After eating a brief meal, Solana and Dominica slipped out of the underground house to take a walk. They had been out for quite a while, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the beautiful day, when Solana stopped abruptly, causing Dominica, who was right behind her, to run smack dab into her.

  "What 's up?" Dominica wondered.

  "I smell smoke." Dominica started to run. "It might be a forest fire. Come on!"

 

  He heard them.

  Dousing his fire, he jumped up and leapt into a nearby tree, looking to see if his companion had done the same thing.

  Two bright blue eyes stared at from a bunch of leaves in the oak across from him. "I'm good," came a whisper. "What about you?"

  "Yeah, me too," he answered.

  In less than a minute, they came into the clearing. His sharp brown eyes scanned them as they poked around the clearing.

  "Fire's fresh," called one to the other.

  "I wonder who it could be," came the reply.

  The man who had doused the fire muttered between clenched teeth, "Well, you aren't about to find out, so get going!"

  "Well, we need to go back," answered the other. "We'll investigate later if we can. Come on."

  They left, and when the two men judged that the coast was clear, they emerged from their hiding places.

  The taller man relit the fire that he had doused. "You doing OK, Chase?" He shook off his hood and raked his hand through the thick black curls.

  Chase rolled his eyes. "After hiding from the bajillion people that seem to be wandering in this neck of the woods, no, I'm not." He grinned.

  "What about the rattlesnake hole we found the other day?" his companion inquired. "I can hide you in there. They'd never find you."

  "Haha, Jason, very funny," Chase said as he stretched and sat on a log by the fire. He pushed back his hood and shook out his curly brown shoulder-length hair.

  Jason shrugged. "You know that I'm kidding. I'd never throw you to a snake. I'm too soft-hearted."

  "Oh, sure," Chase replied sarcastically. "Then how come you sneak around the woods and creep out everybody that you see?"

  Jason's face changed immendiately, from laughing and joking to hardness and solemnity. "Chase, I want you to never bring up this subject again."

  The two replaced their hoods and hurried off. When they came to their house, a cave under an oak with a secret entrance, they silently slipped inside.

   Jason leaned against the wall and watched Chase as he lay down and fell asleep. He thought of his own young adulthood, spent in hiding, and how Chase had joined him. He thought through the events that had led up to his position as a man in hiding. The tragic day that had started it all replayed itself in his head....

 

   "No, Jason, no!" screamed his mother. "You'll get killed!"

  Jason was already out the door. "I'll come back, Mom!" he called over his shoulder, adjusting the belt and sword sheath that had once belonged to his father. "Go hide in the basement 'til I come back!"

  Before he could go any farther, a black cloaked figure swept out of the battle smoke. Jason was able to get a good look at his face before he turned and ran back into the house. The attacker, swinging his sword, whirled down on the house.

  Jason shoved his hysterical mother further into the house. " Where are Jelena and Kyra?" he asked urgently.

  "In-in the-the basement!" she sobbed between hiccups.

  "Go to them! I'll be right behind you!" Jason ordered as he drew his sword and ran after her.

  They had gotten down the stairs  when their pursuer leapt down behind them. Jason tried to push him back with the sword, but the man easily, almost carelessly, swung his sword and slashed him in the side.

  Jason stumbled backwards, mist blurring his vision. He painfully shook his head to clear his eyes, and was suddenly aware of the deathly stillness that had fallen over the small, dimly lit room.

  Their attacker was gone, taking with him his ten year old sister, Jelena. The four year old girl. Kyra, and their mother, were lying on the floor-dead.

  "No!" Jason yelled, stumbling forward as he clutched his side. Falling on his knees beside his mother, he gasped, "No! You can't-be dead!"

  His pain suddenly overtook him, and he collapsed beside his mother, his wide eyes staring at the ceiling above. "As soon as I am better, I'll-" He paused briefly.." I will hunt that man down and kill him. I shall avenge my family!"

 

   Jason sighed deeply. The side wound was healed, with only a scar as a reminder of that fateful night. But his heart was so deeply wounded that it seemed to him that it would never heal-maybe, just maybe, it would if he could find the attacker and kill him, it would get better.

 

  Jarratt Aquia stood at the edge of the Hood Forest. "This is where they're hiding?"

  Dale Irving stood beside him. "Do you think we would lie about that?"

