Familiar Adversary - Episode 7 - Far From Normal

Part 7 - Far From Normal

Have you ever thought that if you went to sleep that when you woke up everything would be back to normal? I feel that way many times during my dreams. I don't know if you know this, but I'm notorious for having bizarre dreams. Maybe that's why I like to write fiction since I have such a vivid imagination. I don't know.

All I know is that I was dreaming of being strapped down, and then woke up and realized that I really was. The only pesky question running through my brain was the identity of who had captured me.

I hated being helpless especially at the hands of either one of those traitorous characters. But I was grateful for one thing... At least I was alive.

And another thing that kept my hopes up was the fact that my characters didn't seem as vicious under the influence of another writer's pen. If I had been her, I would have made them even more deadly than they already were. That fact made me question who was really behind this all. I knew it couldn't be one of the characters. They were make-believe. They didn't live, breathe or think for themselves. Someone else was pulling their strings. The question was... who?

I attempted to open my eyes a fraction of an inch in order to get a good read on my surrounds, but my captors, like me, seemed to be somewhat psychic, although, my psychic intuition hadn't been on my side lately. And I can't tell you how much it really sucks to have your own intuition go a little on the wonky side.

Ian Fairchild's intuition, however, happened to be working perfectly fine.
"You might as well open your eyes," Ian said in a rather smarmy tone. "I know you're awake." I could almost see the smirk on his face in my mind's eye.

I inwardly sighed. I almost think I preferred to be captured by Gia. At least I knew in what area her psychoses laid. Ian ... well he was somewhat of a mystery. I hadn't created much of a back story for him so he could possibly do anything. The only thing I could cling to was the fact that Ian had seemed somewhat normal before his past with Faith had been revealed. And that past had never truly been confirmed. Because if Ian was all that I imagined him to be... I could be in big trouble.

Not that I thought Gia would be a better option, mind you. Both options were equally nasty and depressing fixes to be in. And as it seemed Ian wasn't going away any time soon, in fact, from the smell of it, he was fixing breakfast.
"What did you two do? Flip a coin to see who would get to torture me first?" I struggled with my bindings to let him know that I wasn't happy about being tied up like a crazy mental patient.

"Nah!" he said casually. "The FO's came in to led me an assist against Gia. Thank you, by the way. We had no idea Gia's character had been compromised along with the main spy guys: Ethan, Kevin and Michela."

"Oh, no problem," I mocked. "I love helping a stark raving lunatic."
Ian chuckled. And to make it worse, that laugh sounded damn sexy. "Easy now, kitten. Let's not get carried away."

God I hated this. Not only did he sound like Ethan. He looked like him too.
"Why couldn't I have created an ugly evil twin? It's so much easier to hate someone who looks the part."

Ian came closer, standing over me. I could feel his breath on my cheek. "Was that some sort of backward compliment?" He quickly turned away, looking over his shoulder. "I think she's breaking down. Heck, I think she deep down really likes me."

I tried to see an evilness in his grin, but darn it! That grin was looking almost charming.

"I can't take this," I said. "If you're going to be evil, be evil! Don't pretend to be a productive member of society."

"Oooh," said a second voice. "She's a feisty one. Harsh, but feisty. Why don't you do her a favor and put her out of her misery."

I gasped. "Wait! There's no need for that." I struggled with my restraints. I had to get out of there and I had to get out of there now. I didn't want to imagine what they both had in store for me.

Familiar Adversary - Episode 6 - The Not So Real Ethan Fairchild

Part 6 - The Not So Real Ethan Fairchild

I knew there was something weird about my experience in the alternate world. I could not accept the fact that I would ever turn evil. I mean, come on... Me? Evil? How asinine a thought is that? I knew for a fact that I would never turn evil. And some Make Believe Me was not going to convince me of that fact either. My nemesis was not myself. That woman was a big time imposter!

I watched as she fired at me and Thornton with such gleeful abandon. There again was another reason that could not be me. I would never try to kill myself.

The bullet zipped past us going wildly into the bushes. She wasn't a very good shot. Neither was I. So in that aspect we were the same. Dang.

I glanced at her again. Her face was made up with a sparkly kind of makeup. Not my style at all.

I slapped Thornton on the shoulder. "I can't believe you thought that phoney was me."

Thornton fired back at the woman nicking her in the arm. "I had nothing to base the real you on, so sue me. There was no way I could really know what you would be like. I accepted what was put before me."

I shook my head. "I thought you were a better spy than that."

"Obviously not since you keep nixing my progress at every avenue."

