Chapter 3

Herb said, "My cousin Jeff is having a birthday soon. I want to get rid of the house and make peace with the fire department and Dr Vale. Ellen should make an appearance and straighten out her affairs too."

"Are your homely brides invited to go with you?"

Herb blew up. I had not seen this coming. "Don't say that ever. You and Kim are beautiful. Even a person that doesn't have the emotional involvement I have will find you at least pretty."

"I'm sorry hon. Maybe I'm fishing for compliments?"

"You don't need to do that. I feel that we are forming more attachments to each other all the time. Its like being wrapped in spider silk. You're just as much a part of me as my arm."

We had to hug then and this felt just like the spider silk and I could take all of this I could get.

Finally Herb said, "Our family can all go. Ellen will be who you will be with and I will try to stay away."

"What about Melissa? That bun is yours. She can play the part of your girlfriend and keep those two beauties in your shorts from bursting."

Herb said, "As long as I get my wives too. What about Ellen? She's having more sex than a dozen women a third her age."

A week later we got into a new full sized van that had been extensively converted into a mini motorhome. We needed the room. There were five adults and two babies. We pulled a small rental trailer to bring a few things back.

The school stopped for an hour to see us off. I felt humbled by what I felt. The pack and the students could get along well without me, but I sort of made everything run smoother.

We had not even got out of the city when Herb was taken to the back to break in the motorhome right. I had to get some too before he ran out. We could feel poor Ellen in the front with a tingling clit and nothing she could do. When Herb ran out we gave him a break and told him to drive while we took care of Ellen. She was supercharged by this time and it was us that were pounced on.

The time passed quickly though we did have to take breaks to feed the babies. Ellen and Melissa were seriously studying us because they were thinking of trying to be wet nurses to give us a break. It was probably Herb that was putting this idea into their heads because there was never enough to feed him. Herb denied it but not very strenuously.

Ellen took possession of her home and I could feel her thoughts on how the house now seemed to belong to a person she met once instead of her own. Everything looked dated as if an old woman lived here.

"I see I'm going to have to do some redecorating." She looked at Herb and asked, "You still going to get rid of your place?"

"Yes, there is no reason to keep it."

We got the house heated up a little more and then started to clean up the dust. We had only been working an hour when Mrs Hays came over to say hello.

She said, "Ellen, what have you done? You look twenty, no twenty five years younger. I almost didn't think it was you. Why didn't you call?"

"Wow there Shelly. If you're referring to my body then I'll say that I spent time effort and money to get the way I am. Medical science can do a lot if you find the right people and are prepared to pay for their services."

Ellen continued, "I got wrapped up in a new job. I'm a school nurse though those positions are rare now. I got so involved in my new job that I had to cut ties to my past. You would absolutely not believe what I have gone through. I've changed inside too even more dramatically than my exterior."

"What happened?"

"Well come in and I'll introduce you to three of the young ladies that go to the school and two of their darling babies. My grandson Herb is somewhere. He works at the Albright School for Gifted Children the same as I do."

Ellen put some water on for tea and then found us working upstairs. Herb was hiding in the basement until he got his cue to come on stage.

We were dusting the furniture or sweeping when the two women approached. Introductions were made but the three of us acted like adults. This shook Shelly Hays somewhat but it was better at the start than later.

Stan and Jessica were both asleep like babies their age and like all women we made a fuss over them without trying hard to wake them up but still display how beautiful they were.

We went downstairs for tea. Shelly said to Kim and I, "You two sound so mature for your age and very sure of yourselves."

I said, "Thank you Mrs Hays. The school teaches us the way to act in many situations. Since Albright is a private school, our curriculum is much more encompassing than other schools."

Mrs Hays had to be told more but Ellen had to carry the ball now. "The School has a very limited enrollment. You would not believe the entrance requirements. The student have to be reasonably stable but also have an IQ of a 150. Many of the students surpass this mark handily."

"A minimum requirement of 150 sounds like the school would have difficulty gaining enough students and that means that only the very wealthy could go there."

