Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

[LostNFound]

She had finished the food and the piece of something that tasted good that he had brought to her before going to the dog. She was very interested in what he was doing to the dog and when he had left and came back with similar items and set them next to her, she wondered what he was going to do. He turned and asked if she was done eating. She shook her head and he took the table with the container from her lap and went out to the next room. She turned and looked at the things that he had brought in, trying to under stand what they were for. She could see a clean cloth and new that it was the same thing that was wrapped around her head. Ethan came back in with a cup in his hand that had some steam rising from it. He took a sip and sat the cup down and then pulled a chair close to the bed. “Are you going to do something to me like you did to the dog being?” He looked at her and smiled. “Yes I am going to do something similar, it is time to change your bandage and see how the gash in your forehead is doing. I had to sew it up but you should not have a scar if you use this special ointment my wife came up with. She was so amazing with the garden, it was a large wonder to me how she would grow certain herbs and then mix things together and come up with great healing remedies. In fact the tea and even the soup I have been giving you have wonderful healing qualities.” “What is a wife?” Ethan looked at her and paused.

Kyra was looking at him with a deep questioning look. He had been thinking so much of Cathy and how she would take care of him when ever he cut himself or hurt himself in any way and when he caught a cold or something she would concoct potions and teas that would knock whatever ailment he had, completely out of him. He loved her so deeply. “A wife, well that is just a word that is used to describe another person, being, woman that is a soul mate, a oneness, someone a man loves. A husband is the same but a man when a woman refers to her soul mate. A man and a woman become entwined, and this happens in life no matter in time, they then become married, connected.” “You speak of entwined and then connected, is there a difference?” “Well no and yes. I would say that the difference is a time factor. Entwined is always but can be disconnected and then the two are separated for some time until they become reconnected/entwined. So then, when love is disconnected, the individual is thrown into a search to find a way back to the love of the two, to become one again.” Kyra looked at him with a deeper question on her face and asked “where is your wife?” Ethan paused for a minute and said in a whisper “she has gone back to the universe.” “Is this universe the place where I have come from, it is so dark but I am starting to see something else. Are you then disconnected with your “wife” again? Are you still entwined? Could it be that I am a wife and I have become disconnected?”

Ethan stopped talking and thought that this woman’s questions were deep and his answers were even deeper. He knew that she would begin to have more questions as the days slipped by. She had been here for 6 days now and he could see that she might be remembering things. He could only hope that she might regain her entire memory without any deeper damage. “Are you going to change this cloth now?” Her question brought him out of his reverie and he said “oh yes let’s get a look at your wound.” He reached over and unclipped the elastic cloth and began to unravel it. Under the wrap were two gauze pads covering the stitched up gash. He slowly peeled them off and took the clean cloth and dipped it into the pan of warm water that had some natural antiseptic herbal mix in it and began to dab and wash the wound. The stitches looked like they were beginning to dissolve and he knew that the topics would fall away on the next bandage change. The gash had healed over quite nicely and the salve he was using under the gauze pads was making it close up very well. As he spread the salve he asked her how she was feeling. “Does your head still hurt?” She was being quite still but her eyes were open and starring straight ahead. “My head does still hurt but not as bad as it did. I stood up today and walked to the little room over there and came back. It did bother me to take those steps but it helped for me to go there.” “That is good, I think you should get up and go there when it is needed and the more you do the better this is going to get. You could go into the kitchen and make yourself some food if you want to. In fact when were done here if you want I can help you to get in there and show you were the refrigerator is and the cupboards. We don’t need to push this; you can take as much time as you want depending on how you feel.” “You were not in the house today do you work outside?” “Yes you could say that, I have a shop down in Mission beach and it is a big mess down there now because of the storm so I am going to be away during the day to help fix things up. You can do whatever you want around here and perhaps when you feel better I can take you with me into town.”

Kyra had listened to him talk and it seemed like he talked so fast she did not understand half of what he said. Something smelled good and she asked what it was. He told her that it was the salve concoction that his wife had made from her garden and she had managed to market it and sell it to the folks around mission beach. It does have a very nice smell and it also has a good flavor. Some folks started eating it until Cathy told them that it was a poultice rather than a food. However it is harmless to ingest.” He finished wrapping her head and stood up. “Well that is it then. It is getting dark out now, we live in a canyon of some what and the sun goes behind the mountains quick enough in the late afternoon. Kyra moved sideways and stood up. She did so slowly and her head did not throb as much and then she walked to the little room. She understood fairly quickly what the main purpose of the room was through her bodily functions. When she came back out Ethan had cleaned up the things he brought in and was not in the room. She made it back to the bed and lay back down. She had noticed the little white dog looking at her again and asked him to come over. “You want to get up here don’t you? Well we might as well get to know each other since Ethan thinks you belong to me.”

Cody watched the man leave the room after Kyra had went into the other little room. He had come to love the man for what he had done for Kyra and him. The way the man treated him and talked to him and smoothed his coat with his hand made him feel loved again. Kyra had seemed to have not wanted him any longer and when she constantly pushed him away, he began to not want to be here anymore. When Kyra came back out and sat on the bed, he watched her move her hand in the way to come to her. He heard her talk to him and tell him to come up on the bed. His short little tail began to wag and he stood up and almost ran to the bed. He had to run to get the momentum to jump up and landed on the bottom area of the bed. Kyra reached out and he moved slowly to where she could reach him. He stopped short so she could just pet his head and she did so. He decided to lie down at that point until she stretched out and then he had to move to one side. Kyra stretched out and soon had fallen asleep. Cody’s heart felt at ease as he fell into a slumber also. Ethan had come into the room and turned off a light and quietly shut the door as he left.

Arthur Curtis was beside himself. It had been almost a full week since Kyra had gone missing. He had searched the dreamnet every day and night hoping that she would be there and possibly had stayed in some place. The storm had moved away and the cleanup was still ongoing. He had driven up the coast to Paradise and talked with everyone he knew to see if anybody had seen or heard from her. Chief Rolin had begun to search and had many of his men from the department constantly on the lookout for any sign of her. A car accident had been reported the night of the worst of the storm but the vehicle had been charred beyond any recognition and there had been a lot of other folks that went missing around the same time. The entire dreamnet was abuzz with the loss of Kyra. Nick had been very busy doing his own searching but as of this day no one could locate or find any leads as to her where about. Today Arthur had driven down to the storm damaged town of Mission Beach. He was heartsick to see how badly damaged the town was. The streets were still litter strewn with building parts and other debris but it seemed that the people were slowly getting it cleaned up. The Army had left big dumpsters and kept coming every few days to change them out. That is all they could do. So the people were taking care of themselves. He had stopped his car in an area that seemed to be a big parking lot and walked into the main town center. He was looking around and would stop and ask folks if they might have seen the woman in the picture he was carrying with him. So far everyone shook their head no. Ethan was still cleaning up the antique store and hauling junk out to the dumpster across the street when Arthur approached him.

“Hi friend, looks like a bomb hit this town, I suspect the storm came through here a lot worse than further down south.” Ethan threw the box full of junk up into the dumpster and said as he turned to see the stranger, “yes that storm was a real hard blow this time and the entire town suffered pretty badly, you from around here?” “Well not these parts this far up north but I am from Paradise and presently am staying in Mackay.” “So then, have you come up here from the government or military then?” “No. to tell you the truth, I am just looking for someone that got lost” and he held out the only photograph he had of Kyra. Unfortunately the photo was a few years old and Kyra had changed her appearance since then but it was all Arthur could produce at this time. The woman in the picture had very short hair and almost half of her face was covered with a muffler of some kind. Ethan looked at the picture and thought that the woman’s eyes looked familiar but he couldn’t be sure so he said “haven’t seen her around these parts, do you have a picture of her without the muffler covering her face up so much?” Arthur pulled the picture back and said “no unfortunately this is the only one I have.” “Well sorry Mr…..” “Uhh, Curtis, Arthur Curtis is the name and you would be?” “Oh, my name is Ethan, Ethan Wallace, pleased to meet you Mr. Curtis, sorry I couldn’t be of more help to you, but I sure would give you a call if you want to leave a number where I can reach you.” Arthur looked disappointed like he did whenever he asked the other people in the town he had talked with. “Yes of course” and he pulled a card out of his coat pocket and handed it to Ethan. “Thank you for your time Ethan.” Ethan watched the man walk toward the little pub next to his store and thought, there is a man with pain and possibly a hopeless mission. He glanced at his time piece and looked at the sky and decided it was time to go home. He had been thinking of the woman and when he saw that picture, something about the eyes of the woman in the picture made him think about leaving earlier to go and see how the woman at his house was doing today. He went back and shut everything up that he could and walked down the street to his truck.

The complete and utter darkness had receded to the peripheral boundaries of her sight and thoughts as she walked along a path that had two raised steel looking rails. She had thought about what these rails were and what they were made of when she first saw them and then there was one of those flashing lights and she saw a word that actually spoke into her and said “Steel” and then “Rail” She was walking down a path with two steel rails, one on each side of her, running into an infinity in front of her. She looked to her side as she walked and could see the grayness as it became a solid surface. She reached out to touch it but it moved away from her. A flash of light came from the surface and shot at her. It seemed to take forever once it left the grayness surface before it reached her. It hit her and she closed her eyes from the brightness and the sound flooded her again, “road”, she heard this word. She was walking on a road that had two shinny steel rails on each side of her. She stopped and turned toward the grayness surface and it was closer. She saw the bright flashes of lights in the grayness and it was as if they were suspended in a thick substance. They looked like they might be moving toward her. She reached out again to see if she could grab one and bring it through the thickness. Her hand slid into the substance but she could not reach far enough to grab a flashing light. She heard the screeching sound again and it was getting louder. She pulled her hand back out of the grayness and turned to look at the road. A huge bright light was moving toward her and it was making that screeching noise. It became louder and she turned and started running back the way she had come. The noise was so loud now that she had to cover her ears. She stopped and turned, the light was almost upon her, she jumped off the road and the noise rushed by her. She was falling and held out her arms to break her fall into the Darkness. She hit something hard as the darkness consumed her. She was floating and then there was wetness on her face. She opened her eyes; she wanted to see the light. The darkness receded again and she saw the little white dog up close and its tongue was licking her in the face. The tongue was rough and wet. She reached over and pulled the dog away. At first the dog resisted and then backed out of her hands and moved over to the blanket on the floor.