I shot him a wry smile as the Other Me cried out in pain from the bullet wound. "You're going to pay for that!" she shouted.

He chuckled. "What is she going to do? Write a red herring into this strange mystery?"

"As soon as you're gone," she screamed in misery. "As soon as you're gone, everything will go back to normal."

"Everything?" I whispered to Thornton. I call him Thornton because that's the secret middle name I had given to my super spy character, Ethan.

In case you've forgotten the players in this mystery, Thornton is the real, flesh and blood Ethan Fairchild. Apparently, he's a bit perturbed at me since I've ruined his life by posting his story on the internet. How the heck was I supposed to know there was a ëreal' Ethan Fairchild? I guess I'm more psychic than I realize.

"I knew what used to be normal," Thornton said. "But you changed overnight."

"You mean she changed overnight. Not me. That is not me! How many times do I have to say it before I get it through your lunk head skull? That is not me, nor has it ever been me. She's an imposter."

I don't think Thornton was quite accepting my theory. I based this observation on the fact that the temperature had dropped about ten degrees in the last few seconds around the area where we were hiding. Men! They have such a hard time admitting when they're wrong.

"Can't you see that she's changing? Look at her. Even now, before our eyes, her wardrobe has become more dark and dastardly. She's revealing her true colors. Now that I'm here, I'm sure it's harder for her to maintain her disguise."
"Disguise?" Thornton looked at me with glassy eyes.

"Haven't you been listening to anything I've been saying? That woman is NOT me!"

I heard my adversary's gun discharge. And this time it came precariously close to my head.

"Watch out!" Thornton yelled, pulling me backward out of harm's way. "She means business. She wants us both dead."
I snuck another look at the Alt-Me. Her hair was beginning to change color now to a vibrant red.

"That's what I don't understand," I said. "Why would she want you dead too? I think she's created this alternate reality in order to keep you both together. She should want you to live."

"Maybe she's jealous of your relationship with me." Thornton gave me a smirk that for a second reminded me of Ethan's evil twin, Ian. But I shook that thought off quickly. I seriously did not want to delve into anything concerning Ian Fairchild.

"We don't have a relationship," I shot back after stumbling over the image of Ian swimming in my head. "I created Ethan Fairchild from bits of information deep in my psyche. If she was really me, she would know that."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it's most likely that she's someone from your past. You're her focus. She only wants me dead because of you. She's used my story to draw you into her web."

"You're crazy," Thornton said. "This is not about me. It's YOUR story!"

"Not exactly. It's my Legacy universe, but the characters have been altered. She's writing them in a new way, controlling them."

"Can't you get back in control of them so they're on our side?"
I smirked. "Oh, so now we're on the same side?"

I dodged another bullet and somehow landed in Thornton's arms. I began to push him away from me, but then I noticed something on one of his wrists. It was a red stain. A birthmark. Ethan didn't have a birthmark. So Thornton shouldn't have a birthmark either. The image of Ian came back into my mind screeching to a halt in my mind's eye.

I pulled back from him quickly putting as much space between us as possible.
"Oh, my God! Get away from me!" I screamed.

He could see that I knew his secret. "I can explain."

"No you can't. You're not the real Ethan Fairchild. You lied to me. You're ... You're ... Ian!"

I stumbled backward and straight into the path of one of my adversary's bullets. It came at me in slow motion as it slammed into my shoulder. The pain was immense but not as bad as the fear in my gut. I looked for a way out. Any other avenue to scramble to. It was then I looked at the one who had shot me. She no longer looked like me. She now looked like another person I knew.

"Gia?" I gasped. "You? Why is it you?"

I stumbled backward and tripped over a rock as both Ian and Gia advanced toward me. The rock caused me to stumble and I fell hitting my head on a rock. The last thing I remember before I passed out was seeing their feet so close to me that I knew I was soon going to be dead at the hands of one of them. Maybe they'd even have to fight for that honor.

I could only pray that I'd wake up alive by some miracle. Maybe someone would come to save me, someone I would never expect. Maybe another character from another story. Or maybe we would start this scene all over again and I would keep the knowledge that it was Ian and Gia who were in league together against me.

I don't know. If I wake up tomorrow, I'll find out.

Familiar Adversary - Episode 5

Part 5 - The Real Ethan Fairchild

Have I mentioned how not too peachy of a trip this whole landing-in-your-own-story has been?

I'm still ticked off at Kevin for trying to use me like that (The more I think about it the more I want to kick his ever-lovin' butt!). Trying to get all kissy face and gain my trust while he shoots me in the back!

Men!

