Kerry lay in her bed, thinking about her visit from Jackie West.

            “She’s an odd character,” she said to herself. I don’t know if I trust her.”

            “Trust who?”

            Macie was speaking to her.

            “No one,” Kerry murmured.

            There was a rustling as Macie rolled over in her bed.

            “Have you been meeting someone without us knowing?”

            “No,” Kerry answered. “It’s just someone I met earlier.”

            “Really?”

            “Yes.”

            “Kerry, if you’re lying ...”

            “I’m not.” Kerry knew that if Macie thought she was lying, she would be reported to her parents. She tried to be honest.

            “We’re talking tomorrow,” Macie warned.

            Oh great, Kerry thought. Now I’ll have to tell everyone I met Jackie.

            Soon she fell asleep.

 

            Kerry awoke a couple hours later. She immediately knew something was wrong.

            “Macie?” she said. “Jana?”

            Macie mumbled something in her sleep and turned over.

            Kerry jumped out of bed and ran to Jana’s bed. “Jana?”

            Jana didn’t move.

            She wasn’t moving.

            She wasn’t breathing.

            “Macie!” Kerry yelled. “Get up!”

            Macie slowly sat up. “Huh?”

            “Jana’s about to die!” Kerry shrieked. “Get up!”

            Macie was at Jana’s bed in a flash. “Call 911,” she ordered. “Then get Justin.”

            Kerry tried to calm down as she ran to the phone and dialed 911.

            “What’s wrong?” she heard a voice.

            “My sister isn’t breathing!” Kerry said, trying hard not to panic.

            “What’s your address?”

            “2503 Bloomfield Drive, Raleigh.”

            “We’ll be there soon.”

            There was a click. Kerry put the phone down, sucked in air, and ran up to the third floor.

            “Justin!” she called as she pounded on the door of the boys’ room.

            “What?” came Justin’s sleepy voice.

            “Get out here! Jana’s not breathing!” Knowing he would come out, Kerry charged down to the girls’ room.

            “What’s going on?” came their mother’s voice.

            Kerry suddenly realized that she had not thought to call her mother.

            “Jana’s not breathing, Mom!”

            “Have you called 911?”

            ‘Yes.”

            “Is anyone trying to give her oxygen?”

            “Probably,” Kerry glanced over at Jana’s bed. Macie was bending over her and doing something. “I think so.”

            Their mother appeared. “Watch for the ambulance.”

            Kerry desperately wanted to know how Jana was doing, but she hurried to obey.

            In just ten minutes, an ambulance arrived, its sirens blaring and its lights flashing.

            Three paramedics hopped out, and Kerry brought them to the girls’ room. Two loaded Jana onto a stretcher, while the third spoke to Kerry, Macie, and Mrs. Nicholas.

            “Does she have any allergies?” he asked.

            “She’s allergic to peanuts,” Macie said, “but she’s pretty careful about not eating them.”

            “Has she been sick recently?”

            “She has a nagging cough,” Mrs. Nicholas replied.

            The paramedic stroked his chin. “Her airways were probably blocked by mucus she sucked into her lungs. Or she might have a rare heart or lung condition. How old is she?”

            “Thirteen,” Kerry said.

            ‘Young, but any issue she had should have been discovered by now. You tried to get her breathing again?” he asked Macie.

            “I learned CPR a few years ago, and I did try,” Macie answered.

            “Good,” the paramedic said, nodding approvingly.

            “Will she be alright?” Kerry asked.

            ‘We will do the best we can,” the paramedic said solemnly, as he turned to leave.

            “I’m going with you,” Mrs. Nicholas said.

            “Ma’am, if you have a sensitive stomach -“ the paramedic began.

            “All of my children have gone to the hospital at one time or another,” Mrs. Nicholas said firmly. “I’ll be fine.”

            When the ambulance had left, Kerry turned to Justin and Macie. “What now? I’m too wired to go back to sleep.”

            “Me too,” Justin said, and Macie nodded in agreement.

            “Let’s get our laptops and go down to the living room,” she said. “I’ll rustle up a midnight snack.”

            They got their computers and headed downstairs.

