Nothing To Fear ....

Taking Action

      After a few more minutes of calming the hysterical girl , and allowing the others back in , they finally managed to get the full account of the events at Katie's house , and Diana immediately grabbed her phone , saying , "I'm calling Potter . She has to know somebody who can get out in this mess ."

      Punching in the number , she was quickly connected with the police chief , putting on the speaker before briefing her on the situation , so everyone heard Potter respond . "I'm actually heading your direction with Roy . He has a plow blade on his truck , and we can take your injured back into town with us . And as soon as I hang up , I'm calling Derek Ayres and having him run the snowplow down to the Logan place , and bring Gwen up into town until they can get the power back on out there . So tell Katie not to worry , we're gonna get everything figured out ." 

      "And if it becomes necessary , Chief , please tell your Mr . Ayres that I will be happy to compensate him for his efforts ." , a new voice announced , and they all turned to see Allan making his way down the stairs . He joined the others in the living room , assuring them that he felt much better , and was getting bored with being treated like an invalid .

      Diana ended the call , and as Crane moved toward Katie , preparing to question her further , Ashley suddenly inquired , "Where exactly do you live , and how far is it from here ?"

      "If I'd gone the normal way , it's about three miles from here , that way ." , she replied , pointing toward the front of the house . "But I took the long way , because I didn't want to chance running into whatever it is , so maybe almost double that ."

      "We were wondering the other day if it was still using the house ." , he continued . "So I'd say that's probably the first place that needs to be checked out ."

      "Y'know , Professor , I think he may be onto something ." , Hawley chimed in . "If it took the guy , there has to be a reason , since it didn't bother moving the animals . So that would be the most logical place to stash something ... or someone ."

      Before anyone could respond , there was a knock on the door , and Jon opened it to admit Chief Potter and Sergeant Gibbs . Walking toward the couch , Potter said , "Hello there , Katie . Josh and Zac are going to be proud of you , you know that , don't you ?"

      "No they won't , I couldn't stop that thing from getting Dad !"

      "You couldn't have stopped it , but you did keep your head and look out for Gwen , and you found help , so we can go look for Vance . If you hadn't , no one would know he was missing ." the chief told her . "I don't know many fourteen - year - olds who could keep themselves together as well as you have , and walk that far in the cold and snow , especially after that knee surgery you had . Has anyone looked at that ?"

      "She has some swelling , and I'm guessing she's going to be laid up for a few days , but I didn't see any sign of dislocation , or any reopening of the incision ." , Faith replied .

      "We were just discussing the idea of going out to search for Miss Katie's father ." , Crane stated . "Perhaps he was taken to the house , since we've speculated that it is still using the place as a refuge ." 

      "If you do , one of us will be going with you ." Potter retorted . "That way , we can call for backup if necessary ."

      After a bit of discussion , it was decided that half of their number would go to the abandoned house to search for Vance Logan , while the others remained there , in case something went wrong and a rescue mission became necessary .

      This resulted in a bit of squabbling over who would go , until Jake Wells offered the idea of drawing names to resolve the issue . Everyone agreed , and this resulted in the decision that Crane , Jenny , Gibbs , Alex , CC , Joe , Yanni , Jinxx , and Hawley would make the trip , while the others stayed behind .

      As everyone prepared for the excursion , Katie tapped Faith's shoulder , and said , "Maybe I was out in the cold for too long , and this might sound weird , but some of those guys kinda look like Black Veil Brides ."

      "Could be because they are ." , Faith replied , with a slight grin . "Are you a fan ?"

      "Yeah , my brothers went to a show a couple of years ago , but my dad said I wasn't old enough yet , so I didn't get to . They brought me back a couple of shirts , though ."

      "Where are your brothers , and would you like to get in touch with them , and let them know what's going on ?"

      "Zac goes to college in South Carolina , and Josh is deployed to the Phillipines right now . That's why Gwen is living with me and Dad . And I'm not real sure how to get ahold of him ."

      "Don't worry about it , I'll take care of that ." , Diana informed her , and immediately pulled out her phone .

      Katie looked at her curiously , and Faith said , "She works for Homeland Security , in DC , so she knows people ." She then loaned Katie her phone , so she could call her other brother , who said that he would be leaving the campus to come back home within the hour . Potter also received a call , and after hanging up , she informed Diana that she could tell Josh Logan that Gwen was safe , as the plow driver had taken her into town , and she was being looked after by Donna Gibbs .

      After returning the phone to Faith , Katie watched for a couple of minutes as the group prepared to leave . "Do you think that my dad is gonna be okay ?" , she asked .

      Jenny approached the girl , and knelt down to be able to look her in the eye . "Katie , I won't promise you that he isn't hurt , because I don't know ." , she told her . "But since it took him away , it must want him for something , so I think we have a pretty good shot at getting him back. We're going to do our best , I will promise you that ."

      She then got back up to rejoin the others , and they filed out the door and into the snow - covered yard , moving toward the abandoned Horton house .

      "Do you think that they'll be all right ?" , Faith whispered to Diana , keeping her voice low , so that Katie wouldn't overhear .

      "Crane and Jenny both know what they're doing , and apparently your tall blond friend is no slouch himself , so if the others pay attention to what they tell them , I think they should be fine ." , Diana stated . "It's early enough that they should be able to get there and back before dark , and that seems to be when all of the mayhem starts . Our creepy friend seems to be pretty much nocturnal , so as long as the sun is up , I think we're safe ."

      "I hope you're right ." , Faith mumbled under her breath , as they stood by the window and watched their friends disappear into the distance . "I really hope you're right ."