Now I'm walking in the dark with only one black shirt to my name, which I am wearing. (Do I even want to go into how Kevin got me to take my clothes off? I think not.) I'm off in the dark, searching for God knows what.

I guess shelter should be my first priority, and then about a fifth of some liquor that tastes about as nasty as it smells. Since I don't drink as a rule, a few gulps should have me under the table. Then if they find me, I really wouldn't care one way or another.

I do have to stay a little lucid while I think about writing scenes for upcoming Legacy storylines. If I can keep the characters busy, then maybe I can find a way home, back to reality and the real world.

***

The bar was crowded but in it I found the relief I was searching for. I wanted to forget. I wanted to make it all go away, at least for one night.

The bartender had only handed me my second drink when I heard someone step up beside me.

"You're a really annoying broad," said a man's voice.

I was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol take over my central nervous system. So, not only did I lose hold of my tongue, but my legs weren't working too well either.

"Annoying?" I said, rather loudly, as I turned around. "I'll show you annoy..." It was in that moment I recognized the man.

"Hey, you're the cute guy from the train," I blurted out.

I quickly raised my hand to my mouth. I could hardly believe I'd said that outloud. People from all around the bar glared at me.

"Look," I whispered to the man next to me, chuckling. "It's the cute guy from the train." The man on the nearest stood didn't hear me, but I didn't notice. "I look forward to every time I see him."

I couldn't help but laugh, and then I wondered why drinking made me laugh. Was drinking funny? I guess it really didn't matter, because in that moment it was hilarious.

The man from the train yanked me off the bar stool and took my drink away from me. "You've had enough." 

It was only the second sentence I'd ever heard him say, and it was damn sexy.

As he dragged me through the crowded bar, I yelled, "Where are we going?"

"This place isn't safe. I'm taking you home."

"Your home or my home? Cause I have to tell you, I don't think I have a home in this reality."

The cute guy rolled his eyes. He was annoyed again, I could tell.

Outside it was a little cooler and the night air cleared my foggy brain a bit. It was then I realized I didn't even know this man's name. I'd seen him off and on for over five years, and I'd never once had the courage to talk to him.

I gave him my name and asked for his. I'd been dying to know.

'All the years you've been writing that damn story, you didn't know what my name was?"

"No, you never said your name aloud, and I never heard anyone else call you by name."

The cute guy laughed. It was one of those ironic laughs.

"This is rich. You've been ruining my life for five years by accident?"

I shook my head. He wasn't making any sense. How could I ruin his life when the only time I'd ever seen him was here and there on the train?

"You're making that up. That's a fib."

It's no lie, lady. The stories you write have put me in danger more times than I want to mention."

"Who do you think you are? Ethan Fairchild, super spy?"

"Yes," he said seriously. That is exactly who I am."

***

"You're name is Ethan too?" I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it.

There was no way on God's green Earth that I could have pulled that name from the air and then find out the guy I had lusted after for five years had the very same name. What were the odds?

"Yes, and we have to get you back to your own reality. So that the you from here won't know you're around."

"Huh?" This entire sequence was giving me a massive headache, or maybe it was only the after effects of the alcohol. " There's a me from here?"

"Of course," he said. "It's your reality."

I was beginning to think I hadn't jumped into an alternate reality, but instead had stumbled into the looney bin.

As much as I adored gazing at the cuteness that was this man, I had a feeling he wasn't going to be much help getting me home. He only wanted to keep me away from her... I mean, me... I mean, I don't know what I mean.

All I really knew for certain was that I should travel onward toward whatever was ahead of me.

"You can't leave," he said. The hitch in his voice said he cared for this woman, this other me. "Without you, I can't get her back."

Suddenly I was intensely jealous of ... myself! And if that wasn't something that will send me to the head-shrinker, nothing would.

"Get who back?" I asked, not completely listening to him.

The other Ethan was annoyed again. He seemed frustrated that I wasn't completely grasping his meaning. I was still stuck back at the part where his name was Ethan Fairchild."

"Can I call you something else? Something besides Ethan? Because, I'm already confused enough."

I knew he was only agreeing with me to get me to stay in this dimension.

"What's your middle name? I asked.

"Thornton." Gee, that was helpful, and strange. Thornton was the middle name I had secretly given him but never revealed to anyone. I was going to have to call him Thor and I wondered if I could do it with a straight face. It was then I decided to dub him plain Thornton.

"Does that mean you'll stay and help me get back at the you from here?" He seemed almost desperate to find her, and it made me wonder what kind of relationship the two of them had.

