The Vanished

Leah Donahue stared at her local paper's headline from her porch stoop. In capital letters, it proclaimed, " Third Dawn's Landing child missing- what is happening to our children?" Underneath the headline was a large yearbook picture of a boy around Leah's age, maybe slightly older. He was a nice-looking boy, though the camera had caught him with his head at an odd angle and a slightly smirky look on his face. Underneath was the boy's name- Christopher Tracey, age 16.

Leah couldn't believe it, and yet simultaneously, she could. After all, the boy, Christopher, was not the first, or even the second kid who had disappeared in the past month from Dawn's Landing, the neighborhood near Willow Lake, where she lived and her friend Jinx Deaver once had. And Leah feared he wouldn't be the last.

No, another thing about the disappearances in her neighborhood that seemed odd, even scary to Leah, was that all the kids who had disappeared so far had not only lived near her, but had also been aquainted with Leah in some way. Jinx Deaver, the first child to disappear, had been Leah's best friend. One day, while out for a walk, she had never returned home. The police had shrugged it off as a runaway, but Leah knew better. Jinx had not been impulsive. If she had been planning to run away, she would have told Leah. Leah was sure she wouldn't have wanted to run away anyway, but if she had, Leah would have known.

No, Leah believed that Jinx had been taken by a pervert, someone who had lusted after her. Jinx, whose real name was Jean, but " that's so fortyish," as she said, had been beautiful, with her long, thick black hair and unusual green eyes. Leah remembered how all the boys had salivated over her, to Jinx's amusement and sometimes discomfort. It took no imagination at all for her to see someone stalking her. Jinx had been gone for 3 weeks now, and Leah greatly missed her.

The second child to disappear had been Cassandra Leaven, an 8-year- old little girl who had lived near Jinx and Leah. Leah had not really known Cassandra except for passing her playing outside and waving occasionally, but the fact she had seen her and known her name scared Leah.

And now that boy. Chris Tracey had been Jinx's cousin. Jinx had even introduced Leah to him once. Like Cassandra, Leah had not really known Chris very well. He had gone to a private school, while Jinx and Leah had gone to a public one, and Jinx had not seen him often, despite living so close-something about their mothers not getting along too well.

Although Leah really did miss Jinx and worry about her and Cassandra's safety, she sometimes thought the main reason she was so upset was she feared she would be the next child to disappear.

Now another disappearance had occurred...

Leah closed her eyes. She didn't want to even read the article. She didn't want to know about the evil kidnapper lurking somewhere in her neighborhood, disguised as one of her friendly neighbors. As far as she knew, it could be any of them.

She trudged inside the house, still thinking of Chris. There would be even more panic to add to the extremely high level in her household. There would be more news reports, more gossip at school, more "we have no leads" from the police . What good were they if they couldn't keep anyone safe, Leah wanted to know.

Leah knew her mother would freak. Ever since she had become a single parent to Leah and her 17- year- old brother Noah after the divorce, she had been very protective. Jinx's and Cassandra's disappearances had merely tightened her leash.

Leah shuffled into the kitchen, coming across Noah, eating some Pop Tarts and reading a comic book. At 17, he still loved Superman and Spiderman, just a little immature in 15 year old Leah's eyes.

"'Sup," he said, barely looking up as Leah entered.

" Look at this," Leah said, shoving the newspaper under his nose. He recoiled, first from surprise at having the paper shoved at him, then from surprise at the headline.

" Whoa," he said. " Chris Tracey, huh? I saw him around sometimes."

Leah nodded. For some reason, her throat felt tight.

" Yeah, that's weird," Noah said- and that was all. He began eating his Pop Tart again.

Leah was disgusted. Had he no empathy at all?!

" Excuse me,'' she said icily. " Is that all your thoughts on this?"

Noah looked up again.

" What's with you, Leah? You sound mad or something."

Leah rolled her eyes. Noah was sooo dense. And unfeeling too!

" Noah, someone has disappeared. Again! For the third time! In OUR neighborhood! He was Jinx's cousin for God's sake. And all you say is that's weird?"

" Well it is weird," Noah said defensively. " I thought whoever's taking them only takes girls. Why would he take Chris? Hey, was Chris really Jinx's cousin? I didn't know that."

Leah was getting angry. It was one thing to be slow. That was typical of Noah. But didn't he see anything DANGEROUS, sinister, about so many disppearances in such a short time? One of them had been her best friend!

" Noah, you're hopeless," she huffed. " You're not concerned? You just don't care, do you. You just want to read your comic and eat your Pop Tart and as long as you're okay and nothing affects you personally you're fine. Well it affects me personally. It's my best friend who's gone, Noah! I bet you wouldn't care if I went missing!"

With that, she flounced out of the kitchen and upstairs. She could hear her mother coming into the kitchen and stopped to listen.

" What's all that noise?" Mara Donahue asked Noah.

" Just Leah having a spaz attack," Noah replied in a bored tone.

Leah's mother sighed.

" Noah, leave her alone," she said wearily. " She's having a hard time."

" I didn't say anything to her," he protested. " She's just freaking out because another kid disappeared. Chris Tracey. A guy this time."

Leah heard her mother gasp.

" Another kid disappeared? Oh no!"

"Yeah, that's what Leah said," Noah replied, unmoved.

*********************************************************

In the week that followed, Leah's neighborhood was panic-stricken. The kids had been disapppearing at a rate of one a week. A question they all had was, who was taking them, but the biggest question plaguing everyone's mind was, who would be next?

Frightened parents ordered their children to stay home, playing inside, at all times. Children who had once walked to school were now driven by their parents, even if it made their parents late for work. Teens weren't allowed to date or hang out at Willow Lake with their friends. They weren't allowed to be unaccompanied by an adult.

The police and media were in also in a frenzy. New theories about the disappearances appeared daily. Most of them pointed out that all the missing children had lived on the same street, and that Jinx and Chris had been cousins. Therefore, they asserted, the kidnapper must live on or near Dawn's Landing.

Although Leah too, of course, was anxious and upset, all the protectiveness was beginning to get to her. Her mom was as uptight as the other parents. Leah wasn't allowed to go outside without her mother following her, much less spend the night with a friend or go to the movies. She craved some time alone, away from her house, which felt suffocating.

Especially now. Her mom had just left to go grocery shopping. Usually she would take Leah and Noah with her, but today, both had refused to go. Noah was embarrassed to be seen tagging along with his mom, and Leah just plain didn't want to. After a twenty minute debate, their mom had left them alone, instructing them to lock the doors and stay inside.

Leah and Noah had agreed, exasperated, both sick of the same warnings over and over. Then Noah had went to his room and shut the door. Soon after Leah had heard him playing his guitar.

Now Leah was bored. She had absolutely nothing she wanted to do except hang out with Jinx, but that, of course, wasn't an option.

Suddenly she felt an urge to go outside, to walk around. She had been cooped up inside her house and school for what seemed like ages to her. But she was afraid to walk around her neighborhood alone and, maddeningly, even if she wasn't, she wasn't allowed to.

As Leah thought about it, she came up with a plan. She didn't have to walk around the whole neighborhood. She could just go out the back of her house to her family's dock over the lake. She could pace the dock and look at the water. It was her backyard, so surely she'd be safe. It was close enough to her house that when her mother came home, she would hear her car pull in in time to come back inside.

Smiling, Leah casually walked to the back door of their house. Noah was still in his room. No, he wouldn't rat on her, he probably wouldn't even know she had gone. He was probably still lost in his fantasy (delusion, in Leah's opinion) that he was a talented, sexy rock star.

Leah unlocked the back door adn slipped outside. Strolling quickly toward the steps leading to her family's dock, she looked around furtively, a little embarrassed at herself. Who would tell on her if they saw her, after all? She wasn't being bad,just sneaky. Besides, everyone else was under house arrest too. No one was AROUND to see her.

Upon reaching the dock, Leah stopped, gazing into the water. It was fall now, and she hadn't swam since the last day of summer vacation. She and Jinx had spent the day in the lake, swimming and sunbathing. Remembering that,Leah felt a wave of sadness sweep over her. Where was Jinx? What was she doing now? Was she even alive?

At the same moment she thought this, she felt a strong, icy hand on her back, and with a hard shove, Leah was flying into the air. With no time to scream, or make a sound, Leah was plunging into the lake.

Engulfed by the frigid water, the water going up her nose and into her mouth, Leah kicked frantically, trying to reach the surface. Her clothes, soaked with the lake water, were weighing her down.Incoherent thoughts race through her mind. She couldn't swim! It was so cold! She was too heavy, she was going to die. She was almost panicking, certain she was going to drown, when a strong hand grabbed her elbow and pulled her above the water.

Sputtering, choking, spitting water in streams, Leah coughed, treading water weakly in an attempt to stay above surface. She sucked in air greedily, her eyes so blurry she couldn't see in front of her; she was completely caught off guard when the same hand that had pulled her above the water pulled her onto the dock. Startled, Leah went sprawling across it, almost knocking her rescuer backwards. Coughing, it was a few minutes before she could see who had rescued her.

It was a boy, Leah's age or a year or so older. He was tall, with broad shoulders, blond hair, and a mischievious grin. He was cute, Leah saw. But the boy's looks were not what surprised her. It was the fact that he was Chris Tracey.

"You're Chris Tracey!" Leah blurted out.

He grinned sheepishly.

"Yep, that's me. And you're Leah Donahue, right?"

Leah nodded. She couldn't control her excitement. She had found a missing person! How cool was that?! Not only was he alive and well, but she'd probably get on the news!

" Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you! You're in the paper and the news!" she exclaimed. " Everyone was worried!''

Chris's expression changed.

"Yeah, I figured they would be. Is my mom worried?"

" Yes, of course. She's very upset. Everyone's going crazy, especially after Jinx and Cassandra disappeared! Where have you been? And hey! Why did you push me into the lake? I almost drowned!" Leah demanded. " That was NOT funny!"

" I didn't push you," Chris protested.

" Come on, I'm not stupid. No one else is around. If you didn't push me, who did?" Leah asked skeptically.

Chris shifted uneasily.

" It's hard to explain, Leah. But it wasn't me, really. Anyway, you look fine to me," he said, looking her up and down with a grin. Leah suddenly became aware that she was standing soaking wet, fully clothed, in front of a very cute boy. In a white t-shirt, no less! Embarrassed, she crossed her arms over her chest.

" You didn't answer," she said. " Where have you been?"

Chris shifted his weight back and forth.

" I've been right here the whole time," he said.

Leah was incredulous. " Yeah right. The police looked for you everywhere! What were you doing, hiding?"

" No," Chris said patiently. " Leah, you're going to have a hard time believing this. I swear it's true. We're not in Dawn's Landing right now. Well, we are in a way, but we're the only ones here."

Leah stared at him. Was he crazy? Of course they were in Dawn's Landing! They were at her house! Had his kidnappers drugged him or something?

" Chris," she said slowly, " We are in Dawn's Landing. My house is right there."

" Yeah, but no one's there. No one's in ANY of the houses. And no matter where you drive, even if you went to Charlotte, no one is there. Believe me, I tried."

Leah shook her head. Clearly he was crazy.

" No, my brother's there. I just saw him," she insisted.

" He isn't anymore," Chris replied. " Leah, something has happened to us. We're the only ones here. See, I was pushed into the lake last week too. When I got out, it was like this."