            Macie filled a plate with cookies and put milk in three large glasses. They sprawled themselves on the couches and powered their lapops. Soon all three were chatting.

            Kerry emailed everyone she knew about Jana. She checked her email and posted about Jana on her blog.

            The feeling of being wired soon wore off, and full of milk and cookies, they drifted off to sleep.

           

            Sunlight hit Kerry in the face, and she blinked and stretched. Opening her eyes, she glanced at the other couches. Macie and Justin were still asleep.

            Kerry heard a quiet rustling in the kitchen, and she sat up. “Jeremy?” she said. “What are you doing?”

            Jeremy looked up from where he was working at the kitchen counter. “Getting cereal for breakfast. What are you doing down here?”

            “I’ll explain alter,” Kerry set her laptop on a coffee table and stood, yawning loudly.

            “Where’s Mom?”

            “She went back to the hospital,” Kerry sauntered into the kitchen to get herself breakfast.

            “Why?”

            Kerry sighed. There was no escaping her inquisitive little brother now.

            “She went to be with Jana.”

            “Where did Jana go?”

            Kerry rolled her eyes. “Umm ...she had a problem last night, a bad problem.”

            “What kind of problem?”

            “She stopped breathing.”

            “Oh.” Jeremy picked up his bowl of cereal, then put it down. “Is that bad?”

            It was all Kerry could do not to get annoyed at his lack of simple knowledge. “Yes, that’s bad. She almost died!”

            “That is bad.” Jeremy walked thoughtfully to the breadbasket, where he got out a package of sticky buns.

            Kerry prepared herself a bowl of cereal and a sticky bun on a plate. She sat, prayed, and ate.

            When she was finished, she went back to the living room and turned on the TV, tuning it to the news channel.

            The announcer talked about various weather problems around the U.S. He went on to disclose information about important lawsuits occurring at that moment.

            “Now we get down to some very important news,” he said at last.

            Kerry started watching him more attentively.

            “It seems that all of the states who reported prominent persons missing have found them -all were dead.”

            Kerry pursed her lips and sat forward, hands supporting her chin.

            “No one has any idea what is going on,” the announcer continued. “We are all bewildered.”

            Kerry watched several interview with police officers and family members of the missing people. She listened intently, trying to collect as much information as she could.

            “I’ve never known of any criminals that have left no clues at the scene of the crime,” one police officer said, shaking his head. “At least -until now. I’ve been in this profession for years and haven’t ever been this baffled.”

            “The officers searched so hard and long and thoroughly,” one woman, the wife of a governor, said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I just wish they would have found my husband alive.”

            The wide of the Nebraskan chief police chief was next. “I wish Tyler had been alive to see our baby born,” she said, her voice only slightly shaky. “He died for our country, and that’s an honor. I know TJ will be proud of his daddy all his life.”

            Kerry jerked upright. Daddy?

            She stood and ran to her parents’ room. The door was ajar. She peeked in. It was empty.

            Kerry searched the house, but did not find her father.

            Just then, the phone rang. Kerry ran to the kitchen and picked up the phone. It was the police station. Was it her father? She picked it up.

            “Yes?”

            “Is this Mrs. Nicholas?”

            “No, this is her daughter, Kerry.”

            “Your father did not report in for work this morning.”

            “Did he leave last night?”

            “Yes. Please call if you get a message from him.”

            “I will.”

            “Thank you.”

 

            Kerry put the phone down, then picked it up again. She called her mother and inquired if she knew where Mr. Nicholas was. She didn’t.

            Then Kerry dialed her father’s cell phone number. He did not answer.

            Finally, Kerry checked her email to see if he had sent a message to her. He hadn’t.

            Fear gripped Kerry’s heart.

            Where was her father?

 

            Jack woke up after a restful night. After working out, he ate some food and then went to meet with Jackie.

            They settled down on two chairs in the council room.

            “Have you come up with a solution for the doubters?” Jackie asked.

            “I spoke with the Supreme Aoran last night,” Jack replied. “I was ordered to put all the doubters in the Black Room so that the Aoran could speak with them.”

