"... and the old man took the small girl in his arms, and mounted the great winged beast. They flew way up into the blue sky."

"That's a good story, Grampa," said the young girl as her Grandfather tucked her into bed.

"Do they live happy eva afta, Gampa? Do they?"

The old man paused, and looked at the sweet young face that stared up at him in innocence.

Finally he said, "No one can know the future, Sweet Pea; so we don't know if they do, or don't."

"Oh," said the child with disappointment.

"Don't worry about whether they lived 'happily ever after' just dream of them flying way up into the sunny blue sky," said the old man and continued, "Sleep, now. It is late, and pretty girls need their beauty rest."

"Ok, Grampa," said the child as she wiggled down under the covers.

"She is so smart for such a young child!" thought the old man.

One year earlier the child had been blissfully living with her parents in the Maine woods. Her parents had chosen the remote cabin in the woods to get away from the noise of society.

I don't mean audible noise in the normal sense but the noise of the thoughts of all the people around their old home in Salem, Massachusetts. You see both of the child's parents were blessed, or cursed, with the ability to hear the thought of others.

The small family had traveled extensively in search of a neutral place where they could settle and give the child as normal a life as possible. The strange thing was that she was not showing signs of any ESP talent.

The young couple had never tried to hide their abilities and because of that fact both sides of the family were aware of what the child's parents could do. The house in Maine did provide the small family some protection from the people noise, though.

That is, until a relative sold the knowledge of the pair's abilities.

An unscrupulous evil man, a retired 'Black Ops' General, wanted to control such a useful power. He paid a large sum of money for the whereabouts of the cabin, located at an abandoned garnet mine.

Jake and Anna, for that was their names, were naïve but not ignorant of the character of our materialistic power hungry world. While they always hoped for the good, they prepared for the worst. They had thought long and hard about how to build and protect their home and to include an escape route.

Using their ability, they had gathered together large amounts of defensive ordinance, and the knowledge of just how to use it to best advantage.

Anna had felt uneasy as she sat reading late into the night. She felt the thoughts of others intrude into the solace that was their place in the woods. The thoughts were of men preparing for battle. There was excitement, fear, anticipation, and...

... the plan of attack.

"GET UP! THEY'RE COMING!" she yelled at her husband as she went to her child.

Anna quickly dressed little Faine. The child's name was old English for 'joyful'. Faine was anything but joyful at being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, though. The child was at once unhappy, fearful, and excited.

"Is this a game like before Mommy?"

"No, Honey, this is for real. Mommy needs you to do exactly as I tell you. Ok?"

"Yes, Mommy" said the trembling wide-eyed child.

The three stood in the center of the room holding hands as the adults focused on the thoughts of the incoming attackers. The choppers were just ten minutes out, and did not give Jake much time to set his traps.

"Get your things, and get into the tunnel," said an agitated Jake.

"But you need help to set off the traps," argued his wife.

"What I need is for you and Faine to be safe! Now get out of here!" he yelled.

Faine, who had never seen her father so upset, began to cry as her mother helped her into her little backpack. Hoisting her own pack onto her shoulders, Anna took Faine's hand, and opened the hidden door to the mineshaft.

The sound of the rotors on the choppers was clearly audible now. The first aircraft landed, disgorged the first wave of attackers, and lifted off again to orbit and provide any support that might be needed. Jake waited for the second machine to land before triggering the first phase of their defensive system.

Most of the first wave was shredded to pieces as the initial series of claymores erupted. The next series of claymores finished the remainders of the men on the ground. The pilot of the second chopper attempted to lift off but was hit by the third and final wave of claymore fire.