Jared the Paramedic III Chapter 28

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Jared the Paramedic III ~ Redemption

Chapter 28: Contrast

THIS STORY IS COPYRIGHT © 2018-2019 BY SNOWBLIND. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTION FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, POSTING ON SITES OR NEWSGROUPS, DISTRIBUTION AS PARTS OR IN BOOK FORM (EITHER AS A WHOLE OR PART OF A COMPILATION) WITH OR WITHOUT A FEE, OR DISTRIBUTION ON CD, DVD, OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA WITH OR WITHOUT A FEE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT. YOU MAY DOWNLOAD ONE (1) COPY OF THIS STORY FOR PERSONAL USE; ANY AND ALL COMMERCIAL USE EXCEPTING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS REQUIRES THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT. THE AUTHOR MAY BE CONTACTED AT: snowblind94@yahoo.ca

The gymnasium was on the main floor of the Canaan Breck Outreach Centre, the name which had been given to it as a safe place for anyone to come for help. When the self-defence classes were held, a series of mats were fit together then laid on the floor for everyone to practice on.

Tonight, as just about every night the classes were held, there were 40 people. Colt came out of the change room and found everyone was dressed exactly the same, wearing a gi, the white belt around the jacket. He looked at the group and noticed it was a mixed gender crowd, aged from teenagers to middle-aged, with all different ethnicities. This was unusual for a self-defence class as everyone was in a circle. Liam pointed Colt to where he could stand.

Jesse moved into the centre of the circle. It had been a few days since the trial ended.

"To the east," and the group bowed to the east. "To the south" and the group did it again. The west and the north were acknowledged the same way.

Jesse said to the group, "Everyone repeat together - Wisdom comes when you start living the life the Great Spirit and Creator intended for you."

Jesse was joined by Jared in the centre.

Jared spoke next, "What are the seven teachings of the Creator to succeed in life?"

The group answered back as one, "Truth, Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Humility, Wisdom."

Jesse moved back into the middle of the circle. "We stand in a circle why, Chad?"

Chad immediately answered, "We stand in a circle because everyone is equal, side by side as brothers."

Jesse then asked Eric, "What else is special about the circle?"

"There is no one in front of you or behind you, we are equal in worth and value."

Jesse asked Trevor next, "What else about the circle?"

Trevor smiled and answered with confidence, "Everything in life is circular, the seasons, the medicine wheel, the food chain, the earth. The circle is the sign of power."

Cole was impressed as he tried to keep up with them through an extensive set of stretches. Just like in the military or the police academy, the group yelled a count up to 10 for every movement. When they were done, they broke into two lines and began a lineup, one after the other, alternating lines of a flying front roll.

While the stretches were being completed, a man entered the gym and stood there watching the activity. Patrick saw him and ran to him breaking from the group. He motioned Jared to come over.

"Coach, you made it."

"Patrick, this is an impressive group. I'm really shocked."

"I'm Jared, Patrick's brother," he said as he extended his hand in greeting. The coach grasped it tightly.

"Jared, I'm Ross, or as Patrick said the coach. I hope it's alright to drop in like this, Patrick invited..."

"Ross, everyone is invited to these community sessions. There is no charge or fees for the program either. We have all ages, sexes, various ethnic groups, and members of different sexual identities. We are all here as one group and one community."

"May I watch?"

"Of course you may Ross, and come to participate next time."

Patrick spoke up, "I told him he could bring his wife too."

Jared smiled, "You're right of course. Patrick, please rejoin the group before you miss the warm-ups." Without hesitation, the young man immediately complied.

"The change in Patrick I, as well as his teachers, have seen is why I'm here. It's amazing how he's changed, plus I was also interested in the class."

"Patrick has come a long way, as have many of the others in this room. One of the people in this room we met as he tried to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge." The coach was stunned. "There are others here who are volunteers with the food bank, former drug addicts, a few single mothers, youth who have been bullied, many paramedics and police members in the group as well as lawyers and tradespeople. Many of them have come from a dark place in their lives, and come here for help."

The group had moved into five lines of six and were practicing their basic blocks, kicks and punches. Ross watched as the lines moved through the practice with precision, and was in awe.