            One side of Jackie’s mouth twitched. “That’s one experience they’ll never forget.”

            Jack nodded in agreement. When Jackie had first joined the group, she had had plenty of doubts, but after experiencing the Black Room, she knew that they would succeed. Jack had viewed a Black room visit with other leaders of states, and they had all agreed that they would never try to let this happen to themselves.

            Jack had never doubted the success of this venture. He just didn’t think that the Supreme Aoran should be the leader.

            However, he was too smart to try and dispose of the Aoran now.

            Just like everyone in an important, powerful position, the Supreme Aoran had bodyguards. and not just any bodyguards. The Aoran had Termination Demons for bodyguards.

            Even Jack was wary of the Termination Demons, but he had his reasons. They grew to be over six feet tall, and Jack was five foot nine. They had hypnotizing looks that would freeze you the instant you dared to look at them. Their hands grew weapons the instant they were needed to fight. Their hooded cloaks concealed their bodies, giving them an even more frightening look. not to mention, they could hear things from miles away! They were always nearby, even if you couldn’t see them, and when the Supreme Aoran met with other people, they stuck to their master like glue.

            The only reason that Jack knew so much about them was that they were from his homeworld, Aelwyn.

            Jack half-smiled to himself. The fact that he was an ‘alien’ was confidential enough that only he and the Supreme Aoran knew about it. Everyone thought that he was from Earth because no one believed that other planets supported life. He was, in other words, an Alwynian alien.

            Only Jack knew the differences between Alwynians and Earthlings. Alwynians had yellow blood and the height average was five foot eight, at least, the ‘human aliens.’ The Termination Demons, living in the harsh swamplands, which only they could, were harsh and cruel, thus no one wanted to mess with them.

            “All the better to use them,” the Aoran had said.

            Jack had no idea how on earth the Aoran had gotten them to work as bodyguards, much less tamed them.

            “Jack?” Jackie waved a hand in his face.

            Jack blinked. “Sorry. Just some random thoughts come into my head.”

            “Obviously. now,” Jackie said, stretching, “when are we striking next?”

            “The Supreme Aoran has not yet decided,” Jack replied, “but it will be in a week or two or so.”

            A wicked smile spread across Jackie’s face. “Soon. Good.”

 

 

            Kerry sat on the couch, the laptop in her laptop, and thought, long and hard. She had heard nothing from her father, and if any other family member had, they probably would have informed everyone else.

            Kerry shook her head and opened a chat with Elijah.

 

            Hi, Eli.

            Hi Kerry...ya know I have this really random idea for a poem contest.

            Fun..is Triste in on this?

            She agreed a little reluctantly, but is right now typing madly on her laptop.

            What about you?

            Building on a few ideas.

 

            Kerry pulled up a fresh Microsoft Word document and started to think.

            Soon, Elijah said:

            How are you doing?

            Building on a few ideas, just like you.

            Great. What are they?

            Lesssee..soccer, writing, big families..and you?

            Soccer, sisters, and my imaginary world. Why do we both have soccer again?

            ‘Cause we’re both authors nad we’re crazily insane.

 

            Their conversation paused as Elijah and Kerry worked on their poems.

 

Soccer is a sport

Where you kick a ball

Or sit on a bench and

do nothing at all.

 

You try to beat the other team

And it can be quite a scream

Just try not to do anything wrong

Or everything will go down with a BONG!

 

As a goalie you protect the ball

It’s a really important job

Even if you’re fastidious, but you have to roll

It doesn’t matter, if they miss the lob.

 

Run ‘em down, trip ‘em up,

Get it done, hup, hup ,hup!

Get the ball and get it in,

Maybe then you’ll win, win, win!

 

            Kerry emailed it to Triste and Elijah, then she said to Elijah:

 

            I sent you my poem.

            OK, I’ll read it.

 

            A minute later:

 

            hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!XD XD This is super-duper! I’ll send you mine.

 

When you’ve got six sisters,

It can be such a pain,

Especially when they get the umbrellas

When you’re all out in the rain.

 

But they do all the cleaning,

While us males are fixer-uppers

We also do the raking and mowing

And they’re good for fixing suppers.

