Prammed Down

There I was minding my own business at Knox food court with Kiel (whilst talking to Kate, Chris & Luke from work/work/school&work) who we'd just bumped into, when SCREECH! CRASH! BANG! A man with a pram runs over my foot! My thong is dislodged and comes to settle in its place on the ground in slow motion. A look of anguish appears on my face and...

Okay maybe that's a little dramatic and a smidge exaggerated. And I may or may not have been sticking my foot back out behind me kinda wildly as a precursor to the event. BUT, the point remains: I was run over by a pram. This is quite an accomplishment I think. Not quite sure that it will serve to help me in any bragging rights but it might be a good one for that "I never..." drinking game. Yeah, I'm set. :)

I wonder if the little baby who was inside will develop a taste for running things down now? Probably not. Although I am thankful the baby didn't rocket out of the pram because of the impact, resulting in someone having to do a desperate lunge-save-catch.

And it was all cool, the man quickly apologised to me and I did the same. At least he didn't pram-hit and run. :P When I turned back to my friends it was a little embarrassing, but hey, what are ya gonna do? Besides stand like a normal person, that is.


Dale... has learned his lesson.

DISCovery

As far as clever titles go I think I’ve truly out-done myself with this one…

Thursday morning I awake at 4.40am in preparation for my 5.30 start at maccas. I was going to write a post “How to do an ‘open’ shift at McDonalds” but thought better of it. So here’s the abridged version! :p

Turn on fry vats, affix the drink nozzles to the drink machines, start up the espresso machine, fill milk of espresso machine, make up berrynice yoghurts & bases for real fruit smoothies & garden salads, brew filter coffee, bring up hash browns from freezer and get them ready for cooking, retrieve breakfast stuffs like jam, hotcake syrup, knives/forks etc, fill ice, make a fresh cloth bucket, check there’s enough stock to last for a couple of hours, make a stock list, get changed, count a cash draw, put on a headset, and be ready to start taking orders at 6.00! Thirty minutes is not a lot of time to get that achieved. I can tell you!

I finish working at 2.00.

I go home and eat something.

I head to JB at Knox with Mum and we buy a really cool Pioneer MP3/CD tuner unit (with a sleek blue display) and two speakers for my car. Set a date for installation a week or two before December 25^th and there we have my main Christmas present.

I take it out of the box and look at it when I get home, skimming through the instructions and reading about the features and everything. I’m suitably impressed.

I pick up Paul at 8.30 – we’re going to Next. He tries to adjust his seat.

“I think I just found your CD player…”

He gets out and peers into the space below the passenger seat.

He discovers a 6 stacker Pioneer CD player.

I guffaw.

Had the car for three weeks and didn’t know.

Am now waiting until I find an in-car DVD player/GPS navigator/mini-fridge.

Pick up Kate and drive into the city listening to the new Jimmy Eat World on my sneaky CD player. Having a good night at Next with friends from my first highschool. Alan tackles Sean to the ground spilling a drink all over someone I didn’t know. But it is cool. There is a bit of jostling for the affections of a young girl. I’m entertained. Paul wears freaky contact lenses and tells everyone he has cancer. :)

Drive home with original people plus Kaitelyn. She explains the spelling but I forget. My car loses its drive-thru virginity whilst under my ownership – I’m back at a McDonalds again. The silly drive thru boy forgets to give us Sweet & Sour sauce. Drive past my old house and all of the schools I’ve ever been too. I become nostalgic but not so much so that I drift into the other lane and collide with another car. No, all my passengers remain unsquished. I deliver them home safely.

I excitedly write a note to Mum when I get home at about 3.00am for her to read in the morning.

I sleep.

Jury

So I've had hundreds of little thoughts over my period of non-blogging which have made me go "Ooh I should really blog about that," in an 'Honestly I do have a life' kind of way. However lists have never really done much for me, and therefore a lot has been forgotten. I would try to rectify this situation by making a list of things to improve on (ie. writing more lists) but nah mate... Nah. :)

The holidays are upon me! Not like straddling my chest / physically on me holding me down and... Okay where was I going with that? I have a car and it still goes and assists me in getting places. Not with getting the lay-dees though.... Yet. I've been working and earning money so I can do things. I worked on Monday night when it was hot city, with a capital city (hahaha, sorry sorry sorry). There were hundreds of bugs swarming outside my drive-thru window having mid-air orgies or getting high on light fixture. Every time I opened the window I would be assaulted and end up spluttering and being all pffft pffft pffft-like. Got well acquainted with the cheeses, assorted vegetables and ice cream syrup in the walk-in fridge.

Jury duty is on my mind. I don't think I have an issue with the actual process or what it involves, but the fact that it could coincide with my trip to Rye is a niggling annoyance. I thought being selected at 20 was pretty bad, but one of my brother's friends who turned 18 in September got called up too. Perhaps if I act all angry and disagreeable when the jurors are being selected I'll be... whatchamacalled... challenged, and sent home. Now, to practice my angry face. Grrr!

So far these hols... Had a visit from Elliott, my friend from Queensland. Went up Eureka Tower, 88 levels, and was tempted to msg everyone I knew and say "I bet I'm higher than you right now." Good thing I don't really have any druggy friends. Also went to the casino a couple of times. Was tempted by blackjack and texas hold em on the virtual tables again but refrained. Not even one poker machine did I insert my coin into. So good. *readjusts halo* :P [yeah so what if I stole it Brenton, I saw no copyright!]

Beached on Sunday, burnt back but it's faded quickly into a splotchy uneven tan. Not sure what's worse! Why did no one lotion my back?? Grr at Dave & Jayme and etc.

