A Child's Dream

Chapter 5 Past Betrayals

She sat nearer to her fire. Though she\'d crossed the mountains all right, and got out of the winter weather there, it had left a chill in her system. She\'d ridden hard for six days, and was nearly to the border, she was sure. Soon she\'d have to find her way through memory and landmarks, if any of it was left. Either that, or find a place to buy a map. She only hoped the money she carried was the same as what Canada used now. She\'d worry about that later. Carefully she took the small packet out of her belt pocket, untying the string and spreading the cloth. Inside was a bent up cross, on a broken chain. She couldn\'t help but think of the irony of it all. The links in the chain, like promises he\'d made, binding and holding together. Now one link was broken, and it all fell apart, all over a twisted event, distorted and out of proportion. Much like the cross. She wiped a tear from her eyes again, and held the jewel out to the fire. He\'d never come back, not after what she\'d done. But something deep inside wouldn\'t let her release the cross.

Carefully she balled her fist and clutched it to her chest, as she quietly cried. \"Come back to me,\" she whispered at last. \"Please, come back.\" Somewhere inside her, a little voice whispered he wouldn\'t. She knew that voice. She knew it all too well.

They\'d been seeing each other for almost two years. It was coming up on New Year\'s Eve 1999. He\'d been away over Christmas, but promised he\'d see her New Year\'s Eve. As she told him, she was at his house watering his plants, and feeding his Piranha. How he could love such ugly fish, she didn\'t know. All they seemed to be were bodies with teeth. She was checking the last of the plants in the bedroom, when she heard the door open. He was home. Wanting to surprise him, she quietly walked down the stairs. But it was she who was surprised. He was home, and someone was with him. A red haired woman, and they were kissing. Her heart felt like it was being crushed, she found it very hard to breath. She didn\'t even realize they were staring at her, till he spoke. \"Oh shit.\" The woman just looked between them.

\"Lorne? Who\'s that?\" the woman asked.

\"Obviously,\" she tried to say calmly, \"no one important.\" As the woman stepped away from him, Kally-Anne descended the last of the stairs.

\"Kally-...\" he stopped as she pulled the waist band of his $200 dry clean only slacks out from his body, and poured the rest of the water down his pants. He was so arrogant, so full of himself, he\'d already unbuckled his belt. Had they not noticed her on the stairs, she believed he\'d\'ve striped his pants off completely.

\"Guess you weren\'t expecting that were you? Or me.\"

\"Kally-..\"

\"SHUT UP!!!\"

\"I\'ll just go.\"

\"NO!\" she said, grabbing her coat from the closet. \"You stay. I\'ll go. Just...feed the fish.\"

As she took her car keys out of her purse, he charged across the road after her. \"Kally-Anne! Don\'t do this!\"

\"DO WHAT!? You\'ve already done it! You PRICK!! You fucking PRICK!!! How could you!!!?\"

\"The neighbors are watching...\"

\"SO!! Let them!! So they\'ll know what kind of a sleaze you really are! I can\'t believe I put up with you! And all your \'X\'-girlfriends, who you just happen to remain friends with, all showing up at your parties, and bar-b-qs. God I was so blind! What was it Lorne!? Was it the idea of seeing each of us behind our backs!? Is that what got you off?\"

\"NO! God Damn it Kally! That\'s the problem!\"

\"What?\"

\"Getting off...at all. Geese, we\'ve been going out for 2 years, and not once...NOT ONCE...have we fucked. At least with Sharon I can slam it to her, whenever I want. But You!!...God Kally, you\'ll never get, and keep, someone. You\'re locked at the ankles...Forget knees! GOD!\"

She solidly landed her purse to his left cheek, sending him staggering sideways. \"YOU BASTARD!!! I\'M NOT EASY!!!\"

\"Yeah, well that\'s not what I heard.\"

She screamed and tried to hit him once more, but he knocked her purse away. Then he noticed the red haired woman walking down the street. \"Sharon! Sharon, wait!\" Quickly Kally got in her car and locked the doors. Before she drove away, he was at her window. \"Kally, if you drive away, you\'ll never see me again. And no man in this town will even look at you! Kally! I won\'t come back to you! I mean it! And everywhere you go...every guy you see, you\'ll hear me, in the back of your mind, you\'ll hear me. He\'ll never be yours. Never. And no one will love you! EVER!!\"

She slammed the gearshift down and pressed the pedal to the floor, screeching her tires as she sped down the street. \'Moos never would have done this,\' she though. \'God where is he...\' She\'d be home soon. Soon yes. And she had pictures to burn.

