Justin slept hard but his mind drifted between dreams.  One, a dream of a small and helpless creature that was struggling to live and the kindness of a person letting it rest in peace and letting peace overtake it.  It slept and died and then awoke scared and jolted back into reality with the pain expelled from its body.  The tiny being cleaned itself of the remnants of a lengthy death and ventured to start over but without the opportunity to venture much further than it had before it expected much the same but what more could it do but try.

Two, the man wasn't the nicest in the world but he was hard on his luck.  He put money forth, made a bad deal, borrowed, and lost again.  He was trying to get back on his feet, but much like the tiny creature of before, didn't know where else to turn to.  He found himself trapped and desperate, then others came with indistinct faces.  He was shot in the head and his life ended.  Even though he didn't want it to.  He had simple dreams and bad luck.  His lifeless body was moved far from his home.  His body, the home of his soul was dumped in a hole and he wound up sitting next to his body while snow fell and screaming at a man who couldn't hear him, a man who had also been shot but couldn't really feel it.

Three, Long ago, maybe more than a century, a man in robes trekked through the hills following others who would not speak to him.  He seemed to accept this fate, but followed none the less.  He traveled beyond heading west.  His words bore some semblance to Shakespeare but in the dream state they were hazy and echoed.

When Justin awoke he could feel it was cold in the house, Ed and Phil were still asleep but the girls sounded awake.  Outside the window it looked cold and maybe a little snow had fallen in the middle of the night, but nothing worth getting remotely excited about.  It'd disappear before noon to be certain, that's the way it usually worked.

Justin lay in bed trying to fathom the meaning of his dreams... After a while he considered the sorrow he felt about the situations that had happened to the men and kitten. Perhaps it was a subconscious prompt triggered by the stray they had found the night before. Yes that probably it a prompt to do something to help the kitten... Rising he dressed quietly and slipped from the room allowing his brothers to snooze on. Moving through the house he found his sisters busying themselves with breakfast. "Morning all" he  beamed then asked if they rested well and had any unusual Dreams. As they responded he ate cereal then toast and finishing up with a goblet of juice.

Olivia said, "I dreamed I was standing near a big dirty elephant and it was grabbing the fruit off of a tree only the fruit looked like big glowing blue droplets of water." 

Serena looked at her, blinked twice, "Yeah and you had slice of that ham and pineapple pizza right before bed last night too."

"Oh yeah," Olivia says and shrugs.  "Why, what dreams did you have?"

"Dreams of Yolanda no doubt," Serena sighs.

"Most of the time they are" he grins, "But last night had several which were so real you could smell the dirt. Probably about something I need to do about a stray I found near the diner last night"

"You found a stray?  A kitten?" Olivia fawns.

"Or a puppy?" Serena fawns as well.  "Maybe mom will let us keep it."

"Yeah, Mr. Hops wouldn't mind, he's protected."

"Maybe they could share a cage on occasion?  A rabbit and a puppy playing in the back yard."

"Or a kitty.  Which was it?"

Justin was well accustomed to Olivia's and Serena's stream of consciousness speaking.  Following the conversation was a breeze but it could go on for hours if allowed to continue.

"It was a kitten and I don't think Mom would care for the idea of another pet, unless one or both of you would care to take on part time jobs for its upkeep." he prompted. "Besides it probably belonged to Morgan as it was hanging around his diner." Finishing his breakfast and cleaning up after himself and the girls in the process "So what have you plans for this fine morning" he asked to change the subject from strays.

"Garden," Olivia said dejectedly.  Serena huffed as well.  "Just as soon as Ed is up."  Justin knew exactly what that meant.  They were put in charge of cleaning gardening tools and getting things ready.  It was getting close to planting time and Mother liked to be ready.  Ed would be in his element.  He liked to work with his hands and and get down into the dirt.  He might even break out the tiller today to turn the earth, but it would depend on the overall weather and his ability to clean the gunk off the machine from the prior year.

"Until then," Serena said.  "We'll be in the swings."  Justin could see that their jackets were by the door.

Despite his desire to sort out the kitten thing he knew not to leave the girls until either one of his brothers surfaced or his mother. "Enjoy them while you can" he prompted.

It wasn't long before Ed showed up in the kitchen followed by Phil.  Ed was yawning and stretching and shivering all at the same time.  Phil delved into the fridge and game back with a tin foil wrapped bit of something from either yesterday afternoon or the day before and dropped it into the toaster oven.

