hey guys!
sorry i haven't posted a new chapter...
i've been a little busy and consumed with other things
(reading reading and more reading)
had to get those creative juices flowing...
but i'm back now
and i'm working on chapter three
should be posted tomorrow!
so check back tomorrow if you feel like reading it!
gonna be some more and drama...
and some relationship building!
OOO!
hehe =DD
THANKS FOR READING!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Chapter Two
Four Years Earlier...
Ashley's head had been hurting for nearly two hours now. That blow had really done some damage. Well at least the sack was off her head so she could actually breath again. She slowly lifted her eye lids which felt even heavier than before so she could see what was around her. Nothing changed. From opening and closing her eyes, the picture was the same. Empty. Darkness. Ashley closed her eyes again and leaned her head back. There wasn't really much she could do. Her arms were tied down to the chair she was in with tape, along with her legs and her waste. Apparently they didn't want her moving.
Ashley considered sleeping. Maybe it would help with the pain in her head. But before she could even find sleep, the door slamed open and light shined into to room for a moment. A man had walked into the room and it seemed as if he was walking towards her now. The foot steps got louder and louder as the man drew nearer to where she was trapped. What was he going to do to her? He didn't have anything in his hands did he? She couldn't remember if she had seen anything when the light had shown in. The foot steps stopped. He must be right in front of her now. Ashley's breathing started to speed up and she could feel her body tremble. There was a click and then lights came on. Everything was so bright that Ashley closed her eyes at first. The light had increased the pain she felt in her head.
After a few moments she opened her eyes again and noticed there was a table infront of her. Then, there sitting across from her, the man who had haunted her every being for far too long. She slowly looked around the room. Every wall was cement along with the floor but the ceiling was tile. The room was very large in both width and height with just a single door on the wall that was across from her. Where did someone find a room like this? How long would she be stuck here?
"Ashley Stephens."
The man was begining to speak to her. She didn't want to talk to such a fowl creature, especially given the position she was in.
"Ashley, it would be best if you listened to me."
She turned her head towards the man and glared at him.
"Very good. Now, we won't be staying here long. Just a few hours. Then you will be moved to a new location. I'm afraid we will be moving around alot. At least for the first year. Then we should be able to settle down somewhere nice."
What was the man saying? He actually expected her to settle down with him?
"Yes, Ashley, I do expect you to settle down with me. Not as my wife of course. Nothing like that. I'm a decent guy, Ashley. Think of me as oh I don't know a friend. Your very best friend. Now you don't want to upset your very best friend do you, Ashley?"
Where was this guy going? He wanted to be her friend? Well then why must he kid-nap her and almost kill her? Guess a simple hello was just too old fashion these days.
"Ashley, you are going to have to work with us. So you might want to start talking, dear."
"Why me?"
"There we go, sweetheart, just a few words from you and your stay with us will be peaceful."
"That didn't answer my question."
The man smiled at Ashley. It wasn't a kind smile you would share with a friend but rather a smile a man had before he was about to share the punch line of a joke.
"Why not you?"
Present Day...
Toby sat on his bed with his legs pulled up infront of him, thinking. Ashley was now twenty years old. Her age had been something he rarely thought about. The past four years hadn't changed his feelings for her and being so consumed with finding her, her age and his own just slipped his mind. He still had thought of her as the sixteen year old beauty he fell in love with. He still remembered the day they had met.
They were back in London. Toby had decided to head towards the library for a research paper he had to do for college. Who really wanted to write a paper about birds was beyond him, but being a freshman in college you just took every subject. Therefore science was included in that mess. He reached the library and pulled the door open. A girl was walking a few paces behind him. She was pretty and he decided to be a gentleman and hold the door open for her. She thanked him quietly then proceeded into the library.
The moment she spoke the thanks a feeling Toby had never felt before rushed over him.
Lord, is this the one?
A peace came over Toby. One he had felt before when God was answering his questions. The girl was small and seemed shy. He should at least introduce himself. Toby walked over to where the girl was examining books. He glanced at the shelf she was eyeing. Birds? How ironic.
"So, you have an interest in birds?" Small talk seemed best to start a conversation.
The girl looked up at him as if she couldn't believe he was talking to her. Toby glanced into the girls blue eyes and felt that same peace again. Something inside told him he was looking at the woman who he would spend the rest of his life with. Frankly, Toby was perfectly fine with that.
The girl laughed a little the spoke, "No, paper for school."
God, sometimes it feels like You're just up there laughing at me. I can see You up there in heaven saying, "See, look Toby, I told you My timing was perfect."
"How ironic, I'm doing a paper for school as well on birds."
