Gracelyn's Story: Roadtrip Version

“What are you gonna do, when every part of you just needs to catch that wind?” -Black Sabbath “Time Machine”

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Grace Donaldson was finally meeting her birth parents. After all these years, all her hopes and fears, she was getting the thing she'd most wanted, since she was 12. She was ecstatic beyond belief. Her family, suddenly, didn't look so thrilled. Joy turned to disappointment on their faces. They all turned and walked away, leaving Grace alone in the dark. The tears had just begun to dampen her cheeks, when the alarm woke her up.

“You're late.” Gray choked out, stabbing at the off button. She'd been having that same dream at least once a week, since the police arrested her parents, for illegally adopting her. Seven years of nagging fears.

Will they be disappointed?

Was I abandoned?

Do they even want me?

Some days, it felt like finding out she was an orphan, with no living relatives would be a blessing.

She'd only had her mouth swabbed for DNA testing, a couple of days, ago. Some online facial recognition service had matched some long forgotten baby pictures she'd found, and the parents of the girl she might be had paid for an expert that confirmed the match. They'd even paid for expedited testing to confirm her identity. It would still be a few days, before the test results would come back. It left he wishing for television's one hour DNA labs. She figured it gave her just enough time to drive out to Las Vegas, where her possible parents lived. For some reason, she'd never thought about people actually living in Vegas. It was just a place you went for vacation, and to lose all your money.

It wasn't that she was certain, that the tests would prove her identity. In fact, she kept telling herself that two-year-olds all look alike. Gray was just always looking for the next excuse to be “anywhere but here.” She'd just quit her third job in as many cities, and she'd only graduated high school last year. She was eternally restless. She hadn't felt like she belonged where she was, since she found she wasn't really Grace Donaldson. Maybe, if she ever discovered her original identity, she'd finally be able to stay in one place for more than a handful of months, finally find that peace she was looking for.

Only a day after setting out on her trip, the news started running stories about the abduction of 16 year-old Jason LeFanu. Of course, the news played up the tragedy aspect. Never failing to mention how this was the second kidnapping in the family, and that baby Gracelyn had never been found, all those years ago. They often left out the part where a ransom had been demanded for Jason, but not for his sister. Whenever Gray stopped at someplace with a television, there was always Jason's picture shown, side by side with baby Gracelyn's. It was hard for Gray to deny that her baby pictures looked an awful lot like Gracelyn. But, she still couldn't let herself get her hopes up. She wouldn't be able to take it, if the LeFanu's weren't her parents. Best to keep that hope tucked away, next to that constant nagging doubt that she'd been abandoned as an infant.

Gray had a few nicknames for her car. Among them was “Double Birdy.” It was a 1974 model Pontiac Trans Am, but the nose and hood were from other cars. The nose carried the small Firebird graphic that was in use from 1970 to '72, the hood had the full sized “Screaming Chicken” that had been introduced in '73. This was apparently the aftermath of some front end damage incurred under a previous owner of the car. Double Birdy crossed the Nevada state line just after dark, a couple days after the kidnapping reports started. Gray pulled into the first motel she saw that didn't charge by the hour, and checked in for the night. She only managed to get a few hours sleep, before starting out again, just before dusk.

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There's a popular television show that often ends its experiments by destroying things in the most spectacular fashion possible. That program's hosts once determined that the American small block engine is difficult to kill. Gray's “Frankenbird” Trans Am was proving that the old big blocks are pretty resilient, too. The aging muscle car with its mismatched front end thundered down the road, as the sun just began to light the desert morning.

Tire smoke, and the sound of screeching tires filled the desert, as Gray stood on the brakes. A woman had come running out into the road. She was waving a police badge, and Gray swore she heard the sound of distant gun shots. She leaned over and unlocked the passenger door, for the woman who identified herself as Detective Alvarez. The dome light played havoc with both women's night vision. The Detective urged Gray to drive, and the 19 year-old wasted little time in hitting 85mph. The detective pulled out her phone, and gave their location to somebody that Gray presumed was at the police department.

“I don't know what you were doing in the middle of the desert at this time of the morning kid, but I'm sure glad you were. You got a name?”

“I just go by Gray.”

“Kid, the color of your eyes is not a name.”

“Grace Donaldson. Until I find out otherwise.”

“Grace…. You know, the LeFanu's tried to get us to put an APB out on you? Then, their son got grabbed. That kind of distracted them.”

“I just didn't want to stay where I was, anymore.” Gray noticed something in her rear view mirror. “Friends of yours?”

Detective Alvarez turned to see the two black SUVs rapidly gaining ground on them. She spat something in Spanish, but the tone was clear. “They're the guys who were chasing me, before.”

“Looks like they still are.” One of them started to come around the side of the car.

