time is such a good thing." He looked at the others for confirmation.

"No, Michael," Selena replied back excitedly. Wilfred watched the two debating the issue, pleased that the discussion was revealing the interest he had hoped. "What Wilfred just explained about Simon, was exactly what he is trying to avoid with us."

"Huh?" Michael replied, pushing his glasses up on his face.

"I'm sorry, I don't get it either," David said.

Selena glanced at Wilfred for help, but could see Wilfred was going to let her go on her own. "Simon started out struggling and it took him many, many years to succeed in a tough market. Eighteen years later he is successful running one of the finest galleries in the country. He probably spent the first ten or so barely making ends meet. What Wilfred is proposing for us, is to let Simon, who is an expert in his field after so many years, sort of...mutually take advantage of us, to raise us up in recognition in three years to a place that could take us on our own, ...or...in Simon's case, eighteen years." Selena looked at Wilfred and could see Wilfred had leaned back in his seat, arms folded across his belly nodding in agreement with a smile on his face.

"So...what you're saying..." Michael began looking at Wilfred "is that if we give three years up to this gallery they will promote us big time?" He looked over at David and Selena. "The gallery gets all the money really, and we get the fame."

"Only for the first three years," Wilfred said making a point. "After three years of heavy, heavy promotion, if our artwork is consistent as it has been, we will recoup big time after that because we will be well established artists."

Quiet overtook the table as each one looked across the table to the other. David finally broke into a half smile, and for him this was rare. He raised his wineglass. "I think Wilfred deserves a real toast." The others began to smile and the tension of the discussion now changed into excitement as they all raised their glasses in a toast to Wilfred.

"As you said Wilfred...to the best damned salesman in Bluffington!" David said repeating Wilfred's own toast and they all gave their salutes to Wilfred on his idea.

***

### Chapter 12

"So we agreed to go ahead with the plan as Wilfred suggested. The Gallery promoted us as promised. We were all incredibly surprised and actually scared when the gallery called only two weeks later and scheduled an exhibition in Vancouver. Simon sent two of his workers over to pick up all of our art works."

"I think that was the biggest shock, seeing the studio so suddenly devoid of any finished pieces. The studio had that original empty echo and when I walked in to the studio the next day, the chill of the room and the sounds echoing off all the walls, it seemed...well it seemed as if the room itself was laughing at me and challenging me to see if I dared to try and paint again to fill up this room with artworks." Francine paused for a moment and reached for another sip of beer.

"At first we were so glad we didn't need to be there but when the weekend of the show finally came, we wished we were there. The anticipation of how our works were received was driving us all nuts over that weekend. The show was a private showing, I guess to shelter the exposure in case the reception wasn't great, but the gallery sold seventeen of the forty two pictures for an average price of over four hundred dollars apiece. We thought we were all rich, we made...I don't know, three hundred and fifty dollars apiece in that first one weekend show in Vancouver."

"That must have felt good."

"It was incredible, "Francine said. "It all happened so fast. One night we were sitting around the table eating spaghetti and a few months later our works were already selling for incredibly high prices."

Jeff looked at Francine. "That couldn't have gone over well with the other students. I mean you four all of a sudden in your third year of school have artworks in major galleries."

"Oh you don't know the half of it" she began. "Some of the other students really resented us, but others wanted to get cut in, and you know...it was a difficult time at school. Some of the teachers thought we were too immature in our artwork to be in a gallery. I can only guess that's not because of just being in a gallery, but because we were represented by the finest galleries in Canada."

"Who came up with the name?" Jeff asked holding tightly to his beer.

"The Bluffington Four?" Francine gave a little laugh. "That was the gallery. They actually penned that name to us on the very first show in Vancouver. They wanted to be sure to include all four of us, since we came as a package, they promoted us a package." Francine brushed her hand through her hair once again, the fatigue from the evening beginning to show. "It worked," she said.

Francine glanced at the clock again. She let out a large sigh and looked at Jeff. He smiled. Francine smiled back even though it was tough for her. Jeff unexpectedly reached around her once more with his arm and pulled her close. Francine let him. She lifted her feet up on the couch and let herself be pulled in tight to him and gave a small shiver, as if a dusty chill had resurfaced after many years and passed across her body. This felt good and safe.

"Thanks," she said softly. Jeff said nothing back as he gently rubbed her arm.

"Before we knew it we were receiving our small checks from them every month or so. We even began having to make appearances at some of the shows by the end of the second year. We would go to school all week and be asked to show up at a private show or another exhibit on the weekend. In the summer we had a few magazines do articles on us. Time did one. McLean's. We even did a radio spot on the CBC one Saturday. They flew us all the way to Toronto for that one-hour interview, and we also met with Peter Gzowski at the Toronto Star. It was amazing." Francine sighed again remembering.

The beginning of the third year started and it seemed all we did was go to school, study, paint and show up at exhibits or shows. It was so busy...almost too busy. We were all caught up in the whole thing. We had a lot of extra money; a lot at least for a university student in the sixties."

The chill seemed to return and Francine shivered once more.

"Anyway, we got to thinking one day again how fortunate we all were and how we met."

Francine paused, letting Jeff caress her arm once more. She let her head fall back into Jeff's chest and stared up to the ceiling. She could tell he didn't mind. She laid her hand across her forehead as if shielding the pain of the truth from her eyes. "I was trying to remember the night it really all started. It was this one night. It was supposed to be a special night, but it ended up being more than that. It changed all of our lives forever."

Her body trembled.

"I remember...we all were laughing, and jumping up and down. Wilfred was spinning around and around, dancing with no one...but dancing still..."

***

### Chapter 13

### Late Spring 1966

Wilfred arrived with the mail. The four had purchased a P.O. Box to accept their commission checks and the occasional fan mail. It was David's idea. The checks were getting larger and coming in more regular now, and with the occasional fan mail David thought it wise that no one know their exact address.

The door had opened and Wilfred had a grin that stretched from ear to ear as he held the checks high in the air shouting "The mailman has arrived!" Selena and Michael scurried into the foyer from the kitchen excitedly awaiting the results the size of the checks indicated of their success. David bound down the stairs, stuffing his paperback copy of the Lord of the Flies in to his back pocket. It seemed lately that every four to six weeks the checks had come and the amount had been more than the previous check.

"Come one, come all!" he shouted. The warm summer breeze blew in around him. He held the envelopes up high out of reach of all the others. Selena tried to jump and grab the checks but Wilfred quickly turned his large frame away from her holding the checks high out of reach, beaming madly. The others joined in and soon all three were wrestling Wilfred's powerful arms down, and still Wilfred hung on tightly. His grin turned to a grimace as he struggled to maintain the suspense by hanging on to the checks as long as he could.

David and Selena finally managed to hold Wilfred's arm steady enough for Michael to wrench the now slightly crumpled envelopes from Wilfred.

"Gottem!" Michael exclaimed grinning and pointing at Wilfred. The other's let go and quickly reached their hand out for their check as Michael called their name.

"...And lastly ...Wilfred." Michael held Wilfred's check as high as he could but Wilfred barely had to reach up to yank the last check from Michael's hand. "Pussy..." he said to Michael and began tearing the envelope open.

It was Wilfred that first began dancing. He kissed his check and closed the front door. "Yaaa...Baby!" he shouted and began holding the check as if it was an imaginary dance partner. He spun and dipped and twirled holding on to his check, humming some unidentifiable tune as the others perused over their own check.

"Wow," Michael said and strutted a little side-to-side, encouraged by Wilfred's ongoing performance. David merely looked at the check saying nothing, but his typical small smile returned to his face.

"I don't believe it," Selena said looking at Michael. She took one step and tried to jump into Michael's arms.

"Whooof," was Michael's response as he hadn't expected Selena's leap, and they both went spiraling backwards onto the floor.

Michael tipped his head back against the flooring spreading his arms out wide while laughing with Selena now perched on top of him. Wilfred continued his dance of the unknown melody.

"I'm sure this is a dream," Michael said staring up at the ceiling.

"It's no dream," Selena said and she bent down and kissed him on the lips. David stood still where he was, his emotions more withheld than the others.

"To think, this happened so fast," Michael said still sprawled on the floor.

"Ya...I remember that first day we came here," Selena said and looked around the foyer once again.

"I doo too..oo..oo," Wilfred said as he continued his dance and laughed. Michael snickered.

"Hey everyone, quick photo here!" Wilfred shouted as he stopped his dancing and quickly grabbed his camera from the front room. The camera was still mounted on the tri-pod from his latest photo taking adventure.

"Just think, Selena said, if we hadn't met...maybe this never wouldn't have happened."

Everyone moved in for a quick photo as Wilfred set the camera on the time delay, focused into where the group was standing, and rushed over to the others before the camera flashed and captured the moment.

David piped up, his head tipped to the side in serious thought. "I always think like that too...like what if we hadn't met, or hadn't met the night we did."

Wilfred replaced the camera and tripod into the corner. "I still think we need to celebrate some more." He quickly went to the kitchen.

"I know..." was all Selena said a pleasant smile on her face.

"Like...what if Ron Bartlet had stayed the summer...or Jimmy never quit," David wondered out loud.

Wilfred returned after leaving his check on the kitchen counter and grabbing some wine glasses from the cupboard along with a large bottle of Chablis.

"Or if skinny Micky never left," Wilfred added while handing David a glass. He looked at the others. "He was the boarder I replaced."

"Skinny Micky! That guy was a freak!" David laughed, stuffing his check into his shirt pocket. "No... No Wilfred. I don't think I want any wine tonight." David brushed the glass away.

"Or what if the owner never bought the house? None of us may not even have met each other," Selena added.

"...And he never would have bought it if the old guy never killed himself here," David added quietly. Wilfred motioned the glass back to David. "C'mon, we don't do this that often. Have a glass of wine."

"No...I wanted to finish my book for lit class this evening yet. You guys go ahead...really."

"David," Michael began "You can read tomorrow. Like Wilfred said, we don't often get the four of us together to celebrate or have a drink. It's always just two or three of us. C'mon, just one glass, and then you have all weekend to read."

Wilfred motioned the glass back to David. David stared hard at Wilfred for a moment and then reluctantly accepted the glass. Wilfred began filling the glasses one at a time.

"You know what we should do?" Michael asked excitedly. He had pushed himself off the floor to a sitting position, Selena still sitting on his legs. He wiggled his legs to get the blood circulating again.

"No. What?" Selena looked at him curiously as Wilfred passed her a glass.

Michael was looking at the others as he continued. "We should go up to the attic and see where the old guy died." He wrestled himself from under Selena and stood up.

"Why," Wilfred wondered aloud passing Michael his glass.

"I dunno. I was just thinking. It's a good part of our story together. I mean if it wasn't for him, maybe we never would have met." He looked at Selena for a moment. "Isn't that one of the stories, as creepy as it is, that has always made students like us first want to stay here? C'mon, let's go." Michael began backing towards the staircase hoping the others would follow. He took a sip of his wine and raised his glass as if silently toasting the others to join in. He stuffed his check into his back pocket and waved his hand at the others ushering them to come.

Selena followed Michael's cue and sipped her wine, still enjoying the atmosphere and figured if any time was right to indulge in a little offbeat idea, it was now. "Okay. Lets' go." She looked at Wilfred and David and ushered them to come with her too.

Wilfred just shrugged, smiled and followed behind, quickly reaching back to grab the bottle of wine before leaving the room.

David said nothing and took a very small sip from his glass. He watched as the others began moving up the staircase to search for the access to the mysterious attic. It was clear to all that David thought this was a pointless quest, but it was David that had mentioned the dead man in the attic. David was one to never indulge in anything but the norm, but there was something disturbing in the air tonight. A heaviness or staleness seemed to hang in the air that seemed to taunt each one of them, daring them to risk straying from their normal routine. David was not immune to the sudden change in the house and followed the others up the staircase.

They finally found the access to the attic after searching every room upstairs. After the first quick search of the rooms upstairs they didn't think they would find any access, but while re-visiting all the rooms a second time, Wilfred discovered an access in the master bedroom, Michael's room. The room had an extra large closet and the paneling on the ceiling was not really paneling at all but a fold down staircase when pushed into the ceiling revealed little resemblance to an access panel and had the distinct look to Wilfred that it was meant to be a hidden private access.

As Wilfred pulled down the hidden staircase, aged dust began floating out into the closet, landing on everything possible. Selena coughed and -covered her glass tightly with her hand.

Wilfred looked back at the others. "Doesn't look like anybody has been up here for some time."

"Probably not since the old guy whacked himself," Michael said grinning.

"Michael!" Selena scolded him for talking in such a way.

Wilfred grunted as he pushed down on the staircase with his large foot, making sure it was sound. "He's probably right." Wilfred peered up the dark staircase. The others watched with curious eyes.

"I wonder if there's a light up there?" Wilfred began moving his large body up the staircase, reaching and rubbing on the walls for a switch.

"Hey!" Michael shouted, and squeezed past Selena to the left inside the closet. Suddenly the staircase was filled with light. "I always wondered what this other switch back here was for. I kept flicking it before and it didn't seem to do anything."

"Now we know," Wilfred said and continued up the stairs, each step leaving a clear footprint in the dusty staircase.

Selena coughed again, and pushed Michael to follow. Michael looked back and began to follow Wilfred up the stairs. Selena looked at David and up the four of them went. Each of them holding tightly to their wine glass and the image of the four of them moving slowly up the staircase, one behind the other, glass held rigidly in the left hand, had a resemblance to some ancient ritual or rite of passage.

"Wow, is this ever a big room!" Wilfred exclaimed as he entered the darkness of the attic.

The others slowly pulled up beside Wilfred and they all could see what Wilfred was talking about. The attic was one large room, stretching from the front of the house to the back. A small clouded eight sided window with colored glass pieces was inset in the peak of both end walls, letting in multi-colored beams of light from each end giving the room an eerie dark look.

"Does anyone...oh..." and with a click the attic became filled with light. Wilfred had found the light switch for the attic.

"My god is it ever dusty up here," Selena remarked and began to walk about. Michael followed sipping his wine.

David said nothing, uninterested in the whole charade. His paperback was almost too large for his back pocket causing him some discomfort. He removed the book and restlessly shuffled the book from hand to hand.

"Look at the stuff up here. We should really take some time and look through all this stuff." Selena and Michael had moved halfway down the large room. Up against the left wall was shelving that ran from the staircase almost completely down the entire wall. The shelving itself was constructed of small interlocking vertical and horizontal timbers supporting evenly spaced four-inch wide wooden slats. There was what seemed like hundreds of trunks stacked in amongst all the shelving.

"I bet there must be some really neat stuff in here." Michael scanned the trunks. There were humpback trunks, square trunks, flat trunks bound with shiny steel corners and dark leather straps. Michael had moved to Selena's left and casually lifted open one of the trunks, first brushing his hand through the dust on top before opening. Inside appeared to be clothes. "Look at this old suit," Michael said, holding up an old tweed suit that amazingly was in very great shape but also extremely out of style.

"I think that's your size," Wilfred said to Michael.

"May be my size, but I think more your style..." Michael replied back.

"Look at this," Selena said. "There are tons of clothes in all these trunks. Whoa," she said holding up a pair of pants with flared legs. They looked to Selena as if they had never been worn. "Look at the color of these." She held the pants up high for everyone to see. "Fluorescent Pink."

"I think those are your style Michael," Wilfred declared, watching Selena pull more items from the different trunks.

Michael ignored Wilfred's comment and was rummaging beside Selena opening up yet another trunk and quickly looking inside to see nothing but clothes in each trunk.

Selena was still holding the funny shaped pink pants, running her hand across the fabric. "These are really nice quality. I wonder why there are so much new clothes up here?"

"Wow! Look at this!" David had walked over to the other side of the room and was suddenly confronted with something of interest to him. Built in to the west wall under the outer sloping ceiling was another fireplace. The fireplace stood out from the wall and with its surrounding cabinetry measured at least twelve feet wide. This was complimented on each side by two small rooms. David looked inside each of the small rooms and found them to be quite empty except for a wooden seat that ran the entire length of the room and a series of brass hooks mounted on one of the inside walls. Beyond the south room was yet another tiny room. David quickly opened this door and could see it contained an old toilet and sink. The tank for the toilet was mounted high above his head on the wall, and had a woven cord with a knob on the end hanging down, that was used to initiate the flush. "The water closet," David whispered to himself.

David's attention was drawn back to the massive fireplace. He stuffed his book in the front of his pants and ran his fingers across the detailing around the mantle. "Look at this mantle. It's got everything carved into it, and it is completely different everywhere."

Wilfred looked over at David while Selena and Michael still rooted through the different trunks, opening and closing, searching for nothing in particular, laughing and commenting on the era of the wardrobe. David seemed overly interested in the mantle and Wilfred meandered over to see what it was David was fussing about. David never got excited about anything except getting back to work on his paintings back in the studio or breaking down some book for analysis.

David saw Wilfred approach. "Look at this Wilfred."

Wilfred's expression changed to a curious puzzled look as he studied the fireplace mantle.

"The mantle almost tells a story. Remember the hallway with the prairie painting downstairs, and how the images seem to move through time as you moved further down the hallway? This looks similar in the way it shows different kinds of people carved into the mantle." Wilfred could see exactly what he was talking about and began to run his hand around the tooled faces.

To Wilfred it appeared the mantle was a carving of a great building, maybe of roman architecture, with the huge roman pillars on each side extending down each side of the fireplace opening. It was difficult to make out the building itself because overlaying the pillars was carved figures of people, starting at the bottom of the pillars right to the top.

"Hmmph," Wilfred said to no one looking at the details. He and David continued to examine the carvings.

"Look at this one." David was pointing to the bottom left corner. A naked well physiqued man was holding what appeared to be tools, captured in the moment of carving the pillars.

"He looks roman," Wilfred said. "Look at this guy." Wilfred was pointing to what appeared to a panhandler dressed in tweeds with an expression of pain on his face.

"Ouch," David said. "These are amazing. They're so detailed."

"Over here." Wilfred had moved to the right column, and was running his fingers over the carved body of what appeared to be a man in a spacesuit. The figure was clothed in a baggy fitting suit with very wide fingered gloves and where the head should have been was a carved globe. Wilfred ran his fingers over the carved character removing the dust. With the dust removed, Wilfred almost believed he could see reflections carved into the spherical shape on the shoulders of the carving.

"Incredible," was all he could say.

"How old do you think this is?" David asked.

"Dunno," was all Wilfred replied, still curious about the spaceman looking figure. Wilfred looked further down the column and the figures changed into longer figures, that didn't seem to fit with the rest. The bodies were all taller and the faces of all the people on this section seem to be turned away. Maybe they were supposed to be hiding their faces. Wilfred couldn't tell.

Wilfred was distracted by Selena's laugh, and he turned to see what it was about. Selena had pulled on over her clothes a gown that look to date back to the mid-thirties. Wilfred watched as she swirled and flipped her head back laughing, the lower lacy frills of the gown flowing outward as she twirled.

David was still involved in the fireplace, when Wilfred tapped him on the shoulder. "What do you make of all this?" he asked, meaning the crates and chests full of old clothes. David did not quite understand and thought he meant Selena. "I think she's had too much wine."

"No...No, I mean this room?" Wilfred took a sip of wine and scanned the entire room and began to speculate. "I think this room was a secret room." Wilfred studied the rest of the room's details. With exception of the grandness of the fireplace, everything else was really quite ordinary for the age of the house. The vaulted roof had one large beam running the entire length of the room that was supported by a number of vertical risers resting on its own beam that also ran the length of the room. This lower beam rested on cross beams that rested on the exterior walls, that Wilfred guessed, were inset about eight feet in from the exterior walls of the room below, making this room seem very long and narrow.

Wilfred studied the beams and his imagination quickly put the mysterious body from the stories of long ago hanging silently above him from one of the solid beams. Wilfred could imagine him swinging back and forth in the quiet silence of this room. The swinging would slowly stop and the body would start to stiffen where it was. Dust would begin to collect, and flies would begin to land on the body.

"Maybe," replied David still studying the details of the fireplace. "It is kind of odd to have a secret staircase and such a fancy fireplace. I mean this is the nicest of all the fireplaces in the house...just look at this."

Wilfred ignored him, still thinking about the beams and the story of the dead man found hanging from one of them.

Selena had seen enough of the trunks, and turned her attention to David and Wilfred and the grand fireplace. "Wow, this is really nice..." The fireplace and its surrounding cabinetry stretched all the way above the rafters to the underside of the roof. The woodwork above the fireplace opening was superiorly crafted into multiple different sizes and shapes of shelves and cubby holes. Her eyes traced the many smaller shelves that were more like little boxes, and it appeared that the very center shelving had been sculptured differently than all the others. It was crafted into a specific shape with precise and articulate curves to contain and enclose what Selena thought was an old but very large wooden windup clock or radio.

David stood up and took a sip of his wine, now watching Selena as she began brushing the dust from the surfaces of the radio/clock item with her fingers.

"What's that?" David asked pointing to the radio/clock item.

"I don't know." She continued to brush a decade's worth of dust away.

"It looks like a clock."

"No...a radio..." said David.

"...But It's got the key hole for a clock. Look on the left side of the face." Selena reached up to the item from the shelving and began to try to slide it forward. It was a little difficult, because the shelving itself was exactly contoured to the curved shape of the item and she couldn't really get her fingers on it to pull it out.

"But there's no hands," David remarked.

"Maybe it's broken."

"Or maybe it's not a clock." David reached up to help Selena try to remove it, but the effort was futile as they couldn't get their fingers in between the item and the sides to remove it.

"What you got there?" Wilfred asked. He had come over to the fireplace when they started struggling to pull the thing out.

"Dunno," replied David.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked now having come over to see what everyone was interested in.

"We're not quite sure," Wilfred replied trying as well to get his fingers in to pull it out. He quickly quit, realizing his fingers were even larger than David's and Selena's. "Looks like a clock."

"But there's no hands," David said. "I think it's a radio. Look at the dial...and it has a knob in the center."

"Hmm, maybe," Wilfred said. Wilfred had moved back alongside David and Selena. Michael grabbed the glace face and pulled on the face trying to open it but it wouldn't budge. He pulled, twisted and then stopped. Selena stepped forward during his pause and pushed on the glass face and...with a soft click, the glass face popped open.

"How did you...?" Wilfred asked.

"I just pushed on it." Selena then closed it, and pushed in the center of the glass once again. Again with a soft click, it popped open.

"The four of them stood in front of the fireplace and this strange object, sipping their wine when Michael began turning the knob in the center first one way and then the other. Nothing was happening, but the background image, halfway similar to an old dial radio changed characters. Not any characters they recognized. The center knob seemed to be surrounded by nine openings, positioned like clock numerals, but missing the five, six, and seven positions. As Michael rotated the knob the images behind the windows changed. Sometimes only one would change and as he kept turning, others would change to different images. He continued to turn the dial causing different combinations of different windows to change from blank to different characters and back to blank.

"Weird," was all Michael said.

"What do you suppose it is?" David asked.

"What is that hole for?" Wilfred was referring to the keyhole like opening Selena referred to earlier.

"It looks like a keyhole," Michael answered.

"Yes...like the old wind up clocks," Selena added.

Wilfred began running his hand along the dusty shelves. "Maybe there is a key around here for it."

"I doubt it...this thing looks like it has been here forever," Selena said closing the glass front.

"Well, I would like to see what this thing does," David said, always the straight scientific mind.

Selena studied the shelving. She was thinking about the age of the whole fireplace, carvings, clock and something bothered her about it as she looked at it. "Maybe we should leave it alone."

"Huh?" Wilfred asked.

"...Well, there's no key, and it's been here so long the key's probably long gone," She replied.

Wilfred kept running his hand up and down, over every shelf, studying the complex curves. "This is made similar to the table," he said.

"Huh?" David questioned.

"The table...downstairs. The table legs. Look at how some of the joints in the woodworking are connected. You have pieces of wood changing direction and curving off in another direction at right angles...and look here, this piece comes down across from this direction and crosses right over this joint and comes down to this piece. This would be impossible to assemble."

"Probably, the same people made this that made the floor," Michael added.

"Well I wonder why they would build a radio thingy into it?" Selena asked.

"Radio thingy," Michael said and began to laugh.

"Well what would you call it?" she piped back.

"A thingy," and he laughed again. Selena sipped another portion of wine and watched as Wilfred's hand moved over the molding surrounding the item.

"Hey!" Selena exclaimed softly to Wilfred.

"What?" Wilfred was still moving his fingers across the woodwork, studying the moldings and feeling the fine craftsmanship.

"Run your hand back over the molding underneath the thingy."

"Thingy!" Michael roared with laughter. Selena punched him on the arm and Wilfred moved his hand underneath the item.

"Lower," she said. "I thought I saw the wood move when you ran your hand over there".

"Here?"

"More over." Selena reached up moving Wilfred's hand to a piece of molding under the item. "Over here somewhere."

Wilfred ran his hand back and forth.

"See...it moved."

"I didn't see anything," Michael replied, his laughter having died down to just a grin.

Wilfred began pushing on all the pieces around in the area, and sure enough, when he pushed directly underneath the radio, on top of a leaf pattern carved in the molding, a thin piece of molding, no thicker than a quarter of an inch popped outward.

"Holy shit!" Wilfred exclaimed.

Selena and the others leaned in.

Wilfred looked at the section of molding that had popped out and on the topside, was a flat metallic key that had been laid inside the hollowed out piece of wood.

"The key! The key!" Selena shouted, bouncing lightly on her toes.

"I see, I see," replied Wilfred calmly as he carefully dug the discolored key out of the molding. He glanced back at Selena and Michael and gave them a look that suggested to them that they had been stupidly lucky to find it.

"You gotta be kidding," David said unbelieving. "The thing has a wind up key?" He shook his head puzzled.

"Michael had put his glass on the edge of the mantle and was rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "C'mon, wind the thing up."

"Give me a sec," replied Wilfred.

Wilfred had the key in hand, pressed the glass and the glass face opened as it had before.

Wilfred inserted the key into the keyhole, and to no one's surprise it fit perfectly. He began turning and turning. The room was suddenly dead quiet and the only sounds heard were the cogs and gears clicking away against old springs inside the device.

Wilfred gave the key about fifteen turns and then stopped. He pulled the key out expecting something to happen and nothing happened with the exception of a low subtle vibration emanating from the radio thingy that was nearly undetectable.

"Okay...It's broken," Wilfred said. He moved away letting David move up to the item.

"Maybe," David said and he began to turn the dial. The others watched. Six of the openings had objects or characters in the open windows. As David turned the dial, two of the windows went blank and three other blank ones filled in. He kept slowly turning the dial and watched the windows as various images appeared in the different windows. Some would appear as others disappeared and after rotating the dial for about thirty seconds, all nine windows filled with images and strange characters at the same time. At the same moment the characters filled all the windows, a low distant sound began to emerge from the item.

The David slowly removed his hand away from the thing as the sounds slowly increased.

David took a step back as the sound increased...a familiar sound.

Michael was the one to respond first to the increasing sounds. "It is a god damned radio!" He began to grin and laugh harder than he had all night. "A radio!...Woo, woo, woo."

The music began to grow, instrumental music. The melody was familiar to them all. The others except David began to smile and laugh along with Michael. Selena felt a little disappointment at the fact the thing was some radio.

"What kind of radio is this?" David asked. "A wind up radio?" I've never heard of one." He stared at the others and no smile broke on his face. No one seemed to pay attention to David's denial on how a radio can work this way.

David pressed his fingertips cautiously against the glass on the radio and held them there momentarily.

Wilfred let out a big sigh and rolled his eyes. "Rock'n around the clock...that's what that is."

Selena smiled at Michael who was still laughing. "Michael stop, it's not that funny."

Michael ignored her, grabbing his glass from the mantle and emptying it. "I'm gonna get the other bottle of wine." Michael disappeared down the stairs.

Wilfred moved up to the radio and began changing the knob. Immediately the music stopped, as the characters began to move from the open windows. He changed the dial and watched as the characters came and went. "Huh...this is pretty neat." He kept rotating until all the windows were once again filled and once again music came from the radio. This time it was older instrumental music, Wilfred guessed was from the thirties or forties.

"I like the other music better," Selena said.

"This music isn't so bad," David replied as he removed his hand. He stared down at his fingers. There was a subtle but steady honing vibration that he could feel as he had touched the glass. A vibration that somehow seemed more powerful than what a few windings of some gears could muster up.

Michael had now returned upstairs and was refilling all the glasses. David said nothing as Michael topped up his glass that was only half empty.

"Turn it back to the fifties," Michael said. "We came up here to have some fun, so let's have some fun." He walked up to the radio and began turning the knob. "Which way to the fifties?"

"Uhh?" Wilfred stammered back.

Michael watched as Wilfred made turning motions with his hand trying to remember which way he turned the dial.

"To the left."

Michael rotated the dial to the left and sure enough, the nine windows filled in and the instrumental fifties music began to play.

"How do you turn it up?" Michael asked looking for other knobs or dials but finding none.

No one answered. David and Wilfred had moved over to inspect the stacks of trunks, and Selena followed.

"I guess you can't," Michael said, to himself and closed the glass front to the radio. The music played on.

Three of them rooted through the trunks, remarking on the different clothing and Selena found the clothing quite fascinating. History was her interest, more specifically historical interpretations through art as a medium, and Selena studied the details of the different clothing with this in mind. She could almost guess the ages of some of the clothing by the method used for manufacturing. Different techniques of stitching, and different styles of assembly evolved over the years, and each time the method changed, the clothing styles changed, or the fabrics changed. Each piece of clothing to Selena was almost like a snapshot and held some history in its own assembly.

David watched the others begin pulling hats and belts out of the trunks, trying them on and then replacing them. He really wanted to go back downstairs and get back to his reading. He had the character analysis report for The Lord of the Flies due on Monday. He looked at his watch.

"Hey guys...it's almost ten-thirty. I'm going to go down and read for an hour or so and then crash...okay?"

"Okay, goodnight," Selena said, not really surprised that he wanted to leave. She was actually more surprised that he stayed so long up here.

"See ya," Wilfred said sipping his wine. David pulled his book out of his pants and with his wine glass still half full, he disappeared down the stairs.

The remaining three drank more wine and continued to examine the goods stored on the shelves. They removed some of the trunks stacked on top of the others and were not surprised to find more clothing and garments in each trunk. Inside each trunk seemed to be all different sizes and colors of garments. Each trunk also seemed to have a large assortment of accessories to go along with the period of the clothing. In one trunk was a multitude of western garments, including chaps, cowboy boots of various sizes and many differently styled cowboy hats. Another trunk carried more western wear with frilly dresses and corset's. Yet another trunk had more simple clothing of the period with pants that buttoned up the front and an enormous number of different footwear in numerous sizes, others that required a string or rope to secure in place. Undershirts, full-length underwear, hand knitted woolen socks were also included.

Michael was busy opening up another trunk when the music on the radio finally quit. "Hey, Wilfred, you want to give that another wind?"

Wilfred looked over at the radio, "Oh...sure."

Wilfred walked over to the immense fireplace and began winding the radio again. He gave it about twenty turns this time and as the music began to fill the room again he began turning the dial to see what other music played.

He turned the dial, first coming across the instrumental music they heard earlier, Michael thought was the thirties or forties, and then to some music that, also instrumental, was very slow, and it reminded Wilfred of the old fillers for some of the silent movies he had seen on documentaries on TV.

"Wilfred ...put it back to the fifties," Michael requested.

"I'm just checking to see what else there is." He screwed up his face as he continued to turn the dial and watched the images disappear and re-appear until all nine windows had a character and new collection of music would begin to play.

"I'll go back in a sec."

The next music was some fast upbeat music with staccato type beats overlaid that Wilfred really didn't understand since the melody was very unusual. He listened to this for about thirty seconds before Michael spoke up again. "Wilfred? Where's the fifties stuff? All that other stuff is crappy."

"Okay, okay." Wilfred turned the dial again and after two more stations, the music of the fifties began to play again.

Wilfred closed the glass front and grabbed his glass from the mantle and stared at the clock with a puzzled look on his face.

Selena had tired of looking through the clothes and was instead watching Wilfred.

"What's up Wilfred?" she asked leaving Michael to dig on his own.

"Oh nothing really."

"You looked like you were deep in thought." Selena sipped more of her wine and reached for the almost empty bottle by the fireplace.

"I was...sort of," Wilfred said, still staring at the radio.

Selena looked at the radio too, but saw nothing. She opened her arms and did a half twirl, the effects of the wine making her a little giddy. "We should make this room into a party or rumpus room."

"Huh?"

"This would be a great room to, you know...put a couch or two over by the fireplace. Bring some of those old bookshelves over here," she said walking to the far end of the room.

"Oh...ya, sure," Wilfred responded. He hadn't moved his large body for a few minutes now, and was not really listening to Selena.

"We could you use it as a getaway. When we didn't want anyone to find us, we could sneak up here, and hide away."

"That music..." Wilfred began.

"Hey..." Selena suddenly stopped. "Look at this guys! There are mattresses on the shelving down here."

Wilfred was still mesmerized by the clock and didn't really hear her.

"Wow, and here's the sheets and blankets," she said motioning to another section of shelving. She lifted one of the folded blankets from the shelf and ran her hand across the fabric. "This is really odd."

Michael had come over to see what she was getting so excited about.

"Look, Michael." She pointed to the four built in bunks.

"Hmnn," Michael said studying the bunks.

"Why would anyone build four bunks like this Michael?" she asked clearly puzzled.

"I don't know." This room was beginning to give her the creeps. Beds built in the wall, stored clothes of all shapes and sizes, a huge fireplace, all behind a secret passageway.

"I bet people stayed up here."

"Or hid up here."

Selena's thoughts hung on Michael's comment. People hid up here? It was possible. With all the different clothing you could bring people in the house looking like one person and have them leave looking like another. Maybe that's it. She looked at the trunks again. There must have been almost a hundred trunks from floor to ceiling.

"Michael?"

"What?"

"Doesn't it strike you as weird that there are bunks up here, a fireplace for heat and all those clothes?"

"Sort of," he said now looking at the trunks.

Michael looked over to see Wilfred was still staring oddly at the radio.

"Wilfred?" Michael broke into his classic grin. "Hey Selena, look at Wilfred."

Selena stopped her inspection of the sleeping area. "What about him?"

"Look at him." Wilfred had not moved and Selena could swear that he hadn't moved for over five minutes. He was holding his wine glass up in the air mid-stroke of a drink and he was staring at the radio thing, frozen with a stunned look on his face.

"Wilfred?" Selena whispered quietly, concerned.

Michael snickered behind Selena. She brushed at him with her hand to hush him up.

Slowly she moved toward Wilfred. To Selena he looked like he was caught in some kind of trance.

The radio continued to play music and was currently ushering out a simple but un-lively version of Ain't that a Shame.

"Wilfred?" she said again, this time a little louder.

Wilfred suddenly moved, acknowledging her with a slight wave of the hand holding the glass, but he was still not taking his eyes off the radio.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The radio," he said quietly.

"Huh?" She had heard him. She looked at the radio.

"The radio," he said again his eyes open in concentration. "There's something wrong with it."

Selena listened to the stringed arrangement playing. "It sounds fine to me."

"Michael!" Wilfred shouted, startling Selena making her jump.

"What?" Michael responded from across the room.

"Get over here for a minute."

Michael dropped the long barreled rifle he'd found in a trunk next to the bunks, and walked toward Selena and Wilfred. "What's up big fella?" he said grinning.

"Listen to the radio."

"I have been," Michael smiled back. "...... Ain't that a shaa...aamme..."

"Shhhhh!" Wilfred shoved his hand up in front of Michael's face.

Michael jerked his head back thinking he was going to get hit and stepped back one small step. "What's the matter with you anyway?" Michael's usually grin was suddenly gone from his face.

Wilfred turned his attention on Michael. "What do you hear?"

"Music." Michael's grin was returning.

"Music?" Wilfred raised his eyebrows. "All the stations are instrumental. Every one of them...listen."

Michael and Selena listened. It was true. Selena suddenly realized that she hadn't heard a voice on the radio since they first turned it on.

"So?" Michael replied, still smiling, "It's just a radio."

"Just a radio? What radio station has only instrumental? There has not been one commercial, no announcer. Not even station identification."

Michael frowned and glanced to see Selena was also confused.

"Uh huh..." Selena said.

"This is not an ordinary radio," Wilfred suggested.

Michael walked up to the radio once more and lifted his hand as if to press on the glass but stopped before touching it. He looked at Selena. "Maybe we should leave it alone, or figure out what it is."

"It's bloody weird is what it is," Wilfred said.

No one said anything. They all knew what Wilfred was saying was correct. Selena tried to figure this out. No voices, no commercials, no station identification. This didn't make sense. Selena could sort of understand this, if it was only one station, but hadn't Wilfred dialed through five or six stations, maybe even seven. She tried to remember if she heard even one song with a voice but she couldn't. She looked at Wilfred who was still staring at the radio.

"I think we should just leave this thing alone for tonight" Selena said as she began to move toward the stairs, the giddiness and effects of the wine suddenly gone. "C'mon Michael," she said.

Michael followed eagerly without commenting. Wilfred walked up to the radio intending on turning it off, and then realized before he opened the glass face that turning it off was probably impossible. The windings will wind down in an hour or so and it'll shut off all on its own.

Wilfred followed the others down the dusty stairs and pressed the staircase back into its hiding place in the closet.

The three of them stood in Michael's room. The faint instrumental music could still be heard coming through the cracks surrounding the mysterious staircase in the closet.

"I think we forget about this for tonight," Selena said and ran her hand through her hair. Wilfred stared at the closed staircase.

Michael grabbed her hand and the two of them left the room for downstairs followed by Wilfred; the three of them glad for the moment to no longer hear the music.

David was busy reading his book in the front room when the others came downstairs. It was nearing midnight when Selena said she was crashing because she was tired. Michael too, said he was tired. David must have thought it odd that the three of them were suddenly a little more sullen than when he'd left them up in the attic earlier.

Wilfred sauntered in to the kitchen, pausing at the entrance to the dining room to steal a look at the table legs that are woven in to the flooring. He wondered for a moment about why anybody would build anything this way. His thoughts immediately traveled back upstairs to the attic and directly to the shelving encasing the fireplace. It seemed to have the same elaborate woven type of assembly. He tried not to think about this but he couldn't help but get that nagging feeling that he was missing something very obvious. He left the dining room and glanced down the hall and back to the living room. David was still in there, and he was thinking about talking to him about this but just couldn't...for the moment. He left and headed to the kitchen.

In the kitchen he looked at the wind up antique wind-up clock resting on the shelving in the sitting area. This clock had never been wound, since Selena never had the key. Selena had brought this clock with her to the house when she moved in. She had seen it at a garage sale in Bluffington the summer she came to Bluffington and purchased it for twelve dollars. It was one of the few things that she did bring into the house when she and Michael moved in.

You didn't need to bring anything into this house. No one ever did. All you needed was the clothes on your back, and maybe some linen. The place was complete with furniture from top to bottom.

Wilfred's thought travelled to the dishes and cutlery and for no real reason he walked over and opened the china cabinet, which like everything else was built in to the wall. Inside were the dishes that that they used every day. He grabbed one and turned it over in his hand. These dishes were here when Michael and Selena moved in. They were here when David moved in before them. Hell, they were the same ones from when he moved in. He quickly looked at all the dishes laid out on the shelves. No one had ever broken a plate in all these years and he began to wonder just how old these plates were. He turned the plate over in his hands and looked at the inscription on the back. It meant nothing to him but simply said "Hutschenreuther-Selby-BAVARIA".

Wilfred replaced the plate into the cabinet and it dawned on him that there were exactly eight place settings of each size of dish, bowl, and cup. A setting of eight? It wasn't the fact that there were eight, but that they were most definitely antiques. Eight place settings still complete one hundred percent intact.

None lost.

None cracked or even chipped.

Wilfred closed the cabinet door and pulled opened the cutlery drawer.

He stared at the cutlery. The cutlery was also here when he moved in. He stared confused into the drawer. All the cutlery was laid out nicely, large spoons, small spoons, soupspoons, large forks, salad forks, and same with the knives. He didn't even have to touch the cutlery to realize that there were exactly eight pieces of each type of cutlery. He found it impossible to believe that over the years not one piece of cutlery has ever gone missing from this house.

He thought back to his childhood growing up, and it seemed to him his mother was always bitching to him and his one sister, as to the magical disappearance of yet another piece of cutlery.

This house was strange Wilfred thought, and a fleeting moment of panic rushed through his veins as the thought of their recent success came to mind.

Wilfred pulled one of the forks out of the drawer and turned it ever so slowly over in his hand. Looking at it now, he was sure it was pure silver. He hadn't really noticed how tarnished they had become. "BSF 800" was stamped on the underside with a small crown between the letters and numbers. This also meant nothing to him.

Wilfred closed the cutlery drawer and tried to close his mind to this abstract line of thinking. There were just too many strange things to notice tonight. How come no else noticed them before when these things are all so easy to spot. Wilfred looked at Selena's clock with its single wind up keyhole and wondered how long it had been since this clock had last been wound. He doubted he would hear anything unexpected except the steady ticking from the gears and windings buried deep inside the wooden case.

As Wilfred left the kitchen, he could see the light to the front room was off, meaning David had gone to bed already. Wilfred glanced around at the blue painted wallpaper surrounding the main foyer and paused. Deep rich sky-blue at the top that faded to a lighter shade lower down where it met the mottled blue of the ocean. He looked at all the walls surrounding him and thought "An endless ocean without a place to land. No land on the horizon." He turned off the last of the lights in the house and made his way quietly upstairs and crawled into bed and slipped under the large duvet and tried to sleep. He was feeling a little light headed from the wine, but unlike other nights after a few drinks when he found sleep easy, tonight it was difficult. The images of the plates floated disturbingly in his mind as each plate seemed to have some sinister ability to survive all those years, and through so many different users.

He'd almost drift off to sleep when he was suddenly brought back from the edge to the relentless thoughts about the radio thingy up in the attic. The radio thingy, tucked away securely behind the wooden moldings of the fireplace...tucked away up past the camouflaged stairs, hidden away like some secret. There were more images after this that became dreamlike in quality as the trunks began to appear one after the other. The lids to the trunks would begin to lift open and the clothes inside would rise and show themselves to Wilfred. Shirts with no hands would beckon him to come to them. The pants would shuffle their footless legs. This dreamlike state would fade and another would come, this time with the table legs woven into the floor, and then still another with the weaving woodwork of the attic fireplace.

Eventually Wilfred did manage to drift off into a deep sleep, but it was not without its own horror and dreadfulness. In this dream, he was up in the attic, but it was a different time. The attic was clean and free of all the dust. The windows high up in each end of the attic were no longer coated with ages of dirt and decay and let in colorful rays all the way down to the fresh wood on the floor. As he looked at the fireplace, he could see the shine on the polished wood, with its glossy finish, and the individual pieces of wood making up the fireplace all even and smooth. The wood moldings were not as they had appeared earlier tonight but in this dream they were all straight and even, with no curves at all in the features.

In his dream he watched, himself hidden in the dark corner next to the shelving, as a dark figure dressed in what looked like a long black hooded robe strolled determinedly into the scene, eagerly carrying something extremely large and heavy in its arms. The robed figured stopped in front of the fireplace and carefully with both hands, lifted the object high into the air, his arms shaking under the weight. The robed figure bowed its head toward the fireplace as he raised the item, its arms trembling, and it gave Wilfred the illusion of an offering of some kind. The man in black then heaved the object carefully onto the shelving above the fireplace.

Wilfred could see that the object he placed was the same radio thing that the four of them had been fussing with earlier in the evening.

The robed figure retreated away one step, holding his arms out wide to the side as if admiring the great feat he'd just accomplished..

Immediately the individual moldings of the shelving above and around fireplace began to move; some was sliding up, some sliding down. Slowly the pieces of wood moved, and began to twist and turn and weave themselves among other boards, slowly surrounding the radio that had been placed upon the shelf, and they continued their slow weave back and forth, up and down, until the entire wooden structure surrounding the fireplace had taken on a whole new look and had bound the radio inside itself.

Wilfred shuddered in his sleep as he dreamed. The dream continued with him watching the man in the black robe. The man in black seemed to hear Wilfred's shudder and he suddenly turned towards Wilfred and approached with lightning speed eventually covering Wilfred in a smothering darkness.

Before Wilfred knew what had happened, his breathing was restricted. He felt something wrapped painfully tight around his neck and he could no longer see the man in the black robe but could hear and feel the breath of him warming the back of his neck. He grabbed feverishly at his neck, but could not grab hold of whatever it was that entwined it.

He began to struggle to free himself, but it was of no use and Wilfred felt himself begin to rise above the floor.

The man in black began to laugh softly somewhere from behind him.

Wilfred's breath became even more restricted, and he continued his struggle. He soon began to jerk upwards to the ceiling, his feet no longer touching the floor. He continued to grab and pull at his neck. Higher he went, and as he began to slowly spin with each jerk upward, the room start to fall away below him. He now looked down on the shelving, and was spinning towards the opposite wall. Higher still he went and he began to dig his nails into his own neck, causing it to bleed. The tightness around his neck began to feel permanent. Dizziness was slowly overtaking him.

He soon began to see the fireplace appear below and standing proud and erect in front was the man in black pulling on a rope, lifting Wilfred higher and higher, and all the while the man in black laughed harder and harder. Wilfred was beginning to black out as his head hit the underside of the beam that stretched across the attic. The man in black continued his laugh as the life drained from Wilfred as the rope tightened one last hitch around his neck.

Wilfred woke suddenly from the dream, his heart racing, his pillow and sheets damp with perspiration. He looked around to discover he was in his own room, and realized this had just been a bad dream. The conversations he and the other roommates had when he first moved into the house rushed back to him. Discussions of mystery, scandal and intrigue of the previous man who'd been found hanging in the attic. Tonight it was him being raised to the rafters in the dream. Wilfred didn't like this dream. He tried to think of something else, anything else. He turned his thoughts to more pleasant memories and eventually drifted off to sleep, forgetting this dream entirely by morning.

***

### CHAPTER 14

Selena was woken by Wilfred's shouting, her mind still a little dusty with sleep. She thought she had heard Wilfred yell extremely loud "What the fuck?...what the fuck is going on!"

Selena pushed herself up on her elbows, still tired as if sleep had never come at all last night. She looked at the clock on her side table and saw it was already past nine thirty in the morning. She had slept in longer than usual for a Saturday.

"David! Michael! ...Selena!...What the fuck?...Get down here!"

Selena could hear Michael in the next room as he stumbled out of his own bed.

Selena quickly leaped out of bed and grabbed her robe. Michael was already going down the staircase leaping three steps at a time when she came out of her room.

"Michael!...Selena!" Wilfred was now screaming at a pitch she had never heard from him before. Selena was terrified by the tone of his voice.

As she arrived at the top of the stairs she could see absolute panic stricken across Wilfred's face. David, who had been up early and was already dressed, was standing in the foyer next to Wilfred along with Michael who stood there bared-chested in his boxers.

"What is it?"

"Yes Wilfred, what's the matter?" David asked concerned over the horror of Wilfred's expression.

Selena was finally at the bottom of the stairs when Wilfred began to stagger, his complexion, completely ash white. David and Michael quickly grabbed on to his large arms and led him over to the couch.

Wilfred was trying to speak, but could only stammer incoherent sounds. He held his one in the air and was pointing with his hand to the front door.

The three of them glanced at the front door but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Wilfred..." David said with urgency.

Selena looked at the front door again as Wilfred kept pointing hard with his fingers.

"Hold on for a sec Wilfred," Selena said. "Calm down. Calm down."

"Take a few deep breaths."

Wilfred looked at them all, his eyes wide open, fear imbedded deep inside. Wilfred inhaled deeply and tried to speak as he let his breath back out.

"Shhh...shhh...Wilfred," Selena said calmly to Wilfred. "Don't try to talk just yet."

"What happened?" Michael asked to David as Selena calmly motioned Wilfred to breathe again.

"I...I don't know, I've been up for an hour or so in the studio, when Wilfred began..." but he didn't say it. He wanted to say freaking out, but as he looked at Wilfred, he didn't want to get Wilfred started again.

"Ow..." Wilfred muttered. "Ow...sssssigh."

"Slow down Wilfred, breathe some more."

"Owsigh...Owsigh." Wilfred kept pointing toward the front door.

"Owsigh?" Michael asked. "Owsigh?...Outside? Do you mean outside?"

Wilfred's head began nodding up and down repeatedly, his hand still thrusting to the front door.

Michael looked at David and both David and Michael rushed to the front door leaving Selena alone to comfort Wilfred.

Michael cautiously opened the front door, and the two of them scanned the outside, searching for that something so unimaginably horrific that had set Wilfred into his frenzy.

Michael quickly turned back to Wilfred, "There's noth..."

"What the...?" David interrupted, pushing his way past Michael and out onto the porch.

"What the hell?" David said confused. Michael turned back and stepped outside as well. "Holy fuck!"

"What is it Michael?" Selena yelled from the parlor, not wanting to leave Wilfred just yet. Wilfred remained on the couch with his eyes still open wide, his one arm still outstretched towards the front door.

David and Michael were frozen in confusion as their eyes swept over the outside world.

"What?...what...holy..." Michael began stammering as he stared out in to the neighborhood.

"No..." David began in a very low voice. "This just can't be!" He looked at Michael and slowly backed his way into the house, a cold distant expression frozen on his face.

"David? What is it?"

David slowly spun his head toward Selena, his mouth hanging open. He looked at both Selena and Wilfred, wanting to say something but saying nothing.

Michael finally rushed back into the house and slammed the door, resting his back against the closed door, as if closing the door would keep the outside where it was so it couldn't advance inside.

Selena stood up and stared at the two of them.

Michael looked at Selena. "The outside ...it's gone ...I mean..."

"It's changed!" David shouted now quite angry, regaining his composure.

"What?" was all Selena could muster.

"God damn it! The outside...it's changed! Come over here and look for yourself." He stamped his foot hard and ran his hand back through his long thin hair and moved from the foyer into the parlor.

Wilfred was still in shock nodding up and down.

Tears began to well up in Michael's eyes as Selena came up to him. "It's true," he said quietly to Selena.

"What's true Michael?"

"Everything...it's all changed out there."

"What are you all talking about?" Selena pushed Michael out of the way and opened the door herself and stepped outside.

