The Fenton Saga: Never Say Goodbye / There Was No Body.

by Colin Griffiths

He wasn’t sure what had happened after that, but he knew it was fast. He could recall the men in black, shouting at each other as they seized him, they had rifles and he was tasered. The man in black rekindled a distant memory but he couldn’t remember what it was. It was too late now they had got him he could feel the pain. He could remember the electricity reeling through his body, it felt like his inners were turned inside out. He thought he was going to die, but then again he thought he had already died. He could still feel the effects, they shouldn’t have done that he had thought, there was no need his strength had gone. He was a wasted man, fading away, no fight left. The mountain had swallowed him up and taken all he had.

  He remembered flying in the chopper, for how long, he didn’t know, he didn’t care, it was over now, he was finished.

  He could hear her voice now saying goodbye that was the last thing he heard.

  The mountain was a blur to him. The stuff they pumped into his veins made his whole life feel like a blur, maybe this was what death felt like and this was the price you pay for trying to save some one’s life. Has he saved them? He hoped so, otherwise it was all for nothing.

  He wanted to sleep now, just go to sleep and dream and then let there be nothing and soon there was nothing, there was no more.

  Chapter 1

  Madison was anxious, she had felt this way for almost a year now. It had been almost a year since she lost her brother, having only known him for a short time, she missed him. How excited she was when she knew she had 2 brothers only for one to be taken away from her so soon. The same brother who had plucked her from her home through a window during a terrible storm, a storm that he created. She still marvelled at that but the memories were not strong, it was as if they had been taken away from her. The last nine months of her life had been difficult, the relationship with her family strained, her new found family sometimes distant sometimes there. She wondered what it was all for, was she brought into this just to watch someone die?

  Her father whom she loved dearly seemed different now, she thought it might be because she had found her real family and he was put out by that, to a point she could understand that but Morgan was her real family, her real dad, not the monster she met up on a mountain. Then why is he so different? Why am I so different? She had thought.

  She knew that she was new to the family but why had they accepted her brother’s disappearance so easily, as easily as if he died. They were all devastated about losing him. There was no body, she saw what happened, only her, he didn't die he disappeared, to her that was a fundamental difference. She saw it happen, perhaps the only one who did. Why do they accept it so easily? She asks herself, why?

  Almost A year later they still haven't found a body, not that anyone's looking for it, yes they had looked at first, but mainly with volunteers, and of course there was no body found. As there isn’t one to find. There has been no inquiry, no missing person’s report, nothing in the newspapers or TV, everyone had just forgotten about it, as if nothing had happened, but something did happen. I was there, Madison would say to herself. The disappearance of Todd Fenton had been forgotten, but Madison would never forget. She couldn’t. She had thought that people had stopped caring, that they've moved on. Even Wendy who probably loved him more than anyone, not that she was seeing anyone, that would be a while yet, but she smiles more than she used to and she shouldn't be smiling. I don't smile anymore, we'll not much anyway she would say to herself.

  They haven't found a body because there isn't one to find. He was somewhere she knew that. Her head was in a bit of a mess, it was as if the last nine months her life had been put on hold, she spent lots of time in her room alone, just thinking about what happened that day on the mountain. When she did go down Wales to see her new family she would get upset, because no one was looking for him, then she would get angry, she didn’t understand it, she didn’t understand it at all. She wanted someone to help her fully comprehend what had happened. She would ask herself people just can’t disappear, can they? There was never an answer, no one cared except me, she had thought, I’m the only one who cares.

  She still had the nightmares, not every night but at least once a week. She guessed that she wasn’t the only one having nightmares. Or was she, perhaps everyone else is just getting on with their lives.

  Madison didn’t think her mother would ever understand what she had been through, and her mother had asked so many questions about how she got to Wales? What happened to the house? How had she found out about her family? Just too many questions and not enough concern, it was like she was trying to avoid it, trying to block it out of her mind. They had been so close but somehow those events had put something between them. Madison wasn’t sure what, she wasn’t sure how, but her dad ‘Morgan’ he seemed to understand. There was such a difference in the understanding between her mum and dad, she expected it to be the other way around, her father asking the questions and her mother giving her the love and support she needed, but it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t like that at all. He gave her the love and support she needed to such an extent she had wondered why. After all he was the one whose feelings I hurt.

  "You sure you want to do this?" her father asked for what was probably the sixth time, they were driving through a pretty suburban village where every home seemed intent on outdoing the other with hanging baskets, they were everywhere. An oasis of colour and imagination, to Morgan it looked as if it should be on a TV show. It reminded him of the Chelsea flower show though he didn’t know why as he had never been there. Madison hadn't notice her surroundings she was too deep in thought, she sighed, not again, please give it a rest.

  "I'm sure." she said, in a tone that said don’t pursue this, but she had used that tone the last few times and it had made no difference. Still he had kept on. It was driving her crazy, in fact she thought she was going crazy.

