Bad Blood...

A woman lost, angry and afraid, with fragmented images of blood streaming down her face poses her question...

"Mom, tell me the story about my past again. How did I lose my memory?" Shamane Hoffman looks at her mother sitting in front of her mirror. She rests her hands on the older woman's shoulders. Their reflections cast back at them, the changeable eyes intent, looking into the black ones.

"I don't like to think about either of our past. It will probably haunt me for the rest of my life. I just don't know how to handle what happened to you. Our lives are so much entwined and yours nearly destroyed. One never realizes with the blink of an eye, sometimes a whisper or the touch of a hand and your whole life simply change forever and worse, you don't even have a choice the fact that you came back to me is a miracle."

"Please, mom! Tell me what you know about my past."

"Shamane, darling, you must remember on your own. That is the doctor's orders. I can tell you this though. You were captured and trapped for eight years in a cult of women called the Sisterhood. When I found you, you were suffering from amnesia. I am certain it was caused by those dangerous, deceitful and deadly women."

"Mom, the Sisterhood, is it the past you want to forget?"

"I grew up in a world called the Garden of Eden. You were trapped in a world full of shadows and lies. I know you are in limbo, wanting to know your past."

"Darling, you have a second chance. Please, take it. Leave the past alone."

She looks quietly at her mother in the mirror. Her need for answers to her questions, clearly in the reflection of her eyes. Her troubled emotions change her eyes continuously.

"I was reunited with you, but I am no longer innocent. I am moody, aggressive, but at the same time a strangely, instinctive loner. I look at people but I stand aloof and withdrawn from them. Every morning I wake from a dream filled with a whirlpool of images, I don't understand."

"I have a strong sense of déjà vu when I look at the most innocent of things or objects. I can't move forward until I understand my past."

"Tell me about your dreams." Joyce swiveled her chair round to look directly at her daughter.

Needing privacy from her mother's piercing eyes, her pieces of memory come alive, and she goes and stands in the shadows of her bedroom. She looks at her mother but she wasn't really seeing her. Slowly she allows the images to emerge from their hiding place.

"Firstly, when I wake, I look, but I can't see anything. Everything is in darkness, but when I blinked, a house appears. It is in a blazing inferno, right in front of me. I can see the silhouette of people in the house." She paused, trying to comprehend her tale.

"The crackling of wood being eaten by the fire, work on my nerves. Goosebumps all over my body, my heart beating too fast I want to look away but I can't. I dropped to my knees, but I am not certain if it's from fear or fascination."

Shamane is completely unaware she is on the floor. Shivering, she rubs the goose bumps from her arms. Completely entranced by what she sees in front of her eyes, her gaze stayed fixed. Her mouth opened and words poured out.

"Suddenly, the picture change."

"What happened?" Joyce watches her carefully.

"I find myself somewhere else. The place seems very familiar but I can't place it."

"Describe it." Joyce urge softly.

Shamane look so intently, at first it appeared as though she didn't hear a word. Her puzzled tone becomes almost sensual.

"I am looking at a golden orchard alight with small blinking lights. I move deeper into the orchard, the branches gently touch my body."

"The tasty juices of the fruit dripped onto my bare shoulders, making a sweet smelling path between my full breasts and down my spine. My body fills with ecstasy. Smiling, I touch with a finger, tasting the honey. My eyes turn amber than yellow. I can see the desire in them twinkling. I can't see the face from where my eyes are reflecting. Again, the picture change."

Joyce holds her breath, her eyes not wavering from her daughter's face.

"I find myself walking beneath a high moon. My body alive and sensuous, desire sizzling through my veins my aching fingers long to touch another sensuous body. I stop a moment and look into the sky the moon golden."

"Her eyes with no face gleaming in the moonlight. I have no picture of her likeness but I know she was my lover. Our bodies entwined, for in her eyes so close to mine, I could steal the stairs from the heaven above."

Stillness settles within her. The minutes tick by. The only sound in the room their breathing.

"Mom, the dream appears to be romantic but I can feel the darkness just lurking behind the wall in my mind. I want to look beyond the wall, but I am afraid."

"Leave the wall alone for now. Tell me the rest of the dream."

Joyce stands from her chair; move forward and kneels in front of her daughter. She brushes the hair from her face, looking beyond her into the past.

"My fingers link with hers, our flying feet lead us to the silver pool. With the touch of her hand and the brush of her fingers, she reveals to me the perfect picture of golden torso. In all her glory, she dived beneath the gleaming water. She appeared to be gone."

