by Nye, Laine
Sherry was sent to the hospital to have her broken legs treated; then like her brothers, she was to be transferred to the jail as several witnesses pointed her out as one of the shooters in the rolling gun battle they had seen.
Dan Rowley never gained complete use of his left arm again, as one of the cuts he received when thrown through the college library windows severed important nerve and muscle. Even after his prison sentence for firing his gun at his intended victims on the campus was over, it did not heal. He found himself with limited use of his left hand.
Jeff got out of the hospital with the least injuries and also the least punishment; he received probation for his involvement in the campus shooting. Sherry was convicted and served time in the youth facility at the same time her older brother was in the state pen.
The three friends of Sherry Rowley who had been on the right side of Brad when the pursuit was on would have been okay except for the bullet wound the driver had sustained from Sherry's wild shot. Since he needed treatment at the hospital, it soon became evident that he had been involved in the assault as well. He got off with probation. His friends were never charged.
Sherman Greene went to federal prison for lesser charges than they had wanted to convict him on, but he was still put away and would never return to his profession.
Mack Rowley attended his own funeral service lying in a closed casket with only his wife present from his family. The rest of them were in custody.
Simon Holmes, the hunter, recovered from the ricocheting bullet that tore up his hip. He was much better after he received some physical therapy. Allen and Brent's testimony put him away.
Allen was not the same after his head injury. The impact of the grazing bullet had somehow affected his brain. Before, he had always been good natured and friendly, and now he was surly and angry. On the few occasions when he tried to joke with people, he always spoke like a three-year-old while doing so thinking that would be amusing. Friends ended up drifting away from him.
Brent recovered completely from his bullet wound to the arm. He did a lot of damage in court to both Simon and Sherman.
Rudy and Paul were both left dazed and distraught about the mayhem that had happened to their friends and the complete disappearance of Brad Shaw. Paul mourned his brother's head injury and the way his personality changed so much. Paul knew some of the change was from bitterness and anger.
Tim Brady, the photographer who shot the pictures of Brad and Sherman's confrontation decided he would sell his photos to a national magazine and make a fortune doing so. He could see himself being interviewed on T.V. But before he made the calls, he changed his mind. He decided to let the poor kid off the hook. He knew they were looking everywhere for this Brad Shaw and if he published the pictures, there would not be anywhere the kid could go that he would be safe. He would be recognized nationwide. From what Brady had learned from the newspaper articles, this strange kid was a victim, not a perpetrator. No matter what this bizarre ability was that he had, he did not deserve what would happen to him when he was found. Tim deleted his pictures and hoped that the ones he had given to the police would not be circulated outside law enforcement circles. "Good luck kid," was all he could think to say as he returned to his normal routines.
As for the Shaws, they mourned Brad's leaving heavily for a few weeks until Steve pointed out that in just one more year, Brad would probably have gone off to college after high school anyway which meant that they really only lost one year of time with him. They would see him again in a few months to a year.
And as for Brad, he had lingered over the hole that night in Huntsville for a good forty minutes “percolating” as Albert would have called it. He felt re-energized and strong after the energy in the hole had dissipated. He floated back down to the ground straddling the hole as before. He said goodbye to Albert shaking his hand firmly.
“I'll miss you boy,” Albert told him. Then he hugged Brad. You always were my favorite.” And once again Brad turned to his father, hugging him tight.
“I love you Dad,” he said in a tremulous voice. “Thanks for saving me tonight.”
His Dad warned him to drive the speed limit. And choked back tears as he said goodbye in a hoarse voice. Brad then took some back roads over to Salt Lake City. He ended up taking the desert highway that would take him past the salt flats and miles and miles of desert before he reached Elko Nevada where he was to hole up for a couple days waiting for his new identity.
Unfortunately, there was tragedy ahead for Albert Belasco. A few weeks after Brad disappeared; he took another youth to the hole too. For the first time in all the years he had visited the hole and stood over it or put someone else over it, he failed to test the hole by throwing a rock over the hole to see if the energy source was functional. He picked the twelve-year-old boy up, set him over the hole and let go like he had always done. The poor kid screamed as he fell down into the hole never to be reached by rescuers because of the extreme depth of the hole. A man in a boat on the reservoir witnessed the whole thing and called the police. Albert left in a hurry, never able to return to his home. He believed that he was to be hunted as a fugitive on murder charges for the rest of his life. He died eleven years later and was buried in a cemetery in St. Petersburg Florida. Ironically, the grave was less than fifteen miles from the condominium where Brad lived for a short time with his parents in Clearwater Beach. For the sake of a new house, Albert's home was razed by his daughter.
Chapter Twelve
Four Years Later
Seth Collins enjoyed the college education he was getting. The campus was in northern California, but for his sake, which town it is in will not be revealed. It is enough to say it is above the Bay area.
Seth had found himself shying away from girls for the past five years as the only two closer encounters he'd had with a girl had ended in rejection, chaos and disillusionment. He was very careful about a certain gift he had received years ago. He rarely used it and then only when he was absolutely alone.