Saw a bizarre movie with Paul yesterday entitled 'Gabriel'. Purgatory. Angels in human form. Guns. Loss. Loyalty. Love. Good triumphing over evil through numerous murders. Perplexing I must say. Dialogue was almost laughable, but some scenes were shot really well. Especially one where gun shots illuminate the otherwise darkened room and you only see flashes and yeah I can't explain very well but it was cool. Inspired me in a weird way.

Today I saw Kiel for lunch, then went round to Jess' place for a swim/barbeque/wii. There were super-soakers and inflatable dolphins. An undeniable recipe for fun. Poor Rach took a lot of it in the face. Oh the trauma.

So yes, keeping busy and enjoying my days. Even if my nights are uncomfortable because of back burnage.

This has been a live Daley News update from the recesses of Dale's mind.

Until next time, I'm Dale Stephens, and don't you forget it!

Chapter 16 – The Aftermath

Cindy watches Heath lie peacefully in the hospital’s bed. His white sheets and hospital gown make him look so angelic. She hears the systematic beep of a machine that does so every five seconds and stays in her seat. She looks at her watch; it’s been three hours now. Three hours that she’s been waiting by his side. But she would wait forever for him if she had to; it was because of him that she was still alive. “He’s so brave,” Cindy thought to herself, again.

She thought of the statue, which she had destroyed. She didn’t know how she never lost that ring. She’d forgotten about it when she’d first met Heath, that day he’d been the only thing on her mind. She didn’t know if destroying the statue was a great idea, but if there was a possibility that evil could be done, she supposed it was for the best. And of course, now that the statue had been destroyed, her power was gone. Just like Callie’s, Chelley’s, Amy’s, and Heath’s. She didn’t mind all that much. There was something not right about her power anyway, that rage was unnatural.

She thought of Mr. Hartono. He was probably in a jail cell somewhere, waiting for his court trial. Amy told her that he’d been denied bail. The world was now a better place, and it was thanks to her. She’d never imagined that something so extraordinary and amazing could happen to her. But it didn’t come without it's down sides. Her Mum gone, Heath seriously injured, and all the attention she’d been getting.

Things weren’t so bad for her though. She'd decided to move in with Callie, Chelley and Amy and she got on well with them. They are her family now and they’re the best family because they understand. They understand why she feels the way she does, does the things she does and most importantly, who she really is.

Callie recovered well from her injury, Amy told her so about twenty minutes ago. Cindy was glad to hear that. She was probably closer to Amy than the others, after a shaky start with her, they’d become really good friends, almost like sisters. But Heath was the one she was closest to.

Cindy looked at her watch again; it read 3/5/02 across the top. It was her birthday. She’d forgotten all about it. She’d lost track of time all together in the past few days.

How could her life take such a dramatic turn in so little time? It would make a good story to tell. Heath was stirring…

He opened his eyes a fraction; Cindy could tell that that was a huge effort for him. “Heath,” she called out his name.

“Cindy,” he was breathing heavily.

“Heath don’t talk if it hurts,” she advised him, caringly.

He smiled at her and she could see what he wanted to say in his wonderful eyes, “I love you too, Heath.”

“Heath you’re gonna be just fine. The doctor said so and…” she paused. “You don’t need to hear this, I’ll stop.”

“Go on,” he voiced fatigued.

“It’s my birthday today,” she informed him.

He looked at her so lovingly just then, and Cindy could tell he was about to do something, he was moving. “Heath, what are you doing? You don’t have enough energy.”

“Yes I do,” he told her. Cindy leant closer to him and he put an arm around her neck and pulled her slowly towards him. Their lips met and Cindy and Heath felt an unbelievable feeling of joy burst inside of them for those couple of seconds. Heath’s arm dropped back down again. He’d used up all of his strength. Cindy put it back underneath his blanket and ran her hand across his cheek.

After a few moments she whispered, “That was the best birthday present ever,” in his ear. She leant her head on his chest. It went up and down with its gentle rising and falling.

THE END

Chapter 15 - Inspiration

Time stopped in front of Cindy's eyes. She saw Heath freeze, rain stop falling and bullets stop in mid-air. “Cindy, it’s me,” she heard her mum’s voice say.

“Mum, where are you?” she stood up and started looking around.

“You can’t see me Cindy, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is I’m here and I’m helping you.” Her mum said.

“Mum, I miss you so much!” Cindy called out.

“I miss you too honey, but I’ve been watching over you, and I’m very proud of you.”

“You are?”

“Yes Cindy, your father and I couldn’t be any prouder. We believe in you Cindy, and all you have to do is believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself, you’ll be able to use your power and save everyone here. Look at Heath. Look at Callie, Brant, Chelley and Amy. They need you.”

Cindy looked at Heath, who was still holding his arm and grimacing in pain. She looked at Callie and Chelley, who had rolled down the bank, unconscious and also in pain. It looked like Callie had broken her leg. Amy and Brant were huddled together on the ground amidst the shooters. “Okay mum,” she replied, determined.

“Honey, we love you, enjoy the rest of your life,” her mum farewelled her.

“Yes mum, I will. Love you two too!”

Cindy stood up and prepared herself but time started again faster than she expected. And before she knew it, there was a bullet flying at her! She started to spread her arms and look up towards the sky, but she wasn’t going to do it in time.

“Cindy!” Heath yelled out and dived in front of her, taking the bullet.

Cindy kept her preparation going and the scream came and soon enough the white light came with it. She concentrated as hard as she could. She had to make sure none of them were left. She finished and the men were all on the ground.