Her body stay coiled on the floor, but her hands reached out to her lover. Her fingers closed, her arms stayed empty.

Joyce sees the twisting of her eyes. She seems troubled by what is to come next.

"I start to wonder if I was deceived by trust on the night of the moonlight feast. I believe my seduction was faceless, one touch...one whisper...one kiss. I am hers for eternity. I know that for certain."

She blinks her eyes and focus on her mother. Her expression puzzled.

"I usually wake so violently that I land on the floor, breathless, uncertain, wanting to know more but never seeming to be able to discover what lies beneath the shadows."

She stands up, helping her mother back onto her own feet. Sweat streaming down her face and her body. Taking deep breaths until calmness settled over her. Moving forward, she embraced her mother for a moment.

"Shamane, I can see you are very tense. Why don't you go for a run! This usually makes you more at ease. In the meantime, I am going to have a conversation with your father."

Slipping out the backdoor and leaving the yard, she run ten kilometres outside of Steinkopf. As the time passed, she feels herself slowly coming alive while she continuously keeps pounding the tar road with her sneakers.

Calmness settled slowly in her heart. As she turned around, the first rays of the sun breaks over the horizon. Enjoying the early morning warmth, she wonders what her mother could be talking about with her father.

Joyce looks at her husband. Anger, resentment and a sense of violence surged through her veins. Within the ranks of the Sisterhood, women were superior to men. That was the motto she was taught.

She gave Eric Hoffman, her husband, the benefit of her doubts. She wanted a different life but her path was chosen for her years ago, according to the rules of her family, a family she was once part off. It was a life she hoped her daughter would never experience her hope was misplaced and her worse fear had come alive.

Eric Hoffman looks at his beautiful wife. Fully matured and all woman, but his own secret fears turned him into a selfish bastard. He treads on grounds he knows would someday soon come back to swallow him. His wife and daughter is from a society of women he still can't comprehend even after all these years. He knows he is opening the door to the past but he can't seem to help himself.

"Joyce, did you understand what I am saying?"

"I heard you. But you can't be serious, Eric?"

"I am. I told you before not to question or interfere in my financial business. As the head of this family, I won't go back on my word. It is final. I have spoken."

"And you really think I am going to listen! That holy word of yours means nothing to me, Eric. You made promises to me years ago, but you have kept none." Her voice harsh, angry her eyes dark with barely checked fury.

"Enough "Eric snap, while he feel his skin growing clammy with fear he managed to conceal from his voice and eyes. "You will keep your mouth shut and follow orders. Do you hear me, woman?"

"Like hell will I listen to this nonsense?"

The anger grows rapidly inside her. Her eyes devoid of warmth, only darkness settled in their depths.

"If you insist on going on this path, you will regret it, Eric. Remember who raised me. Remember my past. Do not challenge me. Shamane is my daughter. I nearly lost her once. I won't allow it to ever happen again never!"

"I don't care what you say, Joyce. My decision has been made."

"We have been married for years. I listened to all your nonsense but not today. This is your final warning. Do not proceed on this path."

The anger simmered from her body. The older man feels her heat he recognized the warning, but he stayed stubborn.

"Don't waste your time with threads I already told you, you don't have a say in this matter. I make the choices in this house. I won't go back on my word." He turns and leaves the house.

Joyce throws the cups at the door, to vent her pent-up anger. Moving past the window, she catches sight of her daughter, returning. Her eyes troubled looking at father and daughter one on a path of destruction, the other one searching for answers.

The backdoor open Shamane enters and step onto broken glass, which crunched beneath her sneaker.

"Are you okay, mom?"

"I am fine." Joyce looks at her only daughter. "Did you enjoy your running?"

"I always do." Looking closely, she frowned. "Don't change the subject. Are you certain you are okay? You look a bit flashed. And what's with the broken glass?"

"Your father and I had an argument."

"About what if I may ask?" She taps a glass of water, than swallow a couple of sips, while she keeps her eyes on her mother.

"It's nothing don't worry about it."

"The fact that you told me not to worry really has me worried now.

"I will sort him out when he returns, darling. You go and shower. Then I want you to do some errands for me afterwards."

"The argument was about me, right?"

"Drop the subject, Shamane."

Shamane stare at her mother.

Joyce holds her gaze saying nothing although she feels a bit uneasy underneath her child's direct, piercing look. She knows in her heart; she won't stop until she knows precisely who she was.

