Ch. 2
Heather went back into the bedroom and opens the door to the closet and screamed!!!! Josh was gone the puppies were sleeping huddle together but Josh was gone did they take him she wasn't thinking straight she drop to her knees and yelled "oh God no not my Josh" Heather was beside herself with worry she stood up and with her head in her hands she sobbed and all she could think about was the day she was the day he was born the moment they placed Josh in her arms she felt her life had purpose and all the pain from her bad marriage her abusive ex-husband or late husband just faded away she was free and she had purpose but when she saw the empty closet all her fears and pain in the memories from her bad marriage flooded right back in her mind and she felt empty and didn't know what to do she wasn't prepared to lose Josh that's why she ran time and time again that's why her and Josh have been on the run for a year because she don't want to lose him, and whispering " oh grandma what have you done and what have you got us into?" Heather stood frozen to that very spot and didn't hear Chase come barreling in gun at the ready!
                Chase just finished up washing the blood of the door and as he closed the door he heard a blood cuddling scream come from Heather in the other room and dropping the pail he whipped out his gun and took off in the direction of the scream and when he reached the room the sight he saw shook him to his very soul, Heather was standing with her head in her hands sobbing and then whispered " oh grandma when have you done and what have you gotten us into" Chase realized she didn't have a clue what they wanted or why and crossing the room he put away the gun and was about to ask what happened and then realized Josh wasnt in the room and bile Rose in his throat but he swallowed hard and cleared his throat and said " where's Josh? " But got no response and repeated what he said but this time a little louder and firmer! " Heather where's Josh " still no response and looking into her eyes he noticed she was miles away and know it was a flash back and grabbed her a arms and gently shook her speaking form but in a low voice " Heather please answer me where's Josh?" And she shook her head and looked into his eyes and tears started to fall and she whispered “he’s gone” and collapsed into his arms and sobbed. He set her on the bed and healed her and said " now let's not panic here it's a pretty big cabin there are for bedrooms and two bathrooms he might just have gone exploring why don't we go look and see huh?"
              Heather swallowed and said “you think so? “Heather thought about it and realized maybe Chase was right and Josh was exploring the cabin and wiping her eyes she stupid up and said “well let's go find out ok?" Chase too her by the hand and Heather tried to ignore the spark that ran up her arm and followed him out of the room and when down a hall that had four doors and one of them was opened and Chase turned and stopped her and whispered " all these doors were shut and that one is opened either Josh opened it or those creeps did let me check it out you stay here and be silent you know how dangerous it is going to get if it's those creeps and I don't want you getting hurt or in my way  "
Heather nodded her head and whispered " OK " and Chase took off down the hall and pulled out his gun and disappeared into the room and all Heather could think to do was pray that it was Josh and not those bad men that we're after him and tried with all her might to remember something from the few days before grandma died suddenly, and going back three days before that she remembered something that she didn't think nothing about it at the time but it was a Tuesday morning she woke up to her grandma yelling at someone she got out of bed and went into the kitchen and stopped short when she heard grandma say " I don't care what he wants he's going to be waiting a long time for them if he thinks I'm giving them back now don't call me no more I'm changing my number and if you do I'll call the police and have you arrested for harassment you got that buster" at the time she thought it was a sales man trying to sell her something and dismissed it but went into the kitchen and hugged her grandma and said "you ok gram?" And her grandma sighed and said " I'm fine dear it was just a salesman selling his bull but I got rid of him no worries " and Heather left it at that and forgot about it too oh why did she forget that must have been a phone call from those men who have been chasing her and Josh for a year now and Heather closed her eyes and tried to think about Wednesday if there was anything else she forgot about and one more thing she remembered her grandma saying on Wednesday evening she got another phone call when Heather was getting ready for bed she had just gotten Josh to sleep he was excited that his grandma Becca made him a stuffed rabbit and Josh was over stimulated and Grandma told him to keep this one close to himself cuz Peter the rabbit would protect him and then the phone rang and Heather had to calm Josh down cuz he was so excited about his new stuffed rabbit and finally getting Josh to sleep she went to her room and was undressing when she heard grandma on the phone she only heard bits and pieces of her conversation but one thing stood out that her grandma said she told whomever was on the phone that she they wouldn't find them ever cuz she hid them and that was all she heard and Heather was so tired that she just slipped into bed and thinking she had time to ask her about that in the morning but when the morning came grandma Becca was out on some errands and to this day Heather wondered why her grandma went on those errands alone and drove to get them done her grandma never drove anymore Heather had always driven her to her doctors and groceries and everywhere she had to go so why didn't she ask me to take her that morning that was when she was driving along and the doctor said she had a heartache behind the wheel of the car and died right there in the seat but the doctor said her heart was healthy for her age but it was just her time so they ruled it natural causes and Heather dismissed it till this very minute and at the funeral there was two guys there dressed in black just standing around that she didn't know but thought Grandma's did so didn't think nothing about it till now, God why did she forget all these important things was she losing her mind? Or maybe the stress of everything from the past year getting to her, or both? Then she realized Chase had been gone for twenty minutes what was going on??? She was starting to panic when Chase came around the corner holding a dirty. Josh who had a scraped knee and a bruise on his head!
