Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 10:01:10 -0800 (PST)
From: JMH <trandar2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Mark/The Others chapter 4

Well it has been a while but here it finally is... chp 4 of
the Others.  Sorry it has taken so long, have been busy
working on The Centurion, another sci fi novel.  If you have
any questions about it feel free to email me.

trandar2002@yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adultwritingworkshop/

http://www.keepitcoming.net/centurion.html

***********************************************************************

When news came that the family was moving to Vassar City,
Thomas had looked on it as a chance for him to explore but
then he was given the bad new.  He and Jacob would not be
going.  That was the last straw for Thomas.  He couldn't
take being sheltered any longer so he did something he never
thought he was capable of; he used his talent to put Jacob
into a coma.  It was the only way he could see to give
himself enough time to escape Jacob's grasp.

He waited until the house was asleep and then snuck into
Jacob's bedroom.  As soon as he felt  he was in range , he
pushed Jacob into a deep sleep that he was sure would take
him a week to come out of unless Travis came back to take him
out of it for only Travis was strong enough to compete with
him.  He then spent a few minutes openly apologizing to Jacob
for attack him, his own father.  He left a note explaining
what he did but not what he was planning to do.

It was easy for him to escape the notice of the guards and
soon he was in Burlington taking the train to the city just
as Scott and Jacob had tried to do so many years ago but once
in the city, Thomas went straight to the vampire control
office and turned himself in as an out of control feeder.
The workers there looked at him in disbelief but the rules
stated that any vampire who felt out of control had to be
sent to Exile so that is where they sent him.

******************************************

Andrew woke in Ed's arms in a tent where the Hunters had
made camp.  He had a headache and when he tried to remove the
crown on his head he found that his mind wouldn't let him.

"Shhh, it's ok Andrew.  They told me that you can't remove
the crown.  It's supposed  to block your telepathic talent
but it also prevents you from going into spasms again when
they turn on what they call the psi field."  Ed explained.

"We've been captured, haven't we?"  Andrew said in
defeat.

"Yes but things are not that bad.  They plan to keep us
together for now.  They know that I'm your boyfriend so they
think they can keep you happy by letting me stay with you.
Cool isn't it."

"But what do they plan to do with me?"

"I don't know but from what I can tell, you are a big
deal.  They're planning to make a lot of money of you."

"Great, so I'm going to be sold."

"Looks like it bud but as long as we are together I'm
happy." Ed grinned.

"Well at least one of us is."  Andrew pouted wishing his
headache would go away.

It was at this time that the man with the crown came into the
tent and threw them a pair of flight suits.  "Good you're
awake.  Put these cloths on.   You've been sold to an
important bidder so I don't want you to give me any
problems."  He said before leaving them.

"Where do you think we are going?"  Andrew asked Ed as they
began to get dressed.

`I don't know but he said it was an important bidder.  Only
place where there are important people is in the cities so I
guess we are going to a city."  Ed said using what logic he
could.

"I guess so.  Never been to a city.  I only have heard bad
things about it"

"Same here but remember where we learned all that shit
from.  It's not like we Wilders don't have a grudge against
the city dwellers."

"True."

"Think of it as an adventure."  Ed said in an attempt to
raise his friend's spirit.  Ed was excited; he was being
allowed to stay with Andrew and going to a place where he
could finally express his feeling freely.  Andrew though was
worried about what would await him with his owner when they
finally arrived.

Ten minutes later the man with the crown came in and escorted
them to the waiting helicopter that would take them to the
airfield.  From there the two were sent directly to their new
owner waiting in Vassar City.

*****************************************************

Randal was scared out of his wits when he entered the dark
levels of Exile.  Except for the resting areas for the human
slaves there were no windows, only darkness broken up by the
red glows of the vampires' eyes.  When he first arrived he
was paraded with the other new slaves around the new
prisoners.  The new vampires would have to fight amongst
themselves to see which of them would get which slave but
that would happen latter in the week.  The first few days
were spent teaching the slaves the rules of Exile.  First,
when they were finally assigned to a vampire their body and
most importantly their blood belong to that vampire.  Other
vampires would try to seduce you to take it but if your
master found out then he had the right to kill you.  Randal
also learned that whatever food he was going to be fed had to
be won by his master.  Just as the master had to fight for
his blood they had to fight for the upkeep of their slaves.
Finally Randal was warned to never get attached to his master
for at any time he could be defected in the arena and Randal
could find himself belonging to another person.  If he showed
resentment to his new master then that master might decided
to kill him out of spite.  It soon became clear to Randal
that his world was going to be one of constant fear.