"Excuse me, stay and watch but I need to get back into the group. I think you will find this interesting."

"Thanks, Jared. I will stay, thank you."

Jared ran to the centre of the group and yelled something in a language Ross didn't understand. The group moved into a circle on the extreme edges of the mats and sat down.

"Tyler, Troy, and Zane are going to be one group, and they will attack Nikita." The coach watched a young, slim, blonde boy get up and run into the centre. He stopped and stood to wait for the attack to start. Ross looked at Tyler, Troy and Zane with fear for the young blonde kid.

The three men rushed Nikita, who stood still until the last moment. When he moved, he stepped between two of the attackers and knocked the legs out from under the third one. He crashed into the other two and they all landed in a pile. Quickly they all got back to their feet and moved to approach from three different directions. Tyler came in first from behind Nikita. The young man spun, grabbed his wrist and threw him across the mats. Troy and Zane came in at the same time, and Nikita spun to nail Troy in the sternum, and then throw Zane. All three were down.

"That's not nice to do to your boss," moaned Zane which immediately caused some laughter.

Jared yelled "Break" and they rejoined the circle.

"Patrick, and Colt." The two men stepped forward.

"I would like to introduce Colt, who is a Police Officer and joining us. Colt, you are at a disadvantage tonight, but your task is simple. Subdue Patrick."

Ross watched closely with interest.

Colt was in good shape and had taken some martial arts previously, but he was not ready for this.

Colt looked at the young guy and simply said, "Patrick, get on the ground, face down – NOW."

Colt was shocked when Patrick did it. He moved in and onto him, and ordered him to move in certain ways, which Patrick did with no problem. Colt was wondering what was happening, then Jared yelled: "Patrick, resist." He didn't know what hit him.

Patrick spun out from under him, into a forward roll, turned and lunged at Colt. He hit the police office at 100% power, knocking him onto his back like a turtle. Patrick leaped off of him, into a front roll and landing on his feet turned in a fighting stance, smiling. "Give up old man?" he asked.

Colt knew this young man was different but laughed at his cockiness. Jared yelled, "Eric, Chad – back Colt up." They did so.

For the next 5 minutes, Patrick toyed with them through rolls, hits, leg sweeps, and even throws with hits. Finally, all three of them piled on top of him. Patrick panicked for a second, and a wave of energy came out of his body causing the three men to fly off backwards.

Jared quickly stepped forward, "Break."

Jesse moved in, "Group, break off into sections."

Jared could see the three men were ok and moved to Patrick. He escorted him over to where the coach was and as they walked quietly stated, "We'll discuss your last move after class. No problems little bro, I just didn't know you could do that."

Patrick sheepishly said, "Neither did I. I just panicked for a moment."

Ross met them, "Incredible group and skills Jared. Patrick, you are astounding."

"Thanks, Coach."

"I honestly had no clue you could do this. Patrick, if you had wanted to hurt Ben in the locker room, you could have made a real mess of him, couldn't you?"

"Coach, you notice the way I toyed with Colt and the others? I was using a minimum amount of force and only responding to them with the level they used on me. It's control of anger, emotions and just plain discipline. All three of those guys are experienced police officers. Yes, I could have made a real mess of Ben, but it was not my way or the right thing to do."

The Coach turned to Jared, "Incredible. You have shown me so many things tonight. I would love to join this group."

"My cousin Melanie, former military, leads the woman's group and would welcome your wife. The women may remain in the main group if they wish or Melanie is available to teach them some specific and effective skills against attacks. We're trying to meet the needs of everyone doing this. After all, some have come to learn some basic skills in case they are attacked in a parking lot or such."

"I am looking forward to getting involved and I'm sure my wife will too."

Jared smiled, "Patrick, will you fill the coach in on the session times, clothing and rules please."

"Of course," the young man replied. Using his hand, he indicated to the coach to head over to the locker room. Jared watched Patrick chatting with the coach and smiled as he thought to himself, "That kid really has come so far..."

It was just after 3:00 am. Two young men had parked their car off the road and in behind the bushes.

"There's a bunch of big houses in there so probably lots of stuff in them worth money."

"There's also a big brick wall and it seems to go quite a ways in both directions."