               Chase almost didn't see Josh when he went into the room it was the only room that you could get into the root cellar he saw the door ajar and slowly went for the old rickety steps and looked around and he must have looked for ten minutes before he saw a silhouette of a small person on the floor and knew it was him Josh had gone exploring and feel down those steps bumping his head and skinning his knee but he was a trooper not one tear was shed he went to him picked him up and up the stairs and out of that old cellar Chase had hated that old cellar so later he would board it up and seal it off for good nothing was down there anyways. "I found him he was in the root cellar exploring he's banged up cuz he fell down the old steps but he's fine nothing a good bath can’t cure!!!" Josh looked at Chase and said" awe do I hafta take a bath Mommy?" Chase chuckled and answered for Heather " well little buddy if you don't like baths then you shouldn't have wandered off alone by yourself right???" Josh bowed his head and whispered" you’re right Chase I'm sorry!!!" Chase smiled lifted Josh's chin up and said your fine little buddy but no more wandering of alone kapeash!" Josh scrunched his brow and said "cap each whats that mean?" Heather and Chase laughed and Chase said it means do you agree” Josh said “oohhh ok I agree no more wandering of I promise"
                Heather planed on feeding Josh breakfast and then put him in front of the TV so she and Chase could talk out of ear shot of little ears! “Hey squirts want pancakes for breakfast?” Heather chuckled she knew she was going to get a look for saying that in front of Chase “Mommy!!!”Heather shrugged said” I’m sorry Hun! What do you want for breakfast Josh?” Josh smiled and said “pancakes please mommy” Heather smiled knowing he would say that cuz it was his usual Saturday morning choice” ok Hun go take your bath and wash everything this time your covered from head to toe in dirt ok!!!” Josh nodded and raced down to the bathroom disappearing into the bathroom and Heather looked at Chase who was giggling at what transpired between her and Josh and laughed herself, and before she went to cook his pancakes she cleared her throat and said “Chase I remembered more of the last few days right before my grandmother passed away but I want to wait till Josh has had breakfast and in front of the TV before I talk to you about it ok?” Chase sobered up and nodded said”ok I think that’s a good idea Heather! Do you want help with breakfast? If not I’m going to radio my Sargent and brief him on what’s what so far!” Heather said " no"  so Chase went up to the attic where he stored his CB radio it was the only safe way to communicate with his boss!

              Wow that took a lot longer then he wanted it to his boss wanted answers to which he had none and that didn’t set well with the Sarge he hated to be kept out of the loop in any case in the precinct but Chase had to promise him as soon as Heather told him more today he would radio him and let him know that’s the only way he could get off the CB and get back to them it had been almost an hour already and he didn’t like being gone that long, those goons that they were hiding from were very bad news he did some research on a secure web site yesterday and found out that those guys were working for a unknown boss that had a rap sheet a hundred pages long that eluded authority’s and so far every undercover agent of the CIA or FBI had been killed and dumped in their jurisdiction so this guy and his lackey’s were very good and Chase knew it was going to be a dangerous road ahead cuz he was going to have to be more dangerous than them if he was going to get Heather and Josh or himself out of this big mess they was in and truth be told this was the biggest case he’d ever had to deal with … well maybe the last mission he was in for the army was very volatile but this one he had a feeling was going to get worse and if he don’t play his cards right an innocent person would die at his own hands again and this time it would be his undoing, it almost killed him to see that young girls eyes go from happy to white with fear to lifeless in the blink of an eye, he still has nightmares about it even after six years of being honorably discharged from that nightmare world, no this time would be different he wouldn’t let down his guard not for a moment cuz that is the difference from staying alive or being killed so shutting off the radio and recovering it with the sheet he headed down stairs to see Josh watching TV with two of the black lab puppies asleep on either side of Josh and one curled up in his lap asleep so without thinking he snapped a picture of the cute as heck scene of them and smiled and putting his cell away. And sat beside them and said “looks like you made three friends there buddy?” Josh looked up grinning from ear to ear and said “yup and I named them all too wanna hear their names Chase?” Chase didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was giving them to his Sarge but instead said” sure but before you do you got to know that one’s a girl!” Josh looked thoughtful for a moment and said” OK then which ones the girl Chase?” Chase looked at them and said “that one is” and Chase pointed to the one with the red bandana around her neck” and Josh smiled and said” well then this one with the blue bandana around his neck is Buddy, and this one with the green bandana is Max, and