Leah felt a strange sense of dread. " Like what?" she asked. " What are you talking about?"

" We're in Dawn's Landing, Leah, but it's a second one, with only us in it. It's like a parallel world. We're at the same place as everyone else, but we're not at the same time. It's hard to explain. I know you don't believe me," Chris said, seeing the look on her face. " But you'll see, it's really true."

" No, of course I don't believe you!" Leah said. " You're crazy! I'm going home!"

Chris shrugged. " Whatever. I'll wait for you right here."

Creeped out, Leah hurried away from the dock, towards her house. What was with him, anyway? Being kidnapped had definitely messed with his head.

Reaching her front door, she went inside her house. Of course she didn't believe Chris. But just to be safe, she called to Noah.

" Noah? Noah?" she called.

She got no reply. A slight twist of worry bothered her, but she shrugged it off. He was probably still in his room with his guitar.

Leah went upstairs, still calling for Noah. When she reached his bedroom, she opened it- but to her surprise, he wasn't there. The twist of worry increased.35

" Don't be stupid," she told herself. " He's in the bathroom. Or wherever."

She walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. No reply. She opened it. No one was there. Going downstairs, Leah called his name.

" NOAH!"

She searched the kitchen, the living room, and the basement, all with no luck. Noah simply wasn't there.

Now worried and a little afraid, Leah went outside. This had to be a coincidence. Noah was probably playing basketball. But he wasn't...

Maybe he drove somewhere, she thought. She ran to the garage to check- but his car was still there. Her stomach tight, Leah ran next door to the neighbor's house. She could see their car in the driveway, so they must be home. Reaching the porch, she rang the doorbell and waited. No one came. Leah rang it again, then again. Still nothing. Frightened, Leah opened the door and went inside.

" Mrs. Opperman? Will?" she called.

Nobody answered. Leah stepped uncertainly into the living room. The house was silent.

Something in Leah snapped. She was terrified. Something was wrong...

" Mrs. Opperman! Will!" she called.

No answer. Leah ran downstairs, and when she found no one, she checked upstairs. Nobody was home.

Her heart pounding, her head throbbing, Leah ran to the next house, ringing thier doorbell repeatedly. When they failed to reply, she ran to the next house, soon discovering no one was there either. But not a single garage was missing a car!

Her heart in her throat, Leah screamed, running into the streets.

" Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me? Is anyone home?"

Nothing answered her.

" Hellooo!" Leah screamed, almost sobbing.

" Leah?"Leah spun around, sobbing in relief to hear a human voice. When she saw who it belonged to, she was even happier.

"Jinx!" she shrieked, completely surprised and thrilled. Jinx was standing there, in a red sweater and jeans, looking completely calm and normal. In fact, she looked surprised to see Leah. A wave of relief and joy swept over Leah. Throwing her arms around Jinx, she hugged her tightly. Jinx hugged Leah back, her green eyes growing misty.

" Oh God, Jinx!" Leah cried. " I've missed you! Where have you been? Did someone take you? Everyone's so worried! I'm so glad to see you, I thought you were dead! I thought a pervert took you!''

Jinx's arms tightened around Leah.

"No Leah, no, I'm okay."

After a few moments, Leah released Jinx, grinning broadly. She was so happy. Not only was she not alone in Dawn's Landing, but Jinx was back! How awesome was that? Finding two missing people in one day!

" Guess what?" she asked excitedly. " Chris, your cousin, went missing too, and I found him today too!"

Jinx ignored her. She just stared at her sadly. It began to make Leah uncomfortable.

" What? Are you okay? No one hurt you, did they?"

" No... oh god, Leah, you too? I'm so sorry. I can't believe it!"

Now Leah was confused. What was she talking about? What could she possibly have to be sorry about?11

" What? What are you talking about? Jinx, what's going on?"

" Didn't Chris tell you?" Jinx asked.

" Yeah," said Leah, still bewildered, " he said some crap about parallel worlds or something. He said we're the only ones here. But he's wrong, because you're here. That's- that's not what you were going to say, right? Chris was just kidding, right?" Her eyes sought Jinx's anxiously, suddenly remembering her frantic search for other people which had brought her to no one except Chris and Jinx, two missing people.

Jinx grimaced, her beautiful face twisting.

" Actually, yeah. I was. Leah- we ARE the only ones here. You fell into the lake, didn't you? Or rather, someone pushed you."

Leah nodded, shocked. How could she have possibly known that? Sure, she was wet, but how could she have known someone had pushed her?

" How'd you know?" she asked. " Jinx, you're creeping me out. We aren't the only ones here. We can't be."

" Oh yeah?" Jinx replied. " Do you see anyone? Ever since you fell into the lake, have you seen a single person except me and Chris?"

Leah squirmed. No, she hadn't- and she had tried too.

" Everyone must be inside or something," she insisted.

" All their cars are in the driveway," Jinx pointed out. "They're not here, Leah. It's like ever since we were pushed into the lake, we arrived in a different Dawn's landing - one with only us. The first day I got here, I was terrified. I absolutely panicked. I took Mom's car and drove all over, just trying to find someone. But there was no one. All the stores were open. But no one was in them. It was scary, Leah, I'm telling you. I feel bad it had to happen to you too. At at least you have me and Chris and Cassandra. I didn't have anybody for a while."

Leah's head spun. She couldn't take in what Jinx was telling her. She couldn't accept it. It didn't matter that Chris had said the same thing. They must have been brainwashed. They must have gone insane!

Suddenly, one detail of what Jinx had said clanged in her head... the name Cassandra. Cassandra, the little girl who had disappeared after Jinx?

" Cassandra? You mean Cassandra Leaven? She disappeared right after you."

" Yep,her. Maybe she disappeared in the other world. But she's right here in Dawn's landing in this one. Leah, you probably disappeared in the other world too."

Leah shook her head wildly.

" I don't believe you. No. you've been brainwashed. You're not thinking straight."

Jinx shrugged helplessly.

" You'll see, Leah. You have all the time in the world to get used to it. I'm used to it."

" Are you saying that all of us- people who are supposed to be missing- fell into some other world where we're the only ones around?!" Leah blurted, still unable to comprehend it.

" Yes," Jinx said patiently. " I told you, Leah. We don't understand it either."

Leah didn't want to believe it, it was impossible. But how could she explain how five minutes ago when she had screamed and pounded on doors, no one had replied? What if it WAS true?

Jinx watched her. She saw the doubt fading from Leah's face. She put her arm around her.

" I know it's hard," she said. " It's awful at first. But Leah, we'll be okay."

Leah shrugged her off irritably. She didn't want Jinx to touch her right now.

She began to walk away quickly. Jinx followed her.

" Leah! Where are you going?"

" Home," Leah replied. " I'm going to wait for Noah and Mom to come home."

" I'll come with you," Jinx said, catching up to her. " You're in for a big wait. Trust me."

" We'll see," Leah said, not breaking her stride.

**********************************************************************************

When they reached her house, Leah saw Chris was sitting on her front porch. Right beside him was Cassandra, the little girl. Even though Jinx had said she was with them, it still startled her to see her. Cassandra was a small, pretty child with curly blonde hair and blue eyes.

" Hey Leah," Cassandra said. " Did you disappear too?"

The child's words unnerved Leah. Apparently she too believed their crazy ideas.

" No," she snapped. " I'm right here. Or am I invisible?"

Cassandra frowned,confused.

" But-"

" Drop it, Cassie," Chris said, gently but firmly. Cassandra, still frowning, opened her mouth, but he reached out and tickled her skinny side. Squealing, Cassandra shied away, giggling.

"Stop it, Chris!" she cried.

" What are you guys doing here?" Leah asked. " Were you all kidnapped together? Cassandra, are you okay?" She still refused to believe their stupid story. It was just impossible.

"I'm ok," Cassandra said brightly. " Someone pushed me into the lake, and when I got out, I was here! There weren't anybody here except me and Jinx. I was real scared, but Jinx, she made me feel better. She'll make you feel better too, Leah," the little girl said innocently. " We're like sisters now, me and Jinx. Chris too, only he's our brother. You can be our sister too.''

Leah had known what the child was going to say before she said it, but her words still shook her greatly. It couldn't be true, what they were saying. And yet, if it wasn't,why did they all three insist on it, even little Cassandra? Where had they been these past three weeks? And most disturbing of all, where were Leah's neighbors?

" My mom will freak out if she comes home and sees all of you," Leah said, trying valiantly to keep her mind focused on what had to be true, that her mom would be home soon.

" That's pretty unlikely," Chris said. That simple comment stomped on Leah's last nerve.

" No it is not! My mom is coming home! She'll be here any minute! And when she gets home, I'm going to laugh at all three of you, believing in some parallel world or whatever the hell you're saying. We are in DAWN'S LANDING, okay?" Leah shouted.

Chris blinked, taken aback. Cassandra's lips trembled, and she glanced from Leah to Jinx. Jinx walked over to Leah and rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

" Chris, please," she said. " Just don't talk about it anymore, okay? She's upset."

"Well I'm sorry, but she has to face the truth," he protested.

" YOu're not telling the truth, you're lying!" Leah practically screamed.

Jinx squeezed her shoulder.

" All right," she said softly. " Let's go inside,okay? We'll stay with you while you wait." To Chris, she said in a low voice, " There's plenty of time for the truth, Chris. Right now, just shut up."

Leah heard her and seethed, but said nothing. She'd show them. They'd see when her mom came home.

They went inside to Leah's room. Leah called for Noah hopefully, but received no reply. She tried to disguise her growing worry.

"He probably went to a friend's house," she said. No one contradicted her, but she sensed their disbelief.

After twenty minutes of sitting around, Cassandra asked Leah if she had any games. Four games of Life later, and Leah's mom and Noah still weren't home. Nor had they seen anyone else in the neighborhood. Three hours had passed, four since Leah's mom had left for a half hour grocery errand.

"Where is she?" Leah burst out with finally. " What's taking her so long? She should've been back long ago!"

No one said anything. Jinx and Chris exchanged glances.

" I hope she didn't get in an accident," Leah fretted,but a sinking feeeling in her stomach told her that wasn't the case...

****************************************************************************

Two more hours passed. It was almost 11:30 now. Cassandra was nodding on her feet, her eyes half-closed.

"How much longer do we have to stay here, Jinxy?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jinx told her. " You can go to sleep if you want, Cass."

Yawning, Cassandra curled up on the sofa and closed her eyes. That was what finally decided it for Leah.

" Okay," she said, her voice shaking. " My mom isn't coming home. Noah isn't coming home. NO ONE is coming home. We're the only ones here. Something freaky is happening to us. You were right, okay? You were right. Are you happy now? Are you?" Her voice broke. Her eyes fillinng with tears, she looked away quickly.

Chris, shifting, looked very uncomfortable and sheepish.

" Leah, I'm not happy," he said. " I wish we were wrong,that we were crazy. But it's true."

"Yeah, well the truth hurts," she muttered. Suddenly the tears she had been supressing so long all spilled over.

Jinx, upset, immediately jumped up and came to her side. She hugged Leah, rubbing her back.

"It's okay," she murmurred.

" No, it's not," Leah said. " It'll never be okay again..."