The effect was slow on coming. At first Selena thought that the sky was just a little brighter today, because the porch seemed to be somehow illuminated. The towering aged trees normally kept the porch quite sheltered but today the shadows were cast aside.

At first Selena couldn't tell why, and then her brain began to interpret what she was looking at. She first noticed the trees were different. Someone had cut or pruned back all the trees and that explained why the sun was filling the porch like it did.

Her mind did another flip-flop when she actually studied the trees more carefully. The trees had not been trimmed or cropped because the trunks were smaller than yesterday.

She then noticed some of the shrubbery was smaller, and some was actually missing.

As she looked across the street to the other houses, she could easily see dozens of missing trees, trim on houses painted a different color than yesterday. There were hedges missing, fences gone, driveways that were paved yesterday were gravel today.

She was confused and shocked. She looked across the porch again and could see the finish coat of the deck was in better shape than it was yesterday. The chipped and flaking front railing was no longer flaking as if newly painted.

Everything was different!

Selena noticed that the season seemed wrong as well. This air felt like late summer, when the leaves began to turn. That was it...some of the shrubs had even shed their leaves, probably due to an early frost, or maybe the shrubs hadn't even began to bear leaves and this was really early spring. She began backing up slowly as David had done and retreated into the house, slowly closing the door behind her.

"You see?" David exclaimed. He began peeking cautiously outside, first from one window then the next as if the outside would maybe spot him and suck him right through the glass.

Michael looked pale and Selena grabbed on to him. "Michael, what's happened?"

"I ...I don't know..." was all he could muster. He stood shivering in his boxers, arms wrapped tight around his chest.

"Well I know one thing!" David shouted angrily. "Something got fucked right up out there last night!" He pointed and shook his finger at the outside world.

"I'm sorry guys," Wilfred said weakly.

"Oh please," David said condescendingly, as if Wilfred was trying to take the blame.

"Why are you so angry?" Selena asked David.

David kept pacing. "Why?" He laughed. David rarely laughed but this laugh was deliberate and insulting. He threw his arms up once again.

"What the hell happened to outside?" he said staring at Selena. "It's like something happened...an atomic bomb or something went off last night and changed everything."

Michael slowly moved into the parlor and sat on the couch, still with his arms clenched around his chest. He began to rock back and forth, tears still welling up in his eyes.

Wilfred looked at him. "It's okay Michael."

"I bet that's what happened!" David said peeking again out yet a different window. "Those crazy mother fuckers finally let the big one go off! Khrushchev couldn't keep his big bastard hands off the buttons...noo...he had to go blow the fucking world up!"

Michael looked up at David saying nothing. He continued to rock back and forth.

"Not an atomic bomb, David," Selena said. "If an atomic bomb went off, we'd all be dead."

"How do you know? No one's ever been near an atomic bomb except for in Japan. Maybe the Russians flicked the switch and we slept through it all and the radiation and everything caused that."

Wilfred watched David carefully. "I think we would have heard that."

David stopped his pacing and slammed the wall with his hand. "Well then, you tell me what the fuck happened out there?"

"I...I don't think you need to be so angry David," Wilfred said having now recovered from his earlier panic.

Michael continued to rock back and forth shivering, his head hung low.

"Yeah, David. Calm down," Selena repeated. She walked over to the parlor window and stared outside once more.

"Calm down?...Calm down? How can any of you calm down? Look at it out there!"

Selena was still looking outside when she spoke. "It actually looks...it looks quite calm out there."

Michael snickered nervously, hearing Selena mock David with his own words even though she probably didn't intend to. He remained rocking back and forth on the couch.

Wilfred rose from the couch and stood next to Selena; so close he was leaning against her. Selena let him, knowing how much fear was in the room.

"What's so funny?" David challenged Michael.

Michael said nothing and rocked back and forth.

"It actually looks...almost the same," Selena said, her nose pressed against the glass.

Wilfred nodded and pointed. "That tree right there...it's smaller than yesterday."

Selena looked at where he was pointing.

"Do you two even hear what I'm saying?" David was getting angry again.

"... And over there...that's where that small cherry tree used to be," Wilfred said.

"Uh huh," Selena replied.

Selena pointed to the house across the street. "See the trim on the house."

"Green yesterday," was Wilfred's reply.

"We gotta do something Selena...Wilfred?" David clenched his fist and paced back and forth in the foyer.

Michael lifted his head. "And what is it you think we should do?" he asked calmly looking at David.

"It actually looks the same out there...just different ...maybe like the plants are younger," Selena remarked.

"But the paints changed, and look... the fence over there is gone."

"Okay but..."

"Would you two stop and listen for one fucking minute!" David was agitated again.

"No!" Michael shouted standing up in only his boxers. "Just shut up David! Just shut up!"

David ran over and stood in front of Michael clenching and unclenching his fists, his face just inches away from Michael's. "You just make me lover boy!"

Michael reached up and shoved David away hard with both hands. David went reeling backwards one step and crashed over the back of the couch.

"Michael, David!" Selena yelled. She and Wilfred rushed towards Michael and David. David scrambled back to his feet and lunged himself at Michael, the two of them falling backwards onto the floor.

"You little son of a bitch," David screamed.

"Fuck off prick!" Michael grabbed on to David's left wrist trying to fend off David's blows.

David was trying to punch Michael with his right hand but Michael was blocking with his own, while trying to spin David off him with his legs.

Wilfred reached in and peeled David off Michael and turned him around. He slowly carried David by the neck and pinned him against the wall. "I want you to stop this right now," he said not letting go or loosening up on his grip on David.

Selena had rushed over to Michael and was helping him up off the floor. His bare back had scrapes from landing hard on the hard wood floor. Selena began to examine Michael up and down for damage. Michael brushed her off and quickly moved up behind Wilfred.

David's eyes were in battle with Wilfred's as Wilfred spoke. "I know you're a wee bit upset right now, but we all are...and I am telling you right now ...and you too Michael, that we need to calm down." He held his grip on David.

Michael stood behind Wilfred, his hands clenching and unclenching.

"Michael! Go sit back down!" Wilfred shouted while still staring at David.

Michael didn't move.

"Michael," Selena repeated from somewhere behind him.

"Go sit down Michael," Wilfred's voice now a little softer.

Selena called Michael again and he relented, slowly moving away next to Selena.

"Now...if I let you go, are you going to put what just happened behind you?"

David hesitated for a moment, still staring angrily into Wilfred's eyes. He then nodded very slowly, eyes wide open and pissed off.

"I mean it ...when I let you go, I want you to go sit down on the couch, and I don't want you or Michael to start anything."

David gave Wilfred a beaten nod.

Wilfred slowly released his grip on David. David fixed his ruffled collar as he made his way to the couch. Wilfred followed David, and shook his head stoically at the other three. He rubbed his whiskers with his hand and stared outside.

"I'm only gonna say this once to all of you...and I really mean it." He paused, continuing to rub his beard.

"I woke up to a hell of a shock this morning and I don't think I'm over it just yet. I'm sorry if I was rough on you David but...but we've all been friends for too long." He paused and looked at each one of them. "I really don't think any one of us is happy with what we see out there right now." Wilfred pointed outside.

"We need to get our stuff together. Every one of us including me. I don't know what's going on, and I know we are all acting a little different just now after seeing what happened last night."

Wilfred walked over to the window and looked out.

"We need to be together...as a team...like we have been, and we can't bicker like this between us, so I'm asking you Michael and David to please, please don't carry this any further than what just happened. And David ...I'm sorry again for...that... stuff just now."

Wilfred looked again at Michael and David. David nodded to Wilfred as if acknowledging what Wilfred had said and apologizing for his behavior at the same time.

"I'm cool," Michael said looking at Wilfred, his face still red from the struggle with David.

Selena moved over to Wilfred again and the two of them studied the changes outside.

"I'm going to get dressed and I'll be back down in a bit," Michael said. He left the others and went directly to his room without glancing back. Selena was glad to see him leave hoping the time away from David would help the both of them to cool off.

"So what do you think?" David asked still sitting on the couch. "...Nuclear war?"

"I'm thinking...that this is not nineteen sixty-six anymore."

"Huh?" David and Selena said at the same time.

"I think we went back a few years in time. Look at the trees and the fence and everything else. Nothing gone or anything, everything is just younger or newer."

David raised himself from the couch holding his left elbow with his right hand. He'd slammed it hard on the floor when he flipped backward over the couch. He moved to the window and studied the outside with Wilfred's suggestion in mind.

"Hmmm..." He stared and took in as much as his eyes dared and then turned back toward Wilfred. "I think you may be right." He studied the foliage with his eyes.

"How is that possible?" Selena asked.

"Doesn't matter," David said. "It happened."

Wilfred went back out onto the porch and David followed. Selena watched the two of them and decided she was not quite ready to step outside. She slowly made her way back upstairs and towards her room. Michael's door was cracked open as she neared. She thought about maybe going in to talk to him for a moment but she wasn't sure if she had anything to say. She paused momentarily in front of his door and heard no sounds from the other side. She decided against talking to him for the moment, thinking maybe a quick shower would help clear her mind.

When Selena finally finished her shower and was all dressed, she headed downstairs and could immediately smell the fresh odor of bacon. In the kitchen David was in his usual spot in front of the stove and Wilfred and Michael were both seated at the table drinking coffee. This scene pleased her as the confrontation of earlier seems to have been put agreeably in some dark cupboard and this seemed like any other Saturday morning over the past year for the moment, if you didn't look outside.

"Mornin," Wilfred said, the color having returned to his face.

"Hi sweetie," Michael said.

"Hiya." She grabbed a mug and filled her cup with her usual dosage of caffeine and sat down next to Michael.

"Did you guys come up with any ideas?"

"Oh ya," Wilfred laughed as he looked at the others.

"Let's hear some."

Wilfred shuffled in his seat. "Well, the biggest concern I see when I look outside, is I never seen anyone yet." He glanced quickly at the others looking for a reaction.

"No one?" Selena asked. An unsettled look developed on her face.

"Ya... no one... and it's what? After ten on a Saturday morning?" Wilfred responded. "That is ...if it's still Saturday."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh huh," Wilfred said.

"I watched too after Wilfred told me this and I haven't seen anyone. Not even a vehicle drove by," Michael added.

Selena was now very concerned, and it showed on her face.

Michael reached over and held on to Selena's hand.

David was letting the grease drain from the bacon and while scrambling up some eggs for everyone.

"Now what really gets me is this. If something did happen and everything went back a few years, how come everything inside the house is the same?" Wilfred asked, picking up yesterday's newspaper.

A quick look around the kitchen confirmed everything was the same. "Maybe then, things outside are still sort of the same, just changed," Selena said not really believing a word of it.

David was still busy with the eggs and spoke up. "No people. Everything is different out there. Nuclear war."

"It's not nuclear war," Wilfred rebutted mostly to David. David said nothing and continued with the eggs.

"Well we've got to figure out what happened out there," Selena said looking back and forth between Michael and David.

"Okay...I think after we eat, someone, or a couple of us should go for a walk and see what else has changed," Wilfred suggested.

David had finished with the eggs and began dishing out the breakfast for everyone. "I'll wait here, if you don't mind."

"There's another thing I was thinking," Wilfred said looking at only Michael and Selena, his eyes avoiding David for the moment.

"What's that?" Michael asked.

"Well, last night, when we all were going to bed, I got to thinking. This whole house has been kind of...well there are a few things that don't quite make sense."

Selena and Michael began eating silently. The thought of what she had mentioned earlier about hiding people up in the attic resurfaced.

"I was noticing that...well...this is going to sound stupid," Wilfred said.

"No...go on," Selena responded. "Nothing is more stupid than what I see outside right now."

"Uh huh," Michael agreed.

"Well, there's been, or is in my opinion, a few things wrong with this house."

Selena and Michael continued to eat while listening.

"Like what?" David asked, sitting down to begin eating his own breakfast.

"Well, I noticed a few weird things. I'm really serious here, so I want you all to let me finish before you say anything or laugh at me." He paused looking at Michael, knowing that if anyone was going to laugh and jibe him, it was usually Michael.

"First off, there has never ever been a piece of silverware missing from this house. You may think I'm weird when I say this, but last night I counted the silverware. There is one complete set of eight for every type and size of spoon fork and knife."

"I don't know about you guys, but I never ever been or grew up in a house that didn't lose a half dozen pieces over a few years. And then there's them plates. They have been here since before I even moved in and not one single dish is broken or missing."

David dropped his fork on to his plate loudly and leaned back in his chair. He looked up catching Wilfred's eyes. "You are not going to start telling me that this house is some haunted freaking house like out of some fucking movie!"

Wilfred stared back hard at him. "I asked you to let me finish before you say anything."

David let out a large sigh and shook his head.

"Please David, just let me finish."

David looked back at Wilfred and they both stared at each other in a silent confrontation.

"David, please. Let Wilfred finish," Selena pleaded. "I'm willing to let him. If you have another idea, we will give you the time to state your piece, but let Wilfred finish."

David looked down, said nothing, picked up his fork and began eating again.

"Okay. Uh...I just wanted to say that I...me...I think that there's more than what we think going on here. I even got to thinking about our success and how we got successful after we all moved in here and not just a couple of us. All of us are getting what we want."

Wilfred stood up and took his plate to the kitchen sink, and turned back to them. He leaned back against the counter. The fear to say what he was going to say was visibly spread across his face.

"Upstairs...last night."

Selena's eyes brightened up and she looked at Michael and back at Wilfred. She knew what was coming.

"The radio. That thingy has something to do with this. You look at those characters that dial in and disappear. What else happened last night? Nothing. Nothing else happened any different last night here except we played with that radio thingy upstairs."

Selena had put her hand over her mouth remembering how the three of them felt last night before coming down from the attic, and she remembered how eerie the radio sounded coming from above the hidden staircase in the closet.

"I think that radio thing ain't no radio thing at all."

"What?" David was looking at Wilfred. "What did you guys do after I left last night?" David was raising his voice.

"Nothing," Selena said.

"You guys began fucking around with that radio thing, didn't you?"

"No," the other three all said now in unison.

David was clearly agitated again looking distrusting at all three of them. His big brother attitude was coming out in droves. "Fuck! I mean...I don't mind making most of the meals for you guys, and I don't mind looking after most of the cleaning and shit... but fuck! I leave you guys alone and you guys fuck with stuff you don't even know anything about!"

"We don't even know if that radio thing has anything to do with this," Selena said looking at David. David looked at Wilfred and David could see Wilfred's eyes believed that the radio did have something to do with it.

"Michael, what do you think?" David said.

"I...I..." Michael stuttered shaking his head saying nothing looking back and forth between Selena and Wilfred.

"Don't know, or won't say," David prodded at Michael.

"David, stop it!" Selena demanded.

"No! I want the little wimp to tell me what he thinks."

Michael paused while momentarily shifting his upper body to look directly at David. "What I think is...I think you should fuck right off. That's what I think." Michael got up from the table and left the room.

"Sure, run away, run away," David said after him. Michael lifted his arm up behind him as he disappeared through the doorway, middle finger extended high.

"You can be such an asshole," Selena said to David, and removed herself from the table and followed after Michael.

Wilfred looked at David thinking if he didn't get David to stop being so provocative, they were never going to act as a group again.

"What?" David asked seeing Wilfred staring at him.

Wilfred put his hand to the side of his face and tilted his head from side to side thinking and looking at David. "If we're going to get through this you're gonna have to stop beating up on everybody."

David said nothing.

"No, really. We gotta figure out what's going on. You seem to think it's a nuclear war. Maybe you're right. Maybe you're not. I am just throwing possibilities out there."

David got up from the table and ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"David. I don't care what anyone thinks, and I'm willing to look at any reason why the outside is screwed up. All I want is to figure this out so we can get back to yesterday before this happened."

David said nothing and walked out of the room.

"Asshole," Wilfred whispered to only himself.

Wilfred gathered all the plates into the sink and began washing the dishes while glancing every once in a while through the kitchen window to the new world beyond.

***

### Chapter 15

Once all tempers had cooled, it was agreed upon by all that two of them should go outside and see what else had changed. David expressed his determination that he would not be the one out there exposing himself to radiation floating around everywhere outside. Michael and Selena agreed to go.

"Remember, if we are not back in an hour..." Selena did not finish the sentence. Michael opened the door and the two of them stepped outside.

Slowly they made their way down the steps of the porch to the street. They stood in the street looking both ways at the bareness of it all. No people, no cars, nothing.

"Listen," Michael said.

"I don't hear anything," Selena replied. She looked up at the crisp blue sky feeling the still air with each breathe.

"That's what I mean. There's not a dog barking. No sound of any cars in the valley. There's no breeze. There's absolutely nothing making a noise out here except us. It's like civilization has vanished from the planet!"

Selena grabbed Michael's hand and they both listened to the silence. No hum of cars in the distance. No birds. No breeze. He was right. Absolute total silence.

They began walking down the street they'd walked hundreds of times over the past few years. Cautiously they walked amid the silence, first pointing at the missing fence next door, and then the house two doors down that was smaller now because the addition to the house did not yet exist.

There were things to see with every step that had changed. The color of the sidewalk was brighter. The color of the road had deepened.

They continued to walk, and every fifty yards or so Selena would glance back over her shoulder as if expecting to see some silent person moving, or muted dog running across the street. She saw nothing except the photographic stillness of Founders Road. Even the leaves on the trees stood fast with no wind to guide them.

They headed west on Founders Road in the direction of the main entrance to the University a few blocks down. They were only a few houses down when Selena did hear something for the first time. It was a quiet but very discreet snap. She grabbed with both hands on to Michael yanking him to a dead stop.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"That snap. Like a crack."

They both stood there motionless listening.

"I don't hear anything," Michael said.

"I'm sure I heard something." The two of them began to walk forward again.

This time both Michael and Selena heard the sound and stopped. It was a multiple of snaps. The snaps were quiet and small, similar to the static shocks on a cold winter's day.

Neither Michael nor Selena said anything as they were too attuned to hear in what direction the snaps were coming from. They waited, listening from where they stood, but there were no more snaps to hear.

Slowly they began to move again and instantly the snaps returned more frequent and numerous. The sounds were coming from all around them, but stopped the moment they stopped.

Michael lifted his arm and waved it in front of him as if he was a traffic director directing traffic on through a busy intersection. As his arm moved through the air a few more distinctive snaps crackled around them.

"I don't like this," Selena said and held on tight to Michael. "Let's go back."

Michael nodded and they immediately began to back step. As they retreated the snaps re-emerged but ceased after they had taken no more than just a few paces back towards the house.

"Wait!" Michael said letting go of Selena. "Stay here for a sec."

Selena watched as Michael turned back and headed back up the street. Immediately the snapping started again. As Michael continued forward the snaps continued to get louder and louder. "I don't know what they are, but I don't think it's harmful." He waved her toward him.

Selena quickly moved up next to Michael. The snaps continued as she neared him and increased steadily until she had stopped and grabbed on to Michael's arm.

"I think this is part of what's wrong out here. Like this is maybe some type of barrier or wall. I just want to check it out a bit more." They moved on, Selena holding tight to Michael's arm as the snaps increased even more.

"Michael!" Selena yelled softly. "Listen."

Michael heard it too. "It's a bird. That sounded like a bird!" Michael moved forward again leaving Selena where she was. Michael was excited by the possibility of birds and noises and almost broke into a run. There were noises out here. As Selena followed Michael she could now hear the definite twitter of birds, and the faint sound of a motorcar.

Selena quickened her pace. "Michael!" Selena yelled grabbing his arm forcefully as she was having a hard time keeping up.

"Wha...?" Michael responded immediately, stopped and looked down. He was suddenly concerned about his shirt. His shirt had just ripped apart when Selena grabbed him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't grab you that hard."

"I know, I know." Michael pulled at his shirt. He was dumbfounded. He could pull the fabric apart, not only on the sleeve Selena had grabbed hold of, but everywhere. He grabbed the front of his shirt and it separated with no effort. He reached down and grabbed his pants, and tugged sideways. The fabric almost dissolved in his hands.

Michael looked at Selena with a "What gives" look on his face.

Selena had been watching him and she now pulled at her own clothing. It too separated in to strips like a wet paper towel.

Michael looked forward and could swear he was catching glimpses of movement up a head.

Michael ignored the deteriorating clothing and began walking forward a few more steps. The crackling increased everywhere with each step once again.

"Michael!"

Michael stopped and he knew even before he looked down that his pants were almost dissolving before his eyes with each step. Michael pointed forward. "...but I can see people!" he said excitedly. He looked at his clothing then back at the shapes up ahead. He looked at Selena. Michael moved on toward the sounds again. The crackling around Michael was now intense with every step he took.

"Michael, come back!" Selena shouted over the snaps, staying where she was. As Michael moved slowly towards the sounds ahead, the collar of his shirt fell off and drifted lazily to the ground. Only a few steps later, one of his pant legs let go at the crotch and slid down his leg. He reached down and pulled the fallen pant leg off his foot and dropped it on the ground. Up ahead he could see the houses, and trees and everything else very clearly, but the people, and cars? They seemed to be...faded? Michael squinted to see more clearly. Blurred was probably more accurate. He looked back at Selena behind him and she had a slight fuzziness about her from where he stood. He looked back up the street once more. He knew he'd be naked before he ever got near them and slowly headed back toward Selena through the crackling and snapping. The image of Selena returned to normal and as he glanced back up the street, the images of the people and activity had faded away.

The two of them returned back to the house, clothes in tatters. The sole of Michael's shoe was flapping away with each step, but at least they had something promising to tell the others.

***

Wilfred had been looking out the front window for any sign of Michael or Selena, when the two suddenly appeared in view previously blocked by the shrubbery and trees next door.

"Here they come!" Wilfred shouted to David who was in the kitchen. David came running over to the front window.

"What the hell happened to them?" David said watching them come up the sidewalk only one house away.

"Looks like they ran into some trouble," referring to the tattered clothes.

"No kiddin. Looks like there must be others out there."

David and Wilfred stepped quickly out on to the porch to meet Michael and Selena.

"What the hell happened, Michael? You look like hell."

Michael quickly explained what they had seen. There appeared to be some kind of wall or barrier out there. As they walked into this barrier, they were quickly enveloped by popping and snapping sounds. The further they went into the barrier wall, the louder the snapping and popping became. The clothes they wore began to dissolve away and sounds began to emerge the deeper they went into the wall of snapping and crackling. Michael had ventured so deep he began to see movement of people and cars further down the street.

***

"...So how I see it," Michael began, "is that the real world is still there, but we've been trapped in a little warp or something that seems to be maybe centered on this house. We'd need to begin thinking in another direction to confirm this."

Wilfred was sitting at the table, leaning back with his hands behind his head, trying to understand the whole picture. "That would bring us back to the radio thing."

"Thingy," Michael said and snickered. Selena gave him a disgusted look for this bad joke that just wasn't funny right now.

"So what do we do? Wrap a towel around us and run down the street until our clothes fall off underneath?" David asked.

"We could try that, but I bet the towel would dissolve too." Michael grabbed the shirt he'd been wearing when he and Selena had ventured down the street, from on top of the kitchen table, and pulled lightly at it and studied the strands as he listened to the others talk. He and Selena had changed since returning to the house, and set the clothes out for everyone to examine.

"Is there something that wouldn't dissolve?" Wilfred wondered aloud.

"We'd have to try piece by piece," Selena answered.

"Well what other choice do we have?"

"We could run to the other side naked," Wilfred replied sarcastically.

Selena just stared at Wilfred. Michael snickered again, still pulling the strands apart.

"How about, you go first?" Michael said to Wilfred.

"Ho, ho...not me buddy boy...," Wilfred said shaking his head. "You don't, and I bet the people over there don't want to see my willy shaking around. Nooo...way."

"We could go at night," David piped in.

Everyone looked at each other. Michael had stopped playing with the shirt. "That's not a bad idea."

"I don't think we need everyone to go," Selena added. "Maybe just two of us to start."

Michael and Selena looked at David and Wilfred.

Wilfred's eyes opened wide as he saw them all staring at him. "Me. Why me?"

"Not just you. David too...or are you too embarrassed Wilfred?"

"Well...as a matter of fact I, uh...yea I am."

David looked up at Michael and Selena. "I'll go." Michael and Selena glanced at each other, not expecting such an offer from David whom just hours ago wouldn't even dare step outside out of fear of radiation and whatever else was going through David's mind.

Wilfred stood up and backed up against the wall, everyone looking at him. "I...I..."

"Aww c'mon Wilfred," Selena said.

"Ya, Selena and I did the first reconnaissance. It's your turn now. David's said he's okay to go."

"Well you didn't have to go in the nude," Wilfred replied.

Wilfred stared outside as evening began to settle itself down. The thought of exposing himself like this was not something he looked forward to, but if David was willing to go... He really didn't want to appear weak, but this...this was something else.

Wilfred tipped his head to the side and shook his head, resigned. "I guess so, but...can't we at least try the other idea first, with different materials. If we can't get something else to go through, then I'll go...bare...bare butt and all I guess." He ran his hand tersely through his hair and shook his head in denial.

"Okay," Selena said looking outside. "It's going to be dark soon, so we should get started right away."

They gathered up different types of fabrics, from cottons, to polyester, to rayon. They brought rubber raincoats, leather jackets, even leaves from the trees. Wilfred brought a box filled with metal pots, ceramic dishes, and other solid objects.

They all took their turns walking in to the crackling boundary, wearing or holding out different clothing, and each material failed in one way or the other. They would slowly enter the barrier and pull and tug on the fabric with each step, testing its strength. The fabrics disintegrated, the rubber got all gooey and became sticky as it dissolved.

Wilfred really wanted this to work so he didn't have to run nude to the other side, and was hoping at least the pots and pans would work. For a while they did. His own clothes began to disintegrate as he walked into the snapping boundary carrying the pot outstretched in front of him. Bit by bit his clothes began to fall apart, and disintegrate. As the crackling increased to a near deafening mark, the last pieces of his garments disintegrated before his eyes, even before touching the road way. He was all smiles as he held the pot in front of his privates figuring he'd found a way to keep his dignity. Proudly he pushed on deeper into the barrier.

Wilfred had gotten the furthest into the barrier than any of them, and could actually see activity up ahead. He could see the blurred shape of a moving vehicle. Slowly the pot began to heat up.

He had been yelling back to the others about what he was seeing when suddenly, in one step alone the pot he was holding began to heat up so terribly much he could barely hold on. With his hand beginning to burn, he quickly became disillusioned and dashed back to the others holding the pot in front of him, trying to keep the pot from touching and burning him and his private parts especially. His hand was almost blistering as the pot's heat began to share itself with Wilfred's hand as he ran back towards the others. When he finally reached the others, he couldn't stand the pain any more, and simply dropped the pot beside the others and ran naked back to the house. The others all watched and laughed. The initiation for Wilfred to do the midnight run was over.

The remaining three of them followed Wilfred back to the house and changed into another set of fresh clothing each. Michael and Selena prepared supper and the four of them discussed the plan.

It was decided that they would wait until one o'clock in the morning to begin. David and Wilfred were to go through the barrier. They would of course be totally naked when they reached the other side. They would try to quickly scout out some clothing or coverings. If they found some, they were to venture further down into town center, to look for some life or activity, some people, anything. They expected that they probably could not bring anything back through the barrier, from the other side, so they would need to be very observant in what they saw. The big questions, was to determine if the same thing happen to the world outside the barrier, or was this transference of the outside world just isolated around the house.

***

They set out after midnight, two of them dressed wearing the shabbiest clothes they could find. Once they hit the barrier, these clothes would dissolve into tatters and they wanted to keep their good clothes as long as possible.

They headed the other direction from the house this time, turning left out the front door towards the town center, presumably the barrier surrounded the house like a sphere and they'd only have to walk a few hundred feet in any direction to reach the barrier. Founders Road was a U-shaped road. The west end connected to Center Ave at the entrance to the university. The east end of Founders Road connected Center Ave a few blocks from the house, at the edge of the town center.

David walked quickly towards the barrier. The others followed, with Wilfred at the rear behind Michael and Selena.

"C'mon Wilfred, let's move it," David prompted and as expected the first few snaps and crackles began. Michael and Selena stopped well short of where David was standing letting Wilfred move on alone to catch up. Wilfred continued at his own slow pace, his big heavy feet plodding slowly forward.

A few crackles broke the silence as Wilfred slowly stepped up next to David.

Wilfred shrugged his huge shoulders. "I guess here goes." He forced a weak smile, his white teeth showing. He looked at David and David nodded.

Michael and Selena watched quietly as the two began to move forward in step, once again initiating the cracks and pops all over again. Selena grabbed on to Michael's arm and he pulled her in close.

The crackling increased with each step David and Wilfred took. Step by step they moved away from both Michael and Selena. Wilfred looked back at Selena. "See you soon...I hope!" he shouted, but his voice was muffled by the increasing crackling.

She and Michael watched as David said something to Wilfred. Wilfred pointed to something only they could see. The crackling was now constant and filled the night air. David pointed as well where Wilfred had been pointing.

Michael snickered nervously as he watched Wilfred try to hold up his pants. As he pulled up on the sides, the pant legs simply separated at the crotch, leaving him standing with his shirt loosely falling apart and his underwear slowly dropping away in strips.

David casually brushed his faltering clothing from his skin as if it was dust he was brushing off.

At first Selena didn't know what was happening as the snapping and crackling peaked but Wilfred and David were beginning to look different, fuzzy she thought at first. The snapping and crackling continued as the last pieces of Wilfred's garments fell and floated softly away from his large body. David and Wilfred were now just naked blurs, walking in the black of night under the streetlamps as the crackling and popping noises surrounding them began to weaken.

"They're fading away!" Michael shouted. "Hey...Wilfred! David!"

Selena looked at what remained of Wilfred and David. They had diminished to a mere mirage of washed out color moving ever so slowly in the distance. The crackling had abated to just the occasional pop and crack.

"Wow. I think they're through." Michael squeezed Selena's hand as they stared at the two small smears of color overlaid in front of the rest of the block. Two small smears that seconds later faded away to nothing. David and Wilfred had simply vanished.

"Let's go," Michael said. Selena was still staring down the empty darkened street. "We'll gather up the extra clothes and blankets and then come back and wait for them out here."

Selena nodded.

They headed back to the house neither one really sure what to expect when the two returned...If they returned.

***

### Chapter 16

The snapping and popping was now so intense, Wilfred was not able to hear anything but the buzz around him. He looked up ahead and pointed at what he could see further down the street. He was going to ask David if he saw the same thing, when he could feel his pants began to slide down off his hips. He quickly grasped at the sides of his pants, trying to hold on to his dignity for as long as possible. As he pulled on the sides of the pants, the legs pulled apart at the crotch and one of the pant legs slipped lazily down his leg.

So much for my dignity, Wilfred thought. He glanced over to David to see him very determinedly swatting away at his clothes, pieces flying and falling in all directions. He looked to Wilfred to be quite comfortable with the prospect of being nude in the next few steps. Wilfred certainly wasn't. He let go of the few pieces of pants that remained in his fingers, and kicked his leg, making the piece of pant leg fly off, along with his footwear. His shirt was sliding off his back, and Wilfred brushed the rest from his shoulders helping it fall to the ground.

David was now completely nude as the two continued on forward. Wilfred was still brushing the last pieces from his own body when the crackling began to fade with each step forward.

Wilfred looked back and could barely see Selena and Michael. Their images had faded to colored blotches that seemed to float in the middle of the street. He returned his gaze back forward and in the next few paces, the crackling and popping had stopped completely.

In total, the number of steps from the first to last of the popping could have been no more than twenty paces, but to Wilfred it had seemed much farther.

"So here we are...I guess," David said looking around uneasily.

"Looks the same," Wilfred replied.

"Uh huh."

The two of them looked back down the street towards their house from where they had come. They could actually see the house quite clearly from here in the darkness, but saw no sign of Selena or Michael.

"Where should we go?" Wilfred asked anxiously.

"Umm...how about through there," David said referring to the houses on the left that would provide more cover for them, with its hedges and trees.

"Okay." Wilfred began running barefoot and naked from the center of the street to the bushes in behind a brown two-story house. David followed, glancing both ways up and down the darkness of the street.

"Ouch...damn it," David said.

"What?" whispered Wilfred, now hunched down in behind a shrub. David crouched down next to him.

"Oh, I stepped on a freaking rock...and it hurts something bad." He bent down and looked at the bottom of his left foot. It looked fine, no cut, but still hurt bad.

"We need to find some clothes," Wilfred said.

"I know. And some shoes."

"Where?" Wilfred looked up and down the street into the backyard behind where he was hiding.

"Don't know." David was also looking up and down the street.

"Well at least there's no one out here.

David shuffled over to the next bush waving Wilfred to follow. They edged their way down the block moving from shrub to shrub, and then behind a tree, next along a fence line staying in the shadows as much as possible.

"Where are we going?" Wilfred whispered.

"Town."

"Town?" Wilfred was rubbing his thigh. He had scratched himself on the last shrub trying to keep up to David.

"Ya...I got an idea," David said looking across the street to another six foot high row of shrubbery.

Wilfred turned to see where David was looking. The hedges so far had been carriganas and cotoneasters, but those ones were different.

"What?"

"We go through those shrubs there." David pointed across the street, "... follow that house back behind. That'll take us to the alley that connects to the backside of Main Street. That's where the clothing store downtown is."

Wilfred watched David glance side to side and then hobble quickly across the street to the other side. Once he was across he dove quickly through the thick hedge and disappeared from view. Wilfred scanned left and right up and down the darkened street and quickly rushed across while shaking his head from side-to-side.

Wilfred was much bigger than the lean frame of David and as he neared the hedges he realized what they were, rose bushes. Wilfred stopped sharply in front of the hedge at the spot where David had passed through and decided suddenly that he was not going to rush through that small opening. Not with his naked body exposed to every thorn that hedge wanted to reach at him.

Wilfred looked to the left and right for another option.

"Wilfred, come on," David whispered from the other side.

"No," Wilfred replied.

"Wilfred, c'mon, we gotta move," David whispered louder this time.

"I ain't goin' through there." David could see Wilfred's bare frame moving a few feet up one way along the hedge and then down the other way down the hedge.

"Wilfred! Let's go...c'mon...now!"

"I'm not going through that small space. I'm...a lot bigger than you." Wilfred continued pacing up and down the long hedge. He looked up to the end of the hedge and saw it ended at a high fence on the west side. He'd never be able to climb over that. He paced a few steps back the other direction.

"Wilfred!...We haven't got all day."

"I ain't getting my parts caught on any rose bush."

"God damn it! Get over here or I'm leaving without you."

Wilfred searched frantically back and forth for a larger opening. He certainly didn't want to be left alone out here.

As he hesitated on what to do, he heard a familiar sound and glanced up the street towards town center. Instantly Wilfred recognized that sound and the glow of headlights bounced off the houses and trees up around the curve as a car was coming towards him.

Wilfred panicked. The car hadn't yet rounded the corner and Wilfred wasn't going to wait for it to light up his rear end. With a sudden crash and snapping of branches, Wilfred jumped head first through the hedge, crashing himself and numerous branches right on top of David.

"Oomph!" Wilfred guttered as he landed on top of David, thorny branches caught between them.

"Oh...oww...oww... Jesus fuck!" David exclaimed trying to push Wilfred off him.

"Ow...oops...ow..." Wilfred mumbled trying to get himself off of David.

"Get...off me!" David yelled rolling Wilfred off him.

"Ouch! Ow, ow, ow," Wilfred replied, a thorn branch was buried in his back.

"What the fuck were you..." David hunched down as the car passed by on the other side of the hedge. "Oh," David said trying to steal what he could of the car through the hedge as it disappeared up the street.

Wilfred had picked himself of the ground and was checking his body over.

"Jeez. I got scrapes everywhere. Look at this," he said referring to deep scratches running down the sides of both arm and across one of his thighs.

"Well at least no one saw you."

"Ow, ow, ow," Wilfred repeated as he pulled out a few more thorns.

"You're lucky you didn't get thorns...you know where."

Wilfred stared at David, still checking himself for scratches and thorns. Wilfred reached his hand down between his legs. He smiled at David and grinned, "No damage there."

David rolled his eyes, and brushed the last of the dirt from his body. "Let's keep moving."

"At least we know there's people here...that's a good sign," Wilfred responded.

David began to work his way from the hedge towards the back lane. Wilfred followed close behind. "Did you see what kind of car it was?"

"No, why?"

"Just curious."

When they reached the back of the house, Wilfred could see where it was David wanted to go. If they followed this alley behind this house down to the left, they would come across another alleyway that intersects this one. That would take them across to Centre Ave and to the backside of Main Street.

Wilfred let David figure out the route. He watched David and looked at David's naked body and then back at his big belly hanging out in front. He had never realized that David was in such physically good shape. He was hoping that David wasn't going to make him do some other acrobatic maneuver like the hedge. Enough was enough. But David quickly moved from the edge of the house, dashing across the back yard to the other side of the picket fence along the alley. Wilfred watched as David didn't really just move to the fence and climb over it to the other side, David seem to sprint toward the fence and in one motion placed one hand on top of one of the pickets, and jumped gracefully to the other side, ducking and disappearing from view.

Wilfred shook his head. "Like I'm gonna even try to do that," he whispered to himself.

Wilfred could see David's squatting body faintly on the other side of the fence. He looked up and down and picked his own path to the alley. He went not towards David, but he strolled the other way towards the house, then strolled right down the middle of the back yard following the sidewalk to the picket gate at the back alley. He stopped at the gate, lifted the hook, opened it and stepped outside just as proper as anyone would in midday fully clothed. He continued past the gate, being careful to close the gate and re-latch the hook before ducking down below the top of the fence.

"What the fuck was that?" David asked.

"I'm here aren't I?" Wilfred answered. David shook his head.

David crept down the alley being careful to stay low. Wilfred followed. Slowly the two of them moved down to the intersecting alley and followed this lane to its end and stopped. They had reached Center Ave. Town centre was just across this main road.

"Okay Wilfred. Shannon's Clothing should be three doors down on the left side once we cross Center Ave." He pointed down the dark alley across from them on the other side of Centre Ave.

"You sure?"

"Yes. I just bought some slacks there two weeks ago." David looked up and down Centre Ave in both directions. Center Ave was dead quiet like all the streets.

Wilfred followed David's gaze and also looked for any sign of people. "So what are we going to do...break into the place?"

"You got it."

Wilfred rubbed his beard with his hand. He didn't like doing this kind of stuff. Standing out here in the darkness stark naked is bad enough, but breaking in to a place. Wilfred looked around for another option. What was another option? He couldn't think of one.

Wilfred let out a sigh. "Let's get this over with then."

"C'mon," David said and quickly raced hunched over across Centre Ave and into the other alley. Wilfred did the same, hunched over and all.

Wilfred felt more relaxed now that they were at least a bit away from the residential area. This was the business area. There shouldn't be anybody around here at this time of the night.

David walked ahead, and counted the doorways in the back of the businesses.

"Here it is," he said stopping at the third business.

Wilfred glanced up and down the alley.

David pulled at the door and nothing happened. "Locked" he whispered.

Like it's gonna be unlocked in the middle of the night Wilfred thought. Break in, that's what you said David.

David was already rummaging around in and around the garbage bins for anything he could find.

Wilfred studied the back of the building. It didn't look like the back of a clothing store, but when had he ever been in the back alley of any store. The back door was on the left of the building, and with the exception of two windows on the second floor, there was no other way in from here.

Wilfred decided he'd better help David look for something, so he began to scrounge around.

David had found a section of a broken two by four and was now standing in front of the door trying to find a way to use it to gain entry.

Wilfred looked inside a small garbage bin set alongside the building. Inside were many boxes, and packages, all opened and empty. He quickly studied the boxes, trying to see if they would give a clue of what other kind of garbage might be buried underneath this stuff.

David began prying on the door lock with the two by four, but couldn't get any leverage. "I need something smaller...maybe made of metal."

"I'm looking," Wilfred replied. He'd picked up a box that had Redding's Hair Salon as the ship to address. He looked at it for a second and grabbed a few other empty packages. Another box once containing a germicide was also addressed to Redding's Hair Salon. Wilfred looked back at the building to be sure the bin he was looking at was for the building behind him. It was.

"David," he whispered, "Are you sure this is the right building?"

"Huh...uh why?" David now took to hammering the doorknob with the two by four.

"It's just that the boxes..." Wilfred paused as David began beating with full force on the doorknob and the door with the piece of wood.

David wasn't really listening and began beating fiercer and fiercer.

Wilfred looked back in the bin and grabbed another box looking for a label. Bang! Bang! Bang! David continued to work on the door.

"Jesus you're noisy," Wilfred said to David. David ignored him now becoming pissed at the door for not giving up.

Wilfred grabbed another box, this one a small one for cutter blades. It too was addressed to Redding's Hair Salon. He looked back in the dumpster for more.

David continued to beat on the door. A dog nearby began to bark, but David took no notice.

"David, you got to stop making so much noise," Wilfred said to him.

"I think I almost got it." David continued to drum away.

Wilfred saw a newspaper at the bottom of the dumpster. He reached down and grabbed it. He pulled it out and began reading the headline "Mayor calls for more funding." He briefly scanned the article and recognized none of the names. He flipped the pages looking for something familiar but it seemed to him everything was different. He struggled in the darkness to make out some of the words. The mayor wasn't even the same. What was going on?

"Just a few more hits," David said. Bang, bang, bang. Another dog had started barking elsewhere and Wilfred looked around nervously. He was quite sure they were attracting attention and soon someone would come over to check out David's banging. He glanced down the alley to the houses beyond and watched as a light went on in a house that was dark a moment ago. In the window that was aglow, a silhouette suddenly appeared.

Wilfred new it was too late as David continued to bang away.

Wilfred looked at the paper again puzzled. It was much too dark to make out the print clearly. He lifted the paper up, trying to catch the light from the distant streetlights. "New wing proposed at Bluffington University" read one headline. "Pastor Jennings continues his push for ban on new music" was another. "Stolen WWII Nazi treasures possibly linked to Bluffington University." Who are these people, Wilfred thought. He flipped through to the advertisements. He was just looking at the want ads, and noticed an auto dealership ad when he first heard the sound of a siren in the distance.

Wilfred had been looking at the ad for a car dealership advertising the new 1955 Ford Fairlane as the sound of the siren slowly started to grow, but Wilfred couldn't stop reading. This ad meant the town was in the fifties.

Bang! "Yes!" David shouted, obviously having been successful.

"Wilfred, quick, c'mon."

The sound of the siren increased and sounded no more than a few blocks away as it split the night air.

"Quickly, quickly!"

David rushed inside. Wilfred was right behind him when David suddenly stopped just a few feet inside the door. Wilfred didn't see him stop, and ran right into him knocking David to the floor.

"Sorry," Wilfred said.

"Aw...Jesus fuck!" David said picking himself up once again.

The siren grew louder and louder.

"What is it?" Wilfred asked

"This is the wrong place! It's the wrong place! This isn't the clothing store! Let's get out of here!"

Wilfred dropped the paper and bolted out the back. David followed not far behind as the siren's wail grew louder. The flashing red light of the police car beamed down the alleyway towards them and beyond as the police car entered from the far end of the alley.

David and Wilfred ran. As fast they could they ran; bare feet crushing against the rocks. The sharp edges sometimes dug into the flesh of their feet causing David or Wilfred to almost buckle under the pain. They were too scared to worry about pain. The police car's engine revved up as the two of them were spotted scooting across Center Ave. David and Wilfred continued to run and Wilfred could hear the distinct sound of gravel being tossed into the air by the police car's wheels as they raced from the one alley into the other. David quickly caught up with Wilfred and raced past him.

Faster they ran. Lights began to turn on in a number of houses. More dogs began to bark, and still the siren increased.

Wilfred had no idea where he was running to. He was just following David. David was running to the only place he knew to run back to; the house on Founders Road.

The police car sped towards them down the first alley behind the store and was entering the second alley. Wilfred writhed as his and David's stretched naked silhouettes were flashed in front of him down the alleyway by the headlights of the police car.

The police car had come upon them in seconds. Wilfred followed David as he suddenly turned from the alley and cut through one of the backyards to cross back on to Founders Road. The police car decelerated to a sliding stop and two officers emerged continuing the chase on foot. Wilfred knew he couldn't outrun the police on foot. Wilfred's feet were sore from the rocks. His body still hurt from the pain of the thorn bush and he just wasn't used to running.

David was now well ahead of Wilfred and was already through the yard and on to Founders Road when Wilfred rounded from the back to the side of the house. Wilfred's anxiety began to rise. David had now made his way on to Founders Road and continued left up the sidewalk far ahead of Wilfred.

The police were now calling Wilfred to stop. Did they say stop or I'll shoot? Wilfred wasn't sure, and he didn't care. He ran as hard as he could across the freshly cut grass of the front yard through the gate at the front, and turned following David up Founders Road. Wilfred stole another glance behind him. The police had not given up the chase and had their flashlights drawn. The beam caught Wilfred's naked body just as he looked up ahead to see David and the house not far ahead of him.

"Stop!" the police yelled.

Wilfred was getting exhausted. He'd never run this far in years, and he knew he certainly was not going to make it back to the house on Founders Road before they would catch him.

"Stop!...You there!...Stop! The police were only twenty feet behind him. Wilfred could hear the leather soles of their shoes slapping the bare pavement in sharp contrast to his own bare feet.

Wilfred continued his watch on David as he continued his own run back toward the house. David was a good fifty feet ahead of Wilfred. Wilfred huffed and puffed and was getting dizzy from the running. His feet hurt. He didn't need to look back to know the police were now less than ten feet behind him. The beams of their flashlights bounced ahead of him as he ran with his own dark shadow leading the way. He wanted to yell at David to wait. He could feel his buttocks shaking with each step he put forth as he tried desperately to catch up to David but he knew it was impossible. Sweat was beginning to run down his face and into his eyes and David was starting to become a blur.

Wilfred ran as hard as he could. The officer was reaching an outstretched arm towards Wilfred when the crackling and popping sounds he'd heard earlier began to return.

Up ahead, David remained a colored blur.

Wilfred could feel the touch of the officer's fingers slide down his back. Wilfred was glad for the first time tonight that he had no clothing as the officer's hand could not grab hold.

As Wilfred ran a few more steps the cracking and popping sounds grew at an alarming rate.

The officer again tried to grab Wilfred. Wilfred made it only another few steps when the officer succeeded in finally grabbing firmly on to Wilfred's arm. Wilfred began to stumble and staggered with each step forward as he tried desperately to pull away from the officer. The crackling sounds rose all around him. Wilfred stared briefly at the officer as the officer commanded Wilfred to stop once more while still holding on strong to Wilfred's arm. Wilfred couldn't hear him over the popping and crackling.

Wilfred struggled to get away from the officer. His momentum carried him forward another few steps and suddenly Wilfred felt the officer's grip begin to lessen and fade. He turned to the officer to see why, and saw an expression of shock and confusion spread across the officer's face. He couldn't help but stare at the police officer as the officer's expression turned from one of stunned shock to that of horror and fear. The officer was still moving with his arm stretched out and was staring disbelievingly at his own hand that had seconds ago closed right through Wilfred's arm eventually grabbing on to nothing. The officer began to stumble and fell towards the ground. Wilfred finished his own stumble the next few feet trying not to fall down Wilfred watched over his shoulder as the blurred image of the officer falling to the pavement eventually faded away to nothing.

As quickly as the officer faded away, the cracking and popping stopped. Wilfred spun around to find himself once again surrounded by the silence of earlier and his friends. David was bent over trying to catch his breath and Selena and Michael were standing in curious wonder.

Quickly Selena rushed first over to David and threw one of the blankets she had carried out earlier over David's back. David remained bent over, almost puking from running so hard.

Selena opened the second blanket and Wilfred quickly wrapped the blanket around himself.

"What happened?" Selena asked Wilfred. Selena could see the cuts and scrapes, and the dried blood that had dripped down his leg. She was horrified and scared at what lay beyond the barrier.

Wilfred lifted his hand up, signaling he needed a moment to catch a breath before he could speak.

"David... what was chasing the two of you?"

David looked up at both Selena and Michael, still bent over forward. "The police," he said quietly.

Selena saw Wilfred nodding in agreement.

"I wonder why?" Michael said smartly.

"No..." Wilfred began to say, then reconsidered thinking of his naked body under the blanket, "...I guess ya ...your right." He laughed briefly and smiled at the two of them so happy to be re-united.

"What happened?" Selena asked again. "Tell us what happened. Where did you go?"

"Go?" Wilfred puffed out.

"Yes...Go. The two of you fizzled away to nothing."

"We went to another dimension, where everything is changed..." David began to say.

Wilfred looked over at him. "No...David. That's not it." Wilfred shook his head, and now tried to straighten up, but he couldn't quite yet.

"Oh yes," David insisted. "We...we tried to get clothes from the downtown store but, it ended up not being there. It seems everything is all different over there."

Wilfred was shaking his head side to side. "Nothing different over there than here..." He still had difficulty breathing.

"Huh?" Michael was confused.

"It's the same...same time...same place..." Wilfred finished.

David cut in "No...Wilfred...you saw the store...you saw it wasn't there anymore."

"Ya, I seen," Wilfred said. "But what I seen is the same as here. No difference." David shook his head in dispute, but Wilfred nodded back looking at him. "When you ran back here just now, didn't the street look exactly like it does now except for Michael and Selena?"

David looked quickly around the dark street. "It does look the same...but..."

"It's the same over there in town, just like when we woke up this morning. It's a different time." Wilfred pointed down to the city center. "That barrier right there that we ran through is exactly that. I was being chased by a policeman...did any of you see him?"

"Just when we were running out to this street... after that I never looked back," David said. The others shook their head.

"Well that policeman had a hold of me just as I hit the barrier. He caught me and grabbed my arm, and from the look on his face as he disappeared, I think I dissolved away right from under his grasp."

"Really," David said condescending like.

"Ya, really. You ran off ahead, leaving me by myself." David said nothing.

"If that policeman had caught me ten feet back, I'd be shivering my nuts off in some cold concrete cell right now."

Selena looked at Michael trying not to giggle over what Wilfred had said. The image of Wilfred caught by the police, alone in a cell in downtown Bluffington struck her as funny. She didn't know why.

"Then it is the house. The radio...the whole thing...its real?"

"Felt pretty fucking real to me," David replied exposing the thorn scratches on his left arm.