A rustling of wind and leaves sounded behind us in the dark alley. The street lamps were strangely dim and I could feel a presence of evil.

"Actually, lover boy," a voice said from behind. "I'm still here And this is all turning out exactly the way I planned."

I have to say I wasn't precisely expecting this – looking at my adversary and seeing my own face there.

"It's... It's not possible," I mumbled.

"Honey, you should know better than anyone that anything's possible."

Honey? I never said honey. So I knew that was definitely not me over there.

There was something greatly different about this other me. She was stunning. I'd never seen myself look so good, and she acted as if someone had given her a lethal injection of confidence, because that was one thing I surely lacked.

"What are you doing?" Thornton asked. Clearly he was confused by the other me's behavior.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting rid of the competition." Her steely hazel gaze hit me as hard as any assassin's bullet.

"How... How can that be me?" I realized until that moment I had never felt fear. At least, not fear of losing my life so tragically in the next few minutes.

"I didn't realize it had gotten this bad," Thornton said. "She used to be like you. But being here has changed her. Before she showed up here five years ago, this world used to be different. Brighter, happier."

I always had a feeling if I ever did turn evil, I would be one villain I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. My assessment of myself was curiously accurate.

"Prepare to die," the lookalike said. Then she trained her weapon on me and fired.

Familiar Adversary - Episode 4

Part 4 - Betrayal of Trust

I couldn't scream, but the sound echoed in my mind. The hand clamped across my mouth smelled like the residue from what I could only imagine was a gun. And my mind raced with worst case scenarios of every type.

A man's hand slipped a bit allowing me to bite down on the inside of his palm. "God dammit! You bit me." The person yanked his hand back and threw me to the ground while he nursed his injury.

My heart beat in my chest like a jackhammer. The man had the advantage. He could take me out at any moment.

"You're more trouble than you're worth," he said. "If I didn't think your life was damn significant, I'd unleash Ethan on you."

The comment about Ethan had me reeling.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Who am I? Just an idiot who disobeyed a direct order and came back here to keep Octavia from killing you."

The man who had pulled me into the forest was none other than Kevin. I could see that now.

"Is she dead?"

"Hell no. I don't need that much paperwork," Kevin said. "I'm just glad I caught you before you ran into that cabin."

I didn't understand. "Why didn't you want me to go in there?"

"Because that is where Ethan and Michela are."

"How do you know?"

"See that SUV out front? It's Legacy-issued.

Kevin guided me away from the cabin and back to where he had parked his SUV. He told me we had to find shelter and I agreed. Not much thinking was going on in my brain at the moment. I was in shock.

"There was a bed and breakfast inn a few miles down the road. I know of a remote cabin we can hide out in for the night." It didn't take long to get there.

Once we were inside, Kevin issued the oddest order. "Take off your clothes."

"What?" I couldn't believe his brashness. I hadn't been here five minutes and he already wanted me naked? What kind of character had I created here?

"Exactly what I said. Take your clothes off." He began unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging out of it. I could only stand there and gawk. Confusion mottled my brain.

"I know my brother. Ethan might have put a tracer on one of us. I know how he works. He wouldn't have stopped at that cabin if he didn't think he could find us," Kevin explained. "So strip."

I was extremely not liking this idea. I needed my clothes. They were the only clothes I had, not to mention they were a security blanket, of sorts, especially when they were on. I pulled a long navy blanket around me before slipping out of my clothes one-by-one.

"What are you going to do with our clothes?"

"Get them as far away from us as possible."

He wrapped a towel around his waist, and ran out to the SUV. He came back holding two piles of clothes. "I had extras," he explained. "In the car."

How convenient for him.

"I doubt Ethan's pants will fit you, so I brought just the shirt."

He placed them on the bed, then sat on the couch next to me. His head fell backward. He looked drained. All of his thirty-three years, marked his face. But that didn't make him unattractive. When he relaxed and took that scowl off his face, he was actually handsome.

But I doubt he saw me in any sexually attractive way. He still believed I was the enemy, but his honor wouldn't allow his brother to kill me.

With his head back, his breathing evened out. I leaned across him to the bed to grab the black shirt. It looked like it would fit me all the way to my knees. I held the blanket closed with one hand while I reached with the other.

His eyes suddenly shot open, startling me. I lost my balance and reached to steady myself on the only available surface – his chest. In that instant, he moved and we both tumbled sideways on the couch. His towel inching up on his thighs and the blanket straining to keep my breasts from popping out. Our legs were tangled and my breath caught in my throat when he pulled me closer to keep us both from rolling to the ground.