  She was anxious as it was, more anxious than she had ever been and her father nagging on at her all the time was just making it worse. Can’t you see you’re doing my head in dad?

  Morgan Hughes her father, her step father really, after marrying Madison's mother when she was six. A handsome man in his forties. He loved Madison like she was his own, he was proud of her in so many different ways. They had a brilliant life together and the three of them had become very close, it was all Morgan ever wanted. Madison and her Mother Sue had made his life complete, that was until she found her real father, her real family, now they seemed to see less and less of her. She was always down Wales. He understood she lost a brother but she had only known him for 36 hours. If he had known it was going to turn out like this he would have had to walk away. Things were ok until she found them. Morgan Hughes never had a weakness that was why he was so good at what he done, until he had met Madison and her Mum Sue, they were his weaknesses, they were all that mattered now. He knew Madison would need his support, no young girl should have to go through what she went through he had thought, he looked at her. She’s coping, she’s doing okay.

  "So this is what you’re giving up college for?"

  "Dad!" she sighed as if to say leave it. Please leave it now dad you have no idea what I’m going through. She shivered as the thought went through her mind, butterflies emerged in her stomach.

  Morgan didn't want to leave it, he wanted her to change her mind, go to college. She was a brilliant student. He didn't want to see her waste it on some dream, he wanted to turn around not take her at all. She was only coming up 18, he was her legal guardian, and he had rights. He was supposed to be here to protect Madison from all of this. He sometimes forgot what his real responsibilities were, or sometimes just get them mixed up, to protect Madison was a father’s duty. To protect the world from Madison. Well that was also his responsibility, Madison will come first, she always would, regardless of the consequences.

  I should just turn around and take her home, he thought but why can’t I do it?

  “I’m worried about you Maddie." he mocked.

  "Dad!” she shouted,
Madison hated that name and knew that her father knew that also.

  "Sorry Madison!” a smile formed on his lips.

  "I know you are." she looked at her father whom she sat beside, she thought how lucky she was, she could have been brought up by her biological father and what a nightmare that would have been. She squeezed his arm.

  "I've got to do this."

  Morgan looked at her then set his sights on the road again. I should turn around, take her home, but he didn’t. Madison knew she was upsetting her parents but what could she do, if she didn't try then it would have all been for nothing. If they didn't understand that then that was tough. He didn't die there was no body, she told herself, she would keep telling herself that until somebody would listen. It may take a long time.

  They drove for another ten minutes or so the oasis of colours disappearing into fields and hills. They approached another village even prettier than the one they had left, full of old cottages, a beautiful church could be seen in the distance. They drove a little further into the village, passing quaint shops, Morgan clocked a coffee shop, he thought about stopping for a coffee and trying to talk Madison out of doing this. They could now see the residential home in the distance. The gardens were beautiful just like the Villages they had driven through, she thought it must be lovely to live here, with all its colour and tranquillity. With the mountains in the distance, it brought back the memory of the last time she was on a mountain. She involuntary shivered, someone had just walked over her grave. She didn’t like this place any more. Her heart raced she felt acid in her throat, for a moment she thought she was going to be sick. She took deep breaths and it soon passed. She could see lots of residents sat outside, the sunshine bringing them out into the garden. Drinking tea or just simple enjoying the fine day. It was a hot August day she hoped she would be able to sit outside, she did not fancy sitting in a smelly room that smelt of old people. Not that she knew what old people smelt like, or even if they had a smell at all, she just imagined they did. Morgan pulled into the long drive and parked up outside of the entrance. He wished he was someplace else and he wondered why he couldn’t just be doing normal family things and put the past behind them. He realised it was because he chose Madison as his daughter and Madison was no normal girl. At that time he was cursing the Fenton’s. As Madison got out of the passenger side her father turned and said to her.

  "I'll go grab a coffee in a cafe somewhere and see you in an hour.“ His heart sunk at his own words.

  "Ok." Madison replied as she closed the passenger side door. The butterflies in her stomach was now resembling wasps.

  She watched her father as he pulled the car round, and as he was pulling off she called him back. He wound down his window and for one moment he thought she had changed her mind, Madison leaned in and kissed him.

  "I love you dad.” she said.

  He rolled his eyes gave that handsome smile.

  "I love you to." He said and drove away.

  “Well here goes.” Madison said to herself.

  “He didn't die there was no body.”

  She shivered again, her belly rumbled, she felt scared really scared, she took a deep breath, she could no longer see her father’s car now. She looked at the residence against the back drop of a beautiful mountain. I hate mountains.

  She wasn’t sure how she was going to feel when she got here, and as those butterflies fluttered in her stomach, the beautiful 17 year old Madison felt so alone.