Brant and Amy were still getting to their feet when she saw Chelley struggling to carry Callie up the hill. But her first priority was Heath. She bent down on her knees and felt for his pulse. He was still alive, but in his last moments. He was saying something, “Speak up Heath, I can’t hear you!” she said looking into his eyes. The rain made it impossible for her to hear, but she could tell he wanted her to get the statue. She ran over to it, picked it up and carried it back to Heath.

“Now what?” she asked.

“Destroy it, I want this to be over,” he willed.

The ring, Cindy desperately searched her pockets. She’d forgotten all about it! Her fingers touched something, she grabbed it and pulled it out of her pocket. The opal on top of the ring glistened in the rain.

She studied the statue, looking for something that the ring could do. Her fingers probed the statue all over, but she couldn’t find any places for the ring. “Put it on,” a freakish voice instructed her. “Go on, put it on,” the voice whispered again.

Cindy had a feeling that she was the only one who could hear this voice, and she was desperate, so she did what she was told and slid the ring onto her index finger.

Bright colours flashed all around her and started to swirl in different patterns, making Cindy feel nauseous. She felt like she was being taken somewhere, to a sacred place.

Suddenly she was in a place that looked like an ancient temple. “Cindy,” the freakish voice called out to her, “Turn around.”

She turned around and jumped back, for there was a half-elephant half-human standing behind her, smiling creepily. “What do you want?” she asked it.

“It’s not what I want, it’s what you want. You want to destroy me.” The creature looked down at her, it was very tall.

“Yes, that’s true, what are you going to do about it?” Cindy challenged.

“No, no. Don’t worry. I’m glad that you are doing this. My purpose was not to be used for evil, or good,” the creature turned its head to one side.

“I don’t understand,” Cindy answered; the tomb was freaking her out.

“I don’t expect you to, look,” the creature pointed with its trunk at its forehead. There was an empty space there. “You know what to do.”

Cindy looked at the ring on her finger, then at the creature again. “I’m glad someone as brave as you is going to do this,” the creature admitted. “The ring has another purpose you know…” the elephant-human looked deep into her eyes. “Do it!” It screeched, suddenly irate. Cindy clenched her fist and gently placed the opal part of the ring in its forehead.

The colours whirled around her again and she was taken back to Maree Park, rain coming down steadily on her head. She was still bending over Heath, but the statue was gone.

“Good work,” he spluttered, then went still.

“Heath, no!” Cindy shouted and started shaking his shoulders. All of a sudden she remembered what the statue had told her, the ring had another purpose. Could it save Heath? She thought back to when it looked her in the eyes.

Her hand started moving towards Heath’s, and Cindy knew what to do. She put the ring on Heath’s finger. Suddenly his eyes opened, “Cindy,” he murmured, his eyes still closed. He was alive!

Chapter 14 – Sabotage

Mr. Hartono walked briskly towards Maree Park, he was already late. “Hopefully my men will be able to keep it up,” he said, thinking of the factory. He had a feeling that they wouldn’t be able to.

He saw the Protector sitting on a park bench, he was fidgeting and looked like he was about to leave. It was starting to get dark and Mr. Hartono felt the cold wind blow against his face, and clutched his coat tighter. He walked up to the target and looked around for Rye. He saw someone move in a bush nearby. “Rye I’m counting on you and your men, don’t let me down.” He’d told him before leaving for the factory.

“I won’t sir, and I’ll let you know I’m there,” He’d replied.

Just before he sat down next to the Protector someone bumped into him and looked into his eyes. It was Rye, and he was here.

“Hello Mr. Hartono,” the Protector greeted him in his thick Russian accent. “How have you been?”

“Good. Now down to business…” Mr. Hartono stopped. If Rye had bumped into him then who had been in the bushes?

“What is it Hartono?” the Protector inquired.

“Oh nothing,” Mr. Hartono shook his head, all these inane worries. What was becoming of him? “Why did you want to see me?”

“I have something to discuss with you.”

“Yes?” Mr. Hartono responded, what was that rustling behind him? He hadn’t given the signal yet.

“I am not happy. You see my life has become one of killing and cold heartedness. I suppose it has been all along, but I’ve only just realised it lately.” The Protector explained.

“We all have some troubles with the position we are born into, but it is our destiny, old friend,” Mr. Hartono was becoming paranoid, and he couldn’t listen to this incessant babble any longer. He was about to give the signal when a loud boom came from the lake. Mr. Hartono and the Protector stopped talking and both looked down towards it.

The distraction had worked and now Amy and Brant had to jump the two sitting on the bench. They came up from behind and started to strangle them, the two immediately struggled.

“What’s happening?” the Protector yelled out in alarm.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Hartono coughed. He was feeling dizzy, “Rye, where are you?”

The Protector wasn’t in quite as bad a position as Mr. Hartono and he managed to fling Brant over his head and make him fall awkwardly onto the gravel path in front of him.

Chelley and Callie approached the Protector, just as Mr. Hartono passed out.

“Help!” Amy cried out from behind him. Some men in dark clothes had grabbed her; it looked like there were five in all.

“Amy!” Callie called to her in distress. That moment's distraction was all the Protector needed, he made a motion with his hands and Callie flew backwards and starting rolling down the bank towards the lake. Chelley just watched in horror.

Brant got to his feet again and headed towards Amy, trying to save her. But the men pulled out rifles and pointed them at him. He was no match for them so he put his hands on his head and fell down to his knees in surrender.

Chelley tried to use her power against the Protector, but he was too strong for her and she too was pushed back down the bank like a rag doll.