she with the red bandanas name is Zoey what do you think Chase?” Chase smiled and said wow Josh how cool is that do you know I had a dog named Buddy when I was about your age and after he went to doggie heaven I had another one and her name was Zoey?” Josh grinned and said “cool Chase where’s Zoey now?” Chase had took it really hard when Zoey got sick she had cancer that spread to her brain and lost motor function and she couldn’t walk and had pretty bad incontinent problems so he had to make the ultimate choice to end her suffering and have her put to sleep! It was the hardest choice he had to make in his whole life Chase shook those thoughts away when Josh had put his hand on Chases arm and said “you ok Chase?” Chase smiled and said “yeah buddy but Zoey in heaven now she got sick about a year ago” Josh frowned and said” well Chase you can have Zoey here I will give her to you so you won’t be sad anymore!!!” Chase chuckled and said oh buddy no I can’t these puppies have to go to the police station, you see we have a division in the station where if we find any stray animals we adopt them out to underprivileged families that need a therapy animal and since these puppies are pure black lab they will make really good service dogs for wheelchair bound or a blind person, these particular puppies are going to our training facility to be trained to be service dogs buddy I’m sorry!!!”

              Heather saw Josh’s bottom lip shoot out and tapped Chase on the shoulder and when Chase looked up at Heather she shook her head as if to say no don’t go there now so Chase changed the subject quickly” well buddy your mom and I are going into the kitchen to talk about something’s you watch TV for a while and then I will take you on in a game of wrestling on the x box ok buddy? Chase followed Heather into the kitchen and when she turned around he saw the look she was sporting and held up his hands and said “whoa Heather time out I’m not going to lie to Josh he’s old enough to know the truth and he can take the truth I can see it in him he’s a very strong kid” Heather let out a sigh knowing chase was right and said” I know but usually when we have had to move Josh is withdrawn for weeks but this time look at him those puppies are good for him he’s never been this way while on the run before I was hoping that he could at least keep one of them” Chase Thought about it and realizes she did know Josh better than him and he has been really quiet and he hasn’t been frightened at all this stuff that’s been going go and thought maybe he could keep just one and cause he was a special case and he could use a therapy dog so making his mind up he cleared his throat and said “ well the dogs that go into the program are for either service dogs or therapy dogs and I think Josh qualifies for having a therapy dog don’t you?” Chase saw the surprised look on heathers face but it quickly turned to a very happy one and she lunged at him and threw her arms around him and said” oh thank you he’s gonna be very happy he can keep one lets watch him and see which one he likes the best and give it to him for his birthday ok?” Chase braced himself when she hugged him because he didn’t want both of them to take a tumble because she came at him fast and so he wrapped his arms round her and hugged her back and waited for her to let go but truth be told he liked hugging her he couldn’t explain it but when she was in his arms he felt like all was right with the world and then he remembered there situation and what happened the last time he let his guard down a mother and daughter died because of it, no he couldn’t risk it with these goons running around threatening to kill them, but it was going to be very hard because he was beginning to feel something in his heart for her and Josh something he never felt before and needed to put it on the back burner for now to keep them both safe that much he knew! Heather didn’t know why she hugged him like that but she was so happy because the saddened look on Josh’s face told her he was just about in tears over the fact that all three puppies had to go to the station he couldn’t even keep just one but then Chase was going to let him keep one and she couldn’t help herself Josh’s happiness was important to her and his safety was her number one priority and she wasn’t even going to stop and think about how good it felt to be in his arms and how being there made her feel so safe shaking her runaway thoughts she concentrated on finishing cleaning up the kitchen after her and Josh had breakfast she had Chase’s breakfast in the oven keeping it warm, “ Chase your breakfast is in the oven we will talk after you eat and I finish up the dishes ok?” Chase nodded and got his breakfast and sat down to eat and had time for only one bite when he heard an all too familiar noise it was faint but still heard it and he got up so fast and tackled Heather to the ground and put his hand over her mouth and whispered “stay down and don’t move” and rushing out of the kitchen like a bat out of well you know all Heather could think about was Josh and hoped it wasn’t no she didn’t wanna go there! But Heather did just what she was told although she was fighting the urge to run after him but remembered that he knew what he was doing and she would only get in his way and that could prove fatal to Chase or Josh and she couldn’t do that no she was going to have to stay put no matter how much she hated doing so.

             Chase had heard a faint ticking sound and immediately was whisked back to his time in the army when he was fighting but thank god he knew how to fight it off in an emergency but he knew that ticking sound it was all too familiar, that was a ticking time bomb there were many different time bombs, you got your homemade ones and you got them that they used in the army, there are really way too many to name them all… so Chase ran into the living room where Josh and the puppies were fast asleep on the couch and he silently thanked God for that and stopped in the middle of the living room and listened to where the bomb was and when he knew he darted in that direction and found it tucked into a book stand surrounded by books and saw that he had only 3 minutes and 32 seconds on which to disarm it or just grab them and run out into his truck and drive off but what if they was out there? What if they slashed his tires so they couldn’t run? No he couldn’t take the time to go check his truck… so grabbed the bomb and looked it over and found that if he were to disarm it that it had a secondary back up bomb that would go off as soon as he disarmed it, so running to the only place he could think of that would withstand the blast of this particular homemade bomb, stopping in front of the old cellar door that he boarded up and carefully placing the bomb aside he started to rip off the boards to the door, after the last board was off the door he grabbed the bomb carefully and noticed that he had only 1 minute and 46 seconds in which to drop it off inside the fallout shelter called a bunker that his parents built into the cabin’s cellar when the cabin was first built, so down the cellar he went hoping that the odds were in his favor and he would at least get it there before the timer ran out…
            Heather was besides herself with worry over the abrupt exit of Chase but did what he told her to do for she knew the importance of letting Chase do what he did best without her lingering around getting in his way of saving Josh, he was her reason for existing, her whole world was him, so she did the only thing she could do she prayed that he and Josh were safe and then thinking about that potent hug they shared briefly in the kitchen over the puppy Josh could have sent tingles down her spine and got her to wander what would it feel like to kiss him and then realized what she was thinking about she mentally chastised herself for thinking such foolish thoughts, after all she wasn’t In his league not by a long shot , she was well not built for his type, and he was so much more then she knew she deserved so she focused on reality and the situation at hand, and looked up at the kitchen clock on the wall above the stove and saw that too much time had passed and started to panic , and thinking something was wrong she contemplated venturing out into the living room to find out what was it that made Chase run out of the kitchen like a bat out of well you know? When all of a sudden there was this God awful boom that shook the foundation of the house that made the pictures fall off the walls not to mention a lot of other things come crashing down to the floor and the worst part was the windows shattering and the glass flying everywhere and after the dust settled she saw Josh come running into the kitchen trying to hold the puppies yelling “mommy where are you,” not wanting him to be more scared she sat up and yelled “ over here baby! ” as soon as she sat up Josh ran into her waiting arms and said “im scared mommy” Heather was too but Josh couldn’t know that so putting on a fake smile she simply said “im here baby don’t worry everything’s gonna be fine!!!” but didn’t know if it would be but didn’t want Josh to be more afraid then he already was so she kept that part to herself. “ Josh honey I want you to be brave and wait here for me I’m going to go find Chase and see if he’s ok just wait here with the puppies under the table ok?” Josh looked as scared as she was so she hugged him tightly and said “I know your scared I am too baby but Chase might need me to help him ok?” Josh nodded and in a small barely audible voice said “ok mommy I will be brave for Chase” Heather smiled and said “ that’s my brave boy “ Heather kissed his forehead and ran out of the room praying she would find Chase in one piece and not many pieces.

             Chase prayed he was going to make it as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him to the bunker and approaching the bunker he looked down and gasped 11 seconds to go and he still had to unlock the door to the bunker it was a ten digit code so without taking the time to put the bomb down he put in the code as fast as his fingers could go, he had to get this in there or all three of them along with half the wood’s and its creatures would go up in smoke, finally the last number was put in and the lock clicked and the door slowly opened and Chase was grateful that his parent’s made him memorize the number’s not waiting for the door to fully open Chase threw the bomb as hard as he could into the bunker and grabbed the door and pushed with all his might to close it not knowing if he would have enough time before the bomb went off he prayed that he could at least get the door almost closed cuz the bomb’s timer was at 3 second’s and that door didn’t open and close easily, and the next thing he know he was flying across the root cellar and slammed into the dirt wall with a thud and then he passed out hoping he got the door closed in time…