The sun rose slowly over the few trees that dotted the valley. She didn\'t watch it come up as she usually did when she was awake this early. There was no point. He wasn\'t with her to enjoy it too. Max poked his nose in the window of the remains of the tiny shack. There wasn\'t enough room inside for both of them, but it was warmer here, and she could do without her horse to keep her warm. The small fire in the dirt through the floorboards seemed to have done the trick. And she couldn\'t sleep anyway, so there was no chance it would spread to the rest of the structure. She still held the bent cross in her hand, just staring at it as the sun glinted off the bent gold and silver surface. Max nickered softly, wondering if she\'d wake, or was awake, or would get up soon. \"Do you think he\'ll come back, Max?\" she asked quietly, knowing the horse heard her. Max just snorted, making his way around to the fallen in door. She tipped the last of her gathered water into the fire, burying the rest with dirt she\'d dug out of the hole the night before. She tied the cross carefully back into the cloth and tucked it back in her belt. Then mounting up, she was off again, East and then North. She\'d be there soon.

It was way too early, he knew that, but still he found the little girl sitting on his doorstep, just staring at the sun coming over the distant mountains. \"Aceline? What are you doing here?\"

\"Good morning Mr. C., I couldn\'t sleep,\" she replied.

\"Still...\"

\"I won\'t be missed.\"

\"Well, you couldn\'t have had breakfast yet. Come on. You can help me get something for Rhonda.\"

\"Ok.\" Together they made the toast, some hot cereal, and orange juice. Mr. Colaros had house staff to do all of this, but for his own reasons, he always insisted on making breakfast for his wife himself. Sense she fell ill there was little else they could share together. He couldn\'t even sleep in the same bed with her any longer. She couldn\'t breath properly if she were crowded. He\'d had a small cot moved into the room and set near the bed so he\'d always be close. \"You must really love Mrs. C.,\" Aceline determined.

\"She\'s been there for me all my life it seems. I just wish I could do something for her.\"

\"What\'s wrong with her?\"

\"No one knows. She\'s just very week. She gets headaches now and then, some bad ones too. She shouts and screams from the pain of it. I promised her till death, and I am a man of my word.\"

\"What about that device the woman had. Do you think that may help?\"

\"I don\'t think Bes Besides, after I tried to buy her horse, which was more like steeling it, I didn\'t feel I had the right to ask.\"

\"Oh. Would you ever leave your wife if you fought?\"

\"We\'ve fought. Lots of times. When you\'re married, you have to learn to work together, and sometimes your views don\'t always match. And you want so much not to change, you\'re viewed as stubborn, and you clash. But you should never go to bed angry at each other. There were times Rhonda and I stayed up all night just to air things out. But making up was the best part.\"

\"Why?\"

He laughed gently as she tossed the last of the orange peals into the compost bucket. \"You\'ll understand when you\'re older.\"

\"Why is it always when I\'m older?\"

\"Don\'t be in such a rush to grow up,\" he said, setting a vase of flowers on the tray. \"Rhonda loves flowers. I try to keep what plants that lived through me, alive in the green house area off the living room, but I have to admit, I\'m not the green thumb she is. They\'ve almost all died. Maybe I\'m not doing something right. Well. There\'s cookies in the cupboard, help yourself. I\'ll tell Wendy to make you something when she comes...Oh good morning Wendy.\"

\"Good morning sir. I hate to tell you this, but there\'s an alarm going off in your office.\"

\"Damn. Oh pardon me Aceline. Someone\'s gone and crossed one of the fences and taken it down.\"

\"I\'ll take this up to the Mrs., you go on and take care of this.\"

\"Don\'t wake her if you can help it.\"

\"Yes sir.\"

\"I\'ll come with you,\" said Aceline, hopping off the chair.