I couldn't speak. I could only look at him and he looked at me. Neither of us moved. His palm was on my backside and my free hand was on his hip, the other was trapped beneath me. If he didn't continue to hold me, I would fall for sure.

Kevin's eyes didn't leave mine. That made me feel a little less embarrassed as I tried to pull up the blanket. I could feel his heart hammering in rhythm with mine.

"Not exactly the way I pictured this happening," Kevin whispered.

"You've thought about us... together?"

"Ever since I found out you were real... I couldn't help myself. The agency told me to keep tabs on you and send in my reports. I fictionalized them all, making you seem like you were where you weren't. I didn't want them to find you. I knew they might plan to kill you. Looks like I was right."

"Why did you lie about where I was?"

Kevin averted his eyes and I grabbed his chin. The movement nearly sent me careening to the floor, but his hand on my butt pushed me farther onto the couch and pressed me fully against him. I suddenly knew the reason Kevin had lied to keep me safe.

"Now you understand?"

"I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything."

My whole body felt like it was on fire. He kissed my cheek and my neck. My brain ceased to function. All I could do was feel. When his mouth claimed mine, I was returning the kiss. His towel slipped away along with the blanket covering me. Suddenly, it was covering us both and I felt his flesh against mine.

Suddenly, his PDA beeped, and a voice came over the walkie-talkie function. "Where are you?' the voice asked. "Remember what I said, use any means necessary to make her trust you."

Kevin growled as he reached for the PDA.

"That's not what you think."

"You're seducing me to gain my trust?" I struggled against him. "Let go of me. I can't believe you'd do that to me."

I reached for the lamp and smashed it across his head. He crumpled to the floor and I reached for the black shirt and raced to the door. There was no way I was staying here. I couldn't believe it.

As I ran down the street throwing the black shirt over my head, I could hear Kevin yelling. "It's not what you think, Toni. Come back!"

"Like hell," I said running as fast and as far as my bare feet would take me.

Familiar Adversary - Episode 3

Part 3 - Death Looms Nightly

Kevin Fairchild sped away in Ethan's SUV, but Ethan didn't blink at his brother's actions. He had anticipated them. Another SUV rolled up next to him. The window slowly rolled down revealing the driver - - Michela Forsythe.

"Hey, lover. I hear you might be needing a lift," Michela said. She was wearing a midnight black cat suit that Ethan could greatly appreciate as it hugged every curve on her body.

"What took you so long?" Ethan snapped.

"Got hung up. Julian's on the prowl and he thought I was that bitch Janette again."

Michela was furious. She hated acting the part of someone else. It was one thing to have Janette pretend to be her, but it was quite another to pretend to be Janette, live her life, be in that sick, disgusting way with Julian Black. She merely attempted to hang that part of her life on a hanger in the back of her mind where she could forget it even existed.

Ethan had his moments of compassion and empathy. It wasn't like a man to deal with his emotions, but there were certain people he could open up to, and Michela was one of them.

"You don't have to be her, you know. There are other ways to bring him down."

She sped forward in the SUV following Kevin's trail, but she couldn't put the evilness of Julian out of her mind. Janette may have enjoyed being tortured and mentally abused, but she wasn't the type of person who could handle that abuse for long.

"I can't do it much longer, Ethan. The man is a monster. I'll lose my sanity if I can't extract myself from this mission." Michela's voice was nearing exhaustion. Ethan was surprised she was even lucid enough to drive.

He placed a hand atop hers on the steering wheel. "Pull over, Michela."

"I can't. What about Kevin and the girl?"

"Kevin can wait. I have a tracker on him. They won't be able to get far," Ethan said gently. "Pull the car over. Let me help you."

They were in the middle of nowhere, but Ethan could make anywhere feel like home just by imagining it to be that way. He wanted Michela to experience the same. He pulled her gently from the SUV. She was visibly shaking.

"It will be okay," he told her. "I'll make it okay."

The rain had stopped and the house they had parked in front of was dark. Ethan led her to the door. He quickly picked the flimsy lock and gained entrance into the cabin.

There was a blanket nearby and he used it to cover her shaking body. He could tell her mind was racing with what had transpired with Julian. She was useless in this condition. He had to make her forget.

***

There was no telling how long I'd been lying face down in the rancid water, but I swear I saw a bright light coming toward me. Of course, that was before I felt the gun nudged in my back bringing me forward into a sputtering reality.

"Get up!" It was a woman's voice. A pissed-off woman.