*********************************************

In his bedroom, in the world Leah, Jinx, Chris, and Cassandra no longer occupied, Noah Donahue plucked away at his guitar, slouched on his bed. Usually his guitar made him relax, usually just running his hand over the strings sent a rush of tranquility through him that sent all moodiness and insecurities away into the back of his mind- but not today. He had been messing around twenty minutes now and he just couldn't relax. His body was still tight with anxiety, and his mind had not pushed away his troubled thoughts. No matter how hard he tried, he could not stop thinking about the dream he'd had last night- the one he knew would be reality soon, if he could not prevent it.

That was what scared him the most about the dream- he knew what it meant, what is signified would happen. It wasn't as if this were the first time he'd dreamed it- no this was the fourth time, and each of the previous three dreams had triggered the same results. Noah knew this time would be no different.

The dream had been upsetting enough the first time he'd had it, when he hadn't even known what was to come afterward. In the first dream, it had been a sunny day, and Jinx Deaver, his sister Leah's best friend, had been walking around their neighborhood. It had been a pleasant enough dream for Noah at first. He had quite a crush on Jinx. He thought she was the prettiest and sweetest girl he had ever met. Not that he'd ever tell Leah that. Boy would she love to tease him about that one! So Noah was enjoying his dream, though she was doing nothing special or sexy in it. When in the dream, Jinx reached the dock behind her house, she stood facing it. Just when Noah thought how he'd love to get his hands on THAT butt, placed nicely in his view, Jinx had suddenly flown into the air and landed in the lake!

Noah had woken with a gasp, inexplicably frightened and short of breath. It had taken him a long time to calm down long enough to sleep. And the next day, it had happened. By evening Jinx Deaver had gone missing, still yet to be found.

Noah had been shocked upon hearing this. He knew instantly it was because of his dream, that somehow, Jinx's disappearance was his fault. He didn't know what to do. After all, how could he possibly tell anyone his secret? How could he tell someone he was a freak, a weirdo: HE HAD TELEKINISIS.

Noah had not known about his ability until he was 15. He did not think of it as a gift or power, as people in books and movies do. It didn't make him feel gifted or powerful; it made him feel like a monster.

Noah had discovered one day while tagging after Leah and Jinx at the lake. It was summer, and the girl, 13 at the time, were in bikinis. Noah had just begun to realize how pretty Jinx was turning out. He had been checking her out with some rather dirty thoughts in his head- when all of a sudden her top had untied and fell to the floor.

Noah had been thrilled at first, of course, but he had not known he had caused it. He had thought it a lucky coincidence...until it happened three more times. Then he had started to wonder.

Not quite believing the idea creeping into his mind that maybe, just maybe, it WASN'T a coincidence, he had tried something new. He had thought of hitting Leah with a beach ball on the head. To his utter terror and amazement, the ball had sailed unaided into the air and did exactly what he'd pictured! Terrified, Noah had fled to his room, unbelieving what he'd just witnessed- had he really caused that?

Noah gradually learned that he had indeed caused that, and he could cause other, more dramatic things to occur- just by thinking about them! Sometimes, Noah could make things happen without even wanting to, usually when very stressed or angry.

Afraid of what would happen to him if they ever found out his secret, and also afraid of what he could do if he lost control, Noah became a loner, avoiding boys his age, spending most of his time in his room, reading comics and playing the guitar. He began to keep a journal, relieved to have a safe place to talk about his abiltiy and feelings about it. It was safer to be a loner, for him and for everyone else. Or so he had thought, until the dreams began.

Jinx was only the first dream. A week after her disappearance, Noah had had the dream again, this time about Cassandra Leaven. Noah had known Cassandra slightly, she was the little sister of a boy he had sometimes hung around. He had always thought her to be a royal pain, the way she followed them around. Maybe he'd even wished she'd just go away. But he hadn't meant it THAT extremely! He had been horrified at this second dream. He had even thought of going to Cassandra's mother to warn her. But in the end he'd chickened out. What would he have said? They'd think he was insane, or worse, a murderer. And sure enough, by that evening, Cassandra too was gone.

Paranoid someone would connect him to the disappearances, Noah had acted like they didn't bother him in the slightest. It had taken every bit of his control to hide his anxiety, but somehow he had managed. He had hidden away, both to better hide his feelings and in the vain hope that if he avoided everyone, no one else could disappear.

And it was indeed a vain hope. A week later, he had had the same dream about Chris Tracey, a boy he had often played basketball with. Noah had always been envious of Chris, how handsome and athletic he was. Sure, sometimes he'd wished something would happen to take him down a peg. But jeez,he hadn't meant it like that!

After that dream, Noah had been frantic. Casting aside his fear, he had tried to find Chris to warn him. But he hadn't found him all day. One thing after another had kept him from ever seeing him. And soon Chris too was gone.

And now, as Noah plucked nervously at his guitar, he could not erase the mind-numbing terror he was feeling. For last night he had had the dream again. Only this time, it had been about his own sister.

He knew he had to tell Leah what was going on, what he was doing... maybe if he did, he could prevent it from happening to Leah too. He didn't think he could stand the guilt of causing his own sister to disappear too.

But how could he stop it from happening? What if he couldn't? What if Leah just laughed at him?

I can't think like that, Noah told himself. I have to go tell her what will happen. Come on, Noah, move it get your ass into gear.

It took him a few minutes to force himself to stand up, but finally he did. Steeling himself, preparing for any reaction from his sister, he went downstairs to Leah's room and knocked on the door.

"Leah? Open up- I want to talk to you."

Leah didn't respond. This was very typical of her, but Noah felt a wave of panic sweep over him. "Leah! Open up!"

Still no reply. Noah tried the door knob and was suprised to see it was unlocked. Turning it, he stepped inside the room. To his surprise- and worry- Leah was not in there.

Upon discovering his sister was not in her room, Noah panicked. Damn! He raged at himself. You idiot! You chicken! Look what happened! You waste time worrying about your own sorry self and look waht it gets you. Leah is gone! Leah's gone, and it's your fault!1

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. " Maybe it's not too late," he said aloud. " Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here. Maybe she's in the bathroom, or in the kitchen or something."

Trying to make himself believe it, Noah took a deep breath, then walked down the hallway to the bathroom he and Leah shared. He knocked on the door, remembering with a shudder what had happened the last time he hadn't. Both he and Leah had been mortified. Why the hell didn't she lock the door when she was in the bathroom?

" Leah?" he called. " Are you in there?"

There was no response to this call. Noah was already sure she was not in the bathroom, but just to be sure,he pushed open the door and peeked inside. It was not surprising to him that he found it empty. Shutting the door, he made his way downstairs and into the living room calling Leah's name.

" Leah? Leah, are you here? Where are you?"

Leah was not in the living room. Noah's stomach sank as he discovered she was not in the kitchen either. The only rooms left were his mother's room, the garage, and the laundry room. Noah knew she wasnt in any of them. He knew she was gone, just like Cassandra, Chris, and Jinx.

Still, he had to be certain. He still hoped for some miracle, that by some lucky occurence Leah was still in the house, he still had time to save her. Noah prayed that this wish was true.

Noah searched the laundry room, and then the garage, then lastly, his mother's room. To his severe disappointment, Leah was not in any of these. He would have given anything at this point to see her walk up to him, scowl, and call him a loser as she often had. Three days ago he would have laughed if someone had told him he'd be thinking this. But three days ago he had not dreamed about Leah... he had not known he would cause her disappearance as well.

What am I going to do? He thought despairingly. I don't know what has happened to her or the others. I don't know how to bring them back, or even if i can bring them back. Are they even alive? Where are they? What If I killed them? What if I'm a murderer?

I can't help it! I don't know how to control it! How can you keep from dreaming? I'm never going to sleep again! I'm make myself stay awake! I'm a monster, a freak. Shit, I'm like Freddy Krueger- I kill people in my dreams!

What was he going to do? What was he going to tell his mother when she came home and Leah was gone? She'd freak. Noah was going to feel so guilty. His mother would be devastated.

His mother! He had to call her. He had to tell her Leah was gone before she got back. It would be awful for her to come home and find Leah was missing. What was he supposed to tell her to explain? He couldn't very well say Leah had vanished. He had been in the house, he would have heard if someone broke in and kidnapped her. His mother would kill him if he explained he'd been playing his guitar when someone kidnapped his little sister, who he was supposed to be looking out for!

He had to tell her the truth. He couldn't lie to her anymore, couldn't keep pretending he was as clueless as everyone else. It was time to take responsibility, to admit his ability. Who knows.... maybe his mother could even help him.

Who are you trying to kid, Noah? he thought hopelessly. She's not going to know what to do. She's going to be afraid of you. She'll think you're a monster. She'll hate you for knowing what was going to happen and not stopping it.

But he had no choice. He had to tell someone. He was in way over his head.

Picking up the phone in his mother's room, Noah dialled her cell phone. She picked up on the third ring.

" Hello?"

" Mom? This is Noah. Mom, come home. Leah's gone."

" Gone?" Mara Donahue asked sharply. " What do you mean, gone?"

" I mean, I can' t find her. She's not in the house, I looked everywhere. She's not here."

" I'm coming home, Noah. Call the police!" his mom ordered, her voice shrill and panicky.

Noah hung up, his stomach tying itself in knots. He was dreading this so badly- his mom, the police, having to pretend he was just like everyone else. He would have to lie to the police even if he told his mom the truth. They wouldn't believe the truth. They'd probably think he'd killed them and buried their bodies somewhere. And now he had to call them... and they'd be coming over...

Picking up the phone, he dialled 911.

" 911, what is your emergency?" a man's voice replied.

" I'm Noah Donahue. My sister has disappeared. Her name is Leah Donahue, she's 15. I live in Willow Lake- where all the kids have been disappearing."

" How long has she been missing?" 29

" I'm not sure," Noah said nervously, cracking his knuckles.

He conversed back and forth with the emergency worker for another five minutes, and in the end he was told that the police had been notified to set up and alert, as well as officers were soon to arrive at his house and at Dawn's Landing. He was so nervous now he could barely sit still.

Trudging out of his mom's room, Noah sat on the couch, turning on a music video. Barely seeing the scantily clad women prancing across the screen, he could think only of his sister, and the others he had not saved. If only he had done something- better yet, if only he didn't have this cursed ability. If only he were normal...

Noah's mother arrived less than five minutes later, just before the police officers arrived. She burst through the door, her hair hanging in her pale face. She rushed over to him,hands shaking, standing before him, her mouth moving several times before she could extract any words.

" Where is she? Have you found her yet? Where is Leah?" Mara asked, her voice shaking.

Noah looked away, his face hot. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. It was he that had caused her this misery, he who had put her in this present state.

" No, Mom. I haven' found her. She still's gone."

" Are you sure? Did you look everywhere she could possibly be? Do you think she's playing a trick on you?" Mara asked hopefully.

" No, she's not. I looked everywhere. I don't know where she is," Noah said uneasily but truthfully.

" Did you hear her leave? Did you hear a struggle, or someone's voice?" Mara demanded.

" No, no, I didn't hear anything. I just went out of my room, and she was gone."

Mara covered her eyes with her hands, shaking her head, grimacing. She sniffed, trying to suppress her tears.

" Oh no... not Leah. Not Leah... this is all my fault. My fault... if I hadn't left you two alone, this never would have happened. I'm a terrible mother. What was I thinking? Leaving her alone when a kidnapper is on the loose? I might as well have posted a sign on her head saying ' Take her!'"