“Bitch, please.” Gray floored the accelerator, and the Frankenbird lurched forward. As the SUVs began to recede, she kept her foot in it, and was soon up-shifting.

“Man, I don't remember the last time I had this thing in fifth gear.”

“How fast are we going!?”

“Dunno. Speedometer doesn't go that high.”

A new set of headlights soon came up behind them. Gray was stunned. “Is that a Ferrari? Who are these guys?”

“Very bad men. Can you outrun him?”

“In a worn out Firebird!? He's got twice as much horsepower, and half the weight, that we do!”

The sports car came along side the old Pontiac, and the passenger fired a single warning shot into the air, making Gray flinch. “I don't suppose you've got a gun, Detective?”

“It's empty. Backup piece, too. I'm sorry kid. I didn't mean to get you hurt.”

Gray sighed, as the man in the Ferrari leveled his pistol at her. “Sorry Birdy.”

She wrenched the wheel over, and used her car's inertia to try to force the faster car off the road. She cringed at the sound of the cars colliding. All of her worldly possessions were in there, but it was the car itself she cared the most about. The low slung Italian car was pushed onto the unpaved shoulder, before the driver could react to the kamikaze attack. Gray straightened her own car out, and started putting distance between Birdy and the Ferrari.

In all the excitement, she hadn't noticed the rapidly climbing engine temperature gauge.

Alvarez was watching out the rear window. “Looks like our friends are back on the road.”

“Ain't no friends of mine.” Gray was still pissed about the damage to her car. On the other hand. Pulsating red and blue glows were starting to appear on the horizon.

“Speaking of friends.” Gray pointed the detective's attention in front of them.

“Thank God!” She got back on her phone, to update the approaching police and deputies.

“What color is this car, anyway? It was still kind of dark, when I got in.”

“Well, the nose is blue, the hood is black, and the rest of it used to be red.”

Alvarez described it as “faded red, blue front end.”

“Or, that….”

Ferrari was just about back on them, when a massive white cloud exploded from under Birdy's hood. Alvarez swore in Spanish again, urging the backup to hurry. Gray stopped the car as fast as she could, without losing control, and steered over to the side of the road. The smoke didn't continue. With luck, that had been the radiator, not the engine. Gray saw one of the men from the Ferrari walking up to her side of the car. She unbuckled her seat belt, and unlatched the door, before Alvarez could stop her. She stepped out, and drew the old crowbar she kept behind the seat in a practiced move. The well dressed thug started to raise his gun, too late.

Gray slammed the crowbar down on the man's wrist, probably breaking it, and causing him to drop the pistol. Of course, it managed to fall under the car. Gray snapped the crowbar back up, striking the man across the face with it. When he dropped, she clubbed him across the shoulder blades, with a double handed grip. The Ferrari's driver had begun to approach Gray, when she took out the passenger. Driver leveled his own pistol at Gray's head, as she heard the first police car come to a stop behind her.

“And, the cavalry arrives, just after the nick of time.” She caught herself muttering.

There was a lot of yelling to drop the gun, but Driver knew that the cops couldn't get a clear shot at him. By the time they could move around to where they could be certain not to catch Gray in their line of fire, Driver could have emptied his gun into her. There was nothing that she could do to get out of the line of fire. She'd moved too far from the door of her car, to jump back in. There was no direction she could run that wouldn't get her shot.

Driver finally spoke up. “Nobody messes up my car. Not even cute little girls.”

“Detective.” Regret stained Gray's voice. “If you find my parents, tell them I'm sorry I never made it home.”

Driver started to say something snarky, when Gray charged him. She wanted revenge for her own murder. Her expression betrayed her intentions. It wasn't fear that was on Gray's face. The attack startled Driver enough to give Gray a few more precious steps. She heard his first shot buzz past. The shots were a lot louder than they sounded on TV, and the muzzle flash was blinding. His second shot hit Gray just behind her shoulder. If she hadn't been leaning forward in her charge, that one would have slammed through her chest. She was so close, she had to press on, even while her back felt like it had just exploded in flames.

This time, she swung the crowbar from a low position, with both hands. Every swing was two handed, this time. The first one hit the gun itself, making Driver's third shot go almost vertical. Gray's second swing, downward this time, caught the side of Driver's face. She pressed on, while he recoiled. There was no thought, she simply did. Instead of a third swing, Gray reversed the crowbar, and pushed against the curved end with one hand, as she continued her mad rush. There was an almost popping sensation, as the resistance to the crowbar's forward motion gave way. Driver fell backwards, and Gray followed him down. There was the distinct sound of metal hitting pavement, as the end of the crowbar dug into the road surface.