"Actually every student is on a scholarship. The school has some serious money behind it. Covering a years worth of provincial requirements is quite easy for the students. The rest of the time is spent learning more of the world because each of the students will leave an indelible mark on it one day. Some will go to politics but most will go to research, medicine and business."

Mrs Hays desperately wanted to know about the babies but this had to be mentioned much later and in private.

Herb came up from the basement and called out, "We have a leaky valve, Grandma. I have to go to the store."

"Come here Herb. We have a visitor."

Herb came into the kitchen with a spider web on his hair and looked at our guest. "Hello Mrs Hays. Forgive my appearance but I was put to work."

"Hello Herb. I wondered what happened to you. All of a sudden you just disappeared."

Herb now looked very sad. It was Ellen that said quickly, "He was called away on a personal matter. Herb teaches some courses at Albright relating to the medical profession. It's a worthwhile course for the students to take."

Herb had a tea with us and left. He had his own visiting to do and we were ostensively under Ellen's care. Kim and I left to check on the children and Melissa came with us. This allowed Ellen to say that we were smart girls but we got carried away with our emotions just as much the rest and found ourselves pregnant.

Ellen mentioned about how Herb ran off to Toronto to find Nicki dying. He stayed with her for her last few weeks. Everybody knew that he still carried the torch for her even though they had divorced. Ellen had found a place for him at the school to take care of him. Herb was still upset about Nicki's death and this did not have to be faked.

All this news would get around the community in just a few days. If they saw Herb without a shirt, they would find out that he spent his free time studying for medical school and exercising. This was much the same as what he had been doing before he ran off to save us.

There had to be some other form of psychic communications because many more people suddenly showed up at the house. We stayed long enough to be introduced then we left for the rumour to be passed around to a few more people.

We purchased enough food for a short stay and we basically helped Ellen entertain. She liked how her friends were so shocked at her present appearance.

Herb collected all he wanted from his house then called his relatives in to take the rest. The relatives ended up at Ellen's where we were introduced again. This is the part we liked because we got a chance to see our new relatives. Herb desperately wanted to hold us and the babies too but he had to appear to be just an instructor and friend.

I was shocked when Greg Thompson and his wife Rose showed up. I could sense them coming up the snow-covered walk. The five of us went over what Greg knew about us and how our story had to be altered.

While Herb was being greeted, I blindsided Greg and when a break in the conversation came I said, "Hello Mr Thompson. Do you remember me?"

He turned quickly because he did remember my voice. He looked at me and smiled. "Hello Danielle, I mean Dannie. I did not expect to meet you here."

"I'm sorry but I deceived you. Marty was actually Jess. She was running from a bad situation. We ran with her and used assumed names. My real name is Piper and my sister is Kim not June. Our other companion is Melissa and that's her real name."

"But why were you running?"

"That is for Jess to say. We all happen to study or work for the same school in Toronto."

"You sure had me fooled."

"You only got some assumed names."

Kim came up with the baby and introduced herself under her real name and showed another Jessica. When Greg gently moved the blanket to one side so he could see the child, Jessica's hand rushed out quicker than I could blink and grabbed Greg's finger. Kim and I were shocked because this was like my overdrive ability.

Greg honestly did not believe his eyes and neither did anybody else. Each person believed they saw wrong and ignored the abnormality.

"She's got a good grip on me."

Kim said, "Perhaps she's making a citizen's arrest. You better come along peacefully or there'll be trouble."

Greg got Jessica in his arms but kept his nose and glasses out of Jessica's reach. He showed his wife the baby and they both cooed over her.

Herb said, "I think Uncle Greg has decided that he doesn't want any pain so he's not going to avoid arrest." There was some laughter but I was now studying Greg in much more detail.

Kim said to me, "He learned who Jess was a week after we left. He's still very curious as to why she was here and under false names."

I knew this was not musical. "A natural talent?"

"Yes. He can read minds just a bit. I think he can sense a lie."

"Do you think Jessica can sense that and grabbed him?"

"I don't know but it could be true."

We shared our information with Herb, Ellen and Melissa to be on the safe side and to learn more.