Heath and Cindy were the only ones left and they were about to get up to confront the Protector when something unexpected happened. The men who had captured Amy and Brant started shooting at the Protector. A few bullets connected and he fell to the ground, dead. The men who had shot him searched his body and found the statue.

“Cindy quickly! We can’t let them get the statue.” Heath ordered.

They rushed to their feet and started running towards the men with the statue. It was dark and hard to see and to make things worse it started raining. Cindy saw Heath pull out a gun from his pocket and take aim at one of them. He hit him in the leg. The other men noticed them and started shooting too. “Get down!” Heath yelled at her. They hit the ground at the same time. “Cindy you have to use your power!” Heath told her.

“I can’t,” she said, “I’ve tried but I can’t!”

“Cindy I know you can… ah!” He screamed. He’d been shot.

“Heath!” she shouted.

“Don’t worry about me, use your power!” he pleaded while clutching his arm.

Chapter 13 - Rescue

“Alright, there’s two guards,” Heath said turning his head back towards the girls from the corridor. “And they’re about twenty metres along. I’m not sure if they’re armed.”

“Keep your voice down Heath!” Cindy cautioned.

“I think we should plan a diversion and get them to split up,” Chelley suggested.

“Good idea, but how?” Heath asked uncertainly, quieter this time.

“There has to be another way around,” Chelley said hopefully.

“Why don’t we get one of them to come to us?” Cindy put forth. “Then we could ambush him, and the second guy, when he comes to check on the first guy.”

“But they might call for help,” Heath warned.

“It’s a risk we might have to take,” Chelley answered, “And it’s probably the fastest way of getting in.”

“Someone’s going to have to run across to the other side of the corridor for it to work properly.” Heath determined, he was doubtful the plan would work.

“I’ll do it,” Cindy volunteered.

“Are you sure Cindy?” asked Chelley, a little concerned, “It could be dangerous if you give us away.”

“It’s the least I can do,” Cindy said generously.

“Okay, on three,” Heath instructed reluctantly, Cindy broke away from the huddle. “One, two, three!” He counted her in and she dashed across to the other side of the corridor as quickly as she could.

Heath gave her the thumbs up then hit the wall with his hand to draw the guard towards them; it worked.

“Did you hear that?” One of the guards said to the other.

“Yeah, I better go and check it out.”

Cindy could hear the guard’s footsteps slowly becoming louder and louder, then she could see him approaching. Just before he turned the corner to where Heath and Chelley were waiting, Cindy grabbed him from behind, put her hand around his mouth and pushed him towards them. Cindy prayed that the other guard hadn’t seen her. Heath knocked him out and searched him for a weapon. He found a silenced gun and a walkie-talkie. He shoved the gun into his pocket and said into the walkie-talkie, in his most guard-like voice, “Mate, you better come and check this out.”

He got a reply, “I’ll be right there, over.”

Seeing as this guard wasn’t as suspicious, he was easier to confront. They basically did the same thing. Luckily Heath didn’t have to resort to using the gun.

The three tiptoed up to the door that the guards had been guarding then paused, “What are we going to do when we get in?” Cindy asked curiously.

“Chelley and I will use our powers to deter any guards and you can try to sneak over to Callie, so she can use her power, then free Amy and Brant.” Heath announced.

Chelley nodded, “We can do this, I know we can.”

“On three?” Heath chuckled.

“Alright.” Cindy and Chelley agreed.

“One, two, three!” They whispered together.

Heath burst into the room closely followed by Chelley. He didn’t waste any time getting started, already taking aim at the nearest bad guy. Chelley did too. Cindy noticed immediately that her three friends were tied to chairs in the middle of the room. She dashed over to Callie, ducking her head and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She started undoing the ropes, but to her alarm Callie was unconscious, lying limp in the chair; Cindy would make them pay for this. She also noticed that Heath and Chelley weren’t going too well and that an Asian man was watching them, laughing.

“I bet that’s Hartono,” Cindy thought to herself. She kept on crouching behind Callie’s chair, trying make her wake up, but she wouldn’t. Things still weren’t going very well for the others, because Heath was hunched up on the ground, Chelley had been backed into the corner of the room and Amy and Brant were struggling in their chairs, a muscular man standing in front of them.

What could Cindy do? This was not going to plan. They were all done for. She had to do something, something spectacular. They couldn’t come this far and then lose.

All of a sudden she felt a power growing inside of her, trying to escape. She started having convulsions until she couldn’t take it anymore. She stood up and let out a deafening scream.

“It’s happening!” Brant said ecstatically from his chair.

Cindy stopped screaming and she felt this rage inside of her, she was full of confidence; nothing could stand in her way. She outstretched her arms either side of her and looked up towards the roof. The walls started shaking and all Mr. Hartono’s men stopped what they were doing and turned to face her. Everything went quiet. An amazing white light suddenly blasted out of Cindy’s hands and mouth and engulfed the whole room. When the light subsided, Mr. Hartono’s men were sprawled on the floor, but where was Mr. Hartono? He’d gotten away.

Cindy put her arms by her sides and looked down from the roof. Had she done this? Yes! She’d discovered her power, and what an amazing one at that. It felt so amazing in those few moments when she was full of confidence and energy. But now she felt a little drained, a little tired.

Her friends gingerly all got to their feet and smiled at her after wiping a shocked look off their faces, Callie had come to. One by one they patted her on the back or hugged her. “I’m glad everyone’s okay,” Cindy said jovially.

“Cindy that was…” Amy stopped, lost for words. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied.