"I am not blind, mom. Moments ago, outside, father didn't even look at me he never looks directly at me. As far as I could remember, he never acknowledged me in any way as his daughter. Eugene, my bitter brother, he is the only one father loves and takes note of. Edmund his youngest son, between you and me, we love and trust him. I find our family structure very strange. You can deny it all you want, but my instinct tells this argument was about me. I am beginning to wonder what secrets this family is hiding from me. Whatever it might be, I have a feeling I am the center of it all."

"I am asking you again, leave the subject alone."

"What are you hiding from me, mom?" She stays insistent.

"Nothing," Joyce snapped.

"I don't believe you. This conversation isn't over but I am going to give you time to reconsider hiding things from me. Once I am finished with my shower, you are going to talk to me. I am an adult and you will no longer treat me like a child. Do you understand me, mom!"

Pulling out a chair, she sits down. Her troubled mind wanders back over the years. Continued resentment, anger and frustration weight her heart down.

Escaping from the Sisterhood, she married Eric, wanting stability in her life. He was a man that caught and held her attention. They were barely married when she discovered she was pregnant.

Eugene her first born was a sickly child. While she worried about her marriage and her child, Eric was out drinking and gambling, leaving behind huge debts, which she had to cover, destroying whatever trail there might be for the Sisterhood to pick up. She had to stay in hiding at all cost.

Her emotions boiling over, she escaped from her home for a short while. She went to a person whom she trusted with her whole being. He was a broken man who belonged to another person, she also trusted.

Her child needed her. She went back to her marriage and her family. She gave no explanation to Eric. He never questioned her either.

Edmund, her youngest son was born instantly an easy, enjoyable baby with a gift for trusting and loving. She loves her sons.

Loving Shamane, her beautiful daughter, was very different she was and would always be the delight of her life. She was her lifeblood. She has strength, courage under duress; also very loving and trusting but never betrays her. One should never underestimate her either she is unknowingly at the moment, a dangerous, deceitful and deadly woman.

Qualities she inherited from her, Joyce Markovich Hoffman.

She may have left the Sisterhood but the Sisterhood haven't left her heart. Her child entwined with her in that world, but if the truth could be keep away from her, what harm could it do...

Now, foolish Eric was putting her in harm's way. Her child can't protect herself now; it was her duty as her mother and a woman to watch her back. She would betray her husband in the blink of an eye if it meant saving her daughter.

Her mind very much troubled, she circled her own kitchen. She had a serious problem that needed dealing.

Her almost forgotten past and the freedom of action she had known, made a plan took form in her mind not liking the feeling of being trapped liked both Shamane and she had years ago, the decision seemed very natural.

Life was peaceful for two years, except for Eric's continued reckless behavior, who made her daughter a stranger, a loner, but it is clear just beneath the surface, there is a boiling aggressiveness almost ready to explode judging from her told dreams, it was almost certain that her suppressed sexuality was also coming alive.

It won't take long before Shamane know who she was...

Going around in circles, she can no longer escape what she knows about the past action should be taken for their lives were a house of cards.

It's time to rebuild on a solid foundation.

She comes to know men as being reckless, stubborn, and a danger to the center of a family life. Her mind made-up, no man is going to take advantage of her child.

"Never, Eric!" she voiced her denial.

Edmund slip into the bedroom. The shower is running. Going through his sister's drawers, there is no sign of the package she always hide for him.

The bathroom door open Shamane enter, toweling her hair vigorously.

"Little brother, you know you should knock. I won't appreciate the fact if you should find me naked someday."

Edmund Hoffman looks immediately sorry. He blushed beet-red he is a handsome young man she noticed off-hand.

"I am sorry, Sis. But I need the money."

"What happened?"

"I just heard I could land a contract at the local school."

Edmund sit on the side of the bed.

"You are not sticking to the program. You were the one who asked me to keep you in-checked about your spending. According to our budget, you still should have a cash flow until next week. What did you do?"

"Eugene tricked me into lending him money. He isn't back yet I told the principal I take the contract. I need to buy supplies."

"Fine I will get the money. Stop fooling yourself that Eugene will ever pay you back he like making debts because it is so easy. If you want to succeed as a freelance photographer, you should change your method of doing business. Steinkopf is a small town. Use the gap while you have it."

"What is it with you and Eugene?"

Edmund eyed his sister curiously, wondering if she would answer him.