  "No, it just seems rather..broad," Aquia replied.

  "You're a spy, scout, and tracker, Jarratt," Dale said. "I would hope you'd be able to pick out a trail. Besides, Adam Allen told you what area they were in."

  Aquia turned his head toward Irving and smiled, his sunglasses hiding the annoyed look in his eyes. "Let me point out a couple things, Dale. One, I know where I'm going. Two, I asked because I needed to know if I could really trust you."

  Dale looked indignant. "I'm Chief's most valuable assistant! You can trust me!"

  Aquia shook his head as he took off his sunglasses and stowed them in his pocket. "Not necessarily. i'm not as stupid as I look.

  He walked into the woods and vanished from sight.

  Irving glanced around, then hurried to the poilce car that they had come in. He hopped in and drove away.

 

  Luther, the one Aquia  and Jimenitz had called 'intelligent', was racking his brains for a way to escape.

  Jimenitz had posted at least four guards along the hall of cells. All of them were alert and well-armed. They could quickly and easily send out the alarm if he even found a way to get out and did so. Those guards were refreshed four times a day. Not to mention, his cell, which was made of solid steel, was always locked, whether he was in it or not. He had also thoroughly searched the room for anthing he could use to break the lock and escape, but that was before he had found that his door only opened from the outside. There were also two security cameras in different corners of the cell. Luther had considered trying to break them, but that would be more trouble for him.

  After pacing some more, he stopped.

 

  Aquia heard the voices and footsteps. He ducked behind a tree and flattened himself against the trunk, his brown clothes camoflauging him well. He cautiously peered out as two girls walked by him.

  "What are two girls doing out here, in the middle of nowhere, unless...they are the ones I need to follow?" he asked himself/

  "Did you just hear that voice/" asked the tallest girl.

  "I don't think so," replied her companion.

  "Oh, well. It's probably Jake, following us and trying to freak us out," said the first one who had spoken.

  "Yeah," agreed the other as they continued on.

  Aquia quietly sighed with relief, as he started off behind the pair, slipping from tree to tree to stay out of sight.

  After following them for some time, Aquia realized that they were heading in the opposite direction that he needed to go. Though curious as to where the girls had been leading him, he knew he had to turn around and go back the way he had come, which he did, at a swift jog.

  He stopped next to a tree to rest for a few minutes. As he slowed his breathing, he heard two low voices, and he froze as he recognized one voice in particular.

  "It's not time, Chase."

  "You've been hiding here for six years, Jason! Surely it's time now."

  "No, Chase."

  "Why not?"

  "Chase!"

  Aquia's heart started beating fast as branches rustled and cracked nearby, the bushes surrounding the base of the oak tree were parted, and two young men pushed out.

  Aquia slowly stood and backed away., but they had already noticed him.

  Jason's hand instinctively went to his sword at his side. "It's you," he hissed between clenched teeth.

  Aquia slowly sucked in his breath as he continued to back off.

  "Only cowards run," Jason said as he drew his sword.

  "No," Aquia denied coolly. "I'm not fighting right now. If you try, I'll shoot you." He put his hand on his gun to bring the statement home.

  Jason didn't put away his weapon. "Now's the time, Aquia."

  "No, it's not," replied Aquia.

  Jason hesitated, and Aquia took the chance to flee from the scene.

  "Stop!" Jason yelled.

  Aquia ran even faster, his woodsman skills helping him to stay quiet as he ran.

  "My duty is to spy, not to kill-right now," he said to himself.

  When he figured that he had let the pair far behind, he stopped again to catch his breath and gather his bearings.

  Without even really trying to, he had been running in the right direction. He was glad, a smile showing that as he started off again.

  Aquia's instinctive caution took over as he approached his destination.

  He reached the clearing and ducked behind a tree to see if everything was clear.

  After hiding for about twenty minutes, Aquia judged that the coast was clear and crept out.

  There wasa large, flat rock in the middle of the clearing. Aquia gathered all the strength he could muster and pushed mightily at the heavy rock, moving it almost a foot. After several more pushes, Aquia succeeded in pushing away the rock to reveal a wooden door with a heavy metal ring in it, and it creaked as he opened it.

  Aquia crouched the water to see if anyone would come out. No one did, so he ventured to feel for a ladder or steps into the hole under the door.