“People, we have a meeting to sabotage. Would anyone happen to know where it is?” Brant questioned, looking in Callie’s direction.

“Maree Park,” Callie certified.

“Alright then, let’s go.” Brant paused, then addressed the group once more. “I’d just like to let everyone know that I’m very proud of all of you.”

They all headed out of the factory, together once more. But it was really for the first time, Cindy thought to herself. She noticed that Heath and Brant were talking quietly to each other a lot, and Brant put his arm around Heath lovingly a few times. She wished that her Dad was there to do that.

Chapter 12 – Stratton Factory

“You look funny,” Heath jeered.

“How many times are you gonna say that?” Cindy replied, tired of his immaturity.

“I dunno,” Heath shrugged. “You don’t look as funny as the taxi driver though, eh?”

“Yeah he was hilarious! I don’t think he understood English very well.” Cindy responded, amused. She was wearing a brown overcoat that was at least three sizes too big, her denim skirt and a baseball cap low over her eyes, which were hidden behind sunglasses.

Heath hadn’t had to change; he was still wearing his baggy blue shorts and red Hang Ten t-shirt. “It can’t be much further,” he complained.

“Don’t tell me you’re tired!” Cindy said in disbelief, “And no it shouldn’t be much further. I think we should start being careful,” Cindy advised whilst looking at all the industrial buildings surrounding her and Heath.

“Okay then,” Heath acknowledged.

The pair kept walking along the one-way street. They walked past lots of buildings, and most of them looked the same, except for one that Cindy pointed out. “That’s it,” she declared, pointing to a bigger factory than the ones they had past.

“How do you know?” Heath queried.

“I remember it from my vision,” Cindy smiled mischievously; she always did that when she lied.

“Oh,” Heath said, seemingly impressed.

“No you idiot! I read the sign, see?” Cindy admitted through her laughing at Heath. “You’re so gullible!”

“Yeah, yeah, the jokes on me, but I think we should be more serious now,” Heath said responsibly. Cindy shivered. Heath noticed and asked, “What is it?”

“You’re starting to sound like me,” she answered.

They came to the front of the building, it was fenced off and there was only a heavy gate that would be impossible to move. “Great, what are we going to do now?” Cindy said in disappointment. The gate was too high to climb over.

“Cindy, come here.” Heath called her over to a spot at the end of the fence where a bit of the wire was pushed in. He pushed it a bit harder and opened just enough to let the through. “Looks like Chelley’s handiwork,” he proclaimed. “After you,” Heath gestured that he wanted Cindy to go in first.

“Thanks,” she smiled at him. He was so charming.

She’d only taken a few steps in when someone jumped at her from a ditch with their hands out in front of them. “Stay back!” warned a desperate looking girl. It was Chelley!
“Oh, thank goodness it’s you,” Chelley sniffled when she recognised them, and stood back a bit.

Cindy had to catch her balance before she could ask Chelley a question, but even then she had to wait. Chelley collapsed onto her shoulder and started crying, “It’s all my fault,” she wailed.

“Chelley, calm down. Where are Amy and Brant?” Cindy inquired, patting her on the back.

“They’re gone, Amy and Brant are gone. They’ve captured them!” she howled heavyhearted.

“Chelley, it’s going to be okay,” Heath consoled her. “How many of them were there?”

Chelley sniffled again, “Two. I only just got away. Oh I hope they’re alright.”

“They’ll be fine, but we have get moving now if we want to rescue them,” Cindy put forth.

“You’re right, let’s go,” Chelley agreed, a determined look now on her face.

The three of them, Cindy at the front, Chelley in the middle and Heath at the rear, set off through a winding path between construction tools and sheds. When they came to a rather large open space Chelley said, “This is where it happened.” Cindy noticed that there was a tree in the centre of the opening.

“What’s a tree doing here?” Heath questioned.

“That’s what we were trying to figure out,” Chelley explained, “Then they ambushed us. They just appeared out of nowhere, it was terrible.”

“There’s no time for the tree now. Everyone be on the lookout,” Cindy said cautiously.

Cindy was in command, and, to her surprise, it came naturally to her.

As they were walking past the tree everyone was on the lookout for places where people could be hiding, but couldn’t spot any. They couldn’t hear anything either, apart from the wind rustling the leaves of the tree and some machine working in the distance. Cindy turned around to face the others, “Looks like it’s all clear,” she whispered. But she spoke too soon. Two men suddenly appeared behind Chelley and Heath. Cindy screamed, “Behind you!”

Heath was the first to react and he turned around to face them, just in time. He blocked a kick from the one on the left, and gave him a decent punch to the side of the head, throwing him off balance. Chelley was a little slower to react but also just turned around in time to weave under an aggressive blow from the one on the right.

The attackers came at them again and Heath and Chelley looked at each other, formed an understanding of some type, then stood next to each other with their hands open facing their opponents. Heath and Chelley braced themselves then pushed forwards with their hands. Chelley’s attacker flew backwards and banged his head against a shed; he was out cold, Heath’s attacker looked like some imaginary chains were holding him back; he couldn’t move anywhere. Heath went up to him and hit him over the head.

“A job well done,” Heath grinned at Chelley.

“Yeah, good work. What did you think Cindy?” Chelley quizzed.

Cindy was speechless. And when she finally thought of what to say she went up to Heath and Chelley and put an arm around each of them, “That was great. I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

“Don’t worry,” Heath said cheerfully, “You’ll find your power soon enough.”

“I think I can help now, though,” Cindy proclaimed. “I think I know the way to the factory.”