Mr. Colaros\' office was tucked under the main stairs, the uneven wall under the stairs serving well as a book storage space and cabinets for special documents. Along the inter wall, there was a map of the area he both owned and leased from other farmers. Around his personal property he had a line of red lights. Marking the trail of the actual fencing around the property. Along the bottom of the map is where Aceline\'s house was labeled. Then to the right and up a bit, Mr. Colaros\' house. It was far to the left, almost directly across from the house, where the broken line was located, indicated by a short section of red lights flashing, and a small bell sounding off.

Usually the bell could be heard through the whole house, even into the yard if need be. But because his wife was ill, Mr. Colaros had turned it down considerably. Not wanting to disturb her. \"That figures,\" he said, picking is his hat, gloves and coat for the desk. \"The boys next door must have tried to run their horses through the melting snow and got themselves tangled again. Happened last year too.\"

\"What are you gona do?\"

\"Well, I have to get out there, trip the breaker back down to redirect the power, then get the line fixed. Maybe get those boys to help do it, if they haven\'t run off. You stay here.\"

\"Oh no, please Mr. C. let me come with you!\"

\"All right. You sure you\'re not hungry?\"

\"I\'m fine. I ate the leftovers of the oranges after I squeezed them.\"

He pulled a little piece of orange pulp off her chin. \"So I see. All right. Wipe your face and meet me in the barn. I\'ve got to get the sleigh ready.\" She dashed back to the kitchen to do just that, and grabbed her cloak at the same time.

\"Hold it young lady,\" Wendy said, catching her by the back collar of her cloak. \"Just where do you think you\'re going in this ratty old thing?\"

\"I have to go help Mr. C.\"

\"This cloak of yours is full of holes. Look. It reminds me of an old camp blanket.\"

She couldn\'t tell the woman that her cloak was made form not only her old cloak, but also the worn out bed roll that had belonged to their visitor only last week. She couldn\'t bear to part with it. \"I\'m warm enough.\"

\"I doubt that. Come one. Miss Doreen has some old coats in here. You can use one of them. You can still take your cloak if you wish, to put over your legs, but you aren\'t leaving here without a proper coat.\"

\"Yes ma\'am.\" Finally a warmer dark coat on her shoulders, Aceline ran out to the barn to meet with Mr. Colaros. But she couldn\'t bring herself to go inside. She couldn\'t help but be a little afraid. She wasn\'t scared the last time she was in a barn when he was, she knew the visiting horse liked her enough to protect her from harm if someone tried anything. But now she was alone. As she stood there pondering, the doors opened, sliding on wheels in tracks along the upper end.

\"I see Wendy gave you a better coat,\" he said leading the team out of the barn.

\"She wouldn\'t let me leave till I put it on.\"

\"Well that\'s good. Come on. The sleigh is around the side.\" Soon, the team hitched, they were off, gliding over the surface of what was left of the snow. The mechanics at the weather control stations had brought the systems back online during the night three days ago, and were gradually hour by hour, bringing the temperature back up. The snow had already dropped a good 4 feet, soon there wouldn\'t be any left. It took about an hour to get to where the break was in the line, but instead of finding the line broken by boys, they found another rider, and horse, floundering in the debris. \"Gods, he\'s still on the wire! Hold on! Aceline hold the reins, but don\'t touch anything metal.\"

\"What are you doing?\" she asked, as he pulled a long wood staff out of the back.