"I would like to know too. I always known I could trust and love you, little brother. Eugene however is a different option. For some reason that only he knows the answer to, he hold repressed resentment, sometimes hate covered in hostility towards me. Why that is, I don't know or understand."

"I would like to say you are wrong but I did notice he has an attitude whenever he is close to you. I sometimes think he might be afraid of you."

"Why on earth?"

"Don't know. But that is the impression I gotten."

"Get out. You will have your money later."

Edmund leaves the bedroom Shamane dressed quickly, jean shirt and faded jeans. Her feet slipped into her ankle boots. She let her hair dry in wavy curls. She goes down the passage in searched of her mother.

Joyce looks up when her daughter come to kneel in front of her. The young fingers entwined with hers. The changeable eyes close to her face seemed concerned. Her free hand reached out to brush the curls from her face.

"You still seemed worried. What was the argument about? Tell me, mom maybe I can help?"

Joyce looks at her daughter her personality so different from the rest of them. She is a strong, strangely confident young woman. The Sisterhood tried to break her, but steel within her core held her together at her worse moment. Sometimes she glimpsed a piece of her truth.

Her daughter certainly is a mixture of puzzlement, strength and mystery.

"I love you darling."

"I know. Mom there is never a doubt. Talk to me."

"It's nothing, darling. I promise."

"Liar," Shamane whisper softly." You were angry earlier. Now you somehow looked sad. Something shifted in your attitude."

Joyce stands and circled the kitchen she looked caged, trying to conceal the wildness in her eyes.

"I could never lie to you, darling."

"If need be, we both can keep a secret. Talk to me, mom."

For a brief moment, there is total silence between them.

Shamane watch her mother struggled with what she is going to say.

"I loved your father, although he made my life hell over the years. Most of his sins, I had forgiven the day he told me, they had found you. Today, he went too far again. I won't stay with him any longer."

"What did he do?"

"I won't tell you what he did. He certainly had forgotten where I came from. My path is set in motion again, after years of obedience. I am going to leave him once and for all."

"I see." Shamane stands.

Joyce circled the kitchen again.

"There would be consequences. But I had enough."

"Where are you going? What plans did you make? Would you be safe, once you leave?"

"You are not angry with my decision?"

Shamane look directly at her mother. Her eyes reflect no misunderstanding for her words spoken just then.

"At last you are making a right choice for yourself. I can't remember father growing up. But..."

"Be completely honest with me, darling."

"My youth is a blank. These last two years, I watched him closely. Yet, he didn't physically harm you, but emotionally, he is most abusive. I am just surprised you didn't left him years ago."

"If I had done that, I would never have seen you again. He would have made certain about that."

"To be honest, I don't like him as a man. I don't respect him. His opinion is of no importance to me. He will never come between us. As a parent, only your word is law to me."

"Everything is always black and white for you, darling. No compromises."

"My life is basically two years old. For now, I call things the way they are. You raised us and now we are all grown-up. It is time that you look after yourself. What do you want from me?"

"I am not certain."

"Okay. Let me handle this."

Shamane walk over to the phone. She dialed a number from memory. She speaks short but convincingly for a couple of minutes. At last, she put the phone down and looked at her mother.

"Sammy Strike will take you in until Friday. By then I would have a solid plan for us both. Are you game, mom? Remember, we must act fast before anyone wise-up."

Joyce looks curiously at her child. It is clear to her that her daughter didn't even realized she had conferred with her past.

"Who is this friend of yours? I never heard you mentioned her."

Joyce is openly curious.

"Now that we made new plans for our future, I instinctively just remembered her." Shamane frown puzzled. "Don't ask me how, but I trust her with my life. Like the woman in my dreams, her face is a blank. Calling her seemed natural."

Joyce looks intently at her child. Again, like in the past, she realized she would never fully comprehend her.

Shamane smiled because of her obvious, unspoken question. She grows serious.

"I don't like men, mom. I don't trust them. As lovers, I will never choose them. However, this is a conversation for another time. Sammy is a person I helped once. Why, I can't remember. She is a natural choice. She is unknown to father."

"Are you really sure about this woman?"

"As I said, mom, I trust her instinctively. Maybe, I will discover the truth about her too, someday. We go to her. She will make us vanish."

Joyce heard a twinge of aggression in the young voice but the trusting conviction towards the unknown woman soothes her tone.

Remembering her as a child, she allowed no-one close, which made this Sammy Strike a person of worth. The older woman remembers a person she had known a long time ago. That was her past, best forgotten.

"I should go and packed a few things."