“Great, lead on!” Chelley enthused, she was slowly returning to her old self again. In fact, everyone’s spirits seemed to have lightened. They were a team, and a good one at that.

Chapter 11 – First Impressions

When Cindy became conscious again she realised that she was lying in her bed. She also got the awful feeling that she was not alone. How ironic, she was afraid of being alone and yet she was also afraid of not being alone.

She didn’t want to open her eyes but what if she was in danger? She sensed that this other person was in her room. It must be Chelley or Amy. Brant? No, she didn’t think so. She tried not to stir and pretended to still be asleep, but it didn’t seem to work.

“Who are they?” asked an unfamiliar male voice. Cindy felt like the question was directed at her. Was it?

“Come on, I know you’re awake, who are these people?” the voice asked again persistently. Yes it was.

Cindy opened her eyes, she was facing the window and it was still light outside. She sat up and saw a boy about her age sitting at the desk holding some photos in his hands. The photos were the ones she had dropped when Brant knocked on the door. He didn’t appear to be threatening. “They were my family,” she informed this mysterious person, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“Were?” asked the boy.

“They’re dead now,” Cindy told him. Cindy felt that this boy was not a stranger, she knew him from somewhere.

“Oh, sorry. Well they were just lying on the floor,” he said sympathetically, regretful that he asked the question. “You should take better care of them, they must be real important to you.”

“I will,” Cindy responded.

He must have realised that Cindy was feeling uncomfortable, because he stood up and introduced himself, “Hi, my name’s Heath, I’m Brant’s son. You do know who Brant is?”

“Hi, yeah I do, I’m Cindy,” she answered. He was quite handsome Cindy thought to herself. Wait a minute! This was the boy from her other dream! That’s where she’d seen him before. Cindy calmed herself, “What are you doing here?” Cindy got out of bed and noticed that she was still in her clothes, thank goodness for that.

“Oh, Dad told me to come and look after you, and tell you what he was doing.” Heath explained. He walked over to Cindy and handed her the photos. “You were pretty cute,” he said, indicating the picture of Cindy and her mum at the beach.

“Were?” Cindy challenged.

“Still are,” Heath replied. He walked out of her room and Cindy followed him into the kitchen, smiling. He leant on the kitchen bench.

“Were you in my room the whole time?” Cindy asked, taking a seat at the counter.

“Yeah. I was pretty much watching you sleep,” he answered sarcastically.

“Really?” Cindy questioned.

“No!” he denied. “Well just for a few minutes… Anyway, Dad, Chelley and Amy have gone to the factory place,” he said, trying to change the topic. “Would you like a drink?” He seemed to be relieved about getting that cleared up.

“No thanks I’m right. What time did they leave?” Cindy couldn’t believe how well she was getting on with this person. It was as if they’d been good friends for a while.

“About an hour, hour and a half ago. It’s about 12:30 now,” he said looking down at his watch. “I’ve got a bad feeling though, I think we should go and check if they’re okay,” he advised.

“Are you sure?” Cindy queried. “I don’t think I can go anywhere ‘cause I’m…”

“You’re wanted by the police, I know,” Heath cut her off. “But I don’t know if I can do it without you, I’m really worried about them.”

Cindy couldn’t resist his appealing expression; “Do you know where the factory is?”

“No, but I’m pretty sure there are some Yellow Pages in there,” he pointed to the study.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go get them.” Cindy instructed.

Heath and Cindy started flipping through the Yellow Pages, “It’s called the Stratton factory,” Cindy told him.

“Okay,” he replied, “What a weird name!”

“Yeah, pretty strange, huh?” Cindy added.

Cindy wasn’t really sure if Heath knew about the powers and everything, but it turned out she didn’t have to worry about asking him. “Wanna see something cool?” Heath grinned at her, flashing perfectly straight teeth.

“I s’pose,” Cindy responded.

Heath held out his hands over the phone book and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in then started muttering some words to himself. Cindy looked down and noticed that the pages of the phone book were turning! And Heath was doing it without touching them! The pages stopped flipping and near the middle of the left page ‘Stratton Factory’ was printed in big bold letters. “Here we are,” Heath announced, satisfied with himself.

“That’s amazing!” Cindy praised.

“Thanks,” he bent further down to get a closer look at the address. “Write this down, will you?”

“Sure.” Here was Cindy kneeling down next to someone she’d only met a few minutes ago, and yet she felt so safe and comfortable, like she would do anything for him. Cindy scribbled the address down on a notepad, then tore off the sheet and handed it to Heath.

“Looks like we’ll need a street directory now!” Heath laughed. “You’re getting it this time, though!”

“Fine,” Cindy conceded, and walked off into the study in search of a Melways.

Cindy had found a great friend in Heath, just as Heath had in Cindy. Perhaps deep down Cindy wanted more than his friendship, but she’d have to wait and see. She looked back at him from the study. His wild brown hair, playful eyes, tanned skin, great teeth, great personality, and friendly voice. He looked up at her and smiled, she nearly melted. “I wonder what he wants,” she whispered to herself.

When Cindy stopped looking at him, Heath started listing all the wonderful things about her in his head. Her eyes, her hair, her voice…

Chapter 10 - Maree Park

When the boot of the car opened again she squinted, unaccustomed to the light. To her alarm, when her eyes did adjust, she saw a gun was pointed right at her. “Get out,” she was ordered.

“Okay, okay,” Callie obeyed. She looked around - she was in some sort of factory. There were big, heavy, metallic pipes everywhere and construction tools positioned around the room. It was cold.