"Oh really," the girl laughed again, "How ironic indeed."
Her laugh had Toby captured. Even the soft giggle she was trying to hid from the others around them were music to his ears.
"So, umm, which highschool do you attend?"
Highschool? Oh no. This girl was still in highschool? Most likely taking biology. So that put her in what tenth grade? Making her what fifteen? Sixteen at the most? Great.
God, am I missing something here?
"Uh, I'm not in highschool, anymore."
"Oh."
Great. This girl would probably run away from him thinking he was trying to hurt her. Still though God returned his questions with that peace he had felt from earlier. Was it really that he would find the girl he was going to marry while she was still in highschool? She was what three years younger than him? That wasn't so bad, right? Maybe if he told her just how old he was then she wouldn't worry too much.
"I'm a freshman in college."
"Sophomore in highschool."
"Toby."
Toby stuck his hand out as if he was going to shack the girls hand. At least it would seem like a natural introduction. Or not.
"Ashley."
The girl reached for his hand and shook it lightly. Toby didn't want to let go and from the way the girl held his hand it seemed like she didn't want to either. They stood there staring into each others eyes, their hands still holding on to the other. Peace filled the room and Toby could almost hear how a choir of angels would be singing in heaven right now. That had been one of the happiest moments in Toby's life.
He was now lying flat on his back thinking of the memories he had with Ashley. How he missed her so. What would she be like now? Would she still be the same Ashley? Or had she changed? Or course she would still be Ashley. She would always be that shy girl doing a research paper on birds to him. No matter how much time passed between them until he saw her again. The thing was that he would see her again. Besides he promised her that he would marry her one day.
Alex sat at a table in the dinning room waiting for Julie to join them so they could begin the meeting. It had been a week since Julie had joined their group and she was suppose to have some updates for them. Alex sat at the table, tapping his fingers, being very impatient. Toby sat silently in his chair, apparently thinking about something else. Jim shot Alex a glance that showed he was annoyed with his tapping. Alex didn't care. Julie was running late and he was not happy about that. She was wasting time he could be using to find his sister. Didn't she think about that?
Right then Julie walked into the room caring three red folders. She placed one in front of each of them, then took a seat next to Jim. How odd it was that this coupld was begining to form under these circumstances.
"Shall we begin this meeting now?"
Apparently Julie wanted to get this over and done with just as much as Alex wanted it to start. He opened the folder he had infront of him and noticed several pages of information were inside. What had this lady dug up in one week?
"Well then. Looks like I'll be the only one speaking here. On the first page you can see a print that had been left on the floor by where we believe Ashley had been laying before she was knocked out. The print isn't Ashley's nor is it Alex's or Bill's. Therefore we believe that it could possibly be the man who took Ashley. Only there is one problem with all this."
Julie bit down on her lip and conclusions started to draw in Alex's mind.
"Don't tell me," Alex started to say, "That man is dead."
"Ding. We have a winner."
Alex's head fell onto the table. How were they suppose to find his sister if the man who took her four years ago was dead?
"Please," he started to say again, "That there is some good news from this."
"There is."
"Well, what are you waiting for."
"Sorry. Well when we found out the man was dead it was apparent the man was simply one who had just helped the man who took your sister. After he was no longer a use to the your sister's kid-napper then he killed the man. The fewer people who know about the things you have done the better, right?"
"Yes. But how is this good news?"
"The man may be dead, Alex, but his background and the people he worked with will help us. We now have a list of names to work with."
"And how many men are on this list, Julie?"
Julie bit down on her lip again, "Alot."
Of course. Because if the man had only worked with one guy then that would just make things too easy. This search was begining to look more and more impossible. Sucking in a deep breath, Alex closed his eyes to think. Julie was right in one way. At least they had a list now.
"Where is this list at, Julie?"
"Well," Julie looked down at the table,"If you turn the page in the folder then that is where the list begins."
Alex did as she said. The page was filled with names. He continued to flip through the pages to find more and more list of people the man had worked for. Ten pages later, he came to the end of the list. Well then, guess they better get started. Suddenly a thought came to Alex's mind.
"Wait a minute. Shouldn't we just go with the last guy he worked with. Apparently he either died on the job or was killed by the guy he was working for."
Julie looked over at Jim, bitting on her lip yet again, then turned back to face Alex.
"Umm, Alex, the man just died a few months ago. The odd that he was still working with the guy who kid-napped your sister are very slim. Almost impossible. Because as you can see from the list, this guy didn't work with people for more than a few weeks at the most."
Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing. He closed his eyes again, rubbing his temple with his pointer fingers. There must be some way to figure these list out. Without a word, Alex pushed away from the table, got to his feet, and walked out the door. He had to get away from this mess. Some place where he could just think through everything. There had to be a way. There just had to. He owed it to his sister.
"Well, that could have gone worse."
Julie turned towards Jim with a puzzled look. Did this guy really believe that Alex had taken the information well?
"Jim, that was horrible. I'll be lucky if I'm still working for you guys tomorrow."
Alex was upset. She knew it. And she had been the one to upset him. She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't fire her. After all she pretty much just showed Alex that finding the man who kid-napped his sister was almost next to impossible.
Lord, I don't know what to do. I thought the print was a sign. That maybe this search would be over with soon because of the print. What do I say to a man who is anger?
Julie had dealt with anger men before and it was not something she wanted to do again. She had to find some way to figure out these list. Maybe they could find out some dates. Years even would show some good possiblities. She at least owed that to Alex.
"Hey Julie, don't look so down. You have given us more than what we had before. Sure it will take some time to go through these list. But hey it's a place to start at now. And Alex didn't yell at you or anything. He just needs his space. He'll be fine."
Jim was such an encourager. Julie would have to thank God for bringing this man into her life. He truely was remarkable.
"Julie."
Julie turned her head towards Toby, who hadn't spoken at all since she enter the room.
"I just wanted to say thank you. You're bringing us one step closer to finding Ashley each day. And I'm truely thankful for you."
Whatever she thought Toby was going to say to this information, it surely wasn't that. He was thanking her? Here was a man who was in love with Ashley Stephens and he was thanking her for showing him it was pretty much impossible to find the love of his life? How had Julie come across such amazing men. Ashley Stephens was going to have a wonderful life once she was back in the arms of this man who sat across from her. With that said Toby got to his feet and left the room.
"Wow."
"Wow what?"
Julie turned her head back to Jim to see the questions in his eyes.
"I wasn't expecting a thank you. Especially not from Toby of all people."
Jim laughed a little.
"Julie, really, you have done a remarkable job. You need a thank you here and there. We're going to find her, hon. Count on that. Besides, Jesus is in total control of all this. Remember that."
And then Jim got up and left as well.
Julie was left speechless.
God, I don't know where You are taking me, but I'm just going to trust You with all of this. Every part to this case. Take control of this situation. And please just continue to give hope to these men. They need that more than anything. Especially Alex.
Well, it was time to get started. Julie got up and followed Jim into the room she had spent most of her time since she got started with this case. She would find Ashley Stephens. Even if it was her final act.
Ashley's head had been hurting for nearly two hours now. That blow had really done some damage. Well at least the sack was off her head so she could actually breath again. She slowly lifted her eye lids which felt even heavier than before so she could see what was around her. Nothing changed. From opening and closing her eyes, the picture was the same. Empty. Darkness. Ashley closed her eyes again and leaned her head back. There wasn't really much she could do. Her arms were tied down to the chair she was in with tape, along with her legs and her waste. Apparently they didn't want her moving.
Ashley considered sleeping. Maybe it would help with the pain in her head. But before she could even find sleep, the door slamed open and light shined into to room for a moment. A man had walked into the room and it seemed as if he was walking towards her now. The foot steps got louder and louder as the man drew nearer to where she was trapped. What was he going to do to her? He didn't have anything in his hands did he? She couldn't remember if she had seen anything when the light had shown in. The foot steps stopped. He must be right in front of her now. Ashley's breathing started to speed up and she could feel her body tremble. There was a click and then lights came on. Everything was so bright that Ashley closed her eyes at first. The light had increased the pain she felt in her head.
After a few moments she opened her eyes again and noticed there was a table infront of her. Then, there sitting across from her, the man who had haunted her every being for far too long. She slowly looked around the room. Every wall was cement along with the floor but the ceiling was tile. The room was very large in both width and height with just a single door on the wall that was across from her. Where did someone find a room like this? How long would she be stuck here?
"Ashley Stephens."
The man was begining to speak to her. She didn't want to talk to such a fowl creature, especially given the position she was in.
"Ashley, it would be best if you listened to me."
She turned her head towards the man and glared at him.
"Very good. Now, we won't be staying here long. Just a few hours. Then you will be moved to a new location. I'm afraid we will be moving around alot. At least for the first year. Then we should be able to settle down somewhere nice."
What was the man saying? He actually expected her to settle down with him?
"Yes, Ashley, I do expect you to settle down with me. Not as my wife of course. Nothing like that. I'm a decent guy, Ashley. Think of me as oh I don't know a friend. Your very best friend. Now you don't want to upset your very best friend do you, Ashley?"
