Three Years Later

A dirt road, meandering through a boreal forest, headed for who knows where. Sara is the first, walking alone down the road, with fragrant fir and spruce crowding both sides of the road on a warm day. She sees the incredible two-story log home, dominating a clearing; beautiful beyond description. She rings the doorbell and hears melodic chimes, but there’s no answer. It takes every ounce of her courage to enter. The interior of the home is as magnificent as the exterior, with a cathedral ceiling soaring high above her. The home has the appealing smell of fresh-cut timber, but no occupants. In the dining room, on a massive table that is a polished slab of redwood, is a packet with her name on it. There are four other packets, identical to hers; all with different names.

A voice from outside calls, it is Ann arriving. While they discuss the mysterious and impossible packets, Russel arrives. Following Russel, Brad arrives, then Tioga, the final arrival; all with packets awaiting them. They attempt to discover what common denominator put them on the mysterious dirt road. It is not age or race or gender or occupation that links them. Brad finally forces the other four to accept the unacceptable, they were all murdered. One by one they relate the painful events that led up to their deaths.

Tioga asks the burning question, “Did we die yesterday, five years ago or a decade ago?” Brad suggests the packets with their names on them might hold the answer. He further proposes they open them in the order of their arrival. Sara is leery, because she was the first to arrive. Her courage needs bolstering. One by one they discover the contents of the packets. Each packet contains everything they would need to confront the people that murdered them.

Narrowed eyes and looks of revenge answer his question. Armed with everything they will need for retribution, they leave on five quests of repayment in like coin. Will justice be painful and swift? Will justice even be achieved? Will they again find themselves on the enigmatic dirt road? Only the force that is powerful enough to bring them back from the grave knows the answer.

SARA WAS WALKING along a dirt road. The narrow road meandered through timber country, with pines and spruce trees crowding both sides. She was twenty-five; a slender and attractive brunet, with her hair in a long ponytail. Standing five feet, six inches tall, she weighed one hundred and twenty-five pounds. She had no idea what she was doing on the road, but felt she had no other option than to keep walking.

Finally, off in a clearing, she saw a magnificent log home. It was not a cabin or a modest house but reminded her of one of those expensive homes that are built from natural logs, then disassembled and shipped somewhere else to be reassembled. It had two stories and a broad porch that ran the across the entire front of the home. She mused hopefully, “Maybe the occupants can explain what I’m doing here.”

The home was at the base of snow-capped mountains, but the day was pleasantly warm. She eased up on the home, somewhat fearful. Hoping the residents were friendly, she rang the doorbell and heard the chimes. No answer. She tried again and once more the beautiful chimes, but no answer. She tried the brass doorknob and the oak door opened, a beautiful door, inlaid with stained glass. Had she been in a city, she would never enter someone’s home uninvited; but she was not in the city and the home was the only sign of civilization she had encountered.

Sara stepped gingerly into the entry hall and called out, “Hello, is anyone home?” She left the door open, in case she had to beat a hasty retreat.

No one answered. She slipped through the living room, with its high cathedral ceiling, and into the large dining room. In the dining room was a huge table, made from a polished slab of natural spruce; surrounded by ten oak chairs. There were five packets on the table. She sucked in her breath when she saw that one of the packets had her name on it.

She did not know where she was and had no idea how she got there, but before her, was a packet with her name on it. She looked at the other packets but did not recognize any of the names. While questioning her sanity, Sara heard a voice call out from in front of the home. She returned to the door and saw another woman, who looked bewildered.