  Chapter 2

  It had been almost a year since that dreadful two days in wales, somehow her brother that she never knew even existed had found her, plucked her out of thin air and landed her hundreds of miles away. He had done the same thing with the others that her brother had chosen. She had told the police and her parents that she had caught a train because she had secretly been searching for her real dad and to see if she had a family 'it's quite easy to do! ‘She had told them, she expected it was but she never had no interests in finding her real dad. Morgan was her real dad, but she hadn't banked on having two brothers, yes two (he didn't die there was no body)

  Yes she had found her real dad who did die (there was a body) but she didn't care about that, that was the only good thing that happened that day. A biological father she had never met and until this day she wished she hadn’t. Well there was Wendy of course and her brother Daniel. When she thought about it there was lots of good things, but that day she had lost her brother and she was determined to find him. Todd had appeared dim-witted, daft as a brush, the two brothers were like chalk and cheese, but she knew they were special, she knew she was special, but Todd was the main man. He had told her she was special. He had brought that special something out of her. As gentle as he was, he was the special one. She never quite understood why she felt that, was it because he was no longer there? She had only known him for 36 hours but she missed him like she had never missed anyone before. There was a bond there somewhere, and she knew it, more than just a brotherly sisterly bond, it was something much deeper than that, more profound, she knew it, she had to find him.

  She now stood outside the home for the elderly. It was a lovely old building built in the early 20th century. It used to be a family home, a mansion for the rich aristocrats. It remained empty for years and now after being completely refurnished it was a home for the elderly.

  She felt nervous, she didn't know why but a year ago when she could hear her father’s thoughts, she heard her grandfathers to, he was still alive, after everyone presumed him dead. Finding him was easy to do, she just needed to get permission to speak to them, a project she was doing at college she had told them, about life and experiences during the 20th century, during the war and were we any better off today. The home had readily accepted, providing the elderly residents wanted to speak. Chantelle her friend had helped make sure she got the right people. Chantelle's aunty worked there. She practically run the place and pulled a few strings. She never asked no questions why they were chosen.

  Madison wanted to hear what he had to say, but she hadn't 'heard' since that day up in went wood forest. Her lips were dry she took a bottle of Evian out of her bag and gulped it down, she licked her lips, took a deep sigh and entered the building and into the reception area. She didn't know how she would feel meeting this man, the man that she had never met before, the man whose voice she heard in her dead fathers head, the man who's DNA is in her blood, and the man like his son was evil to the core. She felt alone and vulnerable as her insides churned.

  She looked outside at the drive hoping her father had come back and she would forget about all this and drive home, go to college, get an education and forget all about her brother. He didn't die there was no body, but he hadn’t come back, and she carried on with what she came to do. She went to the reception desk and introduced herself and told the receptionist who she had come to see. She hoped she didn’t seem nervous. She could see a carer coming over towards her, she guessed she would be escorting her to see the patients. Now was the time to change her mind. She thought of her friend Chantelle and how nice it would be just to do the girly things they used to do before she met her strange family, she wanted that so much, and for one fleeting moment she almost turned around and left, but determination took over, she chastised herself he didn’t die.

  It wasn't until he was in sight that she thought she hadn't actually wondered what he looked like. She had never seen a photo. Never really given it a second thought. She had never put an image to the voice she had heard. She found that strange. She could see him there, he looked a large man and had a thick corduroy coat on, Madison thought it was far too warm for that. He was sat with an elderly woman that she guessed was Edith. She looked frail and petit, as she drew closer she could see the wrinkles on her face, her bottom lip quivered and as she picked up her cup of tea her hands shook. Madison thought it would spill over the table but she managed to keep on to it, it dribbled down her chin as she sipped. She wondered if she was evil to, she didn’t look it, she though
t she just looked like a nice old lady. Madison reached the table where they were sat and the carer left her to it, not saying a word as she left. She felt alone at that very moment, she felt scared. She could see the old man clear now, he was a large man, grey hair that was just a bit too long, yellow teeth, hairs coming out of his nose that Madison thought were scary in itself. He had long eyebrows like that politician Denis somebody, she tried to see if he resembled her brothers in anyway, but he didn’t and deep down Madison was thankful for that. His nose was red, he looked powerful and strong, his voice was deep, she wanted to call the carer back, all this was stupid, and she was just about to call the carer to say she had made a mistake when she heard that voice.

  “Sit down chick.” He said.

  A chill went through her spine, she shivered she couldn't help it, she didn't want to do this now, the voice was exactly as she thought it would be he didn't die there was no body.

  She gulped and steadied herself. She was afraid, why was she there, I need to compose myself. She took a deep breath.

  “Hi I'm Alison.” She lied.

  Madison sat down and got her iPad out. Her hands were still shaking, her whole body seemed to shake. The two residents didn't say anything at first. Edith just stared for what seemed an age before saying

  “Shouldn’t you be in school dear?”

  She looked frailer then Madison first thought, she seemed to have a kind voice. Madison smiled and her heart. Continued racing, don’t let them see your nervous, she told herself.

  “I’m not in school any more, may I take a picture please?”