Ethan kept thinking about the picture that the Curtis fellow had shown him as he drove home. For some reason he could not shake the image of the eyes of that missing woman. The picture only showed the eyes and the nose and the top of her head. The hair was short and blond so he did not recognize that person. The woman at his house had longer red hair and he thought she would be of Scottish or Irish decent. He pulled into his yard and climbed out of the truck and picked up an old clock that he had retrieved from the store and took it into the house. When he entered, he felt something was wrong. He sat the clock down and hurried to the bedroom. As he opened the door he saw the dog scooting over to his blanket and then saw the woman lying on the floor. She started to set up and he rushed over and helped her to get up. She stood and leaned over on the bed. He asked her if she needed help to get back in the bed.

Kyra had pushed the dog away and then started to set up when Ethan came in and helped her up. She leaned over on the bed and caught her breath. Ethan asked if she needed help getting back in the bed. She answered in a wispy voice and said “no I think I can do it.” She turned around and in doing so she started to fall forward. Ethan grabbed her and held her for a moment. “Whoa now, you should not move to fast. I don’t think you have your full balance yet.” She looked into his eyes and thought, his eyes are like those bright shinny lights and they look so deep. She sat down on the edge of the bed as he continued to hold her arms. When she was settled he let her go and looked at the dog. “I think the little fellow was trying to help. You must have fallen from the bed in your sleep.” “Yes I must have, I was running from a big light that was very loud with a screeching sound of some sort. I was on a road with two steel rails and this thing came at me from somewhere. I thought it was going to run over me so I jumped from the road and I think that is when I fell from the bed.”

[LostNFound]

“Okay, why don’t you lie back and I will see if you are alright. It is time to change that bandage again and your wound has been healing up real well. I will go and get the clean wraps and medicine. You just lie back and I’ll be back.” She shook her head slowly and scooted herself onto the bed and lay back. Her head did not hurt anymore like it did before whenever she would raise it or get up. She had noticed the less pain and how it ceased to hurt sometime earlier this very day. She had come to know when the daytime was and the nighttime came. She had been thinking of going outside to the garden that she had noticed from the kitchen area and Ethan had told her about. When he had told her about his wife and how she loved the garden it made her sad but yet joyful. She was confused about the feelings and wanted to ask Ethan about them soon. There were so many things that kept hinting of something in her. She was having waking dreams now and mostly it was bits and pieces of light almost like the flashing lights in her sleep dreams but she did not feel so frightened of the waking lights as she did with the sleep time lights.

Ethan gathered the medicinal things and took them into the bedroom. The woman was lying back and was gazing at the ceiling. He walked over and sat everything down on the table and moved the bed into the sitting position. The woman had turned and watched him as he did all this. The little dog was still lying on the blanket so he retrieved some food for him and filled the bowl. When he came back and sat down next to the bed the woman asked him why she would feel sorrow and then joyfulness about the garden. He proceeded to un-wind the bandage and cloth wrap around her head while asking her if those were the feelings she was having recently after he had told her about his wife and her love for the garden. Kyra did not know so she shelved the questions about those feelings for now. The wrap and gauze came off clean other than the salve and the stitches had fallen away that were on the surface. Ethan could see no scar or any sign that there had been a cut on her forehead.

“Well now, I would say that my wife’s poultice, salve and the regimen of the soups and teas has made you all better. I don’t see any reason to put any of this back on your head, it has completely healed up. Now all we have to do is get your memory back. Are there any new things popping through?” Kyra had told him about the rails and the road and the light that she jumped from. She had not told him about the little flashing lights yet or the waking dreams she just recently started to have. She thought to wait until she could make some sense of the grayness and the flashing lights so she told him that she was not sure yet as to what she was experiencing. He shook his head as if to acknowledge and stood up. “Well I think you can at least take a shower now without having these bandages in your way so do as you need in that respect. There are clean towels in the cabinet next to the shower stall and you can use the grab bars as needed. I outfitted that entire bathroom for Cathy when she was here. She had one arm missing from the war and the grab bars were a huge help to her.” Kyra asked where he was sleeping and he said “there is a guest bedroom on the other side of the living room and I am fine in there, so please don’t worry about me. It is you and your friend here, and he pointed at the dog, that must get better and you are totally welcome to use what is needed in this house.” He gathered everything and walked into the other room and came back and shut the door.

Ethan picked up the old clock and took it to his work shop that connected with a breezeway to the main house. Once inside he took the clock over to the long work bench and sat it down. He was meaning to take it apart and fix some of the gears that had stopped. The clock once had a chime that sounded on the hour every hour of the day and would sound how ever many times for each hour. He was going to fix that also. The beautiful and creatively carved woods for the body of the clock were of some walnut and cherry. The mechanism and face plates were done by a master mechanical genius. His shop was packed with old furniture and other pieces that were of immense use at some time in the past 200 years. There was a sizable part of the shop that was used as a work space for Cathy’s garden. He could not bring himself to clear it for his antiques and when he started the garden back up he was very glad that he had not done anything to it. The barn doors that led out of that space opened into the garden where as the garage door that was on the front opened into the driveway. He sat down on the stool and waited for the water to heat up that he started for a cup of tea. He had built in a small kitchenette a few years back because he seemed to spend most of his time in the shop after Cathy had passed on. He took the card out that the man in the town had given him earlier in the day. The card was plain on the front all it said was “Divine community and Healing Centers.” There were two names on the face, “Arthur Curtis and Kyra Johnstone” with two different contact numbers. He pinned the card to a cork board that had other cards with stick pins in them and went to retrieve his tea.

It had become quite dark outside as he worked to take the old clock apart with care. It had been screwed together in the most unusual way so he had to examine it very carefully before he could start to unscrew anything. He had cooked some soup and made a sandwich from the garden vegetables and eaten while he tinkered with the clock. His thoughts had drifted to the woman in the house and picture he had seen from the man in town. He could not get the eyes out of his head. The eyes were a stark greenish color which contrasted the blond hair and the picture made them seem very deep indeed. When he had come home earlier and helped the woman get up and then she turned around and he had to steady her, he had looked into her eyes and they were deep and green like pools of water reflecting a lush green forest off of its surface. He had been captured for a moment by her look but it seemed like an eternity to him. He had guessed that this woman could be in her late 30’s or early 40’s. Her skin was smooth and she almost shinned except for the complete loss of her memory. Her hair was long and semi wavy and a deep red. He would call it almost auburn red. She stood just short of his height and her body was slender yet very healthy. If he had to guess, he would say that she was from either a wealthy family or even perhaps she was one of those physical fitness trainers. He decided that the only real thing that mattered was to help her get her memory back and he could then find her family or wherever it was she came from and get her back. He was sure that someone was missing her. His feelings were mixed as he thought because it was as if Cathy had come back and he was falling in love or on the verge of reconnecting again. He turned off the big lamp on the workbench and moved to the house. It was dark inside when he finally slipped into the guest bedroom and fell asleep.

The road did not have rails, it was flat and gray like the grayness wall that seemed to be a permanent fixture to her now. She could see the flashing lights and there were many more now that she looked longer at them. She wanted to grasp one or two or how ever many she could as she slowly walked along. She could see that the road was wide and on the far side was the darkness. That made her afraid whenever she looked over at it. The road, as the one before, seemed to stretch into infinity and when she turned around to look behind her it stretched that way into infinity also. She became disoriented and did not know which way she was walking. She only knew that the darkness was on her left side while the grayness wall was on her right side. The grayness wall lit up with a bright light as she was watching while she walked. The brightness caused her to turn her head away and she looked at the darkness. The light shinned into the darkness and she saw the image of a slender object that extended from the bottom of the road surface into the darkness above. She could see the object clearly looking straight ahead. When she raised her eyes to see where it extended to all she could see was the darkness. As she lowered her eyes the object came back into focus. As she stood still, the object flew straight at her. The loud noise of screeching knocked her back. She fell up against the grayness wall and bounce forward. The object rushed at her again and she put her hands out to try and stop it from hitting her. She turned and began to run on the road and the big bright light came at her from the front. She stopped and turned to run away. She ran as fast as she could and came to the bright light shinning from the grayness wall. She glanced over to where it was shinning into the darkness and the slender object rushed at her again.

The room was dark with a little light coming from the wall a little higher than the floor. She was still in the bed but she was drenched in sweat. She sat up in the bed and then swung herself to the side and sat for a minute or two. The dream was so vivid, she could still see the object moving toward her with the bright light from the grayness wall shinning on it. She could hear the screeching and some other sound that was new. It was loud and she could not identify it. The feeling she had when she was flung backwards into the grayness wall and then bounced forward was at the forefront of her memory. She finally stood up and slowly moved toward the little room with the shower in it. She turned on the light, pulled off the cloth thing she was wearing and climbed into the shower. When she turned on the water, it came out with a rush and splashed all over her. It was hot so she reached to the control knob and turned it until the water began to cool off somewhat. She stood under the water and felt the dream flooding back into her mind. In the dream she could not see anything but the darkness and she could feel water splashing on her. She opened her eyes and the water from the shower ran into the sides of her eyes. She closed them and then rubbed them with her hands. She turned the water off and stood there dripping. She shook her head and her hair flung around. The extra water splashed against the walls. She finally opened the little door and reached out for a towel. She felt around and then realized that she had left the one she used earlier over by the door to the bedroom. She stepped out of the shower stall and fetched the towel and began to dry herself.

