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Author's Note: Here's Ch.20. Usually by now Ch.20 is my conclusion chapter, it has been for quite a few of my stories. Season of the Witch however decided it wanted to break that mold. I'm not sure how many more chapters will come after this one but the story is winding itself down. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWENTY:

I never actually realized how close the Pratchett’s lived to us. Their house was only a block or so from us, a few houses down from Melissa actually. In fact, I had ridden past it more than once on my bike. It was shocking to know that my boyfriend lived so close and yet never told me. It was even more surprising on how simple the house looked. Sure, our house was simple looking too, but I guess I was expecting something a little more spectacular. Jack never really talked about his parents but I knew his father was in Insurance. I didn’t really know much about his mother. His sister I met, of course, the little gossip hound herself.
I checked the address on my little paper to make sure I got the right house. A lot of the houses on this street looked alike, save for the color, of course.

For instance, the house in front of me was green, it had several little flower beds in front and this huge tree in the backyard that seemed to loom over the rest of the house. I couldn’t help picturing a young Jack climbing that tree, spending loads of time out there having fun. I smiled at my make believe childhood memory of his before pulling my bike into his driveway. I parked it up front where I found three other bikes. It kind of sucked that none of us were old enough to drive, except for Jack of course. Looking through a garage window, I caught sight of the familiar Camaro, so now I knew I had the right place.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked toward the front door.

The door opened before I got there. I was surprised at the woman standing there. Though she was dressed casually in a shirt and jeans there was no mistaking the principal of my school Ms. Craven? It was kind of funny actually because I’d never actually met her, only seen her around school. A lot of people liked to call her elusive because most of the school stuff was taken care of by Mr. McCormick, but Ms. Craven was definitely a woman that most people could not ignore. She was strikingly beautiful, with dirty blonde hair like her children and a pleasant demeanor. Even now when we surprised one another, she still managed to keep that cool calmness that everyone loved.

“You must be Kelly,” she said with a smile.

“Yes ma’am” I said, not sure how to address her.

I was still trying to figure out why she was walking out of Jack’s house.

She laughed. “You don’t have to be so formal dear. We’re not in school at the moment.”

I smiled. How else was I supposed to address her then?

I think she saw my confusion. “Why don’t you go on inside, the others are in the den waiting. It’s down the hall and to the left.”

I nodded, still not sure what was going on.

She didn’t wait around to explain either; instead, she headed toward the Taurus in the driveway. I watched her go before turning back to the house. I shrugged and walked inside. The inside was just as nice as the outside. The layout was very similar to the Williams house actually. Unlike Melissa’s house, this one was filled with teenagers. As soon as I walked through the door, I found Will in the living room on his cell. He was talking to his girlfriend, the one from my party. The elusive one that I still couldn’t get any info about. Maggie didn’t know about her either, which was strange, considering how she’d become quite a social butterfly. All anyone knew was that she went to school with us and that of course she was a really pretty blonde.

I nodded to Will as I passed by but I’m not sure if he noticed.

As I was making my way down the hall, Jack appeared out of one of the rooms in front of me. Like Ms. Craven, we startled the hell out of one another.

“Kelly” he said, after recovering from his near heart attack. “When did you get here?”

“A minute ago. Ms. Craven let me in?”

He laughed. “We call her Mom around here.”

I wasn’t expecting that. “Your Mom is the principal?”

He nodded so I continued. “Then why is her name Craven?”

“It’s her maiden name. Mom decided to keep it while at work so people wouldn’t associate her children with her. She didn’t want the other kids to treat us any different. You know in case they put two and two together.”

I nodded. I guess that made sense. After all, now that I looked at Jack, I could see the family resemblance. He looked a lot like his mother actually. It was nice too, learning a bit more about him. I couldn’t help myself as I slipped my arm through his, taking his hand gently. He smiled down at me, completely forgetting whatever it was that he came out into the hall for. Instead, he led me to the room at the end of the hall where the others were waiting.

When I say others, what I really mean is Maggie and Charlie. The two of them were in the far corner, bent over a computer.

“You’re doing it wrong,” said Maggie.

“I am not.”

“You guys want to be left alone?” asked Jack.