  There was a ladder, and it consisted of twelve rungs, each of which were about six inches apart. Aquia dropped it back into the hole and slid in, figuring that it wasn't too deep. He was right.

  He touched the ground, and hurried off at a swift pace.

  He had been in the tunnel for a few minutes when he heard voices.

  "Are you sure the door's open? I was there less than an hour ago, and there was no one in sight."

  "That's because we're in the woods, you goofball. Of course there's no one in sight. And I know I heard the door open."

  Aquia looked around quickly. There was no where to hide. He walked even faster, and soon came to a split. He flipped out a small flashlight and knelt down to examine the dirt floor.

  The left tunnel looked to be well trodden. The right was not, so he decided to hide in it until the danger passed.

  Two men came out of the left tunnel, talking quietly as they headed toward the open trapdoor.

  Aquia hurried into the passageway that they had come out of and sped quietly on. Then he realized his mistake. The men were coming back. And there were more coming in front of him.

  He was trapped.

 

  Jimenitz looked up as Isaiah Fay entered his office.

  "One of the prisoners is behaving strangely, Chief," he said.

 "Which one?" Jimenitz, looking bored, turned to some paperwork.

 "The attack leader," Fay replied. "Luther."

  Jimenitz suddenly became interested. "What is he up to?"

  "Come and see." Fay beckoned to him. "I was about to bring him his food for the day."

  Fay got the food and then he and Jimenitz walked down to Luther's cell.

  Fay opened a slot at the bottom of the cell door and pushed in the tray of food.

  Jimenitz peered through the barred door window.

  Luther was pacing his cell, a silly grin on his face, and he was muttering something unintelligible.

  Jimenitz stared at him. "He's insane!"

  "Yes," Fay agreed as he straightened up. "He's been doing this for a little less than a day, but we just assumed that he was trying to figure out how to get out or something, but when he kept it up, we suspected that something was wrong."

  Jimenitz continued staring at Luther. "What could have caused this?"

 "No idea," Fay said, shaking his head.

  "The key, please," Jimenitz said, holding out his hand to catch the key that Fay tossed to him. He unlocked the cell door and opened it wide, then stepping back.

  Luther stopped, turned, and looked at him. His grin momentarily disappeared and was soon replaced with an even sillier one. Then he started pacing again, making no move to escape.

  "Something's snapped in his brain if he's not trying to escape." Fay shook his head.

  "Get the psychiatrist," Jimenitz ordered him.

  Fay nervously helped Marian Ramon get Luther from his cell to the examination room. Luther did not fight, but muttered babble to himself and gave silly smiles the entire way to where he would get examined.

  Drew Knight sat as Luther was brought in.

  His assistant, a young man named Pierce, sat next to him, holding a clipboard and a folder.

  "Sit him down and leave, please," Knight ordered calmly.

  Fay and Ramon quickly obeyed, and as they left, Jimenitz arrived.

 "I'll sit in on this," he said.

 Knight raised and eyebrow. "Alright, but keep your opinions to yourself unless I ask for them."

 Jimenitz shrugged and sat.

 Knight whispered to Pierce, who nodded. Satisfied, Knight turned to his patient.

 Luther, still grinning, started babbling unintelligibly to himself again.

 Jimenitz watched Knight as he worked with Luther, who paid no attention to anyone in the room as he muttered and hummed some senseless song to himself.

  Finally, Knight crouched in front of Luther and snapped his finger to get his attention.

  Luther looked up. When he saw Knight, his face lit up and he cried, "Mommy!"

  Everyone present blinked and stared at him.

  "My diagnosis is," Knight said as he turned to Jimenitz, "is this. I don't know what happened to cause it, but something in his brain has snapped. He needs to go to an asylum." He glanced at Pierce, who started to write. "I think he should go to the Leesville Insane Asylum."

  Pierce handed the clipboard and pen to Knight, who sat down beside Jimenitz.

 "If you approve, please put down your signature," he said.

 After Jimenitz signed the paper, Knight signed it. Then he and Pierce stood up to leave.

  "I will have my assistant fax this to the asylum," Knight said. "If my patient is approved, he will be able to go in less than three days."

  Luther was brought back to his cell, but Jimenitz sat in the examination room for some time, thinking.