Mara dissolved into tears.

Noah felt horrible. Here was his mother, blaming herself, when it was all his doing. He didn't want to look at her, lest she see the guilt plainly written on his face. Standing, he put his hand on her back awkwardly.

" It isn't your fault."

" Like hell it isn't," she muttered.

" It really isn't," he insisted. Taking a deep breath, he plunged ahead. " I'm the one to blame."

Mara took her hand off her face, staring at him. Her tearstained face shone.

" Don't be ridiculous, Noah. It was not your fault. What could you have done? you're 17. I'm the adult here. I'm the one who was irresponsible."

Noah swallowed nervously, then took his hand off her. Now was the time to speak up.

" It was my fault, Mom. You see, I had a dream. About Leah. She was walking outside-"

" Noah, please. A dream is just a dream, you know that. Did you call the police? where are they? Are they coming?" Mara asked.

Noah tried again. " Mom. I have this- this ability. I can see things happen-"

" Noah. I can't take hearing about your comic book crap. Not today. Not now. If you're going to tell me you predicted this happening in a dream, I'm going to scream," Mara said wearily. " Now did you call the police or not?"

Noah backed off. Now wasn't a good time. He'd tell her later, when she wasn't so upset.

Oh yeah? when would that be? he asked himself skeptically. He had no answer.

" I called them. They're coming," Noah told his mother instead.

****************************************************************;27

A few hours passed, where Leah did not show up. The police had arrived and questioned them closely before setting up a search party and an Amber Alert for Leah, along with the other children. Mara called everyone she could think of and asked if Leah was with them. All replied no. Then she searched the entire house, not satisfied Noah had looked properly, as though Leah might be stuffed in a closet and he had overlooked her. Then she and Noah had driven around Willow lake in hopes of catching a glimpse of her. all their searching had yielded nothing.

Noah had felt worse and worse as the hours wore on, knowing as he did that Leah was gone for good. It only made matters worse that his mother refused to listen to him and blamed herself.

Now in their living room, he approached their couch, where Mara was slumped over, staring into space. He HAD to tell her what he knew, what he could do. it was killing him. He couldn't think of how she'd react, what she'd think. He had to tell her. He had to SHOW her.

" Mom?" he said heistantly. Mara looked up slowly.

" I have to talk to you."

Mara tried to smile at her son. " What is it?"

Noah took a deep breath. " It's about Leah."

" How could someone have taken her?" Mara whispered, a tear trailing down her cheek. " She's only 15. What kind of monster would take my daughter and leave me here to suffer? If I ever find out who's doing this, I will kill them. I WILL."

Noah lost his nerve after that. He couldn't tell his mom now that he was the one who'd made Leah disappear. She would hate him! He didn't think he could stand seeing the look he knew would appear on her face, a look of loathing, repulsion, shock, disappointment. He had to stay silent. After all, Leah was gone, there was no way he could bring her back now... there was nothing he could do to change what had already happened.

****************************************

When Leah had stopped crying, she was worn out. All she wanted to do was go to sleep, to temporarily escape the insanity of what had happened to her. Maybe, she hoped fervently, when she woke up, everything would be the way it had been before. Maybe all of this was only a dream...

Cassandra was already fast asleep on Leah's living room couch. Not wanting to wake her, Jinx covered the little girl with a blanket. Smiling tenderly, she kissed the child's forehead before going upstairs with Leah. Chris followed after them.

" Jinx and I are going to bed," Leah told him, her voice rough. She knew tomorrow- if they were still stuck here tomorrow, if all this was indeed real- she would be embarrassed that she had cried in front of him. Tomorrow she wouldn't be able to look him in the eye. But tonight she was so tired, so dispirited, she didn't even care.

Chris nodded, not surprised.

" We always sleep in the same house,Jinx,Cassie, and me," he said. " We stick together. We have to, the way it is now... uh, so, where do you want me to sleep?"

Leah gestured with her hand down the hall. " You can sleep in Noah's room. He's on the right side, the second one down."

" Ok," Chris said. " Thanks." But he made no move toward Noah's door. He stood with the girls in front of Leah's room, shifting his weight awkwardly. Leah looked at him, wondering why the heck he was still standing there. Finally he cleared his throat, reached out, and touched her arm. He kept his hand on her as he spoke.

" Leah- I'm sorry this had to happen to you too. I know it's bad at first. At first it's really hard to bear. But I've only been here a week,and I'm used to it already. It- it gets better. Really."

He took his hand off her then. Smiling quickly with only his lips, he said, " Good night, Leah, Jinx," and began to make his way down the hall. Leah stared after him for a few moments, then shaking her head wearily, opened the door to her room and stepped inside, Jinx trailing after her.

" I think Chris likes you," Jinx said as Leah shut her door. " The way he just said that, and he touched you- he's been looking at you all day and acting embarrassed. He's not usually that polite, trust me. He MUST like you. Do you think he's cute?"

Leah shrugged, beginning to undress for bed. " I haven't thought about it, Jinx. I've had more important things on my mind, such as being one of the only four people left on the planet."

" Sorry," Jinx said. " I know you're upset. But Leah, he does like you."

" I don't care right now!" Leah snapped. But despite her words, she was a little pleased. True, she was very stressed right now, but before she had discovered what had happened, she had noticed Chris was quite good looking. if the circumstances had been different, she would have been thrilled at the thought of him sleeping in her house, only a few doors away. But now she could summon up no enthusiasm.

Still... it would be cool if he liked Leah. But that was crazy. Guys, especially guys like Chris, never paid attention to Leah. They looked right past her to the prettier, sweeter Jinx. Of course, Chris was Jinx's cousin. But still... he couldn't like Leah.

Now in pjs, Leah handed Jinx a pair to change into, then slipped under her covers. Jinx changed and climbed in beside her. Leah reached over and flipped off the light beside her bed.

" Good night," she told Jinx, wanting to go to sleep as soon as possible.

" Good night," Jinx replied. After hestating a moment, she said, " I love you Leah. Don't worry."

Leah could not reply; there was a sudden constriction in her throat. she could only nod, knowing Jinx could not see her in the dark, but hoping she understood.

Leah settled back on her pillow, trying to sleep, but her mind wouldn't settle down. Thoughts kept racing through her head, preventing her from getting rest. She tossed and turned for about 20 minutes without getting comfortable. Finally she realized she wasn't going to sleep any time soon and propped herself up on an elbow, whispereing, " Jinx, are you awake?"

" Yes," Jinx replied.

" I can't sleep."

" Me either," Jinx said quietly.

" Jinx... you've been here three weeks now. You were alone for a whole week. You've had a lot of time to think about this. What do you think has happened to us?"

" Well... I really don't know, Lee."

" You have to think something," Leah said impatiently. " Come on, what do you think?"

" For a while," Jinx said slowly, " when I was alone, I thought maybe I was dead."

Leah's mouth fell open at that thought. Dead? How could they be dead? They were solid, they had touched each other! She reached over and felt for Jinx's shoulder. It was solid, all right.

" What?! How could we be dead?" Leah sputtered.

" I'm not saying we are," Jinx said quickly. " I'm saying I considered it."

" How could you consider that you're dead? Where's the other dead people? " Leah demanded.

" I know it sounds stupid. It sounds dumb to me too now. But I was desperate for an explanation. I thought... maybe I was in purgatory," Jinx said.

Leah inhaled sharply. That was the only idea that had made sense to her now. What if they WERE? it would explain everything.

" Leah? What's the matter?" Jinx asked.

" You might have been right," Leah whispered. " What if we are in purgatory? It would fit."

Jinx made a sound of shocked surprise.

" What?! Leah, that's crazy! We can't be in purgatory! It was just a dumb thought!"

" I don't think it was dumb at all," Leah said darkly.

" But it IS dumb. If we're in purgatory, where are all the other bad people? We're not as bad as Hitler and all them. We wouldn't deserve to be here. Why are WE the only ones bad enough to be in purgatory? Besides, that's a Catholic idea. We're not Catholic."

" Who's to say they're not right?" Leah said. " Besides, maybe there's lots of purgatories. Small ones, millions of small ones that only a few people are in at a time. Maybe Hitler's in a different one."

The idea scared her, but at the same time comforted her slightly. She had an idea, a possible explanation for why they were in this uninhabited place. An explanation, any explanation, at least was less frightening than none at all.

" Well, maybe," Jinx said doubtfully. " But then here's something else that blows your theory- what about Cassandra? Sure, maybe you and me and Chris are sinful enough to be in purgatory, we're teens, and we're not Catholic. But Cassandra's a child. God wouldn't send an innocent little girl to purgatory; she's not old enough to even know about sinning."

" I don't know!" Leah said defensively. " There has to be some explanation!"

" Like what? That we're part of an alien experiment? That aliens abducted us?" Jinx said.

" Maybe!" That had actually been exactly what Leah had been about to say next. The way Jinx said it hurt her pride.

" Oh Leah," Jinx said softly. " Trust me, there's no logical or illogical explanation. It just happened. We you to accept that we're here and we can't change it."

" No," Leah said firmly. " No Jinx, I will change it. I will."

********************************************************

The next morning when Leah awoke, she was almost afraid to open her eyes. She had hoped for a brief moment that it had all been a dream, that if she opened her eyes, everything would be the way it was supposed to be… there would be no such thing as an alternate world consisting of four people, no disappearances, nothing bizarre or out of place at all… it was because of this hope that she feared opening her eyes, for she did not want to face the great possibility of her being disappointed.

You have to wake up sometime, Leah, she told herself sensibly. It’s the only way you’ll know… come on, just open your eyes, just see…

Screwing up her nerve, bracing herself for whatever it was she was about to see, whatever truth would be revealed, she opened her eyes quickly and sat up, looking around. Seeing Jinx curled in bed beside her- exactly as she’d been last night- her face fell, and she slumped, shoulders sagging bitterly. It HAD all been real… they were still there, still stuck in some strange parallel planet none of them had a clue how to get out of.

Reaching over, she shook Jinx’s shoulder in an attempt to wake her. Jinx made a groaning noise and sat up slowly, eyes half open.

“What?” she mumbled.

“We’re still here,” Leah muttered. “It wasn’t a dream.”

“Yeah, I told you yesterday,” Jinx replied, her eyes opening a little further. “I’ve been here three weeks, remember- I have established that.”

“Well this is just great,” Leah said loudly, throwing her blankets onto the floor. “How are we supposed to get out? How long do we have to stay here?”

Jinx hesitated, then said softly, “I don’t know, Lee… probably a long time.”

“We can’t! We won’t!” Leah cried, whirling around to face her angrily. “I will NOT stay here with only three other people for the rest of my life! Look, Jinx, I love you and everything, but spending all my days with only you, your cousin, and a little girl doesn’t exactly appeal to me.”

“Well, I’m not thrilled either- I can’t even date any of you,” Jinx muttered. “but it does seem as if more and more people are coming- maybe eventually there will be lots of people here. Maybe all of Willow Lake in a few years- and eventually, maybe the whole world.”

“You know what, Jinx, I don’t think I want to wait that long,” Leah growled.