Charlie snapped around, blushing. The blush vanished as soon as he caught sight of me. I’m not sure what I did to this kid but he stared daggers again.

“Anyone want to go and get lover boy out there?”

Charlie volunteered immediately. He pushed away from the computer, rolling his chair across the room so fast that he nearly missed running over my foot. He scoffed as he went by. I wonder if it was ok to hit a kid in a wheelchair. Not punch mind you, just smack him in the back of the head or something.

Maggie sighed. “Did you piss him off somehow?”

I shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me.”

I’d only met Charlie twice. The evil look he gave me the first time was one of pure jealousy. I was a guy back then and it was clear that he had a little school boy crush on Maggie. The second time was at the library, I was clearly a girl then but he still looked at me like he wanted to rip my face off. Was it possible for someone to be jealous of both the male and female me? Not that it mattered anymore I suppose, male me was gone for good it seemed. Not that I wanted him back anyway. Charlie and Will arrived a minute or so later.

“Ok, now the meeting can start.”

Not that it was much of a meeting. Much like the first one I attended, they did nothing. Ok so it wasn’t technically nothing. Maggie and Charlie went back to their computer game and Will dropped down onto one of the many sofas in the room to return to his previous cell conversation. Even Jack seemed to find something to do. He was on another sofa, watching TV. I found myself wandering over to the bookshelves lining the one wall. The books weren’t nearly as impressive as the ones in the Williams basement of course but they still looked interesting. As I was trying to find one that interested me, I couldn’t help but think how my own training was going.

Slow was the only word that seemed to come to mind.

For the rest of the week, Melissa still had me reading. Not that I didn’t enjoy it but I was finding it hard to do other things. Even today was a stretch. I had to convince her I’d work twice as hard on my studies tomorrow if she’d just give me the day off. I don’t think she really liked it, but thankfully Donna was there. She took my side in things and told her eldest that even Melissa had more than her fair share of days off. Melissa wasn’t about to let up though even with her mother’s intervention. The only thing that got her to lay off was when I reminded her that Friday was our last day before Winter Break, meaning I had the rest of December and the beginning of January for her to boss me around.

I think she liked that bit.

Will finally got off the phone. He took a look around the room and let out a loud sigh. “Dude, my little sister finds more things to do with her friends than us.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I decided to take the initiative. “What do you guys normally do at these Club meetings of yours?”

Maggie turned away from the computer. “Ummm.”

I groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

“Well” said an annoyed Charlie, not bothering to turn away from the screen as he spoke. “Not all of us are great powerful witches.”

Boy I really wanted to smack the kid.

I kept my cool and turned to Jack. “The other day didn’t you say there was something you wanted to show me?”

That piqued Will’s interest. “Please Jack, anything to get rid of the boredom.”

Jack shut off the TV, which as far as I was concerned was a blessing to all of us. He dropped the remote on the coffee table and stood up, making a big spectacle of the whole thing. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Hey, I was dating him, that didn’t stop me from getting a bit annoyed at his theatrics. He stretched the theatrics out a little while longer until Will walked over and smacked him in the back of the head. With that out of the way, Jack laughed.

“Ok, you know about my family right?”

The others nodded.

“Am I missing something?”

Maggie stepped up to explain. “The Pratchetts have a Vault; it keeps all the things that the Coven deems too dangerous.”

Now that she said that, I think I read something about it in one of Melissa’s books. Of course, I didn’t realize it was the Pratchetts who were the actual family. The book never said, only that some things were better left locked away. I remember asking Melissa what sorts of things but she was pretty vague about it just like Maggie was now. I was pretty certain that neither of them really knew, only that whatever was in there was definitely not something people should be trifling with.

I turned to Jack. “This is what you wanted to show me?”

He nodded. “It’s pretty cool actually.”

I gave him a look. “What’s the catch?”

He refused to look me in the eye. “Well, only a witch can open the door.”

Damn it. I knew he was up to something. They’d had many Dud Club meetings after the one I attended and never once asked me to join them. I thought maybe Charlie was finally pulling the stick out of his ass but now it was clear that all Jack wanted was a way into the Vault.

I didn’t have to respond because Maggie beat me to it. “No way.”