It was while he was in the slave quarters that Randal dared
to make a friend.  His name was Louis and he was a stringy
youth of around 19 years of age.  He had been sent into Exile
because he had killed a hunter trying to capture him.  He had
no idea what sort of world he had entered for as a Wilder he
had no contact with vampires until now.

So Randal, while scared out of his wits himself tried to take
care of the younger man as best he could and found comfort in
it for while he could not control anything else in his life
he could still effect Louis.  As a result, Louis stuck to
Randal like glue... that was until selection day.

One by one the slaves were brought into the middle of the
arena.  Any of the new vampires who wanted the slave would
jump into the ring and fight until only one was left
standing.  It was a tricky game.  If you went after a slave
that too many people wanted then you run the risk of being
injured and too weak to get any of the leftovers.  Before
Randal turn, very few of the vampires entered the pit, only
the weaker ones fought.  It was as if they were waiting for
something and that something turned out to be Randal himself.

When Randal walked into the middle of the pit that made the
arena, nearly a dozen vampires jumped in leaving nearly no
space for Randal.  Knowing that this was going to be a major
fight, the foreman pulled Randal into an alcove to keep him
safe as the free for all began.  Within seconds two vampires
fell down, their bodies impaled by the fists of others.
Anther fell when one of them snapped his neck.  During the
whole fight there was one man who made no move to attack, or
defend himself, but whenever a vampire approached him they
would be stopped as if they had hit an invisible barrier.
The man caught Randal's eyes as he looked different from
most vampires.  First his skin was gray.  He also had slanted
deep set eyes and drew Randal into them.  For some reason,
Randal hoped that the strange man would win.

In the end only two remained the strange man and a bull of a
man who had taken out most of the others by breaking their
necks.  The larger man circled around the gray skin man
looking for a hole in the barrier.  He was just attempt to
rush it when the barrier fell and the vampire stumbled, right
into the arms of the stranger who in one motion broke his
neck.  The cold, calculating manner in which the gray skinned
man made his kill sent shivers down Randal spine.  Now he was
unsure that he really wanted the vampire to be his master.

Now that the fight was over, the foreman grabbed Randal by
the arm and dragged him toward the gray man.  A hot brand was
taken out and was pressed on the gray man's left arm.
During the whole time the hot iron was on his skin he didn't
move or make a sound.  The iron was then taken back and
reheated.  When it was brought back, the foreman's helpers
grabbed Randal and held him in place as they branded his
right arm with the same mark.  Randal screamed and tried to
flinch away but the vampire guards held him in place.  When
they were done, Randal's face was wet with tears and sweat
as he continued to sob.  The gray man then took hold of
Randal's shoulder and led him out of the arena.

It was custom that when a slave was won in combat, the new
master would feed off him soon after.  The gray man didn't
do that, instead he led Randal to his private cell and led
him to the bed.  Randal's heart began to beat wildly,
instead of taking his blood, Randal feared that the gray man
wanted his body.  Randal shook as the gray man joined him on
the bed and wrapped his arms around him but instead of
undressing him, the gray man began to cry uncontrollably.

"I didn't want to kill him.'  The gray man sobbed.  "I
thought I could win without killing."

It was not only the gray man's tears that confused Randal
but it was also his words.  Vampires sent to Exile were here
because they were killers.  Why was this vampire showing
remorse for an act he must have done many times before.  But
as Randal was in the gray man's arms, he sensed that he was
in the presence of an innocent.  The gay man was not a cold
killer but an unwilling one.  Randal was indeed lucky to be
where he was.

*********************************************************



     The fleet finally arrived at Antarctica.  Helicopters
began to move supplies and equipment needed to build the base
camp.  Not because he was cold but to help ease his
children's fears, James was dressed head to toe in thick
furs.  Walking with me was Nathan and Landon smiling and
making jokes as usual.

"Hey dad, how large of a snowman do you think we can make
with all this white stuff."  Nathan laughed as he threw
another snow ball at Landon.

"Not too large, the weight of all the snow would cause it to
collapse on itself."  Landon said to punch a hole in his
brother's idea.

"Hey!"  Nathan said offended.

"Landon... be nice to your brother.  We all know you are
smarter then him, but you shouldn't show off."  James
laughed, zinging both his kids in one blow.

