Chapter 23: Kayla

The alarm started beeping and George Macintyre reached over and pressed the button to shut it off. Looking to his left, he looked at his wife Shannon and kissed her on her head. Rolling over he sat up, and stretched and yawned. Scratching his nuts, he stood up and walked into the bathroom to take his morning piss. Standing at the toilet, as he peed, he looked out the window and saw the thick fog in the back yard, and said, "Shit, another morning of heavy fog."

"What's that dear?" Shannon asked as she stepped into the bathroom, and picked up her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth to get rid of her morning breath.

"Looks like heavy fog. Going to be a bitch picking up the garbage this morning," George sighed.

"George, you bitch about it every morning, and like every morning the fog is in you go out and you find everyone's garbage to be picked up. At least you don't have to lug it anymore, you get to drive now," Shannon said as she started brushing.

"Yeah I know, but look at this fog. You could cut it with a knife and serve it up for dessert," George grumped as he pointed out the window.

Shannon spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth out. Grabbing the towel, she dabbed her mouth as she turned to look out the window. "You're right. I haven't seen it that thick in ages," she said as she hung the towel up and kissed him.

George reached in and turned the water on as Shannon sat down on the toilet and took her morning piss. Stepping into the shower George shrieked as ice-cold water hit him.

"George?" Shannon asked as he came flying out of the shower with ice forming on his body.

"Thaat's coold!" he stuttered as he grabbed a towel and started brushing the frozen droplets off his body.

"What the heck is going on?" Shannon asked as she stood up and grabbed another towel.

Between the two of them, they scraped the ice out of his hair and off his body.

"I don't know, I turned the hot water on full blast and got in like I usually do and it suddenly went ice ... fuck, it turned to ice as it hit my body," George said as he shivered.

"Let me make you some coffee," Shannon said as she left bathroom.

Hanging the towels up, George went into the bathroom and pulled on some warm clothes when a scream shattered the air. Dropping the shirt, he ran out of the bedroom and stopped as he saw Shannon at Kayla's bedroom door. On the floor was his coffee mug, the coffee soaking into the carpet. "What's wrong?" he asked as he ran over.

"She's gone. Again!" Shannon cried.

"Did you look in her closet or in the living room?" he asked as he stepped into the room. He saw the closet door was open and he could see the bare floor inside.

"I just came from there after making your coffee, and she wasn't on the couch. She's disappeared again," Shannon cried out.

"We will find her," George said as he started searching the house. Ten minutes later, he climbed down from the small attic and walked to the phone, "I am calling the police!" George stated.

"I will check out back," Shannon said as she walked through the kitchen and flipped the light switch. She also caught the pool lights as her hand went up the wall. Opening the door, she walked out, and looked around the deck and then walked to the rail.

"911 what is your emergency?"

George was about to answer when Shannon's scream shattered the air. The phone dropped from his hand and he ran for the back door. He went out onto the deck and saw Shannon on the deck. Going to her, he turned her over and saw she was out cold.

Picking her up, he carried her into the house and set her on the couch.

Officer Jimmy Hudson whipped around the corner, and saw the house ahead that was called in as a possible attack. He slammed his brakes on and he was out of his car running as another pulled up behind him. Jimmy ran for the door as he kept his eyes open for trouble. Sliding to a stop beside the door, he reached to check the knob while his partner ran around the back.

Officer Isaac Duke ran to the fence and looked over it. Not hearing a dog, he tried the latch and it opened. The fog was so thick he couldn't see more then three feet in front of him as he stepped into the back yard with his pistol raised.

"POLICE OPEN UP!" Jimmy shouted out front as he banged on the door.

George looked over at the door when the voice shouted out. Going over he opened it and said, "Thank God. Our daughter is missing."

"George, she's in the pool. That's what I screamed about," Shannon said as she wept. The image of her daughter incased in a block of ice still vivid in her mind.

"What?" George said as he ran for the back door and collided with another man coming in from the outside.

"On your face," Isaac said as he scrambled to his feet and was surprised the man didn't obey him as he ran to the rail.

"KAYLA!" George cried out as he saw his daughter in the pool. Jumping the rail he dropped the four feet to the deck, and ran to the pool and slipped as his feet hit the concrete and he went flying onto his back as he landed and slid over the edge and onto the frozen pool.