"But they leave the gate wide open."

"Is that cameras on the wall and around the gate? Maybe this isn't such a good idea, Dustin."

"We've done pretty damned friggin good breaking into a lot of the other rural houses. They also had cameras which turned out to be fake most of the time."

"Do you even know how many houses are in there or is it just a guess?"

"Well, there is a lot of traffic in and out of there during the day. I followed a couple of cars this way when I was out looking for acreages and farms for us to do. Besides that, I've been right every fucking time so far, Moe."

"Yeah, you're probably right. This is just another community of houses that probably leave their doors unlocked, security systems disarmed and cameras not working because they feel safe behind a big gate."

"We'll go in after dark right through the front gate. It will be an easy haul because only rich people live out here in these places. Fucking rich bastards, smug pricks."

"Have we got the list of stuff they want us to get or are we just grabbing the things we know they can sell quick?"

"There are a few things on the list, and then we can just grab whatever we think is good."

"Pretty sweet deal we have to be able to get rid of the stuff as soon as we get it," Moe said. "The first time I did time was because when the cops searched my car they found a shit load of the stuff I had been stealing from stores and houses I broke into. When they searched my house, my parents were total assholes when the cops went to search the house. They let the cops go wherever they wanted, even helping them when they could."

"So much for protecting their child, eh dude?"

"Assholes. They kicked me out right after; haven't been back since. Fuck them."

"I hear ya. The rents kicked me out when I came home drunk one night."

"Just for being drunk?"

Dustin laughed a bit before answering. "I was 20, and it was the sixth or seventh time I had been caught drunk driving."

"So? It's just drunk driving."

"Well, I wouldn't stop for the cops and led them on chases every time. Got away ten or twenty times because they had to stop," the man changed his voice to a sarcastic whiny tone, "so no one wouldn't get fucking hurt." They both laughed as he continued, "Well, I drove the pickup truck through the front yard and over the fence to the backyard. I ran in the back door but the assholes followed me right into the house."

"They can't do that; that's illegal. Isn't it like breaking and entering?"

"I ran through the house to the front when they tackled me in the living room. Four of the assholes."

"Bastards can't do it one on one, can they."

"Naw, always have to have five or six to one so they win... Pussies. All of them."

"Got that right."

"Parents told them they never wanted to see me again. They never did anything for me anyways."

"So what we gonna do if someone's home?"

"Use the knife if we can." Dustin reached under his jacket and pulled out an FN 509 9ml polymer frame pistol to check that a round had been seated. He pulled the slide back, ejecting a round at his partner.

"Hey. Watch it asswipe."

He pulled the clip, grabbed the round from his buddy and loaded it back into the clip. Slamming the clip back into the gun he released the slide, recycled it, locked the safety on before putting it back into his belt at the small of his back. "Have you got yours?"

"Yeah, Dustin... But unlike you, I don't get a fucking hard-on playing with my gun."

"Fuck you dude. How much longer we gotta sit here."

"It's probably late enough now we can get to work."

The two men moved quickly around the gate and into the bushes behind the wall. It took a few minutes of carefully moving between the trees, around hazelnut brush, and deadfall before they got to the first house. Dustin moved carefully around the house, checking the windows to see if they were unlocked. While he was checking the windows, Moe was keeping watch or as they called in jail, keeping 6.

"The windows are all locked. Let's check the back door."

They moved carefully to the back door which they found unlocked. The two men carefully went in. With slow steps, they both went up the stairs and into the kitchen. The usual appliances were on the counter, all neatly placed with their cords wrapped around them. There was nothing of interest in the kitchen so Dustin led Moe through the eating area and into the living room. Dustin was getting mad now as he looked around at a very basically furnished room. No TV, DVD player, or anything in here except a couch, chairs and few end tables. Dustin was moving a little quicker as he moved down the hallway from the living room towards the bedrooms. He thought for a moment before signalling to Moe for him to go downstairs and search there. Continuing down the hallway he checked the three bedrooms as well as the two bathrooms. There was no one on the main floor; there was also nothing of any value to steal. Quickly he checked the closets in each room and the hallway.

Moe joined him. "There's no one downstairs and just some basic furniture. Absolutely nothing of value. This isn't a really big house, are you sure about this being a good target in here?"