She picked up the cloth she had shed and pulled it over her and went back out to the bedroom. She turned on the light to the room and dried her hair. She was completely awake now so she decided to go into the big room and to the kitchen that Ethan had taken her another time. The little dog had watched her and followed her out into the big room as she moved slowly over to a light that was on the wall. She saw the big white box and remembered Ethan telling her about a refrigerator or some such. He had said that there were cold things in it that she could eat and drink. She was thirsty and hungry so she moved to it and at first could not understand how to open it. There was a big handle on the front so she wrapped her hand around it and tried to push it. The thing would not budge. The little dog danced around her feet and as she glanced down she meant to bend down and touch him. It moved out away from her and while still holding the handle she moved out also. The door swung open and she almost fell from the sudden movement.

Ethan heard the noise coming from the main room. He didn’t know who or what might be making it. He got up and moved to the door of the bedroom and peeked out. He saw the little dog sitting on its haunches and the refrigerator door open. He could not see who might be standing on the other side but seeing the dog told him that the woman was most likely the one. He walked out into the living room and the dog saw him. Its little tail began to wag as he came into the kitchen area. He said “hello” and the woman jumped. She had picked up something that looked like it could be edible and when she was surprised she dropped the container on the floor. Luckily it was in a non breakable container. It hit the floor and bounced once and rolled away from her. She turned and looked at him with a big surprised look. “I am sorry; I did not mean to surprise you.” “I am hungry” she said and looked for the container on the floor. “Oh here, let me help you.” Ethan saw that her hair was still damp so he thought that she had taken a shower and the flimsy night gown she was wearing surely was not enough to keep her warm. “Oh my goodness, are you cold?” He bent over and picked up the container with the soup in it and handed it to her. She placed it on the counter next to refrigerator and stood there looking at him. “Come with me for a moment and I will show you were you can get some clothes and at least a robe.” She followed him into the bedroom and he walked to another door and opened it and turned on a light inside. She moved to the opening and looked into the little room. There were clothes/garments hanging from poles and on the back of the door was a warm looking coat of some kind. He took it off some sort of hook and handed it to her. “This was Cathy’s favorite robe and I think it will fit you just fine.” She took the garment and looked at it. Ethan finally took it and held it out so she could put an arm into the sleeve. He held the other side for her as she put her other arm in and then she smiled. He showed her the robe belt and how to tie it. “Now then” I want you to use whatever you find in this closet to wear. You and Cathy are unequivocally the same size.” He then moved to a dresser that had a center mirror and said “this is where Cathy kept all of her bed clothes like the one you have on under the robe so if you so desire to use them this is where you can find them.” He moved back away and said “I will be in the kitchen when you get yourself dressed comfortably and warmer.” She watched him go through the door into the big room and turned to look at the dresser.

Ethan had moved to the counter and set a pot of water on the stove and emptied some of the soup into another pot and set it heating up. He opened the antique bread box and pulled out some homemade bread he had made a few days earlier and got it ready to heat up. He then pulled the fresh butter that he got from his neighbor once a week and placed that on the counter. The little dog was lying next to a couch on a carpet. He walked into the back porch pantry and came back with a bowl of food and set it down close to the dog and then got a bowl and put some water in it for the fellow

[LostNFound]

Kyra had looked in the closet as Ethan called it and saw all the different clothes. The robe, as he had said it was, made her feel warmer. She then examined the garments in the box like structure. She picked up a garment that looked similar to the one she had on and had been wearing for awhile now. She took off the robe and slipped out of the semi damp one and slipped the other one on over her head. It did feel warmer so she put the robe back on and noticed a seat of some kind under the structure in the center. She pulled it out and sat down. She had missed seeing the mirror part at first but when she sat down she looked straight into it and at first thought another being, woman was sitting on the other side. She thought it might be Cathy. She started to get up and the image moved just as she did. She looked around the side of the glass structure but could not see any other woman. She sat back down and there was the woman again. This time she reached out to touch the other and saw that it was her own reflection. She sat and starred at herself then and wondered who she was. She finally got up and took the wet towel she had dried her hair with back to the shower room and hung it on the rail. She then went back out to the big room to get some food.

Ethan had been slowly heating up the soup and started to warm the bread when the woman came back out. It had been 10 minutes or more since he came back out but he figured she might be checking out the clothes. She walked over to him and said “thank you.” He was surprised but it showed progress and he was very happy for that. “Did you find what you needed?” “Yes, this robe is very warm” and with that she opened it and showed him the other night gown she had put on. He looked at her and said “very nice” and reached over and pulled the robe back together. “Now shall we eat something, I have warmed up some homemade bread that I cooked the other day. I have already given some to you with the soup so thought I would heat some more up for you. Here let me show you how this works.” She watched him show her how to turn the burners on and off and saw the two pots setting on a couple of the burners as he called them. They both sat at the kitchen table and ate the soup and the bread and after having conversations of enlightenment for her sake, he finally said that he needed to get some sleep and that he would be gone most of the day. She had learned new words for things and he did tell her about the mirror. “That is you, it is what you look like, and you are quite the beautiful young woman you know.” She did not know how to respond to that but thought that he could explain that at another time. “One more thing, You can use that bigger bed in there, I don’t think you need the med bed anymore and I can remove it tomorrow and anytime you feel hungry please feel free to come out here and make whatever you want. I will show you how to cook other things tomorrow also. Good night.” He stood up and moved to the guest room and shut the door.

Kyra had watched Ethan take his food containers over to a place on the counter and set them in and turn on the water, she understood what the place was. It was like the shower she had stood in but it was for the food containers to get clean. She took her containers over and stacked them on top of Ethan’s and turned the water on so it splashed on them. She turned the water off and turned to go back into the bedroom. When she walked over to the bed, she stopped and looked at it and touched the place where she had been lying. It was semi damp. She did not want to get back into it so she turned and looked at the big bed. It did look comfortable so she walked over to it and pulled the blanket down and discovered a lighter blanket that felt different so she pulled that down also. She did not notice the little dog follow her in and go over to his blanket. She felt a bit tired and removed the warm robe and crawled into the bed. She pulled up the blankets and had forgotten to turn the light off. She got back up and went over to the switch on the wall and turned it off and hurried back to the bed and lay back down. The bed was comfortable and it was huge. She could stretch out in any direction and tried several ways to lay on the big surface. She finally fell asleep. The little dog had waited for her to stop moving and finally jumped up on the bed and lay far enough away that he would not disturb her. He also fell asleep and dreamed of pulling on Kyra as the car burned.

The road was narrow but it was gray. She was walking again and it seemed like forever. The grayness wall was at the edge of the road on one side and darkness on the other. Something was different. She heard a small noise that sounded like tick, tick, tick. She turned around and looked back from where she had come from and the noise continued. She recognized where it was coming from and looked down. The little white dog was walking toward her and as it came closer it stopped and looked up at her. It sat down on its haunches and seemed to wait for her to do something. She watched it for a few moments and started to turn around and continue walking. She turned toward the grayness wall and one of the flashing lights shot out and hit her in the face. She fell backward and fell on the road. She opened her eyes and Cody was looking into her eyes. His little tongue was flapping up and down as he breathed. She reached over and picked him up and held him close to her. “Where did you go Cody, I have missed you so much. Wait, you have been here all along, who am I?” She sat up and Cody moved off her lap so she could stand up. She stood up and looked at the grayness wall and turned to look at the eternity of road in front of her. She turned and looked at the darkness and the loud screeching sound flew at her like a solid object. She ducked and then turned to run. As she turned the bright light was rushing at her once again. She then turned around and told Cody to run and started to run. Cody started barking as they both ran. Another light came from the grayness wall and was following her as she ran harder. It hit her in the back and she opened her eyes.

The brightness of the sunshine that was flooding into the room caused her to cover her eyes. She raised herself into a sitting position and looked around. The door to the outer big room was open about half way. She heard the barking coming from somewhere out in that room. She got out of the bed and while heading for the door she put the robe on. She came into the big room and the barking was coming from an area toward the back of the room. She hurried over to an opening and into another room. There were windows lining part of the room. She saw the little dog on the back of a couch. He was barking at something outside. She moved to the couch and looked out of the windows. In the yard near a fence were two Kangaroos standing and just looking back at her and the dog. She recognized the animals. She picked up Cody and said “come on Cody, those fellows are just passing by.” She stopped and held the dog out in front of her. “Your name is Cody and you are my friend.” She went into the big room and over to the kitchen area. She put Cody down and opened the refrigerator and retrieved a container of water and found another smaller container and poured some of the water into it. Cody was scraping around on the floor like he was trying to chase his own tail. She looked at him and smiled. “Are you hungry? Shall we see where Ethan keeps the food he has been giving you?” Cody stopped spinning and looked at her. He scampered over to the opening leading to the back room where the windows were and stopped and looked at her. “You’re not going to go bark, at the Roo’s again, are you?” Cody just waited and when Kyra walked over he moved to the door that leads to the pantry. He had watched the man go in this door and come back out with the food that he gave to him. She opened the door and flipped a light on. The room was full of foods in bags and cans and jars. She saw other foods in open barrels and then saw a large bag of food for the dog. She remembered Ethan telling her about his dog that died. She thought about the name he called it and it finally did come to her, “Blue” that was it. She walked to the bag and opened it. There was a scoop in the bag so she looked around and found a container and scooped some into it. She turned the light out as she closed the door and went into the kitchen. Cody was dancing around her feet until she finally put the container down. The little guy dove into the food and proceeded to crunch his way to happiness. She saw the empty container where she put the food down and took it over to the little shower and filled it with water. She noticed that the containers that she and Ethan had left earlier in the deep square hole were no longer there but were in a basket of some kind on the counter. Well they must have taken a shower or something she thought. She gave Cody the water and then found the bread where Ethan had said he kept it and rummaged through the refrigerator until she found some interesting other food and ate what she could.