I tried to stay as still as I could as I regained consciousness. I thought I could use the act of surprise to somehow get the jump on the woman holding the big gun, but she had other ideas. She used the gun to concuss me. In spy terms that meant, she knocked me up-side the head with the butt of the firearm. It didn't feel too nifty. In fact, it hurt like hell.

The shock from the assault caused me to breathe in forcing a mouthful of rancid swamp water down my throat. Don't think I would forget that. Maybe some day I might be able to get her back for that experience. I sputtered a series of hacking coughs that took the surprise out of my attack plan.

And they say the good guys always win. Ha!

"This assignment was easier than I thought." Her accent was a mixture of Russian and British. That was obvious. But what wasn't obvious was her appearance. Since it was dark as pitch, all I could tell for sure was that she was blonde - - which was pretty funny if I thought about it too much. I never had been able to find a good image for Octavia in my mind, and even in this alternate world, she still didn't have complete form in my consciousness.

I let out an uncontrollable laugh. Maybe it was the fear bubbling up inside of me.

"I don't think I've ever been an assignment before," I said. "This is a new experience for me."

"I'm glad you're amused. It makes my job easier."

Through the water dripping in my eyes, I could see the Russian woman level her gun at me. Of course, the gun was clear as day, just my luck. Inside, I went completely still. So this was what it felt like in that moment before death, a silent stillness.

I closed my eyes because I knew I couldn't outrun the bullet or fight off Octavia Kassoff single-handedly. Too bad I never finished those karate lessons. Never even made it past my white belt. Maybe I could back-hand-spring her to death. I was pretty proficient at gymnastics, at least, I was when I was younger. Not that it would help now, in any case.

My head was bleeding and my balance shaky, so strike the gymnastics. If I tried to run, I'd only fall, and she'd kill me anyway.

I wanted to sing a song. It felt like an appropriate moment. Death looming and everything. But I couldn't think of anything fitting.

The gunshot sounded, but I felt nothing. She couldn't have missed. She was standing right in front of me, and I didn't think Octavia Kassoff was that bad of a shot. My eyes fluttered open when something heavy fell on me.

I screamed and jumped back. The blonde lady's unconscious form slipped down my body and landed face down in the rancid water. My eyes searched the dark night for the killer in the shadows. When I heard nothing, I scrambled up the slope to level ground and ran. I didn't care where. I just wanted to get away.

***

The fire was roaring and soothing music played on the radio. Ethan knew this would help Michela. Everything in the world was mental and he needed her mind back on the job. He sat next to her on the couch drawing his arm around her, making sure not to spook her.

He never imagined he and Michela would become involved again. She had recently recovered her memory, but had been hurt by another man. They had, had their differences in the past, but she was still the only woman who could ever drive him to distraction.

As he petted her hair, Michela leaned into him. She drew the cover around both of them and they sat that way for a long time. Her breathing calmed, telling Ethan she was in a much better state of mind. He shifted to get up, but she held onto him.

"Don't go," she whispered. "Make me forget. Make me forget it all."

***

I darted through the dark forest zig-zagging between trees. I could hear footfalls behind me. The fear propelled me faster than I thought was possible for me to run. Ahead I could see a light and smoke coming out of the chimney of a cabin. If I could get there, maybe I could save myself.

I was within a few feet of the log structure when the footsteps caught up to me. One hand pressed across my mouth while the other snapped like a vice around my waist dragging me back into the shadowy denseness of the forest.

I tried to scream but I couldn't. Could this be the end for me?

Familiar Adversary - Episode 2

Part 2 - The Unlikely Ally

"You can't be serious about leaving her out there," Kevin Fairchild said to his brother.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack. I can't even count how many times I've nearly died because the Black Council found intel on her site and used it to track us." Ethan was still pissed, and pissed was not a good emotion on him. When he was pissed, awful things were bound to happen.

Ethan's hands molded to the wheel, his knuckles turning white.

"Okay. Yeah, we've nearly bought it a dozen or more times, but you can't blame her. She didn't know she had a direct psychic link to an alternate universe. She had no way of knowing we were flesh and blood real people."

"Kevin, that is a lame ass excuse. If she were so ‘psychic' as you say, she should have known."

"You're just ticked because the stories focused mainly on you, putting you into more jeopardy than the rest of us," Kevin mocked. "Well, boo damn hoo. Poor pitiful you. You knew the dangers of taking this job, you should god-damn well take the consequences."

"I'm just doing what I was trained to do... seek and destroy the enemy before they destroy me."

