Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 21:12:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rune Therain <mist_dark@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Shadows of the Past 7

It's the weekend and I'm typing at my computer rather then being out and
doing something.  I really should get a life, but there's so many things I
have to do for school.  I won't bore you with the details, but I'm complain
about it now and again.  I'm moving along faster then I expected with my
homework, so I might actually get a chance to work on chapter eight
sometime in the near future.  Not promising anything, but it just might
happen.

I want to thank the people that have taken the time to e-mail me.  I know I
complain about not getting enough e-mail, though I have difficulty trying
to find that right balance of having enough, but I do want you guys to know
I appreciate what I do get.  Constructive criticism is always welcome as
are your general ideas on my story.  And of course any praise you have is
also welcome.  You even have your choice of which address to send e-mails
to.  Mist_dark@hotmail.com or mist_dark@yahoo.ca Isn't that just great?
You can send them to one of two addresses, or both if you want to.

As per usual.  This story is in no way supposed to reflect anything about
Nsync.  If you are too young, go away for now and return at a later date.
If it's illegal in your area to be reading this I would strongly suggest
moving.  If homosexual themes offend you, your web searching skills need a
lot of work.

That's all I'm going to say for now.
Until next time,
Rune



CHAPTER SEVEN



	Kyle sighed deeply and readjusted his position in the back of the
limousine.  He looked across at his sister before looking out the window.
He and his sister had been following the man that Mara had asked them too
for several hours.  They'd been on the interstate far longer then he cared
for.  He was not the type of person that enjoyed traveling long distances
in a car, regardless of how comfortable the car was.  Conversation was
almost non-existent as Erin was often checking up on the man and his
friends.

	"I still can't believe that she's actually having us follow a man
because he spurned her all those years ago," Kyle muttered.

	"There's more to it then that," Erin said.  She had brought her
attention back to the other occupant of the car.  "She's got something
planned.  Something big, this is just a cover."

	Kyle arched an eyebrow in his sister's direction.  "And exactly how
did you find this out?"  He tapped his temple.  "You didn't..," he left it
hanging.

	"That's exactly what I did," Erin smiled smugly.  "She wouldn't
have told us directly and I'm above snooping through files to find what I
want."  She looked out the window.  "I don't know what she's up to Kyle,
but it's something big.  For some reason it involves the people in the bus
up there."  She shook her head.  "I didn't have the time to go looking for
anything too deep, but when everything comes together it's going to be a
thing of beauty."

	"Think we should back out?"  Kyle asked.

	"Not a chance," Erin said.  "Whatever's going to happen, we want to
be on her side.  Once she reaches a certain point even the Oracle won't be
able to stop her.  It's not something I'd like to oppose."

	Kyle nodded.  "Point made.  So I guess we just sit tight for the
time being.  Make our little reports to her and pretend we don't know
anything."  He looked out the window for a moment before glancing back at
Erin.  "You do know what she'll do to us if she figured out you went
trotting through her mind.  We may be good, but she'd cut through us
without any problem."

	It was Erin's turn to nod.  "I know.  It was risky, but it was
worse not know anything at all.  We'll just have to play it safe."

	The siblings lapsed into silence and watched the lights of various
cars drive past them.  They were absorbed in their own thoughts for almost
an hour before Erin broke the silence.

	"We'll want to watch her actions for dealings with relics," she
said abruptly.

	"Pardon?"  Kyle was usually good at following his sister's sudden
changes in thought, but this one was impossible to follow.

	"What she's got planned has something to do with something very
old.  Very old and very powerful."












	"Okay," Lance began.  "There's good news and there's bad news."  He
shuffled the papers in front of him and looked expectantly at the people
clustered around the table in front of him.

	Josh leaned forward.  "Well?"

	"Well what?"  Lance asked with a perfectly straight face.

	"What's the news?"  Joey asked in exasperation.

	"I'm waiting for your answer first," Lance replied.  "I can't go on
without it."

	"What answer?" Justin asked.  Behind him the bodyguards were
unsuccessfully controlling their laughter.

	"Do you want the good news," Lance started.  "Or the bad news
first?"

	Chris groaned and poked Cody to try to get him to stop laughing.
"Stop that," he admonished.  "The bad news first."

	"If you insist," Lance said.  "But don't gripe to me when you
decide that you wanted the good news first later.  I'm just the messenger
and completely at the mercy of the people who I'm giving the message to.
It's so very confusing when they get upset when I give them the message in
the order they asked."