When Greg learned I had a child too he said, "How did this happen to two sisters at near the same time?"

Kim said, "I think that you would have had a talk about the birds and the bees quite some time ago. Are you saying that you are that forgetful? If necessary Piper and I can sit you down and fill you in on the details."

Rose was now the one to laugh at her flustered husband. He was on the gaff now and didn't know what to say. I said, "Kim found a boyfriend and so did I. I was not going to let an older sister upstage me. What happened was more of a matter of hormones and finding a person I meshed with so well."

"You can go to school with children?"

"It's definitely a learning process. The father of Stanley goes to our school."

Greg's eyes shot to Herb but Herb was ready and had a calm expression. Greg said, "Stanley is not that popular of a name. Is he named after the boy or one of his relatives?"

"The name is more popular than you think. Herb's father has that name and so does Stan's grandfather. One of my cousins has that name too."

Greg had not heard the gossip yet so he was not privy to this piece of information. He was still curious and not sure if he should believe us. On the other hand he could not sense that we were lying.

When we were eating I suddenly heard Stan call, "Hungry!" He had not done this before and neither had Jessica.

A strange thing happened because over a third of those present looked at me. One woman said, "I heard your baby. I think she's hungry." None of the people recognised the call as mental and attributed it to Stan calling with a cry. I got up in a hurry and so did Kim because we didn't want to explain about mental communications to the family.

We all monitored the group and found that when people were presented with an impossibility, they simply found a logical substitute that fit better into their scheme of things.

Later that night I asked Ellen and Herb, "Greg has a natural talent for detecting lies. His son Josh is supposed to be good at numbers. Another of your relatives is a world renowned chef. Still another is a very lucky fireman. He had many brushes with fatal accidents but got his men out before a building collapsed or a car blew up. Do you think your family has this talent. Or would you call it luck?"

Ellen said, "My sister was always very lucky. When those scratch tickets came out, she would always win at least what she paid but usually just a bit more. Many times she bought nothing because the tickets didn't seem right. Strangely, she never won larger prizes."

Herb said, "My grandfather was said to have a healing touch. I don't know how true it was."

I said, "I wonder if Ellen had an ability she was not aware of?"

Ellen just thought and said, "I like healing and I'm good at it now. I was fairly good as a nurse."

Kim said, "I wonder how this is going to effect the children? Jessica moved her hand almost as fast as Piper could. When Stan called out I almost had another baby. Thank human nature for letting this sort of occurrence slide by."

The next day, Herb went to his lawyer to make sure his affairs were in order. The house had been paid off so there should not have been any problems. When Herb came back I knew he was still nervous. He had left Dr Vale's employment but that of the fire department had to be dealt with too.

Herb had already talked to the doctor and used the excuse about finding out about Nicki. He also used the need to get away from his past by finding a job some place away from Orillia and his memories of Nicki. The doctor was sympathetic.

The fire department was next and this time we all went. It was snowing hard but the snow removal equipment in the city was doing a fair job of clearing a path.

We stopped at the station where Herb usually worked out of, and we talked to his friends. We had his equipment he had to wear when going out on a call. It all had to be returned. Kim and I gave the excuse that we liked the idea of being firemen. One of the paramedics was a woman and this helped a lot. Amy was a nice person and liked the way we were all in shape. She loved the babies too and they seemed to like her.

To justify Herb's place in the school we talked about our medical training. We didn't cheat and use Herb's memories either. We had read his book and then found others that had more detail.

Amy said, "You sound like you have more training than I have. I wish I was as smart as you guys."

"It's not as easy as you think. The more active the mind the more chances there are to get in trouble. It takes a lot to keep our interest. Boys came close for a while and see what happened. We love mathematics, finances, biochemistry, history, psychology and medicine. It's hard to concentrate some times, especially at our age. We don't know what we want to do with our lives. We have to learn enough about a lot of subjects to even make a choice for what to specialise in."

Amy said, "I had it hard growing up because I was a tomboy. You have an even tougher problem with babies. You're lucky you have the school to help you."