“I think that’s up to Kelly to decide,” said Jack with a pleading look.

“Oh I agree with her.”

“Oh come on Kelly,” said Will, pleading as well. “We never get to do anything interesting.”

“Not you too.”

Will didn’t look at Maggie. He directed his attention to me. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be a Dud, especially one in Ravencrest?” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before continuing. “All of us are members of the most powerful witch families around. Our sisters and mothers get to do all these really cool, awesome things and we get to sit around and watch it happen. My older sister Karen thought it would be hilarious once if she used to a spell to animate my toy T-Rex one night. You have any idea what a walking, snarling plastic figure does to a young boy?”

I couldn’t help but cringe. Jess did some bad things to me but never anything that awful. I could definitely relate.

I wasn’t about to relent though. “I’m sorry your sister gave you hell as a kid but I’m not ready to let a bunch of Duds into that Vault.”

Will looked like someone kicked his puppy. He balled up his fists. I prepared myself for whatever might come but instead he dropped back down on the couch, defeated.

Jack wasn’t finished though. “Well we don’t have to go in, maybe just you. Aren’t you even the little bit curious?”

I couldn’t say no because that would be lying. I think Jack saw it in my face because he smiled and pressed the matter.

“I take you to the Vault; you take a quick peek inside and tell us all the cool stuff you saw?”

I sighed. He wasn’t going to let up until I did this.

“Ok one quick look.”

Jack took my hand gently, pulling me into a quick kiss. It bothered me that I was able to cave so easily but I didn’t want to spend the whole afternoon with him bugging me. Besides, I really wanted to take a look into that Vault. I’m not sure why but there was just something about a room full of forbidden things that intrigued me more than anything.

“You guys stay here,” he said, after the kiss was finished. “We’ll be back in a minute or two.”

Still holding my hand, he led me out of the room.

The Vault was in the basement of the house. The basement looked just like the ones at the Williams save for one minor detail, it was completely empty. Well not completely, there was a metal door at the far end of it. Even standing as far as I was from it---about ten feet---I could feel the power coming from it. I found myself actually scared to go any closer. Unlike the Well, the power coming from the Vault was anything but welcoming. There was no pull to get closer, no tingling that made me feel happy. The feeling I got from the Vault was one of complete and udder dread.

I found myself gripping tightly to Jack’s arm.

“I’ve changed my mind; I don’t want anything to do with that thing.”

Jack wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Not even a peek?”

His breath was on my neck and it was so invigorating. I sighed heavily, lost in his embrace. “One little look,” I said softly.

I slipped out of his embrace and with a little trepidation, slowly made my way across the room. The large metal door got more foreboding the closer I got to it. By the time I was standing in front of it, I could barely look at it. The power coming from it was intense, worse this close. I found myself looking anywhere but at the door. Jack seemed to notice my discomfort because I found him holding my hand. With that bit of reassurance, I reached out and gently touched the door. My fingertips barely touched the metal before there was a strange sound. I felt a rush of energy surge through my body and then a blinding white light.
Jack’s grip on my hand disappeared.

When the light vanished, I was no longer standing in front of the door. Confused, I looked around and found myself in a small room with a distinctively chrome polish to it. Metal shelves lined the walls and halogen lights attached to the ceiling made everything extremely bright. It only took me a second to realize that I somehow transported inside the Vault. I blinked a few times, getting used to the new light. When I recovered, I couldn’t help but feel scared. I didn’t belong in this place. I turned around; ready to touch the door to send me back but it was gone.

“JACK” I screamed at the top of my lungs, fear fueling me.

The only response I got was my voice echoing back to me.

My heart pounding, I tried not to panic. There was a way in so there had to be a way out. If not backwards then definitely forwards.

I took one cautious step forward, then another. Soon I found myself exploring the strange room. I couldn’t help but look at the shelves as I passed them. Lots of old dusty books, vials of strange liquids and strange wooden boxes with ornate designs. I was half-tempted to touch them but even stepping close to one, I was thrown for a loop by the darkness coming from them. I tried my hardest to ignore them as I passed. I was no longer here for a peek, I wanted to get the hell out. I tried to keep that thought in mind as I walked further into the room.