"How are you feeling Dad?"  Landon asked concerned.

"I feel fine son so don't worry about me falling asleep on
you."  James said as he gave Landon a hug.

"Yes!"  Nathan cheered as he joined them. "Group hug!"

"You two never change."  James sighed.

"Is that a bad thing?"  Landon asked with worry in his
eyes.

"No, it's not.  I just worry that since you two never
change you won't  be able to handle anything bad happening."

"Nothing bad will happen.  You always take care of us."

"I know son."  James replied.  He just didn't have the
heart to ask his kids what they would do without him.  The
fear that they had shown when he had gone into a deep sleep
proved to James they were not ready for it.  But  When would
they be able to take it, he didn't know.  For while James
felt more awake then he had in years, he could sense a change
coming and this time he fear it would take him away from his
family.

"Gosh Landon, why do you have to be such a worry wart."
Nathan complained.  Between the brothers, Nathan had always
been the more outgoing.

Landon responded by sticking his tongue at his twin brother
who was also his lover.

"No," James thought.  "These two would never change."
They were stuck in an eternal childhood and for their sake
James would do what he could to stay with them.

******************************************************



When Andrew arrived he saw signs that had to be writing but
never learning how to read, he couldn't make sense of them.
As soon as the plane had landed, Andrew and Ed were put in a
car and driven to the five towered building that had the
letter C-L-U-B in gold on the front entrance.  Once in the
main lobby, they were guided to the tallest of the five
towers and taken to what Andrew believed had to be the top
floor.

Looking out the window lined corridor made Andrew dizzy from
the height and Ed turned a shade of green.  When they arrived
at a pair of large oak doors, they were stopped and left to
wait.  After several minutes of fidgeting, Andrew and Ed
jumped to a start when the large doors slowly opened.  Out
stepped a man with black hair and one with light blond.  They
walked holding each other's arms and Andrew could see they
were in love with each other.

"Hello, I'm Alex and this is my husband Ryan."  The dark
haired man said in making introductions.

Andrew remained silent but Ed was able to squeak a soft
hello.

"It must be you Ryan."  Alex laughed.  "They must know you
are a Vassar and are terrified of you."

"Stop that."  Ryan blushed from his husband's teasing.
"I think most Wilders don't even know about my
family."

"A Vassar?"  Andrew said not knowing the significance.

"See I told you he has no idea."  Ryan said showing
Andrew's confusion as proof.

"OK hon, you made your point."  Alex apologized.  "Welcome
to our family."  He said turning his attention back to the
two young men.

"Family?"  Ed said confused, he had thought they were going
to be slaves.

"Yes, we decided to adopt Andrew here and as his boyfriend
we decided to take you in as well."  Ryan explained.

"What's the catch?" Ed asked suspiciously.

"Well... we want you two to be a good friend to one of our
relatives.  You can come out now Will."  Andrew called out
to the doors."

Ed took on an ugly face suspecting that Alex wanted Andrew to
be more then just a friend.  Andrew for his part was nervous
until he saw the young, gray skin man step out from behind
the doors.  At once Andrew felt an attraction as his heart
began to flutter on seeing Will's exotic look.  Will walked
to them slowly as if bashful, his green eyes glowing faintly.

"Hi... my name is Will Keller."  He introduced himself in a
quiet voice reaching his hand to both Andrew and Ed.

Ed didn't make a motion to take the hand but that turned out
not to matter.  Andrew extended his hand, taking Will's
grasping it firmly.  Will's face took on a smile as both his
and Andrew's eyes flared up brightly.  Alex and Ryan looked
on with grins on their faces.  Everything was going as
planed.

***********************************************************

When Randal returned to the slave quarters he found that it
was now half empty.  Nearly all of the slaves were exhausted
from the feeding their masters had done.  Only one was awake
and he was sobbing.

Randal went over to the sobbing voice who as curled up in the
corner of the room and saw that it was Louis.  He had a black
eye and his neck carried a large bruise where the vampire had
bitten him.  On seeing Randal, Louis wrapped his body around
Randal's leg, clinging to him as he continued to cry.

Seeing the caked blood on Louis's neck, Randal had to pry
him off him so he could go to the bathroom and wet down one
of the towels there.   He then returned to Louis and began
cleaning him up.

"He hurt me Randal."  Louis wept.

"I know hon.  It'll be ok."

"No... I don't think it will."  Louis said in disbelief.
`He said I was ugly and when he wins a better slave, he will
kill me."