He did not have ample opportunity to see his parents. It was rare that they would risk coming from Utah to spend time with him. He still missed them but had found contentment in his studies and academic achievements. Seth had proven to be a very good student.
There was this one girl who had become harder and harder for him to ignore. She somehow managed to be nearby him frequently during the pursuit of her education. They had both become aware of each other from multiple chance encounters until they had finally shared the same Abnormal Psychology class. Then when Seth Collins took an interest in swimming at the gym where there were two Olympic sized pools side by side, he found out that she spent a lot of time at the pools to stay in shape as she was one of the lifeguards.
Her name was Charlene Williams. She was a dark blond beauty. When Seth saw her for the first time in the lifeguard stand, he was taken aback by her stunning figure. He had a hard time shaking her from his mind anymore. But he was determined to go on with his academic career without letting a girl into his life. He wanted no more-high hopes turned to ashes, no more pain from being called a freak or a monster. He went on his own way trying to be indifferent. It used to work, but now he was failing at it miserably.
Charlene and Seth had spoken together on several occasions. He found out that she was a very warm, congenial person. But, what if it was just her charm, just like a certain Sherry Rowley? What if she hid hatred or spite underneath that infectious smile? He wondered if he would ever put his trust into a woman again. Would he not want to date sometime? Or find a girl to marry?
Certainly, his father had been happy with Seth's mother. Couldn't it be like that for Seth? Well, it turned out he was only thinking that because he had just crossed paths with her again. Why couldn't he dismiss her from his mind like he had done all the other girls who had been friendly with him? There had been several. Why was this one sticking in his head to the point that he was tuning out his professors because his mind wandered off to her.
One
day, he walked past her when he was going to get in the pool, and she was on the lifeguard stand. She called out to him, “How much longer are you going to ignore me Seth Collins?”
He turned around to face her but was speechless. His thoughts contained more space than his tongue, so he couldn't get anything out. His face turned red.
“I like you Seth,” Charlene said to him with a cheerful and sincere smile. “I really do. But I would like you a lot more if you would stop ignoring me.”
He walked slowly back to the stand and had to look up high to see her while he still stumbled over the right combination of words to use. She saw how uncomfortable he looked and wrongfully concluded that it had to be because she was above him on the stand and it gave her a sort of dominant position psychologically. She stood, turned around, and climbed down the steps, and he tried really hard not to notice her curvaceous derriere while she did it. He failed.
She turned around and faced him putting her hands on her hips. “Well?” She asked him with a charged smile.
“I do like you Charlene,” Seth finally said.
“I know you do silly. Why don't you try to not ignore me since the other way isn't working?”
He was so trapped! “Charlene, I...”
“Yes?” She encouraged lightheartedly.
“You're right. We should be friends.” Is all he could say? Did he really want this? Well, he did when he looked into her blue smiling eyes!
“Okay. So when you see me from now on, you won't pretend to not see me?”
“No, I'll say hi.”
“Oooooh. How nice. Could you say something else after you say hi?”
He smiled, warming up to her. “And you don't mean 'goodbye'.”
“No. That wouldn't cut it. I prefer a little conversation in between.”
“Okay, I'll include something in the middle too,” he said.
She tipped her head back and laughed happily. “See? You're already improving a bit.”
He laughed with her, red faced. “I'm sorry that I have been uncomfortable. I'm not... I guess I'm just not used to being noticed by someone as beautiful as you.”
She tipped her head to the side with a crooked whimsical smile, “I seriously doubt the likelihood of that. But you keep flattering me like that when you see me and it will still be a short conversation because I won't know how to respond.”
“Well, it won't be my fault if it happens, it's yours.” Seth assured her.
“My fault?”
“Charlene Williams, do you have to be the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen?” You make it hard for me to even think,” He blurted.
Now her face went red even while still smiling up at him. “I have to get back to my station. I'll watch you to make sure you don't need a lifeguard today.”
“He nodded smiling, and started to walk away. “What about tomorrow?” He asked her.
“I hope you will need a certain lifeguard by tomorrow.”
Seth was stuck, and he knew it. Somehow, extricating himself from this dilemma seemed less a priority now than it used to be. So maybe everything would be just fine. Maybe he could have a real relationship that didn't last only days or weeks. Maybe he would have something to look forward to for a long time to come in the form of Charlene Williams. And what a form it was!
From small things, huge things can happen. From small beginnings, major events can take place; Life changing events. So it would be for Seth from this day forward. If only Allen, Rudy and Brent could see him now, or at least, see him in a few days. They would feel that he finally had a chance to redeem himself after all the chaos he had unintentionally caused.
The next day after their abnormal psychology class, they talked in the halls for several minutes. Seth did say several things in between hello and goodbye. He walked away when his time was pushed to the limit. She stood there watching him leave and said, “I'm going to marry that man!” She said it to herself. Well, sort of. She said it just loud enough that Seth heard it. It sounded like she was talking to herself, so he kept going but his ears were burning, and he couldn't get a stupid smile off his face.