The first thing I realized was that the Vault was a lot bigger than it looked. What I first thought was a little room was more like a long hallway. I followed it, looking at the shelves as I passed them by. Everything on them tempted me to look closer but I was able to keep my cool. On one of the shelves was a book that seemed to jump out at me. It was large, leather bound and on a little pedestal. The leather was dyed black and it had silver fittings on the corners, a large silver clasp locking it shut. It looked like the Book of Shadows in my grandmother’s basement. It even had a pentagram stamped on its cover. Something about the book drew me to it.

I reached out for the book; my fingertips brushed the cold leather. I felt a slight tingle then pulled my hand away quickly. I cursed, realizing what I’d just done. I forced myself away from the book, not even looking back as I made my way further down the hall.

My heart was pounding a little bit faster after that. I forced the book from my thoughts though, once again determined to find my way out. Sadly, it looked like going forward was not going to bring forth an exit. I found myself approaching the last wall, an alcove of some sorts. I stopped walked and cursed, turning around. Maybe I missed something. I started to walk back in the direction I’d come when I felt a powerful urge to turn back around. When I did, I found myself staring at the alcove in front of me. Curiosity took over and I stepped forward. As soon as I did, I felt a rush of power and an overwhelming pull. It seemed to tug at me, drawing me closer to the alcove. My feet felt like lead weights as the feeling dragged me closer and closer.

I was nearly on top of the alcove when I noticed the little stone pedestal inside. On top of the pedestal was a circular object covered in a black cloth. Standing so close to the object, my entire body felt like jelly. I tried to turn away but couldn’t. I tried to walk away but it was like my feet were cemented to the ground.

That’s when I heard the voice.

“Come to me witch”

It was soft at first but grew louder as it was repeated over and over again. There was something dark and foreboding about the tone. It sent shivers down my spine.

“Closer Witch. Take off the cloth, come to me”

I shook off the horrible feeling I got from the voice. No matter how much I tried though, it was still there. It was worse too because I found myself reaching for the cloth. My hand acted on its own and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop it. I even went so far as to bit my lip, drawing blood, hoping the pain would be enough to jar me free.

It wasn’t.

“Yes, such power” said the Voice. “I can sense it in your blood, his blood. Take off the cloth, bask in my glory. We can do great things together.”

I found my voice finally. “Who are you?”

“One who knows many things? You have questions and I have answers. I can tell you what you seek, help you understand.”

Questions? Did he mean about Crowley? Sure, I wanted to know more but there was nothing that this voice could tell me that I couldn’t find on my own. I tried to fight the pull but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t break myself from it. I was inches from taking off the cloth when I felt a new pull. It was a tingling at first then a slight burning. It was coming from my neck. The pendant of my father’s burned hot. I winced from the pain then cried out a bit from it. I heard the Voice hiss as well, as if in pain, too. Its hiss broke me from whatever control it had. I pulled back from, the cloth, stumbling backwards as I did so.

The pendant stopped burning.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute in my chest, sweat drenched my body.

I started to cry. I wanted out of this place. I was tired of all these things wanted me to touch them, to take them. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Out, I want out NOW.

When a hand gently touched my shoulder, relief rushed through my body. I opened my eyes and turned around, finding Jack there. I wrapped myself around him and cried into his chest. His arms were around me gently and though he was speaking, I couldn’t hear a word he said.

“Take me home,” I sobbed.

“You sure you’re ok?”

“No” I said as I looked at the image of myself in the mirror. “But I’m better.”

Maggie sighed. “You should have called your friend and cancelled then. I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

I couldn’t agree more but I made a promise. I shifted the cell a bit, grimacing at my reflection. I hardly recognized myself in the mirror. The girl in the hot pink halter and tight black skirt was definitely not me that’s for sure. This was the outfit that Sophie picked out for me though, said it was the only way girls at the Club dressed. I couldn’t help but groan. I’m not sure how I let her talk me into something like this. The Pit sounded like someplace where wholesome girls like me wouldn’t be caught dead. Sophie said it was cool and even though I was way underage, she had a way in through the back.