Dustin didn't say anything as he moved back into the kitchen opening the fridge when he arrived. All that was in the fridge was some basic condiments, pickles and a tin of coffee. "I don't think anyone is living here."

"There ain't fuck all here even worth stealing, Dusty. I hope there're lots in the next place we check."

Dustin used his hand to push Moe hard in the middle of the chest, "Just shut the fuck up and let's find another place to check."

"Lead on, oh smart one."

"Shut the fuck up."

The two men left the first house, neither of them knowing it was the house which had originally been designated for Darren and Josh. They also didn't notice a set of light-blue eyes tracking them from the undergrowth as they moved towards the second house. This was the visitor's house which was furnished better but even with the huge TV it still had nothing worth stealing. Moe had observed this house had been used recently as there was some shampoo, conditioner, and women's make up in the bathroom of the main bedroom. Again, there was nothing of value in the closets, except this time there were a couple of men's dress shirts, pants, and a suit jacket.

"You really know how to pick them; two for two moron. This is not going to be a good night."

"Fuck you. You can just fuck right off and leave if you want. Anytime asshole."

"It's my car dipshit for brains, so you'd be left here to walk."

"Just shut up. We'll try one more and if it's no good we'll get the fuck outta here."

Moe made an exaggerated bowing motion and swept his hand out as if he was addressing a King. "As you wish my lord."

"Fuck you," Dustin said angrily.

The two men left the guest-house and began moving towards another building which appeared to have a few lights at a door. Again, they tried to be quiet as they moved through the hazel brush, around large spruce trees with low hanging branches and lots of deadfalls.

"This place is a fucking mess. How are we going to carry shit out of here if find anything?"

"Just shut the fuck up. I thought I heard something off to the right." The two men stood and listened for any sounds other than their laboured breathing. They both could hear something moving through the brush, and it seemed to be moving towards them now. The sound stopped about 10 feet away, but whatever it was couldn't be seen in the darkness of the underbrush. It was a quiet growl at first, which intensified into a sound which caused the hair on both men's body to stand up on end in fear. The sound which came out of the dark was the loud, long howl of a wolf. As soon as the howl finished, the men heard the terrifying snarl from the animal as it seemed to move around them.

"Fucking dog found us," Dustin stated.

Moe was pulling his gun out as he replied, "That's no fucking dog you idiot, that's a wolf."

Dustin pulled his gun out as well, "Let's run to the building. Maybe we can get inside before it gets us."

Just then, a second wolf howl was heard from further away, but still fairly local. Before the two men could even react, a third wolf howled from the same general direction.

Moe was beginning to panic as he said to Dustin, "Fuck this, let's run." It had been said to empty air as Dustin had already begun to run, leaving him behind.

The two men made the front doors, entering them quickly and slamming them behind them.

"You asshole, you left me behind out there," Moe accused.

"You hesitate, you lose, asswipe."

A silver-white wolf with ice-blue eyes stepped out of the bushes and into the light, his hackles fully raised and his mouth wide open in a snarl.

"Jesus, it really is a fucking wolf," said Dustin.

"Look at the size of that thing."

The wolf moved towards the door slowly, his eyes fixed on the two men as he continued to snarl. The big wolf's lips were curled back, exposing his huge fangs. Two additional wolves walked out of the bushes behind him, moving along each side of the big wolf. Quickly, they both began to snarl the same as the larger wolf.

Dustin stepped back from the glass door, "Fuck. There's three of them now."

"Yeah, I see that too, Captain Obvious. Let's see if we can get out the other side of this building or maybe there's something else we can use to protect ourselves."

The two men backed slowly down the dark hallway, watching the wolves through the glass doors. Finally, Moe said, "Smells like chlorine in here."

"Yeah, I smell it too. Fucking rich enough to have a pool. We must've been in the servants' houses up to now."

"That would explain why there was nothing of value in them."

The night light system in the rec centre gave them a view of the pool, the deck and weight area. The large staircase leading upstairs provided an attractive option for them to find somewhere to hide from the wolves. The moved up the stairs quickly, finding themselves in a wide open area, but lots of doors along the far wall. Trying the doors, they found them all unlocked but nothing of value inside. The final door they opened appeared to have someone living in it, but they weren't there at the moment.

