Well, we made it back home without any problems, which was quite surprising to everyone, but certainly a nice change for us. I woke up on the flight home but did nothing. I either laid quietly on the bed or sat in the chair, just staring. I never spoke a word the whole time, even though the others tried to talk with me. I only really responded somewhat to Jennifer, Melina and Dawn.

Even then, I only looked at them when they talked quietly to me. At home I did not respond to anyone else either, except to look at Sky. A couple of times I did try opening my mouth when Sky talked to me, but nothing came out. No words. Not a sound. I did smile when Muffin came jumping onto my lap and purred. I did not like being alone, I always wanted to be around other people. Sky figured that out quickly enough.

Carolyn, Melissa and Patrick were busy working on the new antidote, but Carolyn kept frowning as they were figuring out the right mix of the different drugs needed. Something was not quite right, she would say. So, they would try again. It’s a bit hard when they have no real way to test it without testing it on me. Yes, they were able to test it in our lab, which is why Carolyn kept saying things were not quite right. But for human trial, I was it.

That is why they wanted to be absolutely certain they had it right. Melissa finally thought there must be something else missing, but what was it? Meanwhile, far off somewhere else, a woman was exploding with anger upon hearing some news. “How could they let her get away?!” she screamed, “I wanted all of them dead, all of them! The mother and the twins and now the girl is still alive and being returned to Mandar. How could this happen?

It was planned so perfectly. Mandar, you will pay for this! Kendra was my last remaining relative, my adorable niece! The only other one in the family that was just like me, ruthless, cold, without a conscience, I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful niece! I will kill TJ Mandar, you must lose your family too, it is because of you that I have no family now and I promise that you will soon have no family as well.”

Meanwhile, back to Mandar and his reunion. Kat, Jennifer and 3 of the girls that were around TJ’s age, took TJ back to Mandar’s home in London. For the wealthy man that he is, his house is not unusually large. It only has 12 bedrooms and I think there are 12 other rooms that I remember. The rooms are fairly large though, I guess. The smallest bedroom is 375 square feet, the largest is around a thousand square feet.

But, I guess for one man it is big enough. Mostly his servants live there since Mandar is seldom at home and he has a bedroom at his office. However, now that TJ will be living with him he will have to make some changes to his lifestyle. I don’t think he will want to leave TJ alone so much at home with just the servants around her. Can they really be trusted that much? TJ is finished with high school so that helps. But where can he keep her where she will be safe and still have some kind of normal life with friends around?

He is not exactly a family man so this will be something totally new for him. He was also very concerned about me, he did not like what was happening at all. He asked Kat, Jennifer, Cynthia, Acadia and Sigrid if they would stay around for a day or two to help TJ settle in to her new home. They were happy to do that. Jewel and Rusty came along as did Midnight, Cynthia’s cat. Mandar gave his cat Tandi to TJ and she was so overjoyed by this gift.

She had wanted a cat all her life, but Jimmy hated cats, so she was not allowed to have one. The younger girls stayed the night with TJ in her room, while Kat and Jennifer shared another bedroom. “I sense danger, Kat,” said Jennifer, “but it’s not close. It is directed at TJ and not us. We need to have a serious talk with Mandar tomorrow.”

“Yes, I agree,” said Kat, “this house is not safe for TJ when Mandar is away on his business trips. And he is away most of the year. Unless he plans to bring TJ with him all the time, but that is no life for her, she needs friends and some stability right now.” “Yes, I just hope we can convince Mandar about that,” said Jennifer, “or he will end up with a daughter that hates him.

I wish Steve was feeling okay right now, he would have more influence over Mandar. I hope he is going to be okay, we just can’t lose Steve to that awful ‘nowhere’ disease.” “Do you mean “we”, or do you mean “I”?” asked Kat, looking over at Jennifer. She looked at Kat and started crying. “I don’t know what I would do without him Kat,” she said through sobbing, “you know that I love him.”

“Yes, I know that Jenny,” said Kat, “I still love him too, but I know you love him even more.” “I just hope that Sky never finds out,” said Jennifer, “she likely would not want me anywhere near Steve if she knew.” “I think you underestimate Sky, Jennifer,” said Kat smiling, “now, try to sleep so we can talk with Mandar tomorrow…”

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.