Where was this guy going? He wanted to be her friend? Well then why must he kid-nap her and almost kill her? Guess a simple hello was just too old fashion these days.
"Ashley, you are going to have to work with us. So you might want to start talking, dear."
"Why me?"
"There we go, sweetheart, just a few words from you and your stay with us will be peaceful."
"That didn't answer my question."
The man smiled at Ashley. It wasn't a kind smile you would share with a friend but rather a smile a man had before he was about to share the punch line of a joke.
"Why not you?"
Present Day...
Toby sat on his bed with his legs pulled up infront of him, thinking. Ashley was now twenty years old. Her age had been something he rarely thought about. The past four years hadn't changed his feelings for her and being so consumed with finding her, her age and his own just slipped his mind. He still had thought of her as the sixteen year old beauty he fell in love with. He still remembered the day they had met.
They were back in London. Toby had decided to head towards the library for a research paper he had to do for college. Who really wanted to write a paper about birds was beyond him, but being a freshman in college you just took every subject. Therefore science was included in that mess. He reached the library and pulled the door open. A girl was walking a few paces behind him. She was pretty and he decided to be a gentleman and hold the door open for her. She thanked him quietly then proceeded into the library.
The moment she spoke the thanks a feeling Toby had never felt before rushed over him.
Lord, is this the one?
A peace came over Toby. One he had felt before when God was answering his questions. The girl was small and seemed shy. He should at least introduce himself. Toby walked over to where the girl was examining books. He glanced at the shelf she was eyeing. Birds? How ironic.
"So, you have an interest in birds?" Small talk seemed best to start a conversation.
The girl looked up at him as if she couldn't believe he was talking to her. Toby glanced into the girls blue eyes and felt that same peace again. Something inside told him he was looking at the woman who he would spend the rest of his life with. Frankly, Toby was perfectly fine with that.
The girl laughed a little the spoke, "No, paper for school."
God, sometimes it feels like You're just up there laughing at me. I can see You up there in heaven saying, "See, look Toby, I told you My timing was perfect."
"How ironic, I'm doing a paper for school as well on birds."
"Oh really," the girl laughed again, "How ironic indeed."
Her laugh had Toby captured. Even the soft giggle she was trying to hid from the others around them were music to his ears.
"So, umm, which highschool do you attend?"
Highschool? Oh no. This girl was still in highschool? Most likely taking biology. So that put her in what tenth grade? Making her what fifteen? Sixteen at the most? Great.
God, am I missing something here?
"Uh, I'm not in highschool, anymore."
"Oh."
Great. This girl would probably run away from him thinking he was trying to hurt her. Still though God returned his questions with that peace he had felt from earlier. Was it really that he would find the girl he was going to marry while she was still in highschool? She was what three years younger than him? That wasn't so bad, right? Maybe if he told her just how old he was then she wouldn't worry too much.
"I'm a freshman in college."
"Sophomore in highschool."
"Toby."
Toby stuck his hand out as if he was going to shack the girls hand. At least it would seem like a natural introduction. Or not.
"Ashley."
The girl reached for his hand and shook it lightly. Toby didn't want to let go and from the way the girl held his hand it seemed like she didn't want to either. They stood there staring into each others eyes, their hands still holding on to the other. Peace filled the room and Toby could almost hear how a choir of angels would be singing in heaven right now. That had been one of the happiest moments in Toby's life.
He was now lying flat on his back thinking of the memories he had with Ashley. How he missed her so. What would she be like now? Would she still be the same Ashley? Or had she changed? Or course she would still be Ashley. She would always be that shy girl doing a research paper on birds to him. No matter how much time passed between them until he saw her again. The thing was that he would see her again. Besides he promised her that he would marry her one day.
Alex sat at a table in the dinning room waiting for Julie to join them so they could begin the meeting. It had been a week since Julie had joined their group and she was suppose to have some updates for them. Alex sat at the table, tapping his fingers, being very impatient. Toby sat silently in his chair, apparently thinking about something else. Jim shot Alex a glance that showed he was annoyed with his tapping. Alex didn't care. Julie was running late and he was not happy about that. She was wasting time he could be using to find his sister. Didn't she think about that?
Right then Julie walked into the room caring three red folders. She placed one in front of each of them, then took a seat next to Jim. How odd it was that this coupld was begining to form under these circumstances.
"Shall we begin this meeting now?"
Apparently Julie wanted to get this over and done with just as much as Alex wanted it to start. He opened the folder he had infront of him and noticed several pages of information were inside. What had this lady dug up in one week?
