The girls were all strapped in, and he was even driving below the speed limit as he normally does in his non-rushed manner. He still feels responsible for their family loss.

I insisted that I take the girls shopping, he told Laura during an emotional family grief counseling session. The counselor later told Jeff and Laura that Clay had internalized his own version of the events which he was able to reconstruct from the patchwork of memories he had before the crash. It might take years for him to accept that it was the girls who insisted he take them on a drive. He may never fully accept the truth that he has no guilt in the crash.

The light at the sink changes to a strange color, causing Laura to squint at her hands then up to the bulbs in the ceiling. The light, of course, is off. It’s daytime, she chides herself and cranes her head forward to peer out the window at the unusual blue hue in the sky. The colorful interruption has given her the opportunity to glance at the clock and realize her son and husband are still not back. Drying the last pan, she heads to the backdoor on her way to admonish her two favorite men for allowing the time to fly by and not come in for Carl’s schoolwork.

Too often, Jeff and Carl would get embroiled in animated discussions about the latest TV show or movie they had seen and the time of finishing the morning routine’s would drag on past the time to get to his studies.

While always portraying outward annoyance at their careless lack of time management, inwardly she loved their bond. Carl has a mild Autism that wasn’t an issue with schooling early on, but after the accident and loss of his sisters, he stopped caring how he behaved. Carl’s reaction was severe enough that they decided it best to keep him home for his education until he and his parents could come to terms with their loss.

With three years under their belts, they doubt they will have him return to public school. Besides the obvious benefit of having increased stability, Jeff and his son formed a tight bond of emotional recovery. They do everything together, and Laura gained strength herself from seeing their close interactions over the years.

Dust and heated air hit her when she steps through the back door. Their three horses are kicking up a storm in the pen across the yard, and the cows are all running in the distance. Something is wrong with them, but the unusual light seems a plausible explanation and right now, Laura is mainly concerned with getting her husband and son back on track with his morning lessons.

“Jeff, Carl, it’s time for school!” Walking toward the barn, Laura is getting aggravated that they won’t at least acknowledge her statement with a reply. “Boys, you can finish up your conversation inside, your geometry lesson won’t be any…”

She stops in a moment of panic when she sees a pair of legs sticking out from behind an interior wall. Her panic turns to anger when one of the legs twitches, and she is sure her two favorite men are once again playing a horrible prank on her.

“If you two think you’re going to scare me again, you’re wrong.”

Walking beyond the wall, she freezes with fear at the scene. She understands this is not an elaborate joke, but her fight or flight response has locked her feet in place thinking she should fight to save what is left of the man on the ground. In her moment of terror, a familiar yet distorted face turns to look at her. She screams and runs in terror from the body on the ground and the creature that was feeding on it. Dirt is kicked up from the floor both by her feet as she runs and by the monster chasing her on all fours as it tears out of the barn section she just left. She makes it to the door when a large hand slaps down on her back, slamming her into the ground. Her screams of fear and agony echo into the morning air while the horses break out of the pen and run to freedom and safety.

Chapter Two

The Cavanaughs

9:37AM

Eugene, Oregon

 

Pleasant visions of cruising in a boat on the lake dance in Greg Cavanaugh’s mind. He has been planning on buying a speedboat for years. The decision was made to finally get one as a victory gift to himself for winning the congressional seat to the U.S. House of Representatives.