The girls were quiet as they dressed, Leah lending Jinx some of her clothes to change into. When they went downstairs, they saw that Chris and Cassandra were both already up, Cassandra curled up next to Chris on Leah’s couch, watching TV. They both looked up as the girls entered the room. Chris smiled, and Leah felt her face flood with heat. Remembering how she had behaved last night, like a child, a homesick little kid who didn’t want to listen to anyone, she looked away from him quickly, her stomach twisting. He’d just tried to be nice to her, and she had been snappy with him, a guy she barely knew- a cute, older guy, no less. He must think she was a real brat.

That’s not what Jinx said, a little singsong voice in her head said. Jinx thinks he likes you…

Oh come off it, Leah, you know she was just trying to cheer you up, she told herself irritably. Please! Since when has a guy ever liked you if Jinx was anywhere nearby?

But Jinx is his cousin, the little voice persisted. He can’t like her… and Cassandra is eight. So who does that leave?

That doesn’t mean he likes you! She argued with herself, feeling half-crazy and quite glad no one could tell what she was thinking. He doesn’t HAVE to like someone, why should he? Really Leah. Just because you’re the only one eligible for him to flirt with doesn’t mean he’ll fall madly in love with you. And what the heck are you thinking about whether or not Chris likes you anyway? You’ve got more pressing things to worry about, such as hello, being stuck in a science fiction reality!

She was so busy arguing with herself back and forth that she didn’t hear Chris speak to her- that is, until Jinx elbowed her and shot a pointed look in his direction. Leah frowned at her, confused momentarily.

“Uh, what?” she muttered, feeling herself redden.

“I just said good morning,” Chris repeated. Leah noticed how nice his smile was, how even his teeth. She wondered if he’d ever had braces before. She made herself tune in, come up with a reply- but instead of saying something polite and suitable, she found herself mumbling, “Guess that depends on your point of view.”

As soon as it had escaped her mouth she wanted to kick herself. She had no idea how she had managed to say something like that when she hadn’t meant to, or even been aware of thinking it. Jinx looked at her with narrowed eyes, obviously annoyed at her for what she probably perceived as an attempt to sabotage her efforts to fix her up, but Chris laughed.

“Yeah, that’s true,” he admitted. “It’s not really such a great morning. Just morning then.”

Leah relaxed, giving him a weak smile in return. He hadn’t been put off by her rudeness- clearly he was a very easygoing guy. If she could just shut her mouth up around him, maybe-

Maybe nothing, Leah, he doesn’t like you and he won’t, she told herself. We’re not going to be here together for very long anyway- I’m going to find a way out of this. Maybe Jinx and Chris haven’t- but they have to be overlooking something. Surely there’s some way to escape this- there has to be.

From her position on the floor, little Cassandra spoke up, her blue eyes serious, focused on Leah.

“Your mom didn’t come?” she asked innocently. “I didn’t think she would. My mom didn’t.”

Leah felt the child’s words as if they were a pail of ice water thrown over her body. A slow feeling of dread and pain spread through her, and she could tell her face probably looked like a stiff, tight mask. She probably seemed strange to Cassandra, but she could not relax her face or body. She saw Jinx move toward her, concerned, saw her hand reach out to touch her back, but she couldn’t feel it. She saw Chris as well, giving Cassandra’s shoulder a little warning squeeze.

“Cass, Leah doesn’t want to talk about that,” he told her, but his eyes were on Leah. “

“Lee, you okay?” Jinx was asking. “Cassie didn’t mean anything.”

Leah made herself nod, speaking through still-stiff lips.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Turning with effort to Cassandra, who was watching her closely, she said, “If our moms can’t come to us, Cassandra, we’ll go back to them.”

She somewhat abruptly pulled away from Jinx’s touch, heading into her kitchen and busying herself by getting out cereal and a bowl. After a few moments, the others followed her, and they sat down to eat.

When they had finished, Leah stood, turning to face the others. “Ready to go?” she asked.

The others looked at each other, then her, confused.

“Go where, Lee?” Jinx asked.

“Well, outside. We have to look for reasons this happened. We can’t figure out how to get back if we stay here,” she said, rather logically, she thought. But the others didn’t’ seem to agree. Chris and Jinx looked at her as if she were slightly crazy and possibly dangerous. Seeing their not-so-subtle exchange infuriated her. How could they have given up, decided to just accept that they were stuck? How could they accept never seeing their families again, being one of the only four people in the world?! And they thought SHE was strange because she hadn’t given up, because she wanted to leave!

“We’ve tried, Leah. All of us, when we first came. There’s no way. It’s a waste of energy,” Chris said slowly.

“Well I don’t know that, do I?” Leah said loudly. “I haven’t looked much. Maybe I don’t’ give up as easily.”

With that, she marched through her front door, not bothering to see if the others were coming too. They looked at each other, then, shrugging, Jinx took Cassandra’s hand as they followed her outside.

************************************************************************

The next couple of days after Leah’s disappearance- the disappearance that Noah knew he had caused, however unintentionally- were torment for him. The media constantly bombarded him with images of his sister and the others, and he could not escape them. News- or reports of the lack of news- regarding Leah and the others’ whereabouts were all over TV, newspapers, even the radio. It only reinforced what Noah could not forget anyway…

It was even worse for him to watch his mother throughout the chaos. Mara Donahue was a woman consumed by grief and fear for her daughter. Noah could barely stand to see her each morning, her eyes bloodshot and circled darkly, her hair hanging lankly in her face. She had not slept, had not changed clothes since Leah’s disappearance. She stared as if stunned, coming alive only to cry or to scan media for news of Leah. Every time Noah saw her, heard her hoarse voice, he felt a twisting inside him, a painful reminder of what he was doing to her as well as his sister.

He dreaded more than anything the approaching end of the week, feared it would bring him unable to stop his dreaming of another person, to causing their disappearance. He had begun every night to try to control it, prevent it- every night before he went to sleep he thought hard about bringing them back, making it like nothing had ever happened. He concentrated… but nothing happened. Every morning he woke, discouraged, frustrated, with nothing he had hoped for accomplished.

But one night, it was different…

************************************************************************************8

Noah sat glumly on the dock at the edge of Willow Lake, the very dock from which Leah, Jinx, Chris, and Cassandra had disappeared. His arms hugging his knees, his chin resting atop them, he stared out into the calm waters before him. They looked so cool, tranquil, belying the turmoil and disaster involving them... looking at them, Noah's unrest intensified. For the thousandth time he wondered how it had happened, how he could have possibly made such things occur- and without even wishing for them to...

A cool voice behind him made him jump, scramble to his feet in startled panic.

"Still fighting what you are meant to be, Noah Donahue?"

He found himself standing less than a foot away from a woman, one he had never seen before. She had come up upon him so silently he had not heard her approach. She looked young, but yet there was something about her eyes, the angles of her face, that made him hesitate to put an approximate age to her. Her eyes were old, faded, jaded, as though they had seen many things over many years and could no longer be startled. She looked... timeless.

It was this quality about her more than the rest of her physique that held his attention, caused him to stare at her in such a way. She was a beautiful woman, certainly, with long, wavy black hair and green eyes set in a pale, nearly translucent face. She regarded Noah with an intense expression, but he believed he saw a flicker of an amused smile play on her lips.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered- much the way he'd react if any female came up behind him unexpectedly, especially one so attractive and mysterious. "how did you you know my name?"

The woman's smile widened, but her eyes did not soften along with it. They were the most still eyes he had seen, Noah thought.

"I know much about you, Noah... more than you yourself."

Noah stared at her, mystified. How could anyone know him better than himself, particularly when he never let anyone see who- what- he really was? Especially a woman he could swear he had never met. And yet she seemed to know him...

"Who are you?" he asked shakily. "How'd you sneak up on me like that? And how do you know- how do you think you know so much about me?"

The woman smiled again, tilting her head almost playfully. " Why, anything's possible in a dream, Noah," she said simply.

Hearing that, Noah relaxed slightly, his body losing its tension. So this was just a dream... none of it was real. That explained a lot.

But then he remembered how his other dreams had turned out- how he had believed at the time that they were not real- and his relief faded.

Watching him wryly, the woman remarked, "That's right, Noah, just because this is a dream doesn't make it untrue, as you have learned already."

He glanced over at her sharply. "What are you getting at?" he asked in what he hoped was an offhand tone, but he heard the tremor in his voice. "How- what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Noah. I know about your dreams, the same as I know your name- the same way I know all about you, everything necessary to understand you- and to help you."

The entire time she spoke, she moved nothing but her lips. She seemed to radiate complete control and self-assurance in contrast to Noah's nervous movements and anxious eyes.

"But I'll answer your original questions first. I am Menorah- I suppose you could call me a guardian, a leader, to those who have lost their way."

"Lost my way?" Noah said feebly. "But I'm not lost- I know where I am-"

"Yes," Menorah interrupted, "but do you know who you are?" Hearing no reply, she continued, "I see you do not. I will tell you. You are one of the most gifted and powerful young men to ever be born to this world. It is my mission to guide people such as yourself- I have done so many years."

Noah's face twisted in disbelief. Him, gifted, powerful? More like cursed... he could hardly call his being a monster, a freak, a gift. And powerful? Yeah, right! If he was so powerful, why couldn't he control his supposed "gift"? Why could he not lock it away where it wouldn't hurt people?

"I see you do not believe me," Menorah observed, " or perhaps you do not agree. Either way the only thing that matters is that it is true. You think you know about this gift- you have only just began to scratch the surface of it, only tapped into one hundredth of what you can do. With concentration, dedication, and pure will, you can do nearly anything. You have discovered your ability to move things with your thoughts. You can do much more than that. You can read people's emotions and thoughts, learn to influence them, bend them to your will. You can alter time, cause it to slow down or speed up. You can control weather, seasons, the rise and set of the sun. You can even alter time itself... but one of the most amazing things is how open you are to alternate worlds, other realities."

At this, Noah barely managed to stop his jaw from dropping open. How could she possibly believe he could do all that? She must be crazy! He, Noah, able to do any supernatural thing he'd ever heard of? Able to do multiple powers from the comic books he read so often? Something had to be wrong- she had to be wrong. Clearly she was insane- and clearly this dream meant nothing.

But then he wondered uneasily why it was not imposible for him to move things with his mind, but all other supernatural acts he still firmly believed couldn't happen. Could it be possible that such curses did exist? And maybe- maybe he-

No! he told himself quickly. That's crazy...

"I don't blame you for not trusting me right away," Menorah continued sedately. "I am a stranger to you, after all, at least in your eyes. And I know that such sudden knowledge of your abilities when you have so carefully concealed them from yourself is shocking. But it is all true. You are an amazing young man you could change the world if you chose to. Or destroy it..."

"But how-" Noah protested. "Why do you say this? How could this be true? WHY could this be true? It's insane!"

"As for how it could be true, there are many mysterious and wonderful things in this world," Menorah replied. "myself and yourself included. As for why, that is quite a story, one I'm sure will come as a surprise to you..."

She peered at Noah's stunned face appraisingly before going on. "You have been told by your mother Mara that your father left you without a word of explanation when you were three and Leah was one. Is that right?"

Noah nodded numbly, stil struggling to figure out how this woman could possibly know all this, who she really was. "Yeah," he muttered. "That's all she ever said about him. I don't even know his name. She even got rid of his pictures. I always kind of suspected we were both born out of wedlock or something. Why? Is it not true?" he demanded suddenly.