"Hey," Ed said, "pop tarts." he slipped on his shirt and held out his shining silver packet.

"It won't take long, and you can eat those without toasting," Phil stood firm by the toaster oven.  All three knew that the toaster oven and the toaster were on the same breaker and would pop if they tried to cook at the same time.  Mother Kase in her thick cotton gown shuffled into the kitchen with the rest of the Kase clan in close tow.

"Good morning, boys," she said.  Ed grunted in response.

"Good Morning, Mum" Justin replied as he crossed the room giving her a hug "Surprising how some people tend to be continually seven dwarvish" he teased Ed.

Ed grunts again in response and instead pours some cereal and milk, making an exaggerated open mouth chewing for Justin's benefits.  Phil prepares the pop-tarts for the younger kids and sits down next to Ed to enjoy what he reveals to be a bit of left over cinnamon bun.  Mother Kase flips on the television and as the pictures comes in, "They must have had quite a surprise.  We'll try and get ahold of that guy later today.  So any other news on Superheroes or do we need to talk about PETA?"  Mother Kase flips the television off.  "Nothing but garbage.  I'm doing some grocery shopping today Henry, Paul and John are coming with me."

"If your grumpy and I'm dopey which one do you recon he is"  Justin asked Ed as he nodded towards their brother. Catching the snippet of media rubbish he looked towards the television. "Sounds like there trying to make some poor guy or gals life difficult." he snorts pointing his thumb at the television "The press are noting more than panic merchants or rumour-mongers in suits." he added contemptuously, "Do you think Einstein would like to get his every action filmed and broadcast across the nation on the Morning Show"

"I'm obviously the prince and not some lousy dwarf, no offense to the squirts," Phil says.  Henry, Paul, and John all make the move towards tackling Phil which Mother Kase intervenes.

"Do not start this early boys, Phil, Ed and Justin, don't goad.  I'm looking towards you three to set the positive examples."

"Yeah, be positive," Henry says.

After finishing his morning chores Justin managed to slip away. He drove back to Morgans restaurant hoping to find the kitten.

[Justin's abilities are not the type that stand out like changing into metal, being shot in the chest and surviving, being sucked into an linked dimension, seeing Spirits or such.  There hasn't been anything else to explain these events, such as newspaper items or web page articles about the men who he dreamed about.  Therefore he thinks these things are subconscious thoughts aimed at rectifying errors of judgment or such which he needs to rectify. ]

Justin takes the smaller family vehicle and finds himself at Morgan's early in the morning.  Morgan had opened for breakfast and it probably seemed a good thing for him as there were three state trooper cars outside the cafe and a few others that were unmarked.  Inside Morgan was fixing talking with some of the people.  Justin is able to park on the side of the restaurant closer to the dumpster.  He can see from the driver's seat after he parked out in the woods beyond the dumpster the kitten was pouncing or playing.

Fortunately Justin had been with his brother the day he tracked down Miss Fiona Morrissey lived. Opening the car door he used a piece of meat he'd collected picked up to coaxed the kitten "Here Kitty I'm sure your mistress will be pleased when you turn up" he prompted in a gentle steady voice. After several minutes the kitten had taken the lure, and was perched in the back window of the car headed to Miss Morrissey's residence. Pulling up outside the building Justin scooped the kitten up and was quickly standing outside her door, delivering a healthy knock.

Fiona's hot pink moped was situated beside her single-wide.  Usually it was found wherever she was.  Justin and his brothers had seen it on more than one occasion at the Meadowbrook Mall and spied her roaming the corridors once inside.  There was no answer from the knocking though.  The door was locked which is expected of most folks who lived and worked in Adena Gorge.  Touching the handle, Justin felt like he could see inside and knew that the place was empty, he felt in his mind that while the lights were on all over the place, Miss Fiona Morrissey was not there.  The kitten mewed from the back window of the vehicle.

A police car pulled up a little more than a minute later and a State Trooper got out.  She said, "Hello, you a friend of Miss Morrissey's?"

"Sort of Officer, I found her kitten roaming the ally outside the diner, this morning, just brought it over to drop it off." he indicated the animal in the back of the car. "As she's not home could I leave it with you to deliver" he asked moving towards the car. 

