Post by StoryGirl83 on Oct 7, 2010 13:47:11 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty-Four – Good-Bye and Hello
A dozen colorful flowers lay dying on the cold, hard stone of the grave in front of Brian. Brian brushed his hand against the granite and traced the letters etched into it.
Geoffrey Chandler Scott
March 23, 1918 – July 15, 2000
March 23, 1918 – July 15, 2000
As Brian’s finger’s reached the last letter he heard a click and a piece of stone slid away revealing a small TV screen. Brian stared at it startled.
For a moment the screen was blank, but then he turned into an image of a man in his seventies or eighties. There was something familiar about the man.
“Hello, Brian,” the man on the screen greeted.
Brian gasped and scrambled away.
“I was kind of hoping to say this to you in person, but it was never going to happen,” the man informed him. “I know that this must have come as a complete shock to you, but if you are listening to this that means that whatever Daniel did to enchant this actually worked and it means that someone succeeded in rescuing you before it was too late.”
Brian gaped at the image.
“In case you haven’t figured it out, Big Brother, I’m Geoff.”
Brian stared stunned at the aged version of his younger brother. Geoff had barely been nine the last time he’d seen him. Now he was so much older. He looked at the dates on the stone and did some quick calculating. Geoff had been eighty-two when he died.
“Ethan says I must be patient and in time we will have a chance to see you once more,” Geoff informed the camera. He let out a sound of disbelief. “I don’t think he quite understands how long one hundred years is. Though I suppose to Ethan it doesn’t matter. He will be here waiting, confident that you will be back and he will do it even if it takes more than one hundred years. I will not. I am dying and I am well aware of it.”
Brian gulped. Was there any chance that Ethan was still alive? It didn’t seem possible.
“I am not so young, though Ethan has over a year on me,” Geoff confided with a small laugh. “Lauren’s dead long ago and you never even met her. She was our sister. Mom was pregnant when you disappeared, but Lauren died very young. She was only twenty-three. And there’s someone else you’ve never met. Depending on how long it took you to be rescued, he may yet be alive. Let me tell you mom was stunned when she learned she was pregnant with Daniel fifteen years after Lauren was born. Our little brother is a character. I hope you get to meet him. Right now he’s only in his late fifties, really just a young man.”
Brian stared at Geoff’s image. Another brother? Could he be alive? It seemed more likely than Ethan being alive.
“I miss you so much, Big Brother,” Geoff informed him, “but I’ve learned to deal with the pain of your loss. However, I will know when you show up, again, so you had better summon me. If you don’t know how, find someone who does, someone from our family if you can or from one of the witch families we knew. I love you, Brian.”
The screen flickered and Brian cried out as if he’d just lost Geoff all over again. It was Geoff’s grave. He was dead, but for a moment he’d gotten to see his little brother alive.
The screen changed again and this time it showed a younger man, one in his fifties from the look of it. “Hello, Brian. You don’t know me, but I’m your youngest brother. My name is Daniel. There are two copies of this video,” Daniel informed him. “If this is the one you are watching then, most likely I am alive. I suppose it’s possible my daughter ignored my instructions, but most likely I am alive. And that means I get to meet you if you are willing. Please be willing. I’m going to give you a phone number to call in just a moment, so if you have something to write on get it out. I have this phone on me at all times, so unless I’m asleep I will answer. You are literally the only one with this number. Please call me, Brian. If you don’t have something to write on, this will replay every time you touch Geoff’s grave as soon as you stop contact. I was very careful with my enchantment. Call me.”
Brian had brought nothing to write on, but he found a pen in his pocket from a game he’d played with Katherine a few days before. He wrote the numbers down on his hand and as soon as they stopped and the stone moved back into place he took off running. He had a brother to meet.
The End