"It is correct, but there is more to it than that. Your father was not just another deadbeat dad who couldn't care less about his family. In fact, Roman Donahue cared very much for you, so much that when he feared he would accidentally harm you, he left rather than risk such a thing."

Noah stared at her blankly, not understanding what she was getting at. Was she trying to say his father loved them, and he should have no animosity toward the man who had broken his mother's heart and left her to raise two children alone?!

"You want me to feel sorry for him?" he asked incredulously. "Why should I? What are you getting at now?"

"If you would listen, I believe you'd find yourself understanding more than you'd think," Menorah said calmly. "For your father was a lot like you... Roman Donahue was every bit as gifted, with powers just as amazing as yours. He had in his possession the same ability to do nearly anything he so desired. But like father, like son- just like you, Noah, Roman did not appreciate his gifts, but rather was frightened, ashamed of them. Rather than embracing them, developing them to their fullest, he tried to hide them, squash them down inside himself- as you are doing. But to his horror, they grew stronger anyway, more and more uncontrollable, because he would not learn to use them properly. I visited him several times, just as I am you, and like you, he tried to convince himself I was a dream only, and my words untrue." She paused, eyeing Noah intently. "I hope you will not make the same mistake. I hope you will be wiser than your father."

Noah could feel his breath catching, see his legs shaking. Against his will, he was beginning almost to believe her...

"Or what?" he asked breathlessly. "If I don't listen to you- what happens? What happened to Roman?" he said quickly.

"Well, as you know, your father left your family for fear he would hurt one of you with his uncontrolled powers. He lived alone for a while, isolated from others." Menorah hesitated, her eyes probing Noah's. "As of now, I believe he has accidentally fallen into an alternate world- one he does not have enough control to escape from."

Noah reeled back in shock at that news, gaping at her. "What? You really dont' know where he is, what happened?! Can't you help him?" he cried. "What about my sister, Jinx, the others- where are they? What happened to them? Is that where they are? Did I do that to them?"

"Yes, Noah, you did," Menorah replied calmly, seemingly unaffected by his aghast expression. " But you can undo it. You can bring them back- perhaps your father too. You can do anything- if you will accept that you can. If you will learn..."

"You understand, when you try to hide your powers, block them rather than use them, they build up inside you more and more until they have to have some release. That is where the dreams come from- a way of release for you to subconciously use your power and yet keep it hidden. As you know, that doesn't work. If you learn to control it, accept it, the dreams will stop. The lake, in your dream, is a boundary, a thin spot between two worlds. When your power is released, it becomes thinner still, easily penetrated."

"But how..." Noah said in bewilderment. "How do I do this?"

Menorah smiled. "Let me show you..."

**********************************************************************************************

Noah's eyes opened suddenly, and he sat up jerkily. His head felt foggy, confused... and yet he was more focused and certain than he could remember feeling in a long time.

It had been a dream- none of it had happened. And yet it had, inside his mind, he knew... Noah was sure that was all that mattered.

Climbing out of bed, he stood before his mirror, switching on the lamp at his night table and examining himself closely. He looked no different- and yet he felt as if a tremendous change had taken place within him.

Slowly he glanced down at his hands, then to his face in teh mirror. With careful precision, he began to reach out experimentally with his mind, practicing Menorah's teachings.

***********************************************************************
"Um, Leah- what exactly are we looking for?" Chris said tentatively, looking where she strode ahead of him. Cassandra plodded slower behind them, with Jinx somewhere in between, looking torn between speeding up to catch up with Leah and slowing to wait for Cassandra.

Leah's face tightened. She did not appreciate the question, especially considering she didn't know its answer. Everything looked the same as always to her- only there were no people.

"I don't know," she snapped. "I guess we'll find out when we see it."

She gritted her teeth as she saw Chris glance at Jinx from the corner of her eye. They'd been like that all day- clearly thinking she was wasting her time but not speaking up, telling her she was crazy to her face. She hated that- it was like they were in a conspiracy to humor her. She'd rather them say so then pretend to agree with her.

She was beginning to wonder if maybe they were right- it had been a few hours now, and all they'd done was walk around aimlessly, peeking into windows of people's houses. Everything inside looked as though the people had merely stepped away, would return soon- dishes were set out on tables, magazines and newspapers on the coffee tables, children's toys scattered about. It was very strange... it gave Leah an eerie, shuddery feeling to look at it. But she had yet to find whatever it was she hoped to.

Eventually even Leah had to admit defeat, temporarily at least. She had no idea what she was doing, or if there was even anything to find. As badly as she wanted to go home again, she was also tired of wondering around. The four decided to go to Cassandra's so she could play with her toys, and Leah resolved to herself to try again later.

Well the next day came and went, and so did the day after that, and the day after that, and nothing had changed. Leah had not yet figured out any of the mysteries of their whereabouts. She was growing despairing that she may never do so.

And yet at the same time, what alarmed her further was the fact that she was beginning to not mind the possibility of their not being able to leave... as a few days passed, she began to grow more and more used to it being just the four of them, messing around together. Jinx, her best friend, sweet Cassandra, and Chris, who she had a harder time disguising her feelings for the longer she knew him. She watched him so gently help care for and entertain Cassandra, piggybacking her, watched him smile and annoy Jinx, then felt a warm rush sweep over her when he turned his eyes her way... the few times he had touched her, either accidentally or to help her with something, she had not known whether to grab his hand and squeeze it or to quickly pull away.

She was beginning to like having a whole day stretched before her with no schedule, no routine or obligations. she liked living her life as a long slumber party, with each taking turns having all four sleep at their house. She was even beginning to like the quiet of a world with only four people.

Of course, she missed her mother, but she was beginning to see the advantages of being free from her protectiveness, able to come and go as she pleased... any time she felt like it she could hop in her car and take off. Granted, there were no people in town, but that just meant she could do or take what she wanted for free.

She saw how Jinx and Chris, even little Cassandra, had gotten used to this, how this acceptance was spreading out to her... and this scared her. As the mark of the end of the week approached, she realized that if she was going to do something she'd better do it soon, before another joined them.

*****************************************************************************************************

The day before what would make it exactly a week since Leah had arrived in the empty world, they discovered that it was not quite as empty as they'd first envisioned...

They had been staying at Leah's house the night before, and were lounging around in her kitchen, half awake, when they saw him. Jinx had been sitting at the table, her eyes hooded sleepily, propping her head up in her hands. Cassandra had sat beside her, sitting similarly. Chris and Leah were across from each other, and Leah had noticed him shooting her quick, awkward glances. She smiled to herself as she talked to him quietly. She was beginning to hope that maybe he could be interested in her after all... she had noticed how often he seemed to find a way to talk to only her, by asking Jinx and Cassandra to do something, or by approaching her when she was separate from them. He seemed serious, uncomfortable slightly, around her... much the way she felt around him. Jinx seemed to be getting his unspoken hints, for she seemed to find plenty of reasons for her and Cassandra to leave them alone, giving Leah secretive smiles as she did so.

All in all, it was beginning to be clear to all that Leah and Chris like each other. If only one of them would make the first move.... he had yet to even attempt to hold her hand, and Leah wouldn't dare be the first.

Her eyes half-open, Cassandra looked sleepily out the window. In a very matter-of-fact voice,she said, "There's a man outside... he's looking at your house, Leah."

At that, all three older kids jumped in shock, staring first at Cassandra, who blinked back at them, then turning hurriedly to the window. To their astonishment, there WAS a man out there- a man in his early forties, with greying hair. He stood in front of Leah's house, with an odd look on his face. Somewhere between a frown and a daydream...

Leah looked at Jinx and Chris excitedly, her face flickering between anxiety and hope.

"Someone else is here... how? Who is it? It hasn't been a week yet!" she cried.

"I don' t recognize him," Chris said, peering through the window with squinted eyes. "I don't think he's from Dawn's Landing."

"Does he look wet?" Leah asked.

"No..." Jinx realized. "Maybe he didn't come the way we did."

Leah grabbed her arm, looking at her and Chris excitedly. "Come on, let's go talk to him!"

"Wait-"called Jinx, a note of worry in her voice, but Leah was already racing out the door, Chris close on her heels. The man looked up as Leah and Chris tumbled out of her house and down the porch steps. The expression on his face was like a caricature- shocked, horrified, amazed, and delighted at teh same time. He actually grabbed his chest like an old man, staggering back with astonishment. Leah felt a little guilty for scaring the man so badly- she supposed she could have given a little more warning.

"What-" the man gasped finally. "where did you-"

"I'm sorry," Leah said finally, her hands going out toward him in automatic concern. When he just looked at her, speechless, she dropped them back to her side.

"We didn't mean to scare you," Chris said. "We were just so glad to see you- we wanted to talk to you."

Just then Jinx emerged from the house, considerably less explosively than Leah had. Cassandra was holding her hand. The man got another shock from that, blinking at them dimly.

"There's MORE of you?" he asked hoarsely. "how many- how long have you been here?"

"This is all of us," Chris said slowly. "I've been here nearly two weeks, Leah, nearly one, Cassandra, three, and Jinx, four." He nodded at each girl as he spoke. "What about you- how long have you been here?"

A darkness crept across the man's face, and he shook his head; Leah could tell he was struggling against his emotions. "My god... I thought I'd always be alone... there was never anyone here, I thought I'd always be alone..."

His hands were shaking as he looked at each of them carefully. "I can' tbe sure how long I was here... years, I think."

The four others exchanged looks of horror. Years alone, in a world where everyone had vanished? How had he endured it? No wonder he was so happy to see them...

"Well we're glad we found you," Jinx said. "We didn't know there were any adults... how did you get here?"

"I don't really remember," the man said vaguely, not meeting her eyes. "It's been so long... one day I was just here, and I wasn't sure how."

None of them questioned his story- they knew all too well how one could suddenly find oneself in another world...

"How did you get here?" the man asked suddenly, meaning all of them, of course, but his eyes were focused on Leah. Leah had a strange feeling that he was searching her, as if she were someone he recognized, someone he knew from long ago... and stranger still, he almost seemed familiar to her as well, she thought...

Chris began to explain about how each of them had been at the dock when they felt someone push them in, and found themselves here. The man nodded gravely, eyes empathetic. He looked over at Cassandra, smallest and youngest by far, and she gazed back at him with solemn blue eyes.

"I'm sorry for all of you- you're all young, and should not be missing out such a critical time of your lives. But especially this one- how old are you, honey?" he asked Cassandra, regarding her seriously.

"Eight," she said in an equally somber voice.

"It's hard for you, I'm sure."

"It's okay," she said in the same small voice- she was a little shy around people she didn't know. She had taken a while to warm up to Chris, Jinx had said, and she still was not completely comfortable with Leah. "They take care of me- Jinx and Chris and Leah."

"But it's not the same," the man murmurred. "not the same at all." Then, shaking his head as if waking himself from a self-induced reverie, said, "But let's talk of other things. I am so glad to meet you, though I am sorry it's under these circumstances. My name is Roman- what are your names again?"

The name Roman struck Leah for some reason- she looked at him sharply. She had never known anyone called that before- and yet it sounded familiar, as if she had heard it once, long ago, and dismissed it as unimportant.... she studied his face more closely, trying to remember.

She heard the others introduce themselves and then, realizing they were waiting for her, said quickly, "I'm Leah."

To her surprise, an odd look came across Roman's face...

But as soon as she thought this, his face smoothed out, and it was only pleasant, smiling as he took her hand in his. "Leah. I'm gald to meet you."

