The first thing that Norma did was turn off the porch light. It was nearly midnight, and very dark. This poor boy was obviously running from something, and she didn't want the light to reveal his presence. She knew instinctively that this boy was good, although by his appearance, that would not be a person's first impression.

He had needle marks on his thin arm, his hair hadn't been cut in ages, and the scrub outfit he was wearing was dirty and torn. Instead of being wary of him since he was a total stranger, she embraced him and tried to help him to his feet. She called her husband, and they carried him inside to a sofa in the living room.

"He says he knows where Violet is,"  she told her husband as they carried him to the Chesterfield. "Oh, thank God!" Trevor said with relief. "First, he needs food and treatment. He won't be any good to Violet if he dies." Norma got a first aid kit and began to treat his cuts and bruises. Trevor came back from the kitchen with a tall glass of ice water and a thick chicken sandwich.

Mathew sat up with Trevor's help and drank the water thirstily. He accepted the sandwich and slowly ate it, savoring every bite. He had been either sedated or on saline solution for the better part of three weeks. When he slept he was fed through a feeding tube, just enough to keep him alive.  The promise of food and freedom had been used to force him to use his talents to find Violet.

Norma sat on the floor beside the sofa and bandaged a deep cut on Mathew's ankle. "What's your name, son?' Trevor asked as he took the  glass and plate that Mathew handed up to him. "Mathew", he croaked. His throat was very sore from the tubes, and his voice was hoarse from screaming, and refusing to do what he was told.

Norma got up and made him a soothing cup of chamomile and honey. "Is Violet alive?" Norma asked, with hope and fear waring with each other in her voice. " Yes she is, Mrs. Cordingly. She's far too valuable to hurt in any permanent way." Mathew whispered. Even that little bit of information exhausted him, and he fell back against the cushions.

Compassion won out over her desire to find out about Violet. She was alive, and that was all she needed to know right now. "We'll get you up to bed, and we can figure things out tomorrow. "Wait," Mathew said, resisting weakly. "You better put me in the fallout shelter. There will people looking for me. They might even have a warrant to search this place. I haven't done anything wrong, but they'll say I did." By the time he was finished, Mathew's face was ashen as he leaned against the back of the sofa.

Their faces registered total shock that he even knew about the fifty year old shelter.  It had been built under the house during the nuclear scare of the 1950's. There actually had been someone there two days ago, saying that there had been an escape from a psychiatric hospital in Ottawa. They were told that  this place had once belonged to his relatives, and he might be hiding. They had searched the house and out buildings, and come up empty, so they had left.

Of course the Cordinglys had cooperated, they had nothing to hide. The visitors wore RCMP uniforms and showed badges, so it had never occurred to them not to comply. It had also never occurred to them that the uniforms had been stolen, and the badges were fake. They were given a number to call immediately if he should turn up. They were told that Mathew was delusional and paranoid, and not to believe anything he said.

They had asked the "RCMP officer" if there had been any leads on finding Violet, since the RCMP were handling the missing persons case. The fake officer had mumbled something about not being assigned to that case, and hurriedly left. Bailey thought that Mathew must have had help, so they went to Violet's family first. They would probably be back. Bailey would not give up that easily.

With Norma and Trevor on either side, they helped Mathew down the stairs and into the basement. The shelter had a self sufficient air system that worked on hydraulics and solar energy, so the air was breathable. Norma brought down some fresh bedding. There were three sets of bunk beds in the sleeping area, and Norma made up the first lower bunk she came to. She had so many questions, but Mathew was in no condition to answer them.  The first thing they had to do was keep Mathew safe, until he was well enough to tell them what was going on.

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Author guidance for This story

This is a story about a woman named violet, who is undergoing regression psycho therapy by means of hypnotism. She is on a journey into her own past, present and future. Her name, personality, even her gender may change as she is being forced to remember things that she just doesn't want to remember. There is government, possibly RCMP involvement, trying to get at the truth of something she may or may not have witnessed. The only hard and fast rule, is that her basal personality is a woman named violet, who is under restraint in some sort of institution. She has amazing mental abilities that evil forces are trying to exploit, and there are more like her out there.

updated Jan 10 '09 by moonwalker