"Looks like small apartments," observed Moe.

"This is a fucking strange place" Dustin answered him. "Nothing of any value anywhere." After going through the apartment and finding nothing, the two men exited but looking and listening for wolves. Moving towards a light near the end of a hallway, they entered an area with numerous lazy-boy chairs facing a huge screen on the wall. They could see a projection system hanging down from the ceiling.

"Ok, now we're beginning to see some things of value," Dustin said with greed in his eyes.

From where they were standing, the light was behind a partial wall which appeared to be a large kitchen area. The sound of a whistling tea kettle was heard to start and end as the kettle was moved off the burner. Both of the men knew what was happening without even seeing it as it was something just about everyone heard in their homes while growing up. Someone was awake and making a hot drink. They watched as an old man came into view with a teapot and three cups. He put them down onto a table, carefully placing the cups as if he was setting for guests. The old man disappeared for a moment, quickly returning with what appeared to be sugar, milk, spoons, and biscuits on a plate. Again, he placed the items in the middle of the table between the place settings followed quickly by a spoon beside all three cups. The old man stood up straight, lifted his nose into the air as if he was sniffing. He walked out of sight for a moment, returning with two more cups and spoons as well as a Milk-Bone box. After placing the additional cups, he sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. After putting teapot down, he took a sip of the tea in the cup. He smiled at the flavour of the liquid.

"You two might as well come into the kitchen and have a cup of tea. We can talk about why you broke in here and woke me up."

Moe looked towards Dustin who had pulled his knife out from his pocket. With a flick of his hand, the blade locked into place. Dustin whispered, "Let's go."

The two men moved towards the kitchen doorway and carefully walked in.

"Please, come and have a seat and drink some tea. There's also some biscuits here if you're hungry."

"You're fucking nuts, old man. I'm standing here with a knife, and you want to have a tea party," said Dustin sarcastically.

"I asked you to have a seat, please do it."

Dustin laughed, "You really are nuts, old man."

The old man smiled, then called out, "Shadow, are you there?"

Both men heard the growl coming from the darkness near them, recognizing it immediately.

Moe turned to Dustin, "The wolves must've got in somehow."

The old man held his hand up, "If you do as I ask and sit down, you will remain safe."

Moe didn't wait for anything else to happen, he quickly moved to the table and sat down across from Mathew, staring at the old man. The expression on Moe's face clearly showed his fear. Dustin stared at the old man, considering his options. "Fucking pussy, Moe."

The old man stared at Dustin, "First of all. I do not approve of your language. Clean it up."

"Who the fuck do you think you are telling me what to do. I'm going to kill you, old man, then we'll get out of here."

"Give me the knife."

Dustin started to laugh as the old man's eyes turned white. The laughing stopped and he calmly walked forward to hand over the knife.

"Butt or handle first Dustin; never point first."

Dustin rearranged the knife in his hand so it was being given correctly. Moe was shocked when Dustin said, "Sorry Grandfather." The old man took the knife and laid it on the table.

"Now the gun along with the spare clip."

Again without hesitation, Dustin took the gun out of the small of his back, along with a spare clip from his back pocket. The old man took them from him, laying them on the table. "Now, please be seated." Dustin sat down at the table.

The old man's eyes returned to normal as he turned to Moe. "Please put your weapons on the table as well."

Moe stammered, "Y...y...yes sir" as without hesitation he pulled out his gun and knife, setting them on the table next to Moe's. "I don't have spare ammo, Sir."

"I know."

Dustin's shock at giving up his weapons so easily was wearing off, he immediately said, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Language. Last warning Dustin."

"Fuck you..." started Dustin, but never finished. The old man raised his hand, extended the fingers and waved towards Dustin. The young man lost his voice immediately. That caused more agitation and anger in the young man. The old man snapped his fingers and Dustin immediately fell asleep, falling forward face first into the table.

The old man turned to Moe, "Would you like some tea?"

"M...m...may I please?"

The old man poured him a cup of tea. After returning the teapot to the table, he picked up the plate full of biscuits, "Would you like a cookie?"