Ethan had said he would not be around today so she went into the bedroom and opened the door to the little room that had the clothes in it. She went through the clothes until she found some genes and saw some shoes or boots on the floor. She dressed herself in the genes and found a shirt and put the boots on. She was going to explore the garden today. She wanted to know why she had such conflicting feelings about it. When she went out the back door the sun was shinning brightly and the temperature felt a little cool. The Kangaroo’s had moved on and she didn’t see them. Cody was following her closely and then darted off and began sniffing around. She walked to the gate and stood looking at the garden. She opened the gate and walked in. She felt like she had been here before. She walked along and looked at the raised flat beds that had rows of leafy plants. Some were taller than others and had smaller leaf or foliage on the stalks. There were other rows that had raised mounds with broad leafy plants and she could see clumps of balls and shoots of different parts sticking out or hanging on the plants. She saw tall stalks with leafs growing out the sides and larger tubes of things hanging off the limbs of the stalks. She came to an area that had a lot of smaller plants in rows and some fresh dirt that had nothing planted in it. She moved to this area and kneeled down. It seemed like a natural thing for her to do. Close to this area was a few rows of raised mounds with the broad leafy plants, the plant appeared to roll up into a tight head of something. Kneeling down she looked around from this height and the entire garden looked different. She smiled and Cody came up all of sudden and lay down. He mouth was open and his tongue was bobbing up and down as he breathed. She reached over and patted his head and said “looks like you been running around, did you find anything interesting?” She looked over toward the buildings and the doors of the detached building. The garden fence stretched from one corner of the building and ran around the entire garden and back to the wall of the building on the far side. It looked like the entire back of the building was part of the garden fence. Cody stood up and made his way over to the building where there was a container of some kind that had water in it. She continued to kneel in the dirt and look around. Something was knocking on her thoughts. She looked at the dirt and reached her hands out and placed them on the surface. Her fingers slowly dug into the dirt and it made her feel that she had been here before again and it all seemed so natural to her. She felt a shock and fell back over one of the raised rows of earth and plants.

She was not on the road, the grayness wall was not there and the darkness was not either. She could see a bunch of buildings and heard a sound like moaning. She looked down and there was a man lying in front of her. He was dressed in a military uniform of some kind and he was bleeding badly from his side. One of his legs was also bleeding. She bent over and told him to relax while she tried to stop the bleeding. The man’s face was covered with a metal helmet of some kind. She reached down and slowly removed it. His fore head was bleeding also and his eyes were glazed over. He made another sound of being in pain and she pulled a bag from her side and reached into. She pulled out a small kit and tore the wrapping away. Inside there was a syringe and a bottle of something. She quickly took the syringe and popped the lid off and stuck the needle into the bottle and then stuck the man in his arm with it. The man stopped struggling and then he stopped breathing. She felt for a pulse and then began to pound on his chest. “Come on soldier stay awake, stay with me.” No matter what she did the man would not breathe. She placed the helmet back over his face and started to move to the next man that was lying on the ground about 15 feet further ahead. A loud bang knocked her sideways and she went deaf from the noise. She felt something hot pierce her side as she flew through the air. She hit the ground hard and rolled over and over until she came to a stop against a dead soldier. The cacophony of noise had ceased for a short time and then slowly started to come back. She turned over and then the noise flooded upon her. She reached up to cover her ears but only one side was covered. She tried to move her hand to cover her ear on the other side but it would not cover. She turned her head and saw that her arm had been severed on that side. She fell into the darkness then. The loud explosions became silent.

She stood up and the darkness receded. She looked around at the carnage of a battle field and wondered why she was here. She saw someone walking toward her through the smoke and dust. The person came through in a clearing and stood in front of her. The woman she saw was the same height as her and had a uniform on. The woman held out an arm and she saw that her other arm was not there. She was bleeding from what looked like part of her arm. The arm she held out was motioning for her to come. She could see the woman speaking but could not hear her. The woman smiled at her. She thought she was looking in the mirror and then the woman moved very fast and ran into her.

She felt a jolt and flash of light and opened her eyes. Cody was licking her face. She laughed and pulled him away as she sat up. “Well you look happy now don’t you? I must have fallen asleep. Guess I did not get enough last night. She stood up and dusted herself off. She looked at the building and thought to go have a look. She and Cody trudged to the doors and she opened one and went inside. The first things she saw were the garden tools and supplies for the garden. There were pots and Pete cups and a motorized tiller and a small tractor. She wandered around looking at the things and noticed a cabinet with little drawers that had the word “SEEDS” written on the top of it. All the drawers were labeled with what kind of seeds were in each. She looked at the other end of the shop and saw power tools and a rather long work bench. She also noticed all the old furniture setting around and moved that way. She walked around the old pieces and ran her hand over the surface of them as she meandered through. She finally came over to the work bench and began to look at the smaller items lying on top of it. She was looking at the small tools on the bench surface and glanced up at the peg boards on the wall. The tools that were in holders or hung by clips looked very interesting and then she saw the picture. The woman in her dream was standing next to the little tractor. She only had one arm and her hair was almost the same color as hers. The Mirror flashed in her mind. She moved closer and noticed a dog sitting close to the woman. The smile on the woman’s face made her smile. The picture exuberated peace and love from the woman. She fumbled into a bench seat and sat down. This picture is Cathy. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the mirror when I first saw the woman, it could have been Cathy. Her thoughts were bouncing around wildly. Why am I here, how did I get here. Ethan said he found me in the forest. If he did, why didn’t he take me to the nearest hospital? These thoughts flashed into here like a ton of bricks. I look just like his deceased wife. She almost had a panic attack and stood up. She noticed something else on a small peg board that caught her eye and made her look closer. Something about a name bounced off her thoughts. She reached over and took the card from the board and held it closer. The printing on it said “Divine Community and Healing centers” and the names under that print read Arthur Curtis and Kyra Johnstone. She stood up and turned toward the back doors she had come in and started moving swiftly toward them. She reached the doors and Cody was lying in the sun just outside. He watched her rush out and head toward the gate.

Cody jumped up as Kyra came rushing out of the doors and began running toward the gate. He began to follow her and halfway to the gate she stopped and sat down. He came up to her side and she reached out and pulled him to her lap. Cody did not know what was happening but all of sudden he saw the two Kangaroo coming into the garden through the open gate. He squirmed his way from Kyra’s grasp and took off toward them barking up a storm. Kyra fell onto her back and lay very still.

[LostNFound]

25 INTO THE LIGHT, THE AWAKENING

The gray road ran on and on and on. She ran toward the infinity. The grayness wall was no longer there. It was a vast open field of grass. She halted and starred off in the infinity as it stretched forever away from her. She turned and the Darkness had become a gray transparent fog. She saw a light moving toward her and heard Cody barking from somewhere. She could not see him. The woman walked out of the gray fog and stopped in front of her. She heard the woman speak this time. “You do not need to be afraid you are being cared for. She could see the woman only had one arm but the smile on her face shinned a bright light. She turned to run again on the forever road. She found herself in some kind of moving object and then a bright flash of light hit her in the side and her memory flooded with the knowledge of a car. She was driving a car and Cody was next to her. He was barking. She looked at the road and it had jagged edges on one side, the side with the never ending field of green. She could see that she was going to hit one so she jerked the wheel that she was holding onto. The car turned toward the gray fog and it became dark. She saw the bright light shinning into the dark and saw the tree rushing toward her. The car hit it and she was thrown forward. The blackness consumed her.

She opened her eyes and Cody was pulling on her arm, the same arm that was gone from the woman she saw. She could not move as Cody pulled her. Her face felt wet and it was starting to cover her eyes. It was making it very hard for her to keep her eyes open. The fog was becoming thicker and then something or someone grabbed her and pulled her forward. She fell from the car and the fog had almost consumed her eyesight. Cody bit her arm and started pulling her away. She saw two kangaroo standing by the car as the fog covered it and them. The darkness overtook her.

The gray road ran on and on and on. She ran toward the infinity until the bright light was rushing toward her on the road. She stopped and waited. She had been running forever and she had run away from the light every time. She was tired and exhausted and decided to just let the light run her over and be done with this constant running. The light approached slower that she expected but soon it was on her. She stood and waited for it to crush her but instead it stopped and she heard a sound of what seemed like thousands of people talking. She had closed her eyes and was prepared to be taken away. The cacophony of sounds began to quiet down and started to become voices of a few. She opened her eyes and the sounds became silent. She saw a crowd of figures in the light. They were hard to distinguish at first but she began to see short people and a few taller men. The shorter people became children and she began to hear them saying “Miss Kyra please come into the light.” She was still afraid but the name they were saying bounced against her like the flashing lights. She took a step forward and then two men stepped forward to the edge of the light and both said “Kyra, you can come home now. We have missed you, we have looked everywhere for you, the entire Dreamnet has been searching for you. You can step out of the dark prison and into the free light. Tell us where you are and we will come and get you.” With all of the memory of whom she was and what had happened to her, she stepped into the dreamnet and they all welcomed her back. She could still hear Cody barking and said “I must go back and retrieve Cody and I will call you and tell you were I am.