	"Stop," Joey said.  "Just tell us."

	"Okay," Lance said.  He shuffled the papers a few more times and
then after fending off an attack from Justin started reading the paper.
"Basically our appointment is cancelled for today," he paused for dramatic
effect.  "But it's been rescheduled for tomorrow at seven am."

	"Ouch," Josh said.  "I guess that means that we can't do anything
tonight.  What's the good news?"

	"The good news is that after that appointment we're free for the
next three weeks."

	"Three weeks?"  Joey asked in confusion.  "Three weeks in the
middle of a tour?  How'd we get that?"

	Lance flipped through the papers a few times.  He did it just for
show, everyone knew that he knew the answer, he just liked to draw things
out.  "Well it appears that one of the halls had a bad luck with a
lightening storm and couldn't turn on a light bulb let alone run our
equipment.  Another place got flooded, the third place is being fumigated
and the fourth place burned down, fell over and sank into the swamp."  He
set the papers down and looked around the table.  "So as of ten o'clock
tomorrow we are off for three weeks.  Any suggestions?"

	"We could catch flights home," Joey suggested.

	"Problem with that," Josh said.  "My family is traveling, Justin's
mother is in the midst of an important business deal and as much as she'd
like him home, she needs the peace.  Lance's parents are visiting
relatives.  And it goes on like this."

	"Okay bad idea," Joey muttered.  "Just thought I'd mention it."

	Justin leaned back over his chair and looked at the bodyguards who
had gotten themselves under control.  They had until the blonde asked them
a question upside down with the silliest look on his face.  "Got any
ideas?"

	"We don't have ideas," Deana said between giggles.  "We're just the
hired help."

	"Whatever you guys do is fine," Cody said.  "We'll stalk you
regardless of where you go."

	"Huh?"  Justin said.  He managed to look even more ridiculous with
the new expression on his face.

	"We have to make sure you guys don't get hurt," Cody explained.
"Which means we have to follow you.  Your management probably didn't expect
this little break.  We've been hired to protect you 24/7 for the next
several months.  That's why we've been rooming with you guys."

	"Well that changes things a bit," Chris said.

	"How?"  Cody asked.

	"If you have to watch over us then we should probably do something
that would make it easier for you to do that."  He looked around the room.
"Any suggestions?"

	"I've got a cabin in the woods a few hours away from here," Sean
suggested.

	"You have a cabin?"  Lance asked.

	"Well I don't," he clarified.  "My parents do, but they never use
it.  And it's not really a cabin.  It's more of a house in the middle of
the woods.  Mom doesn't believe in roughing it unless she does it in
comfort."

	"Sounds good," Joey said.  "Any other possible suggestions?"

	The group discussed it for several minutes before deciding on the
cabin idea.  Sean gave them a quick overview of the cabin and what they
would need to bring.  There were five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen
and a living room.  There was a lake within walking distance and a number
of hiking trails.  The only downside was that there wasn't really a way to
drive to the house.  The cars had to be left in a lot half a mile from the
cabin.

	"Then we'll need to go shopping for food," Lance said.  He started
making a list of the food he thought they'd need.  "And for some clothes as
well.  I don't think any of us have much in the way of woodsy gear."

	"I'd get some sort of bug replant too," Sean suggested.  "They
aren't always there, but in the evenings there are bugs that could drain a
man of his blood in seconds."

	"Okay you didn't mention there'd be piranhas," Justin said.  "We
won't need shot guns to deal with the local bug life, will we?"

	"Nope," Sean assured him.  "Just don't go out in the woods after
dark."

	"I'll keep that in mind," he got up to leave.  "Does anyone mind if
I invite Sheryl?"

	"I don't," Sean said.  He looked around and everyone else agreed
with him.  "Seems like you're in the clear on that one."

	"Good, I'll give her a call," the blonde said.






	"I still can't believe that we're driving to another city just
because someone thinks she's here," Lynn muttered.

	"Do you have any other ideas on how to catch this woman?"  Sam
asked.  "This is the first thing we've had to go on and I think that this
woman can help us figure out what the hell is going on."

	"And what if she turns out to be some inhuman creature?"  Lynn
asked with a fair bit of sarcasm dripping from her voice.

	"You're not going to get all Outer-limits on me are you?"  Sam said
in frustration.  Lynn had been less then pleasant the last few days.