"No thank you, sir."

The old man returned the plate to the table. "Why did you break into our village of peace?"

"Village of peace?"

"This is a village which my family, specifically my grandchildren all live. I built it to keep them safe, so they may live together as a family in peace."

"Huh?"

"This village is a lot bigger than you think, but it has everything they need. The things you were hoping to steal are not here in this village."

"That's why no one had TV's or computer's or jewelry?"

There was a noise in the dark which sounded like a low-volume whine. The old man raised his head, "Shadow, come." There were two more whines, "Tyler, Troy, come."

From out of the darkness, three wolves approached quickly, sitting near the old man. They were all pleading with their eyes as the old man reached to the box to remove three milk-bones. He gave one to the big wolf, who inhaled it almost as fast as it was put in his mouth. He gave another to one of the smaller two wolves, and as he was giving one to the last wolf, the second one body checked him to get the second treat for himself. The third wold pushed back managing to get the milk-bone. The first wolf actually snickered at the two. Moe stared open-mouthed.

"Tyler, that wasn't nice," the old man said. "Do you need to stand in a corner?"

The wolf hung his head, whined and then gave big puppy dog eyes for sympathy.

"Ok Tyler, eat your treat and we have tea here for a drink." The old man slipped a second milk bone to the largest wolf, which caused him to give a snicker that sounded like an old cartoon character.

Moe was staring at the big wolf when he realized the other two wolves were gone, but now two young men were sitting down at the table.

"You are such a peckerhead trying to take my treat."

"You snooze, you lose," replied the other man as he was reaching for cookies. "You pouring the tea, my love?"

"I will, but I hope you got leaves."

Moe finally asked, "What the hell is going on?"

Although he had a cookie in his mouth, one of the men said, "Grandfather, I apologize for having your sleep disturbed by these two."

The old man replied, "I'm rather enjoying it." He took a sip of his tea before asking, "Did you call 911?"

The young man still had a mouthful of cookie as he answered, "I thought we would let Shadow have them for meals. Between the two of these guys, that's about three days of food."

Moe's head was spinning as he heard that, almost passing out from fear.

Finally, the other man said, "Yes Grandfather. The police are on the way."

The old man snapped his finger and Dustin sat up. "Just so you know, we knew you were near the moment you parked the car. Although the gate is open for friends or for those in need, the security system was designed by a specialist. After you entered the compound, you were watched very closely. Then the alarms, movement sensors and cameras tracked you even outside the wall. Shadow was near you the entire time, he enjoyed herding you towards the recreation centre so we could have tea together."

Dustin was shaking his head, then rubbed his forehead as he said, "You're all nuts." His eyes locked on the weapons laying on the table near him.

The old man smiled at Dustin as he said, "I won't stop you from grabbing them."

"Don't trust him Dustin; there's some weird shit going on here," Moe said clearly.

Dustin was considering his options before he made a move. He looked at the old man, then to the two young men. No one was showing any sign of fear that he may reach for the gun, that in itself was strange. The only one who was really interested in what he was doing appeared to be the dog. The dog scared Dustin the most as it was just sitting there staring at him, his mouth salivating as if he was looking at something to eat. Dustin sat back in the kitchen chair.

"That was the best decision you've made so far tonight Dustin," the old man said. He picked up the teapot, "More tea, boys?"

Dustin began to stand up. The old man held his position of offering to pour the tea except he said, "Sit down." Dustin slowly sat down as if he was fighting the order. The old man added, "Remain seated," as he put the teapot down on the table.

"Moe, I can't get up," a distressed Dustin said.

"I told you some weird shit was going on here."

"Now, I asked you two a question earlier which still hasn't been answered. Why did you break into our village of peace?" The two men remained quiet. The old man snapped his fingers again while saying, "Tell the truth."

Moe started first with, "We have a shopping list given to us by the guys. We find what they want while getting to keep the extra stuff for ourselves. As long as what we keep doesn't interfere with their list, it's all ok."

Dustin carried on, "We take the stuff to the warehouse and they give us about 30% of the value, but we get to keep the rest of the stuff. We can sell that for as much as we can."

"We have to get the stuff on the list as quickly as possible or they'll cut us lose. Or just cut us up," Moe added.

