Seeing Ghosts
Chapter 11
By Dottie
Copyright 2015
After spending the entire evening watching Chealyn’s videos of her kids, laughing and crying and remembering, everyone is exhausted. They see Chealyn fighting to stay awake. Howie hugs her gently and whispers, “You need rest, Chealyn.”
She nods. “I know I just…thank you for being here tonight. I don’t know how to explain it but…when you’re here…”
AJ whispers, “We’ll always be here, but Howie’s right. We all should try to rest. The past week has been hell.”
One by one they leave. When Chealyn looks at Nick, he says, “I’ll stay.”
She shakes her head. “I…thank you but I think I might need some time alone.”
He nods slowly. "I..if you're sure. Just...promise me you'll call me if you need anything. Even if it's just a shoulder to cry on."
She nods. "I will." He starts to turn away but she reaches for his arm. "Nick." When he turns back, she whispers, "Thank you for...everything."
He steps closer to her and hugs her tightly. "Thank you Chealyn." He kisses her temple. "Don't forget; call me if you need anything."
After he leaves, Chealyn moves to the couch and sits, staring up at the pictures on the wall...her short life with Kevin...the happiness they shared...the love. She sniffles, her heart still aching at the loss of her husband and children. Her mind reeling from exhaustion and grief.
Grant sneaks in the front door, watching her closely. He knows this could be the only chance he has. Walking quickly to the couch, he startles her. She jumps up. "Grant, what's wrong?"
In a strained voice, he says, "You're not safe here, Elena. We have to go."
She sighs. "No. I'm not leaving. I'm not going to hide, I told you that. And please...don't call me Elena. My name is Chealyn now."
He grabs her arm in a tight grip and says, "I said we're leaving. NOW!" She tries to pull away from him and he mutters, "Don't. I said it's time to go."
She keeps struggling. "Grant, NO! I don't want to leave. I want to stay here and..."
He cuts her off. "Elena, stop arguing. It's my job to take care of you and I'm going to. You're mine now." She pushes against his chest, trying to get away but he it only makes him angry. He slaps her and mutters viciously, "Stop it!"
She's dumbstruck by his actions. "Grant, what are you doing?"
He drags her to the door. "I'm taking you somewhere safe. Where we can be alone and you can finally realize you belong with me."
Fear clutches her heart. "Grant, I don't...we don't belong together."
He pushes her against the door and whispers vehemently, "Don't you say that! Don't you dare! You've been with me for 3 years now Elena. I've kept you safe. I took care of you. I realized when you left DJ and Sophie behind you wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with you. Us together."
She trembles. "Grant, stop it! Stop it!"
He pushes his face close to hers and whispers, "We'll be happy Elena. We'll have our own family once we're settled. You'll forget the past and realize you belong to me."
Once he has her in the car, she whispers, "Grant I don't want to go with you. I don’t want another family. Please, leave me alone. Let me think about my husband and my children."
He growls, "NO! They are dead and gone and you are MINE!"
She sniffles loudly. "No! No Grant..."
He hits the steering wheel in frustration before turning in his seat. She doesn't see it coming when he balls up his fist and hits her in the face, knocking her head against the window and driving her into unconsciousness. As he turns the car around, he mutters, "You're mine Elena. You're always going to be mine."
Early the next morning, Nick wakes up to his phone ringing. Thinking it could be Chealyn, he rolls over quickly to answer it. "Hello?"
The voice on the other end is a stranger. "Hello, my name is John Sampson. I'm a forest ranger with the Kentucky forestry service. We found your number on a cell phone..."
Nick cuts him off. "I don't understand...what?"
The forest ranger sighs. "I'm sorry. It's hard to explain without knowing...the contact list has you listed as Kaos. I don't want to be disrespectful...could I ask your name? Then I'll explain what's going on."
Nick sits up, flipping on a lamp and wincing at the glare. "My name is Nick. Nick Carter."
John sounds tired when he says, "Mr. Carter, I…I’m with a group of rangers that’s been searching the mountain top for over a week…since the plane crash. We’ve been…looking for…the victims’ remains. I don't want to give you false hope but...well…we found this phone...and we found 2 bodies, the pilot and co-pilot. The terrain is rough, but knowing children are involved, we haven't rested...we've combed almost 30 square miles...and we have absolutely no evidence there were three more victims."
Nick gasps. "What? What are you saying? They're alive?"
John cuts him off. "I'm not saying that. I don't know. When we found the phone...Mr. Carter, there's a picture on the phone that was taken after the crash. I believe your friend survived the crash itself…with the children."
Nick lets his tears fall and whispers, "Why are you calling me now?"
In a shaky voice, John whispers, "I think somewhere on this mountain, someone is helping him...taking care of him...and those kids...or they buried them. It would take months to comb the land. My superiors think it's a long shot, but your group is famous...if you could make an announcement...ask for someone to come forward...offer a reward...anything."
Nick stands up, looking for his clothes. "I'll pay whatever they want...anything. Let me...I'll talk to the guys...our managers. Oh my God, Chealyn! I have to call Chealyn!"
John cuts him off. "Mr. Carter, my superiors wanted me to tell you there's no guarantee...if you and your friends would like to meet at the forestry service office with us, we can go over what we've done...where we've searched…and what we’ve found. Maybe a joint announcement can be made."
Nick feels his excitement wane a little...but he can't let go of the thought that Kevin, DJ and Sophie could be alive. In a decisive voice, he says, "I'll have them there in a couple of hours. I...I don't know how to thank you."
John sighs. "Don't thank me yet. My coworkers think I'm nuts, but my gut tells me those three survived and are somewhere on this mountain." In a slightly embarrassed voice, he says, "My wife is a fan."
Nick whispers, "Thank you...thank you so much for calling me."
After he hangs up, he calls Jenn. If there's one chance in a million Kevin and his children are alive, they have to do whatever they can to find them...and bring them home.
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