She opened her eyes and smiled. She knew who she was with undoubting certainty. She sat up and saw Cody dancing around two Kangaroo as they slowly walked, hopped toward her. She was not afraid of these two. They had been the ones that had pulled her to safety from the car. “Cody, come here boy” and stop antagonizing these two dear friends." Cody stopped and with some soft whimpers came over to her and stood his ground as the two Roo’s walked up. She heard in their mind talk to her, well it looks like you survived that nasty ordeal. We pulled you out and this little barker dragged you further away from that metal beast while it burned like the bush does. We just wanted to be sure you were alright. Kyra spoke back to them in the mind talk and gave both of them a heart felt thank you. She stood up and held out her hands to them and they both boxed there acknowledgment to her. They then turned and hopped to the gate. Boxer turned and said the man that lives hear is a good spirit, he always lets us come and get some of the good food he grows, the woman who looks like you used to talk to us and we would help her plant the foods. She was a good spirit also. He is the one that saved you and helped you get better. With that being said the two turned and bounded off toward the mountain.

Kyra picked up Cody and hugged him and then walked into the house. She went into the bedroom and made up the bed and cleaned up what she could and went back out to the big room. She had a piece of the bread warmed up with butter on it and made sure Cody had some food. She then sat down next to a Vidphone and called the number on the card. Arthur came on and was so relieved. She told him the approximate location she was at. He knew where it was and said he would be there within a couple of hours. She said she would be ready and cut the connection. She found some paper and wrote a long note to Ethan telling him who she was and where she lived and what she did and invited him to join the dreamnet. She thanked him profusely and said she would return the clothes she was barrowing as soon as she got settled in. After writing the long, very long note she found a jacket and decided to walk out to the Bruce highway and meet Arthur. As she walked along the road she remembered how sweet Ethan had been to her and how he had healed her physical wounds and those that Cody had also. She had felt deeper feelings for this man but she could not tell him. Her confusion or amnesia had kept her love in a cage it seemed. It was uncanny that she looked almost identical to his lost wife and he sure made it known that he loved her with all his being. The other thing that caught her completely off guard was the fact that Cathy had contacted her in the dreams. She was thinking that the dreamnet was much deeper than they all thought. One and half hours later Arthur saw her standing along side the road and got out of the car and hugged her. They both had tears and the meeting was happy and joyful. Kyra continued to think about Ethan and knew that she was going to see him again. She now understood how dreams could be gateways in the darkness of the lost or the unknowing and how the light could be the doorway to knowing, to knowledge, to wisdom, to life and love.

Ethan had spent a good day cleaning up and helping the other folks get their stores and homes fixed up. He knew it was going to take quite awhile before they could return to some semblance of normalcy. When he reached the Bruce highway it was already dark. He was hoping that the woman had learned his instructions about cooking and at least fed herself during the day. The little dog had watched where he got the food to feed him so he figured that the little guy would show the woman where to get it. The whole ordeal with the woman and the dog had virtually saved his life. He had been thinking all day about the picture that the man showed him the other day. The eyes of the woman in the picture had captivated him even though he didn’t get a real good look. It was the eyes that threw him for the loop. The eyes of the woman he had brought home to tend to were deep and the picture kept nagging at him. He had started to put some things together and he was going to talk with the woman tonight and show her the card. He thought that it might jog something in her lost memory if there was anything to this Mr. Curtis and if it did, in any way, he would contact the Curtis fellow and get him to come to the house

[LostNFound]

The resemblance to Cathy was almost identical. He did a double take the first time he saw the woman in the forest. It was like he was on the battle field and picking up Cathy after she had been blown up with that mortar round all over again. He remembered carrying her through the shelling and all the small arms firing to the M.A.S.H unit. He had been hit in the leg but it never mattered until he got her off the battle field and to some sort of safety. He had stopped the bleeding from what was left of her arm and frantically looked for the rest of it to no avail. The woman had been at his house now for almost 10 days and she had made some recovery. Her physical wounds had healed nicely as well as the little dog. He had taught her the names for things and told her that she was a woman, a human being and the dog was a dog and he was a man, a human being. She had picked up a lot fairly quickly and that gave him hope that her memory would not be a permanent loss.

He drove into the yard and the only light on was the outdoor light at the front door. The House was dark. He thought that maybe the woman had already went to bed. He was pretty tired himself because they had both stayed up until early morning eating and talking. He halfway expected the dog to bark but when he entered the big room there was no sound. The night light in the kitchen was the only light on. He flicked the light on as he walked across the room. He went to the bedroom door and thought to peek in on her. He opened the door quietly and looked to see if she was sleeping alright. The nightlight in the bedroom shinned just enough light that he could see the bed. He was really hoping that the dog would not bark. There was no sound and when he looked at the bed it was empty. He flicked the light on and sure enough the room was empty, no dog, and no woman. He started to panic. He moved over to his guest bedroom and looked in there and it was empty. He turned on the lights to the outside around the house and searched all around outside. He finally saw the gate to the garden open and retrieved a torch and went out there to look. While he was out there he noticed the doors to the workshop open. He went in and turned the lights on and searched around. He finally shut everything down and closed the doors and shut the garden gate as he headed back to the house.

He opened the refrigerator and pulled out the jar of cider and poured himself a glass full. He did not know what to think at this point. It seemed like a dream, like maybe none of the past 10 day ever really happened. He thought then that he was having delusions about Cathy still being there. The woman did look almost exactly like her and she was the same size in everything. He thought about getting in the truck and driving the road to see if the woman and the dog had just wondered off and they were walking along a road. That thought scarred him. The woman had amnesia and the little dog may be ferocious but he was more or less food for bigger animals. He was starting to become very concerned and heart sick. He felt responsible for her and the dog and not know what became of them was making him sick with anxiety. He had sat down at the dinning table and reached up to the old fashion pull chain to turn on the light. He was going to call the police next to get a search party together. When the light came on he went to pick up his cider and saw the long note. His heart stopped for a split second and then he began to read it.

Dear Ethan,

I am going home today. I have regained my full memory and found out who I am and where I come from. I called a friend to come and get me. I believe you may have met him because I found a card in your shop with his name and my name on it. I am Kyra Johnstone and Arthur was looking for me.

I remembered all that happened to me through dreams. It was very hard for me since I am connected to the dreamnet of which I would like very much to include you. The dreamnet is a complete awakening place for humanity and I would love to show you how to be part of it if you so choose. There are a great many people that have become involved and the children are the ones that are leading most to enter. I do not know if you have heard about the children that are planting trees and growing food to feed the hungry. You might have heard of a man called Aberdeen who is causing small homes to be built for the homeless and giving them away. Paradise is growing around the world and as I have said, I would very much like you to join us in our endeavors to heal this very sick world. I have left the card that was in your shop with this letter so you can call me.The little dog’s name is Cody and he is a very close friend to me, thank you so very much for taking care of him while I was disenchanted away from myself.

I have kept some clothes that I borrowed from Cathy’s closet and will return them soon. I changed the big bed and put fresh sheets on it. I also found your washer and dryer and cleaned up the towels and bed clothes that I used while on my sojourn. I also cleaned all the dishes that I and Cody used while we were here. Thank you again.

I must tell you dear man that I met Cathy in my dreams. She is a very beautiful spirit. I saw her on the battle field. I was her as was meant to be in the dreams. I saw her in the mirror, I saw her in the garden and I saw her above your work bench in the shop. I shall also tell you that her soul and spirit are deciding to come back to this plane. She is waiting for a corporeal body to be made. You must know that all spirits coming back to this mother are coming back with total minds open with the Divine Creator into the new dimension of enlightenment if you will, into a new healed Mother.

You have made me very aware of a deeper abiding love. I shall say that I fell in love with you as that lost spirit and the love transcended through the awareness and the awakening. Cody has never come as close to another man as he did with you. I think that is something that I was aware of in my deep subconscious. I believe you made a complete new friend with the little fellow. He was and is so ferocious with anyone that tries to get to close to me but you broke through that barrier with him. Thank you very much again.

I met your Roo friends in the garden today. They told me that you were a very good human and your spirit is bright. I would very much like to come and work in that garden come planting time. The dirt felt so clean and inspiring to me and it also helped me to awake. I found some fresh butter on the back porch this morning when I first went out. I did discover the answers to my feelings about the garden. I will find you again.

Love from a wayfaring amnesiac who, with loving help, found her way into the light and became awake at long last.
Kyra Johnstone

Ethan finished the long note and a tear dropped from his eye onto the paper. He was sad but he was happy. The answer to the question smacked him in the head that Kyra had asked about her feelings with the garden. He smiled with tears still dropping from his eyes. He fixed a meal and ate in quiet solitude and went to bed.

Kyra entered the dreamnet and walked in the garden, she saw the house and the shop but Ethan was not in the dream. She knew that she would have to go to him in the physical body. She was sad but she was happy and understood with complete certainty the meaning, why things happened the way they did. The outcome was a bright shinning light and she would walk into it without any fear or trepidation now.

[LostNFound]

Seven days later, Ethan was rebuilding some shelves in his store. He had fixed the old clock and made it work smoothly. This morning he had brought it to the shop and hung it back on the wall. The shelves were going to hold some small artifacts that he had finished restoring. He had brought a couple of large baskets of squash mixed with other tubers and vegetables from the garden that he had harvested, to town. He sat the baskets at the front door and new that the town folk would sooner or later come over and pick some to take home or cook or eat raw during the day. He had an old antique wooden sign that had the letters panted on it that spelled “FREE” that he placed next to the baskets. He was standing precariously on an old ladder as he screwed the braces for the shelves to the wall. He heard a scraping noise and looked around.