“Sorry missy, we’ll have to put this on you,” one of the other men from the car informed her. He put a blindfold over her eyes, and she was left in darkness again. “This way.” She was led somewhere, and she lost track of which way she was facing. Thankfully these people didn’t walk her into any walls.

“Why are you taking me here?” she asked in distress.

“Sorry, we can’t say.” Was the only reply.

All of a sudden she heard whispering and she was taken into another room, she could tell because the temperature grew a little warmer, then a new pair of hands led her to a chair where she was instructed to sit. She did as she was told and felt ropes being tied around her. “What on earth are they doing?” Callie thought to herself.

Callie had to wait a few minutes before anyone said anything to her. After those few minutes, which felt like hours, she heard an older man’s voice, “Welcome, ahh, what’s your name dear?” the voice asked with insincere interest.

“Callie,” she answered, there was no point in lying.

“Welcome Callie, I am pleased to meet you. I’ve been waiting to meet one of you three for quite some time now,” said the mysterious, faceless voice.

“What do you mean?” she questioned, trying her best to look genuinely stumped, which was hard when you had a blindfold on.

“You know what I mean. Don’t be daft with me, girl! Now, you might as well see who I am.”

“Phillips, remove the blindfold off the young lady,” the voice commanded.

Sure enough the blindfold was removed and Callie saw an Asian man wearing a business suit standing in front of her. The voice had a face at last. “And you are?” she questioned.

“Does the name Hartono, ring a bell?” he smiled destructively.

“You… you’re him?” Callie stuttered, a shocked look appeared on her face.

“Yes, it is true. You’re lucky, you’re the first one of the little brats to have the pleasure of meeting me,” he said conceitedly.

“You are so up yourself,” Callie said with a sudden hatred. It was time to outsmart him, time to use her power. She didn’t care how much it hurt; she had to get an advantage over him. She concentrated and, yes, she had it!

Just as Mr. Hartono was going to say something, Callie interrupted him, “No, I have a proposition for you.”

Mr. Hartono gawked at her, “My-my, you are a smart one. Go on, what’s your deal?”

“Untie me, I need to show you,” Callie explained, hoping that he was dumb enough to fall for it.

“Nice try, Kelly,” she wasn’t in luck.

“It’s Callie,” she corrected.

“Callie, whatever. How foolish do you think I am? Now you listen to me.” Mr. Hartono scratched his head. “Now, I didn’t want to have to do this, but I’m afraid I have no choice. You see I have to be at a very important meeting today…”

“Where?” interrupted Callie.

“None of your business, I’m afraid.” She read his mind again, Maree Park. Somehow, she had to tell the others.

“Oww,” she winced. Her power was hurting her head again.

“Aww, in pain are we? Well you’ll be in even more pain unless you tell me where your friends are.” Mr. Hartono said unsympathetically

“Larry, can you come out here. I want you to meet somebody,” he beckoned to someone hiding in a dark corner of the room.

“Larry, Callie. Callie, Larry.” Mr. Hartono introduced. “Larry is a good friend of mine.” He went on, grinning at her, “You’ll like Larry.”

The man who walked from the corner of the room looked like he was a bodybuilder or a wrestler because he was so muscular. He cracked his knuckles whilst walking over to her. Mr. Hartono did the talking, “If you’re smart you’ll tell me where your friends are and what they’re doing. If you’re not, Larry here will introduce you to his fists.”

Callie thought it over, she couldn’t betray her friends no matter what, “I don’t know,” she said, “if one of us gets caught, we move, so it doesn’t happen again.”

“She’s lying!” Mr. Hartono accused. “Larry, you know what to do,” he said, not taking his eyes off Callie.

Larry was just about to swing a punch when another man walked into the room and whispered something in Mr. Hartono’s ear. “Wait!” Mr. Hartono instructed. “It looks like your friends have made it easier for us.” Callie had no idea what he was talking about.

“Bring them in,” Mr. Hartono ordered.

Callie could not believe her eyes. Brant and Amy were led into the room, and they both looked the worse for wear.

“Guys!” Callie said in dismay. “What have you done?”

“Sorry,” Amy uttered, not making eye contact with her.

“Three down, two to go,” Mr. Hartono laughed out loud.

Chapter 9 – Callie’s Ordeal

“I hope Amy doesn’t fall asleep,” Callie said to herself as she was running down the footpath, breathing heavily. She found her rhythm again and kept on running steadily along the pavement. She waved to an elderly couple walking their dog and turned the corner into Stradella Avenue. “Come on Callie, halfway there, let’s see if we can break the record today.”

Callie was becoming very concerned about how it hurt every time she used her power. “Does it mean I’m losing the power?” she asked herself, worriedly. It only started to happen when Cindy came; maybe it has something to do with her. Those were the only two possibilities she could think of. She is the eldest, she has to look after everyone, comfort everyone, how could she do that without her power. For once she wanted to be comforted, to be cared for. She had their respect, but what good is respect when you’re not loved. She frowned.

Callie was wearing her running shoes, jogging shorts and black crop top, and she had her hair tied back in a ponytail. It swished back and forth with every step and a bit of it came loose and fell across her face, she tucked it back behind her ear in frustration. As she wiped some sweat off her forehead, she got a horrible feeling that she was being followed. She turned around but she couldn’t see anyone, or any cars for that matter. “You’re just being silly, Callie, there’s no need to worry.” She reassured herself. She turned around again, no one was there, but she noticed that the street was practically deserted. There were no people out walking, walking their dogs, joggers, or cars driving past. It was totally empty. Now Callie was getting freaked out and started running faster, towards the sanctuary of the house.