"Everything over here is the same. This side of the barrier and the other side of the barrier. Once you step outside the house that is," Wilfred said.

The four of them headed back to the house. It was after two in the morning now, and they hadn't really accomplished much today. They discussed the possibilities for another hour and agreed to sleep in until ten. They would get into the details after that.

***

Michael took Selena aside after the others went to their own room and hugged her tightly.

"Selena, I don't want to lose you." Michael looked deep into her eyes.

"Why Michael. What's got you so worried right now?"

"Well, I just...things are really strange right now. Wilfred and David came back with deep cuts and scratches all over. It just sort of makes the danger more real."

Selena hugged Michael tighter. She felt it too. There was a danger out there beyond the barrier and maybe it was just the danger of the unknown. It seemed to her that as long as they stayed inside the barrier they were safe.

"You know, I think it's our turn again next."

"I know," Michael replied. He knew what she was talking about. David and Wilfred went last through the barrier. Their turn was next.

"Whatever happens tomorrow...is...well, it's okay. I mean, if something happens to me Michael. I want you to..." but she didn't finish the sentence.

Michael knew what Selena was saying. "No Selena. Nothing is going to happen out there tomorrow. I don't want you talking like that. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you." He kissed her gently on the lips.

"Michael...I..."

"Shhhh..." he interrupted. He put his finger on her lips gently prompting her to say no more.

Selena looked at him long and carefully. Michael had a serious determined look in his eye. She wasn't sure what it was, but it did ease her concern for the safety of both of them. Michael could be goofy most of the time, but he also had his moments. She was glad to see him like this tonight.

Michael kissed her one more time and said goodnight and moved away down the hall to his room. Selena watched him and a deep pain went through her chest as she thought of the possibility of losing him. It was a pain that wouldn't really exist unless something did happen to Michael. Selena turned off the last of the lights and moved through the darkness to her own room. She slept quickly, tired from the day.

The morning came, and Selena was woken by Michael's knock on the door. "Selena, it's time to wake. It's after eleven." Selena tried to wake up. Michael's words returned to her. After eleven? Since when had she ever slept in after eleven? The previous nights activity began to steal its way back in.

"Selena?" Michael called out once again from beyond the closed door.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," she said back sourly just to make him stop.

She lay there on the bed staring up at the ceiling. Slowly the images returned. First the crackling and popping, and finally the amazing emergence of David and Wilfred out of nowhere, running naked like some scared animals. Only when they arrived back in the house did the two of them begin to look more like the friends she had known for so long.

Slowly Selena rose from her sleep, dressed, and washed up before finally made her way downstairs.

The others were all up already. To Selena they all looked exhausted, especially Wilfred. They said nothing to her as she shuffled into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of morning coffee.

She sat at the table near the window and stared out still saying nothing.

David got up and left the room. Selena thought he looked agitated about something. "What's up with David?" she asked quietly.

"Huh? ...Oh...nothing much," Michael replied. "We were just talking earlier about what happened last night. David thinks we are stuck here, but Wilfred is pretty sure about what he saw last night."

Michael sniffed and rubbed his arm under his nose, pushing his glasses back up afterwards. Selena thought he might be catching a cold.

"What's that Wilfred?" Selena asked.

"Hmmn," Wilfred muttered. "Oh...uh...I was saying to the others that last night I saw a few things." Wilfred shifted his large frame in his seat and turned to face Selena.

"I found a newspaper in the trash behind the store we were trying to break into. When I looked at it at first, I didn't get it because the headlines seemed kind of messed up. The mayor was a different person. There was an article about some minister of the church trying to organize a banning of music the young people are listening to. There were other things too."

Selena stopped her stare out the window, gripped her cup in both hands and took a sip of coffee while she turned her attention to Wilfred.

"I turned the paper to the ad section at the back. There was an ad there for a car. The car was a 1955 Ford Fairlane. Next to it was another vehicle ad. It said, We have the new 1955 models here! and advertised a 1955 Chevrolet Belair."

"Nineteen fifty five?" Selena asked.

Wilfred nodded.

Selena looked at Michael who was already looking at her. "Yea...nineteen fifty-five," Michael said nodding.

"Hmm, what does David think?" Selena asked.

"Ha, ha, David?" Wilfred asked accusingly. "David didn't see anything. He didn't see the news paper, and he didn't see the police grab me. He didn't see anything." Wilfred rose from his chair. "David!" he called, but David did not reply.

"So you think this was nineteen fifty-five?" Selena said thinking.

"No, we think this is nineteen fifty-five, and the radio thingy is probably the cause," Michael said pointing up to the attic two floors up.

"Oh?" Selena asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Well everything was normal, until we went upstairs. Umm...we wound up the radio thing, and turned the dial until it played. It played fifties music for Christ's sake Selena...think about it."

"I am, but there's gotta be more to it."

Wilfred was rubbing his beard again with his hand. "I think he's right."

"Thank you Wilfred," Michael replied. "I also think that we entered some kind of time warp when we did this."

"I do too. It seemed that something was strange about the whole house. Remember my story of the silverware and the dishes? Anyway, the attic was hidden away for some reason. We all know it." Wilfred paused on this comment waiting for one of them to deny it but no one did.

"The way I figure, is that if you dial the radio thing and wind it, then you go someplace in time." He looked at the others.

"I already figured that one," Michael said.

"But how does it work?" Selena asked.

"Well...what exactly did we do the other night?" Wilfred asked. "We found the secret staircase and we went up to the attic. While you two were going through the trunks full of clothes, David and I were looking at the clock. We wound the clock and nothing happened. Until...until we turned the dial and all of the little windows filled in."

"Uh huh," Selena thought carefully, remembering the characters in the windows. They were not anything she had seen before. Some had resembled oriental words, and others seem to look like hieroglyphics. One symbol was a simple elongated triangle on its side with a small oval at the point.

"We went to bed and the next day everything was all upside down." Wilfred was finished. He looked at the others, trying to sense if they had more to add.

Selena leaned forward, placed her cup down on the table. "Not upside down Wilfred. More like...folded backwards. Why is everything inside the house the same? I mean the same as it was before we went back in time or where ever we are."

"I dunno," Wilfred answered.

"If we can see through the barrier to the other side, and see the buildings and the trees, why can't we see the other people there?" Selena asked.

"Dunno," Wilfred said again.

"...And why is everything once we step outside the house the same, if it's on this side or the other side of the barrier? There's something we're missing about the whole thing."

"Maybe we don't need to understand it," Michael added.

"I think we need to."

"No...I mean, what if...just what if this was a door way to the past. The room up in the attic... People come from the past and go to the past, come to the future or go to the future. I think the radio is the key to this all."

Selena took another drink of coffee listening to Michael very carefully.

"I think we should go back to the attic," Wilfred said.

Both Michael and Selena nodded.

Selena got up from her seat, and followed Michael and Wilfred out of the room.

"David? We're going back up to the attic." David had removed himself into the studio. "C'mon. We think we know what's going on."

Selena paused while the others made their way up the stairs and down to Michael's room. She listened for David's reply but he gave none.

"David?" Selena called again, and walked down to the studio at the end of the hall. She looked in to the studio, and David was there, sitting at his regular spot with a freshly stretched canvas laid out before him. David had his feet up on one of the other chairs and was leaning back reading his book. David saw Selena poke her head in the room, and he put the book down and stared at the blank sheet. He began to laugh.

"I can't believe it. I came in here an hour and a half ago to paint. Nothing."

Selena stepped all the way in and stood next to David looking at the blank sheet. "It's like writers block."

"Funny," he replied and lifted up his copy of The Lord of the Flies. "That's why I'm reading. Did you ever read this book?"

"No David, I'm not really much of a reader..."

"It's a shame really."

"What is? That I don't read?"

"No." David looked back to his empty canvas, the white sheet looking enormous with all that space just waiting to be filled with so many different colors. "I've read this book twice already, and each time I read it, I seem to notice things I never noticed the time before... Why do I need to read it so many times to really understand it?"

Selena changed the subject. "We are going up to the attic to figure this out. We think we know what happened." She waited for a reply from David but he just sat there smiling and running his thumb up and down the spine of the book.

"Well, come up...please." Selena began to step back out the doorway, when David looked up at her.

"Do you believe in fate?" he asked Selena. "You know...Like there's a reason for everything...Destiny?"

Selena paused at the doorway and looked directly at David, not sure how to answer. "Sometimes, David, Sometimes I do. Why do you ask?"

"It's just...the other night with me and Wilfred."

"Yes."

"Oh, I don't know. It's just a feeling I had when the police were chasing us. Like...after it happened, it's like I remembered that it happened and should have known they were coming before they did, that's all. I just can't shake this feeling."

"Hmmm," was all Selena replied, thinking about what David had just said.

"So you do believe in fate, destiny? Like we're here for a reason?"

Selena hadn't really thought about being back where they are now as destiny, and that it has a purpose for each one of them, but maybe there was something more.

"I guess so."

"Me too." David put down the book he'd been holding and followed Selena out of the room and up to the attic.

***

### Chapter 17

When Selena and David arrived in the attic, Michael and Wilfred were already there discussing the radio with some disagreement

"No it wasn't..." Wilfred was saying.

"You changed it," Michael accused.

"No...I never touched it."

"Then how did it change? All by itself?"

Selena and David quickly absorbed themselves in the conversation. "What are you talking about? What changed?"

Wilfred looked at Michael who still held his accusing glare focused on Wilfred.

"Last night, the radio was set to the fifties when we left. All the windows were full, and now they're not. Wilfred is saying he didn't change them and we don't even know what characters were in the window last night." Michael was raising his voice, very concerned over this issue.

"I don't see the big deal any way," Selena added in.

"I didn't touch anything," Wilfred re-iterated.

"Why not?" Michael asked Selena.

Selena continued "...because if the characters were like a radio, it was tuned to the fifties last night...that wouldn't do us any good anyways, we're already here. We need to find the sixties. Sixties music."

Michael thought about this for a moment. "I guess you're right, but I still think it would maybe help if we knew what symbols were on the radio last night."

Wilfred pushed on the glass front and it sprung open as it did the other night. He looked at Michael to see if Michael noticed that the glass cover was still closed since they were up here last.

Michael watched intensely as Wilfred began turning the dial again. Slowly the symbols began to change again in the windows. Some blanks would fill with an image while others changed to blanks. Wilfred continued turning and the windows continued to change, sometimes only one held an image and other times three or four. Wilfred stopped turning when all nine windows held one of the strange characters each.

Wilfred looked at Selena. "The key," he prompted.

"Oh," Selena replied and began pushing on the bumps of the leaf etched in the woodwork below the radio. Selena worked her fingers over all the bumps, pushing as she did so and suddenly the key and its wooden holder popped out as it had the night before.

Selena grinned in anticipation at Wilfred as Michael watched the two of them. David had pulled up behind the others and was looking at the characters in the tiny windows as if for the first time.

Selena grabbed the key and began winding the radio. Michael and David both shuffled nervously as the clicks and pops of the spring winding could be heard.

Selena kept winding, turn after turn and then slowly pulled out the key.

They all waited.

Slowly the music began to emerge from the radio. Again it was entirely instrumental and the four of them listened trying to identify the melody being sent forth.

Selena was the first to shake her head side to side.

"I don't know that music, try another," Michael said.

"No, wait a sec..." David added.

"You know this stuff?" Wilfred was referring to the runs of clarinets up and down scales, up in a crescendo and increasing in intensity. The clarinets were overlaid with Violins, that criss-crossed in a short staccato style that created urgency in the melody.

David listened a few more seconds and then slowly shook his head.

Wilfred reached up to the dial once more. The present music faded away and Michael removed his glasses momentarily and rubbed his eyes. Wilfred continued to turn the radio dial until nine new characters were present and a different music spewed forward.

"Any idea on this one?" Wilfred asked.

"Well, possibly...early forties maybe?" David replied.

"I think it's old," Michael added.

The music rose like a sad song, the violins pleading the listener for empathy in each passage.

"Reminds me of Eva Braun," Wilfred said.

"Who?" Michael asked curiously.

"Eva Braun was one of Hitler's girlfriends, I think...right? A singer wasn't she?" David said trying to remember some of his history.

"You're correct on one part. But she wasn't a singer," Selena interrupted, now a little proud to be able to use some of her history courses.

"Eva Braun was Hitler's mistress in Germany during the late thirties and early forties." The others were looking at her curiously.

"Hitler met her through a friend who owned a photography studio and immediately began courting her, taking her everywhere. She became famous because of her relationship with Hitler. He married her in 1945 just before the end of the war."

"I ...I'm not sure I want to go back to that time," Michael said.

"Oh, I don't think we'd end up in Germany, Michael," Wilfred said looking at Michael carefully. "I think we ultimately stay here, in Bluffington. Just the years may change."

"Okay I guess," Michael replied but he seemed clearly disturbed of possibly traveling back and accidentally being consumed up by some troubled time in history.

Wilfred tuned the radio once again, while the others waiting patiently.

"Oh please, let's hear some sixties music," Selena implored.

Wilfred kept turning and along came more music, but not the sixties.

Michael could see the hope on Selena's face as the nine windows would fill once more, as Wilfred found a new radio address. He watched as the hope once again was washed away with the waves of the new music that was definitely not sixties music.

David wandered over to the shelving and removed a couple of the trunks to the floor. He opened one up and looked inside. He opened another, and then another. He was on the seventh, when Michael had decided to see what was up with David. Wilfred and Selena could find the station on their own.

"What's up?" he asked David.

"Hmmn? Oh, just checking something," David answered.

"What? Do you have an idea?

"Sort-of." He had opened another trunk and found the trunk full of clothes similar to what they were currently wearing. "Look at this," he said, holding up a pair of new bellbottom jeans.

"Hey those are nice," Michael answered. "What else is in there?"

"Hold on a sec..." David returned the bellbottoms to the trunk and pulled out, a turtle neck sweater, a couple of t-shirts, one with "JFK forever" written on it, another tie-dyed with Flower Power emblazoned across the front.

"This is sixties clothes," Michael said confused.

"Uh huh," David replied. "That's what I was hoping to find."

"What do you mean?" The music in the background had changed back to the fifties as Wilfred had rediscovered the settings from two nights ago.

"Hold it," Michael heard Selena say to Wilfred. "I want to copy those markings down for later."

"Why?" Wilfred questioned back.

"So we can dial in to the same one later. Same symbols should be the same radio frequency. Plus we will be able to tell which stations we've already dialed into."

"I guess so," Wilfred said.

David answered Michael. "I got to thinking today about what you have been saying about this being a portal or something, with a barrier surrounding it. Well if this was true and others have done this, then I am sure they would have gone through what Wilfred and I went through last night."

"Probably," Michael responded.

"If they did, then they too would have gone through the barrier and come up naked, like us, on the other side. I just figured that there must be a way that allows someone to pass easily through the barrier without having to go naked and then break into some place for clothes."

David stood back and spread his arms out to the sides and shook them in the direction of all the trunks. "What do you think that is?" he asked Michael referring to the multiple shelving full of trunks.

Michael looked at the trunks not realizing what David was suggesting. "What? ...The trunks? I don't know."

"It's been right here all the time" David said and then looked around the room. He walked down to the far end and opened yet another trunk.

Michael watched David, concerned about David's sudden enthusiasm.

"Here it is!" he exclaimed. "This one proves it!"

Wilfred and Selena turned and looked to see what it was David had found, but he held nothing in his hands but victory as he raised his clenched fists up high. David did one full spin on the floor, then lowered his arms and grabbed the trunk from the shelving and laid it on the floor. He now had every ones attention.

"I figured it out," he said.

"What?" Wilfred asked curiously.

"How it works." David looked at all the trunks once again. "This room and these trunks full of clothes! It's all part of it!"

David moved down the racking a few paces and opened the trunk before him. The trunk looked like all the others, as it was just another trunk of a slightly different style from the mid to late eighteen hundreds.

"Clothes." David said and pulled out a shirt almost identical to what Wilfred was currently wearing. He held the shirt up against Wilfred for a second before placing it back in the trunk. He pulled pants, shirts, socks, coats, jackets, and a few different pairs of shoes from the trunk.

"There are two more trunks with the stuff as well."

Selena and Wilfred understood immediately.

"My God, this is the wardrobe," Selena said excitedly.

"Wardrobe?" Michael asked.

"Yes. I bet these clothes pass right through that barrier out there."

"And you guys ran around there naked last night." Michael began to laugh looking at Wilfred.

"I think you all understand now, what I mean. These clothes in this trunk are sixties clothes. These trunks have been up here in the attic for years, probably even before these clothes were made. That last one down there is from the thirties. This is the proof I was looking for. Each trunk seems to have clothes from a different era."

Wilfred pulled out a shirt. "I could have sure used this last night," he said and joined Michael in a moment of laughter.

Selena looked at Michael. "I think we should look through this stuff, Michael. It's our turn again out there." Selena began browsing through the trunk. Michael moved up next to her. "At least if this works we'll be covered."

David moved back a few steps with his chest pushed out. He was obviously feeling good about himself now, watching both Michael and Selena dig amongst the clothing.

"I think this looks good. What do you think Michael?"

David saw what Selena was holding. "That wouldn't be any good," he said.

"Huh? Why not," Selena said confused.

"Those are sixties clothes. You need to have fifties clothes to fit in out there right now." David moved down a few shelves to the two trunks he'd earlier removed from the shelf to the floor. "These two for sure have fifties clothes. There should be more. I didn't see any footwear in these two."

"Oh..." Selena replied as she dropped the t-shirt was holding back into the trunk. "I guess you're right."

Michael had already moved over to the trunk next to David and began looking through the clothing, pulling out different items and holding them up in front of his chest.

"You'll need to find everything in here...right down to your undies," David said. Michael snickered.

"Those two rooms on each side of the fireplace are obviously change rooms." Selena and Michael looked over to the two doors, one on each side of the fireplace, noticing them now for the first time.

"We don't even know if this will work," Wilfred said.

"No we don't," David replied, "but I think Selena and Michael should change into something right away and we'll find out real soon."

Michael had opened another two trunks on the shelves and had found some footwear that to him looked probable for the fifties. He pulled out a pair of running shoes, slightly dusty, but still new looking. It was a pair of white cloth sided shoes with a circle plastic patch sewn on the outside.

He pulled his own shoes off and tried the shoes on. They were maybe a half size too large but would do. He took these off and put them aside, pulled out two more pair of similar shoes and tossed them over to Selena to try.

Selena had already found a light yellow t-shirt and was looking for suitable pants to put on.

Wilfred watched Selena and knew immediately what she was looking for. "I don't think you're gonna find any."

"What?" Selena replied wondering what Wilfred was referring to.

"Pants... jeans...for women."

Selena continued to rifle through yet another trunk. "How did you know that's what I was looking for? And anyway, why won't I find any?"

"You're the history expert. Girls didn't wear pants in the fifties. Not very many of them anyways."

"Hmm..." Selena said disillusioned. Selena had never worn a dress for a few years now. Lots of the girls at the university did, but Selena was one of the few that resisted the stereotype and preferred slacks, or jeans. The thought of having to wear a dress because "it was what girls were supposed to wear," went against everything she believed in.

"I mean," Wilfred continued, "If you do choose to wear pants, you will probably stand out too much in a crowd and I don't think we want to do that."

Selena shook her head, not because she agreed with Wilfred, but shook her head to herself denying the reality of having to wear a dress.

"I think I'd like to see you in a dress," Michael said and began tossing every dress in the trunk, in her direction. "Here's a nice one...look at all the pleats."

"You've got to be kidding," Selena said holding it up.

"You're going to have to," David said. "It's either that or you'll look out of place."

Wilfred nodded in agreement. He had begun to look through the clothing for garment s of his size.

"Just...just...Michael, stop it!" Michael was still tossing more and more dresses at her.

"Just pick one," he said. "I like the long pink one," and he laughed.

"Shut up Michael," she replied scooping up all the dresses and heading to the change room.

"I think I like this," Michael said holding up a pair of faded jeans worn out slightly in the rear and left knee slightly torn. "I can go as Jimmy Dean."

"Oh ya, a real tough guy," Wilfred said sarcastically.

"No I think it fits him well," David said.

"I just need a pack of smokes to shove under the sleeve up here." Michael was referring to the short sleeve of the white t-shirt he had picked out.

"Just needs socks and off I go."

"What about underwear?" Wilfred asked.

"Forget it. I'll go commando."

"Or just leaves yours on and they fade away anyways." Wilfred laughed.

"Oh ya! Cool!" Michael replied. "I think I'll do that."

David rolled his eyes. "C'mon guys, this is serious."

"Selena? C'mon out!" Michael called.

"Give me a sec," she replied from inside the change room.

Michael picked up all of his new clothing and headed into the change room while he waited for Selena to finish dressing.

Selena found the dresses all not to her liking. She was not used to having the air flow freely up between her legs to her thighs and it made her feel a little exposed and self-conscious. "Damn it!" she thought. Selena hated this but still selected a beige dress that had one pleat at the side and covered her legs to just above the ankles. She selected the cotton underwear and cotton t-shirt, no bra, white socks and the shoes Michael had tossed to her. Reluctantly she opened the door and emerged from the change room.

Wilfred whistled the obvious catcall. Selena gave him a nasty look but smiled through the embarrassment all the same.

"You look good," David said looking her up and down. He quickly rummaged through the bottom of the trunks and pulled out something. "I think you should take this as well." He handed her, a bow fastened to an elastic band.

"Oh I see." Selena grabbed the bow. She pulled back her hair into a ponytail and wrapped the bow around holding the hair back.

"Perfect," Wilfred said as he clapped his hands in approval.

Michael emerged from the change room looking as expected. He stood next to Selena and completed the matched set with his white t-shirt, torn jeans and white socks and shoes.

Wilfred and David nodded their consent.

"Any gel or Burl Cream in the trunks?" Michael asked. "I need to look the part don't I?"

Michael was really enjoying this just a little too much Selena thought while watching Michael strut back and forth.

David and Wilfred searched through the trunks but found nothing. "Maybe there is some in another trunk," David said.

"Or maybe there is none... doesn't matter, "Michael said and shrugged looking at Selena. "Ready to go?"

"Might as well."

"Well okay then let's go." Michael began the procession down from the attic followed by Selena and then the others.

Selena couldn't get the awkwardness of the dress out of her mind. I hate dresses, I hate dresses she repeated in her mind.

Before heading outside Michael diverted to the kitchen as the others looked on. He took off his glasses, turned on the tap and leaned over in to the sink. He proceeded to scoop water from the tap soaking his entire head. He grabbed the closest towel he could find and quickly sopped up most of the water. He stood up and simply pulled his hair back with his hands, slipped on his glasses, and ventured back to the others.

As the four of them headed out the front door Selena paused on the porch, arms crossed tight upon her chest, as if a cold northern wind had just cut across in front of her tangling itself for a moment in every crack and crevasse in her body. She gazed down the empty street in both directions and could see nothing but a street void of all life. She shivered. She really didn't want to do this. As she stood poised on the porch she reached inside herself and gathered courage from some unknown place deep down. She knew she had to do this. Selena waited and the coldness finally departed leaving her once again caught in the moment of tackling the unknown with the others.

Selena let Michael grab her hand as he led her out to the middle of the empty street. The others followed behind a few steps back.

Wilfred had already stopped and stood, hands shoved deep in his pockets, watching as Selena and Michael slowly moved away. "I'll copy the characters down while you're gone!" he yelled down the street.

David, noticing that Wilfred had stopped behind him, stopped himself. This was their journey, their turn to figure out what may lie ahead. He and Wilfred would still be here...waiting. Waiting, for how long was unknown, but waiting just the same until they returned.

Michael pulled at his clothing, measuring its strength. Selena saw him and did the same.

Cautiously Michael and Selena advanced. Selena began to hear the snap and quickly glanced backwards toward David and Wilfred. Wilfred still stood motionless, hands pressed deep into his pockets. David stood stoic, hands held together as if in prayer.

Snap...snap...fzzt. The sounds increased. Selena looked at Michael. Michael smiled. Selena could tell this was a forced smile.

Slowly the sounds increased from just a few pops and snaps to something more intense. Michael stopped and held Selena back for a sec. He began tugging at his t-shirt and pants and motioned for Selena to do the same. Selena tugged and pulled, and she was relieved to find the clothing was holding up.

They again moved forward. The snaps immediately increased again. The popping and snapping was constant, all around, smothering them.

Selena glanced back and she thought that Wilfred and David now looked a bit hazy, although everything else on the street was as sharp as ever.

"Look!" Michael pointed ahead.

Selena quickly turned back to where Michael was pointing. A faint shimmering movement began to swirl and move up the street in front of them.

The two of them continued to move forward amongst the snapping and popping, and each single step brought the image in front sharper and more in focus. Selena was dumbfounded as the image slowly appeared. There was a person up ahead. There was even the odd car moving up the street ahead.

Michael grabbed Selena's hand and they continued forward.

Selena took one last glance back to see Wilfred and David had now become floating colored blurs that she could not recognize.

Michael tugged again at his clothing. "The clothing!...It's holding!"

Selena tugged once again at her own clothing, and nodded.

***

### Chapter 18

As slowly as it began the snapping and popping began to fade with each step forward and the images of the few people further down the road began to emerge with some detail.

"Wow, look at that. They were right here on the same street the whole time," Michael whispered.

"My god Michael..." Selena began to say but was immediately terrified by Michael's sudden scream.

"Yiiiii!" Michael shrieked and thrashed about.

The cracking and popping was fading away quickly.

"Michael?" Selena called out stunned.

"Jesus...FUCKING...OW!" Michael was leaping up and down chaotically, shaking his head left and right, thrusting his entire body forward and backward in obvious pain.

Selena didn't know what had happened to Michael and was trying to get a look at his face but Michael was still bopping up and down, hands up tight covering his head.

Selena was terrified by his sudden burst of panic and could do nothing but stare as he buried his head in his hands. He began rubbing the sides of his head and what she thought was his nose.

The last of the popping and cracking finally ceased as Selena quickly maneuvered herself closer to see what had happened.

Suddenly, the deafening blast of a car horn erupted to Selena's right. A navy blue Belair casting flashes of sunlight off its polished chrome, barely missed striking Michael by inches as Michael bobbed up and down still cussing in obvious pain.

"Get off the damn road you fools!" the owner yelled out the window as he drove by shaking his fist.

Selena suddenly realized they were standing in the middle of the street. How stupid could they have been to walk down the center of the road in the middle of the day?

Selena quickly wrapped her arm around Michael and steered him toward the sidewalk. Michael was still hunched over, hands folded around his head cussing.

"Jesus...fuck!" he said again.

At least he could swear. That was a good sign. "Michael, what happened?" she asked still trying to get a good look at him.

"Man...oh fuck, that smarts..." Michael slowly stood up, and Selena could see immediately what had happened.

Michael held both hands on the sides of his head gently patting his ears.

"Your glasses Michael." Selena put her hand up to her mouth realizing they had forgotten all about this.

Michael nodded.

Selena could see an obvious, soon to be blistering, red mark across the bridge of Michael's nose where his glasses had once rested. Selena realized they had forgotten completely about Michael's glasses and the experience Wilfred had with the pots when he tried to pass through the barrier yesterday.

Michael continued to hold his hands to his ears.

"God Michael, does it hurt?"

"Man...yes!" he snapped at her.

"Let me see."

Michael removed his hands away from his ears and Selena inspected both and could see they too had the same blistering burns that his nose had.

"We'll have to get something for that," she said.

"Jesus, I'm so stupid!"

"No Michael. None of us thought about it."

"Ya, but now I don't have any glasses. Not even when we go back." Michael's glasses had vanished.

Selena knew he was right. If they were stranded here for any length of time, glasses would be a problem for Michael. She was sure that even if they managed to find a pair here in Bluffington nineteen fifty-five, that they in all probability would not be able to bring them back through the barrier the other way.

"Well, let's not worry about it for now, Michael."

"Maybe we should go back."

"What for? You don't have any glasses back there anyway now."

"Fuck," Michael said again and laughed in spite of the pain.

"Fuuuu...uu.uuck!" he yelled up to the sky.

Selena shook her head and again examined Michael's nose.

"Maybe it won't blister."

"Hurts like hell though."

"Well...uh, let's make this visit short and then we can go back to the house. We have some cream in the kitchen."

The two began to move watchfully down the street, Selena carefully studying the few people that were out. It was a Sunday back at the house, and she wasn't sure what day of the week it was here, but by the looks of the ages of the two kids out playing, she figured it was either a Saturday or a Sunday ...or maybe even the summer vacation.

They walked down the same street Wilfred and David had walked the night before and passed the tall hedge that had beaten Wilfred, and continued down Founders Road, around the bend to where it crossed Center Ave and connected to Main Street. They were nearing the downtown, some eleven years ago.

Selena could see the overall town center looked the same. There were only a few differences at first glance. The Texaco station had not been built. The town had not added the trees to Vanity Park, one block over, and the town had only just begun developing the new Sherman subdivision up into the hillside on the south side of town. There were really too many small changes to mention just in the size of trees, shrubs, and flowers, the color of some of the businesses and signs and postings around everywhere.

Selena could see Michael was having a bit of trouble seeing the closer things, as he tried to read a flyer posted on the streetlamp at the corner of Founders Road and Main Street.

Selena pointed further down Main Street indicating this is where she wanted to go.

Michael watched, impressed by the condition of the automobiles that were parked on the street. Some of these cars with their chrome fronts and wings made the street look like a gathering of car collectors, yet others with their big rounded humps from the forties, and a few from the early thirties still rolled along.

"Michael, we need to find out for sure what Wilfred said."

"You mean what year this is?"

"Yes ...for starters. I think even the date too."

"Hmmn. How about let's go in there." Michael pointed to the Stedman's Five and Dime four doors down on the left.

"Sure. Maybe they'll have a paper."

The two of them crossed the road to the east sidewalk and studied the businesses and people.

Selena laughed as saw her own reflection in one of the windows.

"That's us, Michael!"

"Hey..." Michael said trying to look cool. He grabbed Selena around the waist and hugged her close, all the time watching the reflection. Selena went along and let her be pulled into him and lifted her left leg into the air behind her, watching the reflected image unfolded itself in the window.

"Look at us. We look just like everyone."

"Hey..." Michael said again trying to be cool.

"Look at her." Selena was pointing to a young girl also about her age walking down the other side of the street. She had a trim figure, hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"See... skirts everywhere."

They continued down the walk looking in the windows. Not too much difference.

"Ohh...Michael!" Selena said excitedly, pointing across the street, "I want to go in there after."

Selena was pointing to Judy's Diner at the end of the block on the corner across the street. The diner is no longer there in the sixties and the site is now the home to Bower and Fogerty

Real Estate. What happened to Judy's Diner between then and now or now and then is unclear, but Selena had always wanted to visit one of these old diners. She had seen pictures of these diners where people sit at the counter on stools that swivel. The owner or waitress served you directly from behind the counter. It was said that these were a place where people talked openly and you could come in for a slice of homemade apple pie and a coffee and feel welcome. A few of them still existed, but none where Selena had grown up and there were none in Bluffington in nineteen sixty-six.

"Ya...okay..." Michael replied, looking across to the café. "After we find a newspaper or something."

Michael and Selena had reached the entrance to Stedman's Five and Dime. Selena was sure by the weathered condition of the signage out front, that Stedman's had been one of the main stores for decades.

Michael pushed the heavy wooden door inward and entered. A ring of a cowbell attached above the door warned the proprietor of their arrival.

A tall thin man glanced up from what he was doing behind the counter on the right wall. He could see it was another couple of kids, university age, probably looking for paper or pencils, or some special writing paper. He gave them little notice and returned to the shuffling through some of his own papers he had been working on before their arrival.

"Over there." Michael pointed toward the counter the thin man with the balding hair was located behind.

Selena followed Michael over to the counter and leaned against Michael as Michael lifted the newspaper from the stack on the counter.

The thin man paused and watched them briefly.

"May 21st, 1955" Michael said slowly, squinting to make out the dates. "That's the right date, isn't it?"

"That's yesterday's paper" the man behind the counter offered. "Today's won't come 'til...oh... say four ten to four fifteen...being Sunday and all."

He searched Michael and Selena up and down with his eyes. "You not from around here are you?" he asked but didn't give Michael or Selena time to answer. "Going to the UV are yeh?"

He pulled his chin back against his chest as he waited for an answer looking back between both Michael and Selena.

"Oh...uh, yes ...yes we are..." Selena answered.

"Just arrived today ...uhm...you know..." Michael added.

"UV's just lettin' out next week," the man said now paying a little more attention to the two. "Why you 'rivin' at this time ov' year?" He looked at Michael waiting for an answer with obvious concern.

"Just...uh transferred...uh...here...." Michael stammered quickly. Selena gave Michael a quick startled glanced, that she was sure the proprietor saw.

"Transferred?" he questioned loudly. "Transferred? What the hell is that?" The tall man was quite agitated and Selena could see distrust beginning to show on the man's face.

"Well...Transferred...you know, we were at a different school and now we're both coming to Bluffington," Selena said. She could see the man did not believe her. The elderly man looked past Selena and outside as if looking for something or someone. This began to scare Selena.

"We just came in for some writing paper actually."

"Paper is it... well...aisle three is where the paper is young lady."

Selena nudged Michael and began heading down toward aisle three. Michael followed her still holding yesterday's newspaper.

Selena stole a glance back and to her disappointment the man was watching with intent interest and was moving to the side of the counter as if to follow them.

"Michael, I think he suspects something," she whispered.

"Hey! You ...you boy there!" the man shouted as he came around from back of the counter as Michael and Selena disappeared down aisle three.

"You come back here! You gotta pay for that paper over here!"

"Oh shit!" Michael said to Selena, and turned around to face the old man.

Michael put on his famous half grin slash smile. "The paper...I'm so sorry. I got distracted." The old man watched as Michael came toward him and stopped right in front of the old man and laid the paper back in the pile.

"I don't think we really need the paper. I think we'll wait for the later edition." He looked toward Selena and whispered "Selena let's go." He returned to face the old man, "what time did you say the paper came in?'

The old man hesitated, "...uh four ten, four fifteen."

Selena had moved up beside Michael. Michael wrapped his arm around her and smiled again at the old man while repeating "...four ten four fifteen, I think we'll come back then. Thank you very much." Michael ushered Selena quickly out the door.

They closed the door, and the tinkle of bell sounded again. Selena looked back to see the old man had followed behind them to the door and was watching them as they moved away down the sidewalk.

"Jesus we gotta be more careful Michael."

"No. Everything's okay. We just gotta be us. You know it's only eleven years back. How different is it really? Not that much."

Selena thought about this for a moment. The cars had certainly changed in the past eleven years. Music had changed a lot and even the dress code amongst the students had somewhat changed, but Michael was right. They shouldn't have to do too much of anything to fit in.

"Michael, I want to go into the Diner."

"Hmmm, okay ...you go. I want to take a walk around town to see if everything is really okay."

"Like what?"

"Just ...everything. Like, I don't want to go around a corner and find Nazi swastika's all over the side of city hall. What if this is just mostly the same but say the German's won a war here they lost back where we came from."

"Oh," was all Selena said.

"Be careful, Michael."

"What's to worry?" He kissed her gently on the lips.

Selena held the kiss and didn't want to leave Michael, but thought maybe it was better this way. She could check out the people and the Diner and Michael can take a quick scout about town.

"Can you meet me back in, say twenty minutes? At the Diner?"

"Oh for sure ...maybe less."

Selena looked over at the diner with its neon sign above the sidewalk and let go of Michael's hand. Michael gave a quick "be careful" grimace to Selena, and headed further down the street. Selena watched him leave, for a moment thinking she should maybe run after him but, she wanted too much to explore this era, if only for a short while. She knew that this was for sure the spring of nineteen fifty-five. What more they could learn here, she was unsure. Everything they probably really needed to know was still back at the house.

Selena crossed the semi-quiet street. A few people wandered up and down the sidewalks. Most stores appeared closed. Stedman's was open. The Diner was open. She saw that the clothing store Wilfred and David had broken into was closed and wasn't really a clothing store at all, but a Hair Salon. The gift shop next door was also closed.

Selena entered the small diner. Immediately the sweet smell of home cooking overpowered her. It reminded her of her mother's cooking during the holiday season, when the snow would pile up against the doors and windows and the only activity that seemed left for her mother to do was cook. On days like that, her mother would begin in the morning with preparations that would result in the fabrication of many types of pies and pastries and would continue late into the darkness of night.

The windows of the Diner facing the street had numerous booths all along the one side. Opposite the booths was a counter with round chrome stools with red padded seats that were fastened to a floor that was raised up about ten inches all around the counter area. This is exactly what Selena was hoping to find.

Selena quickly moved to a stool at the far end of the counter, trying to be discreet as possible. She quickly tested the seat to see if it would spin as she had hoped. It did, but she wouldn't be spinning around in circles just yet.

Selena studied the whole room including the service area on the other side of the counter with its new electric shake master machine, deep fryer, quadruple coffee maker and other numerous gadgets. She looked into the pastry cabinet mounted on the wall above the coffee makers and could see a few large recently made pies with some pieces removed from each. Fresh pies Selena thought, thinking of home back on the northern east coast.

As she was gathering more details a young waitress with curly black hair, an apron tied around her waist, came up to her.

"Hi missy, can I get you anything?"

The question stunned Selena. She had never given any thought to the fact that they have no money until now. She can't buy a thing over here at all.

"Uh...maybe just give me a water for now."

"A water? That's it?" The waitress waited for Selena's response, the pen in her hand poised inches above her order form.

"Uh, yes. My boyfriend is supposed to be coming, and I am supposed to wait for him here... and I don't have any money."

"Oh. I see," said the waitress tucking her order form back in the front pocket of her apron. The pen she made disappear behind her ear.

"One water coming up." Selena watched as the waitress removed a water glass from under the counter, plopped a few ice cubes in neatly and filled the glass with water kept in glass jugs in the fridge.

"There ya go missus. You just sit here an wait for your boy friend."

Selena smiled back. The waitress moved away slowly disappearing into the back room.

There were currently only two other people in the diner, one being an older gentleman in his late sixties drinking coffee, smoking heavily on a home rolled cigarette. His face was buried in behind yesterday's paper. The other was a young boy, about twelve or thirteen, sitting in one of the booths near the door. She had passed him when she entered but didn't notice him there until now.

The young boy was flipping through the selections of songs on the chromed mini jukebox mounted against the wall just under the window in each booth. He flipped the silvery tab on the top of the jukebox, changing back and forth between the numerous pages of recent song titles. The boy was dressed similar to what Michael had been wearing, faded jeans and a white t-shirt.

The boy plopped some coins into the jukebox, Selena couldn't tell how much. He methodically punched his selection in and after a few seconds, Pat Boone was quietly crooning out his latest hit, Ain't That a Shame.

Suddenly the door to the diner exploded inward and two more young boys came rushing in to join the other, their running shoes letting off short squeaks on the polished flooring.

"Hey you boys! No running in here. If you want to run you get outside," the waitress said loudly from the back room, but with no real conviction. It sounded to Selena that it was more out of habit than anything else.

"Ya, ya," they mocked her back and both boys slid into the booth opposite the other.

"Mick! Mick! Did you hear?" the one boy said. This boy was of a much smaller frame quite lean, brandishing a New York Yankees baseball cap backwards on his head.

"Hear what?" the first boy Mick, said confused.

"You didn't hear? Where've you had your head? Stuck up your ass all day?" the third boy said laughing. He was heavier set with glasses, with a face covered in a finely smoothed layer of fatty flesh that buried all the features.

"Screw you...what was it I was supposed to have heard?"

The fat kid laughed again in girl like fashion. "You really don't have a clue do you?"

"Give it a rest Eddie," the boy with the cap said to the fat one.

"The bank yesterday...it was robbed!" The fat kid said.

"Ya and I was there when it happened. Let me tell you..." the boy with the cap began to say.

"Really? And you were there? No shittin' Tim?" The first kid wanted to hear.

Eddie the fat kid was nodding his head so fast, Selena almost giggled out loud watching the flab under his chin flow up and down in ripples. She swore she could hear the flab rippling and making sounds like the patting of bread dough.

"Ya I was right there!" Tim's dark eyes seem to grow now as he began to tell the tale. The other boy leaned forward toward Tim. Eddie leaned in too, even though he'd heard the story at least twenty times since yesterday. Good stories are like that, Selena thought.

"I was just going down to the store to get some candy...jawbreakers. I had the pack of bottles to take back. My sis had just finished the last one and my ole man won't let me take the bottles back for the refund unless the pack is full...anyway, I was just walking down toward the store and...well just over there I was." Tim turned toward the window, knelt up on the padded chair in the booth and pointed down toward the corner where Michael had turned after leaving Selena.

"Anyway, I had just crossed the street when these guys came running out of the bank across the street. At first I didn't notice a thing, but all of a sudden there was a big popping sound and I didn't know what it was at first. But then I looked toward the bank and the guard was standing in a pile of glass on the steps of the bank and he had his gun pulled out and was holding it kinda like this." Tim grabbed the saltshaker from the table and wrapped his left hand around it and then wrapped his right hand around his left pointing the perforated top towards the first boy.

"He was holdin it and pointing it at three people running away from the bank."

"Three of em?" the first boy, Mick said.

"Ya...at least that's all I saw. It was pretty scary."

"Tell Mick the next part with the lady and all..." Eddie the fat kid said.

"Oh ya...well anyway, I heard the popping sound and I could see the guard there shooting a couple of times. I looked at the three guys in black...they had hoods or something ...maybe masks pulled over their faces...anyway, I couldn't see their faces...anyway, The three black guys were running away and there was a car parked in front just down over in front of Madison's, and I could see another one in black inside the car..."

Selena looked out the window beyond the boys and could see the Madison Cleaners sign from where she was sitting. The bank must be just the next block over on the same side of the street as the Diner Selena determined.

"Yaa...the getaway car..." Eddie said grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Anyway," Tim said scowling at Eddie for interrupting his story, "...the guys in black were running to the car and the guard shot at em couple of times, but there was this lady and her kid walking toward the bank. I don't think she knew what was happening...anyway, the lady was holding her little boy's hand. I guess he was, maybe four or five and they were going into the bank...and this one guy comes running across the road from the corner. Actually outta nowhere it seemed and dives at the lady and kid...I guess to protect them or knock them out of the way or something. The guard was shooting out at the guys running out of the bank, but the last guy out of the bank kind of stumbles and falls, like he was running real funny like he couldn't see where he was going. Maybe his mask was on crooked or something...anyway, the bad guys are all running away to the getaway car, all of them carrying a bag full of money and papers, and the one guy stumbles and falls and I see the guard again try to shoot at him. I don't know if he hits him, but the guy drops his bag of money and shoots back, and that's when that other guy I told you about that came running from the corner jumps in the air to knock the lady and kid out of the way."

"Wow..." the first boy said, his mouth hanging open grabbing on to all the details.

"Ya...It's like he knew it was gonna happen or something, but what happens is the lady and kid go flying in the air right into the guard, and the four of them fall in a big pile to the sidewalk. Ya...and as they are all falling, one of the robbers by the car shoots back at them...and he ends up shooting the lady. Oooh. I mean blood starts coming out, spraying everywhere. The guard is underneath the two and the kid is crying on his back trying to stand up, and there's blood all over the sidewalk."

"Wow, you saw all that?" Mick says astonished, squirming in his seat.

"Oh ya...wait! There's more!...anyway, the guard is all kinda like freaking, because the lady is bleeding all over him and he just lays there on the sidewalk with her, waving his gun around, and the other guy still on top of him and...and the guard...I mean uh no...let me think...Ya, there's a robber laying in the middle of the road, being helped away by one of the other robbers, when that guy that ran into the lady stands up in the middle of them all and screams "Nooooooo" into the air..."

"Really? Why'd he do that?"

"I don't know. It was kinda freaky....Anyway, he screams "Nooooo" into the air and then runs away..." Eddie laughs remembering this.

"Anyway, just as the last robber is dragged into the car, the guard points the gun again at the car and empties the last two or three bullets at the car. I can't really remember it happened so fast. All I know is that it shatters the side window, and...and then the car peels away."

"No kidding...when did this happen?" the first kid asked again beginning to squeeze out more details from Tim.

"I think it was about 2:00 or just after...Ya about 2:00 or 2:15 I think."

"I was just trying to think where I was...Oh did they get the robbers?" Eddie asks.

"That's the weird thing..." The boy's voice drops to a whisper as he continues. "I heard from my mother...well my mom's brother is married to Chief Thompson's secretary Stacey, and I heard my mom talking on the phone with my Aunt Stacey, and from what it sounded like is those robbers just disappeared."

"Disappeared?" the first boy whispered.

"Ya, disappeared. She said something like..."

"Did they find the car?" the first boy interrupted too excited to wait for the details to come out on their own.

"That's what I was just saying...they said something like the robbers just disappeared. The car was there but they couldn't find the robbers and mom said something like "You mean they lost them again?" She said they found their car and chased them, but just when they almost had em' cornered they just disappeared, leaving the car where it was in the middle of the road."

"What do you mean?" Mick was clearly puzzled.

"I don't know...that's what she said. Like they chased them and had them trapped but the robbers just sort of disappeared, and there's no way they ain't ever gonna find them is what my mom said... And they ain't even tryin lookin."

"Wow...So they did find the car though...?"

"Oh ya they have the car."

"What about the guy that knocked the lady...or the money?" the first boy asked.

Selena was finding the telling of this tale so interesting, hanging on to the details, just like the first boy, that she didn't even notice Michael had come in until he had sat down next to her and said her name.

"Selena?"

"Oh, Michael," she said and smiled, pleased that he'd returned so quickly.

"You looked pretty interested in what they were saying...what's up?"

"Oh nothing really, they're just talking about something that happened yesterday, that's all."

"What's that?"

"Oh...just a robbery, that's all."

"So what are you having?" Michael asked looking across the counter at the menu on the wall.

Selena looked at her glass of water, and gave a short laugh. "Michael, what do you think we can afford over here?"

Michael rolled his eyes realizing they had no cash. "So you've been sitting here, drinking water?" Michael stole a look over to the waitress and laughed.

"I told her some story. A story that I had no money, but my sweet wonderful boyfriend was going to show up with some." Selena laughed too, raising the attention of the waitress.

"Oh I see our boyfriend has arrived," the waitresses said wiping her hands feverishly on her apron as she approached. "What'll it be for the two of you?" she asked Michael.

Michael looked at Selena not knowing what to say. He gave a small shrug and shook his head slightly as if asking Selena what he should say.

Selena just shrugged back letting him squirm. "That's my boyfriend," Selena said to the waitress.

"Ya...Michael?" Selena turned back toward Michael still smiling. "What are we having here today?"

Michael looked at both Selena and the waitress. Selena was putting him on the spot, and she was enjoying it.

"C'mon Michael, you can order for me." Selena looked at the waitress. "Maybe you can give him some suggestions."

"Selena," Michael said sternly.

"Well mister boyfriend, we have lots of nice things here today. I ain't see you two around here before. Are you new here?"

"Yes, just arrived last week."

"Oh then...well, you could have some of our strawberry pie. It was just baked this morning, or we have hamburgers. The kids here really love our French fries, but they take a bit, 'cause I cut the potatoes fresh every time." She stared at Michael waiting.

Michael gave a little shortened laugh and said "You know...uh really, I am not sure what... uh..." he scratched his head and made the motion to push his glasses back up on his nose, but rediscovered they had disappeared earlier. "...Uh, Selena?...Uh... I don't know what to have so you'll have to give me a minute or two...please." Michael was acting a bit flustered. The waitress moved away from the two for a sec to check on the boys by the window.

"Oh but Michael, I'd really love a piece of apple pie. C'mon Michael..."

"Selena would you just stop it!" he whispered to her.

The waitress came back. "Apple pie is it then?" she said as she pulled her little order book from her apron.

"No. Nothing...we're not having anything." Michael looked at the waitress and then at Selena, a weak smirk was appearing at the corner of his lips. "I don't have any money. I'm sorry. Let's go."

"I guess it's not apple pie then is it?" the waitress said sarcastically. "You know she waited here drinkin only water for almost a half an hour waiting for you. Tsk, tsk, tsk," the waitress said shaking her head.

"And you come in and no money, nothing. That poor girl." The waitress gave Michael one quick cold look and walked away over to the boys at the window once more, leaving Michael and Selena alone at the counter.

Michael and Selena left the diner. Michael told her about his walk around town and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As far as he could tell this was Bluffington as it was eleven years ago. They decided it was time to go back to the house.

Selena grabbed Michael's hand once more as they headed back toward Founder's Road and the house. She realized as they walked on this peaceful Sunday in Bluffington nineteen fifty-five, that this was actually the most fun she has had with Michael in a while. She turned in front of him and kissed him square on the lips, wrapping her one leg around his. Michael was startled by her spontaneity, but quickly followed her lead and the two of them held each other and kissed.

"Michael, this has been a wonderful day so far," Selena said looking deep into his eyes. It was only a simple walk through town, but something about this day rung special for Selena.

Michael grinned back and it reminded Selena of that cold wintry day almost three years ago...or maybe eight years from now, when Michael had stumbled into the library knocking her flying across the floor. His grin had come back...the one she first fell in love with.

"Yeah, it has," Michael replied back grinning, looking back toward the town center.

Selena let go of Michael and the two resumed their slow walk back to the house, still holding hands. Selena couldn't help but think they had lost a bit of closeness since fame had fallen on them. She was thinking how that fame blanket had covered them all, smothering them a little more as each day went on and she certainly hadn't even realized it was happening.

They rounded the corner from Main to Founders Road and Selena couldn't help but look back at the town.

"It's not really that much different Michael," she said watching a few more students walk the sidewalks of a sleepy downtown Sunday.

"No," was Michael's reply.

Soon Selena could see their house down the street. As she walked she studied the scene from this distance. It was the same she realized.

She looked ahead and could sense Michael was doing the same when he spoke.

"They're probably there right now you know."

"What? Oh..." Selena looked forward and scanned the roadway and sidewalks. "...Maybe they are."

"Oh, I'm sure they are. We just can't see them ...like they can't see us, but they're there...waiting."

Selena found this a little discomforting as she stared down the street. A vehicle was approaching from well beyond the house headed toward them. It was true then. Some barrier protected the house. It wasn't like the house and Founders Road were a secret place because they aren't, they are the same place and somehow overlap.