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Arthur and Evelyn LeFanu arrived on the scene, just behind the police. The detective had made it clear that this involved their missing son, so the police had escorted them there. They were held back, until it was clear that things were safe. Evelyn was a doctor, but maintained a first responder kit, that she tried to keep with her. Seeing the paramedic activity, she grabbed her kit, and rushed to help. She passed a man in a suit, that the police were trying to secure, while the paramedics worked on badly swollen wrist. One of his eyes was swollen shut. Further up, she saw a man and a young woman, laying side by side in the road. Both were motionless. The man was well dressed, but had a grimy looking crowbar sticking out of his chest. The paramedics were working to stabilize it, so they could move him, without doing further damage.

The girl was wearing a pink T-shirt, a jean skirt, and boots with straps and buckles up the side, that looked they belonged to somebody on a motorcycle. The mother in Evelyn deemed the shirt a little too snug, and the skirt a little too short. The doctor in Evelyn took more notice of the blood darkening the back left side of the T-shirt. If that was an exit wound, the girl was probably already dead. One paramedics reached to check the girl's pulse, but jumped back, when she suddenly hissed in pain, before he'd ever touched her.

“I'm a doctor. I'll check her.” Evelyn informed the startled medic.

“Y-yes ma'am.”

The girl cried in pain, as she began to sit up. Through grit teeth, Evelyn heard her say “The 21 foot rule is stupid!”

Evelyn set her case down, and began to more closely look the girl over. Very little blood on her front. Possibly came from the guy with the crowbar. Tears were welling in her eyes, but that was understandable, given how much pain she had to be in. “Hey honey, my name's Evelyn. I'm going to see how bad you're hurt. Get you patched up enough to go to the hospital.”

The girl looked back down the road. “Only see one ambulance.”

“They've got room for you.”

“I go somewhere with him….” She nodded toward the man Evelyn was starting to think of as “Crowbar.” “One of us won't survive that ride.”

Evelyn wasn't going to argue transportation arrangements. Her son had been kidnapped, someone who might be her long lost daughter had disappeared, and she had an injured patient. She tore open the pink T-shirt, between the two holes in it. She could see an entry and an exit wound. If the girl was lucky, it was shallow enough that it didn't reach the muscle layer.

“Is it life threatening?” The girl seemed to be fighting against the pain a little less. Possibly a good sign, possibly a sign of shock.

“Well, it doesn't look like it got any major veins or arteries. If it didn't hit muscle, you probably won't have any lasting effects from it. They'll be able to tell at the hospital.”

“Can't afford the hospital.”

“Sweetheart, you….”

“I quit my job to come out here. Insurance went with it.”

“Then, why did you charge somebody with a GUN!?”

“He was gonna shoot me, no matter what I did. If he was gonna keep me from ever finding my parents, I was taking him with me.”

Sudden realization hit Evelyn, and she stopped preparing bandages, in her shock. “Grace? Grace Donaldson!?”

Gray finally looked Evelyn in the eye, and Evelyn swore she recognized her husband's eyes, in this girl's face. She forced herself to write it off as wishful thinking. Confusion displaced Gray's pain. “Who….?”

“I'm Evelyn LeFanu, honey. I'm Gracelyn's mother.”

Gray reflexively tried to pull away. She didn't want to be close the LeFanus, until she knew for certain, whether they were her parents, or not. She was afraid of becoming attached. Afraid of losing another family that was never really hers.

Evelyn stopped her. “Hey. I need to finish this up. And then, you are going to the hospital.”

“I can't….”

The older woman interrupted her. “I'll make you a deal. If I can make certain, that you won't have any permanent complications from this wound, you won't have to go. But, I don't have any painkillers to give you, here. I have to poke around inside that hole. If it's too much pain, you can stop me. But if you have to stop me, you have to go to the hospital.”

“Agreed?” Evelyn pushed.

Gray took a few seconds to debate, and went with what was probably the wrong choice. “Do it.”

Dr. LeFanu shook her head, and opened Gray's shirt up a bit more. She switched to a clean pair of gloves, and began to prod the girl's injury with a small medical tool. Even through clenched teeth, Gray's screams were loud enough to stop everyone in ear shot. She was only vaguely aware of someone crouching down in front of her.

“Arthur hold her shoulders. I need you to keep her still.”

“Should you be doing this, here?” A man's voice, as Gray felt hands grab her shoulders.

“She won't go to the hospital. No insurance.”

“We can pay for it. Detective Alvarez saw Jason. She knows where he is. This girl saved her life.”

“Stick to. The deal.” Gray gasped.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “This was supposed to make you realize that the hospital was the better option.”

More prodding elicited more barely stifled cries. After what felt like an eternity to Gray, Evelyn applied antiseptic to the holes in her back, and finally started to bandage them. Somewhere along the line, she'd grabbed the front of Arthur's shirt, and had a death grip on it.

“Stubborn girl.” Evelyn chastised.

“I really want to make a sarcastic 'Yes mom.' joke.”

Evelyn smiled. “But it might not be that sarcastic?”