He held her hand a moment longer than Leah felt was natural before letting go. She resisted a strange urge to wipe it down her pants.

"Where have you been staying?" Roman asked, stepping away from her.

"We've been switching around," Leah said. "We were at my house tonight." Almost as soon as she said it she regretted it- she had just as much told him this was her house they were standing in front of. She wasn't so sure she wanted to invite this man Roman to join them yet- and yet how could she not without looking rude? It was still bugging her, how he looked oddly as if she should know him... and how he had looked at her, reacted at hearing her name.

Even now he was looking at her, as if he couldn' t quite believe she was there.

Stop it, Leah, she told herself. Of course he's staring at you- he's been alone here over a year! Of course he's shocked to find you .

But her faint unease remained...

“Have you always lived in Dawn’s Landing?” Jinx asked. “We haven’t ever seen you.”

“Oh no,” Roman replied quickly. “I kind of ended up here.”

“Well why don’t you come in with us?” Jinx suggested. “I mean, if it’s okay with Leah, of course.” She shot her a questioning glance. Put on the spot like that, with everyone’s eyes on her, Leah flushed, struggling to arrange her features into nonchalance, at least, if not a friendly smile.

“Sure- of course,” she said, gesturing toward the porch. Thanking her, Roman followed Jinx and Cassandra inside. Leah wondered again if anyone else had noticed how his gaze seemed to linger on her- or had she only imagined this?

As they stood in Leah’s living room, chatting, Leah watched them warily, not joining in. When she saw that Jinx had Roman pretty distracted, and Cassandra as well seemed to be not paying her any attention, she muttered an excuse the others barely heard and nodded absently to. Touching Chris’s elbow and motioning for him to come with her, she made her way into the kitchen, glancing at the doorway to make sure they could not be overheard. Chris watched her with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s up?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “I don’t know… just, something about that man.”

“Roman?” Chris asked. “You don’t’ like him?”

“No, it’s not that- I mean, he seems nice,” Leah floundered, not sure exactly what she was thinking. Finally she said, “I don’t know this guy. I mean, we don’t really know who he is. Should we really just invite him to be with us, no questions asked? I mean, he seems okay, but you can’t be too careful, you know. We don’t’ have anyone to help us if we got in trouble.”

Chris’s thoughtful frown deepened, and he looked at Leah, nodding slowly. “That’s true. Ordinarily we wouldn’t. But ordinarily we wouldn’t be in a situation like this. It would be nice to have an adult around. I mean, we can take care of ourselves and Cassie and all, but it would still be good. And for him too- I get what you’re saying and all, but we can’t exactly tell the guy to get lost when he’s been alone all this time.”

“I know,” Leah sighed. “And I wouldn’t want to, I’d feel horrible, but I think we should be careful.” She hesitated, wondering whether she should tell the rest of her fears- it was irrational, crazy- but finally decided she might as well. “That’s not all of it. Something about his name, even his face, seems almost familiar to me. I don’t’ know… I keep thinking maybe he’s watching me, maybe he knows me too.”

“Hmmm,” Chris muttered. “That’s strange… are you sure you’re seeing too much into it? I mean, the guy hasn’t seen people in forever, if you believe him, which I do. I mean, you can’t blame him if he’s a little weird. Poor Jinx was alone only a week and she about killed herself. I think that’s why she trusts him- she knows what he’s been through.”

Leah nodded slowly. She knew that sounded logical, although she still wasn’t completely satisfied. “Yeah, I know. I’m probably paranoid.”

“No, not paranoid,” Chris reassured her. “Just careful. He’s probably fine, but we’ll watch him a while, make sure. If you do know him, you’ll probably remember.”

“Yeah… thanks, Chris.” Leah looked up into his eyes. As Chris looked down at her, a sudden cold chill came running down her spine. He looked to sexy to her with his serious expression… one he rarely used, as he was always kidding around, teasing one of them with his lopsided grin. She hoped he didn’t notice her shiver…

“And if he isn’t all right,” Chris continued, “you don’t have to worry, we don’t need anyone. I’ll protect you.”

A warm rush swept over Leah at his sweetness, his self-assured offer. God, she was starting to love him… she wanted to hug him, but she stayed back away from him, and with a highly sarcastic tone said, “What, you protect us? Sure you can handle the guy? He might be a ninja in disguise or something.” She laughed somewhat forcedly. Chris laughed too, lame as her words were. She saw him moving closer to her… she felt an urge to back away, but she was against a counter, she had nowhere to go.

Then his face was close to hers, he was stooping down, he was kissing her… his hands were on her face, and she didn’t’ know where to put her hands…

She felt a low tingle in her stomach, an almost nervous fluttering that was warm, pleasant, spreading upward… she couldn’t believe it. She was kissing him, she was kissing Chris, she was kissing Chris… he liked her, she was KISSING him…

“Leah? Chris- oh!”

At the sound of a voice alarmingly close, Chris and Leah jerked apart, looking in startled shock toward its source. Jinx was standing in the doorway, her hand covering her mouth, but failing to conceal the wide smile behind it. As they stared at her, she said quickly, her eyes twinkling, “Just wanted to see if you were okay… I’ll leave you alone now, you’re obviously fine.”

And she sashayed away, barely concealing a gleeful cackle. Leah and Chris stared after her, then looked at each other, now suddenly awkward, uncomfortable, their mood spoiled. Leah could feel her face burning. How could Jinx have possibly picked a worse moment to come in? She wondered what Chris was thinking. Was he embarrassed, upset? Angry? Did he already regret the kiss?

“Well, at least it wasn’t Cassie,” Chris said at last, shaking his head. “Can you picture her eyes? Imagine if Jinx found out from her…”

Leah smiled quickly, but inside she was beaming, her heart quickening. He was smiling, joking around, seemed okay about it, even after Jinx…

“God, she looked thrilled,” he continued, and she realized he was as self-conscious as she from the way he glanced at her nervously. “She’ll never leave us alone now…” he paused, remembering the hasty way she’d retreated, then laughed. “Then again, I bet she will.”

Leah laughed too, picturing the smug look in Jinx’s green eyes. “Oh, she’s delighted, I’m sure. She’s been convinced we were meant to be since the day I first got here.”

As soon as she had said it she wanted to kick herself- she sounded desperate, pathetic. One kiss and she was insinuating they were meant to be? Good move, Leah. But then again, what competition did she have? His cousin, a child, a middle-aged man?

Roman. She had forgotten him…

Straightening, she said, “I guess we should go back now.”

“Yeah,” Chris nodded. “I guess.”

Leah turned slowly, taking her time to get to the kitchen entrance. Suddenly, Chris said, “Hey, Leah.” She turned, and there he was behind her, almost right in her face. She nearly reared away in surprise, but then he grabbed her chin and kissed her softly on the lips. She had barely recovered from the shock, her mind had barely registered that she should kiss back, before he had released her, stepping back and smiling gently.

“We’ll get back to that… some time,” he said. “We have plenty of time here.”

And with that he strode ahead of her to the living room, squeezing her shoulder as he passed. Leah watched him leave, her knees weak, shaking slightly underneath her. She brought a trembling hand to her mouth, felt her lips. They were still tingling… she could feel his lips still on hers.

She couldn’t believe it. He had kissed her… he had really kissed her, twice. He liked her, liked her, liked her!

It took a few moments before her head stopped spinning dizzily, before her knees stiffened enough for her to walk normally, as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn’t experienced one of the most awesome moments of her life. The others smiled and greeted her as she entered the living room, and Leah could see Jinx grinning happily, shooting her a not-so-subtle look.

After a few minutes Jinx abruptly asked if any of them wanted something to drink. After listening to their requests, she stood up, touching Leah’s arm, and said, “Come help me, Lee,” before heading into the kitchen. Leah followed suspiciously- she knew from the devilish sparkle in Jinx’s eyes she was up to something.

Once they were safely out of view, Jinx squealed, grabbing Leah and hugging her excitedly.

“I knew it, I knew it, I told you he liked you!” she said, beaming. “Oh, this is so cool! How did it happen? Who made the first move? No, don’t- tell me later, tonight!” she hugged Leah again. “I’m so happy for you!”

Releasing her, she began to make the others’ drinks, leaving Leah standing, thrown back by Jinx’s exuberance. She’d known she would make a big deal out of this, but man… Jinx must have really been bored these past few weeks.


The day passed much more quickly for Leah then the previous one had. Between her simultaneous gladness and wariness over the sudden appearance of Roman, Jinx’s constant beaming and winking at her, her thoughts of Chris, and making sure no one was left alone with Roman, she was so busy she didn’t’ even hardly think of their isolated state, let alone plan ways to escape it. It wasn’t until they were all getting ready for bed that it struck her…

It had been decided that Roman would sleep in a guest room, Chris in Noah’s again, and Cassandra in between Leah and Jinx in Leah’s bed. As Chris had said goodnight to Leah before she joined Jinx and Cassandra in her bedroom, he had kissed her suddenly- the third time in one day…

She had still been glowing, dazed by the wonder of it when she slipped into bed beside Cassandra. Cassie was already fast asleep, breathing heavily, her small chest rising and falling steadily.

Jinx looked over at Leah expectantly, propping herself up on an elbow.

“Ok, I’ve been patient, I’ve waited all day for the details… how’d it happen?” Jinx demanded.

Leah lowered her eyes. Jinx was her best friend, but she didn’t’ feel comfortable talking to her about this for some reason.

“How’d what happen?” she stalled.

“Leah! I saw you hanging all over each other, unless he was giving your CPR or something, you were definitely making out!” Jinx said dramatically. “Come on, please!”

Glancing at Cassandra in between them, Leah said, “ I don’t feel comfortable talking about this in front of a little girl.”

“Oh, Cassie’s asleep, she doesn’t hear. Besides, she’s always with us, you’ll never tell if you use that excuse! Come on, I haven’t been able to hear any gossip in forever,” Jinx begged, her eyes pleading.

Leah sighed reluctantly. “You WANT me to tell you about my kissing your cousin? Isn’t that a little weird?”

“Oh, come on!” Jinx growled. “Yes, okay?”

“Oh, whatever,” Leah sighed, and her face still hot, she told Jinx what had happened. As she spoke she realized that although she had initially wanted to keep it to herself, she was now enjoying telling Jinx, watching her reaction. She enjoyed her rapt attention- she had never before had a story like this to tell, never been kissed or had a boyfriend, unlike Jinx.

“Oh Leah!” Jinx whispered, and she reached over Cassandra to squeeze her shoulder. As she pulled back, Leah thought she saw her blinking back tears and frowned. That was ridiculous- was she really that touched? It was just a few kisses.

“Jinx- you okay? It‘s not like he proposed or something,” she asked.

Jinx avoided her eyes, forcing a laugh. “yeah, fine. I’m just glad for you… I’m glad someone can have somebody.”

“What do you mean, Jinx? I know something’s bothering you, you won’t look at me.”

Jinx sniffed, her face still carefully averted.

“Jinx, what is it?” Leah asked, now worried.

Jinx said nothing for several minutes, didn’t seem able to. Finally she said in a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry, I really am glad for you and Chris, really. It’s just that I’ll never have anybody out here.. I’ll never be with anybody. I’ll never get married, I’m going to spend my whole life alone if no one else comes. What if they don’t? What if it stops and we’re the only ones here ever?”

