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Sense8 Continues (Fanfic Chap 3)
Disclaimer: I own no rights to Sense8 or the characters. I’m simply writing this fan fiction to provide some closure to myself, as well as hopefully, other die-hard fans who are feeling lost like me.
Chapter Three
Gotcha
The cluster had been crashing in the one bedroom flat on the couches, the day bed that was in the living room, and even the floor. Their hostages, Whispers and Jonas, were tied up in the bedroom. The fact that they hadn’t made much progress in terms of information on Wolfgang was making them all anxious.
They had left their homes and the people they loved to save their friend. None of them were allowed to call anybody until the mission was accomplished. It was too risky, and besides, none of them wanted to endanger their loved ones’ lives. Now that BPO had one of their own, everybody they knew may be at risk.
“Are you okay, Lito?” Nomi asked when she saw him standing in a corner, jumping up and down.
“This helps me when I am stressed. We have been stuck in here too long. And I worry for Hernando and Dani. They cannot reach me, and that is killing them, I am sure.”
“Did you tell them anything before you left?” Nomi was worried about Lito.
“I tried to explain what was happening, but nothing was coming out right. They came with me to the airport to try to stop me. Both of them thought I was losing my mind. Then they wanted to come with me, but I did not allow it. They still have their jobs, and they do not understand all that is going on with me. I should have explained things from the beginning.” Lito shook his head, remembering the exchange at the airport. “I still remember Hernando’s last words to me. He said, ‘Even though I think you’re acting crazy, I see it is very important for you to get on that plane. And because I love you, I will support you any way you need me to. I will be waiting when you come back home.’” Lito sighed, feeling emotional.
“You’re lucky to have him,” Nomi said, squeezing his hand.
“Yes, I am. Congratulations by the way. I see you are ready to walk down the aisle,” Lito said with a quick wink.
“Thank you! I’m lucky I was able to bring my fiancé with me here,” Nomi said, watching Amanita. “I guess things could be worse. It’s a good thing we can all speak English. Can you imagine if none of us could understand what we were saying?”
Lito chuckled. “I am still rusty, but I think I have gotten better since you all came into my life. I have gotten pretty good in other languages too.”
Capheus joined them. “Even though we were poor, my mother always made sure that I went to English classes. She said it was important to learn it. That one day, I was going to be somebody big, and I will need to know it.”
“Your mother is a very wise woman,” Nomi said and then turned her attention to her computer. When she got a notification on the screen, her heart skipped a bit. “Holy shit! We got her!”
Everybody ran to the laptop, hovering around her.
“What’s happened?” Will asked.
“Bug, do you see what I see?” Nomi asked her friend who was still back in San Francisco.
“I’m on it!” he responded.
Nomi turned to her team. “His wife just entered the drug store, Boots, off of Strand Road. We got a picture of her going in from the camera. We can now show Whispers we are serious!”
“I know exactly where that pharmacy is. I know short cuts to get there,” Riley said.
“Come on,” Capheus said. “I can get us there. We have the rented car that Nomi was able to get for us. It would be for the best if we can follow her and even get the address of where she lives.”
“Okay, I will go with you.” Will jumped up.
“No, you monitor the situation from here. You may need to make some tough decisions. Besides, our prisoners are here.” Riley said, following Capheus.
“Do not worry! I will go with them,” Lito said.
They all turned to Lito as he was running after Capheus and Riley.
Lito shrugged his shoulders. “What? I believe I am getting pretty good at fighting now. Wolfgang has taught me well.” He then swung his arm in air, throwing a punch.
“Hell yeah!” Amanita cheered.
Will sighed. “Riley, be careful,” he yelled as she dashed out of the door.
“I know!” She assured him before disappearing down the hall with Capheus and Lito.
“Don’t worry, Bug can track any of us now since he’s got all of our pictures. He will be able to watch their car through all of the public cameras. And, I’ve got my eyes on Mrs. Whispers from inside the store now. Looks like she’s waiting on some medication at the desk. Bug, are you on this?” Nomi asked.
“I am in the store’s computer as we speak,” he replied. “I’m a bit slow. This change in time zone is messing me up. It’s four in the morning here.”
“Bug, stay sharp!” Amanita ordered.
“I said, I got it! Okay, looks like she just picked up Insulin for somebody named, Chelsea Sherman,” Bug informed them.
“Who is Chelsea Sherman?” Sun asked.
“Whoever she is, she has diabetes,” Kala replied.
“Chelsea is his daughter’s name,” Will said.
“Looking it up,” Nomi said. Within seconds, a picture of a young girl popped up.
“You’re a genius!” Will exclaimed. “That’s her. That’s his daughter.”