Selena watched the vehicle come closer and closer and the memory of Michael almost getting run over just over an hour ago flashed across her mind. She squeezed Michael's hand tight as she remembered. Michael squeezed back.

The two continued they're slow walk and soon the cracking and popping began to erupt and consume them once again. Slowly they continued to walk hand in hand. Step by step the cracking and popping increased, and Selena began to see the mysterious floating hues in front of her to her left. Step by step they advanced, enveloped by the sounds of static, and Selena watched the colored hues as they began to shift in shape and the colors seem to collect among themselves, first forming the rather crude shape of a human form and then the detail began sharpening, like someone adjusting a microscope to see the mysterious image.

Wilfred and David had been standing in the middle of the empty street eagerly waiting for Michael and Selena to return when they too began to hear the sounds of the static.

Michael and Selena did appear but not in the middle of the road. Wilfred saw them first as Michael and Selena seemed to reconstitute themselves from nothing off to the left on one of the sidewalks.

"I wouldn't stand there if I was you," Michael called over to Wilfred grinning and still holding Selena's hand.

"Well look at you two," Wilfred said walking calmly over. "Looks like you went for some nice leisurely stroll." Wilfred gave a quick laugh and smiled, extremely pleased to see them both back safe and unharmed.

David nodded. "It worked then." He looked back down the empty street.

"I wouldn't stand there if I was you," Michael repeated again to Wilfred.

"Huh? Why?"

Michael laughed and looked at Selena.

"You might get run over," Michael said.

"I think he already did," Selena replied remembering the car that had just passed down this very road only moments ago.

"Huh?" Wilfred said confused.

Michael began to tell both Wilfred and David what had happened to them over the past hour and a half, beginning with the glasses and almost getting run over the second they arrived on the other side. Wilfred expressed disgust at the fact that not one of them had figured this or saw this coming, and realized Michael or Selena could have been killed. He wondered aloud to them all about the possibility of other dangers like this that haven't thought of yet.

The four of them retreated back to the house, and David prepared a reasonable dinner for the four of them as usual. Selena found the cream and applied a liberal amount to Michael's nose and ears. The burns weren't that serious. They'd hurt for while, but they would heal.

David remarked that they had been gone two days so far and they had better get back to where they belong, since they will run out of fresh food in only a few more days.

The only solution other than this would be to eat outside the barrier and they would need money to do this. Even as they looked at the dates on some of the coins they had in the house, and saw that at least some of the money predated nineteen fifty-five. Wilfred pointed out that nothing seems to pass through the barrier except their physical bodies and what was in the trunks in the attic.

It was decided they would try to figure this radio thing out later after dinner. It was the only option.

By the time they had finished cleaning up after dinner and Michael and Selena had returned the wardrobe back to the trunks, the hour was approaching nine o'clock in the evening.

***

### Chapter 19

The four of them stood once again up in the dusty attic in front of the radio thingy.

"See it's hasn't changed...not like yesterday," Wilfred was saying to Michael.

"Hmm," Michael said not sure what to make of this just yet.

"When Selena and I were copying the images down earlier, the radio was playing fifties music."

"That's right," Selena said, "and David called us over after figuring out the clothing part."

"Ya..." Wilfred continued, "and we left the radio playing when we all left. No one touched it."

Selena studied the radio once again. Wilfred was right. She pulled the piece of paper out from her pocket with the nine images Wilfred had copied down and compared them to those on the radio currently. She shook her head. "Oh...all of the characters are the same as yesterday. Look. See here." She passed the sheet to Michael and David.

"Hmm," David said, first looking at the paper and comparing them to the radio. "I bet the windows only change when we travel to another time once the radio goes out. We were already here in the fifties when we played the fifties earlier."

Michael shrugged. Wilfred nodded agreeing with the possibility.

David popped the window open and began turning the radio dial again.

"You need to wind it first," Wilfred said.

"Oh ya." David pushed on the embossed leaf pattern below the radio and once again the key popped out from its secret spot. David carefully removed the key from the wooden cavity and held it in his palm like it was some ancient artifact manufactured out of fairy dust and as fine and brittle as confectioner's sugar.

Carefully he pinched the key with two fingers and very cautiously inserted the key into the hole in the front of the radio. The others watched patiently as David wound the key this time. Only the snapping and clicking of the windings inside the radio broke the silence in the room. David gave about a dozen turns and then hesitated looking at each other for some approval as if he'd done some great feat. He removed the key and gently set the key back in the cavity and pressed the wooden molding closed.

"Let's see if it plays the fifties music again, David," Selena said.

"You sure? I thought we'd try for sixties right away. You know, so we can get home."

"Whatever you want David, but I was just thinking that some of the music on the radio in the sixties, was still from the fifties. It might be hard to tell them apart."

Selena saw Wilfred frown and look at Michael. She also saw Michael bite his lip as he looked back at Wilfred. She knew they were uncomfortable with what she had just said.

David turned the dial and as before the images came and went. First four appeared and as one of them disappeared, two more would show up bringing the total to five, and then three would disappear and four would show up and so on until finally the window became full of nine new and separate images.

The subtle vibrations returned surrounding the radio. Music began to fill the room once again ...but not fifties music, and not sixties music.

"I don't know what this is at all," Selena said discouraged. Michael shook his head.

David turned the dial back to where it was earlier and the music from the fifties began to play once again. Selena compared the images and sure enough they were the same images, confirming what she hoped to be true. They could map out the date with the different images.

It was nearing ten o'clock when Selena was struck by her own thought of mapping and how this could work. "Hey guys!"

David and Michael had grown tired of standing and had retreated to the bunks built into the shelving. David was now lying on the top bunk and Michael rested on the one underneath.

"What?" Michael yelled back from the lower bunk.

"I have an idea that might get us home. Maybe not real quick, but quick enough."

"Let's hear it," David said.

"Well we know from the images on the paper last night, that the images do confirm the station." She waited for someone, anyone to agree with her, but no one said anything.

"Well, we do have the map or images for the fifties. We know that for sure. We can always get back to where we are now because we have the codes to get back here."

"So what does that have to do with anything," David hollered from the end of the room, still lying on the bunk.

"I was thinking. We just dial up any one of the unknown stations on the radio, copy the markings down and see where it takes, us. We can always get back here."

"You are assuming we even know how to go anywhere," David said.

"Well we do...sort of," Selena replied.

"What do we know?" David had now risen to a sitting position on the bunk with his legs hanging over the side.

"Well we know...or I think we are guessing, that we dial a radio station in and it takes us where we want to go."

"Really?" David said a little condescending. "Then how come when we played the radio the other day we never went anywhere? How come we didn't go anywhere just now?"

"Maybe we did," Wilfred interjected. "We were all up here, when we were playing with the radio. No one went outside to the barrier and beyond."

"What was the last music we listened to?" David asked.

"The fifties. Selena was copying the images, remember?...just before they went out to the barrier." Wilfred recapped.

"Hmmm maybe your right, but we'll need to test it."

"Sure," Michael said. "I'll go. All I need to do is put on some clothes while the radio is playing some time different than fifty-five and walk down the road. I mean sidewalk...and take a quick peek and comeback."

"Sounds good to me." David said and jumped down from the bunk and walked over to Selena and stared at the radio. "Did you copy this new station down?"

"Not yet...but I will."

The current music played on. It wasn't the fifties. It was different: Too strange to be identified by any of them.

Michael open the trunk with the fifties stuff inside and removed the clothes he had worn earlier from inside.

"How do you know you have the right clothes," David asked Michael.

"Doesn't matter really, as long as I get through to the other side with some clothes...and besides if we are still in the fifties when I go through, I'll fit right in."

David nodded, and turned his focus back to Selena. "You think this will work?"

"I don't really know. I hope so."

Michael quickly returned from the change room, dressed back in the same outfit from earlier with the white t-shirt, right down to the running shoes.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

Wilfred looked at his watch and saw it was nearing ten o'clock in the evening.

The four of them went outside and began walking down the road, Michael leading the way.

Selena noticed Wilfred was disturbed by something, as he was rubbing his beard. He often did this when he was troubled or deep in thought.

"Wilfred? What is it?" she asked. He just shook his head. He either didn't want to say just yet, or hadn't quite figured it out. She didn't press him any further and followed along with Wilfred and David behind Michael a few steps.

Michael was standing in the middle of the road. A few crackles could be heard.

"Oh shit," Michael said and quickly jogged sideways over to the sidewalk.

"Don't want to get hit by a car!" he yelled over to the others while continuing forward through an increasing crescendo of snaps and crackles, his image starting to fade.

"It didn't work," Wilfred said suddenly to Selena.

"Michael!" Wilfred called out, but the snapping and popping was at its peak and Michael could no longer hear Wilfred.

"How do you know?" Selena asked loudly, trying to be heard over the abundance of sizzling and popping. Michael began to fuzz out in front of her.

"It's everywhere. I couldn't figure out why when we came outside at first and then it just hit me." Michael had now reduced to just a mirage of colors.

David was listening now too.

"Look down the street." Wilfred pointed to where Michael had just gone.

Selena looked and didn't see anything different.

"There's nothing different!" Wilfred said. "It's the same as it was earlier. We could have just looked out the front door and seen if it was different, we didn't need to send Michael out there. We knew this from when David and I went to town. Damn!"

Selena suddenly realized what Wilfred said was true. They only needed to look out the front window as Wilfred had done a few mornings ago. There was really no need to go through the barrier as everything immediately outside the house changed, both on the inside and the outside of the barrier. A weak "Michael" leaked out from her lips, as she called him back, but he was already faded away to nothing. All she could do now was wait.

***

### Chapter 20

Michael walked away from the others towards downtown in the darkness, surrounded again by only the sounds of the barrier. He glanced back once to see the three others had faded to the floating colors once again.

The night still held the warmth of the day as he crossed to the other side, but he could feel the chill of the mountain breeze sneak in every once in a while. As he turned on to Main Street he could see the evening held nothing noticeably different than earlier in the day. The main street was barren and all the businesses were closed and locked up tight and he saw no one out on the streets under the moonlit sky. Michael could see the camera store was still there, and also the pharmacy. He walked over to Stedman's Five and Dime and put his hands up around his face and peered inside. He could barely see inside the darkened business, but he was sure he could see the newspapers stacked where they had been stacked earlier today. He carried on down the street pausing at the corner where he and Selena had separated on his last journey, and could see that Judy's Diner was still open. He thought about going over there but quickly dismissed this idea as some instinct was telling him to stay discreet if possible.

He was about to head east to the next block as he had earlier, but the sound of an approaching automobile startled him and he quickly tucked himself in the doorway of the local shoe store. He watched as the vehicle pulled up next to the diner. Two people emerged from vehicle and strolled inside the Diner.

At first he thought nothing out of the ordinary as he watched the two enter the Diner. Michael could see clearly inside with the wall of windows facing in his direction and watched curiously as the waitress met the two men. The one bigger fellow seemed to do most of the talking. The other smaller fellow kept looking the other way, stealing glances out the window, looking in Michael's direction. He didn't quite get it, but something seemed queer over there, enticing him to watch the two for a moment longer. The big fellow unexpectedly turned towards the street and stared out the wall of windows after the waitress had disappeared into the back room. Michael's mouth dropped open as he saw what looked like a clone of Wilfred bobbing his head to the left and right searching out through the front window. They appeared to be searching the nooks and crannies and all the dark places down Main Street giving Michael an unsettling feeling that they were almost looking for him. Michael wished he had his glasses back right now.

Michael looked back towards the idling vehicle. The driver was obviously very agitated, looking over their shoulder, stealing numerous glances towards the diner, probably to see what was taking the others so long inside the diner.

Michael turned his attention back to the two inside again as the waitress finally returned from the back room with some prepared food order in a bag. Take-out obviously.

He couldn't help but watch the big guy, as the resemblance to Wilfred was just uncanny. The big guy grabbed the bag and the smaller guy passed some bills to the waitress and the two of them bolted out of the diner. The waitress stared at the two as they ran off, and suddenly she gave chase after them, holding something in her hand.

The two jumped into the vehicle and as quickly as they had arrived, they were gone. The waitress emerged on to the street looking for the pair, still holding the papers or whatever it was in her hand, waving it out to no one. She looked down the street the way the car had fled and stole a look in Michael's direction. Michael watched as she simply shrugged and went back into the diner.

Michael continued his watch from his hidden perch as she went back to the till with her papers and then disappeared into the back room. Weird Michael thought.

Michael tried to forget about the two in the diner and continued his walk around the few blocks and noticed no change in any detail. He inspected the benches and trashcans he'd seen earlier. He looked at the fire station and read the notices, with some difficulty, on the town hall notice board posted out facing the street. Nothing had changed. He headed back toward Founders Road.

As he turned from Center Avenue back on to Founders Road, the lights of an approaching car began lighting up the front yards ahead of him as it rounded the corner towards the intersection at Center Avenue.

Michael quickly darted to the other side of the street to stay out of the light of the oncoming car. He slid himself behind a modest size poplar tree and watched as the car rolled by. It was the same car he'd just seen earlier at the diner.

Michael tried to steal another look at the big Wilfred looking guy but couldn't see clearly inside the darkened cavity of the vehicle. He could only see enough to see a fourth person was now inside the vehicle with the others. The two in the back seemed to be holding on to each other.

Once the car passed, Michael came out from his hiding spot and watched the taillights disappear as the vehicle turned down Center Ave, and headed towards the highway out of town.

Michael shook his head, and headed back up toward the house.

Slowly Michael advanced up the sidewalk, and as before the snapping and crackling returned and within minutes, he was on the other side of the barrier.

***

### Chapter 21

Selena, Wilfred and David were all waiting anxiously for Michael when he returned from across the barrier. Selena ran over quickly shaking her head. "It's the same isn't it?" she asked before he had a chance to say anything.

"Huh ...Ya it's the same."

"Ya...we figured it would just as you disappeared," Wilfred said.

"Wilfred figured it out. We should have seen the difference just by looking out the front door, just like we did that very first morning," David added.

"I think we need to get back to the attic and try something different," Wilfred added.

David and Wilfred began moving toward the house immediately, not even waiting for Selena or Michael.

"Michael, everything was the same?" she asked again.

Michael nodded.

"Everything? You're sure?"

"Yes ...except...uh, never mind."

"Except what?"

"Oh nothing..." Michael smiled. "I just thought I saw someone I knew, but that would have been impossible ...never mind." Selena stared at him puzzled.

"But it was the same over there?"

"Oh ya. Exactly the same as earlier. No difference."

Selena grabbed Michael's arm and led him back to the house and up to the attic with the others. "Well, now what?" she asked.

Wilfred was rubbing his beard again. "Well for one thing, the radio is still playing," Wilfred stated.

The others looked at each other, understanding exactly what he was suggesting.

"You mean maybe we need to wait for the music to stop," David replied.

"Exactly." Almost instantly after Wilfred had finished his statement, the music suddenly stopped and the four of them quickly looked at the clock in surprise.

As the music faded to nothing, the images in the windows remained the same and didn't change as expected.

"Hmmph," Wilfred grunted, referring to the characters on the radio.

"Maybe it's changed outside now," Selena added.

The four of them all looked at each other cautiously and Michael moved suddenly down the attic staircase, down the hall to the foyer at the front, followed by the others. He opened the door and looked outside. Everything was as it was before. Nothing had changed at all and they were still in nineteen fifty-five.

Selena and Wilfred both sighed, discouraged at the fact it didn't work. Selena moved to the parlor and sat down on the couch. "What do we do now?"

David was the one who answered still studying the world out beyond the front door. "We try again." He closed the door and looked decisively at the others.

Wilfred put his hands on his hips, obviously feeling the defeat of not being able to change where they are. "Try what? What do we do?"

"Well, I for one aren't going to sit here in nineteen fifty-five for fuckin ever!" David yelled. "Something! ...Anything!...We can't just sit here and do fucking nothing!"

Wilfred hanged his head down and peaked over at David. He didn't say a word in response to David's excited tirade. No one did.

Selena looked outside and sniffled as the tears returned once again. Michael came over and sat next to her and held her.

"I agree, let's try something else," Michael said to no one in particular.

"C'mon Wilfred," David said, motioning for Wilfred to follow and the two of them returned back up the stairs to the attic.

Michael remained seated on the couch holding Selena tightly in his arms. He rocked her slowly, trying to calm her down.

"Michael, I'm just so scared ...and tired."

"I know," Michael said watching her. "Just relax for a bit. Close your eyes."

Selena did close her eyes, and Michael stroked her hair as she slowly drifted off into someplace much better than this.

Upstairs Wilfred and David had been trying once again to figure out the radio. David was busy tuning the radio back to a different station ...any station. Wilfred had the piece of paper out to copy the symbols down first. He assumed it automatically erased the last known destination. The funny thing about it was that nothing changed when they just tested this theory out. Then again, it also never sent them to a new time. They were missing something crucial.

David eventually found another station and Wilfred quickly began drawing the images with an amazing likeness for each character. David wound the radio up once again.

"You know...what we need to do is re-create exactly what happened the other night," David said still winding the radio.

"Uh huh," Wilfred said listening.

"You know what I mean? If we do everything the same and be sure we remember everything, then maybe we'll figure out what it was that made this thing activate the first time." Once again slow soft music began to drift between the two of them like some slow prairie river cutting its own changing path through some soft valley bottom.

"Uh huh," Wilfred uttered still copying the images.

"The problem is...I wasn't up here when you guys were messing with the thing."

Wilfred stopped drawing. "We weren't messing with it! I told you that before!"

"Well you guys did something when I was not here."

"Jesus you are some arrogant bastard sometime you know." Wilfred stared firmly at David. "I told you once and...no, I told you many times, no one messed with the thing at all."

"Then what did you do? Why did it send us back in time?"

"I don't have any idea. The only thing we did was wind the radio once...no twice, because it ran down, and Michael asked me to rewind it. We talked about some things and we all got kinda spooked and left. Michael went to turn it off, but there is no way to turn it off and we just left."

"Hmm...you just left?"

"Ya...we just left," Wilfred said again.

Wilfred went back to copying the last of the images. David strolled over to the far end of the room and laid down on one of the bunks.

Wilfred looked at the images he had drawn. A few may have meant something, but the rest bewildered him. He gently folded the piece of paper and tucked it in his pocket. He followed David down to the far end of the room and lay on the bunk under David.

The two of them began discussing the details of where everyone was the night they went back in time. At one point during their discussions the music stopped and Wilfred wandered over and wound it a second time. "Hey, we wound it twice the other night."

On his way back from winding the clock, he felt chilled as the coolness of the evening had crept in upon them. He glanced around for some firewood and saw none. Hell, Wilfred doubted he could even start a fire with real wood anyways. He maneuvered himself over to where the blankets were and withdrew a couple from the bottom. These ones had almost no dust on them. He stepped over to David and handed one to him and kept one for himself.

The two of them talked some more, going over every detail of who did what, turned what, touched what, and even said what.

Eventually they both drifted off to sleep...and the music played on.

Downstairs, Selena stirred restlessly nestled in Michael's arms, both long since asleep on the couch in the parlor...and in the attic the music continued to play.

The music drifted slowly about and the melodies changed from old ballads, to songs of mystic rhythms. The music wove itself and moved up and over the sleeping occupants, feeling its way amongst the visitors. The music seemed to breathe a sigh of relief throughout the house. In the attic, the intricate polished wood surrounding the radio in the shelving began to pulsate. Very subtle movements could be seen in the wood if one was watching, surrounded by a soft blue glow, but the occupants would never see this...they were all far away in some deep dream.

Outside the house, the wind began to pick up out from nowhere. The air began to fill with particles of dust and dirt. Leaves flew into the air. Branches on the trees began to shrivel away and were carried up into the mixture of dust that encircled the house. Slowly, other things began to change outside. Paint began to peel off some of the sidings revealing fresh new colors underneath. More plants withered away and sidewalks seem to dissolve, and all the dust and decomposing matter was drawn up in to the twister now surrounding the house.

Inside the occupants slept. They heard no sound from the outside somehow barricaded from the fury of noises just beyond the walls. But there was a new sound in the wind of the cracking of timbers as they were torn down and tossed up into the air. Other sounds emerged, low deep thumping and pounding as other timbers and beams were forced into the ground, and still the winds circled fiercer than ever.

Inside the house the silence was only broken by the quiet soft melody from the radio. A rich fast paced fugue was meandering through the house, befitting the destruction and creation occurring beyond the walls.

Outside the fury increased to a deafening roar. The debris soaring in the air had become so thick, that visibility outside was impossible as no light could escape the storm.

The radio played on. The windings were nearly completed. The deep hum from within the radio had increased in unison with the storm outside. Click by click the windings slowly wound down. Still the occupants slept; a sleep so deep the occupants would eventually awaken more tired from the energy drained away during the night.

Complete blackness now encompassed the house outside. The wind was thick and heavy now with all the debris it supported and hung heavy like a dry soup swirling around and around.

The music stopped with the final click of the windings, and slowly the nine images filling the windows on the radio began to spin away. Some to new images and some to a blank as the radio came to rest. Outside the black wind and all its fury stopped instantaneously with the last click of the windings, dropping all of its contents downward, gravity being restored. Down everything came suddenly if only for the dust, leaves, timbers and other residues to disappear into nothingness before striking the ground.

***

### Chapter 22

Selena awoke when her hand had fallen asleep after being crushed in between her body and the back of the couch. She quickly sat up and began rubbing her arm trying to restart the circulation. Michael was stretched out on the floor, sleeping. He must have slid off the couch after the two of them fell asleep last night.

She felt tired, still. Real tired. She glanced toward the window to see the sun had been up for quite some time, and leaned over to steal a glance at the clock in the kitchen.

"Ten forty-five," Selena muttered running her hand back through her long hair. She sat up looking at Michael.

"Michael," she whispered softly, not sure whether she should wake him or let him sleep. The memories of last night returned to her and disappointment rushed over her like a wave rushes over an old sand castle on the beach swallowing up all the evidence of what once existed.

"Shit," she said to herself looking around the quiet room. She really didn't want another day like yesterday and stood up to get a drink of water. She stepped over Michael letting him sleep. Selena glanced out the front window and a sudden rush of adrenaline exploded through her veins.

"What the..." Selena said quietly and moved apprehensively toward the front window.

"My god..." was all she could say. She leaned into the window, her mouth agape, and she could feel the coolness of the glass against her face as she pressed herself against the glass to pull in the view.

"Michael..." she whispered, waving her hand behind her, still staring out the window.

"Michael, Michael ...Michael," she said over again still in short whispers.

Outside, the world had changed. This was not like last time but severe. Selena looked up and could see the mountains still existed right where they were yesterday and from here they looked exactly the same, but as she looked down the street...

"Michael!" she gasped out loudly, sounding like a yelled whisper.

"Hmmnn," Michael muttered from the floor.

"Michael get over here..." Selena said, still waving her hand at him.

Michael looked up from his position on the floor. He quickly lifted his head to see what Selena was doing with her faced pressed flat against the glass.

"What are you?...Selena?" Michael sat up on the floor and rubbed his eyes, looking at her. He quickly reached on to the table for his glasses but quickly realized he had no more glasses.

He stared at Selena, as she stared outside.

Michael lifted his still tired body off the floor and moved painfully slow over to the window.

"No way..." he muttered with an awe-like quality.

"Michael...Look at this."

"Wow...I think...wow," Michael was taking in the view like Selena.

Selena was still looking out from the deck, past trees that were no longer there. The trees had vanished. The deck stood alone in the front of the house and there was little else beyond this. The shrubs, and flowerbeds, the large trees, and even the sidewalk had disappeared.

"Wow," was all Michael could say.

The sidewalk led down to a picket style fence that wasn't there yesterday. The most amazing thing to see was the road itself. Founders Road was nothing more than a dirt road, lacking of curbs, or sidewalks, lacking of streetlights, and looked to be more powdery and dusty than she would have expected.

There were now very few houses along Founders Road. The lot across the street was vacant, as were the ones on either side of it. The homes on each side of this house were still there, and as Selena looked further down the road in both directions, it appeared that almost every lot on this side of the road had a house.

The long grass filling the vacant land across the street was long and tired and mostly dried out. She could see that there mustn't have been rain for some time in whatever time this was. As she looked to the right, she could see the roofline of the Bluffington University in the distance as there were no large trees to block the view.

"We need to wake the others!" Michael exclaimed and rushed upstairs leaving Selena still at the window.

Selena slowly pulled herself away from the window and realized they had once again traveled through time, but this time it looked a little more dangerous and unsettling to her. As she stared outside it looked as if they've now traveled some great distance from home. The fifties now didn't seem so bad, nor so far away from where they had first started.

She walked over to the front door and stepped outside on to the deck. Her eyes sucked in the new view with a surreal clarity. There was dust everywhere; the color green seemed to be relatively scarce. Amongst this strange new desolate world, she could see the growth of the town was fresh and bold, as the houses seem to contrast the dull brown background with their new vibrant colors. To her the scene outside reminded her of a ghost town because of the old dusty roads and dried up shrubbery, yet the houses were built with incredible quality. She could see the trim and siding upon these houses was fresh and new. The lines of the trim were precisioned masterfully and defined unlike the sixties, when some of these exact houses had foundations that had moved and the weathered wood now had many coats of paint and repairs. But here and present, these houses were absolutely beautiful, even in amongst this apparent dust bowl.

David emerged first through the doorway on to the deck.

"Jesus fuck!" he said running his hand through his hair a couple of times. He looked up and down the street with deep interest. "Wilfred!" he shouted.

"Ya, what's up," Wilfred said emerging through the door, followed by Michael. "Oh," was all he could muster.

"I think it worked," David said smiling to Wilfred. "It worked..."

"How did it work?" Michael asked.

"Sleep!...Sleep!" David said, fists clenched in victory. "All we needed to do was set the radio and go to sleep."

Selena stared at David and Wilfred in disbelief, but it did make sense.

Wilfred was nodding his head "Or maybe you need to wind the clock twice."

"Maybe...anyway, I think we can do this over again," David said.

"Wow, this must be...what...the twenties...thirties?" he said excitedly looking up and down the dusty street.

"Maybe the dirty thirties," Wilfred suggested.

Michael walked down the steps to the street. "Hey, this is weird man...no sidewalks, and this road..." He bent down and scooped up some of the dirt. "It's like powder. I'd hate to see this road when it does rain," he said, letting the dust fall from his hands and dusting them off on his pants.

"Who's going to town on this one?" Michael asked.

"We don't need to go!" David said excitedly. "We know how this works. We should be able to map out all the stations and finally go back to nineteen sixty-six."

"Sure we could," Wilfred said, not sure why he was agreeing with David. He wanted to see more of this place.

"I'd like to take a walk down town..." Selena added, "after all, we will be here all day."

"How about the university? I'd kind of like to see that," Wilfred indicated. "I bet it's changed some since then...or since...now." He smiled.

Selena walked out next to the street and glanced around, looking at the hills and mountains beyond. They mountains did look the same from this distance. Timeless. Even behind the houses, toward the river, she could see it looked the same. The river probably flowed over most of the same rocks it still did in the sixties. The idea of what changes happen over time made Selena think of how insignificant human lives were in the big picture, just a fleeting passage amongst things as eternal as Mother Nature's backdrop.

"It would be nice to match a date to the images," David said. "You know...to maybe decode the images. It might make finding the sixties easier."

Wilfred nodded, along with Selena.

The group made their way back into the house and back up to the attic. Wilfred wanted seriously to keep documenting the radio stations. He saw this as the key to getting back, and so began dialing the different stations and recording the images down on different sheets of paper.

Selena was busying herself with the trunks. She needed clothes that suited this era if she was to be the one to venture beyond the barrier. Since no one else wanted to go, Selena accepted the challenge. There was something magical about seeing the past appear before her eyes and she couldn't resist the temptation to experience something like this. Wilfred also needed a date to match to the images on the station and Selena agreed his journey was easily justified.

Selena eventually found a trunk that had what she thought was suitable clothing for the time. She had chosen a full-length dress, very simple and plain at the top with a billowing bottom that was trimmed with a gray band of satin. She added a light blue long sleeved vest like shirt, which was also trimmed at the cuffs and collar with gray silk. Selena decided on wearing a corset underneath even though her thin lean frame probably didn't need it. Michael helped her lace up the back, given her one incredible hourglass physique.

She chose black boots that reminded her of a boot worn by polo players. To her, the boots didn't seem to fit, but the other footwear seemed even less appropriate with the dress. She found an umbrella and decided this would make a nice accessory to venture into town with. She finished up by pulling her hair up into a bun and clipping it in place with a hair band from one of the trunks. She was ready.

David and Wilfred remained in the attic as Michael escorted Selena out of the house.

"You are sure you don't want to come Michael?"

"Oh ya." Michael grinned, staring down the dusty road towards town.

"Suit yourself," Selena said and began strolling down the side of the road toward town.

Michael watched as her image slowly began to soften amid the snapping and crackling. In a few seconds, her image had begun to blur and only a few steps later she simply faded away.

***

Selena emerged through the snapping and crackling of the barrier and it was the smell of smoke that she noticed first. She looked back from where she had come, and could see the house, but no sign of Michael.

A slight breeze blew and swirled the fine dust around at her feet. She looked west to the mountains and could see the blueness of the sky was dampened with a smoky mask. The sun was high in the sky and was partially obscured by the haze but its heat still reached down to her with a menacing force. It was stifling hot. Selena quickly unfolded the umbrella, and lifted it above her head to shield the sun's rays from burning her as she strolled toward town.

There was no activity on Founders Road as she ventured toward town. She scrutinized all the houses on the street she had come to know so well. Today these houses all seemed larger and grander somehow, appearing almost mammoth when compared to the other houses she could see nearer the town. Small one and two bedroom homes lined the streets nearer the town center. Founders Road seemed almost out of touch with its grandiose architecture compared to those other more simple structures.

Selena gazed up to the mountainside and observed that Bluffington was currently confined to the flats of the valley's bottom. As she looked to the south she could see the scars on the hills where the Sherman subdivision would be eventually built in the early fifties. Today as she looked upon the scarred mountainside she understood more the evolution of the town.

Sherman subdivision was so named after its original creator, Walt Sherman. Walt didn't actually build the subdivision as some people in the sixties thought. Walt Sherman lived back in the early 1800's, and was one of many who sought gold in the mountains. Walt Sherman's story was much the same as many early miners, but Walt was one who's belief in finding gold went much further than most.

The story goes that Walt Sherman claimed to have discovered gold up in the hills south of the Highwood River in 1823. He kept the location and the discovery a guarded secret as he worked the hillside, and eventually carted his gold on to Calgary. Upon arriving in Calgary, he arrived just before closing to the assay office. They refused to take such a large amount of gold at this close to closing and instead instructed him to return the next morning. There was a hotel right next door if he chose. Walt reluctantly spent the night with all of his gold in the hotel. Once morning came and the assay office opened, Walt was there smiling and grinning with his bags of gold, enough to live happy for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, what was in the bags was not all gold, but iron pyrite, fool's gold.

The scandal began when Sherman accused the assay office and the hotel owners of switching his gold during the night while he slept. The assay office laughed at Sherman for being fooled by this false gold.

Sherman insisted that they had switched the gold and when the Mounties refused to do anything about it, Sherman tried to get the press involved. The newspaper did put out a story, but it was nothing like what Sherman had hoped, and instead of printing his side of the story, the paper had mocked Walt Sherman's claims, and made him out to be just one more tired old man who's dream of making it rich in the quest for gold was only destroyed by his own ignorance of minerals.

Walt Sherman returned to his claim on the hillside above the Highwood river and he went back to work even harder on his claim. That trip to Calgary was supposed to be the end of his days harrowing in the mud and sluicing. Instead of giving up, Walt hired help. He hired young men to help cut the mountain down with dynamite, and he hired men to break up the rock and others to build the wooden channels to direct the water for sluicing the newly exposed rocks. Trees came down, were cut and sold, to clear the way for Walt Sherman's determination. As the weeks went on to months, the hillside slowly was torn down. Walt did find minor smidges of gold, but nothing compared to the amount of iron pyrite he was seeing. He still refused to believe he was mistaken and, slowly the small mountain was transformed and the top was cut down and spread out, leaving a huge brown pan cake chiseled into the side of the mountain.

Walt Sherman ran out of money fairly quickly and soon began letting go of his hired help. Some just grew tired working for this crazy old man, but when it appeared to everyone, that Walt was having trouble finding the funds to make payroll, the help simply walked away.

Walt Sherman moved away. No one knows where he went, but his legend was forever chiseled near the top of the small mountain.

Selena looked at the mountain, shades of brown and gray. No trees grew on the barren remains of Sherman's hill.

As Selena neared town she saw a fairly new Model T, ramble on down Centre Ave in the direction of the university, lifting a fine suspension of gray dust into the air. It was being driven by a small man dressed in a black suit, sporting a wide moustache neatly trimmed and waxed. He gave a slight bow of the head as he passed Selena. She watched him disappear up the road and continued on toward town.

Main Street was very different. The sidewalks were non-existent and in their place was a boardwalk in front of all the buildings on both sides of the road. The boardwalk was un-even, built higher in front of some businesses and a few inches lower in front of others, all connected as one long walkway. In front of the boardwalk, was a simple log railing stretching down the entire length with openings in front of each business with a couple of steps reaching from the boardwalk down to the dust of Main Street. Hooked up to the railings in many places were numerous horses with the reins wrapped over the rails. In front of a couple other businesses, were parked a few more old cars and one very old flat bed truck. These vehicles were old by age only, as the colors and body of most were in wonderful condition.

Selena found her way up the few steps and on to the boardwalk in front of Walton's Barbershop. Walton's was on the corner of Main and Centre, and she was impressed by the cleanliness of the shop as she looked in through the window. Two chairs with small leather wrapped padding were mounted in the center of the room. A small sink was set against one wall with two small cupboards on each side containing basins, and bowls. On the far wall, were a couple of small mirrors, and a counter area where a hefty man in a white shirt and suspenders was running a blade back and forth across a leather strap. He glanced up as Selena was looking in from the outside. He nodded and went back to his business.

Selena moved on down the walkway and passed Dixie's Notion's next door that appeared to be a dressmaker and fabric seller. The fourth business was Stedman's Five and Dime. Selena was delighted that it was still here. She looked up at the sign and could see the weathered and faded features on the lettering were now completely restored. She ventured inside.

To Selena's surprise she was suddenly greeted by the friendly hello of the same man Michael and her had encountered yesterday, but with the youthful exuberance of a young man. Selena did the quick tour of the store, amazed at the collection of simple household tools, and staples that were set out upon the shelving. The store did not carry the newspaper, so Selena headed further down the street.

Judy's Diner did not exist yet, but in its Place stood a small fairly narrow three story building. "Bluffington Hotel" was written in bold black letters outlined with a strip of gold, across the top of the building.

Selena looked at the building, deciding whether to go in or not, when her eye caught the site of the Bank down a few doors in the next block. This was the bank the boys where talking about the other day when she was in the diner.

She looked carefully at the bank, and a shiver ran through her body. There was something about the bank that disturbed her. She stopped and stared at the bank trying to figure out what it was that was wrong, but the smoky sky above the mountains stole her attention once again. There was a fire somewhere and Selena presumed it was not too far away. By the amount of smoke and color of the sky, it was a big one.

She was about to cross over to the bank when an older man, probably in his fifties, spoke up.

"That's some fire up there, ain't she?" he said noticing Selena gazing up the mountainside.

Selena turned, startled by the man's presence. "Oh...Yes," she said giving the man a quick up and down. He was holding a corn broom and was in the process of sweeping the boardwalk free of dust.

"Yep. I think that's a little too close fer my liking."

"Too close?" Selena asked curiously looking back towards the smoke filled sky.

"Oiya... I recon she finally crossed over Cataract Creek and is climbing the other side of that there mountain right now as we speak."

Selena looked at the mountain the old man was pointing to, and could see the smoke cresting lazily over the top in small waves.

The old man studied Selena with his weathered eyes.

"You see," the old man said, "When the fire first comes over the mountains, it don't come all at once. Lookit...see over there?" The old man pointed to the north. "It's just smoke in the sky...but look over there to the top of that mountain, and ye kin see. See those small wisps of smoke sneaking over..." The old man now pointed to the large mountain to the south behind Sherman's hill, where she had been looking earlier. Selena did see it and it frightened her. The old man saw he'd frightened her. "Oh...don't worry missus. That's a good two or three days away at least."

The old man looked back to the mountain. "Yep. When the fire climbs up the other side of that mountain, she'll be throwing a lot more billowy smoke than that there right now. It'll seem like it's coming roit over the top, but it'll still be down in the valley bottom. When it starts to climb the other side o that mountain you'll know it. She'll be black here...Smoke so thick...black smoke...and white smoke too..."

The old man rubbed his short whiskers and stared thoughtfully at the mountain. "Could even be five or six days if the wind picks up and blows it back. Anyhow...I thinks there ain't gonna be nuttin that's stops this un 'cept for Mother Nature an a good rain..." The old man laughed as he finished, quite pleased with himself.

"Yep...an we ain't seen rain fer...gosh...I can't even remember, pert near three years now I'm guessin."

"Oh my...three years?" Selena asked. "That's an awful long time without rain." Selena looked back at the smoky sky and could see no clouds anywhere.

The old man studied Selena once again and stopped his sweeping and stood up and looked Selena over quickly top to bottom as she had done to him earlier.

"Ye ain't from round here is ye?" he asked although he already knew she wasn't. There wasn't anybody around here that didn't know about the lack of rain.

"Uhh...no. I'm just visiting."

"Vistin? Vistin who?"

Selena was stunned a bit by the boldness of the question. "Oh, just a friend...over on Founders Road."

The old man turned his head sharply, and looked up Main Street toward all the big houses on Founders Road in the distance. "Founders Road? You mean one of them houses?" He pointed his gnarled fingers up Main Street.

Selena was a little concerned by the man's curiosity but nodded back to him.

"Oh ...well then 'scuse me miss for my rudeness," he said and stood up straight. Selena didn't really understand his apology.

"My name's Jack Masters and this is my store, the tack shop," he motioned behind him with his thumb. He watched Selena as if this was supposed to mean something.

"I...umm... Nice to meet you Mr. Masters, I'm Selena Forester."

Selena reached out her hand and cautiously the old man took it. "Miss Ferster" he said shaking her hand.

The man had become suddenly quiet since Selena said she was staying on Founders Road. "So you run the tackle shop?"

"Yes Miss Ferster, been mighty grateful too."

"Grateful? I don't understand."

The old man looked her up and down again and gave his head a small shake, and scratching his head as he did. "You really don't do ya missus." The old man leaned the broom up against the building and took another long look up toward Founders Road and gave a small laugh and he shook his head again. "Yep. It's just like them all over again...he, he..." he said still staring up the road.

Selena really had no idea what Jack Masters was referring to when he began to explain.

"You see missus, I was sayin I'm grateful for the shop here. If it weren't fer the folks up on Founders Road I don't know where I'd be now or how I'd be eaten these days. My wife...she ain't well an my young uns are gone now, out on their own, so its jus me an the missus now... an..." The old man turned away momentarily, and Selena was sure he was wiping a tear from his eye.

Selena looked back up towards Founders Road and from here the large houses held an ominous presence.

The old man turned back to Selena and continued. "Yep. Those gentlemen look after us folks round here jus like they promised they would when they first came out here near'n thirty years ago." The old man rubbed his whiskers once more and moved over and leaned forward against the railing looking out in the direction of the university.

"Which gentlemen are you referring to?" Selena asked, even though she was pretty sure she already knew.

"He, he, the gentlemen on Founders Road mostly. Them the ones who built the university, and all the professes and docters and such that live there. You knows...them ones that came from all differnt places round the world."

"With no rain the past few years, they made sure all of us farmers had work. Specially since we couldn't grow a thistle in the soil these past few years. Yep. They come and saw what was happenin and took charge. They helped set up shops and stores for some, others they gave jobs at the university. Oh yea...helped me this shop here." He waved his hand back in the direction of the store behind him. "They built the building and brought in all the stock, and brought me in to make sure I could have enough money to eat, pay my bills, look after my wife and keep my farm down the road jus outside Longview Corner. An they don't tell a soul about why they did this. Jus a secret between me and them they said."

"That's remarkable." Selena looked down the street at the other businesses. "What about the other businesses, did they build those for the people around here to give them jobs?"

"Oh ya miss...some of em' I spose." The old man paused and stared off in the direction of the University.

"I mean missus Furster, they pert near built every building around here the last dozen years, or at least had sompin to do wiff em...you know, making sure this town is sompin special. And they don't want nothin back. That's the strange thing of it all..." He looked back at Selena "...and you staying at one of those houses and no one ever told you about the good they've done out here?" He shook his head again and let out another small laugh. "Yep. That's jus like em."

"You know, this building ere?" The old man stepped back and gave it a once over up and down. "She's a mighty fine building. Yep. They shore know how to build em, they's do."

"That's really mighty generous of them."

"Oiy, But they's always been like that. It's just, we don't sees much of them. They kinda keep to themselves....Always changing professors, some moving in and some moving out, but always the town jus keeps getting better."

The old man stared down the main street once more to Founders Road. Selena looked down as well.

"Do you know their names? The ones that set you up with this place?" Selena asked, curiously trying to match some of the founders to the house on Bluffington.

"Oiy missus, but that's private business that is."

Jack Masters puffed out his chest and moved back to pick up his broom once more.

"Where's you from anyway?"

Selena hesitated before answering. "Toronto."

"Turona," the old man mimicked back nodding up and down. "That's a long ways away missus. What you out fer?"

"Oh...like I said I'm just visiting an old friend." Selena was getting uncomfortable now, as the questions were becoming too real and she didn't want to get caught in a lie or trap. She decided it was time to move on.

"I thank you for your time Mr. Masters," Selena said and gave a nod and began to move further down the boardwalk.

"Enjoys yer stay miss Ferster" he replied. He watched her move gracefully down the boardwalk a few paces before returning to his sweeping.

Selena moved down the board walk away from the old man and was caught up in the beauty of the bank across the street. The building was obviously very new. It wasn't so much the impressive sandstone blocks that made up the front of the bank that impressed her, but the granite pillars that reached up high to the second story. This was more of the style and size of a bank she would have expected on Eighth Avenue in downtown Calgary, not out here in this small town of Bluffington. Exactly how much banking business could there be out here? Bluffington was a good day's ride by horse and at least three to five hours by car from Calgary. There was no other business out here except for the university, and this was comprised mostly of poor students....Or was it? With such an impressive list of professors from around the world, it wouldn't have surprised her to find that many or most of the students may very well come from well to do families. Maybe even from around the world. This might explain the need for such a bank in a place like this.

Selena took another glance towards the smoke filled sky above Sherman's hill and then crossed the dusty street toward the bank. The smoke was beginning to sting her nostrils as she breathed in. None of the people she saw strolling about seemed at all concerned over the smoke.

The bank she saw was an exception to the other buildings, as it did not have the boardwalk typical of all the other buildings. A poured concrete sidewalk raised above the street by a good three feet surrounded the front of this building.

Selena climbed the steps up to the bank and entered through the massive glass front doors.

Inside the bank, impressive pillars similar to those outside stretched up to the ceiling. The floor was made of some kind of polished granite, similar to the pillars. The ceiling was formed with an intricate tin bashed paneling painted a pale white and this was trimmed all the way around with a gold painted flower patterned molding.

The polished granite teller counter was set half way back from the front door, and in behind were many offices behind windowed doors, all finished with the same fine oak and trimmed with gold painted moldings. Above the offices Selena could see an open staircase rising up on the left to still more offices up high behind glassed windows that looked down over the front customer area. This bank reminded Selena of a more modern building of the sixties, not something she expected to see in the thirties.

As Selena glanced around, she noticed a small desk to the right of the main door she came in. Sitting at the desk was a guard dressed in a deep black uniform. The guard was carefully watching everyone who entered the bank and was right now watching her.

Selena tried to look natural, and made her way toward an obvious sitting area to the left of the doorway. She sat down on one of the wooden chairs and pretended to look like she was looking for something. She didn't have a purse or bag. She didn't even have a pocket. She glanced up to find the guard still staring at her.

Not knowing what else to do, she rose carefully from the chair and walked directly over to the guard.

"Excuse me sir," Selena said. The chair of the guard screeched across the floor as the guard rose from his chair. Selena noticed the guard carried a gun holstered to his waist.

"Yes miss?"

"Um...I was wondering if maybe you could help me..."

"I'll certainly try, but the tellers can answer most of your questions," he replied staring coldly at her motioning her towards the tellers at the center of the bank.

"It's just, I've been traveling for many days to get here, and I seem to have forgotten what day it is."

"Today is August 14th," he replied simply.

"August 14th!" Selena said trying to sound startled. "Oh my. I didn't think it was the fourteenth already."

"The fourteenth," he said assertively again and went to sit back down. Selena spotted a newspaper folded, sitting on the corner of the desk.

"Oh, you have the paper there I see. May I?" she asked reaching for the paper.

"Be my guest," he replied and he returned to his scanning of the patrons and began to ignore Selena standing directly in front of him.

Selena opened the paper and pretended to be looking through the articles, but she was really searching and trying to comprehend the date, August fourteenth, nineteen thirty-one. Selena fumbled through the paper for a few minutes, not really reading anything, just making it look this way for the guards benefit. She thanked the guard and left the bank.

Selena walked back down Main Street and hurried back to the house. She had enough of this town for today.

***

### Chapter 23

When Selena returned to the house, she found the others gathered once more in the attic. It seems they had discovered a total of eleven different stations so far. Wilfred had changed his mind about going to the university, and instead wanted to spend more time in the attic. He had carefully drawn up the images dialed in and so far, none appeared to have been playing music of the sixties.

Selena briefed the others on her little excursion to town and Wilfred wrote the date, August fourteenth, nineteen thirty-one, next to the images corresponding to this date. They now had two known dates. Neither would take them where they needed to go.

David relayed to Selena the deep discussions they had while she was gone. Time was running short for the four of them. The food was beginning to run low, especially fresh produce, bread and milk. Canned goods were okay for another week or two if need be. Wilfred brought up the fact that to check every station would require one day per station, and at one point they certainly would be out of fresh food. They needed to come up with a short-term plan to get through this.

Food would be critical. It was decided they would need to either steal food and consume it on the other side of the barrier, or get jobs to earn money. This idea was not met with enthusiasm by anyone. If they were stuck here in the past, they would need to work and put the money into the bank since they couldn't bring it through the barrier. Not only was this a problem but also they would need to eat out in town every day, since food would also not pass through the barrier.

The discussions went long into the evening and the different scenarios brought different reactions and different concerns. One thing was for certain. They needed to find the combination on the radio that would take them back to the sixties. The only way that still seemed logical, was to map out each station by trying one at a time until the sixties was located.

As the evening sky darkened and their hope of returning to the sixties seemed to fade with each degree the sun set, they all knew what they needed to do. Wilfred was the one who finally opened the face of the radio and dialed in one of the unknown stations he had mapped out earlier. Once the radio was wound up again with the mystical key, the sound of strings and brass began to fill the attic once again. Enthusiasm was not rampant, and a silent depression seems to abound across the attic settling on each one of them just as the decades of dust had settled over the years within the attic. Solemnly, the four retired down the steps leading from the attic, the slow lazy music drifting creepily with them down each step twisting and curling in and around them. They could feel it. The music was in control and had now wrapped its power around the four and was carefully letting them know that it had what they needed and even as they walked away, leaving the music behind, they each knew that the radio and the music meant life. Without the radio they would be imprisoned in a world they didn't belong.

Not much was said as each retired for the evening. They knew what was to come when they awoke. Another new world awaited them and another new stage would be revealed, and they would become the actors once again, if they dared. There was no choice. If they wanted to go home they must pass through the barrier donning garments from an unknown source, ready to act the role, like stage actors, but this stage was much grander and the roles didn't stop when exiting at stage left or right.

Slowly one by one, the occupants of the house began to drift off. Outside the winds of change began to stir once again and small whirlwinds began to appear out in the street, stirring up small brown puffs of dust in to the air. Dreams slowly came to those who slept; dreams that were deep. Dreams that struggled for survival and fought hard to maintain hope. Outside the sounds began to rise again. The roar of change was now upon them, and the tired soup of heavy dreams consumed the four of them.

***

### Chapter 24

Selena awoke still tired as the last dream quickly faded before she could catch any memory of it at all. She looked around her room covered with paintings and sketches she had done. On the floor was a pile of clothes needing to be laundered, books and study material from the university. Suddenly her time at the university and all the other students, classes and hopes seemed very distant. She knew what had happened last night and a knot formed in her belly as she realized that today was yet another day like yesterday, and outside awaited another new world.

A cool light filled the house this early morning and a chill ran through Selena's bones. It was cold in the house and as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen she avoided looking out the windows to what the night had revealed. She found David and Wilfred sitting in the kitchen. They had obviously been up for quite some time and greeted Selena with the news when she entered the kitchen.

"Hey Selena, it's a bit of a shocker hey?" Wilfred said motioning outside.

Selena shrugged and went to the kitchen window and looked outside. She was not impressed to see the snow falling heavily outside. She could see the house next door and the shrubs and small trees in the space between, denuded of leaves. Snow was resting in thin pencil size stacks on the branches and twigs. Selena studied the foliage and surmised by the size of the shrubbery, that they had moved forward in time for sure. Further inspection revealed houses now across the street that were non-existent yesterday. She could see some of these houses were relatively new, with no shrubs, hedges or trees at all in the front yards. Selena knew they had gone forward in time but to what date she couldn't tell. It was definitely between nineteen thirty-one and nineteen fifty-five.

"Uhhhg," Selena said. "Why did it have to be snowing?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," David answered.

"We figured it's around nineteen forty to forty-five." Wilfred said.

"Uhh huhmm," Selena studied the snow outside. "Is Michael up yet?"

"No, haven't seen him," David replied. Wilfred shook his head side to side in agreement. "I'd make breakfast, but were out of stuff."

Selena looked at David, not wanting to address the lack of food right now.

"We have no milk...no bread, or buns, no juice, no bacon....no eggs...oh ya, no butter...no..."

"Okay! Okay!" Selena shouted back. "I don't really need to hear this right now!"

"So sorry, but it's the truth and we need to face up to this right away," David snapped back.