"No animal's in the squad car other than the normal human type.  I'm afraid this is your burden, but let's make sure that she isn't around.  You from around here?  I'm Officer Pam Strongwall."  Pam steps up to the door and knocks loudly.  "Fiona, this is Officer Strongwall, I drove you home last night.  Are you in there?"  There is no answer.  Strongwall looks at the moped and knocks again waiting.

"Actually Officer Strongwall, Humans aren't animals, although some are annoying beasts."  he respectfully corrects "Did something happen to Miss Morrissey last night that necessitated your assistance." he inquired hoping not be considered nosey and avoiding the need to answer the obvious question, about being from around here, considering how If he wasn't he wouldn't have known about her kitten.

Officer Strongwall quickly swats at the air as a moth comes out from the screen door the singlewide and it lands at the feet of Justin.  The moth is seemingly dead for a moment bent in half.  Justin feels for a brief instance like he had a little pressure on the base of his spine and then the moth flutters in the dust and lifts itself up and flits chaotically away. "It's under investigation.  Were you at Morgan's Diner last night?" 

"Yes my mom took my brothers and I there after work, did something happen?"Is that why you escorted Miss Morrissey home? Did it have something to do with those men from the Plant" he asked in quick succession and absently rubbed the base of his spine.

"Was there anyone strange at the diner last night while you were there?  Tall, dark, or dark-skinned?"  Officer Strongwall looked around the ground briefly.  A few more latent insects nearby seemed to come to life and flutter or buzz away.  Strongwall seemed to only be interested in her own line of questioning and not so much in answering Justin's questions.  It was also obvious that something specific had happened and that there was a profile that was being fit. 

Justin shrugged in response to the officers question, two can play at that game he thought, "Doesn't look like shes home, perhaps later." he commented. Turning he moved towards his mothers car, giving the windows of police car a passing glance, in the hope one would be open enough for him to slip the kitten inside.

The officer watched him for a moment before turning back to the issue of the house.  A window was cracked open into the back of the squad car, and as the officer inspected around the side Justin was able to foist the kitten onto the officer for responsibility.  Strongwall would have a nice surprise when she went to leave the Morrissey residence.  Justin then climbed into his vehicle and carefully made his way past the cop car.  The kitten had already hopped into the back window to look around.

Heading towards his next destination wherever that may be, the radio played familiar tunes.  In between the music the dj's gave brief 30 second news bulletins in which world event were covered with nothing more than a phrase.  Little abnormal seemed to be going on in the world until a single sentence stood out in between songs.  "A man claiming to be a new entity called the Tengeri Lama or Heavenly Teacher has appeared in Mongolia."

Listening to the news broadcast with mild interest Another wannabe Dali Lama type he thought then shook his head at the level of newsworthy coverage which appeared to be slipping to an all-time low "As if" he  declared as an afterthought. Slipping the car into gear he accelerated away from the scene hoping the officer wouldn't really mind finding his surprise. Heading to the bakery he picked up some croissants intending to use them to placate his mother when he got home.

The bakery was a small shop with a large oven in the back.  The baker, old Mrs. Esserby, had the oven going and the smell of baking and baked bread flowed from the front of the store.  The old glass cases that marked the display shelves and the counter over which so much bread exchanged hands were full as was typical.  The bell rang as Justin opened the front door and Mrs. Esserby shuffled from the back and adjusted her thick glasses.  "Oh, look at that.  It's one of the Case boys.  Come in, you comin' for your mama?  I've got a loaf of rye coolin' right now, and Harold at the deli got in a fresh turkey bird for some good sandwich makin'".

Justin looks at the counter and when he rests a hand on the counter he can see through the wood back.  Old Mrs. Esserby has a cast on her left foot.

Justin grinned thankfully "Good morning Mrs Esserby, thank you that will be fine; could I also get a dozen croissants." he replied watching her move about collecting the order "Pardon Mrs Esserby you appear to be limping is everything alright."  he inquired with genuine concern albeit puzzled at the vision he just had.

"Oh, I fell last week in my bathroom.  I'd asked my son repeatedly to get me some new rugs and no-slip thingees for my tub but he's too busy down there in Charleston to help his mother.  Those Croissants will take about 45 minutes.  You want to wait?  I've just made some banana nut bread that I wouldn't mind sharing."