"He won't kill you.  Why would he kill a cute guy like
you?"

"I don't know.  That's just what he told me."

"Well once he gets to know you I'm sure everything will be
ok."

"Alright...  What did your master do to you?  He was really
scary."  Louis asked as he began checking Randal's neck for
bites."

"He didn't bite me."  Randal said when he noticed the
surprise on Louis's face.

"He didn't... then what did he do with you?"

"He held me.  He wanted someone to hold while he cried."

"Vampires don't cry."  Louis said in disbelief.

"Well he did.  He felt sorry for killing in the arena."

"Sure..." Louis said in disbelief.

"No really... I felt sorry for him."

"Well you're really lucky that you got him then."  Louis
said not without a hint of jealousy.

"Hey, how about I talk to my master and see if I can get him
to fight for you.   We can then be together.

"Really?"  Louis said with some hope.

"Sure."  Randal said to boost his friend's spirit.

Just then, one of the guards entered the room and nodded at
Randal.  "Get your things, your master has decided to have
you live with him."

Randal gulped, slaves that lived with their master rarely got
much sleep but he grabbed his things quickly and waved
goodbye to Louis before he was led back to the vampire half
of Exile.  He could see red eyes follow him as he moved down
the broad corridors.  They had a predatory look that sent
shivers up Randal's eyes but soon he was at his master's
door, labeled with the same mark as the brand that still hurt
Randal's arm.  The guard pushed Randal to his knees and
knocked on the door before leaving.

Randal looked straight to the ground but he could feel shadow
creeping on him.  It was just as he was about to jump up and
scream that the door opened.  Randal jumped into the light
room, right into his master's arms, escaping the vampires
that had been slinking toward him.  Randal cried against his
master's chest as he was lead away from the now closed door
and to the bed.

"Are you alright?"  His master asked once Randal had
settled down.

"Uh huh."  Randal replied.  He was still shaken but now he
was starting to feel embarrassed in acting like a scared
child but by the way his master would stroke his hair and
cradle him it was hard not to feel like a kid again.

"That's why I had you brought here.  You're not safe among
the vampires.  I need to keep you where I can watch out for
you."

The way his master had referred to "vampires" Randal almost
thought that his master did not count himself among them.
But, when Randal looked into his master's eyes, the red glow
erased any doubts on what his master had to be.

"Why are they after me?"  Randal asked confused.

"They sense that you are special but I'm the only one who
knows what you really are."

"What am I?"

"You are a Bride... a vampires bride.  The moment I saw you I
knew you had to be because... because I have lived with one."

"That is what my father said just before... before the
accident."

"I didn't want to scare you on your first night but I need
to feed.  May I?"

"Yes master."  Randal replied as he leaned his neck to one
side.

"Don't call me that."  The master demanded as he forced
Randal to look into his eyes.

"That is what I'm supposed to call you."

"I'm not your master.  I'm...  I don't want you to call me
that.  Please call me Thomas."  He pleaded.

"Yes master Thomas." Randal returned afraid.

"No... just Thomas.  I want... I want you to be my friend and
we can't do that if you think I'm your master."

"Yes Thomas."  Randal replied with the same tone as if he
had said "master".

Sensing for the moment that that was the best he could get at
this junction, Thomas sighed before he began kissing
Randal's neck, preparing him for feeding.

Unlike with his uncle Scott, Thomas could now exercise his
desire to express love before feeding.  He licked and kissed
the entire side of Randal's neck, making love to it.  He
then looked into Randal's eyes one more time, made a nod of
his head, waited for Randal's response and then began to
feed.

Randal exhaled when he felt the teeth break his skin.  This
was nothing like when his old master and fed off him.
Instead of gentleness focused on minimizing pain, Thomas fed
to give mutual pleasure.  Randal felt a warm hand slip under
his shirt and twist his nipples as another unbuttoned his
pants.  He was soon lowered onto his back, Thomas's mouth
never leaving his neck.  Randal began to feel lightheaded as
his blood flowed out of him.  This dizziness only added to
Randal's arousal, as his mind could not anticipate what
Thomas was going to do next.  When Thomas finished feeding,
Randal was erect but close to passing out. It was then that
Thomas did something Randal would of never have guessed.
Thomas gave him the blood kiss.