Wearing this outfit though was only one of the challenges of the night. The first one was going to be getting out of the house dressed like this. I knew for a fact that my grandmother and cousin were both still up. I looked at the little clock on my cell. It was only 11, Mary was probably in her room doing whatever and if I was lucky, my grandmother might have gone to bed earlier. My grandmother liked to stay up until midnight; she said she did her best work then. It was something about the moon. All I knew was that she was either going to be in the kitchen or down in the basement. If I were lucky, it would be the latter tonight.

“Tell me you at least told your grandmother what happened today?”

I sighed and said sarcastically. “Sure I did. I also told her how I went into the Vault and poked around.”

Maggie didn’t laugh. “Promise me that you’ll tell them soon. You have this knack for keeping important things to yourself.”

Maggie was right as usual.

“I’ll tell them first thing tomorrow morning.”

I didn’t add, “as soon as I figure out how to.”

To say that I was freaked by what happened earlier would be the understatement of the century. I was still kind of annoyed at Jack for talking me into it in the first place. I was also a little pissed at myself for stupidly going along with it. I’m still trying to figure out why. I was reluctant to do so until I actually got up to the Vault door and as soon as that happened it was like my mind went on vacation. Sure, I was freaking once inside but first that Book got to me then whatever it was under that cloth. Thinking about that Voice still sent shivers up and down my spine. Whatever it was, it was by far the most sinister thing in there. I’m still not even sure how I got away from it. Was it really my father’s pendant that saved me or did I just have enough will power to break free?

“You still there?” asked Maggie’s concerned voice.

“Yeah sorry” I said then sighed. “Just thinking.”

I could just see her biting her lip. “You know maybe it’s not too late to cancel. You and I could do something. I mean I’m sure your grandmother would let you sleepover or something.”

As fun as that sounded and it really did, I had an obligation to see this through. I wanted to get it out of my system then burn these clothes.

“Can I get a rain check?”

It took her a second or two to respond. “Sure no problem.”

I’m the worst friend ever.

We talked only for a few more minutes after that. Even though it was a weekend with vacation ahead of us, Maggie had to go to bed. We said our good nights and I silently made a promise to do something special with her as well. As soon as I hung up with her, I groaned at the strange girl staring back at me from the mirror. The halter top pushed up my boobs and the heels I was wearing made me look him some hooker. I sighed heavily, wondering how people actually thought it was normal to go out looking like this.

I tried to force my offending wardrobe out of my mind as I grabbed my brand new clutch purse, tossed in my cell and slipped silently out of my bedroom. I crept slowly down the hall, wobbling like an idiot. Whoever invented heels should be dragged out into the street and shot. At the top of the stairs, I took a quick look down into the living room. There was no one there but that still didn’t stop me from moving as quietly as I could. At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped and took a quick peek into the kitchen, holding my breath the whole time.

Thankfully, my grandmother wasn’t there.

Letting out of my breath, I made a mad dash for the front door. It was good timing too because as soon as I shut the door, Sophie pulled up on her bike. I wasted no time as I moved down the walk toward her.

“Hey girl” she said, handing me a helmet that matched the color of my top.

“Really?”

She shrugged.”It was the only one the shop had.”

I groaned as I took the helmet and put it on. I slipped onto the bike behind her, grimacing the whole time. This was, after all, my first time on a motorcycle. Well my first time on it wearing a skirt and top, that was barely there. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, trying not to make my grip too tight. She didn’t seem to mind though as she revved the engine and took off.

The Pit was the local nightclub. I’m not sure when it was built but it was frequented by a lot of the college students. It was in a rundown part of the town----surprisingly Ravencrest actually had one of those. When we pulled up in front of the large warehouse, I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. That excitement disappeared though as soon as I saw the large line in front. Sophie drove her bike to a secluded alley in-between the club and the abandoned warehouse next to it. When we got off the bike though, we didn’t head for the line. Instead, she led me through the alley around the back of the large building.

“Where are we going?”

She smiled as we stepped out of the pitch darkness of the alley. “I told you I had a way to get you in.”

