Ghosts

As Jeff watches Katie go, he is helpless to stop her. He has nothing else to say that would help the situation, and he hadn't the strength to go after her. All he could do was let one more tear fall as the door was closed.

Sliding back down until his head rested in the pillows again, he covers his face with his hands, silently crying out to God all the questions and frustrations he could do nothing about.


As Gunner looks at Hope and receives her calm but firm words, a new look flashes in his eyes. It was brief, but it had been there. He'd claimed he had no buttons to push, but something she'd said hit him a little too low.

Leaning back in his chair, a smile spreads until he starts to laugh. "Now that's more like it. I knew the councilor existed somewhere in there."

He shakes his head and stands up. "Alright, Hope, you think I'm chasing ghosts? Come on... let me show you something." Heading for the door, he glances over his shoulder to make sure Hope is coming with him.

Leading the way, he heads down the hall, across the main floor and out. Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he aims for his car. "Unless you're afraid to ride with someone of my insanity, hop in."

The ride doesn't take long. Soon they are at a sleepy part of town where Gunner pulls over near an intersection. Getting out, he nods for Hope to come with him. He walks just a short distance to where he had been less than an hour earlier.

"They said a vehicle came from this side here and t-boned my parents' car as we were crossing the intersection, then took off."

The screech of tires echoed in Gunner's mind like he had heard so many times in his nightmares.

"Problem was, that there was red paint on our car, and the guy they caught had a black convertible that wouldn't have been big enough to cause that kind of damage, even if it had been red."

Gunner walks out into the middle of the quiet intersection, spreading his arms out as he talks to Hope, who he'd left at the curb. "They also said that my dad ran a red light. He was a driving instructor! He wouldn't have run a red light. There were strange bits and pieces of lumber dropped along the road, which indicates the pickup had just been to the lumber yard a mile or so away. But if that were true, he would have been coming from the other direction. So it wasn't just a casual outing - someone had purposely come this way. There were also tire marks over here..." He gestures to one side of the intersection. "...indicating someone peeled out. They'd been waiting for our car and gunned it when we came around that curve."

Still standing in the middle of the road, a car comes around that very curve to a green light, and has to swerve to avoid hitting Gunner. The driver yells a curse, but keeps on going, Gunner remaining unfazed. "Not to mention, it's a quiet intersection. Rarely do two cars meet here, let alone twelve years ago."

He wanders back over to the curb to look Hope in the eye. "My parents were murdered. Reese may call me crazy, but I'm not giving up until I find that other driver. I know threatening JT was breaking the rules, but I wouldn't have hurt him. Chasing ghosts?" He shakes his head. "I don't chase ghosts. I chase bad guys."