“Yeah….”

Arthur looked between the two. “Did I miss something?”

“This is Grace Donaldson.” His wife informed him.

“Gray. I just go by Gray.” She shakily started to climb to her feet, before Evelyn stopped her. The doctor wiped away the tears that had collected in Gray's eyes, and started shining a light in them.

“Hold on, Gray. I need to make sure you're not in shock. That would qualify as one of those complications.”

“You just don't take no for an answer, do you?”

“She never has.” Arthur chuckled.

Evelyn finished her exam. “I don't know how, but you seem to be okay. What would you rate your pain, on a scale of one to ten?”

“Higher than I can count.” Gray hissed between her teeth. With Arthur's help, she managed to climb to her feet. She held on a few seconds too long, while the strength came back to her legs. She let go, when Evelyn introduced him.

“I don't bite.” Maybe it was the pain she was in, but Arthur could swear this girl had the same sadness in her eyes that his wife had carried since their daughter was taken.

“I just….” Gray didn't know how to put her fears into words.

“It's alright, Gray. I understand.”

“I…. I've got some Ibuprofen, in my car.” Gray turned toward her wounded Birdy.

“Over the counter strength?” Evelyn asked.

“Yeah.”

“I recommend you take four.”

Gray stopped, and turned to face the woman, again. “Dr. LeFanu, I weigh a hundred and fifteen pounds. If I take four of those, I'll see you next week.”

“And, we can have them take you to the hospital, while you're unconscious.” Evelyn gave the girl a knowing smile.

Gray shook her head, as she walked back to her car. She dropped down into the driver's seat, and reached back for the tan sling style backpack she kept all the things she wanted quick access to in. She got out the pills she wanted to take, and looked to see if she had anything to drink, in the car. There was one mostly empty bottle of water, rolling around on the floor board. It had just enough left in it, to take the pills. The pain was making it hard to relax, so she went for a distraction. Time to inspect the damage.

It looked to be mostly paint rub, down the side of the car. Not as much sheet metal damage, as Gray had expected. Probably nothing that couldn't be tapped out, with a ball peen hammer, and a block of wood. “Glad they make the new ones out of plastic.”

Opening the hood, she saw the source of the white cloud that had stopped the run to safety. The upper radiator hose had a three inch long split in it. In the trunk, there were tools, and a box of assorted bits and pieces that had come with the car. Along with the rest of it, was a well used roll of duct tape. Gray hoped she could use those, to limp the car to an auto parts store. When Gray bought Birdy, all she knew about cars, was that this one was cute. She still felt it could be pretty, with the right paint. But, it hadn't been well maintained by anyone who had ever owned it. It was Gray's daily driver. She couldn't afford all the work the car really needed. Her choices were to either learn how to fix it herself, or buy a bicycle. She had to admit, fixing her own car always felt kind of empowering.

Among the tools, was a screwdriver for undoing the hose clamps. In with the parts was some extra hose, but not nearly enough to replace the bad one. Gray wrapped the split section of hose with several layers of duct tape, then sliced open a section of the scrap hose, and used it as a partial sleeve, to reinforce the tape. The extra bit of hose was held in place by several spare hose clamps. The hose didn't quite want to go back where it had come from, but a little finagling got it back in place, and securely clamped. The last time Gray had filled the radiator, she'd tossed what was left of the antifreeze into the trunk. There was enough left to top it back off, and still have a little left over. Hoping that the split hose was the only damage to the car, she tried to start it back up. The engine was long overdue for a rebuild, and the battery just didn't have quite enough crank. The car would always wheeze for a few seconds, before it finally fired. But, it did fire. The old big block roared to life, sounding no worse than it always had. Relaxing a little, Gray put everything back in the trunk, and checked the engine compartment for signs of any other leaks. Everything looked good.

Leaving the engine to idle for a bit, Gray pulled a clean shirt, out of the big black bag, on the back seat. She went to the back of the car, to pull off her ruined one. Most of the people at the scene where too busy to pay much attention to the girl in the blood stained bra. Those that weren't that busy, were professional enough to not stand there watching. Besides, she had bathing suits that showed more. Raising her arm to remove the one shirt, and to pull the other one back on pulled at her wound, and made it hurt. Not that it had yet to stop hurting, in the first place. Her first thought was to put the shirt into the bag of dirty clothes that lived in Birdy's trunk. Instead, she tossed it in the corner with the dirty rags, she'd wiped her hands off with. Shaking her head, Gray shut the trunk.

Detective Alvarez came over, while Gray was doing another inspection of the engine compartment. “You got it fixed?”

“Patched.” Gray corrected. “Blew a hose.”

