Last Chance (20 page)

Matthew assured her that he was fine and everything was going as expected. In reality, Matthew was pretty freaked out by what had happened, too. Walter had never said anything about floating or glowing charms.

Amanda reentered the living room. Connor let Beth out of his mother’s room. She bypassed Connor, found Amanda on the couch, and whispered, “Don’t worry. I called your parents from that room; they’ll be here any minute.”

Connor heard what she said and yelled to April, “She called Amanda’s parents! They’ll be here any minute!”

April immediately signaled to the boys. “We’ve got to get out of here, right now. Matthew, do you have the charm?” Matthew patted his chest and glanced at Amanda. April knew that he had what they had come for.

Connor had already made his way to the front door, but quickly turned back. “It’s too late, they’re already here.” Everyone in the Chance home heard the doors slamming shut from three black vehicles that now blocked their exit.

April looked to Amanda and said, “No matter what happens, just give them that fake charm when you get home. You’re gonna be just fine.”

Matthew stood as close to Amanda as he could when the door to his home burst open and three men entered, led by Keith Kellington himself. Connor took a position in front of his mother as Keith walked by him and approached Amanda Curry.

“Well, Ms. Curry, you have been a hard one to find today.”

Amanda slowly backed away from him and asked, “Where are my parents?”

“Oh, you’ll see them soon enough. You need to come with me now, and then you’ll get to see them.”

Beth Perry got between Amanda and Keith. “I don’t know who you are, mister, but Amanda isn’t going anywhere until her parents get here.”

Keith Kellington took his hand out of his jacket pocket and made a quick tossing motion toward Beth Perry. A light mist hit Beth in the chest and Keith said to her, “Sit down on the couch and don’t move.”

Immediately, Beth Perry moved toward the couch, sat down, and became a statue. She was straining with everything she had just to wiggle a finger, but she was unable to. Keith finished, “You can continue to breathe.”

Amanda looked to her friend, unaware of the power that had full control over her body. “Beth, what’s wrong? Look at me!” Keith focused on Amanda as Matthew stepped over and blocked his path.

“Just leave her alone.”

Keith took an overview of the room and said, “You people just keep sticking your noses in my business. I’ll just have to take care of that, this time.”

He flung carrier stones at all three of the Chance family and said, “Don’t move.” The family knew that they couldn’t let on that they had the health charm protecting them, so they became motionless. Keith put his mouth up to April’s ear and said, “I don’t think your cop friend can save you tonight.”

He walked back toward Amanda and said, “I have a way of getting people to do what I want them to do. Watch this.” He looked back to the Chance family and said, “Walk over to the kitchen window and stare out of it.” The family made their way to the window, as instructed, while they fought every temptation to turn around and fight the awful man. The boys were confident that if they just let Amanda go with him, Amanda would be all right. Once he had the charm, she would be all right.

“OK, Ms. Curry, now to you. Am I going to have to ask you again to come with me?” The two men who had entered with Keith Kellington snickered and opened the door to walk out. Amanda turned toward the back door to make a run for it, but Keith had already tossed the carrier stone onto her back. “Walk with me to the car,” he ordered. Amanda made her way with Keith out the front door, and he shut it behind him.

As Keith and Amanda got into a black car, he turned to one of the men accompanying him and said, “Burn it down.”

The remaining men began tossing gasoline onto the home’s structure and even walked back into the house to lead a stream from the kitchen. The boys and April had actually started to move until they heard that the door was opening again. The men didn’t notice that they were no longer looking out the window. As the last man left the home, he flicked a match and yelled, “It’s gonna get hot in here!”

The inside of the home started to burn. Connor and Matthew headed toward the bedroom to get their backpacks, but April screamed out, “Connor, you get Beth! Matthew can get the backpacks!” The home started to fill with dark smoke and some of the structure began to give way. April was able to grab her most-needed belongings, including her bag and some prestored food.

Connor picked up Beth Perry, who had started to regain some power over her own movements. “Don’t worry, Beth. I’ll get you outta here.”