"Well then. Looks like I'll be the only one speaking here. On the first page you can see a print that had been left on the floor by where we believe Ashley had been laying before she was knocked out. The print isn't Ashley's nor is it Alex's or Bill's. Therefore we believe that it could possibly be the man who took Ashley. Only there is one problem with all this."
Julie bit down on her lip and conclusions started to draw in Alex's mind.
"Don't tell me," Alex started to say, "That man is dead."
"Ding. We have a winner."
Alex's head fell onto the table. How were they suppose to find his sister if the man who took her four years ago was dead?
"Please," he started to say again, "That there is some good news from this."
"There is."
"Well, what are you waiting for."
"Sorry. Well when we found out the man was dead it was apparent the man was simply one who had just helped the man who took your sister. After he was no longer a use to the your sister's kid-napper then he killed the man. The fewer people who know about the things you have done the better, right?"
"Yes. But how is this good news?"
"The man may be dead, Alex, but his background and the people he worked with will help us. We now have a list of names to work with."
"And how many men are on this list, Julie?"
Julie bit down on her lip again, "Alot."
Of course. Because if the man had only worked with one guy then that would just make things too easy. This search was begining to look more and more impossible. Sucking in a deep breath, Alex closed his eyes to think. Julie was right in one way. At least they had a list now.
"Where is this list at, Julie?"
"Well," Julie looked down at the table,"If you turn the page in the folder then that is where the list begins."
Alex did as she said. The page was filled with names. He continued to flip through the pages to find more and more list of people the man had worked for. Ten pages later, he came to the end of the list. Well then, guess they better get started. Suddenly a thought came to Alex's mind.
"Wait a minute. Shouldn't we just go with the last guy he worked with. Apparently he either died on the job or was killed by the guy he was working for."
Julie looked over at Jim, bitting on her lip yet again, then turned back to face Alex.
"Umm, Alex, the man just died a few months ago. The odd that he was still working with the guy who kid-napped your sister are very slim. Almost impossible. Because as you can see from the list, this guy didn't work with people for more than a few weeks at the most."
Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing. He closed his eyes again, rubbing his temple with his pointer fingers. There must be some way to figure these list out. Without a word, Alex pushed away from the table, got to his feet, and walked out the door. He had to get away from this mess. Some place where he could just think through everything. There had to be a way. There just had to. He owed it to his sister.
"Well, that could have gone worse."
Julie turned towards Jim with a puzzled look. Did this guy really believe that Alex had taken the information well?
"Jim, that was horrible. I'll be lucky if I'm still working for you guys tomorrow."
Alex was upset. She knew it. And she had been the one to upset him. She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't fire her. After all she pretty much just showed Alex that finding the man who kid-napped his sister was almost next to impossible.
Lord, I don't know what to do. I thought the print was a sign. That maybe this search would be over with soon because of the print. What do I say to a man who is anger?
Julie had dealt with anger men before and it was not something she wanted to do again. She had to find some way to figure out these list. Maybe they could find out some dates. Years even would show some good possiblities. She at least owed that to Alex.
"Hey Julie, don't look so down. You have given us more than what we had before. Sure it will take some time to go through these list. But hey it's a place to start at now. And Alex didn't yell at you or anything. He just needs his space. He'll be fine."
Jim was such an encourager. Julie would have to thank God for bringing this man into her life. He truely was remarkable.
"Julie."
Julie turned her head towards Toby, who hadn't spoken at all since she enter the room.
"I just wanted to say thank you. You're bringing us one step closer to finding Ashley each day. And I'm truely thankful for you."
Whatever she thought Toby was going to say to this information, it surely wasn't that. He was thanking her? Here was a man who was in love with Ashley Stephens and he was thanking her for showing him it was pretty much impossible to find the love of his life? How had Julie come across such amazing men. Ashley Stephens was going to have a wonderful life once she was back in the arms of this man who sat across from her. With that said Toby got to his feet and left the room.
"Wow."
"Wow what?"
Julie turned her head back to Jim to see the questions in his eyes.
"I wasn't expecting a thank you. Especially not from Toby of all people."
Jim laughed a little.
"Julie, really, you have done a remarkable job. You need a thank you here and there. We're going to find her, hon. Count on that. Besides, Jesus is in total control of all this. Remember that."
And then Jim got up and left as well.
Julie was left speechless.
God, I don't know where You are taking me, but I'm just going to trust You with all of this. Every part to this case. Take control of this situation. And please just continue to give hope to these men. They need that more than anything. Especially Alex.
Well, it was time to get started. Julie got up and followed Jim into the room she had spent most of her time since she got started with this case. She would find Ashley Stephens. Even if it was her final act.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)