	His partner sighed.  "I'm sorry Sam, I don't know why I've been
such a bitch lately.  This case is just starting to get to me.  I don't
like the fact we don't have any solid leads to go on.  So far we haven't
gotten any closer to solving this case.  And so far the only thing we have
to work with is a woman that can survive a ten-story fall."

	"I know," Sam agreed.  "But we'll solve this thing.  It's just too
strange not to.  At least the local police have agreed to let us work on
this case in their jurisdiction."

	The cops lapsed into silence and continued their drive around the
city.  They stopped once for lunch and again for supper.  Night had fallen
when they decided to return to the hotel room that they'd rented for the
week they'd be here.  They were ten minutes away from the hotel when they
realized that the street they were on was empty.  Completely empty.  There
shouldn't have been many people on the street at this hour, but there were
always a few.

	"Where'd everyone go?"  Sam asked as they pulled up to a stop sign.

	"I don't," Lynn started to say.  The rest of her words were cut off
when something landed on their hood with enough force to drive the back of
the car into the air.  She let out a small cry of surprise and grabbed the
door to stabilize herself.

	"Evening," Katra purred from the hood of their car.  She was
crouched on the balls of her feet and her head was rested on her folded
arms.  She was peering through the windshield at them.  Her eyes reflected
the light like a cat's.  "I heard you guys were following me.  I don't
really like to be followed."  She leapt off the car and landed on the
street in front of them.  She dashed to the far side of the street and
disappeared around the corner before either of the cops could react.

	"Follow her," Lynn said.  She was already starting to reach for her
gun.

	"Gottcha," Sam said.  He sped through the intersection and turned
the corner that Katra had just gone around.

	The street was deserted except for a man.  They couldn't tell how
old he was from where he was standing, but they guessed about mid-twenties.
His blonde hair was fairly shaggy.  He flashed a grin at them and charged
them before Sam had pulled the car to a complete stop.  He slid to a stop
in front of the car and reached underneath with one arm.  With an upward
heave the view through the windshield suddenly showed the night sky.

	"Oh fuck," Lynn cursed.  She let her gun fall into her lap and
pushed her hands against the roof of the car.  Sam's hands were already on
the roof when hers touched it.

	The car flipped through the air three complete times before landing
back on its wheels some distance down the street.  Both cops wore shocked
looks.  Lynn was the first to react.  She grabbed her gun from where it'd
fallen and left the car.

	"Don't move," she shouted at the man.  He hadn't left the spot that
he'd thrown the car from.  He smiled at her and walked toward her as Sam
got out of the car.  "I said don't move."  When the man didn't stop she
fired a warning shot into the air.  He didn't flinch.

	"What are you planning on doing?"  Sam asked his partner.  He had
his gun out and levelled at the advancing man.

	"I don't know," Lynn admitted.

	"Damn," Sam cursed as his wrist broke.  His gun clattered to the
ground.  He turned around and was face to face with Katra.

She smiled at him.  "Didn't think I'd left you did you?"  She didn't wait
for him to respond.  Instead she stepped back from the surprised officer
and kicked him in the chest.  He staggered backward into the car.  "I love
my job," she said cheerfully.

Lynn looked over and then quickly back at the man.  He was moving faster
then he'd been before.  She fired a shot at his leg.  The shot did what it
was supposed to; it just clipped the side of his thigh, enough to take him
down.  The man kept coming at her.  Lynn panicked.  She unloaded four more
bullets into the man's chest before he closed the distance.

"Bad girl," he admonished as he snatched her gun away from her.  He tossed
it behind him and backhanded her.  She slammed into the ground and slid ten
feet.  There had been a crack when his hand contacted her cheek.  She was
pretty sure he'd broken her cheekbone.  He cocked his head to one side and
looked at her.  He watched her stagger to her feet and inch toward the car
where a spare gun was kept.  When she was five feet away from the car he
sighed and stepped between her and the car.  He put his foot on the fender
and pushed.  The car shot fifty feet backward.  Its movement was stopped
when it ran into a telephone pole.

"That's enough," a woman's voice said.

The clicking of high heels filled the street.  Underneath the sharp
clicking was the muted sound of a man's shoes.  Lynn carefully looked away
from the man to see who had appeared.  The woman was dressed in a white
skirt suit and looked very professional for the section of town she was in.
The man was obviously related to her and was dressed in a white business
suit.

"Kyle stop Katra from killing that man."  She indicated to where Katra was
slamming Sam's head into the pavement.

"Why can't we have our fun?" the young man asked her.