The little white dog was standing below him looking up with his tongue wagging up and down. Ethan smiled and climbed down the ladder. He sat the screwdriver down and bent down on his knees and held out his hand. The little dog came over with exuberance and literally hopped up into his arms. Ethan pulled the dog in and hugged him and then stood up. He looked toward the open door and Kyra was standing there looking at him. Cody squirmed and Ethan put him down and walked toward her. She hesitated for only a second before she moved toward him. They both met and hugged each other. Kyra was crying with happiness and Ethan had also begun to tear up. They held each other for a very long time. They finally separated and Ethan took her hand and walked out to the front porch where there was a very comfortable swing seat. They both sat down. “I brought Cathy’s clothes back.” She looked at him so very innocently and Ethan cracked a big smile. “Well those would be the ones that you will have to wear when you work out in the garden now wouldn’t they?” Kyra smiled and spoke in a whispery voice. “Yes they would is there still some work to be done or have you harvested it all?”

It was late in the afternoon so Ethan closed his shop and asked her if she would like to get some dinner. She looked at him and said “only if you cook it.” “So you are saying that you would like to come out to the house and have dinner there then?” “That would be very nice, if you wouldn’t mind?” Ethan could not keep the smile from his face nor did he want to. “Well where is your car? I’ll walk you to it and give me a bit to get the truck and you can follow me out there.” “I don’t have a car today.” “How did you get here? It’s a fair distance from Paradise and I don’t know of any bus that runs that road these days.” “Well Arthur brought me up and knew right where your store was. I asked him to drop me off. He is going up to Cairns to visit the Healing center for a couple of days so I just said that I would stay with you, you don’t mind do you?” Ethan looked at her with those sparkling eyes and said “no I don’t mind, you can sleep in the big bedroom like you did before, I am still staying in the guest room.” “Can you show me how to cook some other foods; I think you once told me that you would.” “Of course, shall we go then?” The both climbed into the truck and Cody had jumped up and put his front paws on the dash. He was so happy it seemed and as they drove over the road he would bark once in awhile if some small animal crossed the road in front of them.

Ethan showed her how to prepare and cook a very tasty vegetable casserole. They spent time talking in the big room while he showed her and the evening was very pleasant. Cody had found a perfect spot on the old rug next to the wood stove that Ethan had stoked up when they first arrived. “I think Cody has found his home away from home.” Ethan had to smile at that and had made sure that Cody had a bowl of food and a bowl of water. They talked into the night about their lives. Ethan told her that the garden was still full of plenty of foods and herbs and flowers and the foods needed to be harvested. He talked about the neighbors that he would swap foods with for fresh milk and butter and eggs. Kyra talked about the dreamnet and how that was such a wonderful thing that had awakened people. She talked about how it worked and how when one entered it they would start being able to use abilities or gifts that had been locked away from human beings long ago. Finally they both were tired and Ethan told her that the big bed was still made from her last visit and he had not used it so it would be fresh for her.

He stood and started to say goodnight. Before he could get the words out she stood and wrapped her arms around him. She kissed him and the dreamnet engulfed them both. Their embrace was producing a light between them. Kyra stepped back and said “That is one way for two people to enter this dreamnet together. She took his hand and said “come, I want to show you so much.” He was looking around at the different landscape and the colors and gardens and the blue sky and he saw other people walking around and he saw children planting trees and gardens and he saw others building small cottages. He saw the stars, he saw the planets. He saw the life force and Kyra stopped and turned around and hugged him again. “Our dreams come from the core of our being. They are the knowledge of our souls. This is what Nick saw and helped to create, the opening of doors into deeper reality, the truth of our souls and how to access and use the knowledge and wisdom to heal each one of us.” Ethan could see the bright shinning light emanating from Kyra and himself. He could feel warmth from Kyra and asked her how to enter the dreamnet when they became separate and if one can enter even if awake and walking along. Kyra told him that the more he entered into the dreamnet the easier it became. “The children can walk into the dreamnet while walking along in the world. I have been told that it is like walking into a bright glowing light of some sort and they are still completely awake. They say it is like walking in two worlds or dimensions at the same time.”

Ethan’s heart was singing, his love for this woman and what he felt from her, had filled a deep hole in his soul. The sink hole had occurred when Cathy had moved beyond the corporeal existence of the world he was sojourning through. It had become ever deeper when Blue had passed also. His sojourn seemed empty and he walked in semi darkness. The Kangaroo’s had started to visit him more and they became somewhat of a solace but it seemed he could not escape the loss and emptiness of his soul. When he found Kyra and Cody in the wilderness of the barren land he wandered in. He started climbing the cliff he had fallen from. He had dreams of Cathy at times but they never seemed to last in him. Kyra was the mirror image of Cathy yet he knew that she was yet another beautiful soul. At first he had thought that she was Cathy come back to him but he soon realized that Kyra was yet another soul that had fallen into a deep darkness and he resolved himself to help her back into the light that came from within. He still loved Cathy but he began to feel the love welling in him for this woman/Kyra that had no identity, no knowledge of where or who or even what she was. As the days past and he cared for her his soul was being healed. Here she was walking with him in a place she called the dreamnet and his wonder was overwhelming. He was turning and looking at almost every step and Kyra had a warm grip on his hand and ever so often she would stop and hug him. He felt the complete love emanating from her

[LostNFound]

They were walking through an orchard of fruit trees and she said “These trees are being planted all over the world today by children that are completely open in there minds.” He stopped and she turned around to look at him. He moved to her and hugged her this time and she kissed him. “My dear sweet man, you must meet Cathy here and listen to what she wants to tell you. I shall see another that is here and come back to you. Please know that there is no time, in the dreamnet so do not fret and I shall return. He watched Kyra walk into the orchard and felt a pang of loss for just a moment. She turned and smiled at him and disappeared.

He turned back to the trees that appeared to stretch into eternity and saw a woman and dog walking toward him through the grove. He could see a shinning light around her and the dog and when she came closer he knew her. She walked up and stopped right in front of him. “Ethan, my love, you look well. I was very worried for you as you fell into the darkness and wandered around with no purpose.” He thought she was Kyra but she had just walked away. He turned and looked at the way she had gone. He turned back and Cathy was smiling. “Yes it is I and you know who this is. He looked down and blue was sitting and staring at him. He bent down and patted him and then he walked to Cathy and gave her a hug. “I have missed you both so much.” “Yes we both know, we tried to enter your dreams but you could only see us for a moment and then you would go back to the darkness. Ethan I must tell you things.” “You have your arm back.” “Yes, in the spirit I am whole and all that enter back into the spirit are whole.”

“Ethan, we watched as you rescued Kyra and her friend Cody. We saw you care for her and the dog. We even entered their minds to help. She was lost in a very dark place and you helped her to come back to the light. We saw how she and Cody helped you to come out of the dark hole you had fallen into. She was meant to have that accident and you were meant to find her and rescue both of them. All things have purpose and reason in the universe Ethan. The Chaos or the definition is a construct that was made by man and so man lives in a chaos that he or she creates in the corporeal sense of things. Man and woman can find the purpose and reason, the love and light if they so choose. It is for each to find their way back to who they really are. Each of us came from the universe and chose to enter the corporeal existence of this planet, this plane, to experience it such that it is and in so doing we forget where we come from and who we are in that momentary lapse of reason. It is for each to learn through the sojourn, to experience, to grow, to transcend, and to come back to the universe in the whole spirit. Life is ongoing, never ending, forever and is for us to always experience and grow.

“Are you coming back?” Cathy looked at him for a moment like she was in a deep thought. “Yes Ethan we both are coming back but you may not meet us as we appear to you here. I have chosen to be in a new body that will be born to a woman named Debra. She has children now but they are not from her. Blue has chosen to be born to a new dog that will be on that farm where I will be born. You my dear man are going to be with Kyra and Cody. She loves you, Cody loves you and you love her and him. The Kangaroos, Boxer and hopper love you and I know that you love them also.” When are you coming back?” “Ethan, you will know through this dreamnet, this dream place and you and Kyra and Cody will come to see us when the time in the corporeal world is right. So it has been coming for you to love again and Kyra and Cody were a gift as you were a gift for them. Your Heart is bright, your soul is healed; your spirit rejoices, now go to her and live to learn so much more. She has so much to teach as well as you do and you both have so much more to learn. The time is coming that all wars will not exist. No one will be hungry and no one will be homeless. Love will be everywhere.”

Ethan smiled at all she said and thought about her coming back and Blue being a brand new puppy. He turned around to look behind him for Kyra for just a moment and when he turned back around she fell into his arms. “You had a wonderful experience with Cathy, she told you about her and Blue coming back so are you ready to work in the garden before we go to the shop and see the town folk. I hear that there is a big get together tomorrow.” Ethan just kept smiling. Kyra turned him around and they started to walk back through the trees. He heard a dog barking and opened his eyes. He was lying in the big bed and as he turned his head he saw Kyra lying at his side. She had the biggest smile on her face. He could still hear the dog barking so he sat up and got out of bed. He dressed himself and went out into the big room. He followed the sound of the barking until he reached the back door. Cody was running in circles around the Kangaroos while they bobbed and danced. His barking was not an angry bark but rather a happy having fun bark. He watched as Cody darted in and out and then stopped and lay down as the Roo’s also stopped bobbing and stood around. He heard the giggling behind him and turned to see Kyra standing close. “Look’s like Cody has found some new friends to play with.” Ethan moved to her and wrapped his arms around and hugged her and kissed her. He looked deep into her eyes as she did his and asked “will you marry me?” She kissed him and said “yes Ethan, we have been married since you brought me home from the forest, we just did not know at the time. The people in the dreamnet knew that we had been bonded. I would have asked you if you hadn’t just did so. We can make the arrangements later but now I am hungry and I would like to cook some pancakes and eggs and some biscuits and open one of those delicious looking jellies or jams you have in the pantry and afterwards we can go into the garden and harvest some more foods to take to the store. Ethan chuckled and then laughed and they both proceeded to make all the items that Kyra had mentioned. Out in the garden the two Roo’s found what they were looking for and proceeded to eat while Cody lay by the gate and guarded for them. I am glad we did not have to bop him, he is a wonderful little barker and now he is our best friend. The two in the building are getting very connected and we will have to tell Bali and Mira to come and meet these fine man and woman beings. The sunshine was warmer but fall was in the air. The light had driven away the darkness and an awakening was still giving learning.