Selena looked at Wilfred. Wilfred said nothing and just shrugged his huge shoulders. Selena shook her head. "Do we have coffee at least?"

"That we do," Wilfred said and rose quickly and reached into the cupboard for a cup.

"Ya, but even that's not going to last long. We should be rationing everything," David said.

"Will you stop being so negative already?" Selena replied. "I just woke up, and I don't want to get into a big discussion this early in the morning."

Wilfred poured the coffee into the cup and passed it to Selena.

"That's too bad, because I'm not going to stop telling you guys what we need to do right now. This is serious. I want to get back home and I am not going to starve or die while I'm sitting here in this house."

"You're not going to die David," Selena said, warming her chilled hands with the cup of coffee.

"No food! No nothing! What are we supposed to do?"

"Would you quit already David! We'll find our way back. We just...we just have to take our time and..."

"Take our time!" David shouted. "Take our time! What have we been doing know for the past three days? People are probably wondering where we are!"

"Or maybe they aren't," Wilfred spoke up. Selena was glad he did because she really wasn't in the mood for David's little temper tantrums right now.

"What are you talking about?" David asked. "We have been gone for three days now, and someone now knows we are missing. We didn't show up for school on Monday. Not a single one of the four of us showed up for school. I think someone would have noticed this."

"Or maybe we did," Wilfred said quietly back to David.

Selena watched as Wilfred toyed with David's temperament, but she didn't understand why he was doing this.

"Or maybe we did what?"

"Did show up for school."

"Huh?" David remarked, clearly confused.

Wilfred sat back down and rested his elbows on the table as he spoke. "Well just maybe, as you yourself said David, that this is a time warp thing. If we went back in time, we left Saturday morning. If we go back to the sixties, maybe we will go back to Saturday morning and everything will continue the same."

"Well...uh," David paused to think about this. Selena could tell that David half understood what Wilfred was saying.

"You mean that if we go back, we might go back to the same day we left?" Selena asked.

"Exactly... maybe. It's just a guess."

"Something about that idea bothers me," David added.

"What?" Wilfred and Selena replied at the same time.

"Well if that's true and we go back to say...for example, the fifties...I mean if we go back to the fifties again tomorrow and arrive on the same date we did two days ago, would we be there already?"

"Oh my," Selena said understanding what David meant.

"Yes." David was nodding his head, "...like we go back and we repeat the same thing we just did, and we get caught in a loop. Maybe forever."

Wilfred was shaking his head. "I don't think that's possible."

Michael entered the room. "Good morning everyone," he said his pleasant grin spread wide across his face.

"Oh, good morning sweetie," Selena said and she put her coffee down and rushed over to Michael and wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey, hey now, take it easy. I see I'm the last one up this fine day."

"Some fine day this is," David said motioning outside.

"What's a little snow?" Michael said as he kissed Selena on her forehead.

"Oh Michael. I miss you so much sometimes." Selena squeezed him one more time and then let Michael free.

"Me too. So what's the scoop out there anyway?"

"Well it looks like we're somewhere between where we were and where we were before," Wilfred said. "Kinda like stuck in the middle of nowhere."

"Ya...and with nothing to eat," David added.

Selena looked at Michael and rolled her eyes. Michael quickly understood that Selena was not impressed with David this morning.

Michael spied the coffee and helped himself to a cup. "So, did anyone come up with a plan or anything?" Michael moved toward the kitchen window and gazed at the winter that had taken hold over the night.

"Not really," Wilfred said.

Selena stayed close to Michael, and stared out at the winter with him.

"I guess once I'm done my coffee I'll go out to town to find the date," Wilfred said resignedly. "Does anyone want to come with?"

Selena looked at Michael.

"I don't want to go anywhere. I just want to go home," Michael stated.

"Well it's not going to be that easy, lover boy!" David responded harshly.

"Would you stop calling him that?" Selena said sternly.

"Why, does it bother the poor guy? If Michael wants me to stop he can tell me himself."

Selena gave David a hard stare. David just smiled.

"Well Michael?" David asked. Michael said nothing and instead turned away trying not to let David get under his skin but it clearly wasn't going to be easy.

"Why do you have to be so...so...so obstinate!" Selena shouted at David.

David raised his hands, palms outwards, as if to defend himself. "Me? I'm just telling it like it is. We're running out of food and we have nowhere to go."

"Well, I think I'm just about had enough coffee. Does anyone want to come up to the attic with me, maybe help pick out some clothes?" Wilfred asked rising from his chair, ignoring the filibuster that was growing in the kitchen.

"Ya, I'll come," Michael said, pleased that Wilfred had offered him an out of the conversation with David.

Wilfred and Michael left the room, Michael toting his coffee with him.

Selena turned forcefully back to David after the others had left.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" David said with a smirk imposed across his face.

"You know...get on Michael's case all the time now. You never used to do this before we got stuck here. What is it with you now David? I mean, I really need to know because when you say stuff like that to Michael you not only insult him, but you hurt me as well."

David said nothing and Selena could see he was struggling for the perfect answer.

"I...I really don't know. Maybe it's just for pleasure." David laughed. "But Michael has......It's just... he pisses me off sometimes, that's all. Him and his silly little grin. Always smiling. Always happy, no matter what is going on."

David shuffled himself in his chair. "Sometimes I wonder if he really understands how bad things are, that's all."

"And so you insult both him and me. Like that's really adult like."

Selena had had just about enough of David's lack of respect for Michael and the others. She wasn't sure she should even finish this one on one with David. It didn't appear to be solving anything.

"Well that's just the way I am. I don't think I'm any different than I was before. Maybe it's just you that's getting all worked up, being stuck here and all."

"Oh ya...gee David, that must be it," Selena responded back sarcastically.

"I don't get you. Nor Michael," David explained. "We are stuck here! Don't you get it? Stuck! Stuck! Stuck! How do you suppose we will ever get back without starving to death first or having to spend some umpteen different nights going to umpteen different time spaces or continuums or whatever you want to call them?" David slammed his fist against the wall. "This is serious and no one here seems to get it!"

"David, you are such an idiot sometimes." Selena brushed her hair away from her face. "We all know we have a situation on our hands and we all know what we are up against. I just wish you'd lighten up a bit as we all try to figure this out."

David laughed and shook his head.

"Are you laughing at me David? If you are, then you really are losing it. We will find a way out and we need to work together to do this. Jesus! We can't go around insulting each other just because were upset!"

David stood up, threw up his hands. "Selena, if you really want me to back off I will. But I ain't going to sit around doing nothing like the rest of you." David got up from his chair and started for the door.

Selena watched David as he left the room. "What can you do David?" but David didn't reply.

Selena walked over to the window once more and stared at the snowflakes as they continued to smother all that existed outside.

"Fuck!" she said to no one.

***

Wilfred came down shortly afterwards, dressed in brown khaki's, heavy boots, a tweed overcoat and red woolen scarf. Selena and Michael wished him luck as he headed out the door, and followed him out as far the porch. David was nowhere to be found. Selena guessed he was in the studio burying his-self in his book or another artwork to escape the reality that had come down upon them.

Selena held Michael as she watched Wilfred descend down the steps and across the walkway toward the snowy street. Wilfred wandered to the middle of the road, his footprints being the only sign of activity in the neighborhood. Michael snickered as Wilfred had walked about a dozen paces down the center of the road and then quite quickly dashed off to the sidewalk. "I think he just remembered what happened to me, when we walked down the center of the road."

"I hope he'll be fine," Selena said, watching Wilfred's image begin to fuzz away.

Hours had passed while Wilfred was gone and Selena and Michael continued to discuss the possibilities of the multi-dimensions of whether or not they would be in another time already if they went back a second or third time. It seemed to Michael that they couldn't erase themselves since the doorway or portal or whatever it was has been open long before they even came along. This meant that, when they went back to the fifties or thirties, it was not only possible but highly probable that someone else who had used the radio thing, had traveled to the same date in time, yet they didn't see anyone else in the house when they awoke, nor did they ever see anyone come back to the house. They reasoned that there must be multiple levels when going back in time and each trip back was unique and isolated. This would somehow mean that if they went back in time, they would arrive on the same date, the same time, as before and another portal would exist over top their own. If this weren't the case, they would wake up with different people in the house that had traveled through that same portal to the same date.

One thing that seemed to back this up was the house itself. It didn't change at all on the inside. All their clothes, food and possessions remained exactly as it was in nineteen sixty-six. Michael concluded that if someone else that had used this, say, in the thirties, the house would have held the contents and life of the thirties as it traveled back and forward through time. The possibilities where suddenly endless.

David came out after a few hours and nodded to Michael. This was his impersonal way of apologizing for his behavior without having to really say the words. Michael nodded back, not impressed by David's reluctance to apologize properly.

Michael and Selena discussed their theorem with David and he too seemed to think Michael's theorem was sound. To David this meant that other travelers from the future and or past arrived the same time they did during the night as they slept. Neither party aware of the other's existence. It was possible that some of the people they had seen in town had not been from town at all, but were travelers just like they were. It shed a whole new outlook now. Selena tried to examine her memory for people she had seen while out in town. Had there been anyone that fit the profile of a traveler? She couldn't think of anyone.

Wilfred returned as the sun had moved to the west. The snow had stopped falling but the sky remained clouded over maintaining the gloomy overcast they all felt. Wilfred had ventured to the university and had discovered that it was indeed nineteen forty-six. December eleventh was the date. The university was alight with prosperity with many young men whom had served overseas returning to finally enter or finish post-graduate studies. Wilfred found that the university had an alarming increase in enrollment, quite a turnaround over the previous four years as the Second World War had drawn potential students away to war year after year. Wilfred also found the university had been instrumental during the war offering up its technical expertise on chemicals and strategic studies to the Canadian military. Overall Wilfred had uncovered one major thing he had never understood about the university. It was an integral part of life in more than just Southern Alberta since its formation. As it grew it was more renowned than he ever knew, and was deeply regarded as a source for knowledge by many arms of the government during the crisis the government had faced over the past few decades. The thirties brought on a recession no one had ever seen or believed possible. The university played a role with its political and economic experts in helping the government formulate policies and economic actions to stimulate economic growth. In the forties as war raged, its experts were consulted constantly. This was common knowledge at the university as it happened, but little of this contribution was known through the rest of Canada. Bluffington University was embedded with activities related to the war and the post war efforts. Wilfred felt a kind of pride now since returning.

When asked how he found all of this out, he told the others he had told the dean of admissions that he was a student looking at enrolling in either Eton, Harvard or here, so he came down to see Bluffington and he really wanted to find out the quality of the university, along with its history, professors and founders, and finally its accomplishments before committing himself.

Wilfred told the others how significant he thought the university really was. These weren't just professors and doctors like any university. These were the elitist and most reputed scientists, and doctors and theologians from around the world. Founders Road was not just another street, but a street that became home to many of the world's best and most regarded figures. The average person never knew most of their names, but in the quiet circles of governments, and medicine, science and even politics, the names were all very well known worldwide. This brought Wilfred to bring forth yet another idea that the houses on Founders Road were probably all just as unique as the originals whom resided in them. The possibility that there were other houses on Founders Road similar to this one became clearly evident to all of them.

"So what do we do?" Michael asked as they all sat around the table once more.

"Well I think we give another go tomorrow," Wilfred replied, picking at his macaroni and cheese.

"To where?" David asked.

"Anywhere. Anywhere but here."

"You mean to just keep trying over and over again?" A tremor of frustration was woven in David's voice.

"Yeah, unless you have a better idea."

Selena looked at Michael and the others. She had been thinking of the events and the history and what it all meant. She had an idea. It wasn't an idea to get them all home quite yet, but it may solve some of the problems. She just wasn't sure anyone would buy in to it, so she buried it for the moment.

"Well, I was kinda thinking," Wilfred injected. "It's not like, it's gonna help us. Maybe it will... but...uh..."

"Go on Wilfred, spill it," Michael said grinning at Wilfred's nervousness.

"Well, I didn't really want to say this, but I got to thinking... That we may be stuck here for more'n just another day or two...an...well," Wilfred scratched his head and bowed his head forward slightly, his eyes peeling cautiously side to side at each of the others.

"What is it Wilfred?" Selena asked him trying to encourage him to continue.

"It's just I was thinking. We're kinda stuck here right now an...well I hope you don't think I'm evil or anything, because I ain't...but..." He scratched his head again.

"Oh come on Wilfred!" David quipped.

"You don't need to yell, David," Selena said calmly. "Go on Wilfred. I think I know where you're going with this." She looked at Michael who now looked very confused as he looked back and forth between Wilfred and Selena.

"Okay. Here goes...You see, you all know about marketing and what we did back there before we got stuck here." Everyone was listening to Wilfred now.

"I was thinking, maybe we could do a little investing while we are here. You know...like buy some stock in...say Pepsi or Coke."

"What?" David said quite belligerently. "You're telling me you want to go out and invest in stocks right now while we are stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, with no food, and no way to go home? I don't believe you! Jesus Fuck! You don't even have any fucking money Wilfred!"

"No...I just...I mean, all I wanted to say was, were stuck here right now anyway. Why don't we just spend some time? An hour or so and go do this. You know how much money we'd have when we got back?"

"You're outta your fuckin mind, Wilfred!" David stated. "Do you believe this guy?" he asked looking at Selena and Michael.

"Well actually I do," Selena said and saw the look of surprise on Michael's face.

"I'm sorry Michael...David, but I've been thinking about our food problem for a while as well and I began thinking about working and how long it would take to save any money to even get something to eat. I mean...we'd all have to go to work...and we'd have to wait for a payday to get paid, and then we couldn't even take our food with us. That would mean we'd be forced to keep working and stay in one time place. Probably for quite some time. Maybe months."

"No, no," Wilfred interjected." Not necessarily. I was thinking we get bank accounts with our names and our signatures...say go back to the thirties and open the account."

Michael began to laugh. "Ya, and when we show up in the sixties, we'd be like what? Thirty years too young to collect on the account."

"No...no... I thought of that too...sort of, but...well I was just thinking of the investing part really, but we'd open the account under our names. Sort of like a trust account for our future kids. Use our names, that way it'd be there and match our ages."

David was watching the three of them, his mouth drawn open. "This is stupid talk. We need to find a way to get home and that's all. Forget all this shit you guys are on about. Jesus!"

"No David. I think Wilfred's idea is kind of neat. It at least takes our minds off being stuck here," Selena refuted.

"Ya but you guys aren't really going to do any of this. I mean, you don't have money. You don't have any jobs. You got nothing. Go ahead, talk away. You can't do any of this anyway. So do it. Talk away. Make plans."

Selena ignored David and began again. "Wilfred, I was just thinking. What if we did come across a pile of money? Not just a few bucks, but let's say...thousands. How much could you turn that into in ten years, from the fifties to sixties?"

Michael frowned at Selena. "Thousands of dollars? Where..." Selena raised her hand to hush Michael up. She wanted to hear Wilfred's reply.

"Actually quite a lot. Some of the stocks have had rates of returns in the high thirty's over the last ten years. That would make them go up about eight hundred percent in ten years. A thousand could turn into twenty thousand if we invested in the right companies."

"And we know the right companies right? I mean we come from the sixties. What's the big movers? Does anyone know what the high stock companies are?"

No one said anything. Selena was actually quite serious about this.

"We'd have to get a newspaper and find the stock prices from now time to see what was low right now in this year, and became successful in the sixties. I think that's the only way. I never look at stock prices," Wilfred said.

"Don't look at me," Michael responded." I don't even know what a stock is, or how it works."

Selena looked over to David. David was now highly agitated and his eyes were darting around at all of them and he was blinking rapidly. Selena was expecting another outburst from him soon.

"Okay. So we could do this?" she asked Wilfred.

"Oh ya. It would be easy. All we need is the money," Wilfred replied enthusiastically.

Selena turned and stared out the window deep in thought.

"I...I really don't like the idea of having to stay here for a few weeks or months...just to turn a buck into something more." Michael spoke up. "Really...we already are making a bunch with our art already."

Selena continued to stare out the window. "We need to eat," was all she said.

"Yes we do," David interjected heartily. "And for that we need to either buy food, steal food or get the hell outta here! Maybe even steal money for food if we have to, cause I'm not going to starve to death out here!"

Selena turned back to them all once again. She clenched her hands together and began to reveal the idea she was reluctantly rolling over in her head.

"We need to eat, and we need money. Does everyone agree?"

"Oh yeah," Wilfred said. David and Michael just nodded.

"I have an idea that might help." Everyone stared at Selena listening.

"I think I know where we can get some money. Lots of money." She looked at David trying to bring him on board with her plan.

"We need food, and we need to have money fast so we can buy food right away...like the next few days. I'm taking about enough money to buy, food with some leftover to invest." Selena looked at David now to see if he was opening up to what she was saying. David's agitated state seemed to have abated somewhat as Selena expressed his concerns quite clearly.

"The problem we have is we need to have money and open bank accounts on the other side of the barrier in town. Is that going to be a problem?" she asked looking at Wilfred.

"Uh...no problem. I don't think you really even need any ID the further back you go in time...just a signature and cash."

"Okay...uh, if we were to take some of the money and invest it as you suggested, could this be done here in Bluffington or would we need to go to Calgary?"

"Where are we gonna get the money?" Michael asked.

"One thing at a time Michael. Wilfred? Can we invest here?"

"I doubt it. We would need to go to Calgary and speak with either a broker or a banker or both."

"If we did invest now, then how do we get the money back in the sixties?"

"Well..." Wilfred laughed. "I don't really know...um... We could open accounts in our names, to be accessed by us in the future. We might need an agent or a broker to manage our accounts... yea, that's it. We would need to hire an investment manager or broker to look after the accounts to make sure they didn't go dormant. Bank accounts go dormant if there not used and the account becomes frozen."

"Oh...that would be a problem."

Suddenly David spoke up. "All you need to do is pay a broker a royalty or premium to make your account stay active. He only needs to shuffle things back and forth or make a deposit or withdrawal to the account. Jesus, I can't believe I'm giving you advice on this. I still think this is a waste of our time."

"Thanks for that David," Selena said half serious for his input and half sarcastically for his last comment. "Then it can be done?"

"Except for getting to Calgary," Wilfred added in.

"Well we could boost a car..." Michael said.

"Boost a car," Wilfred said amazed. "You know how to boost a car?"

"Oh, it real easy. Just two wires under the dash and she's off...zoom. You've never boosted one?"

Wilfred just shook his head at Michael smiling

"So we can boost a car, and we can do this. Do you think that the bank might be suspicious with a real large deposit of cash though?" Selena added not realizing she had not yet told them about the main part of the plan.

"I'm sure if we use a broker, they wouldn't be," Michael replied.

"A large amount? What cash?" Wilfred said.

"Oh...I didn't tell you that part yet."

"No sweetie, you kinda left the main part out," Michael said.

"Knowing where the monies coming from would help," Wilfred added in. Selena could see David studying her hard now, his head cocked to the side; his eyes now narrow and untrusting.

"Okay. Here it is. Um...we've been talking about this radio thing and last night got me thinking." Selena turned towards David, focusing her determination in his direction. It was clear to the others she thought he was the hardest to reach and the time had come for the final pitch.

"David, you said, you thought we couldn't go back in time and interfere with someone else going back, even if we went back to the same time we went to already before. You seem to think that we would be there twice at the same time."

"Uh huh," David replied.

"It's like the barrier is more than just a barrier from the world beyond out there in Bluffington, it's also a barrier from the other people coming back on the same day from different times."

"Uh huh, that's possible," David replied.

"You mean that inside the barrier, there are others here at the same time as us right now, right here, where we are?" Michael asked.

It was David who answered this one. "Not really right where we are, Michael. I would think that all the houses sort of exist on their own but overlap, like their all layered on top of each other at the same time. The barrier is just a doorway back to the very house you traveled back in time from."

Selena interjected, "I then take it David, you would agree that if we decide to go back to that Saturday in the fifties once more tomorrow, then that would mean when were there a few days ago, we were also there from when we go tomorrow. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Oh ya, I get what you're saying precisely. Go on," David urged.

"I don't quite," Michael interjected. "You mean we will be there already if we go back a second time?"

"Yes, and maybe even a third or fourth time. I think maybe we were already there when you and I were in town Michael," Selena replied.

"Then how come we didn't see each other?"

"How do you know we didn't," Selena said thinking back to the events in the Diner.

"Well I didn't see any of you," Michael said, and Selena saw a flash of shock pass across Michael's face.

"What is it Michael? You did see someone didn't you?"

Michael shook his head side to side in denial. His color had faded to a dull pale.

Selena knew Michael had seen something that day when he came back and he dismissed it then, and told her what was it?...Oh yes, that he thought he saw someone he knew, but that would have been impossible.

"Did you see someone?" Wilfred asked Michael.

Michael just stared back at Wilfred, taking in Wilfred's large frame from head to toe. He didn't answer.

"It doesn't really matter," Selena continued on "...because I think we were back there in the fifties, doing what we are planning right now."

"And what exactly are we planning?" Wilfred asked.

"Something that already happened and I think it was us that did it."

"What are you talking about? What was it that we already did?" Michael interjected.

Selena hesitated for a moment feeling everyone staring at her. "A bank robbery," she said simply.

Silence filled the room.

***

### Chapter 25

Selena recounted the story she had overheard the boys in the diner discussing while she had been waiting for Michael when the two of them had journeyed beyond the barrier to town. She told the others that she now believed that if they went back to pull off the robbery it was a high probability that they were already there that Saturday robbing the bank, and from what she had overheard the boys saying, it sounded as if everything had went pretty close to the plan and the robbers got away.

David was the one to give most opposition to the idea.

"You're absolutely nuts if you think, I'm going to take part in a robbery," he said.

"Well I think you already did David," Selena rebutted.

Wilfred and Michael watched Selena and David debate the issue back and forth. Wilfred was amazed at how Selena used David's own words of understanding the time continuum thing that led them all to believe that they couldn't really change history because they were already a part of it. After some fifteen minutes of denial by David, he finally agreed that if this was them in the past, he must have already agreed to it and by resigning himself to this fact now would further strengthen his own argument that he was right about how the time continuum worked. He would have to agree now to have been there for the robbery two days ago.

"Do you remember what you asked me the other day?" Selena asked directly to David.

David just stared, knowing that she was going to reveal something he didn't really want to hear.

"You were in the studio reading your book and staring at that blank canvas. Do you remember what you asked me?"

David shook his head in defeat. "Ya, I remember." David looked up to see all three staring at him.

"Why did you ask me that David?"

Selena looked at both Michael and Wilfred and saw the confusion on their faces.

"It just...I don't really know. It just seemed that I was not in control of anything that was happening to me...to us right then...and it seemed after we got back...like it was almost as if what Wilfred and I did that night had already happened before we went."

"Well I think this is what you were speaking of. We all go back to nineteen fifty-five and take our place and do what we already did. I don't really think we have any choice."

Michael and Wilfred continued to frown, clearly not understanding the conversation between Selena and David.

David looked up. A beaten expression was resigned across his face. He shook his head side to side and threw his arms in the air and let them fall limply at his sides.

"So what do we do?" Wilfred asked still confused.

"We need to plan this thing out. Completely." She looked at David and saw that he was not in the mode to debate this anymore.

The plan was put in motion. Tomorrow the four of them would prepare themselves, and rob the bank as planned. For hours they discussed how to boost a car, when this was to happen, and who was to take what role in the robbery. Selena impressed on them all, that they didn't need to go into too much detail on the actual robbery, because it was a successful robbery according to the boys in the Diner. And most importantly, she emphasized those key words the boys had spoken; the fact that the robbers seemed to have vanished right before the eyes of the police. It was a clean perfect getaway. This was a key topic brought up as every now and then when someone's eagerness to participate would shift and wan. The fact that the robbers vanished always seemed to bring them back on board. That this one bit of information was enough to instill faith in involving one's self in a crime was remarkable, but it did. Those words "seemed to vanish" held a special unique kind of strength with the four, reportedly coming from an innocent boy who spoke them, clearly not understanding their true meaning.

After the radio had been tuned to the fifties once again, Selena spent what was left of the evening with Michael in his room. They cuddled for a while. Michael wanted to hear Selena say over and over again that everything was going to be okay tomorrow. Selena did as he asked and she wondered now how strong Michael really was. His silly grin had disappeared for most of the evening and she could see he was stressed by the whole idea of packing guns for a robbery. Mostly Michael was concerned about her safety, and he told her couldn't live if anything would happen to her. He couldn't bear it, he told her over and over again and for a moment, as they cuddled, he began to cry, wishing they could trace their steps back and escape just the two of them. Forget the art, forget the fame, and everything else that went with it. All he wanted was she to be with him and he cried quietly in her arms as she held him. Selena had finally discovered that he loved her as much as she loved him and it was beautiful. If only it had been at another time and place.

Selena finally left Michael around midnight. As she lay under her own comforter thinking of what lay ahead she felt terrible guilt; guilt for not retelling the complete story of the robbery as she had heard the boys tell it and guilt for not telling of the casualties that resulted. The young lady was probably dead, and a young boy was left to live without a mother. One of them may have been shot as well. She tried to tell herself that it didn't matter that she didn't tell the others, because it already happened and it wouldn't change the outcome. Somewhere deep inside, she felt cheap and dirty.

Selena believed that if she did tell the others about the incident with the young mother as the boy in the diner had described it, that they would by some means not go through with the plan, and that could only mean that it wasn't them there that day after all. But David's question keeps revolving in her mind "Do you believe in destiny?" She did. She always has believed in some divine plan for everyone. Was she being selfish now in forcing her belief in destiny on the others by keeping a secret from them, coercing them to commit a crime they may never have committed if it wasn't for her? Sleep was slow in coming this night, but sleep did come. Heavy and hard the sleep finally overtook Selena.

The windings inside the clock had been once again tightened, and as the wheels inside began to move once again, so did the music eke out from another time to steal its way once again into the night.

Outside the house, the winds began to pick up once again. The snow began to fade away and rise upward into the dark concoction that twisted and whirled around the house while the four of them fell in to a deep slumber. Dreams of shadowy horrific ideas packed their minds as they slept. Tonight they all tossed and turned and sweat beaded up on their brows, but on they slept. Outside the winds roared in an angry fury, tossing twigs and branches high into the air once more. Ceaselessly the music played, melodies floated vibrantly and needful around the attic, waiting, waiting and wanting for a new day.

***

### Chapter 26

The four of them awoke one by one and each one made the sobering journey downstairs alone. Upon arriving at the foyer, each one then made the slow but careful stroll over to the picture window in the parlor to see what changes the rising sun has revealed. They all felt the same implausible denial as they viewed what appeared to be the exact scene from a few days ago. Nineteen fifty-five had returned and with it came a hellish day that all but one would remember.

David had already made the coffee and was sitting at the table with Wilfred and Michael when Selena entered the room.

Selena paused at the doorway to the kitchen and, instead of entering she leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms across her chest, hesitant to enter just yet. She glanced back toward the parlor trying to steal another glimpse of the scene outside.

"Coffee's made," Wilfred said to Selena.

Selena shook her head side to side, not wanting to talk just yet. She was having trouble believing this was really happening and that they were really going to do this.

"What's up sweetie?" Michael asked alarmed, watching Selena hanging at the doorway.

Selena waved her hand through the air indicating nothing and then relented and entered the kitchen with the others.

"Is everything okay?" Michael asked once more.

"Yes, everything is fine Michael, I'm just a little nervous about today, that's all."

Wilfred chuckled. "A little nervous... I'm just shitting here right now and we ain't even done nuttin yet."

"I...I really think maybe we should reconsider..." David added in, looking down into the swirling steam rising from his coffee.

Selena was not totally surprised that someone would say that this morning. "Guys? We all agreed to do this last night, and we just wasted another day here if we don't go through with this."

"I really don't think I want to. Maybe you guys go and...I can...maybe wait here...and..." David uttered quietly.

"Wait here?" Wilfred asked loudly. Wilfred laughed again. "There's no way, you're staying here if I'm going buddy. No way."

"Hey, we all gotta go or it won't work, am I right?" Michael asked looking from one to another rather quickly. "I mean, there was four of them that did the robbery so we need to all go."

"Michael's right David. You're going..." Wilfred added in. "You're going 'cause I'm going, and Michael's going and Selena's going. We're all going."

"Guys! Guys! Let's calm down for a second!" Selena interjected. "Everyone just be quiet for a minute!"

Everyone stopped and stared nervously at Selena. Selena moved over to the counter and filled her own cup with coffee. She glanced over to the three of them and realized she had never seen the three so uptight about anything. They all sat silently watching Selena add the sugar to her cup and give a couple of quick stirs.

"We all agreed to this last night, and we all know what we each have to do today. Wilfred, your okay with everything we discussed last night?" Selena asked Wilfred first since he seemed the most sure that he wanted to go through with the plan.

"Ya, I think so."

"Michael?"

"Um...Ya, boost the car and the other stuff... Uh, ya sure."

Selena didn't think he sounded too confident but his answer was another go.

"David?" Selena looked at David. David was still staring down into his coffee.

David began shaking his head side to side. "Man, I never did anything illegal in my life...nothing." David went silent.

"David? Are you okay with the plan as we discussed last night, that's all I want to know right now?" Selena glanced anxiously at the clock and could see it was shortly after eight in the morning. Less than six hours to get ready.

David nodded his head resignedly, still looking down.

"David, I need you to answer out loud so we'll all feel comfortable about everything and everyone. Believe me it will help us all and you as well. Are you okay with the plan?"

David looked up at Selena. "Comfortable? No. Do I understand what I am supposed to do? Yes I do."

"We're all nervous about this," Selena replied.

"Nervous?" Wilfred said and laughed again. "Hell I've gone way beyond nervous. Look at me. I look like I've had a couple pots of Michael's coffee already today." He said holding out is hand, making it shake. "Sorry Michael."

Selena knew Wilfred was making fun of Michael's attempt to make coffee. He never could get it right and the coffee ended up blacker than the despair they all felt upon waking just four short mornings ago.

"Okay then, we'll all need to start getting ready real soon, agreed?"

"Agreed," Michael and Wilfred answered. David just nodded staring into his nearly empty coffee cup.

The four of them returned to the attic to select suitable attire for the day's activities. Selena reminded everyone that black seemed to be the color the robbers were wearing and they needed to find balaclavas or hoods or something similar as well.

After some searching, the four managed to find clothing to fit all. They found three black balaclavas and that was coincidentally all they needed because the driver of the car wouldn't need one. A more detailed searched of many trunks revealed a stash of military and recreational weapons from various eras including ammunition. The finding of this trunk sitting waiting, readily stocked with what was needed seemed to reinforce everyone's confidence that they were doing the proper thing, with the exception by David's insistence that he really didn't want to pack a gun. They selected three handguns, one of them for David. Michael searched fervidly through many trunks until he found what he thought would be suitable tools for the car boosting. Selena grabbed a small duffle bag to store the balaclavas, weapons, tools and black clothing for each of them.

The time was after eleven thirty when they finally were all dressed and made their way down Founders road once again.

Michael kissed Selena on the lips and hugged her irresolutely as the four of them stood on the street all set to begin the mission. Selena could sense the apprehension in his kiss. She grabbed Michael's hands in hers and whispered, "I love you."

"I know," Michael said and grinned. "Here goes I guess," and he let go of Selena's hands and nudged Wilfred with his elbow indicating he was ready to go.

Selena watched as Michael and Wilfred began their amble down the sidewalk of Founders Road in the direction of the University. She and David would be going in the other direction towards town. She hoisted the small bag containing the weapons and black clothing, by its strap, onto her shoulder. She looked briefly at David as he watched the others. She wasn't sure how much she trusted David.

Selena motioned to David that it was time for them to move on and so they too moved slowly toward the barrier in the direction of town center.

The cracking and snapping slowly began to rise up. Selena glanced down the street towards Michael and was glad to see he had stolen a glance back in her direction. He gave a moderate wave with his hand as he and Wilfred had begun to blur. The cracking and snapping increased steadily, and slowly the characters and activities of this particular Saturday in nineteen fifty-five, began to emerge before them. First, blotches of floating colors seemed to materialize before their eyes. Some of the blotches were moving, and the blotches began to acquire some dark details. The cracking and snapping reached a roar around them as the floating hues sharpened in clarity. A few people emerged out of some of the hues strolling merrily down the street in the distance, none of them noticing Selena and David's sudden emergence. The sounds of automobiles, dogs barking and birds quickly surrounded them, bringing Selena and David back into a world with real existence. As the snapping and crackling finally faded away to nothing, Selena and David once more had completed the journey beyond the barrier, and somewhere far away, down the other end of Founders Road, Selena knew that Michael and Wilfred would have emerged as well.

"I really don't want to do this!" David whispered to Selena as they walked on towards the downtown area.

"We all agreed, and it's too late to back out now," Selena whispered back. "In a half an hour or so Michael and Wilfred will meet us with the car and it'll all be over quickly. Just try to remember what we talked about last night. That we already did this...and the boy in the diner's comments that the robbers seem to vanish. That could only mean the barrier, and you know it David."

"Jesus Fuck!" David whispered loudly to himself. Selena just stared at him as they walked. David was really getting uptight over this whole thing, giving Selena her own uneasy feeling.

"Well I am not taking the gun," he said suddenly.

Selena stopped and spun David around to face him. "David, you can't change what was agreed last night!" Selena was getting pissed off at David now. She had certainly expected Michael to crack before David.

"No! I'm not going to do it," he shot back.

"Listen!" Selena whispered again louder than before. She grabbed him by his shirt at his shoulders and held on. She wanted to shake him so badly right now. "We agreed...You agreed! I won't let you change your mind. You don't even have to do anything really, just hold the gun. You don't need to even fire it off."

Selena watched David as his face contorted as he tried to accept what she had just said.

Selena let go of his shirt and resumed walking down the sidewalk. David followed a few steps behind. "I'm sorry...I just..."

"David, I really don't want to hear this right now please. We have to check things out, so let's just go."

David said nothing and followed Selena.

As they turned the corner towards Center Avenue, Selena looked up beyond the town to the hills and mountains. She looked at the mountain where the fire raged on the far side some twenty-five years before and more importantly she studied the small flat top of Sherman's hill. It was as she remembered from two days ago. The subdivision replacing Walt Sherman's historic assault on the mountain had begun. She couldn't clearly see if the road winding up towards the back of Sherman's hill was completed, but there was really no question. A few houses were already built on the ridge and a few more were currently under construction. The road to the top of the hill was there. This would fit in perfectly for later.

Selena wondered how Michael and Wilfred were making out with acquiring a vehicle. It must be nearly twelve thirty she estimated and she clearly remembered the robbery occurred at around two o'clock. Time was ticking.

David followed Selena and refused to walk up beside her when she asked. He said he didn't like being yelled at like Selena had just done and he was going to stay behind her until she apologized. Selena couldn't believe that David was picking this time to act so childish, and refused to apologize.

The two of them made their way up Main Street towards the bank. Today unlike their other visits, the sidewalks, and streets were alive with people. Selena watched as many university students wandered about the town. Vehicles cruised up and down the streets. Activity abounded this Saturday morning.

"Wow, David. I never expected it to be this busy..."

"It's Saturday. What did you expect?" he said glumly from behind her.

"I don't know," She replied. Selena and David made their way past the many businesses. David shook his head at the Redding's Hair Salon name now over the door of what would be Shannon's Clothing in the sixties.

"You and Wilfred will be there tonight you know," Selena said referring to their naked midnight jaunt from the other night.

David gave Selena an angry look. Selena couldn't quite believe that this David was the same confident, strong willed David from that same night. Something was happening to David and she wasn't sure she liked it all that much. "Well you will be. And Michael and I will be walking in to Stedman's across the street right there tomorrow. You can't deny it David."

"I know," he said. "I just wish I didn't have to do this. I'm not sure if I can, Selena."

"Can't, or won't," she replied sarcastically, using David's own words he used on Michael.

Either David didn't catch her sarcasm or simply ignored it, Selena wasn't sure.

"Uh, neither really. You know, it's just, I never expected I'd ever be doing something like this. As my mother lies in her grave, I swear I can't believe I'm taking part in this. I just can't."

"Well you are. We all are, and like it or not, we need to grab whatever it is that makes us who we are and do this. What happened to the David from a few days ago...so strong, no fear?"

David laughed. "So strong, no fear you say." David shook his head in disbelief. "This is not about being strong and having no fear. This is about right and wrong. It's wrong to rob a bank. It's wrong to pack a gun around the streets. It's wrong to boost a car, and it's wrong to invest in the stocks as we plan on doing. It's all wrong."

Selena understood what he was saying. She thought again about this whole robbery and stock idea. It struck her a little oddly now that the mission was underway how she suddenly came up with the idea to rob the bank, the same time Wilfred was toying with the idea of investing money. Money they didn't have and needed to survive. To eat. Isn't that why she thought of robbing the bank in the first place? David was the one with his constant outbursts about running out of food very shortly that made this idea surrounding the bank seem so necessary. It was a desperate action to suddenly decide to rob a bank. To rob a bank that conveniently was robbed the day they arrived. Was this destiny really, to talk the others into believing in her idea, or was it simply just panic?

They passed the diner to Selena's right and were about to cross the street when David suddenly jumped.

"Holy shit!" David exclaimed, and quickly turned around in the other direction.

"David? What..." Selena questioned, and she saw why David had suddenly turned. An RCMP police cruiser had just turned from the next street over and was slowly coming towards them.

Selena grabbed David by the back of his shirt. "David stop. Don't look so suspicious."

David stopped under her grasp but still kept turned away as the cruiser neared closer.

"They don't even know you, and you haven't done anything."

"Oh ya... Well what about the other night when Wilfred and I were being chased? Jesus, they're going to recognize me for sure."

"David, stop and think about it for a minute. That wasn't until tonight. You and Wilfred never went to town until tonight. Remember?"

Selena could feel David's panic and could tell he was ready to bolt. Selena held on tight to his shirt, and tried to move her body concealing her grasp, from the approaching cruiser. "David, that hasn't happened yet, they don't know you and they aren't looking for you."

David was wheezing under her grasp now and she could feel him trying to pull free.

"David! Stop this!" she whispered loudly in his ear. "Everything's okay. They are driving right by us, so stay cool."

David gave another tug, but Selena held on tightly. Selena watched as the cruiser slowed to a stop at the intersection a few feet in front of them. She kept one eye on the cruiser as she forced a smile, and wrapped one of her arms around David's waist, making it look like she was merely hugging her boyfriend.

"David," Selena said still smiling. "Please stay real calm and don't try to run. They are right behind us and don't suspect us. If you run they will suspect something, so just cool it and stay calm." She could feel David's heart racing under her grip.

The cruiser waited at the intersection, and Selena stole a look over to see why they were not moving on. The officer inside looked back at her, and her heart pounded a few quick ones inside. She maintained her smile, as the officer nodded at her and then continued through the intersection totally indifferent to her and David.

"They're gone," Selena said and released David from her embrace.

David turned around to see for himself as the cruiser disappeared down the street. Sweat was beading on his forehead, and Selena really wished she had anyone else here with her right now rather than David.

"See, I told you. They aren't looking for you David so you've got to stop this."

David's breathing slowly returned to normal, and he nodded quickly in response. David lifted his shoulders and shook his arms slightly resettling his clothes that Selena had ruffled.

"Are you okay David?" she asked. David nodded in silence again.

Selena rubbed his shoulder to encourage him and they set off to the next block towards the bank. Selena now considered her next action. She was supposed to take David with her into the bank and scout the layout, but she really didn't want David acting suspicious inside the bank, just an hour or so before they robbed the place. She asked David to sit on one of the benches outside as she quickly went inside to be sure of what she had seen last time she was there. Hopefully David would still be there when she came back out.

Selena entered the bank and found it to be much similar to the layout she saw in nineteen thirty-one. The corner on the right that once had the guard sitting at a desk now had a fully enclosed office with full glass on the front facing the center of the bank. Inside sat the new guard behind a large desk. This was something Selena was not expecting. She needed to check this out since the guard may be a problem to the original plan.

Selena walked coolly over to the guard's office and was relieved to find it was not locked and let herself inside. She made some silly request to the guard asking if this bank let her withdraw money out of her Bank of Montreal account. The guard indicated it was the Royal Bank and if you didn't have an account here you couldn't withdraw money. "Well somebody will be making a big withdrawal today" Selena thought to herself. Selena excused herself and made a quick scouting of the tellers and the positions of all the offices and she quickly scanned the narrow hallway to the back of the bank that would surely lead towards the vault.

Selena left the bank after being inside for less than three minutes. She let out a huge sigh of relief as she found David sitting anxiously on the bench right where she had left him.

The two of them headed over to the town square one block over across from City Hall. They had agreed to meet Wilfred and Michael at the town square once they had finished the scouting. Selena looked up to the position of the sun and guessed it must be nearing one o'clock or maybe even after that by now.

David seemed much calmer as the two of them reached the park, undoubtedly glad to be away from the bank for the time being.

"Over there." Selena pointed to the fountain still being constructed in the center. Selena led David over to the many benches arranged in a large arc surrounding a large circle of interlocking stones where the new fountain was being built.

David looked around, scanning the streets surrounding the park. "I wonder where they are."

"Me too," Selena replied, thinking of Michael. How she missed him right now.

The two of them sat down and waited. Selena discussed with David what she had discovered inside the bank and how they would need to modify the plan slightly. She also told him what she thought would work inside the bank and could see David's reluctance to participate rising to the surface once more, and she quickly changed the topic to the discussion of what would happen after they leave the bank.

It was David that spotted Michael and Wilfred as they pulled up on the far side of the town square. Wilfred was in the passenger side with the window rolled down waving at them. Selena grabbed David by the arm and the two quickly made their way over and piled in the back of the forty-six brown Desoto and told Michael to begin driving.

"Where to?" Michael asked.

"Change of plans," Selena replied and Michael and Wilfred both looked at her with startled expressions. "Head on up over there to the Sherman subdivision."

Michael shrugged and began driving away from the town center and headed the car over to the new road leading up to the top of the hill.

"Why the change?" Wilfred asked.

"I had a thought earlier. We totally forgot that we couldn't go back to the house with the cash."

"Oh ya," Michael said dumbfounded.

"We need a place to stash the cash and I think I know where."

Michael continued to drive while Selena asked where they found the vehicle. Wilfred recounted the details of Michael and himself scouting the parking lot at the university.

***

After the two arrived at the university, Wilfred and Michael had monitored all the vehicles inconspicuously from one of the park benches. It was a Saturday and the main parking lot was mostly empty. The occasional car came and went, but this was still too many cars for Michael, making him slightly uncomfortable with the location. After some discussion, it was decided that the student residence parking lot would be a much better choice, since most students that had vehicles really didn't drive them that often, and as such, the odds were much better that the missing vehicle wouldn't be discovered as quickly. Any student leaving the residence to go to the main hall or library, or even the dining hall, would be exiting the other side of the residence leaving the car lot virtually obscured from any wandering eyes.

They quickly made their way to the student parking area and studied the surrounding activity for a good fifteen minutes. There was none. Michael was confident he could hotwire any of the cars, as long as they could find one with an unlocked door. He really wanted to avoid forcible entry. The task was easier than expected, as the mild weather had some of the students being careless and they found a few vehicles with the windows partly rolled down. Michael found the Desoto with its window all the way down situated in the far corner of the lot that backed nearest the mountains.

Michael was delighted to see the huge trees that existed in nineteen sixty-six were nearly as tall in fifty-five, creating the perfect screen from the windows above. The only risk was of someone coming down the walkway from the residences to the lot. Wilfred parked himself halfway up towards the residence on one of the park benches amongst the trees, so he could clearly see both Michael and anyone coming from the residence.

Wilfred was impressed when Michael had the car boosted and rolled up along the row of trees within a few minutes. From there they headed quickly to the town square.

***

Michael navigated the car carefully up the newly paved road. "Where exactly are we headed?" he asked Selena again.

"You'll see when we get there," she replied.

The road wound away from the town and rose up to the top of the hill from its backside. This roughly followed Walt Sherman's original road cut into the hillside over one hundred years prior.

As they came around to the top and began heading toward the houses on the ridge, Selena cautioned Michael to slow down. She carefully scouted out the yet un-leveled remains of Sherman's mining activities. They continued to drive past until they neared the front of the hill facing the town below. This part of the hill had recently been leveled and flattened out removing all the scars that remained of Sherman's work. Two streets with lots carefully marked had already begun being developed. Michael drove past the couple of already completed homes and followed the road as it continued its curve around the top of the hill. Selena told Michael to stop when they passed in front of a couple of sites currently under excavation far out of view from the already finished homes.

"Let's get out here," she said to the others.

Confusion fell on Michael and Wilfred. The four of them ambled out of the car and followed Selena over to the excavated basements. It was still early on this Saturday afternoon, and there were no construction workers around. This was working out very well Selena thought.

"I was just thinking. We need a place to hide the cash so no one will find it." Selena pointed to the bottom of one of the holes cut precisely into the ground.

"In there?" Wilfred asked.

"Sure. Why not? There's nobody working around here, and it's easy to get to."

"Jees, I don't know," Michael said.

"You have any other idea?"

"No, but...If we drop the cash in here, and cover it in the hole with some of that wood, we can then go back to the house after the robbery to let things calm down. We certainly can't take the cash back to the house, and I expect that we can't very well go zooming down the highway in this car after were done. We'll also be able to see what's happening down at the bank from up here."

"Maybe you're right." Michael looked earnestly at Wilfred and David for their input. David just shrugged, his eyes darted frantically about.

Wilfred rubbed his bushy beard and shrugged as well, and gave a bit of a chuckle. "Were going to rob a bank and leave the money right in the middle of town." He chuckled some more, partly out of nervousness Selena guessed. "Right in the damn open, where anyone could find it." Wilfred quickly ceased his chuckling when no one else seemed to see the humor. "It seems kind of risky," he finally said and stared blankly into the foundations large hole.

"Wilfred, there's no one up here. We just need to be sure to come back later tonight or tomorrow at the latest to retrieve the cash."

"Tomorrow? You want to leave it up here that long?"

"Look, I don't think it's likely anyone is going to be working here tomorrow, if they're not here today, right?" Selena looked beseechingly at the others.

"Well I guess so. I don't know where else we can go with it."

"Okay, then it's settled. Let's get on with it."

Selena was directing Michael and David about what to do with the car after the money was ditched in the hole.

Wilfred ignored the conversation and instead walked past the excavated basements and over to the ridge and stared down upon the town.

"Wilfred, let's go," Selena called out.

"Ya, okay," he said as he scanned the town from up here. He could see the bank down on Main Street below them. He studied the scene from up here looking at the steps leading up to the bank, and watching the people as they meandered in and out of the bank. He noticed a couple standing at the corner, a few doors up from the bank. One of them seemed to be pointing up towards Sherman's Hill directly at him. Wilfred wished it was him down there staring up the hill enjoying the beautiful summer day with not a care in the world, but it was not. He continued to watch the two as they stood on the corner, eventually dismissing the pair of sightseers as the two turned their attention elsewhere. He shook his head guardedly and considered the gravity of what it was they were about to do and then austerely headed back to the car.

Selena told Michael to not start the car yet. "I think it's time guys," she said with everyone now seated.

"Put these on now." She reached back for her bag and feverishly began passing out the black shirts and the balaclavas to each of them.

***

### Chapter 27

Silence filled the car as the four of them carefully pulled on the black shirts overtop their other shirts. Suddenly the appearance of the occupants inside the vehicle changed. The vehicle no longer had the look of a few friends out for a casual afternoon drive, but had changed to a disturbing sinister looking group obviously up to no good. Wilfred was already pulling on his balaclava when Selena told him to stop.

"No, not now Wilfred. We don't put those on until later."

"Michael, I want you to bring the car up to the bank headed north. Stop in front of Madison's Cleaners across from the bank."

"Across from the bank? Why not in front?"

"Because that's where the boys in the Diner said we were parked. We need to do this like it actually happened." Selena wondered as she said this, what would happen if they tried to park directly in front of the bank. She dismissed the thought and tried to focus back on the undertaking.

"Okay," Michael said resignedly. Michael reached down under the steering column and touched the two wires together starting the car.

"Wait Michael. There's one more thing."

Selena picked up the bag and pulled out the three handguns, previously loaded back at the house. Wilfred stiffened up momentarily before heaving a heavy sigh as he reached over and grabbed one from Selena.

David was shaking his head side to side. Selena pushed one gun toward him, being careful to hold the gun by the barrel as she did so. David continued to shake his head.

"David. Take the gun," she said calmly.

"Uh uh."

"David. You have to take the gun."

"I don't want to carry a fucking gun!" he shouted back and stared hard at Selena.

Wilfred looked over his shoulder to David in the back seat and then back at Selena. "What's the problem here?" he asked Selena.

"David doesn't want to carry the gun."

"Since when? I thought we got by all this earlier today."

Selena through her hands up in the air and shrugged.

"We can't do this with just two of us," Michael said. "...and I'm not letting Selena go in there." Michael put his open hand out for the remaining gun.

"I agree," said Wilfred. "David, take the gun."

"No."

"Take the fucking gun now!" Wilfred yelled sternly. Selena was shocked at Wilfred's forcefulness. She had never heard him swear before.

Selena handed Michael his gun.

"I can't," said David.

"Can't or won't?" Wilfred said.

Selena looked at Wilfred and almost smiled despite the situation.

David didn't answer. "Listen David," Michael began. "Remember, I don't want to do this. I don't want to carry a gun either, but if we're ever going to get outta here we need to do this." He paused a moment before continuing. "Look, you don't need to shoot at all. We just need to have you stand by the door inside the bank. Wilfred can take the guard instead, and I'll go up front. Is that better?...David?" Selena was a bit surprised but pleased as Michael's took control over the situation at hand as this was a side of Michael rarely seen by anyone.

Selena could see David was breathing heavy again like he had on the street corner earlier.

"David, we just need you to stand there. You don't need to do a thing except stand at the entrance, and then carry a bag out maybe," Selena said.

David began shaking his head in denial to himself as he slowly reached one nervous hand forward and took a hold of the gun Selena still held out to him.

"Are you ready to do this, David? We need a commitment now, because there's no going back, and we must have your commitment."

David nodded, his eyes beginning to glaze over slightly.

"Michael. Let's go," Selena said, and with that comment, Michael edged the car forward ever so slowly at first and the four of them began the long drive down to the bank.

The four of them remained silent as Michael took them back down from Sherman's hill. Selena's heart was beginning to speed up as the anxiety began to build.