She tried to say something, but didn’t have enough control over her lips to get the words out. Connor raced from the back door and cleared the home to find April waiting by the stretch of woods behind the house. Just then, a loud explosion rocked the home as a main gas line ignited.

April desperately looked around. “Where’s Matthew? Connor, where’s Matthew?”

Connor still held Beth Perry in his arms and began turning his head from side to side. “I don’t see him.”

April began crying out, “Matthew! Matthew!” April’s pulse quickened and a panic gripped her like she had never felt before. Her child was missing or hurt or even dead. She started to rationalize in her own mind,
He has the health charm; he’ll be fine.
She called out again, “Matthew!”

“I heard you!” Matthew emerged from the smoky corner of the house. “Don’t worry, I made it out the bedroom window.” Matthew walked up from the end of what used to be the east side of the house, carrying all of the family’s backpacks.

April rushed over to her son and gave him a big hug. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

Matthew grinned at the outpouring of emotion and looked over to his brother. “I see you got the most important item from the house.” Connor stood motionless and looked down to see Beth Perry trying to catch her breath.

“You can put me down now!”

Connor replied, “You’re welcome for saving your life.” He immediately dropped her into the cold grass. He couldn’t believe a girl so cute could be such a pain.

Beth regained her composure as she regained the function of her body. “What in the hell’s goin’ on here? Who were those guys? What are they doing with Amanda? Why couldn’t I move?” She looked to the corner of the burning home and said, “What are those nerds doing here?”

Matthew turned to see that Jack and Cassie Jenkins had arrived at the burning remains of the Chance home. April looked to her sons and said, “What are they doing here?”

Matthew replied that he had no idea, but he would get to the bottom of it. April turned her attention to Beth Perry.

“Look, dear, everything’s gonna be OK, but you need to go home and forget any of this ever happened.”

Beth Perry pushed Connor to the side and replied, “I’m not going anywhere until I have some answers, and when I call the police, believe you me, I’ll get answers.” She got directly into April’s face and said, “Or maybe I’ll just have my father, a county judge, take care of you people.”

April nodded her head in agreement and said, “Just wait here for a minute.”

April slipped over to Connor and asked him if there was any room in the shed behind the house to store some extra baggage. Connor understood the question and replied, “There’s plenty of room.” April walked back to the opinionated cheerleader and asked her to take a walk with her.

“I’m not going anywhere with you crazy people. You’re all going to jail.” So Connor once again threw Beth Perry over his shoulder. Beth, once again, began crying out, “Put me down! My dad is gonna kick your ass for this!”

Cassie and Jack seemed shaken by what they saw. They looked to Matthew and he calmed their nerves.

“Don’t worry; you can let her out after we’re gone. Just give us a ten- or fifteen-minute head start.”

Profanity continued spewing from the shed as Jack replied, “We’ll give you thirty minutes, just to make sure.”

Cassie looked to Matthew and told him that the fire department would be there any minute. “We can tell them that no one was home when the fire started.” She asked, “How did the fire start?”

Matthew told her it would be better if she didn’t know that. He asked, “So what are you two doin’ here?”

Jack replied, “We weren’t sure about you guys at first. You could have all been evil aliens plotting to take over the world.” Matthew raised his eyebrows and waited for the point. Jack continued, “Of course, we know differently now.” Jack smirked as he paused after the last statement. “Anyway, we had done some digging around your house and in your garbage cans, and we came across something you probably don’t want found by the wrong people.”

Jack presented Matthew with a large envelope that was addressed to April. He looked the envelope over and could see that it was from Walter Wainright. “I saw this the other night.”

Cassie interrupted and said, “I think it may be something about Amanda. Is she gonna be all right?”

Matthew opened the envelope and began to read what Walter had specifically written to April. As he moved his eyes down the page, he started to understand why he wanted only April to see it. He patted Jack on the back and gave Cassie a small peck on the cheek. He told them to hide in the woods until the fire department got there. “You need to make sure that Beth gets out OK. It’s time for us to get back where we belong.”