“I’m just getting started, honey,” Nomi said, smiling. “Look at what popped up about her. She’s ten years old and her parents are Elizabeth and Daniel Sherman.”
Amanita leaped up and screamed in victory. “Does this mean we have Whispers’ real name? Oh shit, this is freakin’ fantastic!”
“I thought his name was Milton Matheson,” Nomi mumbled to herself.
“He probably has several aliases. Who knows what his real name is?” Sun said.
“Hey. guys! Our little wife must have paid in cash,” Bug interrupted. “There’s no credit card transaction.”
Within ten minutes, Nomi noticed Mrs. Sherman was getting ready to exit the store. “Damn it! She’s leaving.”
They all stared at the screen as a black sedan pulled up, and she got in.
“Do you see this, Bug?” Nomi asked
“Sure do! I have the license plate number,” he answered.
Will dialed Riley’s number. “Okay, she’s now in a black sedan heading east on Strand Road. The license plate number is KB205,” he informed her as he read it off of the screen.
“We’re still ten minutes away from there,” Riley replied.
“Not for long,” Capheus said as he waved in and out of traffic.
“We can’t stay on the phone too long, Will,” Riley said. “We can’t take the chance. Don’t worry, we’ll get them. Just call back if you see them turning.”
“Got it. Be careful,” Will said before disconnecting the line.
“I can’t get any information on the license plate,” Bug informed them. “I’ve been trying to run it, but nothing’s coming up.”
“Just like Jonas’s phone,” Sun said. “None of the phone numbers on his phone were traceable.”
“I’m not surprised,” Kala said. “These guys know what they’re doing.”
“I’m shocked that even his daughter’s information came up,” Will said.
“It may not even be her real information.” Sun was pacing the floor, wishing they could get accurate information on this guy.
“If the mother went to get the Insulin for her like that, I have a feeling she must have ran out,” Kala said as she thought about the possibilities. “I think she must have been desperate. Diabetes can be extremely dangerous without the medication.”
“Wouldn’t Whispers’ lab just provide her with the supply, though?” Amanita asked.
“He probably did,” Sun agreed. “But remember, he is not around. Maybe she does not have access to anybody at BPO or his lab. Like Kala said, she made this desperate move in order to get her hands on that medication.”
“Looks like Capheus is right behind the black sedan now. I just got a visual of the two cars from one of the cameras from another store,” Nomi said.
Will breathed a sigh of relief, but was still nervous for his girlfriend. He hated feeling this helpless.
They all stared at the screen, trying to get another visual of the cars. When it did pop up, they all would cheer to celebrate. But within fifteen minutes, there was nothing on the cars.
“Can’t trace them anymore. I think they may have turned into a street that’s more residential,” Nomi said, clicking frantically at the keyboard to scan the cameras.
“Unless somebody has any outdoor cameras at their home, we won’t be able to see where that sedan is going to stop,” Bug said.
“Don’t worry. Capheus, Riley, and Lito are on them,” Sun said, clenching her fists.
“I’m gonna go ahead and trace Riley’s phone now. I can tell you exactly what street they’re on,” Bug offered.
“If we can trace her, anybody else can as well,” Sun said.
“Sure, if they have her new number. We’ve changed all of our numbers for a reason, and we’ve made sure to take all precautions to make it extremely difficult for others to get access to our number. Technically, none of our numbers even exist,” Nomi assured them.
“Just like Jonas’ phone,” Kala softly said. “Are you sure BPO can’t trace his phone?”
“I took the battery out immediately from his phone. And since then, we’ve reprogrammed the phone to ensure it would be untraceable.” Nomi explained. “And don’t forget, we still have the list of phone numbers he dialed. I know we can’t trace the numbers, but maybe we need to call the last number Jonas dialed. It was right before we had captured him.”
“I don’t want to call it until we know who we’re talking to. I want the person on the other line to think we got our shit together,” Will said, pacing the floor.
“But neither of them are talking. I can’t stand this!” Kala said, trying to keep her mind off of Wolfgang.
“We need a name…maybe of who’s in charge of BPO.” Will knew it was critical to get the vital information from their hostages.
“Don’t worry. He will talk once he finds out that we know his true identity,” Sun said calmly.
“When we put Daniel Sherman in the system, nothing is popping up. At least nothing about Whispers. Same about his wife. No picture, no information,” Nomi said.
“Again, not surprised,” Will mumbled.
“Hey, team! Looks like Riley’s car stopped for about five minutes because her phone stayed motionless. But they’re back on the move. Looks like they may be heading back,” Bug announced.
Will couldn’t help but dial his girl’s number. Riley answered immediately. “We have her address. All is good. Heading back now,” she said simply.
Everybody yelled in victory, and Will quickly disconnected the call.