The people of Paradise began to settle back into a calmer time. The storm had turned and moved toward the Southeast and the people of New Zealand prepared for what may come. A Freighter Captain and his crew took course for the French Polynesian Islands and the Americas with a small group of passengers headed back into the world of insanity. The turning tide of healing was rolling across the North American continent and in fact was slowly washing the world. Mother Earth was rejoicing in small ways as her inhabitants began to awaken into the light.

[LostNFound]

26 AN ENCOUNTER WITH TAHITIANS

The storm had become a category 4 hurricane and stalled off the coast of Northeast Australia before it began to move toward the Southeast. Its course became known quick enough and the New Zealand islands began preparing for what was coming almost straight at them. The flooding and damage that was left along the coast of Northeast Australia was severe and as the storm moved down the coast it also moved out to sea on its course towards New Zealand and the Southeastern coastal regions of Australia were spared the great winds although they received torrential rains. Tom Hartwell had been in the captain’s cabin charting the course with his navigator back up to the western coast of the United States when his radio operator called and told him the sudden change in course of the hurricane. Tom acknowledged Denny Shoemaker and told him to spread the word to make ready to leave. He called Jock down in the engine room and told him to make ready. Sven was still on shore gathering up last minute supplies and was not due back until later. Tom called him and told him to gather what he could and get back quickly. “We need to get underway sooner than expected so you got to round up the rest of the crew that are still off ship and get them all back.” Two hours later, all the crew members and passengers were on board and the last of the cargo was being loaded. Tom had requested the undocking schedule and the harbor tugs had moved in to begin their maneuvers.

The tugs had pulled the Bess out to where she could get underway and headed back for the bay. Tom set the course and gave orders to the bridge crew to head for Emil’ete, Tahiti. He figured to dock there and top his fuel off and recharge his batteries before heading up to Honolulu. He had taken on some cargo to unload at Emil’ete and expected to pick up some and perhaps some passengers. The trip time to Emil’ete would take at least 12 days of steaming at 22 knots or better, provided they had clear sailing. Storms could slow them but depending on the direction they were blowing, they could also push them faster. While they were being pulled out of the south bay the water was becoming rough with 4 to 5 foot waves. The big storm that was moving south east had already began to touch into the Tasman Sea and Tom definitely wanted to get clear of the thing before it possibly slammed into New Zealand. Once Bess moved into the eastern waters of the North Island the waters calmed somewhat and the ship cruised through a smooth ocean. Tom knew that this would not last because as soon as they got further north and left the protection of the Island the waters were going to be rougher. He directed Curtis Longsby his Navigator to take the ship more toward the east to try and skirt the rougher waters that might be happening around the Northern part of the Island. He figured to make an arc of the course and once further east they could swing into that Northeast run into the French Polynesia islands.

On the morning of the 10th day out from Wellington, Tim Harden and Uri Yankovic were standing watch on the bridge when they saw what appeared to be a fleet of small craft to their North. The Sun had just risen from the water to their east and the waters were calm and smooth. The Bess was cruising at 24 knots. Uri was looking through the binoculars and started counting the craft as he saw them. “I am counting about 20 small boats so far. There are 4 sailboats that look like they are big enough to hold maybe 10 crewmen but most look like small charter fishing boats.” He turned to Tim and said. “Wonder why they are all headed in this direction?” Tim picked up his own glasses and looked. He saw the smoke rising from some of them and that made him focus more on those particular boats. He hit the button on the intercom and called Tom. “Captain to the Bridge, We may have a situation.” Tom had just poured himself another cup of coffee and was getting ready to go to the Bridge when Tim’s voice sounded over the com. His quarters were located just below the bridge so he grabbed his jacket and took his coffee with him as he exited the cabin and moved to the ladder up to the bridge.

As Tom looked through the binoculars he could see the small craft and the ones that were trailing smoke. The larger sail boats were half sail so as to keep from running away. Although as far as he could tell there wasn’t much wind. “How far are they from our position?” Curtis told him that they were around 5 miles at the present but with Bess’s speed and them coming toward them they would meet up within a short time of about 20 minutes. Tom told the pilot to all stop and the call went to Jock in the engine room and the ship began to slow as the engines were shut down to idle. “Has anyone seen any weapons waving around and or any type of military craft with armament?” Uri spoke up and said that he thought he saw some small arms being carried by the people on some of the boats but he could not tell if they meant to do anything at this point. Tom said “This seems real peculiar” to Sven who had just entered the Bridge. “Tom, I think we should be real cautious at this point, I have ordered the crew to arm themselves and directed them to move to the bow and stand positions.” Tom kept looking through his binoculars and said “That is probably a good idea and I think the passengers should be notified of a possible pirate attack so they should also be armed. Find out how many might have their own weapons and it some don’t find out if they would like to arm themselves and then provide them with whatever we have in the armory. It has been awhile since this part of the world had piracy but who knows what has happened? We will err on the side of safety for now until we get to talk with these folks. Denny have you been able to reach anyone out there?” Denny told him that he was still trying to find a possible frequency, “if they have radio’s they sure as by gum don’t have any tuned to the standard freq.” “Keep trying and let’s get everybody up to par while we still have time.”

The Bess carried a crew of 25 and with the 4 extra men from the Lost Bastion that upped the compliment to 29. Tom really wished he had the young Devlin boy on board. That could give him an army of ocean life. There were 12 folks in transit of which 5 were men and the others women and children. Three of the men had their own weapons and the other two welcomed the weapons that were offered. Tom was surprised when 3 of the women asked for weapons also. Jock was armed but he stayed in the engine room along with Ron Paulsen and Harley Davidson who was one of the Last Bastion crew. He and Denny stayed on the Bridge while Sven took the others and stationed them selves around the front of the ship. Denny kept twisting his frequency dial on the radio to try and find a band width that the small flotilla headed for them might be using. Tom was watching the progress of the boats and now they were close enough that he could see faces. He did see small arms strapped over the shoulders of some of the men and there were even some holding them at the ready. He could almost see them talking to one another and then all of them slowed and seemed to group the craft together. One of the bigger sail boats moved to the front and stopped also. He watched the other 3 sail boats move off in directions that looked like they were going to try and surround the Bess. He watched his men begin to move down the sides of the ship to make sure they could cover any thing coming from other directions. Damn thought Tom I really hope this does not come to some shooting match.

[LostNFound]

Tom saw a man on the head sail boat raise a white flag and wave it from side to side. The small flotilla had come to a stop and grouped up about 600 yards off the port bow. The other three sail boats were still moving around the sides of Bess and he saw two of them slow and come to halt while the third one kept moving toward the rear of the ship. He looked back at the man waving the white flag and heard the crackling sound of someone talking on the radio. “Just get in…… po….ion and wa…..” “…….are still try……….cont……. the ……p” “There ar…… men……….and……th……….looked…….med.” Tom asked Denny if he could get that frequency any clearer. Denny continued to fine tune the dial and all of sudden it became clear. “We see the armed men on the bow and are trying to get their attention. We dare not dial into any of the standard maritime frequencies or we might attract those Chinese military ships to come after us. So stay alert and will notify if we get any trouble. We don’t know who is on that ship and where their loyalties lie.” Tom walked over to the radio and Denny handed him the mic. “My name is Tom Hartwell and this ship is the Bess, to whom am I speaking, over.” The radio buzz crackled for a minute and then the man came back. “Tom Hartwell, it has been awhile since you were last in these parts. What brings you up here?” Tom got a look of interest on his face. “Earl, is this Earl Travis?” The man came back and said “Tom, I sure am glad to see you. We weren’t sure who was operating the ship over.” “Earl why don’t you come aboard and tell us what the hell is going on and why you and all the others are floating around out here. Its 700 miles to Pape’ete and those boats don’t look like they can be way out here, over”

Tom heard Earl say he would be right over and the radio went dead. Denny had marked the frequency and began to scan other maritime frequencies to see if he could catch any other unusual traffic. Tom called Sven and told him who was coming and they probably would take most on board to at least administer any medical help and get the folks fed if they needed it. Sven acknowledged and prepared to bring the people aboard. All of the small craft including the sailboats moved along side of the Bess and folks began to tie the small craft together so they could transfer to the bigger sail boat and board the ship. The crew helped the folk’s board and Dr. Wes Morgan began to treat the injured people. Two of the women had come up to the main deck and asked the Doctor if they could help. They both were trained nurses so Dr. Morgan was surprised and very thankful. They sat up a triage on deck and began helping. A number of the folk had severe burns and some had bullet wounds while others had been beaten as it looked like but someone told the doctor that they had been in some of the buildings when the shelling started and managed to escape. The Doctor made note of that information and kept on working. Two of the folk were hurt so severely that the doctor had to do immediate surgery to keep them alive. The main deck was abuzz with people receiving help and others preparing food and handing it out.