***

It was still dark and it was still creepy, but at least the screaming had stopped. Friend or foe, I didn't know. I ventured forward a bit cautiously. Okay, a lot cautiously. There was no telling who could be out there in the blackness.

The scream came again, but this time I recognized it as a bird's call echoing out into the night. My body visibly relaxed. It was raining harder, but at that moment I ceased to care. I was about as wet as I was going to get. My clothes were soaked and I was cold and angry.

"Damn you, Ethan Fairchild," I screamed.

I could barely make out a tree to my left, but I could tell there was shelter there. Flimsy shelter offered by leaves on the tree, but it was better than the pounding rain atop my pounding head.

As I ventured forward, I found a large dip between myself and the tree. Probably a ditch. I took a gamble and reached my leg across the expanse. When my foot hit solid ground, I expelled the breath I had been holding. There was no way I wanted to fall into that ditch. I was wet enough.

When I put my entire weight onto the opposite side of the ditch, the ground crumbled beneath me, throwing me off balance. I was too shocked to curse. My only thought was prayer and the hope that this ditch wasn't too deep. I fell straight into the muck at the bottom, but I learned too late that the ditch was angled steeply downhill. My body slipped forward like the motion on a slide at a water park, except this water was dirty and smelled like filth. I careened downward, moving at a breakneck speed, faster and faster until the bottom came up and slammed me in the face.

It was in that moment that the light of the moon went completely out.

***

"I'm not leaving her back there, Ethan," Kevin said. He'd never been one to usurp his brother's authority, but this was uncalled for. The woman had done nothing wrong. Nothing she could foresee anyway.

"The hell you aren't. The longer she keeps from writing her story, the safer we all are," Ethan reasoned.

"Then why not take her to Smith Island or Legacy Headquarters where we can keep an eye on her?" Kevin asked, pausing suddenly. His eyes grew suddenly wide. "You bastard! You're having her cancelled."

"We all have to make sacrifices now and then." Ethan's words were filled with foreboding.

"Sacrifices? Death is not a sacrifice. Death is death," Kevin said. "She's still a human being. So, that makes it murder."

Kevin grabbed the steering wheel of the SUV nearly causing it to careen off the side of the road. They spun in a circle before coming to a complete hault facing the opposite direction.

"We've known about her for a long time, and I longer than anyone," Kevin said. "She isn't a threat to us. She could be an asset if we gained her trust. Let her abilities work for us."

"Even if I agreed with this insane notion - - it's already too late. If she hasn't broken her neck by now, the agent I assigned to the black op will surely have killed her by now."

Kevin was livid. "Call it off! This wasn't how it was supposed to play out!"

"You don't think I'm onto your game, Kevin?" Ethan shouted. "Before we discovered her existence, you were in and out of the sack with every woman I ever cared about, but once you established contact with her, your days as a Lothario suddenly stopped."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Kevin said defensively.

"Don't I?"

"Shut your bloody mouth. It's not like that."

"The hell it isn't," Ethan said. "The only reason she's even here is because of you. If you hadn't told us what you'd found, she would still be in her dimension typing on her computer reporting our every move."

He was such an idiot. He should have never told Ethan about her. What he should have done was brought her in under everyone's radar and explained the situation to her. But it was too late for that now. To fix this, he had to take drastic action.

Kevin raised his gun on his brother. "I hate to do this to you, buddy, but get out!"

Ethan raised his hands as Kevin threw his brother's Glock out into the elements. Ethan followed the gun getting out of the SUV.

"This is a mistake, Kevin."

"Well, it's my mistake to make then. I can't let anything happen to her. We might all regret it."

Familiar Adversary - Episode 1

It's Impossible, 

But The Impossible 

Has Happened.

I've been brought into my own Legacy Universe and my characters are not happy with me at all. Follow along as I try to evade Ethan and Michela as well as the evil Julian Black and attempt to find my way home again... before one of the aforementioned catches me.

---

Part 1 - The Gypsy's Curse

It was a dream. It had to be a dream.

There was no possible way this was happening.

I couldn't really be inside my own Legacy universe - - The one I had created to escape reality. This place was make-believe, fiction. I had made it all up in my head, hadn't I? I pinched myself, but it didn't make the dark, mysterious world fade away. "Ow!" I said. "Well, that didn't work."

How in the heck could I be here then? How could the Legacy be real?

"Maybe I've gone insane and this is my punishment," I said to myself.

"And maybe you should shut up before the enemy finds you."

Kevin Fairchild stood behind me looking all handsome and Marlboro-man-ish. He grabbed my arm and tugged me downward. I gaped at Kevin, baffled by the fact that he seemed more alive and animated here than I had ever seen him in my mind's eye.