“You’re my hero, Bug!” Amanita said. “And you are a fuckin’ genius, my love.” She grabbed Nomi’s face and kissed her.
Sense8 Continues (Fanfic Chap 2)
Disclaimer: I own no rights to Sense8 or the characters. I’m simply writing this fan fiction to provide some closure to myself, as well as hopefully, other die-hard fans who are feeling lost like me.
Chapter Two
Whatever It Takes
“You stopped taking the blockers,” Sun stated.
“I have to try to figure out where he’s at. And I have to be sure he’s not giving up, that he will hang on,” Kala explained.
“Did you notice anything different?” Sun paced in front of the couch that Kala had fallen asleep on.
By then, the others had heard the commotion and had joined them.
Kala stood up and tucked her hair away from her face. “No, he’s still tied up in the same room. Nobody was there, though. But he said they’re monitoring everything. That it was too risky for me to be there.”
“He’s right,” Will agreed. “You can’t take chances like that, Kala. You have to take your blockers on time.”
“The only way we’ll be able to find him is if one of us continues to visit him…to keep communicating with him…and, to keep encouraging him. That person has to be me,” Kala said. She needed them to understand why it was important that she saw him.
“They know every time you visit him. They’re in his brain, Kala,” Lito said, frowning.
“If Wolfgang visits you while you’re off the blockers, they may be able to track us down. And there goes our plan,” Will chimed in, hoping Kala would see some sense.
“He won’t visit me. He knows how risky that is.” Kala approached her friend, Riley. “You understand why I had to see him, right?” she asked.
Taking her hand, Riley nodded. “I do.”
“Not helping, Riley,” Will scolded.
“If it were you that was taken, I’d do the same thing. I’d have to be sure you were still ok. I’d want to keep giving you hope. You do remember you did that for me not too long ago,” Riley reminded him.
Will sighed. “They know we can’t be too far. We’re at risk.”
“Don’t worry. Even if Wolfgang visits any of us, Bug has helped me disguise this place with the sounds of train and a busy metropolitan area,” Nomi assured them. “They’d think we’re in the heart of the city.”
Sun brought the blockers to Kala. “I’m sorry, but you need to take these now. If you want to save Wolfgang, then we must stick to the plan. We can’t risk them finding out about it.”
“I understand.” Kala nodded and swallowed the pills.
“Did you notice anything about where he could be? Any clues?” Capheus asked.
“No, he’s in the same place, though. Looks exactly the same. He’s in real bad shape. There was nobody there in white lab coats, messing with him, thankfully.” Kala was sick with worry, and she quickly blinked away the tears. They should have gotten Wolfgang out by now.
“That means nothing. They know Whispers and Jonas are missing, so they’ll be keeping a close eye on Wolfgang…to see if he’ll give any information away,” Will said as he paced the floor, his mind racing.
“Were you able to get any more information out of our prisoners, Will?” Capheus asked. “Are they still not talking?”
“They’re still not talking,” Will confirmed. He had tried all of the interrogation techniques he’d learned, but neither had taken the bait. He needed to find something on them…something that’ll force them to talk.
“We must make sure they take their blockers on time. Last thing we need is somebody from BPO, or worse, Lila, to start visiting either Whispers or Jonas. I promise you, Lila is helping BPO hunt us down,” Nomi said, reaching for Amanita’s hand.
“She was there,” Kala finally said, rubbing her forehead as she remembered Lila’s words. “She visited Wolfgang while I was there. She was taunting him and threating that she would kill his cluster.”
“That’s one crazy bitch,” Amanita said.
“Since our hostages are not talking, what’s our next move?” Capheus asked the question that was on everybody’s mind.
“In one of my movies, we cut off our prisoners’ fingers one by one until they started talking,” Lito said. “We can always try that.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked at his friends for their reaction.
“I’m game,” Sun agreed. “They’re already doing terrible things to Wolfgang. This is a war, after all.”
“Gross!” Nomi said. “I want no part in that. All we need to do is track his family down. They can’t be too far from London, and Bug is on it. Once we show Whispers we know where his wife and daughter are, he’s not going to want to risk their lives.”
“It’s been two days already, though. I can’t stand this! I feel so helpless,” Kala exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration.
“We have a picture of his wife and daughter from his wallet. Plus, we have Jonas’s cell phone. Too bad the cell phone has been useless so far, but Bug has the picture uploaded into his system. He’s got access to all of the public cameras in London and the vicinity. If any of the cameras captures either of their images, we got them,” Nomi explained.
“Whispers knows none of us are capable of hurting them, though,” Capheus said.
“The only person out of our cluster that would be able to shut his emotions off to get the job done was Wolfgang.” Lito agreed.
All of them stared at one another, lost in thought.