Cassie could barely contain her excitement from the peck, so she lunged at Matthew and planted a good long wet kiss right on his lips. Matthew staggered and regained his composure long enough to say, “OK, then.”

Cassie asked, “Will we ever see you again?”

Matthew looked at the setting sun, partially blocked by the smoke that billowed from the house. “I don’t know, Cassie. Only time will tell.” Cassie dropped her head and grabbed her brother’s hand. The brother and sister made their way into the woods and took up a position where they wouldn’t be seen.

April and Connor had made their way back from the shed. April told Connor, “I hope that door can hold her. She’s strong for a little cheerleader.”

April saw Matthew standing with his back to the blaze and said, “OK, boys, we got what we came for; it’s time to get back to the tunnel.”

Matthew held the envelope in the air for his mother and brother to see and responded with a resounding, “Sorry, April, plans have changed. We’re not going anywhere!”

Chapter 15

the strength of many

April looked at Matthew and realized what he held in his hand. “Where did you find that?”

Matthew separated the paper from the envelope and handed it to Connor before he replied, “It doesn’t matter where I found it.” Matthew walked over to his mother and stared deep into her eyes. A small tear formed in the corner of both their eyes and Matthew, with a broken voice, asked, “How could you keep this from us?”

Connor finished reading the letter and said, “She’s gonna die? That can’t be right; we gave her the fake charm. That was the plan; give her the fake charm and it’s like we were never here.”

April couldn’t look her son in the eye but tried to explain her actions. “You don’t understand. We had to get the charm, but we can’t change history; it’s just too dangerous.”

Matthew couldn’t believe what he was hearing and replied, “We
have
changed history; she’s not supposed to die!”

“She dies regardless, Matthew! Whether she gives Keith the real charm or the fake one, she dies either way. That’s why Walter sent me the letter. He wanted to make sure we were gone before you found out what really happens.”

Matthew took a piece of wood that was lying at the edge of the woods and threw it into the fire. Anger built in his gut as he asked his mother, “So was the family thing a big lie too, April!” April realized that Matthew had called her by name.

Matthew continued, “I’ve seen what a real family is, and they would do anything for each other—like the Curry family. We came here to stop someone who has no compassion or feelings toward human life, but you’re no better. These are people we know don’t deserve what’s happening to them. How does that make us any different from Minister Hathmec?”

April dried the tears from her eyes and defended her decisions. “We’re not responsible for everyone in the world. We can only do what we can do to make things better, and if that means a few good people have to die, then that’s what has to happen.”

She took the letter from Connor and threw it into the fire. “There will be and have been many others that have died fighting against the minister. Amanda and her family are just a few of the many.”

April picked one of the bags from the ground and continued, “We
are
a family. We are the Chances and you are my sons and if there is one thing that I have learned while living in Travis, it’s that I will do anything to protect my family. Now this discussion is over.”

April tossed the first bag in the car as sirens blared in the background. Connor paused and said, “I hear the fire trucks; we need to get out of here.” Matthew bypassed his mother and proceeded to Beth Perry’s car, still parked at the front of the house.

April yelled out, “Just leave her car there!”

Matthew replied, “I’m going to help Amanda and her family.”

April ran over to the car and grabbed Matthew by the arm. “No you’re not! I’m the adult and your mother and you will do as I say!”

Matthew peered at his brother, and with one glance, Connor knew that he needed to help him. Matthew put his hand on April’s shoulder and placed a small carrier stone. With the help of the new attribute charm, he stole every ounce of strength from April and said, “Catch her.”

April felt the loss of the ground below her as Matthew picked her up and tossed her back toward Connor. It was like an afterburner had been lit as the background of the house in flames created a silhouette around her frame. Connor caught his mother and they both fell to the ground. Matthew yelled back, “Sorry, Mom, but I have to try.”

Matthew jumped in the car and started the engine. April yelled to her son, “Stop! You can’t!” The car was already down the driveway before April could make it to her feet. She glared back at Connor and said, “Why didn’t you stop him?”