Selena began to reminisce about her and Michael as they drove on. She looked up at Michael in the rear view mirror encouraged by how carefree he was throughout this entire charade. She wished this day never had to be and silently acknowledged that it was her initiative that had put them all here presently, and it was also her decisions now that was leading the pack. Michael glanced back and caught her stare. She smiled inadequately at him. Michael lifted his hand and waved his fingers back at her and continued driving.

Michael made the final turn on to Main Street. Madison's Cleaners was a few doors up and Selena was not surprised to see there were no other vehicles at all parked in front of the last few businesses on this side of the street.

No one spoke as Michael pulled the car to a stop in front of Madison's Cleaners.

Michael looked at Selena and the others. Wilfred rubbed his beard and ran both of his hands back and forth through his shaggy hair and looking at Selena for the command to begin.

"Everyone, are you ready for this? ...David?" Selena asked.

"It's now or never," Michael responded confidently.

"I'm trusting you here ya know Selena. I really don't want to get shot here," Wilfred said.

"You're not gonna get shot big guy," Michael whispered quietly to Wilfred. "I'll look after you."

Wilfred rolled his eyes at Michael.

"David?" Wilfred asked. "You ready to go?"

Selena could see sweat now beading up in small droplets on David's forehead. She really didn't trust him right now as he replied. "I'm with you guys," and with that said, he tucked the gun in his pants, grabbed the balaclava and thrust open the door.

Quickly Michael and Wilfred opened their doors and the three of them emerged and headed for the bank.

Selena slid in to the driver's seat and watched as the three accomplices slowly crossed the street and made their way up the steps to the bank entrance. She revved the engine a few times just to be sure the engine was still running.

Once on top of the steps, the three paused off to the side of the main door momentarily. Selena guessed that they were going over the plan once more. Swiftly, the three pulled the Balaclavas over their heads and the three of them awkwardly rushed into the bank, Michael still adjusting his balaclava as he disappeared from view.

The details of what happened inside she got from Wilfred later. Apparently, they entered the bank in a charge, Wilfred making a beeline for the guard's office, David raising his gun straight in the air and Michael was rushing up to the teller counters.

The guard apparently was right where he was supposed to be as Wilfred rushed in through the doorway to the glassed enclosed guards room, arm stretched out with the gun pointed directly at the guard. Wilfred could hear Michael coolly screaming in the background. "This is a robbery! I want everybody to stay perfectly still!"

The guard immediately put his hands in the air as Wilfred approached catching the guard completely by surprise. Wilfred motioned the guard out from behind the desk and quickly steered the guard out of the office and had him lay face down in the middle of the bank about ten feet in front of David with his hands stretching up high above his head on the floor. Wilfred reached down and removed the guards gun, and tossed it across the floor near the exit.

"Watch him!" Wilfred shouted to David.

One of the tellers screamed, and Michael yelled for her to shut up and for everyone to put their hands in the air where they could see them. David stood by the main doors, gun pointed high in the air, screaming as well for everyone to get down on the floor. This confused both the tellers and customers and some tellers began to move to the floor. Michael then shouted commands once again, giving a quick stern glance back to David. "All tellers stay exactly where you are! All you customers out front, lie down on the floor as instructed!"

The bank customers all moved quickly to the ground. One short elderly man with a face of stubble wearing a fedora stood dumbfounded at the three of them, his mouth agape in awe. Michael screamed at him to move down on the ground.

"Please," the elderly man said calmly, "I just need to get my things from the vault before you rob this place. I've got some personal stuff...It's nothing, but it's important to me..."

Michael took a swipe at the old man and missed as the man weaved to the side, the old man's fedora fell to the ground. "Get on the floor!" Michael demanded.

The old man dropped to his knees, his hands held together in a beggars pose as Michael pointed the gun at him. "Down," he said.

The man relented and flattened himself on the ground like the others. Michael quickly jumped over the counter and grabbed the first teller. "How many people are upstairs?"

"I don't know," she replied.

"How many!" Michael screamed, his gun held inches from her terrified face.

"Maybe three or four," she cried out weakly.

Michael motioned to Wilfred who had already come up to the teller counter to bring everyone down from upstairs. As Wilfred bounded up the steps, Michael directed two of the tellers to begin giving them all the cash they had from the tills.

Michael looked back from behind the teller counter to see David waving his gun across the room in short jerks at all the patrons and the guard lying on the floor in the middle of the bank.

The tellers began piling the cash up in front of Michael, and Michael realized they had forgotten to bring any bags.

Time seem to drag as the tellers emptied the tills, placing the cash in one huge mound on the counter. Wilfred finally emerged down the staircase, leading four other staff members, including the bald headed manager down and out to the middle of the bank. He instructed them to lay face down on the floor like the others.

"Where's the bags?" Michael screamed at the teller.

"There's some in the back room. In the vault," the teller replied sheepishly.

Michael instructed Wilfred to watch the tellers as he grabbed the nearest one by the arm and began to lead her forcibly down the short hallway to the vault area.

The young girl began to cry. "It's gonna be fine so quit your crying!" Michael barked at her as the pair of them disappeared in the back.

Once all of the cash from the tills was laid out onto the counter, Wilfred motioned all the remaining tellers out from behind the counter and down on the floor with the rest.

Wilfred didn't know what happened with Michael in the back, but Michael quickly emerged with three bags. There were two puffy bags, the larger one had what looked like long paper rolls protruding from the top. The third bag was empty. The teller walked petrified in front of him. He quickly passed the empty bag to the teller and told her to fill the bag with the money scattered across the counter.

Wilfred scanned the crowd on the floor and captured another look at David. David was frozen, panic and fear etched deep into his face, his gun pointed directly at the guard on the floor.

"David!" Wilfred shouted. "Keep calm, we're just about done." David's head shot up, and Wilfred momentarily thought David was going to shoot the guard, but David merely stepped back a step towards the main doors and returned to holding his gun up toward the ceiling again.

Michael grabbed the last bag from the teller and forced her to the ground with the others.

"Okay everyone!" Michael yelled, moving around the array of customers and tellers all grouped like sardines on the floor.

The old man from before grabbed at Michael's pant leg. Michael brushed him off and continued to the front of the bank. "You don't know what you're doing," the old man said weakly. "Please, you can't do this to me... Please... "

"We will be leaving now," Michael announced ignoring the old man on the floor. "Please stay on the floor for at least five minutes everyone! If anyone tries to follow us, we will not hesitate to shoot!"

Quickly Michael moved up to Wilfred and handed him one of the bags. The two of them shuffled slowly backwards, facing the crowd until they were by the front door next to David.

"Here, take this bag," Michael said to David, handing him the bag with protruding rolls.

"Not that bag!" the old man on the floor cried out. "That's my bag. That's the one I was talking about. Please."

David snatched the bag from Michael and suddenly turned and darted towards the front door of the bank. His gun waved crazily as he ran for the exit and smacked hard against the glass door letting off a loud explosion as his gun accidentally fired off a single shot shattering the front glass door. A few of the young girls lying on the floor screamed terrified by the shot that had been fired.

Wilfred tried to grab David but failed. David was gone. "Let's go!" he yelled to Michael, and Wilfred ran out the front door after David, a few steps ahead of Michael.

"My bag! My bag! Come back here with my bag!" the old man could be heard shouting as they all exited out to the street.

***

### Chapter 28

Selena had watched the three disappear into the bank. Nervously she glanced up and down impatiently scanning the street. She watched the few people walking about on this typical summer day, amazed at how blinded they actually were to the events that were about to unfold around them. She watched a young couple across the street as they strolled away from the bank, holding hands, stopping once to look in to the window of china the store. They continued their leisurely walk and began crossing the intersection towards the diner. It was there Selena first noticed the young mother and her son. They were crossing the same intersection from the Diner but were headed towards the bank.

Selena's heart was already racing as she looked into her rearview mirror and first spotted another car as it suddenly approached from behind. It was approaching much too slowly Selena thought, as if it was preparing to park alongside her. She watched the car in the mirror until it filled the entire view as it continued to creep up beside her. Panic was filling her veins. She glanced across the street to see the young mother and child were only a few doors away from the bank. She stole a separate glance up the street further along the sidewalk ahead, and ready to cross the intersection on her right, was a young boy carrying a six-pack of empty bottles. She knew this boy. It was Tim from the Diner.

Selena took a quick look back to her side mirror, scared to look over her shoulder at the approaching car. The car nearly stopped alongside, and then suddenly it accelerated and sped crazily away. Selena would swear later to herself that she could see it contained four occupants, all dressed in black just like Selena and the others. Had she made a grave miscalculation? She never would reveal this detail to anyone.

She looked across towards the bank. The young mother and son were nearing the bottom of the steps and Selena knew this was the moment.

The peacefulness on the day was suddenly broken by a quick blast and the sound of shattering glass. David burst out from the bank, arms waving haphazardly in the air. Selena put her hand to her mouth as she watched David run. One hand held the gun and the other a canvas bag that shook madly as he bounded down the steps.

Selena began to think something had gone horribly wrong when Wilfred suddenly emerged followed by Michael. Wilfred rushed out and also bounded down the steps two at a time. Michael followed a few steps behind.

Selena watched, and her heart now was beating faster than she ever thought possible. She watched in horror as Michael stumbled down the steps. Step after step he stumbled, trying not to fall, but as he came to the edge of the road, his feet failed him and Michael was down on the ground.

The guard emerged from the bank in quick pursuit, his gun held high.

David had made it back to the car and was running around to the front passenger side. Wilfred was still halfway across the road when Selena spotted the guard with his gun drawn and waving in the air. The guard was yelling something but Selena could not hear anything above the blood pounding in her ears.

As Michael hit the pavement his gun went off sending a bullet off somewhere. The guard flinched, and responded by quickly firing two shots in Michael's direction. Selena couldn't tell or see if Michael had been hit or not and a silent scream filled her mouth but nothing came out.

"Let's go!" David shouted at her in a panic as he jumped in next to Selena. Michael lay sprawled in the street as Wilfred also piled in the back seat. He could see the panic on Selena's face and looked back towards the bank shocked to see Michael lying sprawled onto the pavement.

"Shit," Wilfred said.

"Michael!" Selena finally screamed.

"Forget Michael, let's get outta here! Let's go!" David screamed.

"Michael...Wilfred...Michael!" Selena pleaded.

Wilfred stumbled back out of the vehicle and rushed towards Michael. The guard took another shot this time towards the car, and missed, hitting the building behind.

"Fuck me! I didn't sign up for this shit!" Wilfred exclaimed as he ran.

David suddenly jumped out from the passenger side and looked over the hood of the car as Wilfred raced to help Michael. "Wilfred, get back here!" David screamed.

Michael was pointing the gun back up toward the guard as Wilfred approached from behind him.

"Michael! C'mon, get up!" he yelled to him as he neared.

Michael said nothing and fired a shot that went high into the air above the bank.

Across the street, David rested his hand across the roof of the car and pointed his gun at the crowd on the steps of the bank.

The guard moved forward, his gun now raised and pointed directly at Michael as he lay on the ground. Selena watched as out of nowhere, a man unexpectedly jumped into the crowd, tackling the young lady and son that were standing motionless on the sidewalk directly between Michael and the guard who was continuing his advance. The man and the lady went sprawling sideways ripping the young boy off his feet as the mother held on tight to her sons arm as she was thrown sideways right into the path of the guard.

Selena heard the shot from David's gun as it was fired from above the roof of the car.

She watched in dismay as the mass of people fell to the ground. The young boy seemed to fly through the air landing hard on the sidewalk onto his back, slamming his head on the concrete as his mother's hand refused to let go. Wilfred had reached Michael and had already begun to drag him and the bag with its contents back to the car.

Outside the vehicle, David stood there silent and unmoving. Selena didn't know where to look. She scanned between Michael to see if he was hurt, but couldn't help watch as the scene unfolded on the sidewalk just as the boy had told it back at the diner.

The guard lay partially obscured under the girl and other man. Blood from the young mother began to spill out onto the sidewalk around the group. The guard looked dumbfounded, and struggled to move the bodies off him. The strange man stood up and stared with a blank look on his face in Selena's direction.

Wilfred was busy shoving Michael into the back seat behind Selena, when the man across the street that had jumped the young lady suddenly yelled "Nooooo!" into the sky with his fists clenched tight. Then just as quickly as he had arrived into the melee, he bolted down the sidewalk in the opposite direction from which had originally come and disappeared through a couple of bystanders who were watching the scene unfold from the other end of the block.

With Michael safely inside, Wilfred closed the door and quickly rounded the vehicle to get in the other side.

"David! Get in the fucking vehicle!" Wilfred said, slugging him hard in the arm as David stood frozen with his gun still resting on the roof of the car.

David moved back inside the vehicle to the front passenger seat and both doors slammed shut.

"Drive! Drive!" Wilfred shouted.

Selena peeled her eyes away from the horror on the bank steps and stared down the street.

Suddenly the rear window behind Selena was shattered by another bullet from the guard and Selena buried the pedal and the car rocket forward down the street.

"Michael? Are you okay?" Selena shouted back to him.

"He's okay Selena!" Wilfred shouted back brushing the cubes of glass from his clothing. "I think he was only just in shock out there."

"The blood!" David began to scream. "So much blood!" David was staring in the back at Michael. "I killed her! I killed her! Ohhhhh there's so much blood!"

"David, Shut up!" Wilfred said madly.

"I knew he was going to lose it!" Selena said angrily to anyone who was listening.

Selena sped the car around the first corner and began to zigzag through the streets away from the bank, slowing down the further from the bank she got to try to draw less and less attention.

"Ohhh, noooo!" David howled. "So much blood...blood!" he said.

"Wilfred, can you shut him up?" Selena her heart was still pounding. She scanned all the mirrors looking for anybody following or chasing them.

"Ahhhh hhaaaa. Blood everywhere!" David continued. Aren't you guys gonna do anything? Ohhhhhhhhhh!"

Wilfred was shaking his head looking at David from behind him. David continued to rant away looking into the backseat at Michael and Wilfred. Wilfred turned his focus to the rear window and began searching madly for anyone following.

"The blooooood!" he screamed again and began pointing. "The blood! Can't you see it?"

"Ya we saw!" Wilfred shouted back angrily at David. Wilfred paused long enough to see what David was pointing at. David was pointing at Michael.

Michael was sitting in the back seat with his head tilted back. He appeared to be staring up toward the roof of the car, and originally Wilfred thought he was just trying to calm himself down, but as he leaned forward and looked a little more closely, he could see Michael's eyes were glazed over.

"Shit! Selena!" Wilfred shouted.

"So much blood!" David said again more quietly and then he began to whimper.

Selena's heart skipped a beat as she looked in the rear view mirror and could see Wilfred leaning over Michael. She knew then that Michael had been hit. Tears began to swell up in her eyes as she began driving the four of them back up to the Sherman Subdivision.

"Oh Geez, Selena," Wilfred said gently. Wilfred could see that the bullet that shattered the window, had hit Michael in the chest somewhere. Wilfred couldn't tell where because of the blood. Michael was losing a lot of blood.

Wilfred ripped Michael's black T-shirt from him, and ripped open his shirt, buttons popping as he did so. Wilfred could see Michael was hit just to the right of his left armpit. He knew enough to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

"Michael?" Wilfred asked, trying to see if Michael was still lucid.

"Mnnnn" Michael responded.

"Can you speak?"

"Mmnnn"

"Okay, okay, that's good Michael. You're going to be okay" he said trying to keep Michael calm.

"I killed her...Did you see that?... I killed her." David sobbed.

"Wilfred! Is he okay?" Selena hollered referring to Michael. The vehicle swerved recklessly as Selena stole needed glances through the rearview mirror.

"I don't know. We need to get him back to the house, and quickly."

Selena drove as fast as she could, up the winding road to the top of Sherman's hill, all the while David ranted on, and Wilfred hovered over Michael's limp body. Once they reached the top Selena steered the car around the bend and slowed in front of the vacant excavation site.

Selena turned around to look at Michael. A lump swelled in her throat as the site of Michael's blood soaked clothing filled her vision. Selena started to cry softly. "Oh Michael...oh Michael." She tried to reach back to him causing the car to drifting crazily once again to the side.

"Leave me with him," Wilfred shouted to her. "Just get the bags into the pit, so we can get back to the house."

Selena stopped the car and looked at Wilfred while wiping tears from her face. She glanced over to the sobbing David and knew that she would have to put the bags into the pit herself.

Selena quickly emerged from the vehicle, carrying all three bags, and made her way into the pit. She cried all the time as she laid the bags in one corner of the pit. She dragged a large four by eight sheet of plywood over to the corner and let it fall on top of the bags. She felt too weak with guilt to worry anymore about the money.

Slowly Selena made her way back to the vehicle, wiping the steady flow of tears from her face as she walked. Brown smears of dirt from the pit remained on her face.

Selena sat back in the vehicle and looked back at Michael. Wilfred shook his head. "We gotta get back to the house now Selena."

The plan had been to drop off the money and ditch the car up in the bush. There were all kinds of old dirt roads that made their way into the hills and valley's around Bluffington. One of these could be accessed at the bottom of the hill leading up to the Sherman Subdivision. They were going to hide the vehicle about a mile back in the bush, and then walk back to town in pairs, and then back to the house. This was impossible now. They would need to drive the vehicle back as close as they could to the house, and risk getting caught.

David continued to sob, mumbling incoherently.

Selena looked back at Michael once more before putting the vehicle in gear and heading back to the house. The sound of sirens could be heard from the town below, through the shattered window.

As they made the descent down from Sherman's hill, Selena thought it would be best if they scooted around the outskirts of town before coming back up Center Avenue to Founders Road. Unfortunately, there was no other way to access Founders Road except by Center Avenue bringing them back within two blocks of the bank.

She knew she was on her own to get them down the hill, across town, and back to the safety of the house on Founders Road. David was still sobbing uncontrollably, occasionally screaming that he killed someone, after which he'd return to sobbing. Wilfred was busy tending to Michael's condition as best he could.

Time was short. If Michael was to have any chance, she'd have to get him back to the safety of the house as quick as possible. Suddenly as she reached the bottom of the hill she changed her mind about traveling the outskirts of town and quickly turned the car back in the direction of the town center and the bank. This would be the most direct route, and hopefully they could make it through without incidence for Michael's sake.

Bluffington only had five police cars in the sixties. She speculated that they probably only would have two or three in the fifties. One for sure would still be at the bank. The other two? Well, she would have to take her chances.

Selena felt Wilfred's nervous glance as she made the turn back towards the center of town. She turned left on to Second Street, a half dozen blocks or so up from the bank, and one street over. If she could make it these eight blocks down without being discovered, she'd be just a block away from Founders Road and the house.

Slowly she drove the car. David continued his crazy chatter. Wilfred talked to Michael, trying to make sure he wasn't slipping away.

The bank was now only one block over, and one block down. Suddenly what Selena dreaded most appeared in her rear view mirror. A blue police cruiser, its single red light flashing, sped through the intersection she'd just passed through. Her heart began to pound ferociously as she watched the police cruiser immediately brake, and then back up into the intersection.

Selena's eyes were riveted on the rear view mirror as the cruiser paused for the shortest of moments in the middle of the intersection. Abruptly the tires of the cruiser began to spin, deep blue smoke rising from the surface of asphalt. The cruiser turned and began to pursue her down Second Street. Instantly the siren was flipped on and she could hear the thunder of the cruiser's engine as it accelerated towards her just a half a block behind.

The gig was up. There was no use denying the probability that they had been spotted. Selena gunned the engine, and the chase began.

They were just blocks away to safety, and Selena tried her best to increase the distance between them and the police. Inside the vehicle David ranted on again. "I told you! I told you! Now we're going to get caught!...I killed a lady! We're going to get caught!...the blood...the blood...the boy..."

Wilfred looked back behind him shocked to see the front of the police car had grown in size as it quickly closed the distance. This old Desoto was looking to be no match for the cruiser.

Selena gripped the steering wheel harder, her knuckles now completely white. She didn't bother slowing down through the intersections now. There was no choice with only two blocks to go.

The cruiser continued to close in on them. There was now just over one block to Founders Road and the cruiser was suddenly only a few car lengths behind.

Selena turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, bringing the vehicle crazily up on two wheels briefly as she turned from Second Street on to Center Avenue. Another driver blasted his horn, as he had to swerve away to avoid a collision. Selena stole a glance at the mirror and watched the cruiser as it also refused to slow down, its rear end sliding gracefully around the corner as it tried to bear down on them.

Michael and Wilfred were slammed against the right door as Selena completed the turn.

One more corner and they'd be on Founders Road.

Selena yelled. "Wilfred! When we stop, you grab Michael and run as fast you can! You too David,...run as fast as you ever have!"

David stopped his sniffling long enough to glance at Selena. She knew at least, that he had heard her.

Selena rounded the last corner bringing them on to Founders Road finally. In the back seat, Michael and Wilfred were now tossed hard towards the other door.

The cruiser slowed down as it rounded this last corner behind them. Selena had about four or five car lengths on them now. That should be enough she thought.

Selena had traversed through the barrier enough times to know where it began in the street and brought the car to an abrupt stop half a block from the house. David and Wilfred had both doors open before the vehicle had even stopped.

The police cruiser was upon them in seconds. All three began to run, Wilfred dragging Michael's limp and bloody body along. The cruiser pulled up parallel to them. One of the officers was shouting furiously out an open window at them to freeze right where they were, and when they didn't, the cruiser suddenly came to a stop, doors bursting open.

The two officers emerged from the vehicle, guns drawn and voices shouting. The four of them didn't really here the shouts at all as the snapping and crackling of the barrier quickly engulfed them. Before the officers had a chance to get close enough to any of them, Selena and the others had dashed through the barrier to the other side leaving the officers with their prey disappearing so close within their grasp.

***

### Chapter 29

"Michael," Selena sobbed as she emerged on the other side of the barrier. "Oh my god, Michael." Selena put her hand to her mouth and quickly joined Wilfred. Michael was grunting with every step Wilfred took. Selena grabbed one of Michael's arms, leaving the other for Wilfred and the two of them quickly aided Michael up the steps and into the house.

David was still weeping, and staggered overwrought at what he'd done. "I killed a lady..." He looked at the others, tears pouring down his cheeks. "I killed a lady...You guys!" He pleaded to the others as they neared the house. David cried out loud but neither Wilfred nor Selena was listening to him anymore as Michael had their full attention.

Wilfred laid Michael on to the couch and Selena quickly wrapped herself around him, indifferent to the transfer of Michael's blood to her clean clothes. Michael moaned under her grasp.

"Michael, can you hear me?" she cried softly to him.

Michael opened his eyes and forced a grimacing smile.

"Michael, I'm so sorry," she said to him, tears resting on her quivering lips.

Michael looked at her through glazed eyes and shook his head.

David was sitting on one of the other chairs, head held down between his legs. "You guys?" he pleaded again sniffling. "I think I killed that lady..." He moaned loudly. "My god...oh...my god!" David continued his self-suffering.

"Wilfred!" Selena screamed out. "Can you shut him the hell up?"

Wilfred ran back in the room, arms full of every bandage cream and first aid kit they had in the house. He stopped abruptly and stared at both Michael and David unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do. He quickly dropped the items next to Selena and forcibly wrestled David from the room and guided him to his room upstairs.

Selena slowly removed Michael's shirt unsure of what she would see. Michael's chest was covered with red. Some of the blood had already dried a deep burgundy color startling Selena. She grabbed one of the wet septic cloths Wilfred had left, tearing open the package with her teeth, and quickly began wiping the blood gently away from Michael's wound revealing one neatly circular hole in Michael's left pectoral muscle. Michael squirmed with pain and more blood slowly continued to seep out.

Selena felt only a smidgen of relief as the amount of blood oozing out of the wound had slowed to a trickle. She looked at Michael and a smile emerged through her clenched lips as she quickly gave Michael a kiss on the forehead.

"Michael, I think you're going to be okay. You're going to be okay," she said continuing to clean around the wound.

Michael tried to speak and immediately coughed. Selena could see the pain spread across his face as he coughed a second time.

"Michael don't," she said. "Shhhhhh... Try not to talk."

Wilfred returned to the room, shaking his head. "I don't know," he said frustrated. "David won't quit. I think he's lost it right now. He won't listen. He just keeps going on and on..."

Selena took her eyes from Michael and looked sullenly at Wilfred. "It's all my fault," squeaked out of her mouth and she began to cry again.

"No...No," Wilfred said to Selena but she was still studying Michael and cleaning the blood away. Michael was in obvious pain. His eyes were pinched closed.

"Yes it is...It was my stupid idea. I saw..." then she stopped. Selena was remembering the car rolling up behind her as she sat parked in front of the bank. Her thoughts quickly raced over the image of the occupants, all dressed in black, and a horror surfaced, as another image of the car speeding away was recalled. Had she made a grave miscalculation and put Michael's life in peril?

"No it wasn't Selena. We all agreed...well, maybe David didn't really."

Selena looked at Wilfred and could see deep remorse woven into his expression. Selena remembered how Wilfred had yelled at David on top of Sherman's hill to take the gun.

Michael opened his eyes again and looked at Selena. He tried to speak and immediately coughed, his body convulsing once again with the pain. A dreadful fear began to build in Michael's eyes with every breath he now took.

"Michael, it's gonna be okay. Were gonna get you fixed up. Me and Wilfred. We're going to fix you all...better..."

Wilfred had moved over next to Selena and was looking over her shoulder at Michael. "We need to find out how bad he is."

"How?"

Wilfred shrugged. "I don't know."

"Do you think he'll need stitches or anything?"

Wilfred just shook his head side to side not knowing anything about wounds such as this.

"Oh Michael, I'm so sorry."

Wilfred and Selena tended to Michael as best they could. They cleaned up the wound and packed the wound with gauze and bandages. The bleeding did finally stop its slow dribble from the hole, leaving both Wilfred and Selena with some hope.

Wilfred had force fed Michael some aspirin, and Wilfred still had some antibiotics left over from when he had the infected tooth the year before. They really couldn't see any harm in giving this to Michael and hoped it would help prevent any infection from occurring.

The two of them debated giving Michael some sleeping pills as these were not very hard to get on any campus, and this was the only sedative type of medication they had. The problem they had with doping him was they would not be able to tell if he was drifting away but they finally decided that if it helped Michael sleep, he would probably mend better, faster, and more comfortably.

It was nearly nine o'clock when Selena and Wilfred had finally managed to clean themselves up from all of Michael's blood. Michael now looked extremely peaceful, as he lay still on the couch, eyes closed and deep in some kind of drugged up slumber. As Selena resorted to tidying the front room and disposing all of the blood soaked clothes, towels and bandages, she wondered how much blood had he really lost? She tried not to think about it.

David's sobbing and periodic cries of despair had finally ceased for at least the past half hour. Wilfred suggested that David had probably drifted off to sleep, tired from his frantic state for the past hours.

Selena and Wilfred continued to monitor Michael's temperature, heartbeat, and wound every hour after they had finished the best they knew how with Michael. Nothing had really changed since. Michael's heart was beating a bit faster than they thought was normal, and his temperature was definitely climbing.

The evening crept quickly upon them and Wilfred offered to stay downstairs and check on Michael every hour or so and suggested Selena get some sleep. He'd wake her in the middle of the night and she could take over. Selena really wondered why they were doing this, since they had no recourse if Michael's condition suddenly worsened. What could they do?

Selena needed to think.

She kissed Michael once on the forehead, feeling his heat through her lips. She went to bed leaving Michael under Wilfred's watch. Selena tried not to cry as she walked away from Michael. Her emotions were stretched taut and too much was happening now. She couldn't... she wouldn't let her emotions overtake her now. There was still too much was at stake. David was of no use, and Michael was...well, she wasn't sure, but one thing was for certain. This situation was all hers. She had pushed this, and now she had to accept what had happened to Michael as a result of her decisions.

Selena tried to figure out how to get Michael the aid he needed. They certainly couldn't bring a doctor through the barrier. This meant that any help for Michael would have to come from beyond the barrier. And what about the money? She had forgotten all about the money. Tomorrow they would all have to deal with that too. Picking up the money and getting the money into Calgary to investments as planned seemed a trivial considering Michael's condition. They certainly couldn't get a doctor here in Bluffington, so as far the trip to Calgary looked, this would have to go as planned. Selena deliberated hard on all the details trying to put together a plan for tomorrow. Slowly she drifted off as the events of tomorrow loomed precariously.

***

### Chapter 30

Selena awoke suddenly, the morning sunlight casting long shadows across the room. She quickly leaped out of bed and changed into fresh clothing, and made her way downstairs to check on Michael.

Wilfred was sprawled out on one of the chairs snoring heavily. Selena knelt down on the floor and softly laid her hand on Michael's forehead. She shuddered as her hand immediately felt the heat. Michael's temperature had worsened.

Selena looked around furiously through all the medical supplies laid out on the two tables. The thermometer. Where was the damn thermometer? Selena was panicking as she lifted the boxes of band-aids, and shoved the rolls of gauze and tensor wraps to the floor. Finally she saw the thermometer peeking out from under the many bottles of pills piled on the other table. She quickly grabbed the thermometer from under the bottles. The aspirin bottle tumbled to the floor spilling its contents as it landed. Selena gave the thermometer two quick shakes and stuffed the thermometer under Michael's tongue.

Selena ran her hand back through her hair in frustration as she looked over to see Wilfred still snoring while she waited for the thermometer reading to rise. She almost began to cry again but held off, feeling a rush of panic run over her as she looked back at Wilfred. She wanted to blame Michael's rising temperature on Wilfred since he forgot to wake her up to change watch, but she knew deep down that it really didn't matter.

Selena rubbed Michael's forehead and carefully removed the bandage over the bullet hole. Selena gasped as the wound now was swollen, and a reddish tint had now surrounded the wound over an inch around the hole. Selena tried to convince herself that what she was looking at wasn't an infection, but she knew better.

Selena sat back on the floor cross-legged and removed the thermometer. One hundred and two. Selena gulped and dropped her head forward and began to softly cry. Michael had worsened severely through the night and there was nothing she could do.

"Michael, I am so sorry," she whispered through her tears. Michael didn't respond. Selena sobbed some more feeling all alone. She glanced back at Wilfred, and wasn't sure she could wake him right now.

Selena inspected the wound once more and carefully replaced the dressing with new gauze and wrap. When she was done she again sat back down on the floor, closed her eyes and leaned her head on to Michael's belly. She lay there for a while sobbing quietly to herself.

When Selena opened her eyes, she looked around the quiet house. Only Wilfred's snoring could be heard. As she looked out past the foyer toward the kitchen, she was suddenly shocked as she saw David sitting on one of the chairs in the kitchen staring at her, his eyes open and blank. His long fine hair was all mussed. He slouched forward, his head resting on his right hand, elbow on the table.

Selena felt a moment of revulsion as she looked at David. He had been sitting there watching her the entire time. He continued to stare, saying nothing. Selena wasn't sure if she saw hate in his eyes, or just imagined this from feeling responsible for all this. Selena quickly turned away from David and sat back up.

"Wilfred," Selena said softly. She reached over and gently shook Wilfred's arm.

"Hmmm," Wilfred mumbled.

"Wilfred," Selena repeated, and Wilfred opened his eyes and quickly sat up straight rubbing his face and hair with his hands.

Selena deliberately ignored David as she waited patiently for Wilfred to clear the cobwebs of sleep from his eyes.

"Hi...mmnn," Wilfred said softly still rubbing his one hand through his hair.

"Wilfred."

"Mnnn... how's Michael this morning. I'm sorry...I must've drifted off."

"Not well, I think..." Selena began to say, and then stopped, trying to hold off the tears once more.

Wilfred looked past Selena to Michael, then quickly stepped over to the couch and laid his hand like Selena had done on Michael's forehead. "Oh my," was all he said.

"One hundred and two."

"Really? That's not good."

Selena began to stare at Wilfred and waited for Wilfred to catch her stare. When he did, she gave a slight shift of her head as she motioned to the kitchen with her eyes. Wilfred immediately glanced to the kitchen to see David staring at Selena.

"Oh, Hi David," he said but David did not reply. Wilfred looked back to Selena and could see by the expression on her face that she was concerned about David's state of mind at the moment.

Wilfred looked back to Selena and whispered, "How long has he been sitting there like that?"

"Since before I came down anyway. I don't know but he's giving me the creeps right now."

Wilfred looked back to David. David was still staring coldly at Selena.

Suddenly David slid his chair back and stood up. He slowly ambled toward the parlor and the others.

Selena remained sitting on the floor and turned back to Michael and laid her hand on Michael's arm and began to shake him lightly. "Michael," she said softly in his ear. She shook him some more but Michael didn't respond. "Michael," she repeated again, this time more loudly, at the same time shaking him a little more furiously. Michael still lay quiet.

"I think he's in a coma," David said. He was now standing at the entrance to the room, hands stuffed deep into his pockets his feet shoulder width apart.

Both Wilfred and Selena looked up at David.

"I checked him earlier when I came down. His eyes are rolled back in his sockets if you want to check, and he's almost got no pulse." David's expression remained cold.

Selena put her hand to her mouth and turned away from the others trying to contain her emotions.

"Are you sure?" Wilfred asked. He moved over and gently rolled one of Michael's eyelids back and he could see what David had just said was true. He checked for a pulse. It was there, but slow and weak.

All three remained silent for a few moments.

"He needs a doctor," David said.

Selena looked at David's stone expression and it appeared he'd aged so much overnight. His color was pallid and the fine wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead had deepened.

Selena had thought about Michael needing a doctor before she slept last night. She knew the only recourse if Michael was to have a chance for a doctor was Calgary. Everything seemed to suddenly tumble down once again upon her. Michael was severely ill, they still had to retrieve the money, and she wasn't sure she could trust David. It meant she only had Wilfred to rely on and herself.

"Yes, you're right," Selena said looking up at David. "We need to discuss just how we're going to do that...but..." She looked back at Michael lying lifeless on the couch. "What can we do for him right now? I mean...his temperature. It's high, ...too high."

Wilfred looked despondently at Selena and gave a small shrug.

"Can't we do at least something?"

"Maybe we can give him some more aspirin. That might help bring the temperature down," Wilfred responded.

"He won't wake up. How will we get him to swallow them?"

Wilfred and Selena attempted to feed Michael a few aspirin, but were not very successful. They crushed the aspirin and mixed it in a glass with some water and most ended up dribbling down Michael's chin when they poured it into his mouth.

David remained aloof watching the two of them from the chair by the window. He neither assisted them, nor gave any suggestions to help. Selena was beginning to think he had deliberately tried to shut down his emotions after the outbursts from yesterday. She wasn't sure she liked him this way or the emotional crazy person he'd been last night. Either way he was not very much help.

Selena and Wilfred spent the morning and afternoon tending to Michael and planning what to do next. It was obvious they would have to leave today sometime. At least by tonight since the money would most likely be discovered in the morning if it hadn't been already.

Wilfred wondered about transportation. With Michael incapacitated, they still needed another vehicle to get back to Sherman's Hill and to make the drive to Calgary.

They debated for hours on what to do and finally agreed it would be best to move out after dark. David sat the whole time listening emotionless in the background, still not attempting to add any input.

As the afternoon sun began to near the horizon, Michael's temperature had risen by another half degree and his pulse had weakened to a whisper. David had finally opened up a bit and wanted to know what he could do to help. Selena was glad to have David at least willing to put in some effort. There was no choice but for Wilfred to endeavor to secure the car tonight. David asked if he could join Wilfred and Wilfred accepted readily.

The three of them split a can of beans and the last of the pickles. Some plain macaroni served as the entrée for dinner as the sun cast its final shadows of the day. The anticipation grew as the minutes wore on. David even made a joke about boosting the car tonight, and for a moment he seemed almost normal again.

The plan was simple enough. Boost the car, then drive up to Sherman's hill, grab the money, grab some food, and drive back to the house. Grab Michael and Selena and make the drive to Calgary and find a hotel for the night, and possibly a doctor. This part was a little sketchy since Michael had been shot. There would certainly be a lot of questions asked. A doctor with tight lips would require a certain amount of cash. Cash that later tonight they would hopefully have an abundance of.

As Wilfred and David were preparing to leave, Selena decided to go with them after all. The thought of staying with Michael all alone scared her a little, as his condition hadn't changed. They should only be gone for less than an hour and she needed to keep her mind away from worrying about Michael. Something she felt she couldn't do if left alone in the house with him. The three of them changed into fresh clothes from the attic one more time.

It was late now, nearing nine o'clock. Selena presumed the streets should be void of most people. It was a Sunday night back in nineteen fifty-five, and most businesses downtown with the exception of the Diner and maybe the service station would all be closed for the evening.

The three left the house, Selena kissing Michael on the forehead before leaving. Slowly they made their way down the porch steps and headed in the direction of the university. Wilfred argued that boosting the car had been such an easy task for Michael that it would probably be just as easy this time. Selena didn't feel as confident.

Slowly the snapping and crackling began again. Selena could feel the air tingle around her, almost as if the barrier itself was excited that they were once more passing through. Step by step the crackling increased, but unlike the other times, there was nothing to see as they made their way. No shimmering people or floating hues of cars appeared. The night was still and the street maintained its dark visage.

Once through the barrier, the three walked determinedly through the park on the north side of the university campus, following the concrete walkways, passing between the Main hall and the library. Once past the library they continued toward the Engineering building and then cut south following the path leading towards the student residence buildings. They passed two students heading towards the engineering from the residence. The two carried books and talked equations between them not giving any of them a second glance. They had learned the campus very well over the past few years and little had changed in the campus layout since nineteen fifty-five.

As they neared the student residence they moved away from the pathway and rounded the west side of the Residence into the darkness, making their way through yet more green space and finally they cut down the small hillside towards the student parking. Wilfred stopped the others when they had arrived at the bench under the trees he'd waited the night Michael had boosted the car.

"Okay, Selena, you wait here. David you come with me. Whistle if anyone comes, hey Selena?" Wilfred pointed back towards the residence indicating to Selena this is where to watch for anyone coming.

Selena nodded and sat down on the bench, searching quickly in all directions in the shadows for other students but seeing none.

Wilfred and David made their way to the far corner of the parking lot. Selena watched the two as they began trying the door handles on a few cars. Locked. One after another they tried and all were locked. The news of yesterday's boosted car traveled quickly through the student population. No car windows were rolled down tonight, and no doors were left unlocked.

Michael and David's heads bobbed up and down between the cars. If anyone had seen what she was seeing, it would have been very obvious what David and Wilfred were up to. At one point Wilfred decided he'd wasted enough time and as he and David shrugged at each other from different rows of cars. Wilfred stood up and strolled to the edge of the lot. He bent down and picked up a rock, twice the size of his fist and hurled it at the driver side window of one of the cars.

Selena gasped as the rupturing glass sent a short echoing shatter bouncing off the residence building behind her. She quickly scrutinized the campus in the direction of the residence and waited, expecting to hear shouts and students running towards the lot.

Nothing.

No one heard and no one came.

When she looked back, she could see both Wilfred and David had both front doors open and both were sprawled across the floor of the vehicle with their feet hanging out through the open doors. She surmised they were now attempting to do what Michael had so easily done yesterday.

Wilfred and David remained sprawled awkwardly half in and half out of the open car. Selena wondered what was taking them so long. Patiently she waited, every few minutes searching the darkness for any movements of someone approaching but all remained still.

David removed himself from one side of the car and scurried around to the side Wilfred was hanging out. She watched as they talked between themselves. David tucked his head back inside next to Wilfred. Suddenly she heard the engine surge to life. Wilfred pulled his feet in the vehicle and David jumped inside alongside.

David quickly pulled the car upside along the grassy slope and Selena rushed down and climbed into the backseat.

"That's difficult to do in the dark!" David said to Selena.

As David pulled the car away from the curb toward town, Wilfred looked back and a smile filled relief was spread across his hairy face.

"Sherman's hill?" Wilfred asked.

"Yes," Selena replied glad to be inside the vehicle.

David brought the vehicle out from the university on to Center Ave and followed this down and eventually turned up Main Street through town. Selena knew David had done this on purpose, knowing the bank was on Main Street. She looked at David from behind and could see him biting his lip as he brought the vehicle up the street towards the bank.

The street was completely void of anyone. The only business showing any sign of activity was the Diner that was lit up quite noticeably, casting a yellow glow out through this section of the street as they passed.

Selena could almost hear the shouts and screams of yesterday as she looked up at the steps of the bank as they passed in front. The haunting sounds of the gunshots. The slow motion movements of Michael stumbling down the steps and falling into the street. She could hear the young boy scream as his body was flipped upside down in a cart wheeling arc as his mother was shot and tackled to the sidewalk.

Selena shuddered as she was sure could see a dark patch on the sidewalk where the group had fallen, but she couldn't be sure in the dimness under the street lights. Suddenly the images were all gone as David suddenly pounced on the gas and began to speed away.

"Hey..." Wilfred jumped in. "David, slow down..." but David wasn't listening.

"David!" Selena shouted. David kept driving, much too fast for this time of night and a certainty to attract attention.

David began shaking his head side to side as he sped up the street.

"David!" Selena shouted again. "Forget what you just saw back there!"

Wilfred was reaching over toward David as David continued to drive madly through the next block.

"David, stop this car right now!" Selena screamed from the backseat.

Wilfred tried to grab the wheel, but David batted his hand away.

"You don't know what it's like!" David suddenly shouted. "I killed a young woman back there...I killed a young woman!" David took his foot off the gas and finally slowed down and brought the vehicle to a stop, still shaking his head and sobbing.

"David it's okay..." Wilfred tried to console him.

Selena got out of the back of the vehicle and opened the driver's door ushering David to the backseat. David obediently did as she asked and shamefully buried his face in his hands as she closed the back door.

Selena slammed the driver's door frustrated. She put the car in gear and continued to drive the vehicle the rest of the way. She turned down the next street and after a few minutes turned once more on to the long road at the edge of town leading up to the top Sherman's Hill.

The blackness of night overtook them as they disappeared from under the streetlights to the open road on the edge of town. The darkness was somehow comforting to Selena as she drove up the backside of the hill. No lights, no people...and the money is waiting there for them to pick up. Once they have the cash, they could be on their way to Calgary with Michael in less than an hour.

At last they came to the top of hill passing the few houses on the ridge. Selena drove in the darkness this time to the far end of the hill to the place they had tossed the money. It was much more difficult to see in the dark, but the empty excavations for the basements of some new homes along the ridge were still visible.

Selena stopped the vehicle on the side of the road, being sure to leave the engine running.

"Want me to come with you?" Wilfred asked.

"No, the bags are just down in the hole. I'll be right back."

Selena slowly made her way in the darkness over the freshly scraped earth. She had to be careful as she walked. The moon was only a quarter full tonight and was not casting much assistance to her.

Cautiously she walked across the clay and gravel amidst the piles of excavated dirt until finally she came to the edge of the fresh hole. She looked down into the hole. It was difficult to see as the moonlight was not bright enough to creep into the black shadows surrounding the pits sides. Selena scanned the pit for the sheet of plywood she had placed over the bags.

There was something wrong here. She couldn't see any wood, nor could she see any bags.

Sudden panic filled Selena as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark corners of the pit. Where was it she had put the bags? Things didn't look right. She scrambled down the side of the pit to the bottom and began to amble quickly along the wall of the pit. It was here she put them. Where did the wood go? Where the hell is the money?

It was gone.

Immense fear and panic overtook Selena. No money meant zero chance for Michael. Selena began to shake and started running back across the bottom of the pit to each corner stumbling as she went. What was she going to tell the others now? Again this was her idea. Selena took a few deep breaths and slowly scrambled dejectedly up the bank and back to the car empty handed.

"Where's the money?" Wilfred asked slightly confused.

Selena shrugged, tears began swelling in her eyes. She crossed her arms on her chest and she shook her head in defeat. "I don't know... It's gone..." Her voice trembled.

"Gone?" Wilfred exclaimed. He rambled out of the car hurriedly and rushed to the edge of the pit.

"Where'd you put it?"

"I don't know. In the corner to the left I think. Under some plywood."

"Under some plywood?" Wilfred re-stated, looking into the pit into the dark corners.

"I don't see any plywood?"

"Neither do I," Selena said now sobbing.

"Are you sure?" he asked now puzzled.

"Yes."

"Then why is the plywood gone? Why would someone take the plywood with the money?" He stared long at Selena.

"Are you sure you covered it with plywood?"

"Yes Wilfred. I'm sure."

Wilfred rubbed his gruff beard and walked to one of the corners of the pit and looked down in the darkness.

"You stuck it in the corner?"

"Yes."

Wilfred walked down into the pit and circumnavigated the bottom and then returned up alongside Selena.

"Right in the open...under some plywood." And then Wilfred began to laugh. "We left it right out in the open...and now it's gone... ha, ha, ha."

"Stop it!" Selena shouted, but Wilfred couldn't stop the laughing. Wilfred started wandering around the pit over to the edge of Sherman's Hill and looked at the town below. He still laughed and tears began to well up.

"Wilfred! Stop it! Stop it!" Selena shouted behind him hysterically.

Wilfred paid her no mind and continued on laughing. Was he laughing at how ridiculous this idea had been or what fools they had all been to take part? The monies gone, Michael had been shot and his condition was uncertain. David had begun to show signs of losing his sanity and they were stuck in the fifties with nothing. What a mess, and every day things seem to get worse. Selena could barely remember now the night before they had slipped back in time.

Wilfred stood at the edge of the escarpment and looked down upon the town. He wandered slowly to his right ignoring Selena's pleads to stop and come back to the car. Wilfred's frame changed into just another dark shadow in the darkness as he was now a couple hundred yards away standing at the edge of the hill.

"Wilfred! Come back!" Selena shouted again, but Wilfred continued on ignoring her. He was looking elsewhere. Selena was unsure what Wilfred was doing or if he was even hearing her. Suddenly, Wilfred's shadow shrunk as he moved down past the embankment and disappeared down into the darkness.

"Wilfred!" Selena screamed. Wilfred had disappeared. Probably down the side of Sherman's Hill towards town. "Wilfred! Come back! Wilfred!"

Wilfred was gone. He'd disappeared down the side of the hill. What would she do now? She had needed Wilfred now more than ever.

"Wilfred!" she screamed again. Panic and pain was filling her heart.

Wilfred did not reply.

"Wilfred!" she screamed again. Selena's legs began to shake and she let herself collapse to a sitting position on the ground as she sobbed uncontrollably. What had she done?

"Wilfred..." she whispered into the quiet darkness.

Selena sat there, on the ground. The quiet blackness of night enshrouded her, as she realized he predicament. Selena stared back at the car. David remained inside, his head still buried in his hands. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and stared out towards the lights of Bluffington.

Just when Selena thought all hope was surely lost there was a whisper. "Selena." It was Wilfred's voice floating softly through the darkness from far away. Had she just imagined his voice? Or was this just the breeze playing with her emotions?

Selena stood up and listened into the darkness. Moments passed when she heard what sounded like Wilfred's voice once again calling her name from near the cliff's edge.

"Wilfred?" Selena responded, searching the darkness, relief flowing through her veins as she hoped Wilfred hadn't deserted her. "Where are you?"

"Over here..." his voice came through the blackness of the night.

"Where?" Selena scanned the ridge trying to catch Wilfred's silhouette in the darkness,

"Over here...Oh... Hey!" Wilfred shouted.

"Wilfred?" Selena called out curiously. She still could not see him, but he sounded excited.

"I found it! I found it! It's over here! We were at the wrong basement! We missed it by one house...but I found it!"

Wilfred's shadow quickly rose from Selena's right, silhouetted in the darkness carrying all three bags. His emerging silhouette reminded Selena once again of the barrier. Here he was carrying the bags, a big smile on his face as he shuffled quickly back to Selena handing one bag to her so she could see for herself.

"Oh Wilfred..." Selena said wiping tears away, looking at Wilfred's beaming eyes sparkling under the moonlight.

"Let's go," Wilfred replied and the two of them rambled back and inside the vehicle.

Wilfred quickly opened the bag, still smiling and looked inside glad to see the money again.

"Okay, down to the diner, for some real food, then we'll get Michael." He looked briefly at David. "...And oh ya... Come to the Diner from the other avenue, stay away from the front of the bank."

"You okay David? We have the money."

"Ya, I think I'll be okay," he replied sniffling still with his head still buried down towards the floor of the car.

"Off for some real food, hey Selena?"

"Okay Wilfred," Selena said, happy to see Wilfred in such high spirits.

Selena drove the three of them back down the hill and over to the Diner as Wilfred had asked. She parked opposite the diner facing Main Street. Wilfred removed some cash from one of the bags and stuffed it into his breast pocket.

"You know..." Selena began. "This is about the time that Michael came out here the other night. You know, the first Sunday we were here..."

"Ya. So?" Wilfred replied wondering what significance this had.

"Well, when Michael returned he acted kind of funny. When I asked him what was up, he just said he thought he saw someone he knew. I didn't pay any attention to it back then, but the other night when Michael and I were alone we discussed going back and forth through the barrier and talked about the possibility of us being here at the same time, like coming back to the same date a second time and already being here. Well it occurred to me to ask him again about whom he thought he recognized."

"And what did he say?"

"He said...He said that he thought he saw you out here Wilfred. He thought he saw you that night."

"Where? Did he say where?"

"At the Diner."

"You mean right here? Right now? Michael is out there right now?"

"I guess so."

"Well I'll be damned. I wonder where? Did he say where he was?"

"He just said he tried to stay out of view and was hiding in some doorway when he saw you."

"Oh gees..."

"Well, it fits."

"Fate," David spoke up lifting his head to look at both Selena and Wilfred. "It's fate all over again. Michael was here and saw us here. You were right Selena...It was fate. Everything that's happened is all fate."

"Could be," she replied.

"Makes sense to me still," said Wilfred. "I just wish ol' fate would tell us how to get back home."

David looked up at the two of them. "Well at least fate didn't put you down in the history books as a killer."

Neither Wilfred nor Selena knew how to respond to that.

"Wilfred, let's go get the food." David said bruskly, his point being made.

Selena watched as Wilfred and David sauntered into the diner. Was everyone's fate that predetermined she wondered. She mulled over in her mind the story the boy in the diner had told once again. What if it had been a different story? What if she had known David was the one who shot and killed the young mother? What if the boy had said the shooter was a woman? She pondered these thoughts unsure of how she would have reacted and wondered again if fate was so predetermined, could she have even prevented what fate seemed hell bent on making happen.