Kala stepped forward. “I will do whatever I have to do to save Wolfgang.”
Sun stood next to her. “I will help you. The only way to get the job done is to focus on our mission. And that’s to get our friend out. He’s always been there for each of us when we’d needed him.”
“Wolfgang was always there for me. He’s fought many battled for me. I will not turn my back on him,” LIto agreed, stepping next to them.
“He would do the same for any of us,” Riley agreed.
“So, do we all agree to do whatever it takes?” Will asked as he looked at each of them. He knew a lot was at stake here, but he wanted to be sure his friends were well aware what they were getting into.
The cluster came together and placed their hands on one another. Even Amanita joined them.
“Whatever it takes.” Their voices echoed in the apartment.
Fate’s Roar (Prologue)
On Feb 16th, my seventh novel, Fate’s Roar, will be released! Yikes!
Special introductory price of only 99cents on Kindle. (Limited time)
Here’s the prologue:
They were in that burning house. He could feel it. As he dove down, hoping he wasn’t too late, Shane felt the hot, crackling wind, accompanied by thick, black smoke, whipping around him. The flames rose high, daring him to come closer, hissing and roaring.
He had no time to worry about the raging inferno. Without a second thought, he crashed through the roof of the house and plunged downward to where his brother’s ring was calling out to him. Shane wasn’t worried about his flesh being burned because he knew he would heal quickly. On the other hand, Damien and Kelsey were mere humans. All he could do was pray they were still alive.
Shane allowed his senses to take over, and within seconds, he was standing next to both of their bodies. Snatching them up in his arms, he flew out of the burning house, making sure to cover them with his own body in order to protect them from the flames. As soon as he had them a safe distance away from the blazing building that was on the verge of collapsing, he placed them down on the ground.
“Damien! Come on, open your eyes!” Shane was desperate as he shook him. He wouldn’t allow his brother to die like this.
Shane could hear Damien and Kelsey’s heartbeats, but just barely. If only Damien hadn’t decided to become a human, he would already be healed. Pushing the thought away, Shane forced himself to focus on the current situation. He had to get Damien and Kelsey help before it was too late.
When he heard voices not too far away, Shane leapt back up to his feet. Carrying Damien and Kelsey in his arms, he sprinted toward the sound. Within seconds, he was standing behind tall bushes, watching a woman and a young girl next to her.
“Mom, I’m worried about Aunt Kelsey.” The young girl stared at the fire, looking terrified at the sight.
“It’s okay, Samantha. Help is on its way. Besides, Damien is with her, so I’m sure they got out,” the mother said, trying to reassure her daughter.
“How could they have? Look at the fire, Mom! Damien was shot, remember?” The girl was pulling on her mom’s shirt, trying to hold back her panic.
Shane cringed when he heard that Damien was shot. He had smelled blood, but wasn’t sure what the injury was from. He was at least glad he saw a man’s dead body in the woods as he was approaching the house. He presumed that body must belong to the lunatic serial killer that had been after Kelsey. Realizing he couldn’t afford to waste another second, he shifted into his human form. While still holding Damien and Kelsey in his arms, he approached the woman and her daughter.
As soon as the woman saw him, she instantly pointed her gun at Shane. “Stop where you are. I’ll shoot.”
“It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m Damien’s brother. Kelsey and Damien need your help.” Shane placed their bodies down so the woman could get a closer look.
“It’s Kelsey!” the young girl exclaimed, and she began to run toward them.
Her mother grabbed her from behind and held her back. “Stop, Samantha! We don’t know this person!”
“Please, they need help,” Shane begged as he kneeled next to his brother. What if this woman refused to help? Should he take Damien and Kelsey to the nearest hospital? Shane knew there wasn’t enough time for that, though. They were barely hanging on. He should just grab the woman and make her help.
“Help is on its way. Don’t move!” the woman commanded, the gun still pointing at Shane. “There’s a crazy killer on the loose.”
“You don’t need to worry about him anymore. He’s dead. I saw his body with my own eyes,” Shane assured her. “I can’t stay here. You need to help Damien and Kelsey. They’re barely breathing.” Shane was just about to use his powers to force the woman to cooperate, but he noticed she lowered the gun and walked toward him, still holding her daughter’s hand.
As soon as she approached them, the woman collapsed next to Kelsey. “Dear God,” she whispered. “It’s the smoke inhalation.” Immediately, she started CPR on Kelsey.
Following her lead, Shane began to do the same with Damien. When he felt the young girl standing close to him, he glanced up at her. Wide, amber eyes with tiny gold specks stared back at him in awe. For a split second, he was lost. In that instant, time had stopped, and he had to fight hard to maintain his focus. What was it about this innocent girl who was watching him so intently?
