There was the earthquake early in the morning. There was craziness. We decided to take advantage of the craziness to go check out the compound of the "Fellowship of Friends," which was in some town outside San Francisco.
I think Didier was going to go back to Still Mountain to look for something, and he and Kathy got part way there but found that the road was closed, and by independent means, Adam and Ray had figured out that the epicenter of the earthquake was at Still Mountain and that the monastery and observatory and pretty much everything there was destroyed. I can't remember when this was.
We split up to come at the compound from different angles. Ray and Hazel took one car and drove up to the bluff overlooking the estate. Adam waited with the other car down on the road while Didier and Kathy went over the fence. They snuck through the woods around some of the outer buildings, then Kathy started acting weird (or maybe not, since it was Kathy). She hauled Didier back to the main gate and threw him out and locked it before he realized what she was doing, then she ran back to the main building and disappeared inside.
Didier went frantic, finally got past the gate and ran for the house. Via radio, Adam had relayed this to Ray and Hazel, who could see some of what was going on, but not all. Some time went by, while Didier ran through the building frantically looking for his sister. Finally Hazel got tired of waiting, and decided it was an emergency and time for Hero Action. With Ray still standing next to the car, looking down at the compound with binoculars, she jumped in the driver's seat, where the keys were still in the ignition, and took off down the embankment toward the compound. Screaming at her, Ray followed on foot.
Eventually Adam figured out what had happened and brought the other car in via the main gate. We found the broken window where Didier had gone in, and followed, trying to find him or Kathy.
Finally we ended up in a large open room, the center of the main building with a high dome over it. It appeared to be a library. We had searched and searched and could not find any downstairs, and someone had the idea that maybe there was a hidden lever among the books. So they started pulling books off the shelves.
That's when Mr. Anthony Burton showed up, with a gun. Ray, Adam, and Hazel obligingly put their hands in the air, put Didier drew a weapon. For some reason, Burton did NOT shoot Didier, but merely commanded him to put the gun down. Finally Didier did, in a manner, put the gun down. He angrily hurled it at the floor. It discharged, striking Hazel in the leg.
I must say Burton was extremely calm considering the crazy people who had just broken into his mansion and were tearing up his library. He acknowledged that Kathy was there, that she was all right, and that she was reading, or meditating, or something. He merely ordered us to leave.
Didier didn't want to leave without Kathy, but he didn't have a choice. We got Hazel into the car, retrieved the other car (which apparently was still nominally serviceable) and drove Hazel to a hospital. Rather than just dumping her at the hospital, though, Ray agreed to go in with her. He was hoping to slip out immediately after getting her seen to, but was apprehended and taken into custody.
Previous Entry (16) Back to Journals Next Entry (18)
[Home] [Introduction] [Characters] [Scrapbook] [Rules]