They pack all the lunches

For the big male derring doers.

We guys throw the babies around

While they’re the rockers and cooers.

 

We watch rough action movies,

And they those awful chick lits.

They shriek when they see roadkill,

While we tear it all to bits.

 

            Kerry replied:

 

            LOLROTFL hahahahahahahahaha that’s good J J But that’s more Mom’n’Macie than me XD It’s still good though J XD XD

            Triste is still working furiously on her ‘top, but I can tell this is not good...she’s grinning and chuckling madly to herself.

            Uh-oh, that’s never a god sign. XD

            Nope ;)

 

I know two really crazy authors,

They are my brother and my friend,

With them this crazy poem writing

Is a questionably new trend.

 

I am more than anything

A simple soccer player,

Who very well may one day rise

To the position of a mayor.

 

If I do, then they will go

To the best insane asylum.

I’m still their friend, but

I should never be so dumb so as to

 

Leave the authors loose

Letting them roam free!

If I do this then I will regret it

When they come and try to change me.

 

Let this be a warning to the rest o’ you younguns

Keep your feet on good old Earth,

Don’t go trouncing off to foreign planets,

On good old Earth, be wise to keep your berth.

 

            Kerry grinned when she read it. She typed to Elijah:

 

            *Bumps fist* I can totally agree with that! But I’ll run away before she gets me..just don’t tell her this, ‘kay? We’ll just plan for now. XD J

            *Bumps fist* My lips are forever zipped, Kerry my friend...plan away!

            Two sets of clothes, money, writing supplies, blankets, pocketknives, chocolate and some other food, cooking and eating utensils, iPods, books, soccer balls, pillows, watches, compasses, bandages and medicines, bottles, cameras, journals, walking sticks, schoolbooks, board games, cards...

            Count me out then! J

            But I’m not done yet, and you said to plan away! Toiletries, tapes, CD’s, tape players, CD players, hiking boots, backpacks...

            Aaah!! *screams and runs away from planning freak* XD XD

            But, but, but...*sobs and sniffles* I thought you were my friend!

            *sighs* We are, just not the same friendship anymore L

 

            “Kerry!” Kerry heard Justin calling her name.

            “What?”

            “Mom wants us to go shopping!”

            “OK!” Kerry called back

 

            Sorry, hafta go...shopping with big bro in the near future! Bye!

            Bye! Have fun!

            Thanks!

 

            Kerry shut down the chat, closed her laptop, and got up off the couch. She pulled on some socks and sneakers and hurried out the door to the car.

            She hopped in and buckled up. Justin, who was sitting in the drivers’ seat, handed her the shopping list.

            “What are we getting?” he asked.

            “Brown sugar, raisins, peanuts, chocolate chips, cornflakes, Cheerios, Chex Mex, Froot Loops, fruit jouce, unbleached all-purpose flour, chicken breasts, peas, corn, lettuce, spinach, carrots, pie crusts, cucumbers, squash, beans, noodles, cream cheese, honey wheat bread, cinnamon raisin bagels, chocolate chip bagels, eggs, peanut butter, pork chops, raisin bran, baking powder, baking soda, blueberries, apples, bananas, grapes, pomegranates, lemons, limes, okra, peppers, strawberries, pineapples, oranges, clementines, milk, sticky buns, shapr cheddar, mild cheddar, pecans, sunflower oil, olive oil, and apple cider,” Kerry read aloud.

            “Is that everything?” Justin wondered.

            “For food,” Kerry answered. “there’s also batteries, Band-Aids, hair bands, hand soap, and shampoo.”

            “This is gonna take a while.” Justin sighed as he started the car.

           

            Kerry was worn out by the time they were done shopping. Justin treated her to a meal at a fast food restaurant and then they went home.

            Kerry and Macie unpacked and put away everything. Then Kerry stretched out on the couch and fell asleep.

            She awoke to a poke in the ribs. Her eyes popped open.

            Jackie West stood beside the couch. “Why don’t you get up? It’s six o’ clock in the evening already. I have a job for you.”

            She disappeared.