The feeling was still there, and now she heard a car engine behind her. She didn’t dare look back, she just kept running. She stepped on a stick and it cracked under her foot, a leaf fell down on her from a tree, a fly buzzed past her shoulder. All these little things making her even more terrified. The wind started whipping against her, as if trying to hold her back, cutting at her arms, legs and face like tiny knives.

She glanced sideways, a grey car had drawn alongside her, the passenger door opened, and an athletic looking man jumped out and started chasing her. Callie panicked and that affected her running. She was slowing down! The man caught up to her and tried to hit her over the head, but she dodged it. She turned around to confront him and noticed that two other men had gotten out of the car, which had stopped, and were also heading her direction. To Callie’s horror, she noticed that they had guns. One of those men was Cindy’s follower.

She tried to catch her breath, but she was exhausted. All she could do was dodge the oncoming attacks, and she didn’t know how long she could do that for. The combination of exhaustion and fear caused her to collapse onto the ground; this was so out of character for her, that she couldn’t believe she was doing it herself. Callie Windsor, giving up, what had become of her?

The man, who had chased her, kicked her in the ribs then bent over and grabbed her by the shoulders. She was a mess, her hair was everywhere, she had tears running down her cheeks, and blood coming out the corner of her mouth. They took her back to the car and carelessly shoved her in the boot.

Callie was still in shock and when the engine started she realised that they had her, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

Chapter 8 – Cindy’s Dream

As Brant started reading the letter Cindy shoved the ring into her pocket and picked up her chair that she had knocked over not long before, Michelle and Amy didn’t seem to notice. “It’s damn Hartono again! I knew he was the only one capable of doing this,” he shouted, raising his voice unnecessarily high. He slouched back down in his chair again.

“How could they though? Callie should have been able to protect herself well enough,” Michelle questioned; this was obviously a major loss for them.

“Her martial arts should have protected her, yes, I honestly don’t know Chelley.” Brant admitted. So that was Callie’s other power, besides mind reading.

Amy changed the subject, noticing that Michelle was pretty upset, “Why are you here anyway? We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.”

“It’s because I have some information and it could have been what we’d been waiting for, but without Callie I don’t know if we can make it happen.” Brant told her looking up from the note.

“Can I see the note please?” Cindy asked curiously.

“Sure Cindy, if you can read it,” Brant acknowledged.

Everyone was quiet for a while. No one really knew what to say, or if they did they didn’t want to. Brant slid the note across the table and Cindy picked it up then uttered a quiet “thanks”.

It turned out Brant was the one to interrupt the somber silence, “What I was going to do today was sabotage the meeting between the Protector and Mr. Hartono.” He said ‘Mr. Hartono’ with such animosity that it made Cindy wonder why Brant hated him so much.

“How’d you find out about the meeting?” Michelle asked with interest. Michelle was so different now, so different to her usual fun-loving self. She was glum and disappointed. Cindy wouldn’t be seeing any of her smiles for a while.

“I have my ways. He’s also planning on stealing the statue from the Protector, so it’s a good chance for us to steal it from one of them. I’ve waited all these years for an opportunity like this and now…” Brant trailed off.

“Oh my gosh!” Cindy exclaimed as she looked up from the note. “This is so creepy!”

“What is?” Was all Brant could say. Michelle and Amy looked in her direction for the first time since coming back with the note.

“You know that dream I was gonna tell you about, Amy,” Cindy couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Yeah?” Amy replied a little puzzled.

“It was just like this!” Cindy stopped to catch her breath. “Callie got kidnapped and then some strange people took her somewhere, then I met a man, which must have been you, Brant, then you two came back with a note that said exactly this,” she said excitedly, holding the note high in the air.

“No way,” Michelle proclaimed, “Yesterday the vision and now this!” She let out a big breath and turned to Brant.

Cindy left out one part of her dream, the part about a boy her age. She didn’t want to tell them about that, that was private.

“A vision?” Brant asked.

“Yes, but never mind about that now, can you remember where they took Callie?” Michelle quizzed intensely; Cindy saw a glimmer of hope flicker across usually cheerful brown eyes.

“Not exactly,” Cindy’s hand felt for the ring in her pocket, checking that it was still there. “I think it was a warehouse or a factory, something like that,” Cindy vaguely recollected.

“Think harder, were there any distinguishing things around the place?” Michelle interrogated; her heart was set on finding Callie.

“I’m not sure…” Before Cindy could finish her sentence she became lost, lost in Michelle’s eyes. Another vision. Brilliant colours flashed in front of her eyes then she saw a younger Michelle sitting behind a tree, alone and crying. Suddenly Callie walked up to Michelle and started comforting her. She lifted Michelle to her feet and held her hand then they walked off together. Now she understood why Michelle was so upset, she was so close to Callie. Another vision, it was of Callie, and she was tied up…

“Cindy? Cindy?” Everyone was gathered around her, looking worried.

“Cindy are you okay?” Amy inquired. “What happened?”

“I had…”

Michelle butted in, “Another vision? Is that it?”

“Yes,” Cindy answered. She was feeling weak but she didn’t want to forget what she just saw.

“Get her a glass of water,” Brant instructed Amy, then turned to Cindy.

“Cindy, what did you see? Take your time,” Brant said thoughtfully.

“Callie…” She closed her eyes.

“No-no-no, don’t close your eyes,” Michelle warned.

Cindy forced her eyelids open. “Stratton factory,” Cindy murmured.

“Callie’s in the Stratton factory, is that it?” Brant asked.

“Yes…” Cindy blacked out.