"Because Paul," she snapped.  "I don't want you to."  She turned her gaze
to Lynn.  "Besides I want to know how much she knows."

"But," the man interjected.

"But nothing," she snapped back.

Lynn tore her eyes from the woman to see where Kyle had gone.  He was
standing between Sam and Katra.  The blonde woman was hunched down in a
feral pose with fear clearly displayed in her eyes.  Mingled with the fear
was anger.  She was afraid of Kyle for some reason, but was angry with him
at the same time.

"Pay attention to me human," the woman said.

"Why?"  Lynn spat.  "Are you worth my attention?"

"More then you'll ever realize."  The woman stared directly into Lynn's
eyes and the officer felt like she was looking directly into her soul.  "I
have a few questions to ask you."

"I won't answer them," Lynn told her defiantly.

"But you already have," the woman told her.  "You already know far too much
about forces you can't hope to understand.  At the moment you lack the
knowledge to be a hindrance to our cause, but you will gain that knowledge
in the future.  Or rather you would."

"You're going to kill me?"  Lynn asked with a smirk.

"Worse," the woman smiled at her.  The smile sent shivers up Lynn's back.

	Lynn was going to reply when pain slashed through her head.  Her
vision blurred for a moment and she dropped to her knees in agony.  Her
blurred vision was replaced by redness and she felt blood trickle down from
her nose.  The agony continued, it felt like someone was raking claws
through her brain.  Several times she tried to summon the will to scream,
but the pain was too intense.  She couldn't even whimper.  She had no idea
what was happening to Sam or what else was happening in the street.  All
she knew was that her head felt like it was going to explode.  As a defence
her mind blocked off the pain and she retreated into herself.


Sam watched with a mixture of fascination and horror.  He didn't do
anything the entire time Lynn was writhing on the street.  He wanted to,
but he couldn't make himself move.  All he could do was watch.  When she
stopped twitching he found he could speak.

"What did you do?"  He said lowly.  He knew he was going to die and he
intended to take one of these people with him.

"I crushed her mind," the woman said smugly.  "It's amazing how frail the
mind truly is."

"Gonna do that to me too?"  He asked as harshly as he had before.  He was
trying to stall for enough time to fully form his plan.

"No," she told him.  "I thought Kyle would like the pleasure of removing
you as a potential annoyance."

"I would love to Erin," Kyle told her.  "Are you afraid human?"

"No," Sam said truthfully.  He was mad, but not afraid.

He felt the thrill of fear dance along his skin.  It felt like a jolt of
static.  It centred in his palms for a second before dissipating.  He broke
out in a cold sweat and his pulse began racing.

"How about now?" Kyle asked him as calmly as before.  "Or are you feeling
sad?"

Abruptly the feeling of fear vanished from him.  It was instantly replaced
by a depression stronger then anything he'd felt before.  Even during his
suicidal years as a teen he hadn't felt this low.  All he could think about
was wallowing in a self-pity that had no cause.

"Or is it anger?"

Fury started to well up inside Sam.  The adrenaline that always accompanies
blind rage started to prep his system to lash out at the nearest object.
He didn't know what he was mad at, just that he wanted to hurt something.
Hurt anything.  His muscles tightened and loosened themselves involuntary.
He had completely forgotten about his broken wrist.  He took a step toward
Kyle and fear washed over him.  In an instant his fury was replaced by
mind-numbing fear.  He gasped and stepped back.  The second he did that the
depression returned.  He slumped to his knees fully aware of the
hopelessness of his situation.  Peacefulness replaced the depression and
was in turn replaced by total confusion.  Emotions changed inside him so
rapidly he couldn't keep up with them.  His mind started to rebel and his
body started to ignore the mind's messages to respond to the stimuli.  Sam
collapsed in a heap staring vacantly ahead of him.

Erin walked to Kyle's side.  She looked once at Sam and then back over at
Lynn.  Without saying a word she started walking down the street, Kyle was
half a step behind her.  Halfway down she turned and looked at Katra and
Paul.

{Return to Mara.  We do not need your services at this time.}

Both Paul and Katra's heads shot up as her words echoed through their
minds.  Neither one of them moved as they watched the retreating backs of
the siblings turn the corner.



TBC

So?  What did you think?  Let me know.  I got this one done a touch faster
then I thought I would.  No complaints, just a bit surprised.  Anyway the
addresses are above and you can e-mail me if you want to.  And I'd really
like it if you did.

Rune