\"Try and steer as close to the fence as possible. Damn fool never should have tried to free his horse.\" He leaned out over the edge of the sleigh, as little Aceline\'s hands guided them closer. \"Hold it steady now. I\'ve only got one shot at this.\" As though he were standing on the ground, he swung the pole and knocked the redirect switch to the down position, redirecting the power away from the break in the line. Instantly the horse and rider stopped struggling. Aceline feared the rider was dead, till he started moving. Then slapping the mud and snow off himself as he rose, she recognized him. The man she saw in Chesapeake the fall before. The man the woman was supposed to be with. \"You alright?\" Mr. Colaros asked him. The man just nodded. \"Get in the back, I\'ll see to your horse. Get your bearings before you try and go anywhere.\" The man could do little to argue. His whole body tingled, he was out of breath, he was tied, cold, wet, and worst yet, hungry, though not for food. Carefully Mr. Colaros got the strange horse to his feet, checking over the damage both to the steed and to the line. Only surface damage to the legs, but the power core was overloaded, and had shut down. The horse was running on emergency backup power, till the breakers inside could be reset. Mr. Colaros told the rider this as he tied the reins to the sleigh next to him, all he did was nod, his broad brimmed hat down low, covering his face.

\"Your fence,\" he managed to say, through clenched teeth, and haggard breath.

\"It can be fixed. Aceline, under the seat is a bottle of water. Could you please?\"

\"Ok.\" Quickly she gathered the bottle, snapping herself out of her shock, and made her way to the back of the sleigh. \"Here Mister. Have a drink.\"

\"Thank you, no,\" he said, turning further from her, the last he needed to do was to frighten a small child. His hands were covered by his cloak drawn closed around him, and his hat blocked the view of the rest of him, but still, there was no mistaking his pale skin to what he was.

\"You sure?\" He nodded. She put the bottle aside. \"You ok?\" Again he nodded. She sat down next to the man, spreading her cloak over her legs. Maybe he was looking for her. Maybe he\'d ask if she\'d seen her. But he never moved. Suddenly, the man\'s horse was in front of her, his reins detatched from both sides of the bit area, thrusting his nose to her knees. She laughed as she pulled his head up. \"Stop that!\" she laughed as the horse refused to let her part his nose from her lap.

\"Everything alright Aceline?\"

\"Yes Mr. C. his horse must like me too.\"

\"Where did you get this?\" the man asked, pulling her cloak off her legs.

\"I made it,\" she answered. \"I usually wear it around my shoulders, but Wendy, the cook, she gave me this coat and - \"

\"Nightmare, is it hers?\" The horse bobbed its head slightly, unable to perform a more ambitious move with its power so low. \"Then she\'s not far away.\"

\"Who?\" she asked, hoping he\'d at last give her the woman\'s name.

\"My wife. She rides a silver horse, and wears a green cloak. This is her bedroll blanket. When did you get this?\"

\"Last week. I saw a woman in the storm, and my brother and I, we - \"

\"Is she still here?\"

\"No, she left about a week ago. Said she had to go East then North. Why?\"

\"Was she alright? Was she wounded?\"

\"She was sick form the storm, and she had a bad cold, but other than that - \"

\"Thank you. You\'ve been a great help. Sir...\"

\"The fence is fixable, I won\'t ask you to pay for the repairs, I doubt you\'ve been by here before. The first time is a warning the second you pay.\"

\"Thank you. I apologize for the damage. I didn\'t see the fence through the snow.\"

\"Its all right. You feeling alright? You look really pale.\"

\"I\'m fine, I have to go.\"

It was then Mr. Colaros saw the man\'s ears that realized what the man was. \"ACELINE! Get away from him NOW!!\"
ou aou are in no ganger form me. And your daughter has been most helpful.\" At once Mr. Colaros inspected the little girl\'s neck.

\"What\'s wrong Mr. C?\" she asked. The man turned to see what he was doing and sighed. But looked again for the first time really to the little girl, as the man let her go and she sat back down. Yes, he knew. It didn\'t show physically yet, but he could see it.

\"I would never harm a child,\" he said, reaching a pale hand to her chin, to look into her eyes. Usually this young, the evidence of such heritage wasn\'t noticeable yet, to any Dhampire or Vampire. Something must be wrong. But seeing nothing reflected in her eyes, but his translucent face, he took his hand away. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.

\"Is you\'re horse alright?\" she asked, as the horse staggered slightly.

\"The breakers inside your horse need to be reset. Leave here in peace, and I\'ll see that it is done.\"

\"Thank you. I\'ve no intention of causing trouble.\"

\"What did you want from Aceline? She\'s only a baby.\"

\"Information, that I\'m heading the right way.\"

\"His wife owned the blanket I made my cloak from,\" Aceline announced proudly.