"What the fuck?" Isaac said as he jumped the rail, and walked to the edge of the pool. He looked down, and saw the girl sitting there and was shocked. Reaching up he pressed his microphone, and said, "Dispatch, send us ... Fuck, I don't know what to send us. We have a little girl frozen inside a pool."

"You have a what?"

"We have a young girl about ten..."

"Twelve," George said as he banged his hands on the ice and then slid to the edge of the pool and ran to the shed. Yanking the door open, he looked around and grabbed the pick. Turning he ran back to the pool and gently stepped onto the ice and raised the tool over his head. With a yell, he brought the blade down and it shattered when it hit the ice. Shards of metal went flying and he cried out as several pieces hit his legs and he went down.

"Son of a bitch," Isaac screamed as a chunk of the pick ripped into his thigh while another bounced off his chest. Several chunks of metal sliced the policeman's legs and he went down moaning in pain as his pant legs became saturated with blood.

An ghostly image of Kayla appeared on the ice and she walked towards her daddy and the injured policeman. Kneeling, the vision touched them and healed their injuries.

"Kayla?" George asked and he lunged for her and was shocked when his arms went through her body.

"Daddy, you cannot touch me. This is an image of me," Kayla said in a hollow voice as if she was speaking through a tube.

"But ... how ... are you alright?" George asked.

With a smile to warm his heart, she replied, "Daddy, I am okay, I am just sleeping until the bad guys go away. In here, they cannot get me. But if I was to come out they would force me to use my powers again. Take care of mommy and know I love you both and please don't worry about me."

"What's happened to you?" George asked as he sat up.

"I have evolved. Earth is evolving. A danger is coming to our world that must be defeated. One comes to help us, and the leader will take her as his fourth wife. When she gets here, Earth must be ready or all will perish. When she arrives, I will come out. But for now, I must sleep. I love you and mommy so much."

"Young lady, who is coming to destroy us?" Isaac asked.

"I don't know their name or the name of the woman coming, it's not clear, but I do know this, we must be ready."

"Who are the bad guys you mentioned?" Jimmy asked as he walked up with Shannon.

"Baby, come out of there. I need to hold you," Shannon cried out.

"I cannot mother. If I do, I will be used once more like I was in New York. I tried to fight them but they are so much more powerful then me. I am just a babe to their powers. Our leader will one day confront them, but until he is able to, more of us will be used to help destroy the world like they did on the Golden Gate."

"You know who did that?" Jimmy asked in anger for his wife was on the bridge with their daughter.

The image turned her head and looked at the policeman and could see the anger on his face. With a sad smile she said, "Yes, he is like me. We have been altered by the bad guys, to be used as their pawns to destroy our world so they can control us better."

"What do you mean control us better?" Isaac asked.

"There are too many humans and not enough of them, or that's the impression I get. They want to use us as slave labor and the best way is to reduce us to a manageable size as they have done on other worlds. But there is a problem for them. We are not as easily controlled, and one has gained more powers then they have realized."

Fire Marshal Howard Smith walked through the back gate with his crew and stopped as they saw the people standing on the top of the pool. Walking over he looked at the ice and then saw the figure inside the ice. "What is going on here?" Howard asked in confusion.

"Sir, they will explain it, I must sleep now," Kayla said.

"Kayla, this isn't right. You need to come out of there. Momma and Daddy will protect you," Shannon cried out.

Kayla cried out as tears ran down her face, "How, Momma? How will you protect me, when they can make us destroy cities or collapse bridges with their mind? They don't care about us, but I do. I won't let them use my powers to destroy anymore. I won't let them make me kill. I would rather die myself then be forced to do that again."

"I can understand that, but you really need to come out of the pool. It's not safe in there," Howard said as he looked at the ice.

"I am perfectly safe. My body is in cryogenic sleep. It will stay that way until I deem it safe for me to awaken. Now as I was saying, help is on the way. But until the help gets here, I must sleep and you must be vigilant of the bad guys. They will try to destroy you all. Do not, I beg you, do not talk about this to anyone or they will kill you," Kayla said as her image slowly sank into the ice.

Shannon dropped to her knees and started weeping for her child as they all stood there staring at the image as it merged with her body. "KAYLA!" Shannon screamed out in agony.

'Momma, I am fine. I want you to know I love you and will talk with you again. Just think your answer and I shall know it."