Knowing he had to ensure that the mother and the daughter forgot about him, he used his powers to get into the young girl’s head. He decided that soon as he was done with her, he’d do the same with her mother. Since she was busy with Kelsey, the mother didn’t notice Shane whisper to the girl. “You will not remember seeing me. All you know is somehow Damien and Kelsey were able to get out. When I count to three, you will close your eyes. One, two, three.”
The young girl did not close her eyes. Instead, she watched him curiously. “Are you a superhero?” she whispered.
Shane shook his head in shock. His powers hadn’t worked on her. How could that be? It was impossible! He tried it again, but the girl continued to resist his powers. He could even feel some type of a barrier in her mind—a barrier he couldn’t break.
“Why are you naked?” she asked out loud.
“Samantha!” her mother scolded as she continued desperately with CPR.
Shane had completely forgotten about his appearance. When he had shifted into a human, he didn’t have any clothes he could put on. It was the least of his priorities given the circumstances.
“I’m sorry, but I must go,” Shane said to the mother. “I believe your help is almost here. At least Kelsey and Damien are breathing a bit stronger now. I would appreciate it if you don’t mention me to the authorities. Please just tell them they were able to get out from the burning house, but soon passed out.” Shane’s acute sense of hearing could already hear the emergency sirens in the distance.
The mother stood back up and blinked several times, as if trying to decide. The young girl stepped closer to him and said, “Thank you for saving Aunt Kelsey. We will keep your secret. Right, Mom?” She looked up at her mother, waiting for her to agree.
Shane contemplated whether he should use his powers on the mother to make her forget seeing him. He quickly changed his mind, though, not wanting the burden of keeping his secret to solely fall on the young girl.
He took a step closer to the mother and daughter team. “My name is Shane. I’m Damien’s younger brother. Please take care of my brother and Kelsey. I will come to the hospital as soon as I possibly can.”
The mother nodded. “I’m Sofia, and this is my daughter, Samantha.” Sofia still seemed hesitant, but relieved that Damien and Kelsey were out of the fire.
“Aunt Kelsey calls me Sammy. You can call me Sammy, too,” the young girl softly chimed in.
Shane’s attention fell on her once again. He threw her a slight smile and said, “Thank you for being so brave, little Sammy. And thank you for keeping my secret.” When the sirens were becoming louder, he turned back to the mother. “I must go.”
Without another word, Shane turned and disappeared into the night. All the while, he could feel the young girl’s haunting eyes boring into him.
Check out the dream cast:
Chaysing Dreams
Hello there!
This is a quick post to let you know that Chaysing Dreams is on sale this week for only 99cents on Kindle. The sale will end on Sunday, May 8th. This is the first of a trilogy, and it’s #1 Amazon best seller and a multi-award winning series.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Chaysing-Dreams-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00EMMQSO4
Chaysing Dreams has been awarded the gold medal from Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards in Romance Suspense. It has also received book of the month seal on multiple sites. This is a coming of age tale, but it’s also filled with plenty of romance and suspense.
Teasers
As always, thank you for your support! 🙂
Chaysing Destiny Chapter One
Chapter One
May 2030
The distant, shrilling screams and the deathly scent of smoke in the still of the night have me springing off of the tiny cot. I swiftly scan the small hut that’s been my home for the last couple of weeks. Snatching the clothes from the plastic container that’s placed in the corner, I quickly change into my baggy black pants and shirt. After putting on the ghutra around my head and wrapping the black scarf around my face with my hair pulled back, I’m confident that I can easily pass as a man.
The screams grow louder, and the footsteps scatter in panic. There’s something terrible happening out there, but I’m not too worried yet.
I’ve prepared for this.
I grab my knives and stick them in my boots and the side of my pants. As the stench of smoke invades me, I seize my gun and soundlessly slither out of the hut.
Fire.
The small homes and huts of the village are engulfed in angry flames. The villagers are screaming and running, trying to save their loved ones. I quickly assess the scene, suspecting that the fire must have been deliberately set.
Who the hell would do this?
And then I see them. Men in their Jeeps are yelling at the villagers, their guns drawn. I’ve heard of attacks like this. These men may be part of the radical rebel group that has been terrorizing the villagers and robbing them of little they possess. My gut tells me it must be the group, FILO, which Tom Sterns has warned me about. Sterns is still the leader of our special operation forces and my mentor, so I trust him completely. Instantly, my blood boils at the possibility that these rebels may have some direct or indirect involvement with Chayse’s death.
Don’t lose control, Tess.
I have to remain focused. I can’t let my emotions push me into making poor decisions.