\"I\'m trying to catch up to her. I feared I was on the wrong track. Now I see I\'m not.\"

Mr. Colaros put his tools back in the sleigh. \"Come on. The plant is this way. You can\'t ride your horse that way, you can ride in the back. Aceline, you ride up front with me.\"

\"But...?\"

\"No buts. Lets go.\"

\"Yes. Mr. C.\"

\"Why do you call him that? Is he not your father?\" Even if she were not his own child, she\'d still have grown up calling him father.

\"No. He\'s my family\'s boss. I live down the road.\"

\"I see. My apologies, I thought...\"

\"That\'s ok. He\'s real nice.\"

\"Did you spend much time with my wife?\"

\"Yes. I found her in the snow. If it weren\'t for me, the doctors say she would have died.\" \"Thank you for saving her. You\'ve no idea what she means to me.\"

\"Why are you not with her? Don\'t you love her? I didn\'t think people in love stayed apart. Why did you leave her?\"

\"Aceline. You\'re prying. Leave him be. He\'s had a nasty shock. He should really rest. We\'ll be at the plant in about 45 minutes.\"

\"Thank you.\" He sat quietly the rest of the journey, the little girl watching him the whole way. Did she know what he was? Did she realize what she was? Did she sense it like he did? Was she afraid of him? Curious? Or was she trying desperately to keep it all a secret, so her family wouldn\'t know. It wouldn\'t be too long before they knew. He could feel it. The little glimmer in her. That dark past creeping up, sooner than it should. He looked at her, their blue eyes meeting for only a second, but seemed to hold their undivided attention for hours. \'Don\'t fear me, please,\' he thought to her. She jumped slightly. Yes, she heard him. But she didn\'t\' let on to the man driving the sleigh. Quietly she turned around, not wanting a repeat of what that was, whatever it was.

A mechanic had come out and tried to reset the breakers on the horse, only to find that the power supply had been damaged in the fall, and needed to be replaced. \"We don\'t have any DL4 cells, but we can get one,\" said the mechanic, closing Nightmare\'s chest cavity, and waving over the forklift to carry the shut down beast away. \"The horses hitched to the shipping wagon are DL4s, their cells are practically new. We can use one of those on him, and he won\'t be held up here long.\"

\"Good,\" said Mr. Colaros. \"They should be back fairly soon. We\'ll wait. Mister. I can\'t have you stay here at the plant. No one will get any work done if you hang around. I\'ll let you stay in the loft of the barn if you can promise to behave yourself, and leave the people of this property in peace.\"

\"I have no interest in people here. I\'m only seeking my wife. If you keep my horse, I\'ll have little choice but to do as you ask to get it back. But I insist on paying for the power cell.\"

\"I wouldn\'t have it any other way. We\'ll work out the details at the house. Come on. I\'ve a date to keep.\"

When they arrived back at the house, Wendy was out on the front porch with Mr. Colaros\' two daughters. Something wasn\'t right. One look at their faces told him what. Without a word, he raced back into the house. A gentle hand on little Aceline\'s shoulder kept her from following. \"You shouldn\'t right now,\" said his gentle voice. \"He needs a few minutes to himself.\"

\"What\'s happened?\"

He knelt down in front of her, squaring her shoulders. \"Always stand tall, never bunch up,\"

\"But - \"

\"Think, little one. Think about what is in the house, and who.\" She looked at the face of the house, turning her gaze to the upper floor. \"Now do you understand?\"

She nodded. \"She died, didn\'t she?\"

\"Yes. Now, show me to the loft, I need to rest.\"

\"This way.\"

The wet ground had amplified the power to the fence, it had taken more out of him to be caught in it than he realized. He\'d slept a good long time, most of the day by the looks of the sun\'s position. When he woke, there was a familiar dark haired little girl sitting on a stack of hay bails not far from where he lay. He noticed he was covered in loose hay, which made quite a nice cocoon orm arm air around him. And on top of that was a black horse blanket, to hold in what heat there was. \"Did you do this?\" he asked her, surprised he hadn\'t heard her.