Connor brushed the grass from his pants and replied, “Because he’s right.”

April walked back to her car and pounded her first on the hood. She had lost her composure and needed a moment to clear her head. She opened the driver’s side door and said, “Fine, we’ll go to the Curry place and help him.” Connor grabbed the last of the bags and threw them in the car.

She started the car, only to be blocked by the fire trucks that had arrived to put out the blaze that still raged behind them. April told Connor to stay in the car while she talked to one of the firefighters.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here. Our home is being destroyed.” The firefighter promised that they would do everything they could to save what was left of the house.

“Please, ma’am, you need to stay back.” April turned around and saw the familiar face of Danny Charles.

“Danny, over here,” she yelled. Officer Charles was relieved to see the lovely single mother and ran over to her location.

“You OK, April? I heard over the dispatch that there was a fire in this area and I just wanted to check on ya.” April knew how Danny felt about her and she had some fairly strong feelings toward him. She hated to ask him what she was about to ask him, but again, she would do anything for her family.

“Danny, I need your help.” April explained that Matthew had taken off and she needed his help to find him. “Would you mind following me out to the Curry place?”

Officer Charles asked, “You wanna go looking for Matthew while your house is burnin’ up?”

April replied, “There’s nothing I can do here, and I’m really worried about Matthew.”

Officer Charles relented and said, “OK, I’ll follow you out there.”

April jumped back into her car and Connor asked, “What’s going on? Why were you talking to Officer Charles?” April shifted the car into drive and sped down the driveway.

She put her hand behind her neck and replied, “We have to get to your brother. Don’t worry about Officer Charles.”

Three figures emerged from the woods as the fire department continued their battle with the house fire. Cassie and Jack had listened to all of the talk between the Chance family, and Jack had set Beth Perry free. They walked to the front of what was left of the house and Beth screamed, “They took my car too! I’ve gotta find a phone and call my father.”

The twins chuckled but were quickly brought back to reality when Jack asked, “Do you think Matthew can get to Amanda fast enough to save her?”

Cassie looked to the sky and replied, “Do you think we’ll ever see Matthew or Connor again?”

Jack paused and reassured his sister, “I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Matthew or Connor Chance. Maybe they’ll come back to Earth someday.”

Matthew sped toward the Curry home as fast as he could. He almost ran off of the road a couple of times. He decided to take the back route that Jack had told him about earlier in the week. It was faster and would allow him to sneak up on the house if Keith and his men were still around. As he approached the back of the house, he could already tell that something wasn’t right.

It was getting later in the day and the air around the Curry home looked darker than the sky around it. He made his way down the old back path to the house and it became obvious that one of the oldest homes in all of West Tennessee was going up in flames.

Matthew could see the smoke pouring from the house as he jumped out of the car. He would never forgive himself if he was too late to save her. All Matthew could hear was the voice of Mr. Curry from the weekend before: “You take care of my daughter.”

The back door of the home was engulfed in flames, so he had to find an alternate path into the house. He didn’t see any of Keith’s men around, but was still careful to keep a low profile around the grounds. He remembered that there should be a door behind the house, around a large bush, that would lead him into the basement.

Jack had told him to go from the east corner of the house at a forty-five degree angle. He found the door, just as Jack had told him, and he followed the dark path to the basement. The basement was full of old family mementos, but the fire had not reached it. Once there, he found the door that led into the house.

He yelled out, “Amanda! Amanda!” He didn’t hear a reply, but he forged on. He made it to the edge of the kitchen and noticed a slight gap in the flames. He yelled out again, “Amanda!”

“We’re in here! Help!”

Matthew barely made out the faint cry for help that resonated from the adjoining room. He knew that if he could just run past the ridge of fire, he would be in the main living room. Matthew mustered some courage and jumped through a ridge of fire just outside of the kitchen. As he oriented himself, he realized the magnitude of the problem.

“Matthew, is that you?” cried out Laura Curry from the corner of the room, closest to the stairs.