Inside the diner, Selena could see Wilfred speaking to the waitress, David pulling up behind him. She watched as the waitress nodded to Wilfred and wrote down something on her note pad and disappeared into the back. David moved away to the window and was busy studying the blackness of Main Street through the large front windows of the diner. He was soon joined by Wilfred. Selena searched where the two were looking but saw nothing but an empty street void of all life. The streetlights cast small circles of light down on the empty sidewalks leaving dark pockets enveloping the gaps between the buildings and the many recessed doorways. Michael could be out there somewhere she thought. She studied the dark cavities and for a moment she thought she caught movement directly in front of her in the doorways to the bookstore, but the blackness was too deep and she saw no more. How she wished she could see him again, full of life and energy instead of drained of all life, resting on the precipice of fate.

Wilfred and David quickly emerged from the diner. Wilfred was toting one large bag and when they jumped in the vehicle he told Selena "Let's roll!" No one noticed the waitress rush out after them flustered, with her hands waving in the air as she tried to return the change from the twenty-dollar bill she had been given.

Selena steered the car back to Founders Road and stopped short of the barrier. David and Wilfred quickly stepped out and walked one more time through the barrier back to the house to retrieve Michael for the long journey to the city.

The image of David and Wilfred carrying Michael, one arm over each of their shoulders, caught Selena off guard when they returned. As the blurred image slowly came into focus it reminded Selena of pictures she had seen on TV of soldiers carting their fallen comrades away from the battlefield. Michael's head hung limply forward and his feet dragged loosely behind him across the ground as the men on each side carried the burden of dead weight literally on their shoulders.

Michael was carefully placed into the backseat and Selena quickly jumped out from the driver's seat and slid in back beside him. Wilfred took over as the driver.

Selena pressed her hand immediately to Michael's head. Michael was burning up. She pulled him close and held his head tight against her chest. She said nothing as she held him rocking back and forth praying silently to God to make him well.

Wilfred turned the car around and headed back down Founders Road and turned east on Center Ave taking them away from town and Bluffington, and the house. David opened the brown paper bag and the fresh smells of burgers loaded with onions, relish and cheese filled the car. He unwrapped one and handed it over to Wilfred. Selena refused the offer for now, her appetite now in suspension as Michael's condition sat unchanged. David and Wilfred began to eat a most anticipated meal as they drove down the highway under darkness of night.

The drive to Calgary began uneventful. The subject of Michael's condition was avoided as there was nothing really to discuss until they had reached Calgary. Small talk was made of what to do once they arrived in Calgary and where they should stay. It was agreed that the Sheraton on 4th avenue in downtown Calgary would be best as money was certainly not a consideration and they would need to see the bankers and investment broker in the morning. With the hooker stroll and drug dealers settled in on 7th avenue, they might be able to make a connection to some doctor for hire quite easily as well.

***

### Chapter 31

It was shortly past midnight when Michael died. David had fallen asleep in the front seat and Wilfred was busy keeping the vehicle on the road. They had just past through the town of Okotoks and were approaching DeWinton Corner, Calgary only miles away.

Selena had been holding Michael when through her embrace, she felt Michael's lungs empty. His chest simply collapsed with that one last breath, deeper than it had before, expelling all of Michael's life with it. Selena knew what had happened. She began to cry softly. She didn't scream or yell or even try to make Michael take another breath. She felt a part of her die as she held on to him.

Wilfred had looked back in the rearview mirror, and Selena glanced up at him, her lips quivering. She shook her head side-to-side and then stared solemnly out the window into the blackness of the night.

Wilfred immediately stopped the car on the side of the road as he sensed what had just happened.

"David," Wilfred said nudging him in the arm.

"What? Are we here already?" he asked stretching out his arms in front of him.

"Uh, no."

"Well, what..." David looked to the back seat and saw Selena weeping over Michael's lifeless body.

"Oh shit," David said with grief in his voice. "When did this happen."

"Uh, I'm not sure," Wilfred replied. "I think it just happened."

"Selena, are you okay?" David asked sincerely.

Selena looked up at Wilfred and David, her eyes puffed and red from crying. Selena shook her head.

"I was afraid of this," David began to speak. "When we went back to the house he didn't seem well at all. Oh Jesus...fuck...Michael." David looked pleadingly at Selena and Wilfred. "I don't know what else we could have done?"

"Nothing," Wilfred replied. "I thought about this too. I just don't know what to say right now." Wilfred wiped tears from both eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry Selena."

"I know," was all she could muster.

"Well what do we do now?" David asked. Wilfred looked at David, not sure of his meaning entirely.

"Well, uh...Selena?" Wilfred asked.

Selena was in no mood for reasoning, as she held repentantly on to Michael. Crying any more had become impossible. She had been crying herself inside and out since yesterday but reality was still looming.

"Well, we can't just drive into Calgary with...with Michael...like that can we?" David asked pensively. Wilfred shook his head.

"Well we need to do something with him."

Wilfred glanced nervously at both David and Selena.

"Right? Wilfred? I mean... I'm sorry to say he's dead but we gotta look after ourselves now... Really." David looked nervously at Selena.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Wilfred cut in. "Hold on a sec there. We need to slow down a bit." Wilfred eyed Selena nervously, trying to be sensitive about her feelings, but also understanding what David said was true. No matter how fond he was of Michael, and how painful it was at the moment to accept that he was dead, they were sitting on the side of the road in a stolen car, with three bags full of stolen money, and now a dead body. Wilfred was getting nervous and was feeling a little more self-centered than he thought he could ever be.

"But Wilfred... We're out here right now. Lookit!" David said pointing to the bags of stolen money.

"Ya, Ya, I know!" Wilfred exclaimed back hotly. "And this cars stolen and now there's a... Michael, laying here like that! I know...I know!... Just shut up for a moment!"

The three of them sat in silence. The only sound was the quiet rumble of the idling engine as they all shared the same awareness of the situation.

"We need to dump him," Selena said softly and she turned away, her fist held tight up against her lips. David and Wilfred pretended not to hear what they already knew to be the only solution.

"Did you hear me?" Selena repeated. "We need to find a place...a place to..." and then she did break down. Selena wept. She couldn't finish the sentence without crying, but she knew she had to. Michael was hers, and she knew she had to be the one to say it. She was the one who put him where he is now. This was her fate. Unlike David's fate with death back at the bank, hers was deeply personal.

Selena struggled to contain her emotions and pressed the nurturing feelings down deep inside of her. She needed to be strong.

"We need to find a place...a place to hide him." Selena was finished. She had never felt such callous pain in speaking the truth. Selena lifted Michael from her chest and set him back upright next to her. David and Wilfred watched in quietude as Selena made one concluding gesture to Michael as she kissed him tenderly on the cheek and rubbed her fingers delicately over his lips.

Wilfred stared out through the front window. From high up on the hillside of DeWinton corner, the lights of Calgary spread across the horizon in the distance. The shimmering lights danced on the horizon, teasing them as if to declare "Did you really think you could make it to Calgary that easy?" Wilfred closed his eyes and turned away from the view that on any other night would have been taken as breathtakingly beautiful. Tonight it was not.

"So?" Wilfred asked. "What do we do?"

"I have an idea. There's a place...a place I know, just not too far from here. Policeman's Flat's," Selena suggested.

"Policeman's what?" David and Wilfred both asked alarmingly at the same time.

"Policeman's Flat's. It's a place down by the Bow River just a few miles down past DeWinton here."

"Geez...it doesn't exactly sound like a place I'd want to be taking a body to right now." Wilfred mused. He could see David nodding in agreement.

Wilfred and David listened intently as Selena went on.

"I have no idea why it's called that, but it's a secluded spot down by the river. You take this windy road down to it. It's very secluded and private. I'm sure if we...if we dropped him off there, he wouldn't be found for quite a while."

Both Wilfred and David stared off into the darkness understanding what Selena was suggesting. Dispose of the body. Discard it like a piece of trash. Conceal him in a dark secret place only they would know. This was too distorted a thought to clearly comprehend but both knew there was no alternative.

"You know where this place is?" Wilfred asked, imagining the difficulty of trying to find any back road in this darkness.

Selena nodded. "When you have to walk three miles back to the highway on a dusty gravel road after kicking a guy in the nuts as hard you can, you remember." Both Wilfred and David sat in bewildered silence after Selena said this. Neither one really wanted to know the details.

Selena recapped her brief relationship during her first year with a boy she met, Greg Jamieson. She had gotten along quite well with him, and went out on a few dates with Greg. On their last outing Greg had taken her down to a secluded place called Policeman's Flats flanking the Bow River in the valley just south of Calgary. The seasonal transformation had begun and the valley was filled with an abundance of beautiful fall colors. The two of them strolled alongside the river, enjoying one of the last temperate days of the season finally settling down upon the cool grass next to the river. Greg moved closer to Selena and pulled her in close to him. She let him, and actually felt some comfort feeling the warmth of his body next to hers. Suddenly, Greg turned on her, forcing her down on the grass, pinning her hands with his own. Hatred now etched across his features as he forcefully began to remove her clothes. He succeeded in removing her pants and underwear and was franticly working on his own when Selena freed one of own hands and managed to grab hold of a large rock which she slammed into the side of Greg's head, stunning him sufficiently to break out from beneath him. She followed up with a swift kick to Greg's groin as solidly as she possibly could while he was still recovering from the rock to the head. She shrieked at Greg at his unbelievable behavior and stormed off, but not before administering a second blow to Greg's balls as he was still writhing from the first blow.

She left Greg floundering in the grass, and completed the hour long walk back along the pathway and up the windy dusty road to Dunbow Road and finally Highway #2 where she hitchhiked her way back to Bluffington, alone and frightened.

Does she remember the way back down to Policeman's Flats? How could she ever forget it? She felt disgusted and ashamed by what had happened.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Wilfred asked.

"Jesus Wilfred! No! But what else can we do?" Selena said coldly.

Wilfred simply shook his head unsure of what to say.

The three of them remained quiet, staring out at the wavering city lights of Calgary in the distance. Minutes passed that seemed like hours because of the content of what was to come.

"No one has any other idea?...Then let's go," Selena said indifferently.

Neither David nor Wilfred responded. David turned his stare to the floor and Wilfred continued gazing at the city lights.

"Wilfred...let's go," Selena said bitterly.

Wilfred unenthusiastically put the car back in gear and began to drive. Selena instructed Wilfred which gravel road to turn down to access Dunbow Road and further down, Policeman's Flats.

The dusty road down from Dunbow Road was not what Wilfred had expected. Out of nowhere a ravine cut across and under Dunbow Road disappearing deep into the dense trees on the left side. Selena was indicating that this is where they wanted to go. Policeman's Flats was down there somewhere, the narrow dirt road barely visible. Wilfred spotted the narrow dirt road, and quickly studied how it hugged its way precariously to the side of the tree-covered ravine. He turned the vehicle cautiously and followed the narrow murky road as it winded its way steeply through the thick trees down to the bottom of the river valley.

When they reached the bottom, the gravel road turned once to the left, doubling back from the direction they had come. Thick dense trees lined the hillside paralleling the river only a few hundred yards away. Selena instructed Wilfred to stop after they had travelled only a few hundred yards along the side of the hill.

"Why are we stopping here?" Wilfred asked.

"I was just thinking."

"What?... I thought maybe we... you know...use the river."

"I don't think so," she replied matter-of-factly. "His body might stay somewhere here along the bank, or may be discovered by somebody as it floats by." Selena scanned the thick forest of spruce and dense undergrowth that encrusted the hillside. "I was thinking more of dragging him up into that." The Bow River flowed through a natural valley four hundred feet below the prairie above and the valley was thick with old spruce forest along the south bank of the valley.

David turned his gaze to the dark hillside where Selena was pointing. "Geez, we can't even see in there right now."

"Exactly David," Selena said. "Less likely to be discovered."

"You're sure about this?" Wilfred asked looking one more time at Michael's lifeless body.

"Yes Wilfred. I'm sure."

"I'm not..." David replied looking downward to the floor of the vehicle.

"It'll be okay David," Selena said to him. "No one will find him. We'll be long gone back before anyone does."

David jerked his head up, his eyes glazed once again. "Don't you get it? Every day we've been gone, everything just gets worse. Everything we do turns out wrong. I just don't want to do this anymore."

Selena could see David was slipping back once again. She's the one that should be cracking. Michael was dead, and it was her fault. Not David's and not Wilfred's.

Selena's lip quivered as the reality of what they were about to do began to descend upon her.

"Selena's right about all this David," Wilfred spoke up. "We have to do this one thing. This is it." Wilfred paused staring at David.

"Look at me, David," Wilfred demanded. David turned meekly towards Wilfred. "This is it...After this no more...okay? Just this one last thing to do..."

David stared at Wilfred, his eyes watering. He nodded his head very slowly and looked up into the darkness of the forest.

The three of them exited the vehicle. Wilfred and David grabbed Michael's body by the feet and arms and stumbled off into the dark growth of trees covering the hillside with Selena leading the way. The going was difficult through the deadfall and thick brush, but they managed to carry Michael up the hillside a good three hundred yards into the dense growth. The crusty branches seemed to reach out to them in the darkness crossing their path at every chance, scratching and scraping at any exposed piece of flesh the branches could find. It was as if the forest knew what they were attempting to do and wanted no part of it, and the best it could do was to leave its protest in as many deep cuts and scrapes as it could lay down. They set Michael's body down in the decaying leaves under the moss covered branches of an aged spruce tree.

Selena asked David and Michael to remove all of Michael's clothing. Reluctantly they obliged, laying him face down, and then finished off by carting some large pieces of deadfall back to where he lay. They carefully placed the heavy deadfall atop Michael's body.

Selena remained motionless once they were done and stared down at what she could see of Michael's naked body as it lay on the cold earth, barely visible under the deadfall scattered across. She wanted to cry but she had no more tears left. Her will and lust for life was suddenly drained and there was nothing more she could do but she knew she must go on. She nudged Wilfred on the arm, ushering him in the direction of the road. The three of them returned scratched, tired, and ashamed back to the vehicle.

Wilfred twisted the wires under the dash once more starting the car. They all sat in solaced silence as Wilfred initiated the slow drive back up the winding road from Policeman's Flats. The only sound in the vehicle was the reverberation of the rubber tires crunching the loose gravel as the sound traipsed freely inside through the smashed driver's side windows.

***

### Chapter 32

### 2010

Francine looked directly in to Jeff's eyes. She couldn't hide the pain she was feeling and the tears were coming easily now. Jeff pulled her in close and she rested her head upon his shoulder.

"Holy smokes...I wasn't expecting that."

"I know," she said trying not to cry. "And there's more yet."

"How could you just leave him there like that?"

"I don't know," Selena said grabbing a Kleenex and wiping her eyes once more. "I can't believe to this day that we actually did that to him. I don't think anyone ever found him."

"You never heard or searched?"

"I guess I could have looked up through the papers when we finally moved forward to the future, but I just couldn't. We all were messed up when we came back from the past. I mean...Jeff, you don't know what it was like." Francine sniffled some more. "Please don't think bad of me. I didn't know what else we could have done. You just don't know how horrible it was, leaving him there like that."

"No, I don't imagine I do."

"This is so difficult to do, Jeff."

"I bet it is. You don't have to go on right now if you don't want to," Jeff offered. Francine would have none of that, and dismissed his offer with a wave of her hand.

"There were only three of us now and we made that drive the rest of the way to Calgary in complete silence. I think all of us had to come to terms in our own minds with what we had just done."

"That must have been awful. I don't know how you could have done that."

"Believe me it was terrible. Well, we ended up at the Sheraton like we had planned, and paid for the room in cash. We had a lot of that. David and Wilfred carried the bags up the room. I brought Michael's clothes. The car, Wilfred dropped off in an empty lot a few blocks down. We didn't need it anymore, we had the money, and we ended up renting a car the next day to get back to Bluffington."

"So how did it go with the...uh, bank and investments you planned."

"Oh...that actually went extremely well. The investment plan was actually the easiest part. We had a few bigger problems now though."

"And what were those?"

"Well, we discussed this at some length between the three of us, and it was very obvious that firstly, we couldn't go back to nineteen sixty-five anymore."

"Why not?"

"Would you have? We disappeared for who knew how many days now, and if we returned, we would return one person short. What would happen when we got back? We were all too scared after what we had just been through to even think about having to face the police and an investigation. Oh it would have been a big scandal. We would never have been able to keep any story straight between us except the truth and I was just too distraught over losing Michael...And who would believe this story anyway?"

"I don't know."

"This is when we came up with the new names. It was Wilfred's idea to use our last name. Take the first letter off and mix up the remaining letters to make a new one. With the first letter, create a new first name. Forester became Francine Esterro. David was a bit stubborn and since his last name began with a D, he wanted to keep the name David. There was nothing we could do about it. We certainly didn't want David to flip out on us again."

Jeff picked up the list of names once again and stared at the names of the Bluffington Four and the names of Francine and her neighbors.

"Wilfred located a few investment brokers from speaking to the bank. He made a brief visit to each and settled on one he thought he could trust, and as it turned out, the guy was wonderful. And he still is."

"Still is?"

"Oh ya... We made him a millionaire, with our cash and investment choices. He's very old now and I'd tell you his name but we all promised never to reveal either parties name. He never had our real names, just our new names you see."

"That's fine, I understand."

"Wilfred had the first meeting with him and told him that he represented a few investors who where a little eccentric. He needed to know if the broker was willing to invest in certain stocks, paid from cash, for some investors that he would never meet. The broker had no problem with that part. Wilfred also relayed the fact that the investors also wanted him to keep active bank accounts at the Royal Bank in each one of their names. The broker would also need to store one large bag of goods in a vault or large safety deposit box until we returned for it in the future. He would need to hold this bag for possibly twenty plus years."

"Whoa. That must have given the broker a start."

"And it did. He wanted to know how he was to be paid for doing something like this. He wanted cash up front, and lots. Wilfred made him a deal. A deal the guy couldn't refuse, because if it went sour the broker could walk away. We were pretty sure nothing could go wrong on his end."

"And what was the deal?"

"We offered him some cash of course but also an ongoing cut from the stock profits. Every year for managing our portfolios he was allowed to remove ten percent of all the profits for himself as a broker fee. This didn't seem that rich to the broker at the time, but I am sure, once the first few years went by and our selection of stocks grew incredibly more than the average, the broker gladly looked after our investments and gladly manipulated our bank accounts to keep them active. I am sure he wanted to keep this gravy train going."

"Ya, but how would you guys ever access, the accounts later?"

"Wilfred was brilliant here. You know how I told you he sold the marketing idea to the Gallery? He used a similar sales pitch on the department of motor vehicles. He explained he was an artist at the university, and wanted to use official looking driver's licenses from Alberta in his artwork. He let them refuse his request at first and then asked them to modify the drivers' license....Say pick a birth date five to ten years in the future, and Wilfred gave them three of our pictures we took from one of those photo booths. They actually did it. They couldn't see any harm in printing a few fake drivers' licenses, with birth dates six or so years in the future. No one would accept them anyways as real."

"So how did you get the drivers license through the barrier?"

"We didn't have to. Wilfred took them back to the broker in an envelope and had the broker put the envelope in the safety deposit box with the other stuff he was looking after. He must have wondered what the hell was in the envelope that he needed to keep paying for every year. He already had that mysterious bundle that he was to never touch, now an envelope."

"I bet."

"I don't think he ever looked inside the envelope. He could have but I don't think he did." Selena let out a big sigh.

"Well, the thing with ID's really wasn't as simple as it sounded."

"In what way?"

"Well, what I just told you about the driver's license. It happened at the same time, but not really. You see, we came up with the idea for the names and invested our money all the next day after Michael died when we were in Calgary. We then returned back to the house leaving the car in the student parking area at the university. Parking was free here, and we wanted to be sure we could access the car if we needed. David knew we couldn't bring the car keys back with us through the barrier and tucked them on the underside of the rear bumper."

"We spent the next five days, trying to find a different year to return to. We couldn't go back to the sixties, and we really needed to have the investment money if we were all to start new lives. We traveled to different years...I think nineteen eighteen, twenty-six, fifty-two, eighty-nine and believe it or not, this year two thousand and ten."

"You're kiddin me?"

"No, and the funny thing was, It didn't seem to matter what date you left the house to go back in time, but the date you arrived was predetermined. We knew that from the nineteen fifty-five date. Every time we went back, we always arrived on that same Saturday."

Jeff leaned back and rubbed his hands across his face. Francine could tell he too was tired now. She looked up at the clock and could see it was nearing midnight.

"Well, as I was saying, we went back to the house and mapped out the available dates and selected one. We realized the problem you suggested. How would we access the bank accounts in the future without any kind of identification? We needed to go back and get some identification in our names. Once we selected the year, we decided it was best to get the ID's and have them looked after by our broker. Since we couldn't go through the barrier, we could only do this in nineteen fifty-five, and that's what we did. We went back to the same day of the robbery and sat in the house for four days, until we knew the rental car was sitting in the university parking lot. We went back on the Tuesday to take the pictures, get the ID's made so our birth dates would match our ages when we arrived in the future. Wilfred then took them over to the broker."

"Amazing. So what year did you three finally pick?"

"Nineteen eighty-nine."

"Wow," Jeff paused deep in thought, and briefly scanned Francine from top to bottom, most likely matching the year with Francine current appearance. "The broker looked after your investments for thirty years? Without ever seeing one of you? "

"Yes, and he was quite shocked and didn't believe us when we finally showed up in eighty-nine."

"I wonder why, after all those years."

"It was the safety deposit box that inked his trust. You see we didn't have any ID at all yet when we arrived in eighty-nine so we asked him to retrieve the contents of the envelope."

"I bet he didn't trust you. I wouldn't have."

"No, he didn't, but only he knew that there even was an envelope, and only one single envelope inside the safety deposit box. How did we even know about the envelope? We even told him what else he had received with the envelope. He had told no one over all those years, and so he reluctantly did as we asked. We waited while he retrieved the envelope and then we asked him to open up the envelope and compare the pictures on each of the ID's with us."

"What?" Jeff replied unbelievably. "He would have put those licenses in the safety deposit box before you were even born!"

"I know. You should have seen his face. He reached his hand inside the envelope and his face turned pale when he pulled out three driver's licenses'."

Jeff shook his head and laughed.

"Oh yes, he could see the pictures were us, but wanted us to explain how this was possible. He'd put the envelope in the box himself and it was physically impossible for the IDs to match the three of us standing in front of him. The pictures were of us in our early twenties. In nineteen eighty nine we were still in our early twenties and the photos matched perfectly right down to the cut of our hair. You would have sworn we had taken the photos the day before, but he had put these in the box thirty years before. He began to get irate and wondered what kind of scam we were pulling on him right now. Wilfred simply asked him if he needed to explain how he managed to pick all the right investments over the past thirty years in his personal stock portfolio, could he? How could he do what so many more, well educated brokers couldn't do? "Look at me!" Wilfred demanded to the broker. "Don't I look even vaguely familiar to the man that stood in your office thirty four years ago?"

"That would have been something to witness."

"It was. The balding little guy had aged incredibly, and he didn't realize until Wilfred had asked him to look at him. He then realized that Wilfred looked exactly like the same man that walked in there thirty four years before."

"It must have shocked the hell out of him."

"Yes," Francine laughed. "He almost fell over backwards as he sat back down in his chair. He didn't say it, but he knew Wilfred was precisely the same guy from thirty four years before. No one else knew about the envelope and certainly no one else knew about his investment success. After that he just handed the ID's over and asked if he could be of anymore assistance."

"And you continued to use him?"

"Oh yes, of course, and we also gave him a huge chunk of compensation for the years he looked after our investments."

'"Really," Jeff said matter-of-factly.

"Jeff, do you know how much money we made? When we finally got to the Sheraton and counted the money that night, there was more money than I had ever heard of in those two bags. Mostly twenties, and hundreds, totaling over two hundred and forty thousand dollars!

"Holy shit!" Jeff snickered in disbelief.

"I'm dead serious. Two hundred and forty thousand. We gave all this to that broker to invest on Wilfred's word. He was to invest it slowly in all three of our names a bit every month over a year so as to not attract attention. I mean, even still, that was seven thousand a month per each one of us per month. They poor guy must have been shitting bricks that year as he looked after our money and made the deposits. Maybe he was scared because Wilfred had been so mysterious about the three secretive investors, I really don't know."

"Two hundred and forty thousand, back in nineteen fifty-five..." Jeff shook his head side to side, deep in thought now.

"Jeff, we came back to the eighties, worth many millions of dollars each..."

Jeff sat in stunned silence comprehending what she had just said.

"Well, what investments exactly did you pick?"

"We really weren't very scientific, we just picked ones we knew, like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, DuPont, Shell, Bayer, Proctor and Gamble, and a few others... oh ya, General Electric, General Mills. We had him spread the cash over all of them. Some did better than the others, but by eighty-nine, some had soared."

"...and don't forget about the other bag as well."

"Huh? What other bag?"

Francine grabbed her can of warm beer of the table and tipped back the can. "Well, that's the other part of this story."

"And so, you did what after, just bought the houses and lived happily ever after?"

Francine swatted Jeff playfully on the arm. "Not by any means Jeff. When we first arrived in eighty-nine and came back and forth to the house the barrier was still there. It was freaky. We thought that the barrier was going to stay forever around the house, but it didn't."

"No?"

"No. Wilfred wanted to be sure that no one else had access to the radio thing, and a few days after we arrived, he went to the real estate agent in town and found the house listed for sale, as we somehow knew it would be. He purchased it the same day and as soon as the deal was closed, the doorway, barrier whatever it is, disappeared. We didn't know why or how, and we didn't even so much really care. The doorway was closed, and we were back in sync with the real world and we liked it this way."

"Well what about your art? You just gave that up that easy?"

"Well, we couldn't really go back and try to start over, and we had that stuff in the other bag to deal with now.

"What stuff?"

"Jeff, that's what I have been trying to tell you. The other stuff in the bag David was carrying when we robbed the bank. At first we thought it was just rolled up bonds or something like that. Why Michael even grabbed it I don't know. It was the biggest and heaviest of all the bags but had no money in there at all.

"What was it?"

"You won't believe this." Francine paused and made sure she had Jeff's full attention. "Rolled up artworks. Canvases. I think there were 67 in total." Francine stared hard at Jeff debating whether to tell him the rest, but quickly knew that she had to tell him everything.

"Jeff, these were not just any pieces of art. These were masterpieces dating back to the mid seventeen hundreds. There were works by Raphael, Edourd-Leon Cortes and Frank Weston Benson. There was one Rembrandt in there as well.

Jeff stared flabbergasted at Francine.

"Jeff, this bag was worth a hell of a lot more than all of the money we had just stolen. We had stolen priceless artworks. Artworks that some are still missing today, and are assumed to have been stolen by the Germans during World War Two.

"What exactly are you saying? You have a bunch of stolen art works dating back centuries hidden in some vault?...and you're selling them off?"

"No Jeff! We never sold any of them! Not a single one! This is what I have really been doing with my life the past years since eighty-nine. Wilfred and I have been researching these paintings and the histories. Hell, none of us needed to work anymore with all that money sitting in the bank."

"So the three of you have been doing what exactly?"

"Dealing with these art works. It just really hasn't been that easy. David had lost all his interest in everything since returning and became on the verge of mental breakdown many times over the years. Wilfred and I had to keep an eye on him. We always suspected he never got over the young woman's death. He never married and I had never even seen him with a woman."

"Ya, he seemed a little strange to me."

"And Wilfred... He handled it the best. He shaved his head the day we came back after our visit to our broker friend. Kept it shaved ever since. All that big bushy hair and beard suddenly gone. He met a young lady the following year, got married and lived a pretty normal life. He only had the one daughter."

"Ya, I met her. She's the one that I purchased the house from."

"I knew her too. She was a sweet thing."

"She still is," Jeff reminded her.

"Yes, I guess she is."

"And what about you?"

"Me? Uh, I never married. I just couldn't. Michael...you see. Trying to keep this secret...and David across the street and all those paintings. I just couldn't. I did try a couple of times, you know, went out with few guys, but It never seemed right, and I don't know, maybe I scared them off because I couldn't get close to anyone."

Jeff looked at her pleasingly. "I think you've let yourself get pretty close to me."

Francine smiled back, and fresh emotions circled around inside her. "I guess I have haven't I?"

"Yes, you have Francine." Jeff ran his fingers caressingly down through her long hair.

Francine reached for Jeff with both arms, and he responded by pulling her lean frame in close. She loved him so much right now.

"But the art works Jeff. The one's in the bundle from the robbery. That is what I've really been doing. Once things settled down and we all began new lives, the thought of all those artworks sitting in the vault began to drive me crazy. None of us had really looked through the stack of them. We only had the one brief look back at the Sheraton in fifty-five, and they stayed stored away until after we returned."

"It was over a year since we had returned before Wilfred and I went down and reviewed the paintings again. Our intention was to photograph them and to try to identify each and every one of them. What we found was actually more interesting."

"How so?"

"Documents. Tucked in between a couple of the paintings."

Jeff suddenly sat up more erect as if he knew what was about to come could be explosive.

"Have you ever heard of Hans Kammler?" Francine asked.

"I think so. Wasn't he something to do with Germany, World War Two? "

"Yes! He was an SS General during World War Two. Over the years he worked his way up through the SS to be granted access to the highest levels of secrecy. At one point he was appointed command over the secret experiments that the Nazi's were conducting out in the Wenceslas mine."

"What experiments? The ones on the prisoners to create the superhuman?"

"No, nothing like that. These were top secret experiments the Germans were conducting to produce superior military machines. The Bell project was the biggie."

"I think I heard of that. Wasn't that a big myth? The German's secret project about flying saucers?"

"It was no myth Jeff. The experiments were well documented. There are all kinds of photographs and witnesses of the experiments and test flights."

"You think so really? So whatever happened to all this stuff?"

"Listen to me. I have the documents still. It is real. At the end of the war Kammler disappeared, and so did all the information about the Bell project. along with all those artworks. Rumor had it he was killed at the end of the war, but other information kept surfacing that he had escaped to Holland."

Francine paused and stared Jeff straight in the eyes. "I know what really happened to him."

"You do? How would you know...oh...you went back in time?"

"No. Didn't have to. It's all in the documents I have been referring to. It contained Kammler's travel documents. It had drawings of the core engineering behind the Bell project.

Kammler didn't die, Jeff, as everyone thinks. After Holland, he ended up in Canada. Right here in Bluffington. His name was changed and he became a teacher of mathematics at the university. He also lived on Founders Road Jeff. Can you guess which house was his?"

"My god, your kidding aren't you?" Jeff said astonished.

"No, and here in Bluffington is where he perfected his design. I studied those documents so many times. he didn't come alone. He came with a number of the engineers from the Bell project and they all set up shop here in Bluffington."

"I was in such disbelief but it was all there, right in front of me. The theory behind the saucers, how they worked and how he discovered time travel. I almost know this inside out I've read it over so many times."

"The theory was to create an electromagnetic field. This field was to react with the natural gravitational field of the earth allowing the effect of anti-gravity to be achieved. What Kammler discovered was that for this to work, he only needed to charge up or introduce a magnetic effect on and into the surface of the earth. The earth would hold this field in the ground surface and the saucer could repel itself or appear to defy gravity by floating above it. At first strange things began to happen the wider he made the field. At one point he covered the whole Bluffington valley bottom with his electromagnetic field for an entire day. He wanted the whole valley covered thinking this was what was limiting the stability of the saucers he was trying to get airborne. He theorized that the energy of the earth's gravitational field could be synched with the energy he was creating from his power generator in his aircraft, and that the two would sort of create this plane or horizontal field. He believed the force of this field would push his generator up into the air like two magnets with similar poles. What happened was quite unexpected. To everyone in Bluffington nothing had happened at all. Life just went on, but to others from outside the valley, they knew what really happened. Bluffington had lost a day. People outside had moved forward, but time in Bluffington had stopped for an entire day. Kammler never knew what happened as the experiment had failed immediately in his eyes. The moment he began his experiment, his generator quit and he passed it off as a failed test due to the generator not being able to stay running. He lost that same day."

"How did he know it even worked then?"

"He didn't at first. He just heard the strange talk about town. Confusion about the date. Everyone that came to town was saying the date was one day later. Everyone soon forgot about it, but not Kammler. He studied back in his notes, and talked to everyone he could. He summarized his data and concluded with absolute certainty that the supposed lost day occurred precisely when his experiment failed. He postulated differently, that his experiment had succeeded and he had somehow caused the lost day. He then went on and proved his theory."

Jeff shook his head in disbelief of what he was hearing.

"Yes, this was the first real time travel. They didn't go back in time, but he did stop time from moving forward."

"..and you know this, how?"

"I told you already. I have his documents Jeff. The information is there. Not all, but enough. They were his artworks and his documents we stole."

"Jeff, this guy was smart. He went on to focus the gravitational field and intensify it. That is when he discovered the portal. From there he and his partners at the university reduced the size of the machine down to what we see in the attic. The music was added to identify the time period. They discovered like we did that the only thing that would pass through the barrier was human flesh. They soon discovered that by treating the clothing and artifacts with a high intensity radioactive isotope to increase the permeability of the material at an atomic level, they could treat any item to have it pass through the barrier intact."

"I don't get it. How come when you went back in time, it only happened when you were asleep. You all tried it when you were all awake and nothing happened."

"Oh, that's one of the other things he discovered by accident as well. The human consciousness contains thought waves that are rather like the waves created by a bunch of kids jumping in a pool. The waves of the pool cannot ever synch up or become concentrated to one that is well defined or rhythmic, because each kid that jumps in the pool introduces new irregular waves into the mix. Human consciousness is like that. Everything we touch, see, smell or feel is constantly probing and prodding our consciousness in a new direction, never letting the brain waves calm down. Only when we are sleeping are these connections to our senses finally turned off. Kammler discovered that the mind needed to be free of outside sensory input to pass through the time shift unaffected. His first test subjects came back with their minds twisted to a maniacal state. No subject was unaffected, and some came back dead. Kammler didn't care, because these were just psych ward patients that he was playing with and they were all expendable in his eyes. It was only when a drug induced sleep on some of his subjects resulted with no side effects, that Kammler put these two together. Sleep was required."

"So how does the radio thing know when we are sleeping?"

"Believe me if I could tell you, I would, but I can't really understand all of Kammlers' writings, but I do know that the radio thing, once wound up, sends out its electromagnetic field in the area, and at the same time is reading the human thought waves of everyone inside the affected electromagnetic field area or inside this house more precisely. If there was someone awake creating these splashes in the human brainwave pattern within this house, the radio thing would sense these disturbances and simply time out without going back or forwards in time. He had added a safety to stop people from going mad or crazy."

"I see. If you sleep you can pass through the barrier unaffected. If you were awake it would make you mad."

"That's it Jeff."

"You still have the documents?"

"Yes, and most of the paintings. See Jeff, what We've been doing is travelling the world, reconnecting these paintings back to their rightful owners, if we can find them. Some Wilfred and I planted in unsuspecting places so they would be found by deserving others. Others we returned to heirs of the original owners so they would turn up in the estates of the rightful heirs."

Jeff smiled. "Unbelievable." He kissed Francine on the cheek and stood up to stretch his legs.

"Wilfred and I did a couple of trips over to Europe. I am sure you have heard over the last twenty years of missing art pieces suddenly turning up. It was weird travelling with all these artworks back to Europe. Slipping in here and there into peoples' lives, passing ourselves off as tourists, just so we could secretly reunite these artworks back to where they belonged. The best was the pieces we left in a little church in Italy." Francine laughed remembering the two of them stumbling through the fields in the middle of the night, arms full of millions of dollars worth of paintings, the stars and full moon lighting their way through the forest and across the fields.

"Through the time machine?"

"No way, Jeff. We had enough of that. We never went through again...at least I never did."

"How many did you return?"

"I think to date we've returned fourty three. Still a lot to go, and believe me, it is not easy to dig into the past about these artworks, without someone becoming suspicious."

"How so?"

"We'll, you have to start researching the families and survivors of people who suffered dearly during the war. Many died in the gas houses, others just vanished. We try to find the heirs through whatever means we can, beginning with the artist and last known owner. It's disturbing at times, and for a while I didn't know if I could get past all of that suffering. And then we still had do return them anonymously."

Francine suddenly laughed. "There was one family that actually caught us. It was in Poland, but the family was so pleased when we finally confessed what we were doing that they allowed us the privacy and they created a convoluted story of how they came across the art works. It was highly contested and scrutinized, but the artwork had returned and it blew over."

"So what now? Where do we go from here?" he asked.

"I was hoping you'd help me on the next one I need to return" Her thoughts were of the painting in her study."

"But first, I want to show you something when I was done, and I think I am done..."

"Uh huh."

"I want you to see, what I've seen. Go back to fifty-five again."

Francine felt Jeff's apprehension run through his veins, as he pulled away from her. "I'm not sure I want to do that."

"I need you to Jeff. I need to know that you really believe me. Just once and then we can come back."

Francine recognized that she needed this. If she was to ever be really close to Jeff, she would need for him to do more than just say he believed. She needed him to experience for himself, to erase forever that lingering doubt that would somehow always exist between the two of them.

"So what is it you want to do?"

"Go back just once. See the barrier."

"When?"

"Well we can go right now...tonight."

"What? Now?" Jeff stood up and walked over to the front window and looked out. "You mean we only have to go back, look out the window like this and we can see it's changed?"

"Yes Jeff, that's all."

"We don't need to actually go through the...the barrier?"

"No Jeff. You just need to look out the window."

Jeff stared out at the dark street. He stared off somewhere, Francine wasn't sure. Maybe the fine details of the tree trunks, and green shrubbery, or the house across the street, the faded paint, and weathered shingles

"Okay" Jeff replied reluctantly as he scratched his head, "but I don't really want to leave the house."

"You might change your mind once you see for yourself."

Francine made her way over to the staircase and reached one hand out behind her encouraging him to join her. "Shall we?" she asked.

Jeff followed Francine up the staircase to the master bedroom. Francine pulled down the hidden staircase, and like forty years before, fine dust drifted lazily down upon the two of them.

Francine flipped the light switch and was momentarily shocked at the fresh footprints disrupting the soft blanket of dust coating the staircase. Francine had assisted Wilfred with the painstaking effort of cleaning the attic of all its dust after returning all the garments and accessories to their respective trunks shortly after Wilfred had purchased the house many years ago. The attic was then sealed up tight and to her knowledge, the attic had remained undisturbed ever since, but here in front of her clearly were fresh footprints.

Francine studied the footprints as she ascended the steps, not unaware that Jeff was studying her carefully.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking down at the footprints.

"Uh... Oh nothing," she said. There were what appeared to be two different sets, one large set and one smaller. The smaller appeared to go up and down a number of times. The larger set seemed to go up only once. What could this mean, she pondered momentarily, but Francine already knew the answer. The big ones were obviously Bill's footprints. But who belonged to the other smaller ones?

The attic was as she remembered. The long row of shelving with the trunks stacked endlessly, and the ornately scribed fireplace were just as they appeared so long ago. Looking around the room was like walking into some forgotten dream. It was her dream but at a different place and a different time. Francine showed Jeff the numerous trunks first, opening up the trunk containing the clothes from the fifties. She moved on to the change rooms and bunks before finally stopping in front of the massive fireplace and the radio thing.

Francine nervously pressed the face of the radio and the glass front popped open. She gave Jeff a tentative glance and slowly slid her fingers to the molding below, carefully pressing the leaf and once again the molding popped open revealing the hidden key.

Nervously she inserted the key into the keyhole and began turning. The ancient sounds of the cogs and springs echoed across the dusty attic. Francine reached deep into her pocket and removed a small bundle of papers. She carefully unfolded the top most weathered looking sheet and held the fragile document nervously. The creases now worn in some places were so emaciated that the paper only hung together by tiny fibers.

She glanced again at Jeff giving an anxious short laugh as she began to dial the radio. Jeff watched with curious enthusiasm as the images in the small windows changed. Some images appeared as others disappeared in the little windows.

Francine continued to turn the dial until all nine windows once again contained an image and soft instrumental music immediately filled the attic.

"This isn't the right one." Francine continued tuning the dial passing two additional stations before the images in the windows perfectly matched those on the aged ragged sheet of paper.

The music of the fifties returned with the Chordettes, Mister Sandman floating quickly and softly around the two of them.

Francine saw Jeff studying the document she was holding, the document she had held on to for the past thirty years. By the condition of the paper, it was easily construed that she had painfully struggled with the reality of what had happened and she had opened this particular single sheet of paper copious number of times over the years. Bill had photocopied the originals and asked Francine to protect these copies in case they were ever needed again. Francine's eyes met Jeff's own, and she hoped tonight would finally offer her some kind of deliverance.

Francine carefully returned the key to its receptacle and pushed the molding closed. She grabbed Jeff's hand and led him away from the music towards the stairs. Once again her pre-occupation with the footprints on the stairs was obvious. Neither spoke a word as they descended.

"We just leave the music playing up there?" Jeff asked once they had returned to the couch downstairs.

"That's the way it's done."

"So we sit and wait, or what."

"No, haven't you been listening Jeff? Now we need to sleep and when we awake, we'll have travelled back in time."

Francine never really anticipated the situation she found herself in unexpectedly. She was feeling so gripped with emotion for Jeff since disclosing her past and suddenly he was spending the night.

She felt like a teenager again, back to those early day when she was caught alone with Michael somewhere late at night and totally uncertain of how to behave. Should she make a move on Jeff, or ought she wait to let him make a move? What if he didn't want to? It was the right time wasn't it? Maybe she should...Suddenly Jeff laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Oh nothing really," but he couldn't stop the laughing.

"Well it must be," she replied, an automatic responsive smile spread quickly across her face.

It was good to smile.

"I was just thinking of making a move on you."

"You what?" she responded back, flattered.

"I was remembering what you had said about the boy, Greg Jamieson and was wondering if I'd end up in the same state as him if I put the moves on you." He continued to laugh.

"What? Oh Jeff," Francine replied back laughing herself now. "I'd do a lot worse to you; I've learned a lot more tricks since then." She laughed with him.

Jeff grabbed his crotch with both hands and yelled "Ouch," making light of the situation.

Francine smiled back, really quite thrilled by Jeff's sudden openness. She turned towards him and smothered him with a kiss square on the lips.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone like you," she said pleased. She kissed him again and moved herself over on top of him straddling his legs with hers. The awkward moment for both Francine and Jeff to know who was to make the first move had passed.

He reached around her, placing his hands on her back as she sat on his lap facing him. He pulled her close and kissed her long and passionately.

"I really think I love you too," he said kissing her once again.

Francine removed herself from his lap and stood up. She grabbed his hand leading him once again up the staircase to the master bedroom. Once in the bedroom, Francine shoved Jeff forcibly backwards down on to the bed.

"You just lay there," she whispered as she leaned over him and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt.

Francine's excitement was intensifying and right now all she desired was Jeff.

Francine delicately removed his shirt and then straddled her lean body on top of him. Jeff began to breathe in heavy short bursts as Francine licked his firm chest from his navel up to his breasts. She kissed him once again, and moved to unbuttoning his jeans. She slid her hand down deep inside and began massaging his manhood as Jeff moaned from the pleasure.

He attempted to reach up to caress her, but she shoved him back down and carefully removed both his pants and boxers revealing Jeff's desire for her.

Francine slowly grabbed his now fully erect manhood in her hands and cupped it softly as she kissed it once ever so tenderly.

Jeff whimpered with exhilaration and ushered her to stop but she wouldn't. She continued this way slowly, meticulously, caressing and massaging until Jeff looked like he would explode.

Finally she released her hold and pulled herself back up on top of him and she let him carefully pull off her sweatshirt, revealing her firm bosoms. Jeff caressed her breasts in his hands and Francine let him know how much she needed this. She raised herself up on her arms letting him do his magic on her. Jeff pulled her back down, and ruggedly removed her pants and undergarments.

The two of them, both naked, rolled and curled atop the sheets until Francine finally grabbed his manhood once again and guided him to where she wanted him most.

Francine had never felt so much intense pleasure as he entered the warmth of her private body. The two of them, entwined together, began to roll and move rhythmically in soft waves until Francine arched her back and Jeff let loose at the same time and the final ecstasy was delivered between them.

Francine rolled off Jeff and casually pulled the sheets up covering the two of them. Jeff whispered in her ear once again that he loved her, and wrapped his arm once again around her pulling her in close. Tears settled down on her cheeks that were tears of joy, the first she'd experienced like this in years.

The two of them cuddled together under the sheets both contented with how far they had come. Sleep soon overtook them both.

As the two drifted away into the land of dreams, the winds outside began to pick up once again. The leaves were soon being ripped from their branches and the dust began to swirl in a fury surrounding the house. Inside the occupants slept. A deep sleep bordered only by the quiet music eking through the cracks of the attic staircase.

The ferocity of the winds increased as more particles filled the air. Fence boards and paint was ripped from their foundations, and years of growth and bark were wretched from the shrubs and trees. The winds howled around the house, and the orchestra of events surrounding the house once again obscured the stars in the night sky. Fresh new leaves began to be sucked forth from the stripped branches, and new paint was revealed under the old. The outside was now black with rage and destruction as the windings continued to tick down in the attic.

Then suddenly as quickly as it had begun, the windings stopped and all the contents and fury in the skies faded away to nothing, revealing a time long since past.

***

### Chapter 33

### 1955 Revisited

Francine awoke to find the morning sun casting the unsullied light of a new day across the room. She was startled when she stirred and sensed Jeff's cool flesh against her own. She had been sleeping alone for so many years and quickly recalled what had transpired last night. She reached over, smiled to herself, and lightly massaged Jeff's back as he continued his serene slumber. She felt immensely contented and propitious to have him here beside her this morning. The day's events would soon be upon them and she had no desire to rush out to see the changed world.

Eventually Jeff emerged from his own dreams and she could tell he too was pleased to find himself waking up next to someone like herself. The two mused over last night's sudden jaunt into this furtive relationship as neither had anticipated it would have happened so quickly but agreed it probably was predestined to happen.

The two quickly dressed and soon found themselves on the front porch observing the transformation that had occurred outside as they both slept.

Francine stood outside on the warm porch with Jeff close at her side. She searched the new world she was abruptly transported to and inhaled the changes through her eyes once more.

"Quite a shock isn't it?"

"I'd say," Jeff replied cautiously, busy examining the scene in front of him.

Francine watched Jeff and knew he was seeking desperately the proof that somehow this was all some crazy lie. It wasn't though, and the more details he differentiated with his eyes, the more the evidence proved to him this was no lie.

"So, what do you think?"

"About what? About what I see in front of me? I think you know what I think."

Francine pointed up to the hills south beyond the town center. "You see up there?"

Jeff looked up to the Sherman Subdivision on the other side of town where Francine was pointing. On the edge of the sub-division were a few newly erected homes and even from this far away Jeff was be able to see the location of the new homes, with the small piles of dirt on the sides of the open excavations where Selena and the others had so feverishly stashed the money.

Jeff shook his head in astonishment. "So here we are, back in Nineteen fifty-five. Unbelievable."

"I thought you'd think that. You know, Wilfred, Michael and David are also here in the same spot, probably standing on the porch exactly where we are."

Jeff shook his head and rubbed his morning whiskers with his fingers still staring out to the silent beyond. "This is freaky..."

"Yes, and if we went to town at the right time, we would probably even see us back then."

There was a strange excitement inside her that she could not explain, bringing a new challenge forth. She looked back towards the town her eyes aglow with enthusiasm. Would Jeff buy into what she was thinking? She was hoping so.

"I have an idea."

Jeff looked uncomfortable as Francine's eyes crawled over him. "I'm not so sure I'm gonna like what's coming."

Jeff stepped back from Francine. She knew instantly that he was aware of what it was she was about to propose and she looked for the tiniest crack to break his resistance.

"I just thought that we should take a walk into town. You know...just a quick trip. I am sure we'll be fine and that nothing will happen to us. All the times we were back there in the fifties, the only thing we heard about was the robbery, and we were all involved in it. There was nothing else that happened to anybody that we heard of."

Jeff let out a sigh.

"C'mon. It'll be fine. I tell you what. If we go when the robbery occurs, we can be pretty sure that nothing will happen to us, since we'll only be spectators, and there was nothing said about spectators being hurt or anything. Just the robbers and we already went through that."

"I don't know," Jeff replied still very reluctant. He looked out from the porch once more and shook his head rubbing his morning whiskers.

"Jeff, it was you who wanted to know the story of what really happened to the "famous" Bluffington Four. Well, here's your only chance to see what did happen, and in real life...as it happened."

Jeff released a small grimace and Francine knew she had found some chink in his armor. His grimace just gave it all away and she knew it. She quickly pounced on the breach.

"You've still got that class to teach and you can't get any better research than actually being there. You can actually let yourself walk away from an opportunity like this? To be able to explore the absolute facts about the Bluffington Four and how they disappeared? Isn't this what you traveled all the way across the country to teach? You're really going to walk away from the truth and the real facts?" She pointed towards the town.

Francine knew she had stung him hard with these last few comments but how could anyone really resist the temptation of exploring days gone by.

"Okay, Okay," Jeff relented. "But I don't want to pop through the barrier and come face to face with one or two other Francine's, if you know what I mean. I want to stay out of sight, and out of all the action."

"Oh I know exactly what you mean Jeff, I was there, remember? We'll go to town just in time to watch the robbery take place. Sometime around one o'clock we'll leave. The robbery occurred just after two." Francine was suddenly alive again as there was something about going back that lit a tiny flame inside her. Was it maybe the possibility of seeing Michael for one last time? She didn't really know.

***

The two of them returned to the attic after Jeff had served a light breakfast. They fumbled around through many of the trunks for a while, before finally settling on a few specific items making up suitable attire for people of their age during the fifties. Jeff had settled on gray slacks, a white shirt, no tie but a tweed sports jacket with black patches covering the elbows and of course, dark socks and black shoes. Francine had chosen a long black dress that showed only the tiniest amount of ankle above her Cuban heeled black dress shoes. She wore a lacy blouse up top and pulled her hair up into a bun and secured it with some hairpins she'd taken from the same trunk.