Please of the recognition she nodded. \"You were shivering. I\'d seen horses, live ones, curl up in turned up hay and straw. So I thought you\'d feel warmer if I did that for you. I thought it wasn\'t enough so I put the blanket on you too. You warm?\"

\"Quite. Thank you.\"

\"I brought you some hot chocolate. But I don\'t think it is hot anymore.\"

\"That\'s all right. I prefer tea anyway.\"

\"Oh.\"

\"You said you spent time with my wife. What did she say?\"

\"Nothing much. Just wanted to know where her horse was. She got mad at my dad, then she tossed money across the floor and left. She didn\'t even say good bye.\"

\"She never does. Goodbyes, to her, are forever. Which is why she never says it. She likes to think that one day she\'ll meet the same people again.\"

\"So I might meet her again?\"

\"Maybe both of us, if I can find her in time.\"

\"In time for what?\"

\"Not to worry. I\'ll find her. You\'ve been the biggest help in my search. Thank you.\"

\"Can I ask you something?\"

\"I\'ll try to answer.\"

\"What are you? I mean you look like a ghost.\" He shuddered slightly at the word. No Dhampire liked ghosts. \"Are you always like this, or are you sick too.\"

\"No. I\'m not sick. I\'m very different from normal people. But just because I\'m different, doesn\'t mean I\'m a bad person.\"

\"Oh. That really doesn\'t tell me a lot.\" She moved slightly, and knocked the thermos off the loft edge. \"OH NO! I hope it didn\'t break! It wasn\'t mine!\"

\"You go see. I\'m getting up anyway.\" Quickly she climbed down the ladder. Then the door to the barn opened.

\"There you are,\" came a gruff voice. He could hear Aceline\'s breath catch in her throat. Whoever this person was, he wasn\'t a welcome sight. \"Thought I wouldn\'t find you in a barn again did you. Come here!\" There was a minor scuffle as both large and small feet ran around the floor. Aceline cried out, as he was sure someone grabbed her. \"He can\'t help you now! He\'s grieving. Now you\'ll do exactly as I tell you!\"

\"Whose there Aceline?\" he called out from the loft, appearing at the ladders top rung.

\"Who the hell are you!?\"

\"A traveler. And you are?\"

\"This one\'s father.\"

\"I see.\" He narrowed his vision to the man. He had Aceline detained by her arm and his right hand at the back of her neck, but something about the whole scene didn\'t fit right. \"Aceline, you said you\'d pick up my thermos. It had better not be broken.\"

The man looked to the little girl, then located the thermos on the floor. \"Take care of that. Then get your little but home. I mean it!\"

\"Yes sir.\" As she scrambled over to get the thermos, her father left, giving the stranger one last evil look as he closed the door. Aceline breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of the closing door behind her, but as she turned, she found the tall man standing there, appearing out of nowhere. But she wasn\'t afraid.

\"Sorry about that,\" he said referring to the minor lie about the thermos.

\"That\'s ok. I don\'t mind.\"

He kneeled down in front of her once more, and straightened her up by her shoulders. \"You\'ve no need to fear me,\" he said, but rather she flee from him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. He couldn\'t help but feel sorry for her. This man was dangerous. \"You have to get away from,\" ,\" he said.

\"I can\'t. No one will have me.\"

\"Then you must do all you can to avoid him. I know it will be difficult. But you must try. Call out for help, scream shout, anything to draw attention from someone you know will help you.\"

\"But what if no one is around?\"

\"Then,\" he pushed her away, pressing something small but hard into her hand. \"You use this, anyway you can. Find a way to call for help. You can do it. I know it is a lot to ask. But yust.ust.\"

\"Ok.\"

\"Hey Mister. Your horse is ready,\" called a voice from the door.

\"Thank you. I have to go now. Remember what I said. Be strong. There\'s always someone near by.\"

She stood there crying as he walked away. Then when she found the strength to move, she ran outside, only to find him riding away. \"Not again,\" she whimpered. Then her brother Peter came to her side, after receiving the news of Rhonda Colaros\' passing early that morning.