The other paramedic talked about his past. He didn't go into details because it would rub his macho image a little too hard.

Ellen talked of her early years then her training in nursing. This was to justify her place in Albright. The talk though was interesting. Ellen was a lot like Amy was when young.

We had a nice meal and then Kim and I fed the babies. Some of the firemen liked to see teenage boobs but the one that liked it the most usually got to drain any milk that was left. He grew in such delightful ways.

The chief finally came to the station and Herb introduced us. Herb had to hand in his resignation and tried to make the best of it. Actually giving the resignation was a hard thing to do for him. The chief figured this out on his own. Herb went over what he was currently doing as a long lead up.

He had not come to the part where he would not be back yet when the alarms went off. The chief grabbed the phone even as a computer screen lit up giving some sketchy details. A school bus had been taking some students on a skiing holiday when it had been hit by a truck. The bus had gone through the guardrail and down an embankment.

The chief said, "There's a lot of people hurt. Herb, you interested in one more for the road before you leave us?"

"You knew?"

"It wasn't hard."

"I'll go. Ellen is a registered nurse and the girls have been trained and they are almost as good as paramedics. At worse they can assist."

He looked at us and I said, "There are too many hurt to be picky. We are not stupid girls though it may look that way sometimes."

"You can go as civilians giving first aid."

We gathered all the spare equipment they had at the station then hurried out. The fire truck and then the paramedic truck led the way. The tonnes of water in the first truck made sure it had good traction in the snow. This did not mean that our lighter vehicle did not slip. All of us used our flying talents to give a push one way or another to keep us going straight. This didn't take much work at all.

The babies were wide awake with the noise of the siren and our own excitement. We stayed behind the paramedic truck and it was behind the fire truck. We made good time but it was still almost fifteen minutes to the crash site. Herb, Ellen and I shared our knowledge of the area but it was Ellen that remembered an accident twenty years ago that killed a whole family. The embankment was steep.

The police were on the scene first. The firemen were appraised of the situation on the way and informed the police that we were with their group. People and cars were all over to gawk at the situation.

We got a sampling of what the police knew but it was hardly any because there was so many hurt. A school bus was struck by a pickup that was sliding out of control. The truck had changed lanes and hit the bus as it came around the bend. In a combination of the bus driver trying to avoid the truck, the inertia of the truck and centrifugal force, the bus hit the guardrail and headed down the embankment.

The bus was full of highschool students coming back from a school sponsored skiing trip. Thirty two students and the bus driver were in one vehicle while a woman and her baby were in the pickup.

The woman and baby were now dead. So were at least two students and the bus driver. The bus had gone nose down into a large rock after hitting three fair sized white pine. The back bumper was at least twenty metres from the road surface that it had just left.

Herb took visible charge of our group to avoid problems. In a situation like this we shared our thoughts and then proceeded to work but here we had to have Herb give verbal orders to show that we were working under his care.

We used our own first aid kit but had to supplement it with the equipment from the station. We assessed some of the students and all of them were in some form of shock. The police got some of the spectators to pull up a crash stretcher and the students were put into warm vehicles and sent to the local hospital.

Kim was our portable x-ray machine. She assisted us in setting bones and even sewing up a severed artery in one student. This one had lost a lot of blood. We elevated his feet and sent him up the hill as soon as we could.

A makeshift operating table was set up and then two more had to be made. Too many people would not make it to the hospital alive.

A young doctor by the name of Rajeck and two nurses arrived. Herb told him what was wrong. This one was actually not stuck up and listened.

My patient was a seventeen year-old boy. He was in shock from loss of blood and I had to jump on him to get his heart pumping again. I think it was my intensive use of healing that his heart started again. I had his coat off to work on him and actually did not want to cover him. The cold weather would hopefully keep his blood near his core and slow down his mental and physical processes.

Dr Rajeck worked on a similar wounds and I read his mind about what to do though I had made a habit of studying doctor's minds. He kept looking at Kim and I as if he never saw girls like us before. Kim ran around to give us the benefit of her sight though Ellen had been gaining this power too.