“I never got a chance to thank you. You saved my life, back there. We're heading back up the road, to retrace my steps. I watched them bury Jason LeFanu alive. We've got to find him, before he runs out of air. Or that box that they put him in starts to warm up, and he cooks. You need to head into town, find a place to stay, get that shoulder looked at. Your work's done. You've saved at least one life today, maybe even two. One of the deputies is going to follow you back, make sure your car makes it. You did good, kid.” The detective walked over to an unmarked car that was waiting for her, and they drove off, with most of the police and deputies in tow.

Gray shut the hood of her car, and climbed back into the driver's seat. Closing the door, she looked down the road, at the city on the horizon. Then, she turned to look back, where everyone else had just gone.

“Damnit.”

She buckled up, and looked over at the sheriff deputy waiting in his cruiser. He motioned for her to head back to town. Gray just shook her head. She cranked the wheel over, revved the engine, and dumped the clutch. Frankenbird preformed a half donut, before Gray pulled it back straight. She was in third gear, before the deputy even realized what was happening.

Gray pulled Birdy in with the other vehicles, across from her skid marks, where she'd stopped for the detective. She climbed out of the car, and was immediately met with “Grey, what are you doing!?”

It was Doctor LeFanu. Not that everyone else there wasn't wondering the same thing. Alvarez backed it up with what they were all thinking. “We're going to be traipsing across the desert, with the sun climbing higher and higher. You're not in any condition for that.”

“Honey, she's right, you need….”

“Stop! Please.” Gray pleaded. “I have to do this. I don't know why, but I can feel it. I have spent so long, always feeling like I needed to be somewhere else. Always chasing the horizon. I graduated high school last year. Since then, I've had three jobs, in three cities, and two different states. But right now, I have a place that I feel like I need to be. And, that's looking for that boy. I won't slow you down, I promise. If I can't keep up, I'll turn around, and come back here. I just…. I don't know why.”

Alvarez swore in Spanish, once again. “I really don't like this.”

“It's alright, detective.” Evelyn came to the girl's defense. “I can keep an eye on her. She'll take my mind off worrying about Jason.”

Evelyn walked over to address Gray directly. She smiled at the young woman, but Gray could see the sadness in the other woman's eyes. “You're welcome to come. But! If I think for an instant, that you're pushing yourself too hard, that you're harming yourself by being out here, I will have one of these officers march you right back here. Do you understand?”

“Yes'm.”

Evelyn gave Gray a gentle hug. “Get some water and sunscreen, and let's get going.”

Gray pulled her hair up into a ponytail, then grabbed her tan sling pack, and an oilskin outback hat from the back of her car. Out of the bag of clean clothes, she pulled a thin, white, long sleeved shirt, and pulled it on. She didn't bother buttoning it up. She put the hat on, closed up her car, and headed to the staging area by the rescue vehicle. She shoved some extra bottles of water into the pack, and opened one to start with. Before she took a drink, she poured some of the water over a cooling towel she'd puled from the pack. Squeezing out the excess water, she put the towel around the back of her neck. The pack itself got suspended from her right shoulder.

Before the group started off, Gray grabbed a crowbar, from the rescue vehicle. “I'm borrowing this. Paramedics didn't give mine back.”

She pretty much ignored the protests, and moved into the main group where Alvarez and the LeFanus were.

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Having grown up back East, Gray wasn't accustomed to the brutal heat the desert dished out. There was no shade. The sun was not your friend, here. She started on her second bottle of water sooner than she expected to. She was grateful for the small side by side that was following them. It offered shade for those who needed it, and was carrying a cooler full of more water.

“How are you feeling, Gray?” Evelyn asked.

Gray shrugged. “Just wondering if I could use the throbbing to keep the time, for something.”

Evelyn and Arthur both got confused looks. So, Gray explained. “I'm a musician.”

“Oh!” Evelyn was surprised. “Stage musician?”

Gray shook her head. “Studio. But, I did get a chance to play on stage, once.”

She seemed to brighten, as she talked about it. “I loved it. Being up in front in everyone. Feeling so much energy from the crowd. Feeling like they were giving me that-that charge, just to make me feel good. I just wanted to make them all feel just as good. Sometimes, if I close my eyes, and think back, I can almost feel it, again.”

The group came to a crest, with a bowl shaped depression on the other side. The sand at the bottom had clearly been groomed, to hide tracks. Detective Alvarez seemed to recognize it. “This has to be it. But, something doesn't seem right.”

Alvarez circled the rim of the low spot, while most of the rest descended into it. Gray stopped next to a boulder, near the bottom, to get a drink. That was when the last kidnapper literally crawled out from under a rock. He'd been hiding in a small dug out burrow under the boulder, disguised behind a piece of dead scrub. He must have taken too long bugging out with the others, and gotten left behind. Gray heard him click off the safety right behind her head. Every cop around drew their pistols. A few of the deputies were carrying rifles, and they took aim as well. Gray tightened her grip on the crowbar, but “Rocky” noticed. “Drop it kid. Nobody needs to get any funny ideas.”