Dustin was nodding his head as he said, "Yeah. There was a couple of guys just recently who they thought were talking to the police. Never saw them again at the warehouse."

"Yeah, I heard they were basically put through a wood chipper alive."

Dustin nodded at his partner's statement.

"Why did you have the gun and knives?" asked Mathew.

Dustin laughed, "That's easy. Anyone sees us, we do them. The knife is better; its quieter than a gun."

Moe was shaking his head, "Dustin gets a real hard on when he plays with his gun. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"You're a pussy, Moe. I get such a rush when I have someone pinned under I'm while shoving the knife into them."

Both of the grandsons' jaws hung open as their eyes opened wide. Without any emotion, the old man said, "Stop. No more talking. You will remain seated until the police arrive. You will not remember anything after breaking into this building and you slipped on the pool deck trying to get away from the guard dog. When the police interview you, you will both confess to everything you have been involved in. You will name all the others you know that are involved in the warehouse. Say you understand."

Each man answered, "I understand."

"I cannot believe what he just said," Tyler stated very quietly. "Grandfather, is this the mind of a psychopath?"

"Grandson, I don't know what the professionals would call his illness. I see Dustin's brain as diseased, beyond even my help. Moe is lost as well, however, that one could potentially be changed to the positive. But, all the hate along with the negative energy from both of these men is causing me to be ill."

Troy sat up straight, "What can we do to help you, Grandfather?"

"The concern and love you two have for me are very helpful. I thank you both."

Tyler extended his hand towards Grandfather, "Do you need energy? Take what you need from me."

Mathew beamed with pride at his grandson. "Again, just the offer has given me strength, my grandson. You and Troy are the opposite of everything these two people have become. You are love, light and truth compared to them as hate, darkness and deceit. My grandson Jared has picked his tribal brothers very well; you make me very proud when you call me your grandfather. It is my honour to have you as grandsons."

Tyler and Troy left their chairs to knell in front of Mathew. The two young men lowered their heads in respect, hands extended with their palms up. "Grandfather, my life is yours," Troy said through tears.

Tyler was also crying as he said "We are what we are because of you. My life is yours."

Mathew reached down, pulling the two men up into a tight hug. The old man had tears leaking from his eyes as he said, "All I ask is you live your lives to the best of your ability, and in the manner that the Creator wished our lives to be lived."

The three men held each other tightly for a long moment, only interrupted by Shadow standing up quickly. He had given them a little whine to get their attention as he looked in the direction of the door.

Tyler moved next to him, "I think the police are here. We'll go down to meet them," as Tyler rubbed the top of Shadow's head. The man along with the wolf moved quickly out of the kitchen towards the stairs. Grandfather sent Troy to download the security tapes for the police to take with them. Mathew sat at the table watching the two men in silence, his heart aching for the loss of two men's spirits to the evil one. They had given themselves willingly to evil, and their bodies had begun to rot from it. Grandfather sighed as he once again witnessed people who didn't know what they were dealing with. Once evil is accepted into the body, it begins to break down the solid organs as well as the brain. The spirit becomes dark, preventing anyone from helping those who accept the darkness. It can be reversed, but the person must be willing; unconditionally to accept light into their life. He would keep tabs on Moe, who had the potential to come back if he wanted.

Mathew sensed his grandchildren returning with the police. They quickly took the two men into custody, as well as the memory stick from the security system. They took statements off Troy, Tyler, and Mathew before leaving. Troy and Tyler headed off to bed leaving Grandfather alone with Shadow.

"My old friend, you have been one of the most faithful animals by my side." The wolf gave a short whine in return, moved to Grandfather and carefully put his paws on the edge of the chair so he could take the old man's jaw into his. Mathew returned the gesture. "Shall we go for a walk? I believe I need to stand among the cedar trees to purge the evil those two left behind." Shadow whined again, followed by a quick yelp as headed to the door. The old man and the wolf were walking together towards the stairs as Grandfather said, "I'll need to smudge the two houses and this building when we get back. You know, just in case any of their evil lingers behind." Shadow huffed at his friend signalling his agreement as the two descended the stairs.

End of Chapter Twenty-Eight

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