She was tied up, back to back, with her husband. Mr. Curry screamed out, “Get Amanda and Steven Jr. out of here!” Matthew turned his head and saw both Amanda and her little brother tied up and lying on the floor. Both of them were passed out from the smoke.

Matthew ran over to Mr. and Mrs. Curry. “I’ll get you loose; don’t worry.”

Mr. Curry shook his head and said, “No, you have to get the kids out first. Don’t worry about us.”

Matthew stopped and reassured Amanda’s father, “OK, I’ll get them first, but then I’ll come back and get you.”

Parts of the ceiling started to fall in around Matthew as he rushed over to Amanda and her little brother. He could feel the heat against his skin. Burns were healing within seconds due to the Hathmec. Matthew was able to get Amanda up on his shoulder, but when he tried to pick up Steven Jr., he ended up dropping them both.

Mr. Curry yelled to him, “Come on, you can get them! Matthew looked to Mr. and Mrs. Curry and saw the panic that engulfed their faces. Both parents feared their own deaths, but the thought of their children dying in this hellacious inferno was unbearable.

Matthew opened his hand and revealed to Amanda’s parents the stones that he had created. He dropped a couple on both Amanda and Steven Jr. and then tossed the dust over to Mr. and Mrs. Curry. The mother and father had no idea what Matthew had just done, but Matthew reassured them again. “I’m getting them out of here.”

Matthew felt the rush of borrowed strength from the Curry family. He easily lifted both Amanda and Steven Jr. and threw each of them over a shoulder. He dodged the falling debris and flames that surrounded the path to safety. He kicked open the front door with one mighty thud and ran the children of Steve and Laura Curry to safety.

Steve Curry turned his head toward his wife and tried to kiss her cheek. He said, “They’re out; Matthew got them out.” He could feel the tears from his wife’s eyes on his lips.

Laura Curry asked, “Are you ready?”

Her husband responded, “The lord will protect our children and we will watch them from heaven.”

Matthew made it far enough away from the house that he knew Amanda and Steven Jr. would be safe and he put them in the cool grass. They were a little worse for wear, but the fire couldn’t get to them. Matthew oriented himself and headed back for the parents.

Matthew ran back toward the front door when a giant explosion erupted in the house and large flames jetted into the early evening sky. Matthew was tossed onto the hard sidewalk of the home. He landed on his side and turned back to see a house that looked more like a fireball than a home.

Matthew could still make out the door that he had kicked open and he began to crawl to it. The heat from the flames pierced Matthew’s skin as he came ever closer to the home. He began to realize that something else was wrong. The incredible strength that he had gained from Amanda’s parents started to leave him. Within seconds, the same strength that had helped Matthew save the lives of the Curry’s children was completely removed from Matthew’s body and in turn, from Mr. and Mrs. Curry’s bodies.

Matthew walked away, as flames continued to billow out of windows, the walls of the home, and the roof. The stark reality of the situation encompassed him as he staggered back to Amanda and Steven Jr. Steve and Laura Curry had died in the house fire that had been set by Keith Kellington.

Matthew fought back the tears that began to well up in his eyes. As he reached Amanda and Steven Jr., he began to realize that both of them were suffering from the smoke. Neither of them was breathing well and each had several burns on their arms and legs. Matthew took his Hathmec pendant and held it in his hands. He asked for two copies of the pendant and they started to form around his own.

They were copies of his pendant, just less powerful. He made a copy of the health charm and placed one into each pendant. He placed the pendant over the little boy’s and young girl’s necks. He could tell that their breathing started to improve, and he could see the burns on their arms start to heal, ever so slightly.

Matthew sat on the ground while flames continued to erupt in the background. He removed the ropes that bound Amanda and Steven Jr. He held Amanda and Steven Jr. in his arms and rocked back and forth, waiting for one of them to wake up. Matthew thought,
What am I gonna do now?
He yelled out in anger, “Keith Kellington’s gonna pay for this!”

“Oh, I don’t think that is going to happen.”