Gray let go of the crowbar, and let the pack slip off her shoulder. She slowly turned to face the man. This shit was getting old.

“Hey, did I tell you to turn around?” Rocky knew he was surrounded, and he was trying to keep an eye on everyone, all at one time.

“Here's what's going to happen: Little miss and I are going to take a walk. Nobody's going to follow us. When we're far enough away that I think I'm safe, I'll let her go. Anybody tries anything, and I'll blow her pretty little head off!”

“Put the gun down, and we can talk about this.” Gray couldn't see who had said it. But, it distracted Rocky. He looked that way, and his gun hand began to droop. Gray took it as an opportunity to add to the day's string of poor choices. She bobbed left, while grabbing Rocky's wrist with her right hand. She pulled it down, so if his gun went off, it wouldn't be right next to her head. She knew it would destroy her hearing. Not much call for deaf guitarists. Rocky brought his attention back to Gray, too late. Even as she was pulling his wrist down, she was turning to the right, and slammed her left palm into the back of his elbow, with all the force she could muster. There was a wet crack, and Rocky's arm bent backwards. Rocky screamed, and dropped the pistol. Gray was right next to him now, facing the same direction. She applied her left foot to the side of his right knee, and he began to collapse. Gray grabbed the back of Rocky's head, and dropped with him, using her weight to drive his face into the hardpan, just under the sand. She pulled his head back, and smashed it into the ground a second time, before an officer pulled her off him.

The excitement reignited the fire in Gray's shoulder, causing her to scream in pain. Evelyn LeFanu was immediately by her side. “I've got you, baby.”

Gray was tired. She'd had too little sleep, on top of being anxious all week, waiting for test results. She was scared for the life of a boy that might be her brother, and this oppressive heat had been getting to her. Now, the lava was flowing over her back, again. “No more! Oh God, no more! I can't do this anymore. I can't take it. Please make it stop. Please….”

Gray's protests trailed off, as she began to sob. Evelyn pulled the hurt girl close, and held her, until she regained control.

“I'm sorry.” Gray finally whimpered. “I try to be strong. But....”

“You are strong, honey. I think you're one of the strongest people I've ever met.”

Gray was incredulous. She lifted her head, to look Evelyn in the eye. “But-but, I just….”

“Just what!?” Evelyn stopped her. “You just beat a man, senseless! A man more than half again your size!”

Gray wiped away tears, preparing to renew her argument, but Evelyn was having none of it.

“Gray, you've been shot. That's enough for one day, for most people. But, you. You keep going. You march halfway across the desert, when you're injured, and clearly not used to the climate. You've kept up with us. You never complained. You're not weak, honey. Your problem is, you don't know when to stop. You push yourself too hard. Push yourself too far.” Evelyn began to pull away from the girl. “I need to check your shoulder. See if you've reopened it.”

Gray nodded weakly, and pulled her shirts off. She felt the bandages get removed, and groaned through clenched teeth, at some prodding of the open sores. Soon enough, there was more antiseptic, and new bandages.

“Okay. You can get dressed, hon. Why don't you stay here, and rest a bit?”

Gray gingerly pulled both shirts back on, and replaced her hat. She recharged her cooling towel with more water, and took another drink. Detective Alvarez sat down next to her. Both women watched the commotion, as everyone tried to find where Jason LeFanu had been buried alive, somewhere amongst the hollow's loose collection of scrub and brush.

Gray felt empty.

The detective shook her head. “I don't understand it. I know this is where I saw them put him in that box. I even found my own foot prints, leading up to here. But, something's not right.”

“It was dark, when you saw it before, right?”

“It wasn't so dark, I couldn't see where things were. It's like nothing is where it belongs.”

Gray nodded, as her fingers played idly, in the sand beside her. She wasn't feeling up to much heavy thinking. Her fingers struck something. There was something small, and round, and flat on top, just below the surface of the sand. She turned and brushed the sand away, to find the cut off stumps of some of the local plants. She shot Alvarez a curious look, before going back to the stumps. She managed to get a thumbnail under the edge of the bark on one of them, and peeled away a small piece, to find the wood below still held moisture. Both women simultaneously came to the same conclusion.

“They moved the brush!”

Gray grabbed her borrowed crowbar, and ran down to the bushes.

“There, Gray! Try under that one!” Alvarez called, making her way to the girl.

Gray easily shoved the scraggly vegetation aside. With no roots, it moved with little resistance. She began to probe the ground with the crowbar. The hardpan was less than inch down. The thunks of the crowbar hitting the hard ground was occasionally punctuated by the distinct ting from striking a rock. Suddenly, the crowbar sank into the sand, just as far as she could shove it. She pulled it out, and tried again, with more force. This time, she was rewarded with a hollow metal sound. A second attempt gave the same result.