A few nights later, after dark, he was walking through the gym and into the swimming pool area. He was hoping to catch Charlene before she was through with her regular swimming exercises. He wasn't dressed to swim; he just wanted to visit with her for a while.
He spotted her alone in the pool making her laps. No one else was in the whole pool area. He had her to himself. He found that to be ideal. He walked up beside her, watching her lithe form cutting through the water like a dolphin, and he paced her as she continued to swim to the other end of the pool. She stopped at the edge for a moment and smiled up at him. How was it possible that her smile was directly connected to his heart? Whenever she smiled at him like that, his heart started pounding! She said, “Let me go over and back one more time and then we can talk.” He cheerfully agreed. Good, it was more time to get his heart to stop pounding.
He stood at the far end from the dressing rooms watching her make her last lap. When she was about halfway across the pool, he noticed the water abruptly began to churn. It quickly turned violent and waves of water were being thrown out of the pool on both sides. She stopped swimming and while treading water, she turned to look at him puzzled. Then her body began to be pushed back and forth with the strange currents in the water.
Seth felt the ground underneath him begin to tremble, then felt a sensation like he was standing in a boat on rolling waves. “We're having an earthquake!” He yelled to her. The floor at that moment began to buck wildly and he saw cracks appearing in the tiles and cement. He was knocked off his feet while noticing that the other pool had developed a wide crack in the side of it. The crack led all the way to the edge of the building and the wall split apart. The water was rushing through the crack, draining the pool. He lay there stunned by the violent reaction of the world around him. He looked back at Charlene worrying for her safety. She was trying to swim to the side but kept getting tossed backward then forward without making much progress.
Seth started to get back to his feet but was thrown headlong to the floor again. The lights went out leaving them in total darkness. He was beginning to panic but then the emergency lights came on. Then he heard the walls all around them begin to shift and groan. He sat up and looked up at the steel beams that made up the roof support. They were twisting and rumbling, screeching. Pieces of the roof were starting to crumble into the water splashing all around Charlene. Some nearly hit Seth. The other pool was totally drained by an ever-widening crack and still the energy of the earthquake did not relent. It was when he saw the roof begin to break free of the walls and the steel girders begin to drop inward that he knew he had to do something! The roof was separated into two major sections, one over each pool. The section above he and Charlene was beginning to fall.
He jumped to his feet and immediately took the gravity out from under himself so that he lifted up about three feet above the undulating floor. Now he would not be tossed around. At the same moment, he threw another anti-gravity field underneath Charlene in order to stop the falling roof from landing on her. The roof had totally broken free now and was falling toward Charlene. She put her arms over her head reflexively and let out a yell of panic. But Seth held the null gravity under her with rigid control. The roof fell in about 10 feet before being stopped by the lack of gravity that otherwise would have pulled it all the way to the pool crushing Charlene. She was near the center of the pool. It was as if he was balancing the roof on an invisible column above her.
Then a phenomenon that he was not prepared for began to occur. The water in the center of the pool and underneath Charlene was caught up in the non-gravity field. The water was rising up in a column with Charlene right at the top of the column. As the water rose higher and higher, the water still in the pool rushed to fill the void that was created and more water began to rise up. She was now 15 feet off the level of the pool and the amount of weight that Seth was holding u
p with his gravity modification field was heavier than anything he had ever lifted or held before!
His energy was being sapped out of him just like the day at the municipal building in Ogden. Only this was much worse. He did not know how much longer he could control such incredible weight.
Charlene was madly treading water trying to find a way for her superior swimming skills to help her out of this situation. She looked at Seth below her at the end of the pool. He was not touching the ground! “Seth, what is happening to us? What's going on?”
“I'm doing it Charlene. I'm trying to protect us. Trust me!”
“You're doing it?” She asked incredulously.
The earthquake finally abated. The ground was still again, but Seth's problem with holding up the roof and the giant column of water were not over. His mind scrambled to find a solution. If he let the gravity go, they would be crushed under the roof beams. With his strength ebbing away, he wished for Albert Belasco to be at his side. Together they could beat this thing.
“Seth, how are you doing this?” Charlene yelled to him, her voice echoing off the damaged walls and suspended roof. “How do I get out of here?”
“I'm working on it Char. Please give me a minute to figure this out.”
Then an idea caught hold! “Charlene, listen to me!” He yelled to her. “You have to swim back down the column of water. It won't be easy because there is no gravity under you, but you have to try with all your might or you will be killed! You have to hurry! I can't do this much longer.”
The still churning water surface she was treading on was now just a few feet below the suspended roof. She had a long hard swim ahead of her.
“Please Char, take a deep breath and dive under. Now!”
She looked at him trying not to be overwhelmed by panic. She saw Seth drift back down to the severely damaged floor, still staring at her intensely, concentrating with all his might. She took a deep breath and jackknifed and started swimming back down the column of water. Seth could see her clearly through the water as she made slow progress. He could see she was struggling with all her might to make the fifteen-foot trip back down to where she belonged.