It started with a couple gentle kisses but then grew to a
hard one that opened Randal's lips wide to the blood pouring
from Thomas's mouth.  Randal felt his strength return to the
point where he grabbed the back of Thomas's head, making the
kiss harder.  Eventually the blood began to trickle and
Thomas ended the kiss.  Randal felt as if his body was on
fire, causing him to squirm as Thomas held him.  When Randal
had settled down, Thomas let go of him and went out the
door.  He quickly came back with Randal's things and put
them on the table to go through them.  Randal lifted himself
up on his elbow and tried to figure out what Thomas was
looking for.  It turned out to be a mirror.

Thomas brought the mirror to Randal and handed it to him.
"Look at yourself!"  He said eagerly.

Randal took the small hand mirror and brought it to his
face.  What he saw almost caused him to drop it.  His once
brown eyes were now a glowing blue.  "What does this mean?"

"It's what I told you.  You're a bride.  When a bride is
given the blood kiss their eyes turn blue verses the vampire
red."  Thomas grinned as he sat behind Randal and drew him
into a hug.

"You mean I can't turn into a vampire?"  Randal said in
disbelief.

"Nope."  Thomas laughed.

"I've been a fool then."  Randal berated himself.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because all I ever want to be was a vampire... a master.
Now I learn that I can't become one.  I wouldn't be here if
I had not foolishly perused that impossible goal.

"It's ok hon." Thomas tried to comfort.  "Want to tell me
why you were sent here."

"If you tell me why you were... you don't act like any
vampire I know?"

Thomas laughed at that comment and began the story of his
unusual birth from an egg to his running away from home
ending him here.  Randal didn't believe half the stuff
Thomas told him especially the parts about the egg and him
being raised as a member of the ruling Morgan family.  But
once Thomas was done, Randal didn't ask any questions. He
went right into telling his own tale.  He told about living
in a vampire household, that his father had a privilege
position of being the master's favorite.  He told Thomas of
his dream of becoming  a vampire and the night he had let his
ambition take over his good judgment, leading him to be
sentence to Exile.

By this time, Randal lay underneath the large frame of
Thomas, as Thomas listened to him.  For the first time since
he learned of his sentence, Randal felt safe.  Thomas would
protect him from the predators.  All Randal had to do was
love Thomas in return.  He was half way there.

******************************************************

Another person falling into love but more troubled by it was
Andrew.  Will was a fun person to be around.  While Andrew
expected Will to be the expert in living in the City, he
learned that Will had really been raised in a cabin, not too
different from the way he had been raised.  Together, with an
unhappy Ed, they explored what the city had to offer. They
spent the first weeks restricted to the Club as Alex and Ryan
taught them about acceptable  behavior, money, and
technology.  It was Ed who had the hardest problem with
money, as he felt nothing wrong of taking anything that
fancied his interests.

Ed had a lot of problems.  He didn't like covering himself
up with cloths.  He became frustrated with all the eating
utensils at the formal dinners they would take them to.  He
didn't like the restricted space in living in rooms,
regardless how large they were.  He didn't like "no entry"
signs, "stop" signs, and crosswalks.  He hated the rules
but what he hated most was Andrew's obvious affection for
Will.

Unless Ed insisted on it, Andrew would always want Will with
them.  The two could just look at each other and burst into
laughter, an inside joke that Ed could not be a part of
because he was not a telepath.  Alex and Chance could see
that Ed was unhappy and they tried to help him feel apart but
since they too were telepaths Ed rejected their attempts, not
wanting to be pitied by the enemy.

The last straw was when Ed woke from a nap and found Andrew
laying on the sofa by Will, while Will ran his finger through
Andrews long blond hair.

"Get away from him you freak!"  Ed stormed into the room,
pulling Andrew off the sofa. Will looked shocked, almost hurt
but Andrew became angry and pushed Ed away.

"He's not a freak!"  Andrew shouted at his old friend.
"He's special!"

"Look at him Andrew! I know that you too, are a telepath,
but look at his eyes and skin... that's just not normal!"
Ed returned.  Will, now crying jumped off the sofa and run to
his room slamming the door.  "That's right, run away you
freak!"

Slap! Andrew hit Ed.  "He may look different but that does
not make him bad.  You and I should know how it feels to be
different.  I had to hide my gift for years and we both had
to conceal how we felt about each other."

"Gift!  Now you're talking like them.  Telepathy is not a
gift, it's a disease, a disease  that has led to our
slavery."