My mind drifts to the little boys and girls I’ve been helping in the small medical clinic, and I silently sprint toward the homes to save the kids. I think about little Akbar and Sheyla, who have already gained a special place in my heart. The brother and sister’s hut is not too far from me. As I move closer, I helplessly watch the blaze consume their home. My heart crashes to the floor, and I pray they escaped.
Don’t panic, Tess. Think!
I hear wailing of a child. As my head spins toward the sound, I see a stranded little girl standing in the middle of the chaos, crying by herself. Where is her mother? And then I notice her. The mom is lying on the ground unresponsive and not too far from the toddler. I race to the girl and grab her, trying to bring her to safety. Holding her securely under my arms, I rush toward the clinic.
The girl is terrified, probably thinking I’m one of the men who attacked them. Unfortunately, I can’t stop to reassure her right now.
When I kick the door of the clinic open, somebody tries to hit me with a stick. Luckily, I block the strike easily and take the stick away with one arm while still holding the child with the other. Just as I’m about to pull my gun out, I notice it’s my assistant, Tanveer. I yank my scarf down to show him my face.
“It’s me! Dr. Johnson!” I yell. Sterns, who sent me on this mission, didn’t want me to use my real name. My identity in Iraq has been Dr. Karen Johnson.
He takes a step back in shock. “What is happening, Doctor? Why are you dressed like one of them?”
“I can’t explain right now. But you must trust me, okay? You have to take this little girl out of here. Her mother is no more. You can’t stay in here. I think you need to take as many people as you can and try to flee into the woods. Maybe you need to escape to the next village. They will probably set this clinic on fire as well. I’ll try to save as many people as I can, but you need to get a group going and get out of here. Do you understand?”
Staring at me in disbelief, he finally responds. “Yes. Okay, I understand. I will wait by the edge of the woods and see if more people come. They can meet me there, and we will escape together.”
“Okay, go now. I’ll tell whoever I can.”
“Wait, what about you?”
“I have to help them, Tanveer. I’m not leaving.” I then turn to the little girl who is still crying. In her native language, Arabic, I gently say, “Hey, sweetie, this is my friend. He will help you, okay?” I’m not sure if she hears anything I say to her, but at least the gentle tone of my voice calms her a bit.
Placing the scarf back on securely to cover myself, I sneak back out of the clinic and sprint toward the madness. To my horror, I see a man on the ground, dead, with a woman hovering over him, screaming. One of the attackers approaches her and pulls her off of the man. He takes his gun and shoots the man again, as if rubbing his death in even more to the woman. A shrilling sound escapes her as she yells something to him. He turns around and strikes her across the face. She tumbles to the ground, her face buried into the dirt. The man points his gun to shoot a fatal shot to her head. As if accepting her fate, the woman lies still, not resisting.
Without hesitating, I aim my gun and shoot straight through the man’s heart before he can pull the trigger. Making sure none of his men has witnessed my kill, I rush to the woman and pull her up. I instruct her in Arabic to head toward the woods to make her escape. She has no idea who I am since I still have my face covered. Luckily, she realizes that I just saved her, so she follows my instructions.
Before running, she turns to me and grabs hold of my arm. “Kill them all!” she whispers fiercely.
As I find more villagers, I give them the same instructions. I try to avoid calling attention to myself from the terrorists, but at times, I do have to use my gun or my knives. There’s no way I can take on all these men. There are at least ten Jeeps here, so from my estimation, there are probably forty to fifty men, all heavily armed. Although, I’ve already killed eight of them, it’s impossible for me to get them all. The best I can do is to try and save as many people as I can.
As the fire swallows the small village, I bring the last batch of people to the edge of the woods. Tanveer is still waiting with the small crowd, all of them crouched low behind the trees.
To my relief, I notice Akbar and Sheyla standing with Tanveer. Happy to see them, I give them a quick hug. At first they are frightened, but when they hear my voice, they recognize me and hug me tightly. Feeling their tremors, I assure them everything will be okay.
Shifting my attention to Tanveer, I direct him on the next move. “I think you need to start taking everybody out of here before those bastards realize what’s happening. I’ll go back to the village. If I find anybody else, I’ll bring them with me. Start heading toward the east. There’s a village that’s about seven or eight miles from here. Hopefully, they can help.”
“Okay, doctor. You going to be okay?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” I give Tanveer a quick nod and turn toward the burning village again.
As I sneak back, I hear many of the men yelling in Arabic.
“Who the hell is killing our men?”
“And where are all the villagers?”
“Somebody dare to challenge us? I want them found. Do you hear me?”
I stay hidden. The men scatter about to search. Damn it, I’ve been hoping they wouldn’t find any of the dead bodies of the men I’ve killed yet. I have to remind myself to stay focused on my mission. What I need to do is try to capture one of the men and find some information about Saheim. My instincts tell me he is the missing piece of the puzzle.