A car pulls up outside shop and a few people get out, a woman who clearly looks out of place and a couple of guys, one much bigger than the other.  They come into the bread shop and the bell rings their arrival.  They breath deep and look at the bread through the glass.  "I'll be with you young folks in a second," Mrs. Esserby says and returns her attention to Justin.  The smaller of the guys smiles and waves his hand in an "ok" gesture.

"I'll just check" he informs Mrs Esserby stepping away from the counter to allow her to serve them. That's odd he thought noting the woman who didn't appear to be the type that was an early riser. Surmising that they'd probably been driving through the night.

Slipping his hand into his coat pocket and finding his blackberry. With practiced skill he keyed a message 'Morning Mum at the bakery, thought I'd pick up some croissants, turkey and cranberry jelly for everyone, They'll take another 45 minutes to cook, want me to wait" sending it off without needing to take it from his pocket.

While Justin texts in his message and waits for an answer, Mrs. Esserby looks at the newcomers, "Fresh baked bread?"

"Yeah, how about a loaf, some butter, and if you've got a little sugar, I'm developing a sweet tooth this morning," the smaller guy says.

"Leon," the woman shines, "can't we just get going?"

"Carrie, this is homemade bread, kneaded and worked by this woman's hands.  There are a couple of Italian places in New York that can deliver this kind of quality but they don't like me anymore.  So I gots to get it while I'm outta town.  Eli, you want anything?"

Carrie rolls her eyes and plops down at a small table and adjusts her short skirt.  Mrs. Esserby makes a face but only Justin seems to pick up on it.  "Yeah, I like those little doughy crescent moon things."

"Croissants will take about 45 minutes," she says very stilted.

"Mrs Esserby, I could help out a little, if you'd like; or arrange with one of my family to come and help you here for pocket money." he suggested trying not to appear to be watching the out of towners. In fact he considered supplementing any sum she might offer, as an added incentive.

""Eli, I'm not waiting 45 minutes for Croissants.  You can butter up a good thick slice of Italian and you'll love it.  I'll take the next two loaves you've got coming out of the oven, or if one of these just came out." Leon leaned forward and inspected the glass.  "See there still some steam on the glass here.  I bet that's a good one."

Mrs. Esserby looked at Justin, "I'll be back with you in just a moment.  This is a simple enough request," she went into the back and Justin heard the oven door. 

When she went back Leon looked at Justin and offered a smile, "You from around here kid?  Ever been up to the Adena caverns?  Beautiful."

"I'm waitin' in the car," the woman says and the little bells jingle as she leaves the shop.

Returning the man's smile "I hear its something you shouldn't miss what with school and part time work, I haven't had the opportunity, but am looking to get around to it some time." he replied watching the woman leave, noting how she didn't quite look like the type that would be interested in crawling about underground.

"You really should," he says and gets the bread from Mrs. Esserby.  He puts some cash out in front of him and says, "Keep the change."  Mrs. Esserby holds up the two twenty dollar bills and looks at him amazed.  He smiles, gathers up his order and walks from the store with his friend in tow.

"Well, how about that, Justin.  Didn't expect a big tip today.  I'm guessing you'll be hanging around for your bread as well.  And that's fine.  You send one of those sisters of yours out here and I'll train them up to be a real baker.  Something you don't find much of today."

Big time city slickers Justin thought, then paused coming to the realization that they wanted to be noticed "Thank you Mrs Esserby, I'll let mom and the sisters know." he replied watching after the group "Do you think that guy, Leon, is trying to get into politics" he asked nodding his head in Leon's direction.

"Hard to say, Justin.  If so, this is hardly the place to start.  I could care less about those liars.  Hasn't been a single politician that has done me much good.  Flour, Butter, Milk, Eggs, and Sugar are the very things I've relied upon since I was old enough to light a fire and open an oven.  Back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth."  She laughed at herself and busied herself while the orders cooked.

The car pulled away and sped off leaving the faintest hint of a dust trail.  Mrs. Esserby pulled a small basket of rolls from the back and brought them out front.  "Justin, while you are hanging around waiting.  I've not heard from Mr. Ingraham in a couple of days.  He was supposed to come and get these rolls yesterday, but I didn't have a chance to go over and see him.  Could you please take these too him and make sure he is alright.  Last time he didn't show up I'd thought he'd died of a heart attack.  Here he just forgot what day it was.  You can walk there, you remember where he lives right?"