“Shovels, right now!” Alvarez screamed. “Right where she's at!”

Gray grabbed the crowbar and rapidly moved out of the way. While the men were digging, her phone went off, with a text message. It caused her to quickly check her e-mail. She hastily made her way to the LeFanus, and showed Arthur her phone. He dug his own out, and checked his messages. “Evelyn, check your phone!”

“Right now!? What's so important….”

Gray cut her off, holding up the message on her own phone. It was the results, of the DNA tests. There were tears in the girl's eyes again, but not like before. “Mama, look at your messages.”

Gray finally had her parents. They weren't walking away from her. But, even as they surrounded and embraced her, the memory of what had woken her up so often came flooding back. “Please don't be disappointed with me.”

Arthur lifted his daughter's chin, to make her look him in the eye. “Gracelyn Elizabeth LeFanu, how can you possibly think that?”

“I just want the nightmare to stop.” Gracelyn pleaded.

Arthur shook his head. “Honey, no. You saved a life, today. I have watched you fight your way through horrible pain; do what you felt you truly needed to do, even when everyone was telling you not to; save yourself from danger. I saw you hit your breaking point, only to pull yourself back up, and finish the job. I couldn't possibly be disappointed in you. I am so proud, to call you my daughter.”

“Baby, we are both so proud of you.”

Both parents embraced their daughter, trying to be careful of her shoulder. All of them wept, happy to be back together. But, the moment was tainted. They all carried the fear that Jason wouldn't be found alive. Happy as Gracelyn was to be back with her family, she was facing the very real prospect of mourning a brother she had never even met. The tearful reunion was cut short, when one of the men digging called out “It's padlocked!”

All three LeFanus looked over. Gracelyn tore herself away from her parents, and ran over, crowbar in hand. She wedged the bent end under the lock, and pulled the other end of the bar back, as hard as she could. Shoulder be damned. Two of the men from the rescue team also took hold of the crowbar, and added to Gracelyn's effort.

------------------------------

Jason LeFanu didn't know how long he'd been in the box. When they put him in, he expected to cook to death, in the desert sun. Instead, he heard the sound of sand being tossed on top. The sand would keep the sun off his coffin. Now, he could look forward to suffocating. It was still getting awful warm in here. Jason wondered if the headache he was getting was from lack of oxygen, or just lack of padding. He was starting to miss the days of captivity and vague threats that had preceded this. Then he heard a sound. Something had struck the lid of his tiny prison. And, a second time. Then, there was silence. Soon enough, he could hear the sounds of digging, above him. When the shovels started scraping the lid, he screamed for help. The next thing he heard were the calls of there being a lock. Surely, they must have some way of getting this damn thing open. He yelled some more.  There were footsteps, and a scrapping sound by the side of the lid. There were some more shouts, the sound of something breaking, and the lid opened. A moment ago, he was having trouble telling if his eyes were even open. Now, he was under the noonday desert sun, and the whole world was blinding, painful light. He raised his bound hands to his face, to shield his eyes. There were calls for medics, and someone started to cut the ropes away from his feet and hands. The light was still too painful to let him open his eyes, but he heard a girl's voice tell him “Easy bro.”

Then something cold was tied over the top of his head. Being a 16 year-old young man, he immediately wondered if she was as cute as she sounded, and if there was a chance of getting out of the “bro zone.”

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The three of them had proven enough to rip the metal the padlock was fastened to off the box in the ground. As soon as it was opened, Gracelyn saw the brother she'd never met, protecting his eyes from the sun. As he was lifted out, they began to cut away the ropes that bound him. The medics were on the way over. Gracelyn could only begin to imagine how stuffy that box must have been.

“Easy bro.” She moved around behind Jason, pulled off her cooling towel, and folded it in half, corner to corner, then tied the resulting triangle over Jason's head, like a bandana.

As their parents rushed to Jason, Detective Alvarez moved next to Gracelyn. “You've saved two lives, and put three criminals in the hospital. Not a bad day, for a rookie.”

“Next time, can I do it without getting shot?”

Alvarez laughed. “Yeah, Gray. I think that might be the way to go. Hey, tell me something. What you did to that last guy. That isn't something you just do. Where on Earth did you pick that up?”

Gracelyn smiled. “The last few months, I've been working in a low rent music studio, in Nashville. Well, the outskirts of Nashville. Just about everybody who works there is a walking stereotype of 'good 'ol boys.' But, most of them are the kindest, sweetest people I've ever met. With me not being from that area, and not everyone being as nice as those guys are, they were worried about me getting hurt. Off color jokes and good-natured ribbing are almost a way of life. But they will not take crap off anyone. If somebody shows up intent on starting trouble, those guys are gonna end it.”

“And?” Alvarez pushed.