I’m confident these men know about Saheim. He’s one of the main leaders of groups like these. If I obtain some information on him, then he can potentially lead me to Chayse’s killers.
Sterns has warned me about him—Saheim is a wanted criminal. He’s ruthless and one of the most dangerous leaders of FILO, Future Iraq Leaders’ Organization. None of the villagers have been willing to talk whenever I’ve brought his name up. I’ve gotten the feeling that some of them have heard his name but have been too afraid to say anything.
I suddenly notice that some of the men are heading toward the woods where the villagers escaped. Running out of time, I have to think quickly and stop them. Moving swiftly and silently like a predator about to zero in on its prey, I pursue them.
Briefly scanning, I notice twelve men going toward the woods. They all have their bandanas on and have their guns drawn. I have to distract them. It’s now or never. I leap in the opposite direction and shoot toward them. When they hear the shots, they yell and race toward me. I’m confident they don’t have a visual on me, but they know the general direction of the shots. I’m not worried about being caught because I can easily outrun them. My sole hope is that they all follow me, so I can steer them away from those innocent people.
I don’t run too fast initially, making sure they continue to pursue me. I purposefully go toward the west, luring them as far away as possible. When they’ve been on my tail for at least fifteen minutes, I speed it up and try to lose them. With enough distance between us, I climb up a tree to hide out. I’ll head back toward the village once everything settles down a bit. I’m bound to bump into some of them since they’ll probably still be searching for me. At the first opportunity, I plan to take one of the men as my captive and make him talk about Saheim.
As I wait in the tree, I think about all of the innocent people who lost their lives tonight. Shit, what is wrong with this world? To make matters worse, everybody is afraid to stand up to these groups that go around terrorizing.
I’ve already been here for two weeks, searching for answers. Tonight is the closest I’ve come to finding some information. But damn it! Saving the village was not part of the plan. I had no idea these horrid men were going to go on a killing spree and burn everything down. At least it gives me some pleasure to know I took out quite a few of them tonight.
But not enough.
No, they all have to pay—every single one who’s responsible for Chayse’s death. I don’t care if they’re involved directly or indirectly. They will pay.
Two weeks away from my son. My Jace. My heart and soul. Oh how I miss my baby. I promised him before I left that I would be home soon. And it’s already been two weeks.
I can’t believe he’s going to be two years old in four more months. With a head full of dark hair and big gray eyes, Jacen reminds me of Chayse every day.
As I hide in the tree, I think about my life since Chayse’s death. I remember my pregnancy, the birth of my son, and how every day and night, Chayse has been on my mind and in my heart.
Chaysing Destiny Update
Many of you have been waiting anxiously for the final installment of the Chaysing Trilogy. Let me assure you that I work on it every evening and every weekend—literally, every spare moment. Trust me, I’m dying for my closure too. 🙂
The good news is that the story is done! Man, does that feel good! I’ve gone through it once already, but I’m going through it again. It’s just what I do. I have to go over it to enhance the scenes, work on proper wording, the sentence structure, grammar…you know, just get it right.
For me, it’s imperative that my readers are “there” with the characters. I want my readers to feel the joy, the sorrow, the pain—everything that my characters are going through. So, as a writer, the emotional piece is priceless. I truly get inside my characters’ heads and try to portray what they’re going through.
That being said, what’s next? Well, when I’m done going through it a few more times, I will send the manuscript to editor(s). Then, I’ll revise it some more. When I’m completely satisfied with it, I’ll send it to the publishers. There, the publishers take another couple of months to format it and make it available to the readers on all major sites. Yeah, it is a long drawn out process, but my goal is to send it to the publishers by the end of this year.
So hang in there! I promise it will be worth the wait! I absolutely can’t wait for you all to read it because I love how the story developed.
In the meantime, here’s a little prologue for Chaysing Destiny. Enjoy!
Prologue
The pain is unbearable, but the reward makes it tolerable. I have to push harder to bring my baby into this world. As the fear for my baby’s safety consumes me, an overwhelming sense of sorrow sends tears cascading down my cheeks.
The sound of the explosion has me running toward the source. I have to save him. Screams and cries of women and children urge me to run faster.
Blood everywhere. Too many dead, mutilated bodies are all around me. No, please, no! I’m too late.
Suddenly I’m running through the field of beautiful wild flowers. I’m playing with Gem, and while I laugh, she barks with excitement. I glance over my shoulder to see Chayse running after me. I feel him tackle me, his weight holding me down. I laugh.
When he turns me over to face him, his eyes are not happy. Without any warning, the force of his knuckles land hard on my face.
Everything goes black.
The nightmares continue to haunt me. The dread of not knowing if these nightmares are a part of my past, present, or future petrifies me.