Leah regarded Jinx in a kind of stunned thoughtfulness, as she considered her words. It was true- if they stayed here, just the five of them, Jinx would never have anyone to be intimate with. She would watch her best friend and her cousin, and know she could never have the same…. The same would be true for Cassandra.

This couldn’t be- she couldn’t let this happen, they had to find a way out of here! Tomorrow they would see if another person joined them, if the pattern continued. Either way though, whether or not it went on as it had, they had to find a way to go home again. They had to…

Reaching once more over Cassandra, Leah took Jinx’s hand, squeezed it tight. “Don’t worry, Jinx. You’ll find someone. We all will, because we’re not staying here. We’ll find a way to leave. Tomorrow- we’ll leave tomorrow…”

As Jinx’s breathing gradually slowed, as she drifted off to sleep, Leah wondered if this was quite true, or even possible. She had not told Jinx about her concerns over Roman- she had enough to worry about for now.

Tomorrow, Leah told herself firmly. Tomorrow I’ll find out all I need to know…

***********************************************************************

Noah lay in his bed at night, covers pulled to his chin, the lights out, only the light of the stars outside his window shining in. He was not asleep- he was concentrating deeply, watching with careful effort as he trained his eyes on the moon outside the window…

He pushed out with his mind, his power, harder, harder, increasing his effort. His face grimaced, sweat shone on his brow… and then it happened. He saw the moon, moving slightly, then doing a revolution in the sky.

Breathing heavily, he beamed as he released it, allowed his rising power to fall, drain back out of him, back to where it lay inside him, ready to be activated at his command. He had done it! He had moved the moon…

It had been four days now since Noah’s dream that had not been a dream, since Menorah had shown him how to learn to control the vast powers he had not been aware of possessing. Ever since he had been extremely busy, working hard on both discovering and learning to use and control his gifts….

Menorah had been right, he could do all things she had mentioned, even more… the ones he had trouble with he was quickly learning how to better use. One of the most amazing things he’d discovered he could do was influence minds- he could make people do or say what he wanted, erase memories, and even make them hallucinate. The world was his puppet, and he was the puppet master…

He could even change time. Several times in class he had slowed it down or sped it up for the sheer practice and amusement of it. He had even gone back and erased an entire day, then relived it, changing it to his liking. It gave him an enormous rush to know what he could do, self-assurance…. He began to speak up in class, laughing and talking with other kids, no longer afraid of them finding out about his “freakiness”. He felt superior to them, special- no longer a monster, but a hero.

He sat now in bed, brow scrunched, focusing on what if he pulled it off would be his greatest accomplishment yet. He focused on bringing back the vanished, changing the course of time… bridging the distance between two worlds.

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Leah awoke suddenly, sitting up with a gasp. Her heart was hammering loudly, pulse throbbing so she could feel it in her head. She was anxious for reasons she couldn’t explain. Somehow she felt that she was waiting, that soon, very soon, something extraordinary would occur…

This was why she had waken so suddenly- something told her that she must, that it was very important she did. Why this was so, she did not know. She waited, hands on her elbows, barely noticing the other girls sleeping on, oblivious.

Gradually a thought came to her, beginning as a vague feeling, then becoming increasingly more clear, urgent. She should wake the others… she should wake the others and they should go out to the dock. They should stand on the dock and look into the water…

For a brief moment Leah hesitated, wondering at the logic of her instinct, but then her conviction increased, and she could think of nothing else. Her reticence disappeared, and she flung back her covers, reaching to turn on the lamp by her side of the bed. Jinx and Cassandra squinted as they sat up, frowning blearily.

“Leah, what are you doing?” Cassandra asked sleepily. “I’m tired.”

“Turn the light off,” Jinx mumbled.

Leah stood up, pulling on her sneakers, not bothering to dress otherwise. She looked at them briefly. “Get up, we have to go to the dock. All of us, we all need to go to the dock right now.”

“What….” Jinx slurred, “why do we need to go to the dock? It’s still night… can’t we wait until morning?”

“NO!” Leah exclaimed, finishing tying her shoe and leaping to her feet. “Can’t you feel it, don’t you know that we have to go right now?”

Jinx opened her mouth, scowling, but suddenly her expression changed. Cassandra, who had fixed a whiny look Leah’s way, also registered a facial shifting.

“Yeah…” Jinx said slowly. “Actually I do.”

“Me too,” Cassandra whispered, her eyes wide.

“Well come on then!” Leah said rushedly. “Put on your shoes- I’ll go get Chris and Roman.”

She hurried out the door, only to see that both were already in the hallway, eyes sharp, focused. They felt it too…

“Leah,” Chris said upon seeing her, touching her arm. “Roman woke up- he came to my room to tell me- we have to go the dock, we-”

“I know,” Leah interrupted. “I woke up too.” For a moment she wondered why it had only been her and Roman who had woken, why the other three had not felt this until they woke them, but she lost her train of thought when Jinx emerged from the bedroom with Cassandra. Both had shoes on and looked wide awake.

“Ready?” Leah asked. “Come on then.”

The other four followed, wordless, allowing her to lead them to their destination. Although Chris and Roman were older, it seemed only natural for them to allow her to take command, to take them to the dock.

It was very bright outside, to be night; the stars were sprinkled so heavily across the sky that they hardly seemed to have an unoccupied space. The moon was large and full, providing a shimmery sheen to their surroundings. They could almost see as well as if it were day.

As they walked in silence to the edge of Willow Lake, Leah realized Roman had fallen into step beside her, his stride matching hers. She noticed he was glancing at her again, a slight crease in his forehead. Had she not been focused on their goal ahead, she would have thought more on her observation, but now she dropped the matter from her mind, and walked on rapidly.

Eventually they reached the steps up to the dock and climbed them one at a time, then stood together on its surface, turning to look at Leah expectantly.

“What do we do now, Leah?” asked Jinx. “What are we waiting for,

what’s going to happen?”

Leah glanced at Roman, uncertainty creeping in for the first time. He seemed as confused as the rest of them, merely looking back at her with puzzled eyes.

She started to tell them that she didn't know- but as soon as she opened her mouth, she felt something, a little nudging as to what to do... she waited, and felt it again, stronger this time.

"Come up close to the water," she said slowly. "Standing on the edge of the dock. Everyone hold hands- stare into the water, very hard."

She saw that Roman was nodding, apparently agreeing with her. Jinx, Chris, and Cassandra took longer to respond, but eventually their wrinkled brows smoothed and they nodded as well. The five lined up at the edge of the dock, reaching for each others' hands. Leah took Roman's hand and Chris's, and Cassandra took Jinx's with her left. Chris smiled slightly at Leah, giving her hand a soft squeeze. Leah fought to keep a silly grin off her face, as her pulse rose, stomach fluttered. She looked at Roman quickly and saw that he was smiling. With a start, she realized what it was about Roman that seemed familiar... he had Noah's smile.

No- she couldn't think about that now. She had to concentrate...

She turned her attention to the still water, noticing how the moon shone across it, reflecting back their images.

Suddenly she gasped as she felt a strong hand on her back- the same hand as before, a hand that was there, and yet it was not- and she was falling off the dock, into the water, the others following... as she was engulfed with dark,icy water, she was still clutching both Chris's and Roman's hands.

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Leah's eyes opened slowly as she gradually became used to the morning light streaming through her window. Glancing with slitted eyes at the clock beside her bed, she saw that it was 9:30 am- she had been asleep only five hours, having gone to bed very late the night before, but somehow it felt like she had been sleeping forever.

Shrugging the funny feeling off, she sat up slowly, swinging her legs off the side of the bed. She was careful not to awaken Jinx, who was still buried under the covers, having spent the night with her before. As Leah padded down her hallway to the bathroom, she tried to remember what she had been dreaming. She knew it was something strange, but she couldn't remember the details. The harder she tried to think of it, the more the details scattered, until she gave up. It was only a dream.

She brushed her teeth and headed into the kitchen. Her mother, Mara, and her father, Roman, were already seated at the table, both sipping coffee. Both smiled as she came slumping in.

"Morning, Leah," Mara said, her face calm and unlined. It always vaguely annoyed Leah how together her mother was in the morning.

"Morning, sweetie," Roman echoed. "How late did you and Jinx stay up gabbing?"

Leah shrugged, pulling up a chair and flopping into it."Not too late."

"Uh huh," Mara said skeptically, raising an eyebrow. Roman chuckled and patted her shoulder. Standing up, he asked his wife if she wanted more coffee, and she smiled and nodded an affirmative. When he returned with it, she gave him a little kiss. Leah rolled her eyes- she always felt kind of weird when they did that, especially in public.

Her eyes turned lazily to the window by the kitchen sink, and she saw that Cassandra Leaven, the little girl across the street, was riding her bike in her driveway. She smiled at the intent look on the child's face- she was a cute little girl.

After about twenty minutes, Jinx appeared in teh doorway. After greeting Leah's parents, she pulled up a chair, and they sat together in tired, companionable silence. Occasionally Leah's dad teased them, threatening to draw their thoughts right out of their heads if they didn't speak up,but they ignored him. Leah knew he wasn't serious. He never used his powers so invasively, especially with friends or family, unless necessary.

It wasn't until her parents left the room that Leah remembered what it was she'd planned to do that afternoon. Turning to Jinx, she said, "Jinx, you told me you'd introduce me to your cousin this afternoon, remember? What's his name again- Chris?"

"Oh yeah," Jinx exclaimed, sitting up. " I forgot. I will, don't worry. I just know you two will hit it off. He's a nice guy,but a tease. He's cute though! I think he'll like you, Leah."

Leah doubted it, but agreed to try.

"Come on," Jinx said, suddenly alert. Standing, she nudged Leah's arm. "Let's get ready, I'll call and see if he's up yet."

Leah followed her, feeling a strange fluttering in her stomach. She'd never seen Jinx's cousin, though he lived in the same area- something about their parents not getting along, so Jinx and he hadn't seen each other much until recently. She had no idea why she was so excited to see him there was no way he could be as great as Jinx said, or that he'd like her. But somehow she felt as if maybe both things were possible....

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Noah smiled from where he sat in front of the TV, subtly watching his parents, his sister, and Jinx coming and going in the kitchen. He had seen Cassandra earlier as well, and though he hadn't seen Chris, he had reached out briefly to touch his mind, and knew all was well.

It had worked- it had really worked. He had brought them back- and managed to erase their memories of it ever having happened! He had even managed to erase time, to erase history- he had made it so the last week had rewound, no one had any memory of the missing people- because they'd never been missing in the first place. It was nothing but a dream to them now- a dream they couldn't even remember.

But most amazing of all, he had even managed to locate his father, bring him back- and alter memories, the past, so he had been part of their lives all along... even Roman himself did not know the difference. Noah had even made everyone aware of his and Roman's powers- aware and accepting.

Yes, Menorah would be proud, she had taught him well.

But one thing remained that Noah had not changed.... but for this one, he would not use his powers. For this, he knew he should rely only on himself as a person...

He still did not have Jinx. But this was something he was determined to amend- today.

Smiling, Noah turned his eyes back to his cartoon. To anyone else, he'd look just like another lethargic teenager who'd never lifted a finger in his life... and that was exactly the way he wanted to look. The truth was far too much for most to even imagine.

the end