There was a metal door not too far from where we parked the bike. Sophie gave the handle a tug and it opened. As soon as I stepped through, she pulled a piece of tape from the lock mechanism thing. So clearly, Sophie had arrangements with someone on the inside. She followed me in, closing the door behind her. There was darkness again which didn’t last long when Sophie flicked a light switch nearby. We were in some kind of storage room. There were metal shelves and boxes lining the walls.

“My friend Nick hooks me up some times,” she said as explanation for our secret entrance. “He knows how much I hate waiting in line.”

“And what does Nick get out of all this?”

She smiled coyly. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

I shook my head, blushing slightly.

She laughed as she opened the door leading to the main club. As soon as the door was opened, the pounding assaulted my ears. If you’re not used to something like it, it’s definitely an eye opener. I found myself putting my hands on my ears as I followed Sophie out into the fray. The club was dark and smelled of sweat and cigarette smoke. There was also the faint hint of stale beer lingering about. The smell was the least of my worries though. It was dark and there were so many people it was really hard to move. The pounding music and flashing lights didn’t help matters either. Sophie seemed to be enjoying it though as she was swallowed by the crowd. I caught sight of her for a moment before losing her again in the sea of people.

I cursed. This was definitely not how I wanted to spend my night.

I pushed my way though crush of thriving people, hoping to find some way out of them. It was pretty hard to navigate when you had people gyrating and pushing into you. I caught sight of a bar then a familiar blonde. I sighed as I elbowed my way through to her.

“There you are” said Sophie enthusiastically.

“I got a little overwhelmed,” I said, dropping onto the stool next to her.

She laughed and gave me a quick hug. She then turned to the burly guy behind the counter and ordered two drinks.

He looked at me. “Is she old enough?”

“Of course she is” said Sophie with a seductive glint in her eye.

The bartender nodded, handing the two of us our drinks. They were both in what looked like test tubes. Sophie downed hers in one quick gulp. I looked at the strange green liquid in my own test tube and sighed heavily. When in Rome, I guess. I downed the drink; it burned all the way down my throat. When I started coughing, Sophie started to laugh and gave me a hug. She ordered us another round, the second time around I didn’t have as many problems. When we were done with our third rounds, she took me by the hands and led me out onto the dance floor.

I have to say I was a little nervous to dance, especially the way Sophie was. Not only that but I think I was starting to feel the effects of those three drinks. The room was spinning slightly and I found it a bit hard to stand. Sophie got lost in the music though, bobbing and thriving with the rest. Me, I found myself stumbling away from the dance floor. Sophie didn’t seem to notice. I fumbled through the crowd, dropping into a chair. The room was still spinning and the music didn’t help any.

A moment later, two girls dropped into the chairs across from me. Both pale looking, one clearly Goth. The other had blonde hair with blue streaks. I groaned. That’s all I needed.

“You shouldn’t be here,” said the blonde, giving me a concerned look.

“Tell me about it.” I said, my head pounding.

The Goth girl gave me a strange look then turned to her friend. “We need to get her home, Char.”

The blonde---Char---nodded.

I didn’t even struggle as the two of them helped me to my feet. I’m not sure why Sophie thought bringing me here was such a good idea but I was never going anywhere with her again. I’ve decided that I hate drinking and clubs more than life itself. I hated them about as much as vampires but right now I’d take anything. The two girls seemed to easily weave their way through the crowd. When we got to the front entrance, a large guy looked down at me with a frown.

“Stu, get us a cab.”

“She doesn’t look so good,” said the doorman.

“She’s going to be worse if her grandmother sees her like this,” said Char with a frown.

I think I might have blacked out because the next thing I remembered was the taxi pulling up in front of our house. Char paid the driver while the Goth girl took me gently in her arms. I was surprised by her strength. She carried me up the walk like I weighed nothing. Char was at our side a second later, opening the front door with my key. How did she get that?

“Can we come in?” asked Char.

“Sure” I slurred and the Goth girl carried me into the house.

I’m not sure if my grandmother was around or not but the next thing I knew I was in my bedroom, being laid down. The Goth girl was still staring at me with a frown.

“Kylie, you see something?”

She nodded to Char and bent down so her mouth was at my ear.“Everything will work itself out”

There was something chilling and yet soothing about the voice. I smiled happily before slipping quietly unconscious.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF