Chapter 2- Elnora

Chapter 2- Elnora POV

          "Mom?" Talvin's voice calls as I come down the hall, and my heart sinks. Something is wrong. I can hear it in his tone. I sprint to the door and nearly slam into them as they are backing inside the door, gazing at something I cannot see through the wall. "Boys, are you ok? What's wrong?" I follow their gaze out the door to our front gate as I get to them. Through the blanket of rain, I can see a man stands just inside our gate wrapped in a slicker and wearing a cowboy hat. "Who are you? What do you want?" I ask, putting myself between my children and this man. "You already know who I am" He speaks with a German accent. "I do not know you.” "You do; you just do not remember me. In time you will remember me. The rain is slowing. I will see you soon." He announces before he turns to leave. "You will not see me soon. You stay away from us!" I bark at his back as he closes my gate. "We will see about that, won't we?". More than a sense of warning laces his wicked words. He smiles and disappears. "Where did he go?" The boys and I echo together as we peer out the door and find no trace of the man.

          Closing the door, I deadbolt it and turn to the boys. "Are you guys ok? Did he hurt you?” "We are ok. He just showed up out of nowhere and started looking at us. Do you know who he is?" Merrick asks. "I have no idea who he was. Let's get you all cleaned up and make sure all the windows and doors are locked. I am going to call your father and the police." They agree, leaving me standing at the door. I pull out my phone and try to call Brogan. He sends me to voicemail, and I quickly relay what just happened on the voicemail as I check all the windows to ensure we are securely locked in, and everyone else locked out. Calling the emergency line brings me directly to the Police Chief secretary. I relay all the information to her, and she insists they will send an officer over immediately.

          Ten minutes haven't gone by when a knock at the door sounds. I grab a baseball bat and call, "Who is it?” "It is Officer Orion." With a relieved sigh, I pull open the door. "Thank you so much for coming.” "The first thing I am going to do is check around the house and the neighbor's house and be sure he is gone. I will be right back. Please stay inside and lock the door." I nod and close the door. Within 20 minutes, he is back at my door. "Can you tell me what happened? Did anyone else see what happened?" He is professional with his questions. "It was the kids and me.” "I would like to talk with each of you about what happened, if that is, ok?” "Sounds good.  I don't feel comfortable going back outside right now. Can we do this in the kitchen?" I ask, pulling my door wider for him to enter. "Sure."

          After we each spoke with Officer Orion and showed him the surveillance video of the man, he had everything he needed to proceed in finding this person. "If any of you think of anything else, please call me." He urges as he walks to the front door. "Hey, Mom, your phone just updated that your prescription is ready," Fulton announces as he walks back into the room with my phone. "I will have to ask your dad to get it. There is no way I am going to feel comfortable in the house if I were to leave and come back." I admit to him.

"I can pick it up for you. If you would like to call it in, I can get it and bring it right back for you. I get off work in about 30 minutes, and I have to run into the pharmacy. I also pass right by here. It would give me another chance to look around the neighborhood as I drive back through. It wouldn't be a problem at all.” "Really? Are you sure?” "By the look of those bites on your neck, you need that medicine before this afternoon.” "Ok, thank you. I will call them and let them know you are going to pick it up for me.” "It is my pleasure. See you in a little bit." He calls over his shoulder as he heads to his car.

          "How are you boys doing?" I ask as we sit on the couches. "A little freaked out," Merrick announces, watching nervously out the front window. "We need to keep our eyes out for that man. I am not sure who he is or why he thinks that I know who he is, but we need to keep our distance at all costs." As the words leave my lips, I can feel in my gut that they are wrong. I do not know how I know or why I feel the way I do, but I know that man will not hurt me. He is going to help me. I just have to figure out how and why I feel that way.

          A knock at the door jolts me awake, and I immediately panic when I don't see my boys surrounding me. "Who is it?" I muster with a neutral tone that conceals my panic. Quickly pealing myself from the blankets on the couch, I listen for a voice. "Officer Orion. I have your antibiotics," He calls through the door. As I step forward to place my hand on the handle, I collapse. "Mom!" That is all I can hear as everything goes black.

          The sound of beeping lulls me from my slumber, and I notice odd sensations throughout my body. My arm is sore as though something is attached to it. My legs and left arm are being squeezed to an uncomfortable level before retracting. It takes a few moments to understand what is happening as I think through what has taken place. The moment I open my eyes, I realize the severity of the situation. I am in the hospital. "What happened?" I croak out. I can hear chairs hastily sliding across the floor as my boys come into view. "What do you remember?" Merrick asks with eyes full of fear. "I went to open the door. One of you called out for me, and everything went dark." A look passes through the three of them of concern. "You don't remember anything else?" Talvin's disbelief in what he heard was prominent in his tone. "What happened?" I demand this time, not caring how bad it sounded. "Fulton, can you get the Doctor and tell him that Mom is awake, please." Merrick's voice is calm and soothing. When did he become such a soft-spoken young man?

          The following words to leave Merrick's voice were not as soft to me as they were his brother. "Mom, that man showed up at our house again. Officer Orion is in the ER with a head wound from being thrown through our front door.” "How is officer Orion? Is he going to be, ok?" My worried question flutters from my lips. "Officer Orion will make a full recovery.” "Do we know why the guy came back?" The words drawling out in a whispered fear. "Yes and no.” "What does that mean?" I question. When Talvin finally speaks, it was not what I was expecting to hear. "The problem is." His eyes burning into my soul, "There is more."