I reached my hand out to touch his face and he swatted it away, a scowl painting his features.

"You're real."

"No, duh. Of course, I'm real," Kevin hissed. ‘You're the one who's been severely screwing up things, our lives, everything! We're all still alive - - no thanks to you!"

My eyes widened at his insinuation.

"You're telling me what exactly?" I had a feeling I wasn't going to like what he was about to tell me.

"We recruited a very powerful gypsy. She cast a spell. That's why you're here. We had to stop you from continuing your story."

"So, your solution is to dump me into my own scary dark world? Gee, thanks. Next time, leave me a note or something.

I didn't have long to let the reality of it all sink in. Kevin had stopped paying attention to me, and was leveling a gun at a dark figure coming our way. Inside I was annoyed he wasn't fawning all over me. I mean, after all, I was the real one, the creator. He was pure fiction, wasn't he?

"Get down!" Kevin yelled. His voice was more stern than I remembered. Hollow shots came from his gun. It didn't sound like any silencer I'd ever heard, but then again, I wasn't as familiar with guns as many people have been led to believe.

"Dammit! Listen to me, woman!"

"I'm listening. I'm listening," I said as I ducked my head closer to the moldy grass. "If I get an allergy attack, you're the one who is going to be sorry."

Shots popped again in response to his original gun fire. Kevin fired again. He must have hit someone because a howling cry came out of the dark shadows.

"Got him. Now MOVE!"

Kevin picked me up off the grass and tossed me over his shoulder like a hulking caveman.

"I don't remember you being this rude, or this strong," I said, pounding on his back. Even in my indignation, I still managed to appreciate his cute, tight posterior.

"You don't know me at all, Toni. Never did."

"Okay, there is no need for more rudeness."

Three things happened almost instantaneously. A dark SUV squealed to a halt before us, Kevin threw me inside and then he jumped into the passenger seat.

"Is that her?"

Someone spoke from the driver's seat, but I couldn't see him. He did sound familiar, however.

"Yeah, it's her. Now maybe we'll all have a bit more secrecy in our operations." Kevin glared at me again. Man, he looked almost evil incarnate when he did that.

"Now that you have me here. What do you plan to do with me? Shoot me?"

"I ought to," the driver said. "You've caused more chaos than you even know. The only good part was discovering our father was a psycho-lunatic."

"You're father?" I moved closer rubbing my sore knee, the one I had injured during the toss and throw episode gaining entry into the SUV. I peeked around the bucket seat hoping to get a better look at the driver.

My breath caught in my throat.

"Ethan?"

"Who were you expecting? Zeno the clown boy?"

"No. No," I said. I wasn't expecting anything. When I got up this morning, I definitely couldn't foresee this in my future."

"You've been watching us since day one. Kinda creepy having someone know your every thought. I thought it was time for you to feel the effects of the whole world knowing your every move." Ethan's voice had a dark cadence to it.

I balked at his comment. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just wait," Ethan said, mysteriously. "You'll find out soon enough."

It had started raining an hour earlier and I had lost track of exactly how long I had been in the SUV. Neither Ethan nor Kevin spoke much after our initial meeting.

"End of the line," Ethan said, startling me. He jumped out of the black car and the side door of the SUV slid open. It was in that moment I had a completely frontal look at Ethan's entire face. And that face looked extremely pissed off. "Out!"

"Out? Uh, no. Where are we?"

"Out, I said!"

When I didn't immediately climb out of the car, he grabbed me and thrust me onto the muddy, dark road. Okay, there was way too much grabbing and thrusting going on here. And I was beginning to get the impression that Ethan and Kevin didn't like me too much.

"You can't just leave her here," Kevin protested.

"Watch me!" Ethan jumped back into the SUV and slammed the door.

I couldn't help but flinch, or maybe it was a chill zinging down my back. It was pretty wet and rainy and wet tonight. Not to mention dark and scary. The SUV spun around and then disappeared into the night, its tail lights fading away over the horizon.

I hadn't reacted well. I couldn't have. I was still in shock. My own characters had just ditched me in the middle of no where. The moon was the only light for miles and even that wasn't strong enough to light the road.

"Maybe this is just a very realistic nightmare," I said to myself. "Yeah, right," I sobbed. "I have just been left to die by my two most favorite characters in the entire world. This is a new experience I hadn't planned on savoring. Could this day get any worse?"

It was in that moment I heard the blood curdling scream. Of course, there had to be a blood curdling scream. There was always a blood curdling scream just before somebody died.