Andrew became very sad in hearing those words from his
lover.  He lowered his head before speaking.  "I'm sorry
you feel that way and I'm sorry if you feel I'm spending
too much time with Will but he's the first telepath I've
had the chance to get to know.  He's gotten me to see being
a telepath as a good thing, something I should not hide.  If
you can't accept that...  I don't know what I'll do.  Now
if you will excuse me, I need to apologize to Will for your
behavior."  And with that, Andrew left for Will's room
where sobbing could still be heard.  Ed stood stunned, not
sure if he should follow and try to apologize but deep in his
heart he felt he was right and so went back to his room to
brood.



**********************************************************



Nathan and Landon were on a mission.  They were finally going
to get dad after many centuries of failed attempts.  This
time they were going to succeed for this time they had Jason
on their side.

The plan was for Jason to feed off James, leaving him tired
and weak.  Jason would then tie James up before coming to get
them.  The two twins could barley hold back their giggles
when the door finally opened.

"You can come in now."  Jason whispered.

Using their hands to muffle their laughter the twins entered
the dark room.  They could see the outline of their dad on
the bed and the glint of chains.  They were just about to
pounce on their dad when all of the sudden they were pressed
down on to the bed, chains wrapping around them.  When the
light turned on, Jason and James were hovering above them as
Chance, Jason's First, pulled the covers from over his head,

"Hey... you tricked us!"  Nathan shouted, turning his anger
on Jason.

"No you fooled yourselves in thinking I would help you
seduce your dad."  Jason corrected.

"Dad!"  Landon pleaded with puppy eyes.

"Oh no, you are not going to get out of this."  James
grinned.  "Why do you two keep on trying to get me in bed?"

"Because dad we've gotten everyone else in the family."
Landon explained.

"But why have the two of you perused your family members."

"Ummm."  Both brothers stumbled.

"Is it because ya'll still feel guilty about being both
brother's and husbands?"  James asked knowing.

"Hey you read our minds!"  Nathan said, feeling violated.

"I did not; I just know the two of you too well.  Now tell
me why you both feel guilty after so many years."

"We don't feel guilty... It's just... It's just that we
know each other so well."  Nathan struggled to explain.

"Go on."  James encouraged.

"There is nothing that we don't know about each other.  We
can't surprise each other any more.  I guess you can say our
goofing off has just been a sad attempt to keep the
excitement alive."

"Ok... but why do you go after other family members?"

"I guess because it gives us the good of both worlds.  We
feel close to them as they are family members but since they
are not our twins, they are not as predictable as we find
each other."

"Are you telling me that the two comedians of the family are
bored?"  Jason laughed in disbelief.

James saw the sad expressions on his sons and gave Jason
glare that cut off his laughter.  He let go of he chains that
held his sons down and lifted them up, one in each arm.  The
twins continued to cry as they kissed their father's neck as
James returned them to the bed, him on top of them.  He let
them unbutton his shirt and take it off.  They then sucked on
his nipples as if they were babes.  It was only when Nathan
tried to take his father's pants off that James stopped
them.  After being stopped that one time they didn't try it
again, contenting themselves to their father's upper body.
That is how they fell asleep, happy that they had finally had
the chance to be with their dad.

James stayed with them for several minutes until he was sure
they were truly asleep.  He then untangled himself from them
and watched as the twins embraced each other in their sleep.
He picked up his shirt from the floor and pointed the door to
Jason who had watched everything that had happened.

"Jason... it looks like we need to find them a boyfriend."

"Do you think they'll accept one?"

"If we can find the right person I think so.  They still
need each other but... they need someone to look out for them
also."

"James... what is wrong.  You are talking like we won't be
here or them."

"That is what I'm afraid of."  James replied.

"Are you feeling sleepy again?"

"No... but I sense change coming."

"Alright... do you have any names in mind?'  Jason said
willing to play this through.

"Yes... I want you to give them Chance."

"My First!"

"Yes... Chance loves the twins, they have similar senses of
humor, and he almost family but not."

"Yes... but something tells me you are suggesting Chance for
another reason."

"Yes... if anything happens to us... Chance will still have
someone to be with."

"James... you really are starting to worry me."

"I'm sorry Jason but I just can't get rid of this feeling
that something bad is about to happen that will take us away
from our family."

James had these premonitions before.  He had predicted the
rise of the drones and Saul's capture.  If James felt
something bad was bout to happen, Jason had to take it
seriously.  He hugged his husband to comfort him.  Regardless
of what was to come, Jason was not going to let James leave
without him.