Just to be on the safe side Justin caught the car's number plate, slipped his hand into his pocket, sms'ed himself them "Sure thing Mrs Esserby, pleased to help out. "I'll just text mum to let her know what I'm up to" removing his Iphone keyed what he was going to do, mentioning that Mrs Esserby was wondering if one of his sisters would be interested in a job for some pocket money and sent it, checking to see if he'd got a reply about his previous message.

Taking Mr Ingraham's order he smiled at the elderly woman and was on his way.  The message came back on his phone that he should go ahead and wait on the order, and to relay to Mrs. Esserby that she'd pay for it on Wednesday.  While walking to Mr. Ingraham's she texted back the response to the other proposition.  Olivia would be happy to learn from Mrs Esserby.

Down the road at Mr Ingraham's the door was shut and the blinds drawn.  Justin put his hand up to knock on the door but as he raised his hand the door seemed to disappear in his mind's eye and he found that he was looking inside the house.  It was a small one story and Mr. Ingraham was lying on the floor of his bedroom in his tighty whitey's unmoving with his eyes open and and one hand under his chest and the other out in front of him.

Justin rubs his chin trying to make sense of the image he just had. Reaching forward he knocks on the door. Hearing no reply he wanders across to next building hoping to see if the neighbors had seen Mr Ingraham about recently. 

There was no reply to the knock on the door.  Mrs. Roberts was out on the porch sweeping dust onto the lawn wrapped up tight in her jacket.  She looks up and smiles at Justin.  Mrs. Roberts was still the 3rd grade teacher after all these years.  After the "My how you have grown," comments.  She looks across the street and squints at Mr. Ingraham's door as if she was trying to peer into the home itself and remember.  "Can't say that I've seen him much.  I saw him walk down the street to get a paper a couple of days ago, but that was it.  I don't pay much attention to that old man unless he's threatening to get my cat.  If you need to deliver that, then just go walk in and give it to him.  Don't let him start on about television talk shows however.  I hear tell he believes every thing he sees on that Maury Povich show.  Rubbish, and I know I taught you kids that."

Justin thanked Mrs Roberts and headed back to Mr Ingraham's house knocked once more to be sure then tried the doorknob. The door opened easily lifting dust into the air which was struck by a beam of light from the morning sun. This had the appearance of a fine Autumn mist throughout the hall. "Mr Ingraham " he called then entered the house. Instinctively his hand clasped his mouth and nose which were assaulted by an overwhelming stench. "Gacks that's foul" he exclaimed as tears filled his eyes forcing him to retreat from the toxic smell. Taking a deep breath he plunged back into the house concerned about the elderly mans welfare "Mr Ingraham, Mr Ingraham" he called through his hand as he moved quickly along the hall looking peering through doorways. Running out of hallway he turning into a bedroom that appeared exactly as he recently envisaged complete with a sprawled body of Mr Ingraham. Moving along side he knelt placing his hand on the man's neck in to feel a pulse. As his hand touched the cold clammy skin his mind recoiled in alarm at the thought of touching a decaying corpse.

Justin felt to hint of a pulse.  Mr. Ingraham was deceased.  A strange sensation like water surrounding him, filling up around him, overtook Justin and he could not remove his hand from Mr. Ingraham's neck.  Justin felt his own pulse and like a faucet turned on with boiling hot water, his hand pulse against Mr. Ingraham's neck.  The sensations filled up around his ears and his hair seemed to float for a second and wave like drowning at sea but without the need to breath.  Pouring into the body, Justin seemed to exist in that connection.  The last couple of days, the failure to reach his pills in time and the subsequent heart attack that followed.  His spirit seemed to be nearby and sullen, watching.

The spirit fueled by the boiling hot rhythm's of Justin's life lied down in the corpse it had once inhabited.  Justin saw his hand change before his eyes.  It seemed to fill out only slightly.  Moreso he felt his own body age and grow.  A thin beard line his jaw and the body before him twitched.  A putrid thin black ooze flowed out of Mr. Ingraham's mouth and his throat spasmed sending more.  The smell intensified and voiding his bowels of anything remaining, Mr. Ingraham's eyes blinked and and the clear focused look of someone woken up by being tossed in a cold shower stared at Justin.