Too many questions. Not enough answers.
But I won’t back down. I will find my answers.
Tess and Chayse Moments
Since I absolutely adore Tess and Chayse, periodically, I’ll be doing some memorable moments between them. This one is from Chaysing Memories:
Miles leads me to our table and pulls the chair out for me. Luckily, we’re seated at the dinner table with some of the agents I know, including Sterns. I can’t help but wonder whom he may have brought as a date. Maybe he’s married, but I don’t see anybody sitting by him. Did he come alone? Sterns is such a ruggedly good-looking man, with his almost black hair, brown eyes, and a natural tan. I would think that he would be taken. It’s interesting how reserved and secretive he is about his personal life.
There are at least three hundred people there. I’m glad there’s a great turn out, because I know the tickets are $500 per person. Miles wanted to pay for both of our tickets, but I insisted that I would pay for my own.
The masks on everybody make the atmosphere romantic and mysterious. I receive many compliments on my “transformation”. None of them have seen me dress up prior to this event, and certainly not in a dress like this. Even the members of the rescue team for Pierce are shocked when they see me. The men, of course, can’t resist teasing me.
When the music begins, Miles asks me to dance with him. He’s a good dancer, leading me easily while we move. After a few rounds with him, I notice he begins pulling me closer to him. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I try to think of an excuse to stop our dancing.
“Do you mind if I cut in, Dillon?” Perfect timing! Sterns saves me from the situation becoming awkward.
“No, not at all,” Sterns answers reluctantly. “I’ll get you another drink, Tess. I’ll be at the table.” I smile as he walks away.
As I dance with Sterns, I notice how graceful he is for such a solid man. “So what’s going on with you and Dillon?” Sterns doesn’t hesitate to get to the point.
“Nothing. We just came as friends,” I reply, tilting my head to the side.
“Hm…” Sterns says.
“What’s that supposed to mean? And where’s your date?” I want to change the subject away from me.
“Didn’t have anybody in mind,” he replies.
“What’s the latest on Pierce?” I know he’s not going to tell me anything, but every time I see him, I have to ask. “How is he doing? Could you at least tell me that?”
“He’s doing the best as can be expected, Sanoby. That’s about all I can say.”
Just as I’m about to inquire for more information, the dance changes. All of the women go on the inside circle and their partners form the outside circle. Each partner dances with the other for about a minute and then we switch partners. The circles move fast just like the changing of partners. I have no idea who I am dancing with because of the masks. But each man has his unique style of dancing and leading, and the challenge of switching the dances keeps me intrigued.
Everybody is laughing as the women are spun, dipped, and twirled around the room. I go through at least twenty men and when I switch again, I’m pulled into a pair of strong arms. I gasp when I feel a hard body against me as the dance continues. I look up to see the man, but he makes no attempt to look at me, so I can’t even see his eyes behind his black mask. His dark hair is cut short, his shoulders are broad, and his long, lean body is as solid as a rock. He easily towers over me, even in my four-inch heels. This mystery man is light on his feet as he easily glides me across the dance floor.
He keeps me close against his body as we continue our dancing. I’m in shock at how my body responds to this close encounter. I sink right against him as his touch brings peculiar, yet intriguing sensations electrifying through my body.
Instantly, my body craves more. I hold him tighter, wanting to be closer to him. He continues dancing with me and does not change partners when it’s time; he simply just moves us out of the circle formation.
I don’t complain. I don’t know if it’s the wine or the atmosphere, but I don’t want to let him go. With nothing more than just a dance, this mystery man has made my heart race, my breathing hitch, and my body longing for his touch.
I don’t want to ruin this magical moment so I don’t ask any questions. I don’t even care who he is. All I know is the way he’s making me feel. Not wanting to analyze this further, I just want to lose myself in it. Our bodies continue to move in unison, as if we’ve always danced together. I take this mystery man in, as I inhale his scent and feel his strong muscular body under my hands. Not once does he release me as we dance. I continue to sway my hips to his movement, spin as he twirls me, and keep my soft body against his hard body. I sigh as I sink even more against him, craving his touch while I inhale the scent that permeates the air around him.
Just as the dance is about to end, he dips me with his face buried into my neck. I hold him tightly, not wanting him to let me go. Unfortunately, the music ends, and I’m still dipped with my back arched and his face buried into my neck. Slowly, he lifts his face up and looks at me with such a piercing gaze, that it feels as though he’s looking into my soul with his deep, gray eyes.
I gasp.
He pulls me into standing position, releases me, nods his head swiftly, and before I can process anything, he’s gone. He simply disappears into the crowd, leaving me standing on the dance floor, dumbfounded.
“Pierce,” I whisper.
Jalpa Williby 