Up on the Bridge, Earl and three other men were sitting in the captain’s ready room discussing the events of how they came to be out here and why there were injured folk. Tom handed out drinks for every one while Earl introduced the other three men of the sail boats. “Tom, this is Bob Newell, he owns the SALLY J.” Tom shook his hand while Earl introduced the next man. “This is Ahomana, he owns the THUNDER and he also goes by the name George.” Again Tom shook his hand and took a sip of his coffee as Earl introduced the third man. “And this is Rick Savage, he owns that sleek sail called the BETTSI LOU and he is my partner in the Granger hotel and casino.” Tom said “pleased to meet you now will someone tell me what the hell happened and why you all are out here?” Earl looked at his companions and asked Tom, “You got anything stronger than this?” And he pointed at the glasses of water. Tom looked at Sven who had just walked in and Sven went to the cabinet behind Tom and pulled a bottle of single malt Scotch whisky out. “Will this do?” Earl lifted his glass and finished the water and then sat it back down and said “it will do for starters.” Rick smiled and said “perfect” while Ahomana shook his head and held out his empty glass.

“It was 8 days ago now when the 3 Chinese battle ships showed in our harbor. There was one Maritime security cruiser docked at the time. The other one had left the day before. It took a whole day before everyone became away of the battle ships. They just showed up late in the day and stayed anchored through the night in the deep waters. The next day it began to be unnerving to us all because those ships just sat there and we could see no activity however we could clearly see the Chinese flags flying. I tell you Tom that was the first time since the war over in Australia that we saw the Chinese ships. Unexpected it was and very peculiar. Well everyone was on edge and the boys on the cruiser begun to get ready to leave the dock. I am sure they called for help of some kind.” Tom thought for a moment and said “we saw a Maritime security cruiser making for Auckland when we were coming up. Funny how those boys become scarce when a storm is close, although there was one hell of a storm headed for New Zealand at the time we left.”

Earl took a long pull on his drink and set the empty glass close to the bottle and waited for a refill. “Damn it Tom, those Chinese ships gave no warning, they just opened up with those big guns and the first thing they hit was the Maritime cruiser. She didn’t have a chance and exploded against the dock. The dock caught fire and it spread into the warehouses. The next thing those bastards hit was all the fuel tanks on the spit and kept pounding the docks and the other fuel tank area. The pandemonium at this point was horrendous. Everyone was running around trying to get out of the conflict. The next thing the monsters did was fire into the city. It seemed like all three of those ships were firing all of their guns at the same time. All the dock yards and warehouse districts were on fire and the fuel tanks and stations were burning and exploding while the city began to burn and explode.” “A lot of folks died that day Tom; we managed a tiny bit of revenge on those bastards though. We had some of those big guns installed up on the side of Mt. Orohena around the time of the Chinese/Aussi wars and had a volunteer crew keep them operational just in case we got attacked. Well it did not come until last week. The crew was short manned but they were up there cleaning the guns when those ships showed up so they got the full team up there and waited. When the Chinese began firing, the crew opened the net covering and uncorked the barrels and loaded the guns. They weren’t sure about the ammo but figured they did not have anything to lose. The first shots missed but the second salvo took one of those ships to Davie Jones locker. The other two ships stopped firing on the city and began to concentrate on the position of the guns. Well they never did hit it but those boys up there poured all the ammo they could at the ships until they finally turned tail and ran. We are pretty sure that one of them was hit because as they left she was roiling black smoke from her midships.” “Which way did they go when they left,” Tom asked. “Looked to me that they headed north but God only knows where they went.”

[LostNFound]

Tom poured another drink for the men and poured himself one also. “This is very peculiar, we all thought that the Chinese were sticking close to home these days because the Maritime security force and the old Navy, which was rejuvenated to just fight that conflict over there are en mass up there and keeping the skirmish contained. If these three ships are rouges and have been cruising around down here, one has to wonder how many other ports they have visited lately. You say you sunk one and possible damaged another? That is some good news but there could be more of them and they could be sanctioned by the Chinese to cause this sort of thing to pull the force away from the mainland. I think we should be notifying as many as possible down here.” Earl took a shot of whisky and said “we have been sending signals out but are staying away from the main emergency frequencies for fear of those cruds hearing us and coming after us or going and destroying other places.” Tom knew what Earl was saying but without getting on those radio waves a lot of folk were never going to get the message. He knew that the old Morse code systems had been re-activated and outfitted on a lot of the ships. He had gotten his hands on the transmitters and receivers and had outfitted the Bess with them. Denny had been trained on the system and could stand with the best when it came to sending and receiving the signals. The cryptic code had been taken from the Navaho Indian code breakers that were used during the second world war of the 20th century and the warring factions had not been given the systems, only the civilians in order to protect themselves from any tyrannical governments. The Maritime security force did not have the system and in that respect a lot of patriots had been moved around without them knowing their where a bouts. Tom called Denny into the ready room and explained to him what was happening and wrote down a message that would get the point across to whoever received it.

“How is it that you come by these boats and get this far out from Pape’ete?” “All the sailboats and most of the smaller craft accept for the damaged ones were all anchored or docked in the southern bay of the island, Baie Phaeton. We were able to get around to that area and gather what we could. The two damaged craft came from the main marina at Papeete. All our communications had been destroyed so when we got to our boats we decided to make a run for help hoping not to run into those battle cruisers. We refueled and stashed extra fuel for all the boats and sail craft and headed south. We tried to contact any one using the off frequencies but were not getting any responses so we just kept coming south hoping to maybe run into one of Maritime cruisers that possibly heard the calls from the one in port. We mean to tell them the story of what has happened and hopefully we can get some help. When we left the city was on fire and the people along with any emergency crews were battling. The folks that live around the Island and on the lower Island began to prepare if those bastards come back so the Islanders not only prepared but a lot of them have gone up to Papeete to help. Like I said, we don’t know where the Chinese cruisers got off to and hopefully they are setting in a cove somewhere licking their wounds. We really need to get the Maritime forces involved and looking for them before they recoup and commence to destroying other places.”

The injured folks were kept on board and the boats that were damaged were tied off to other small craft to be towed back to port and they all began to sail toward Papeete. Tom was taking it slow while all the small craft and Earl’s sail boat spread out and kept pace. The other three sail boats split up and headed toward the other larger cities of the French Polynesia’s to warn them of dangerous battle cruisers roaming their waters. He meant to make port or what was left of it by the next day. Earl had decided to go ahead and give reports as they got closer. He would be the front scout and if those damn Chinese cruisers had come back he would let Tom know through the channels that were not used by the standard frequencies.

Sven had taken the con while Tom moved around the deck and visited the passengers that had just recently come aboard and made sure to talk with the main passengers that had come on board at Paradise and Wellington. Once he had made his rounds, he slowly made it back to the bridge and looked for another bottle of the scotch. The sail boaters had polished off the first bottle before they all left. He found another bottle in the ready room and brought it out to the main map table on the Bridge. Curtis Longsby looked up from his PPI 3D scope and motioned Tom over. Tom walked over and took a peek at the scope. Curtis said in his very thick Aussi accent, “Capin, we may have found where those cruisers may be hid en. You see this island out here” and he pointed to an atoll land mass on the scope. Tom looked to the position Curtis pointed to and saw to large blips as the antenna made its circled rotation. “Those are pretty big something’s and I don’t think they could be passenger cruisers either.” Tom asked him to dial in the holo maker and as soon as he did, sure enough the holographic image being bounced from the antenna, formed the battle cruisers as they sat in a crook or bay type of an uninhabited atoll Island. “Isn’t that Maupihaa Island?” “Yes but this Island where the ships are has no name and as far as it is, there are no habitants.” Tom looked at Curtis and said “I really am hoping that those bastards did not create a wake of destruction moving up there.” Tom looked at Denny and asked “can you reach any Maritime security forces; we need to get these folk back to Papeete and unload some of the supplies we have to help. After that we will head up that way but I sure don’t want to tackle those Chinese, if that is what they really are, without the Maritime boys involved. They have the guns and man power.”

The BESS had reached the outer bay of Papeete and the people saw the town still burning. The marinas were a mess with small and mid size boats all bunched up. Some were on fire and Tom could see people trying to put them out. There were sirens and small explosions making a cacophony of noise. All the small craft that had come back made their way into the bay where they could and found places to anchor or dock. Tom eased into Nanuu Bay and as he got closer to the big docks he could see the first one and it was empty. The fires were well away from it so he figured to ease up and rest the BESS along side. He had done this before but not often. To do this without tugs could be very dangerous for the ship as well as the docks. As he considered which way to go, either slowly inch into the dock or drop anchor close and transport supplies and people by smaller craft which would take forever in his eyes and he was itching to find the criminals that did this. Only his crew knew that the BESS was outfitted with two 5” x 38 guns and there were also 4, twin 50’s that could be mounted to the main deck rails. So he was seriously considering finding the ships and doing battle with them. He knew that one was damaged and it could be a crippling damage but he wasn’t sure about the other one. He heard the large toot of a tug and looked out to his port and saw a lonely tug signaling him. One was better than nothing so communication was established and with that tugs help the BESS was docked. Supplies were unloaded and folks came and went. The passengers that were headed for the states were given a choice to stay in port while Tom and his crew took the BESS out to find the criminals. All of them said they would stay on board and fight along side the crew. Tom was surprised but being a free soul, accepted their wishes. There were 10 more folks that asked to come aboard because they were headed for the states also. So after all was said and done, the little Tug helped move the BESS back out into open waters. Sven took some of the crew and oiled the guns and prepared them for use and made sure everyone was armed on board and the Bess cruised toward Maupihaa Island.