A gurgling wretched sound escaped Mr. ingraham and he pulled away from Justin and slammed his body into his bed.  He spit onto the floor and dropped his underwear to the ground and anything that came with it.  Forcing himself to a standing position, Mr. Ingraham staggered backwards and looked at Justin and turned towards a bathroom that was just off of his bedroom.  Justin felt the sensation of water flow away from him, leaving him cold and shivering and dry but still aged.  He could only watch for a moment as Ingraham's pale flesh was soiled black down his legs and up his bottom as he stumbled into the bathroom.  The squeak of old pipes and old faucets being turned on echoed back along with the rush of real water.

Justin stared blankly at the elderly man, as his senses reeling at what he thought just happened. The weakness he felt compelled him to slump to the ground half crawling from the room in an attempt to get away from the stench permeating the room . Once in the hall he sprawled on the ground breathing heavily, his mind and body fatigued yet reeling from the bizarre feelings and thoughts. The hammering sounds from the pipes as they were turned off roused him. Looking around to get his bearings. Yes, he remembered, he brought Mr Ingraham's order. Groggily he clambered up resting against the wall to keep from falling. "What the hell are you doing here, boy" came the harsh yet croaky voice. Looking up he tried to focus "Mr Ingram I was asked to bring you some bread" he responded automatically holding the bread out.

"Thanks Kid now you ken be on your way, Juss tell Mrs Esserby I'll be by later to settle up."

Justin nodded meekly then left shuffling his feet in the process. Willing himself to keep going, step after step to avoid collapsing he paused from occasionally. Reaching the corner he slipped to the grassy patch alongside an Elm tree and just sat attempting to come to some rational explanation of what just happened not just now, but since the evening before.
 
Justin heard the door close to Ingraham's house like a slam.  A couple of kids from school wandered past looking at Justin sitting on the ground.  They appeared to be in the same grade as his younger sisters.  They stared a little but kept walking, talking about the Avengers movie at the theaters in Clarksburg.  Justin's phone buzzed as a text came through.  It was Yolanda, "where u @?"

Justin shot the kids a challenging, mind your own business type look then absently rubbed his temple, which eased the tension he'd been feeling. Reading Yolandas text produced a grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth 'Hi Sweetie I'm headed to Mrs Esserby's bakery, to get some Croissants. This morning has been strange. Will fill you in later. What U upto?' he keyed in response.

"Waiting for bros to get ready, shopping trip @ Mall.  You free 2 go?"  The text came back so quick, Justin could be suitably amazed at the speed at which she texted often.  She meant the Meadowbrook mall likely.  Her brothers never wanted to go anywhere else.  An Arcade, a bookstore, and clothes shopping at the HotSpot was her brother normal agenda when they were allowed.

"The croissants ready about 30 minutes, Will drop them @ home meet you in about 60 min, Some of the family may tag along"  he replied

"I can hold out at least that long.  I'll swing by your place to get you. XOs"

Shaking off the strange thoughts and feelings he headed back to Mrs Esserby's. On the way he sms'e his mom asking if any of the brood would like to head to Meadowbrook Mall. Entering the bakery he related Mr Ingraham's intention to settle up and checking to see if the croissants were done.

Mrs. Esserby nods reflectively as Mr. Ingraham's intentions.  "He always is putting things off.  Why I'd told him before, he'd likely  die before he got to all the things he intended to do.  Well, bless his soul, anyway, I'm not one to fault him.  Old man living alone.  You're croissants will be out of the oven in just a short bit."  Mrs. Esserby putters around a little in the back and soon the sound of the oven door opening echoes above some low playing classical music and Mrs. Esserby's humming.

Justin's mother sends a text back to him indicating that no one else had much interest in hitting the mall up with Justin and his one true love.  Justin could read one of his twins influence all over the text itself, but Mother Kase wouldn't let a lie go through and considered the ribbing of youth as part of the trial and tribulation of growing up so it stood in this case.

Paying for the croissants he let Mrs Esserby know one of his sisters would be pleased to help out. He picked up some sliced meat from the deli dropped them at home then headed to the Mall. Absently toying with the thoughts of what he'd just experiences as he meandering through the mezzanine moving to where he'd meet Yolanda.