Time passed quickly in the attic and when it was nearing one o'clock Jeff ushered Francine to the parlor to once more review the events that they should see unfold. Jeff was insistent on being nowhere near the bank when all this is going down. Francine readily agreed, ensuring Jeff that they would be well far enough away from any of the action.

Francine reminded Jeff to remove his watch and wedding band as only items from the trunk could pass through the barrier. Francine studied Jeff as he fondled the ring between his fingers, flipping it over and over before finally resting it carefully onto the table by the front door along with his watch.

"Well let's go..." Jeff shoved his hands in his pockets and led Francine out the front door. Francine caught Jeff's eyes as he stole one last glance at the ring as she reached back to pull the door closed behind her.

***

### Chapter 34

"Which way?" Jeff questioned as he stepped out onto the porch.

Francine pointed toward town center and quickly they moved off in that direction being careful to walk on the sidewalk and not the middle of the road. Jeff reached for Francine's hand and she carefully placed her hand in his as the two of them moved gracefully together along the sidewalk.

Jeff snapped his head around in all directions as the unexpected cracking and snapping began to surface around the two of them as if trying to see the source of the sounds; but there was nothing to see but the quiet neighborhood on this sun-drenched day. The snapping and popping increased with each step causing Jeff to increase his hold to Francine's arm. They continued their move forward through the barrier, and as quickly as it had started, after only a dozen or so paces, the sounds began to fade.

The street ahead looked just as empty as it did before, and for a moment Francine wondered if they had really come through any barrier at all this time. It was the return of the sounds that cleared her mind. She could once again hear the comforting sounds of everyday life including some dog barking off in the distant. The recognizable sound of rubber wheels on pavement whistling through the airwaves from all the hundreds of cars moving around in the valley suddenly re-surfaced.

The two of them walked casually down the sidewalk of Founders Road. As they neared Centre Ave they could see the streets up ahead stocked with the all the different cars of the forties and fifties.

"Look at these cars! This is incredible!" Jeff said excitedly.

"Yes, it sure is, but I think it's getting close to that time Jeff. Let's move along." Francine ushered Jeff down the street one block over paralleling Main Street. They continued their walk, being sure to walk an extra block, coming back over to Main Street one block up from the bank. Francine didn't want them to be anywhere near the Diner corner or across the street where the boy with the bottles was coming. She wanted to be sure they were well out of the way of the action and all the characters involved.

When the two of them finally came back on to Main Street, they were at the far end of the block up a few businesses from the bank.

"I think this is good," Francine mused. "We can see the front of the bank, the bank steps, the Diner on the corner there." Jeff looked where Francine was pointing, and exactly one block down from where they were standing was the Diner. In between them and the Diner was the Bank with its wide concrete steps rising from the street.

Jeff continued to look around at the other businesses on Main Street as Francine shielded the sun from her eyes with her hand and looked south towards Sherman's Hill. "Hey Jeff, look over there," She pointed up to the ridge above the town.

"Huh?"

"Up there on the ridge. Do you see him?" Francine was still pointing up to the ridge.

"Uh...I think so...Who is it?" Jeff replied squinting in the direction of the sun.

"That would be Wilfred, right now. In a sec he'll leave the ridge and that's when they all come down here."

Jeff continued to stare up at the small figure up on the ridge. Surely enough the figure slowly disappeared from the edge of the ridge as Francine said he would. Nothing to do but be patient and wait now.

How long of a drive can it be from the top of the hill to here? Three minutes maybe five. Francine couldn't quite remember. What mattered was to be careful now. It was time to watch and stay out of everyone's way.

"Where..." Jeff began, but paused as he saw Francine nervously studying both sides of the street down by the Diner and across.

Moments passed as the two of them studied the street and its occupants.

Francine lifted her hand to her lips. "Oh my...there he is."

Down across the street a few blocks they could see the young boy with the dark hair. The boy was about twelve or thirteen, dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt. He carried in his right hand a cardboard container that would certainly be holding the six empty pop bottles.

Francine let out a tiny noise as she looked down the street towards the Diner. Standing on the corner in front of the Diner's doors was the young boy and his mother. The young woman who was probably just in her early twenties, the young boy only three or four.

Francine and Jeff both continued to watch both the boy with the bottles, and the young woman and her son for the next few minutes.

The soft rumble of an approaching car to their right caught both Francine and Jeff off guard as the gray Desoto rolled by and pulled up slowly in front of Madison's Cleaners. The Desoto came to a complete stop, and the occupants remained inside conferring with each other.

Further down the sidewalk beyond the car, the young boy continued his slow approach. Francine scanned to the left to the Diner. The young mother and young boy were still standing on the corner outside the Diner.

Three of the cars doors suddenly opened at once and all three occupants dressed in black emerged. Jeff tightened his hold on Francine's hand as the three men promptly crossed the street, each holding what was surely a black balaclava in one of their hands. The three men moved quickly up the steps and paused momentarily before entering the bank, each pulling the balaclava over their faces.

Francine gripped Jeff's arm more firmly as she returned to watching the sole occupant of the vehicle exit the back seat and quickly slide into the driver's seat. It was her younger self that then anxiously revved the engine a couple of times before searching up towards the bank.

Up the far end of the street beyond the bank the young mother and boy were now crossing the street from the Diner towards the bank. The young boy with the pop bottles was also moving closer.

Slowly to their right another car rolled by. Francine's thoughts shot back in time as she studied this second car as it passed. Inside this vehicle, the four occupants bore the same mysterious dark clothing that Selena and her friends had been wearing. It was impossible not to help but stare at this vehicle as it steadily slowed, eventually pulling up alongside the other car at almost a full stop. And suddenly, as if the occupants of this latest car were criminals caught somewhere where they weren't supposed to be, the vehicle's engine roared up like a lion possessed and stole itself away down the street and was gone.

Francine's attention moved beyond the cars back to the young boy with the bottles. The young boy was about to cross the street. Francine was not sure where she was supposed to be watching and alternately moved her eyes from one side of the street to the other, between the young woman and back to the boy with the bottles. It impaled her inside to watch the young woman and her boy walk step after step, carefree and content, the two of them unaware of what unfathomable misfortune was about to be set upon them. She looked back over to the other boy with the bottles and watched him momentarily as he moved across the sidewalk toward the idling automobile.

Francine was still looking at the young boy with the bottles, when she felt Jeff's body jump as the front door to the bank was shattered in a loud explosion. David was suddenly bounding down the steps of the bank, his gun waving in the air and a bag, surely full of those artworks and documents, was swinging randomly around in the other. Glass fragments were still bouncing on the concrete outside the main door of the bank as Wilfred rambled hastily out of the bank behind David. Wilfred, who was only twenty or so feet behind was also carrying a bag and waving a gun crazily as he bounded down the steps frantically for the car.

At the bottom of the steps the young boy and mother paused, the young boy's attention turned to Wilfred, following him and his mad dash back across the street to the car.

Michael emerged out of the bank next and was soon hobbling down the stairs. Francine's attention was still on Wilfred and David as they ran towards the car while Jeff continued to watch as Michael stumbled. The young mother was immersed in angst as Michael passed in front of her, his arms flailing away in all directions. Michael's foot slipped on the edge of the curb sending him tumbling hard to the pavement.

Both the young mother and boy turned and witnessed Michael's awkward fall to the pavement. The young mother shuddered as another gunshot was fired when Michael's gun smacked the ground during his fall. She was momentarily immobilized with fear. She glanced down at Michael's sprawled out body, and then quickly pulled on her son's arm yanking him in the direction of the bank.

Back at the car, both of the balaclava hooded robbers jumped back out of the car, the larger one running hastily back towards his fallen comrade. Francine couldn't help but watch the other one. She knew this was David, and somehow his actions seemed to entrance her as she didn't really recall what was now happening. David moved deliberately alongside the far side of the car staring at the commotion in front of the bank, finally resting both hands on top of the car, the gun held firmly in his grasp. He yelled something but Francine didn't really hear what it was with the blood rushing and pounding fiercely in her ears. The gun was pointed toward the bank.

Francine remained staring at David, as Jeff continued to watch the commotion on the bottom of the steps. A different man suddenly began running from further down the sidewalk by the diner towards the group collected at the bottom of the bank steps. This man was an older man, running with an obvious fixation on the group collected on the bank steps. Jeff watched dumbfounded, as the man's focus seemed to be centered on the young woman only, ignoring all else that was happening. He didn't flinch when the guard shot back toward Michael lying in the street. He didn't flinch when Michael's gun went off a second time as Wilfred had finally reached Michael and began dragging him back to the safety of the getaway car.

The running man approached at full speed and boldly leaped through the air just as David released one single shot from the gun he held rested atop the Desoto. David's single shot clearly intended to take down the guard who had now taken his own careful aim at Michael as he was being dragged away by Wilfred.

Jeff watched as the young woman was thrown forward as the running man tackled her. She held on firmly to her son, his small body suddenly jerked upside down into the air in a graceless cartwheel. The three of them came crashing down, impacting the guard who's extended arm was intent on putting at least one bullet into Michael's fleeing body.

David's shot hit the young woman as she was tackled by the strange man. The blood seemed to erupt out from the woman almost in a slow spray as the man and woman finished their tumble into the guard, the three of them landing in a heap at the foot of the steps. The young boy slammed down hard backwards on to the concrete sidewalk.

The running man pushed himself up from the group immediately and stared in the direction of the bandit's car. He remained motionless, seemingly oblivious to the hurt and injured people at his feet as he continued his forlorn and anguished gaze out towards the robber's car.

He lifted his fists up painfully to the sky and screamed, "Nooooo!" and hastily bolted from the scene and headed straight towards where Francine and Jeff now stood. Francine didn't see the man coming as she was still entirely engrossed in the image of Wilfred dragging Michael's limp body back towards the car.

The man continued to run towards them. Jeff nudged Francine as the man neared. He looked from the man running towards him back up to the steps of the bank. A few people had now exited the bank; one short elderly man in particular with graying hair and glasses caught Jeff's attention as he seemed to ignore the ruckus in front of the bank and instead seemed to be more interested in watching the running man as he fled towards Jeff and Francine.

Francine felt Jeff tug on her arm, but she didn't move at all, as she was still caught up in the scene of Michael's struggle to stand up as Wilfred forcibly hauled him back to the car.

It was too late. Jeff had tried to move out of the way to his left against the building as the man approached, but the man darted to his right at the same moment, causing the man to crash recklessly into Jeff. The man grabbed hold firmly of Jeff's sport jacket with both hands, crushing the fabric under his hands. He stared longingly into Jeff's eyes and held on tight, not letting go. For a moment Jeff thought the man was about to speak, but the man gave one last push at Jeff letting go of Jeff's jacket and then frantically squeezing himself between both Jeff and Francine, causing Francine to finally let go of her grasp on Jeff's arm.

Jeff looked back to the commotion down the street to see the man with the glasses on the bank steps still staring and shouting. He was shaking his fist in obvious anger and it appeared he was screaming at both Jeff and Francine.

As the running man pushed his way through, Francine's trance on the events at the vehicle was finally broken. Francine turned her head to finally look at the man who was pushing his way between the two of them, forcing Francine's arm away from Jeff.

Francine's mouth dropped open in disbelief and her eyes opened up wide as the man ultimately succeeded in breaking free. Francine's shocked eyes met Jeff's. "David?" she whispered softly in incredulity. "David?" she repeated a little more loudly this time in the direction of the running man.

Francine stared back at Jeff. His head was cocked to one side and his thumb was pointed in the direction of the man that had just disappeared around the corner.

"Him? That's David?...The neighbor David?"

"Yes!" Francine said still shocked. "It looks like David. Just like he looked just a few weeks ago before you showed up." Francine knew instantly this was her only chance to find out what had happened to David and she broke suddenly into a run and disappeared around the corner after David.

Jeff quickly followed behind and the two began to chase David, forgetting all about the rest of the commotion in front of the bank. Francine yelled David's name once more, but he did not respond.

David had a good half a block on the two of them but Francine was an avid jogger and she was sure she would have had no problem catching him within a few blocks if it wasn't for these damned heeled shoes. Francine wondered about Jeff. She looked back to see that Jeff was indeed in the chase as well.

"That's David," Francine said once more slowing down to let Jeff catch up to her.

"You're sure about that."

"Absolutely,"

"What's he doing here?"

"I have no idea," Francine said huffing as she ran.

They continued to run a few more blocks after David, the two of them gradually making up some ground on him.

"I know where he's going," Francine puffed.

"Where," Jeff puffed back. Francine could see he was getting tired.

"The house."

"Of course."

They continued to chase him the few blocks down the very route Francine and Jeff had just taken from the house to get to the bank.

"David!" Francine shouted once more. David kept running, either not hearing her or deliberately ignoring her. As hard as Francine tried, the heels on these shoes just wouldn't let her move any faster. Jeff was now racing forward, leaving Francine trailing behind. "I'll catch him," he yelled back to Francine.

The house was just up ahead. Francine could see Jeff was only twenty feet behind David, as the snapping and crackling of the barrier began.

The crackling and snapping sounds increased at an alarming rate and one by one the three ran into the barrier. Suddenly the sounds escalated to a smothering of pops and hisses, and David, now only fifteen feet in front of Jeff suddenly began to blur and change to a floating moving blob of multi-colored hues.

"Nooooo, Daviiiid!" Francine screamed into the air as David's image faded away to nothing. He was gone.

Francine slowed her run to a stop having arrived on the other side of the barrier. Francine immediately knew what had happened.

"He's gone back to a different space hasn't he?" Jeff asked through intense huffs and puffs.

Francine was bent over, her hands on her knees, head hung down low. She looked up at Jeff, breathing heavily. "Dammit! Yes, he has. He must have come back here from two thousand and ten...before he died..."

"Oh..." Jeff uttered. Francine could see Jeff's expression shift as his mind must have raced over what seemed to be a hundred understandings now of the events that had occurred since he'd arrived in Bluffington.

***

### Chapter 35

Francine and Jeff returned to the house having just witnessed David vanishing in front of them.

"You're absolutely sure that was David?" Jeff asked her again, still trying to catch his breath as they sat side by side on the couch.

"Without a doubt. I mean...he looked exactly like he did just weeks ago when I last talked to him."

"Well, what the hell?" Jeff mused loudly.

Francine sat quiet next to Jeff, not offering an explanation, but she did have some inkling of what was really going on.

"What is it Francine? You do know what's just happened here?"

"You know Jeff, I'm not really sure but..." Francine put her hand to her mouth and furrowed her brow for a moment.

"But what, Francine? I just saw on your face... You did see what he was doing here didn't you?"

Francine waved her hand in the air at Jeff dismissing his comments as she continued to stare at nothing, putting the pieces of what she suspected together. Jeff relaxed back in the couch, his breathing returned to normal.

"I have an idea, Jeff....of what happened."

"Uh huh," Jeff replied.

"Do you remember last night when we first went upstairs to the attic?"

"The footprints?" Jeff added quickly.

"Oh...I didn't think you noticed."

"I noticed you looking at them last night. That's what I noticed. What about the footprints?" he asked. Francine suspected he might already know the answer as well.

"Well, it's just there were two sets of footprints on the stairs. These were fresh footprints, just like ours. When I first saw them, I thought they were maybe the same prints from way back when the three of us returned in eighty-nine, but as you and I both walked up the staircase...our footprints left the same imprint. There was no way these footprints were that old. I knew they were fresh but I couldn't figure out why it bothered me."

"And then on the way down that night, it was then I noticed there was only one set of big footprints going up and numerous of the other size going both up and down."

"You know what that means?" Jeff asked curiously.

"I think so." Francine stood up from the chair and moved to the window staring out at Sherman's hill in the distance.

"I think, Jeff, that the two footprints were David's and Bill's."

Francine waited for a response from Jeff, but Jeff said nothing and let her continue.

"I think that both Bill and David went back in time...to fifty-five of course..."

"Only Bill didn't return," Jeff remarked.

Francine felt slightly hurt by the action of Bill and David to do something like this without including her, although she wasn't sure why. "Where is he then?"

"I don't know. Back in fifty-five still maybe...maybe he went somewhere first and then David went the next day. Maybe that's why there are so many of David's footprints and only one of Bill's. Bill went up but never came down."

"Never came down in two thousand and ten anyway," Jeff said raising himself from the couch. Jeff moved up next to Francine and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close next to him. The two of them looked out the front window at Sherman's hill. Francine was thinking she could almost see Wilfred up there looking down upon them.

"It's just so strange." Francine said looking out at the hillside.

"What is?"

"Just that the two of them are gone, and both so suddenly. Then the house was sold so quickly. And then David..." Francine began to cry softly for a moment and then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "David must have gone back to fifty-five for a reason. To do something."

"Yes, and I think after our little journey into town, we both now know what it was he went back to do."

Francine quickly turned towards Jeff, her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Why he came back. We know why he came back."

"What? Why did he come back? I don't know why he came back. Why would he come back here Jeff?" Francine had no idea what David was doing there in nineteen fifty-five. She only remembered seeing him as he cut between her and Jeff, and they began chasing him. She had been busy watching Wilfred drag Michael back to the car.

"He came back to save the young woman."

"He what?" Francine was clearly puzzled.

"I guess you didn't see what happened, but when Wilfred was picking Michael up from the street, that's when David shot at the woman from the car, am I correct?"

"Yes, but..."

"Well that woman on the steps was tackled by a man just as David fired the gun from above the roof of the car."

"Oh my god..." Francine said shocked. "The man...the man from fifty-five that jumped into the young woman and the guard. That was David too?" Francine now understood the circumstances behind David's sudden suicide.

"Yes. I saw him come running from down by the diner. By the expression on David's face as he ran towards the woman, he knew what was going to happen. He never flinched as Michael's and the guard's guns were fired. He was running like a mad madman focused solely on that woman."

"Yes but...that's what happened the first time. Why would David go back to do this all over again?"

"Maybe he didn't know what happened the first time or didn't remember exactly what happened."

Francine shook her head in disbelief that David could forget something like this. She turned to Jeff and hugged him briefly and then let him go.

"I knew he was always troubled deeply by what happened to the young woman. He never forgave himself you know. I guess this was the only way he could see setting things right."

"He went back to save her. Either way, if he knew or just simply forgot, maybe he figured he could change things."

"Jesus Jeff," Francine said disturbed.

"What?"

"All those trips we made. Every last one of them. Even today's. We never changed a thing each time we went back. If we would have looked back or videotaped the street back in fifty-five we would have seen us there on that very first day, standing on the corner. That's scary."

"That's God damn freaky is what it is."

"Yes we could go back and try to do something new but we wouldn't be doing anything we didn't already do...don't you see?"

"Yes I do. This place is giving me the creeps right now just thinking about it. I really don't want to go back outside for the rest of the day. I think we should get back to two thousand and ten. Especially after seeing that other guy shaking his fist at us. I didn't get him at all."

"What other guy?"

"The guy on the steps. Outside the bank when the woman was killed."

"What guy?"

"After the three of them and the guard came out of the bank, an old man followed them all out. An old man with glasses on. He ignored the pileup on the ground and turned to you and me on the corner and began shaking his fist and shouting towards us."

"Holy shit," Francine said matter of factly. "Greyish hair? Short guy?"

"Yes."

"Kammler...it must have been Kammler."

"Kammler?"

"He was in the bank when we robbed it...I've been sure of that ever since Wilfred and I discovered who he was. He pleaded with Michael during the robbery to not take that one bag with all the rolled up canvases saying it was his bag. My god Jeff, I always suspected he was there to try and prevent us from robbing him that day."

"I've had enough of this place. Let's get out of here and get back home."

"And do what? I think we may have forgotten one thing," Francine mentioned to Jeff. "The radio."

"Ya, what about it. Let's dial in and...oh shit!" Jeff exclaimed slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand, obviously realizing that when they arrive back in two thousand and ten, they would need to repeat many days over again.

"Well, one thing's for sure. We can't mess up what's already been done, right?"

"I think we can find something to do for a few weeks. Maybe we should go away somewhere together...take a holiday, a vacation."

Jeff smiled at her. He was right. If they dialed the radio, they would arrive in Bluffington in two thousand and ten, the same day David had returned and Francine knew from Jeff that David had been spying on him for over a week. They'd have to repeat that those days and they couldn't very well show up in duplicate on Founders Road, and it was obvious that wouldn't happen anyways.

"I think I might know a place. We'd have to leave as soon as we got back."

"Yes, we can grab a few clothes, pack a few things. We can skip out of town before the barrier disappears. No one will notice us leaving the house this way."

Jeff began to laugh and looked at the stunned expression on Francine's face. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said still laughing.

"Tell me anyway," she said.

"I now know where my missing shoes are."

"Huh?"

Jeff continued to laugh uncontrollably now.

"...and my jeans, and my small suitcase."

"What are you talking about?"

"After I first arrived here, I seemed to have lost a pair of shoes the very first day I was here. I searched all over for those damn shoes and couldn't figure out where they went."

"Well?" Francine asked still not sure of what Jeff was talking about.

Jeff finally stopped laughing, wiping a tear from his eye.

"...And a week or so later I couldn't find my favorite shirt, nor the new jeans I bought just before coming out." Jeff started to giggle again. "...And the suitcase. My little suitcase was missing. I actually thought I was going crazy, because I was sure I had unpacked it, and then it was suddenly gone."

Francine stared at him, still not understanding what he was saying.

"The suitcase, Francine. The suitcase. I know where it went now."

"Where?"

"Where ever it is you and I am going to go for the next few weeks. When we get back we're going to grab a few things and I'm going to find my suitcase right where I left it the day I moved in and then I'm going to grab my little suitcase out of the closet, toss in my new jeans, my favorite shirt, grab my missing shoes and a few other things and off we'll go."

Francine smiled at him, understanding now what he was talking about. She too had noticed a few things missing the past few weeks, but never really paid that much attention.

"... And after our little adventure we can come back the same day we left without missing a day of two thousand and ten." Francine reached for Jeff and kissed him.

"How about Banff?"

Francine smiled. "I love you Jeff."

***

### Chapter 36

Francine kissed Jeff gently on his shoulder as she awoke in the attic. Why the attic? There was something special up here. Francine wanted this last night of her life and the radio thingy to be something special. She was done with the past and she wanted the two of them to put this behind them in a special way. They shared a bottle of wine on one of the bunks while the music played what Francine said was to be its final chorus for her and the Bluffington Four. It was over and she was done with the past. As the music played, her heart broke for each one of her friends. Michael was the toughest. She had lost him long ago and had never really gotten over him until now. Bill vanished and even though she knew he was gone, she had no idea where he went and she accepted that she would never know what happened to him. What hurt the most was not being able to say goodbye. And then there was David. Her neighbor, her other friend. For so long she had watched and cared for him and suddenly he was gone. Gone because of what she had started long long ago. She listened to the music as it played on, never forgetting, but believing that her friends would understand. It was over. Jeff was her future now, and there was no more to share. She was definitely glad to be back to two thousand and ten.

Jeff was still asleep and as she watched him sleeping so peacefully, she knew for certain that she loved him.

She stared up at the criss-crossing beams remembering the story she had told Jeff and also everything they had just experienced back in nineteen fifty-five. She had told him the truth; a story so incredible it was barely possible to be believed, but it actually happened. She felt a relief inside her as the chains binding her to Bluffington and to her place in the Bluffington Four had finally been broken. There was no more Bluffington Four. It was just her now. Her and Jeff. With Jeff it somehow wasn't so hard to shed the lie. Jeff was the key that unlocked the chains. She looked at him, and carefully brushed his hair from his face.

There was no question that she loved him, but what about her history? What about the robbery she had committed? What about Michael's death and now both Bill and David's? Did she deserve to be punished for what she had done? Would Jeff see to it that she was punished? Was what she and the others did so very bad? It was unfortunate she thought, but so very bad.

Francine fought hard with her conscience.

Francine had just tried to survive. Was it wrong to fight to stay alive? Sure the robbery was wrong, but did she actually have any choice? Everything that happened could not be changed. Even if they did try to change it, it would come out the same. Did that absolve her from accountability? That was a tough question. If fate was so predetermined, then was anyone really responsible for anything they've done? Good or bad?

It was history, that's all, simply history. The Bluffington Four disappeared back in nineteen sixty-five and the events surrounding their disappearance was part of history and had been for decades now.

Jeff stirred from his sleep and slowly turned towards Francine. He said nothing to her for a few minutes. "Good morning my sweetie."

"Mmm, good morning," Francine smiled sleepily back.

"I think we're back."

"Hmm, that's good."

"I was thinking last night. Before I fell asleep I couldn't believe what we had been through yesterday. More than this I couldn't believe what you have been suffering through all these years." Jeff sat up, and grabbed Francine's hand. "What happened yesterday was over fifty years ago. That was history. I am not sure if there is really any reason to dwell on the past or talk about what happened there ever again. We couldn't change it if we wanted to."

Francine felt a cool fresh relief and squeezed Jeff's hand knowing that he was not about to hold her up to something that happened over fifty years ago.

Jeff threw his legs off the side of the bunk and smiled once more back at Francine.

"That was incredible though. You know that?"

"It was," Francine replied still sleepy.

"Going back to fifty-five and seeing all that happen. It was...too weird. Unreal."

Francine sat up on the bunk. "It was real Jeff."

Jeff nodded and then kissed Francine on the forehead. "We need to get moving, quickly."

"Why?"

"...Because, we are already here in Bluffington. We don't want to be seen twice. I think it's like only seven o'clock. The suns barely up."

"It's too early," Francine said and plopped back down on the bunk.

"No, no." Jeff was insistent. "We gotta get up and go. Leave town right away, just to be sure no one sees us. C'mon! No time to change, just grab a few things and let's move!"

"Okay," Francine said finally sitting back up. "But I do want to change first and get cleaned up."

"No time for that now. We have to get moving right now. We can pick up anything we need when we get to Banff."

The two of them were still dressed in the clothes from the day before and Jeff ushered Francine hastily out the door back to her own house to grab a few more things.

Francine grabbed her overnight bag, and surely enough she found the items of clothing that had seemed to be misplaced over the past few weeks. She stuffed them and a few other items into the bag and headed out the door to meet Jeff.

Jeff was already waiting in the middle of the street holding his small suitcase just as he had predicted. He grabbed her hand and escorted her to the sidewalk. The two of them began their final walk forward into the barrier.

The snapping and crackling began once again. With each step forward the sounds increased and Francine was very pleased just thinking about the next few weeks alone with Jeff, surrounded by the peaks of the Rocky Mountains; both of them nestled together in some hideaway cabin.

They continued their walk forward in the crisp morning air, the sun's rising casting a soft light across the crispness of the valley. With each step the pops and snaps increased.

As the two of them reached the middle of the barrier, Jeff began to laugh once again.

Francine looked bewildered at Jeff as he laughed, and Jeff simply pointed down as the two continued to walk on.

Francine saw what it was Jeff was laughing at and began to laugh too. Jeff pulled her in close. They continued to walk on. In their haste to leave so quickly for the next few weeks, they had forgotten about the barrier and its effects on objects not originating from the trunks in the attic. Still laughing, the two of them watched as both Francine's bag and Jeff's suitcase, contents and all, began to fall apart and dissolve into thin air with each new step forward.

***

### EPILOGUE

August 24th 2010 David's Return

David raced through the barrier and glanced back nervously, expecting to see the man with the red hair right on his heels, but he was alone. He slowed his pace to a slow saunter, finally stopping as he reached steps of the house. He sat down on the porch steps and buried his head in his hands and cried. What had he just done? He was unable to undo what he'd done long time ago, and watching the young woman die once again felt like he was driving a wooden stake deep into his own heart and twisting it, creating a suffering that felt like it would endure within him for eternity.

Just as the afternoon sun was sinking low on the horizon David's thoughts of panic and despair had also only just begun to abate when he suddenly remembered the mess he'd left upstairs in the attic. He still wasn't done yet. He picked himself up from the steps and sauntered back into the house and made his way upstairs to the attic to take care of the unfinished business.

Bill's large body was right where he had left it, twisted up in an unnatural position on the floor. A pool of blood had eked out from underneath his large body and had already begun to congeal into a sticky dark mess. He bent down and placed his hand on Bill's neck feeling for a pulse, but he already knew Bill was dead by the deep depression left in his skull from the glass juice jug he'd used to immobilize him.

David unceremoniously began to do what was needed and it only took moments before he moved into action and began cleaning up all evidence of what he'd done. He stared up to the beams above and knew immediately how to proceed. This was Bill's house after all, and no one could trace this back to him.

He scrounged through the trunks until he found a long hemp rope. He threw one end over the beam above and quickly wove a slip noose into the other end which he placed around Bill's neck. Within minutes, Bill's body was raised up under the center beam, his head touching the underside.

David tied the rope off on the shelving supports and then grabbed a wooden stool from the far end of the room and placed it on its side underneath Bill's hanging body. Ignoring the fact that Bill had a gaping gash in side of his skull, David let a smile steal across his face as he was very pleased and satisfied with how he'd staged Bill's body. He next set himself to the task of cleaning up the blood from the floor, his emotions remained stoic and detached as if this was anything but personal.

Night descended quickly and David was soon dialing in the characters for 2010. He lay on one of the bunks and tried to sleep, but the events of the past twenty four hours wouldn't let him. He thought of how many years it had been since he had last been in the attic, and how long he'd patiently waited and bided his time until he could venture back to 1955 to finally correct things. Bill had made it very clear that no one was ever going to use the device again once they had arrived in 1989, and had at one point threatened David severely if David had ever brought this topic up again, but David just had to find a way back. It wasn't until shortly after Bill's wife had passed on from cancer and Bill's daughter moved away to college on the east coast that David had seen an opportunity. The death of Bill's wife had been like a belly punch to Bill and after his daughter left, Bill was an easy target. It didn't take long for David to coerce Bill into going back one last time just for old time sake. Bill had no idea what David was planning. He had no idea that David was obsessed with fixing what had happened those many years ago. He had no idea that is until after they had arrived in nineteen fifty five when David finally told Bill what it was he was planning. It was then that Bill's large frame seem to grow in size once again, reminiscent of younger days, his large frame towering over David insisting and demanding that David give up this foolish idea, but David would have none of it. All it took was a carefully targeted swing with the heavy glass juice jug to the back of Bill's head when Bill had turned away just for a sec to set things back on course.

Sleep came slowly and by the time the morning sun broke on the horizon David was already transported back to 2010.

***

David awoke to another unexpected shock. He'd expected to see Bill's lifeless body still hanging from the beam above, but his life-long friend Bill was nowhere to be found. Neither Bill nor the rope he'd used to string Bill up with was to be seen. Not even the small stool he had tipped so purposefully on its side underneath Bill remained.

David leaped from the bunk. The light from the morning sun sneaked its way carelessly through the stained glass window casting its yellow glow across the dust coating most every surface in the attic. David scurried fretfully around the attic, searching for any evidence of what had happened yesterday, but there was none. There was no rope. There was no small tipped over stool. There was no Bill.

"What the fuck?" David pressed his fists to his temples. "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS!" he screamed up into the darkness of the attic's cavities.

The adrenaline coursed once again through and he rushed over to the grand fireplace that was encrusted into the west wall. He looked the dull metal radio thingy over and understood this was the source of all of his troubles. "Radio thingy", that's what the others had called it. He wanted to smash the radio thingy. Smash the fireplace. Destroy this whole fucking place. Frustrated and tired, David lunged forward and punched the face of the radio as hard as he could with his fist but only managed to cut his knuckles as his fist glanced off the glass face and crushed itself into the wooden molding of the shelving above the mantle. David retreated away from the radio thingy clenching his cut and bleeding fist with his other hand.

"I hate you!" he screamed into the air. "DO YOU HEAR ME? I HATE YOU! THIS FUCKING HOUSE! YOU GOD DAMNED RADIO THING!"

David stared angrily at the radio sitting passively on the shelf. "What did you do with Bill?" he asked almost in a whisper, still staring at the radio thingy, but there was no reply. He listened for an answer, but there was none.

"All I wanted to do was set things right. That's all I wanted to do." David began to pace aimlessly about as he spoke. "Why me...? Why? I just wanted things to go back to the way they were." David hesitated, waiting for an answer.

"DO YOU HEAR ME?" He shouted. "I JUST WANTED TO FINISH WHAT I STARTED!"

And then David did hear a reply. There was something about travelling through time that sometimes took its toll on those who weren't so lucky, leaving them with a little something extra when they returned. In David's case, he now heard voices no one else could hear.

"You are finishing what you started. You're just not done yet."

David spun around, searching for the source of the voice. "What do you mean I'm not done? I've done everything to try and set things right."

"Have you David? Have you really?"

David listened to the voice, still searching for the source but finding none. Had he really done everything?

"What am I supposed to do? WHAT AM I MISSING?" he screamed into the air.

"Go home David. Go home and finish this. Finish this once and for all," the voice replied.

David tried to ignore the voice but couldn't and searched the attic with his eyes, peeling away the memories layer by layer, trying to find what it was he was missing.

"Go home and do what?" he asked no one, his voice echoing off the walls.

He continued his search around the attic and finally spotted what he was looking for. In the corner on the floor, near the edge of the fireplace, was the folded up sheets bearing the photocopied images. These were the images that were to be guarded and never used again. These were the images, so carefully recorded all those years ago, that were always the key to the way back home. What was it that they had all agreed? To never use these images or the radio thingy again....But David just had to go back. He had needed to set things right.

David carefully picked up the folded sheets and stuffed these into his back pocket, scanning around the attic cautiously as if someone was watching.

David quickly searched the entire attic once more, and was satisfied that he left no physical evidence behind. He couldn't do anything about the footprints in the dust. Nor could he remove the dustless path across the floor where he had struggled with Bill's body as he positioned him under the beam. David refolded the woolen blankets and placed them back in their original positions on the racking. He picked up what was left of the rope he'd cut the day before and stared up at the heavy beam that stretched itself the entire length of the attic. The long piece of rope he had tossed over the beam yesterday was gone. David shook his head. The puzzled expression remained on his face as he returned what remained of the rope to one of the trunks before closing it and all the others he and Bill had opened over the past few days. He studiously shuffled each trunk back into its own tidy resting spot amongst the rows upon rows of shelving imbedded along the walls of the attic.

David paused one last time before he exited the attic. He curiously wanted to hear that voice again but it was only his own silence he could hear. He slowly retreated down the stairs and pushed the attic steps back into its secret womb in the ceiling of the upstairs bedroom closet.

David moved through the upper hallways of Bill's house. He crept cautiously, somehow expecting Bill to suddenly jump out from around one of the corners or doorways. Would he still have the rope around his neck? David shuddered at the thought of seeing Bill with the gash in the back of his head, and the bloodied rope swaying beneath as he would stagger forward towards him. David could take it no more and dashed crazily down the stairs and out the front door of Bill's house, stepping out into the dead quiet of the neighborhood.

He was back.

He searched up and down Founders road, and as he stood out in the center of the road, the reality of his role hit him hard. He had been played the fool one more time. He'd not only killed Bill this time, but had lost Bill's body as well. The radio looking thing, the house, whatever, had not returned Bill's body back with him. Where was Bill's body? Did it matter anymore he wondered as he stared up into the stillness of the blue sky above. He'd made it back, and there was no evidence of any crime. David remained with his head tilted back staring up to the bright sky. Was there a God? He didn't think so. If there was, it was a cruel God. Why did it torture him so?

"WHY?" David screamed into the air. David fell to his knees and sobbed. He looked back to Bill's empty house and then over towards his own house next door still sobbing unsure of what to do.

David stood up and sauntered back towards his own house, crossed the threshold into the darkness inside and closed the door. He had told no one of what he was about to do and now that he was back, knew of one thing he had no choice but to do now. He had to sit this out and wait. He wouldn't really be home until the barrier was gone. How long would it take this time he wondered.

***

Days passed and the world outside remained the same for David. How long had it been? Four days? Five? David had lost track. Summer was in still in full swing and each August day blasted more heat down around the town smothering Bluffington in a dry swelter. The voice returned many times, repeating over and over "You need to finish this. Finish this once and for all. You're not done yet." David had screamed and yelled at the voice more than once, but he never heard any reply. Sanity was wavering and each day David moved further and further closer to disaster. You're not done yet. Finish this once and for all.

As day number eight came, David's world changed for one last time. He'd been sitting sullenly once again at the table clutching the sheet with the images for nineteen fifty-five when he heard the first sounds. A rush of white noise bulldozed its way down Founders road, shaking and vibrating everything in its path, and eventually into David's house filling every crack and space. It hit him like a wall of thunder, startling him so badly he didn't recognize the sounds at first, but when the sounds had settled in place and the thunderous vibrations had stopped, he recognized it for what it really was.

He had returned.

David jumped from his chair to see what new changes the sounds had brought with them back to Founders Road. He rushed up to the front window and slowly pulled back the curtains. There were two people standing, talking on the walkway outside Bill's front yard. Excitement rushed forth through David's veins.

"Francine!" Francine was out on the sidewalk in front of Bill's house. But she was not alone. There was a man with her with his back towards David. Suddenly the man turned in David's direction and a horror of recollection erupted in David causing him to drop the curtains and stagger back from the window.

"What? It can't be."

It was the man with the red hair whom had been chasing him as he raced back through the barrier. How was this possible?

"Ha ha ha." the voice laughed inside his head. "See. You're not done yet. You need to finish this once and for all."

"No..." David breathed out quietly. David slowly returned to the window. Again he pulled aside the curtain once more to steal another look at the man. He cautiously looked out to the front sidewalk where Francine and the man where standing moments ago, but they were gone. He looked to the left and then to the right trying to look as far up Bill's front yard as he could. Nothing. They were both gone.

David let go of the curtain and dashed to the side window in the dining room. He could see Bill's porch from there. He quickly pulled back the curtains and the man was standing alone on Bill's front porch, his eyes looking directly in David's direction as David had yanked opened the curtain. Frantic, David quickly let the curtains fall away from his hand and ducked out of view.

The man had surely spotted him, and from his stare, it appeared to David that the man was waiting for David. David was sure of this.

"I need to calm down...calm down," he whispered. As his breathing finally slowed he dug deep to pull out as much courage as he could to take another look. He leaned over to the window again, and slowly pulled back one of the curtains. The man was gone. David remained staring at the empty deck, not sure what to do.

He needed to think. He moved to the kitchen and paced back and forth a few times before finally sitting down to think this out. He pushed his head down into his hands and rubbed his temples. His right hand throbbed terribly.

David stayed in the house thinking the rest of the day, and suddenly jumped up and dashed around the house ensuring every drape and blind was closed to the outside world.

David reflected on what he'd seen. Had it really been the same man from fifty-five? He was sure it was, but how could it be. This would mean the man had followed him back...or followed him forward in time. And what was Francine doing speaking to him. Francine was his friend, not this strangers. She had been his friend for how long, twenty plus years? What the hell was this guy doing on Bill's front porch? His mind raced frantically searching for an answer but finding none. Surely Francine would understand?

Or would she?

Why was she now speaking with this strange man.

Once all the drapes were pulled tight, David scampered to his junk drawer in the kitchen where he found a seldom used flashlight. He clicked the switch and was relieved to see the batteries still had a charge. He moved quickly to the garage and rummaged in amongst the boxes piled in one corner until he found what he was looking for. The small telescope he'd purchased many years ago.

David grabbed the telescope and quickly trundled back into the darkened house and into the dining room. He set up the telescope in the window being careful to have just the tip of the lens peek through between the curtains. He laughed to himself.

David adjusted the lens until the zoom was minimal and scanned into the house next door. He had to literally slide the tripod's base across the floor as he examined the house next door moving from room to room trying to get a close up of the man he was sure he had held on tightly to just over a week ago. It was only a week ago but was still ten years ago, back in nineteen fifty-five. He'd grasped that man's lapels, looking hard into his eyes, and he recalled seeing an expression of something in the man's eyes. It wasn't fear but darn near close to it, as if the man was expecting something to happen but not exactly sure of what it might have been.

David searched from room to room, sliding the tripod this way and that, adjusting the zoom and focus as he went but saw nothing. Evening came and went and another day had passed.

***

David awoke the next day to the constant throbbing in his hand. His knuckles had reddened even more over the night and even to ball up his hand hurt terribly bad now. He got up and searched again for some antibiotic cream to put on his ruptured knuckles, but could still find none in the house.

David kept watch on the outside world, opening the drapes just a fraction to steal some view of the outside world. As evening crashed down one more time, he was pleased but troubled when he happen to look outside once more to see Francine come scurrying across the street from her house, an anxious skip in her step. Carefully, he watched as she crossed in front of his house and worked her way swiftly down to the house next door. He scampered to the side window and spied on her as the man at the front door greeted her. He hadn't seen the man all day. His mind raced. David's mood dropped suddenly. He couldn't stand it. Francine next door with this man again ...and in Bill's house! What possibly could they have in common?

He returned to the telescope and spied through the drapes to see what they were up to but only saw the two of them sitting in the parlor talking and shuffling through some papers. Francine didn't stay long and David tracked her from window to window as she made her way back to her own house.

***

Another new day came and David's obsession continued its growth by leaps and bounds as he watched Francine once again venture over to Bill's house. What was it with her? Each additional day she spent over at this man's house drove David's fantasies even higher.

As the sun retreated David moved the telescope over to the living room and viewed the parlor of Bill's house next door. He poked the lens through between the curtains, fighting through the pain as he adjusted the lens with his right hand. Suddenly he could see in great detail the interior of Bill's house. He could see the man sitting on the couch and watched intensely as Francine laughed as she sat opposite him on a wingback chair. In between them was a table covered with all sorts of papers. It was these papers they seem to fussing over.

David adjusted the zoom for a closer look.

"What the...?" David remarked. David could see the man holding up an old photograph. The photograph was a picture of himself, Francine, Bill and Michael. A picture David had never seen before. This was taken the night before his world had fallen apart the night before they had gone up into the attic.

"No... What the hell!" David said suddenly retreating from the telescope. His mind raced as he now thought he understood what was going on next door. This man was definitely tracking him. Like a hunter chasing his prey or a bounty hunter trying to catch the criminal. This man was going over the proof, the documents, and the pictures of many years ago when he was still known as one of the Bluffington Four. And Francine was there with him, helping him, assisting him.

David felt his body weakening and he slowly fell back onto the floor into a sitting position. The man wasn't after Francine. Of course not. She hadn't killed anyone. He had. He was responsible now for two deaths starting first with the young mother and now Bill.

"It was an accident!" he screamed. "It was an accident. I tried to prevent it. I did try." David sobbed retreating to the couch.

David cried out into the quiet of his house. He called for forgiveness for what he'd done hoping to hear an answer offering the forgiveness, but the only sound he heard was the chanting once again. You're not finished yet. You must finish what you started. You know what you must do."

As David sat there brooding the next couple of hours over his situation, the telephone suddenly erupted, breaking the silence, startling David. He stared at the phone listening as ring after ring continued, but he dare not answer it. Each ring seemed to be louder than the previous vibrating his head and cluttering his thinking. When the phone finally silenced itself David felt the walls beginning to close in on him. They were breaking through. They were getting closer. David pounded at his head with his fists, trying to make the voices stop but they would not. David slept curled up in the corner on the cold wooden floor.

***

David awoke on the floor of his darkened living room and the memories of the last night charged forth immediately, tossing him quickly back into the same panicked state as the previous night.

He crawled over to the window and lifted his head cautiously up above the sill, terrified to pull back the drapes even the tiniest amount, but he knew he must. A week of searing summer heat continued to infiltrate the house and it was stifling hot. Beads of sweat began to drip down the sides of David's sallow cheeks. His eyes were still glazed over, as they had been since returning. His thin hair, so usually combed over across the top to cover his receding hairline was dangling down the sides of his face, matted with sweat and clumped together in dirty strands.

Sweat slipped down his thin nose, and he wiped it away unconsciously before it dripped. He stared at the coarse fabric of the drapes, reluctant even to touch them but there was really no choice. Carefully he pulled back the fabric and a sliver of light from the outside world flashed across his one bloodshot eye that now searched the depths of darkness in the house next door. David stared out through the crack, fixated on the house, looking for any sign of movement. One window at a time he scanned warily, looking as deep into the shadows and cavities as he dared.

"Not yet. Shush piggy..." David whispered to the annoying voice chanting away once again in his head.

Minutes passed as David's eyes darted from window to window, searching for any evidence that the man was still in there. It was when he lifted his gaze upwards to the windows on the second floor that he found what he'd been searching for and also dreading the most. The man with the red hair was already there, staring down at David from Bill's upstairs window as David had gaped out. David recoiled from the window, tripping over the telescope, sending it crashing hard to the floor as the man's eyes caught his own and held firm. David tried to deny to himself that the man had spotted him, but there really was no doubt. The man was still in Bill's house standing in the upstairs bedroom, his expressionless face pressed flush up against the glass as he stared down upon David.

David crawled over to the couch trying to catch his breath, and trying to comprehend what it was he was supposed to do. Almost immediately and unexpectedly he heard rumbling sounds from his front porch steps coupled with subtle vibrations that reverberated through the house. Someone was charging up to his front door.

Bang! Bang! Bang! "Hey you...I know you're in there..." a voice called out calmly from beyond the door.

The terrified sweat continued to bead up on David's brow. He stared at the front door listening in horror to the voice he knew could only be that from the man from next door.

The time has come! The time has come! The voice in his head chanted excitedly.

"Hey! I know you're in there...! David! Come on out here!" the man suddenly shouted from beyond the door.

Did he just call me by name? He began to gnaw feverishly on his fingertips as he tried to comprehend how the strange man suddenly knew his name.

"I've seen you, so come on out here!" the man demanded sternly.

David began to tremble.

See David...you're not done yet...want some more piggy!

"I've seen you...upstairs! I know what it is you've been doing! Come out here dammit!"

David recoiled as he heard the words. Did the man mean the attic? David began shaking all over. The attic where he had tricked his long time friend Bill into taking him one more time back into the past? Is that what he meant? Did he somehow know how long it took him to persuade his best friend Bill to even consider talking openly about going back to the past once again?

The voices buzzed inside his head. You need to finish this piggy. The time has come. You need to finish what you started. Eat up, eat up.

"You chicken shit little bastard! Come out here and face me! You are David aren't you...? I know who you are and I know what it is you...You saw me, I know you did!...face to face you looked me straight in the eyes...what is your fucking problem, you chicken shit?"

As David listened to the man's slurry of angry words, his memory flashed back once again to his trip to the past ten days ago when he'd crashed into the man as he stood on the corner near the bank. David had grabbed hold of the man's jacket, and stared into the man's eyes desperate to tell someone what he'd done....but he couldn't do it.

"Son-of-a-bitch," the man said softly beyond the doorway as he retreated down David's steps and away.

David felt a momentary relief now that the man had retreated, but the truth still held fast. He held both hands up to his head and staggered around the house using the walls to keep him from falling. David was done. There was no more suffering left inside.

See little piggy! The time has come! Finish up! Finish up!

David sat down at the kitchen table and ran his trembling hands through his sweaty hair. Time had been his traitor, and David had no idea what it was he was supposed to do now.

***

David spent the next few hours reviewing his life. Everything came back to that one day in nineteen fifty-five. Everything good and everything that had gone wrong since was because of this day. Twice he had been there and twice he had made the same mistake.

The day dragged and as much as David tried to put things right in his mind, the more they stacked up against him, finally ending with the relentless voice returning, speaking to him, urging him on. You need to finish this piggy. The time has come piggy. The time has come piggy. The time has come piggy.

David knew where it was all the time. He had hidden it when they had all first returned from the past in nineteen eighty-nine. Why, he wasn't sure.

David slowly slumbered up to his bedroom and sat quietly on the edge of his bed. He reached over to the nightstand and pulled open the bottom drawer. It had been many years since this drawer was opened. He stared deep into the drawer and the contents reminiscent of his forgotten past loomed in front of him. He slowly lifted out the Lord of the Flies novel he'd placed so carefully inside so long ago. It was his favorite and always had been. David had become obsessed with this book, especially after they had discovered the device in the attic next door and had purchased this copy shortly after moving in to this house. David continued to read the book over and over searching for an answer he would never find; searching for an invisible truth inside that mimicked their lives and held an answer to the events that occurred over those few days. Many months passed before David eventually placed the book in the drawer where it has remained ever since.

Underneath the novel was an old cardboard shoebox. He removed the shoebox and carefully set the box on the bed next to him. He removed the cover and lifted out the item he'd wrapped so carefully in tissue paper long ago. It felt heavy in his hands. He unfolded the tissue and the coldness of the black steel brought back the memories of what he'd done.

That's it Piggy. You've got it. Now finish what you started.

"Shut the fuck up," he said to the voice.

David turned the gun over carefully in his hands, feeling the weight, and feeling the burden he has carried so long because of it. He tilted the gun forward and opened the chamber and looked inside. Four unspent bullets remained inside, along with two empty slots. He reflected on those two shots and closed the chamber. He could hear the shattering glass as the beads of glass rained down on to the concrete. He could almost hear the sound of the second bullet as it missed its target and pierced through the flesh of its victim leaving a spray of blood that showered across the others. David left the room holding the gun down at his side as he somberly returned back downstairs.

David knew what he had to do. He had always really known. He needed to finish this once and for all. The man next door obviously knows who he is and what he had done. He was confident the man was not about to back off. There was no choice left but to close this chapter forever.

David shuffled to the kitchen and sat at the table carefully laying the gun down in front of him. He reached for the photocopied sheets of papers that had remained on the table since his return from the past and pulled out the one sheet with the images for nineteen fifty-five. There were nine images drawn out in a half circle. Nine very strange images. Where these images came from, he did not know. What they each symbolized, David also did not know, but what he did know was that these nine images had changed his life forever. Bill was the one that had copied these images off the device in the attic and saved them all these years. These were the images that were always the key. He now wished Bill had destroyed them, and none of this mess these past days would ever have happened; Bill would still be alive and the strange man with the red hair would have never come, but what's done can't be undone.

In his mind David could hear the music play once again as he stared into the paper. The instrumental melody of The Chordettes, Mister Sandman filled his head, drowning out the whispering chant of the voices in his head.

He was going to finish this once and for all.

David lifted the gun from the table and cocked back the hammer. He raised the gun to his temple and smiled...What's done can't be undone.

You need to finish what you started Piggy, and with one slow pull of the trigger, the voice in David's mind was permanently silenced as the bullet pierced David's skull blasting a hole out the other side, talking half of David's brain with it.

***

THE END