“And, they taught me some unconventional forms of self defense.”

“Unconventional, huh?”

“I'd call it new and interesting ways to hurt people.” Gracelyn admitted.

“Hey, as long as it works.”

All of Jason's vitals had checked out, with just some minor dehydration. His blood oxygen levels were steadily rising to a healthy level. His eyes were finally starting to adjust to the light, and the sun didn't feel like it was burning holes in his head. Being able to see, he'd quickly noticed the girl in the short skirt, and tight blue T-shirt. She was talking to a woman with a badge on her belt.

“Mom. Who's the girl talking to the cop?”

“That's Gracelyn, your sister. She's come home.”

“Sister!? Oh man….” Jason's entire demeanor suddenly changed. The detective had noticed it.

“You weren't startin' to get a crush, were ya kid? She's your sister, that's kind of messed up.”

Jason's face turned beat red. “NO! Jeez no!”

Gracelyn laughed. “You almost died, and the first thing you do is start looking at girls?”

“Oh gaaaawwwwwwd!”

“Near death experience, and he's in love, as soon as he sees one short skirt.” Alvarez was enjoying this a little too much.

“Good thing he's my brother. I don't have to worry about letting him down easy.”

“I'm just gonna walk out into the desert and die, now.”

Evelyn grabbed her son's shoulders, and pointed him in the direction back to the cars. “No, you're not. You're going to the hospital, to get fully checked out.”

“And, so are you, young lady.” Arthur wagged his finger at Gracelyn.

“I thought I made a deal.”

“You made a deal with your mother. I'm your father, and I say you're going to the hospital.”

Gracelyn just smiled. “Okay.”

Evelyn looked at her daughter. “That's it? Just 'okay?' No arguing?”

“I argued with my doctor. I don't want to argue with my parents.”

Jason looked at his big sister. “Why do you need checked out?”

“Guy that grabbed you, shot me.”

“SHOT!? Should-should you be out be here? I mean….”

“It's okay. Jason, it's not that bad. Even if I didn't get to sleep all morning.” Reassurance turned back into teasing.

Jason's voice wavered. “I thought I was going to die.”

Gracelyn put her good arm around the boy's shoulder. “I'm sorry. I didn't think. When that guy…. When he pointed that gun at me. I knew…. Didn't even have the test results, yet, and I was going to die, without knowing who I really am. I….”

She pulled her arm back, and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “This is weird, right?”

Jason relaxed. “You mean, it's not just me?”

Arthur and Evelyn LeFanu watched their son and daughter share their first laugh, and the stress and fears of the last week just didn't matter, anymore.

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Back at the impromptu base camp, things started getting put away. Gracelyn returned the crowbar she'd “borrowed.”

“You know, we don't usually loan those out.”

“I have the same policy.” Gracelyn smirked.

Gracelyn started back to her car, when her father stopped her. “Where do you think you're going, young lady?”

“To my car?”

Arthur pointed to the expensive luxury car Evelyn and Jason were standing around. “You're going back with the rest of us.”

“I can't leave my car, here!”

Arthur sighed. “Give me your keys. I'll drive it back to the house, and meet up with you at the hospital.”

Gracelyn pulled out her keys, and started to hand them over. “It's a manual.”

Arthur paused.

“You're kidding.” Gracelyn said, flatly.

“Who still drives a stick?”

“I do.”

“So do I. Or at least, I know how.” Detective Alvarez grabbed Gracelyn's keys. “I'll follow you to the hospital. One of the unis can drive me back to the precinct.”

“Thank you, detective.” The elder LeFanu said.

“Thanks.” Gracelyn spoke up. “It starts hard, but always get me where I need to go.”

“I seem to recall it not taking you quite far enough.”

Gracelyn smiled. “I said need, not want.”

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Jason started climbing into the front seat of the family car.

“Jason?” His mother questioned him.

“Mom, you've been waiting for her to come home, longer than I've been alive. You can't tell me you don't want to ride back, sitting next to her.”

“I've been waiting on you to come home, too.”

“Mom.” Jason gave her a look.

“Thank you Jason.” Evelyn told her son, softly.

“Are you guys getting sappy, over here? 'Cause, I can still ride back with Alvarez.” Gracelyn quipped, arriving at the car.

“Gracelyn Elizabeth LeFanu, you are getting in this car, with your family.” Evelyn mock scolded her daughter.

Gracelyn winced. “Less than an hour, since I learned my middle name, and now I've heard it twice.”

Jason could be heard chuckling.

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Once the car was out on the road, Evelyn put her arm around Gracelyn. She was careful of the girl's shoulder, and pulled her daughter to her. She smiled, knowing she was taking both of her missing children home. Gray was tired and sore, but she realized that she'd finally found that peace she'd been looking for, for so long. She could stop chasing the horizon.