It wasn't long before Justin got another text saying "HotTopic".  At the popular store however was another scene entirely.  It seemed that the store looked like it had been ransacked.  Yolanda was standing outside looking in when Justin showed up.  There were clothes strewn all over the place.  Two clerks in the store were getting on about the task of organizing the clothing and setting up the store like it had been prior.  Mall hooligans sometimes left a path of minor destruction in their wake but this was a new high.  The mall cops probably had already come and gone leaving the staff to do what they needed to.  Yolanda was looking at her phone and didn't see Justin approach.

Skimming the Hot Topic message he then slipped alongside Yolanda he wrapped his arms around her waist "Hi Sweetie" he croaked giving her a peck on the cheek and a warm hug. "A cloths sale gone astray" he asked tilting his head towards the store attendants. 

Yolanda accepted the affection warmly.  "I've been told that some mall punks came through here and tore the place up, but I've also found out that there was a guy in there who looked like he was made of stone and tossed the punks around a bit telling them to take it elsewhere.  Said the guy was literal rock, not just a phrase to say he was a weightlifter or anything.  Sounds crazy, huh?"  The last phrase was said with a little bit of nervousness in her voice.

Yolanda's apparent nervousness concerned him. Reaching out he took her hand. "Are you alright sweetie, it sounds like something has happened or you've seen something that alarmed you." he asked hoping whatever was happening to him wasn't that obvious...

An older woman came running past them and into the store.  Immediately she began to pick up and fold clothes while talking with the two salesclerks.  Perhaps some district manager.  She worked with the speed and efficiency of someone who had been doing clothing retail their whole life.  She saw Justin and Yolanda standing there and called out with a smile, "You are more than welcome to come in.  A little incident this morning that we will have cleaned up in no time.  Please don't let it deter you from browsing."

"Thank you" Justin replied then looked about for some place he could sit with Yolanda and talk, a place they wouldn't be overheard...

Yolanda suggested the food court in a corner, in part because you could see the people around you and watch them coming and going, and she was also hungry.  Her brothers would still be running around doing their own before searching after them.  Yolanda grabbed his hand and practically led him to the Sbarro's were she ordered her usual and pulled a billfold from her purse to pay with a smile.  After ordering, she located the corner booth away from everyone hoping that Justin would feel comfortable.

Justin ordered the same, managing to pay for both their orders. Carrying the tray of food to the table he slid in beside her. "Sweetheart is everything with you alright. " he prompted again concern showing in his face.

Yolanda drank a bit before speaking, "Made of stone.  I was flipping channels on the TV and I saw it again on my cellphone, something is happening in California and there is rumors of a news story that will be breaking on CNN.  It all has to do with super powers.  Some comic book convention in Redding is supposed to be holding a conference on these kinds of things.  The reporter for CNN is travelling to an undisclosed location to conduct an interview with someone who has superpowers.  CNN isn't necessarily going to air a hoax, but what if it's real.  What if some guy was made of stone here in our state.  In West Virginia.  It's funny with my brothers want to be mutants in the X-Men, but if all that kind of stuff is real, then what?  I'm just a little worried about what it would mean to all of the world if people like that really existed."

 "I'm not sure about all this. However I've been reading about the psychology of the mind and it's a powerful thing. Capable of bringing things into actuality, take for example faith healing, If enough people focus on the same thing I'd say it may come to be...The amount of interest the media and motion industry is perpetuating in this regard may be just the tip of the iceberg." he shakes "Just thinking about it boggles the mind, besides if there are these X men types in the world I'd think they're just different, like Einstein, Mozart or any gifted individual. They shouldn't be discriminated against so long as they don't turn to the dark side." he grinned holding his hand up in the gesture of Obi Wan Kenobi. "Don't you think Master Yoda"

She slapped his hand down playfully and then paused as she noticed a large group of men come into the food court.  She leaned into Justin and said, "The younger kids with those guys.  They were the ones from earlier this morning.  This can't be good.  I wonder what they are all doing here.  I hope they aren't here to cause trouble." 

When the guys started talking, it seemed that everyone around them could here what they were saying.  There were two guys which the group had sat next too.  One had waved and smiled at them earlier.  It seemed that those men were the ones that were being targeted for trouble by the men.

"If those guys are out to cause trouble we should warn the others and leave" he suggested rising from his seat. Looking about he scanned the area for people milling about and stores that were open, which they could head for if things got nasty. 

Justin and Yolanda carefully stood up and the men from the clan spotted them and indicated that they should sit back down.  Yolanda dropped her butt back in the seat and pulled  Justin back into the seat next to her.  The moment that Justin hit the seat, he could not see the bodies of the people in front of him.  He saw an empty food court with floating guns.  Each of the older men from the local gang was packing but so was the one gentlemen at the table to which they seemed to be directing their conversation.

Slipping alongside Yolanda, Justin slipped his blackberry out subtly snapped images of the treating gang and texted a message to his remote station, which he'd setup to forwarded his message anonymously to texted URL's, in this case the Police and Mall Security informing them about the armed men. Nervously watching the men and checking for ways he could use to get Yolanda our of the area.   

As he was texting, his vision slipped back from the floating guns to the scene before him, the reality of men made of flesh in a food court and a situation that was about to happen.  It happened however, so fast that Justin was sure that the message was not even done processing on the airwaves before the one man moved.  Not the known troublemakers, but one of the men they were targeting.  Like liquid metal the man was suddenly flowing and silvery.  With practiced movements he picked up the thug, flipped him around and slammed him face down on the table he was sitting.  The man looked like he was made of silver only somehow different.  Faint symbols were on his body that Justin could barely make out.  The man yelled, "Gun! He's got a gun! Everybody get down! Someone call 911!"  And people reacted.

The man that the silver one was sitting with balled up his fist as he stared at the sudden event.  Yolanda sunk down beneath the table and was weakly tugging on Justin's shirt trying to get him below the table as well. 

Justin ducked beneath the table moved to the corner and positioned the lens of the blackberry alongside the booths base, allowing him to see an image of what was happening . "This is beyond weird, the dude's with the actors paste really looks like he's made of metal. I hope the cops get here before they make paste of him."  Looking about he pointed at the gap under the seat that separated their booth for the adjacent ones "We can slip through these and get away from those punks" he prompted.

Yolanda nodded as she followed Justin lead, trying to ignore his careful attention to his cell phone and trying to film the oddities that were going on in the middle of the food court.  The other man shouted something along the lines of "put your guns down" but it had the opposite effect.  Bullets started to fly.  Justin had moved Yolanda back behind the seat.  The seat moved some and with the sound of the firing guns also came the sound of metal on metal, and metal on wood.  The sound of wood was near and Yolanda fell quickly to the ground.  She didn't fall in a frightened way however.  She fell in a very dead way.  Her eyes were open and she was staring at the back of the chair.  Her hair had the spray of red in it.  Justin's hand touched her body and he could see through her hair and skull the path the bullet left.

"Curs, bloody curs" he cursed racing from his fallen girlfriend towards the nearest thug. dodging as he went. Grabbing a mobile card display as he closed on a punk, swinging the display in a horizontal baseball bat arch.

Justin picks up a T-mobile display and slams it down onto one of the running thugs.  The other two men in the middle whose bodies had changed, had dealt with the men.  The one that Justin attacked went down, but was a mass of arms and legs and the placard ripped and he looked onto for a brief moment in Justin's eyes before kicking out and finding his feet and running for the closest door.

People are clearing out of the food court.  The mall cops would be in soon.  Yolanda's body lie dead behind the seats.  She was the only casualty in the gun fire.  The others who were wounded were being helped to safety.  It seemed to have ended as quick as it had started.

Justin turned rushing back to where Yolanda lay, dropping down beside her he gathered her in his arms and sat staring at her face whilst absently stroking her hair. 'Curse you for the fool you are' he chastised himself.

"My god! I'm so sorry," the man of liquid silver was behind him.  Yolanda's lifeless body flopped clumsily in Justin's arms, the blood spilling out of her and onto the tile of the food court.  The strange being's words startle Justin and he relaxes just a bit.  He feels his eyes wet with tears and the sound of rushing water fills his head.  Muscles in his arms tense for a moment and then his back.  He feels the fear of her last few moments of life and then they are washed away with the heat of water in his eyes.

Yolanda spasms and curls tightly into Justin then screams out.  A faint sound in that moment accompanies the scream, but Justin did not hear it.  Yolanda clutches Justin sobbing.

For several minutes Justin sits cradling Yolanda in his arms and rocks to and fro. After a while he brushes his eyes and looks about. Realising the silver man was standing behind him "How, what, who" he stammered then looks down at Yolanda.

--> After the Mall Incident