"Mom, you can try and hide it but someday I will know the truth about you and me. Let your game begin. I will discover the rules along the way."

"You always were a quick study."

Joyce smiled suddenly mysterious.

Shamane look out the window when she hears a truck stop outside. A dark scowl clouded her face.

"Steven van Dyke," she snaps.

"I am sorry, darling. I should have told you he offered to take me to Springbok. Ask him to wait."

Joyce disappears down the passage.

Shamane open the backdoor and goes outside. She leans against the wall, just looking at the young man, whose face ruined by his alcohol misuse. The longer she looks at him, the least she liked him or the fact that her mother is going with him.

"Mom, I don't like this. How sure are you about him? He really doesn't look the trustworthy type. Wait a day then we go together."

"Stick to the plan, darling. This is a game of cat and mouse from now on. We are playing according to our rules. Steven will behave. I have spoken to his mother."

"Okay, mom I am still doubtful. Wait a moment."

She goes back into the living room. A quick rummage through her books and she retrieve a big wad of money. She returns to her mother.

"Take this spent it as discreetly as possible. I see you on Friday. Wait for me. I won't waste time."

Mother and daughter hug before they walk to the truck. Shamane help her mother, while looking directly at Steven. He seems nervous and on edge. He also seemed very uncomfortable underneath her gaze. Hastily, he climbed into the truck.

Shamane watch her mother drive away from the house where she spent many years of married life. Turning, she faces the house, still standing at the gate, somehow unwilling to return.

"What secrets are concealed in this place, I wondered?" she voiced her thoughts. "There is nothing special about the house. A basic structure, but now that mom's gone, I feel something almost sinister, watching me, waiting for me. Why," continued the one-sided conversation.

Her voice grows silent but her mind still played the whirlpool questioned games.

Her mind travels towards the twin garage that space always gives her the creeps. She never goes in there willingly. Most times, she simply parked her car beside the house.

Rubbing her neck, feeling odd, she circles the house.

Most of the garden is overgrown.Suddenly the hair in the back of her neck rose. Goose bumps crawl over her skin.

Turning her head slowly, her eyes look at the garage. She didn't notice she ended up there. She has a strong sense she lost time without realizing it. She is at the garage now looking at the house.

The silhouette of a man was leaning against the wall, watching her. His burning eyes on her skin filled her with revulsion and the instinct to run. She bolted fast.

Eric Hoffman enters the local bar. He is still annoyed with Joyce. She had no right to critic him. How dare she?

Apparently, she had forgotten their pact. He found his usual chair and sits down. He ordered a bottle of brandy.

"You look thunderous. What happened?"

Deon Raymond joined him at the table, slightly out of breath, praying no one had noticed his out of character behavior earlier. He just can't seem to stay away from her. He noticed the old woman getting into the truck. With her out of the way, maybe he would get easier excess.

He looks nervous, jittery, as he eyed the bottle of brandy. Lately, his luck has run out and being unemployed didn't helped either.

"Women are a waste of time," Eric snaps, uncorking the bottle.

"Not always. They do have their uses," Deon sniggers.

"Maybe you're right." Eric gulps down some brandy. "At least my old lady was good for breeding. I have two boys. Eugene is my pride and joy. The jury is still out on Edmund. He is too silent, watchful, for my liking, most of the time."

"I like the way that daughter of yours look." Deon has a dangerous look in his eyes. The older man didn't even notice.

"Would you mind if I visit her? I will bring along a fine bottle of brandy."

"You are no match for Shamane. That witch will scratch your eye out and leaves you bleeding," Eric said off-handily.

"I like a woman with fire. They play much better," Deon replied with lust in his voice. He is rubbing his groin underneath the table.

The bar grows quiet. The two men at the table noticed at last the big man stop beside their table.

"Eric Hoffman!"

"What do you want?" Eric looked and sounded sullen.

He looks up into the eyes. They are so black; it was a bit scary within its depths such coldness. The harshness of his face seemed cruel too.

"Move it!" Benjamin Heyman kicks the chair from beneath Deon. He scrambled onto his feet but retreat. He was not ready for a fight with the cold stranger.

"Why did you come?" Eric poured himself another glass of brandy.

"It's payday or have you forgotten." The younger man sat down. He put his hand over the glass

"I don't have the money." Eric glared at him.

"Don't play games with me, sir. You already gambled and lost. Pay-up or face the consequences."

The glass in his hand breaks. Not once did he look at the blood mingling with the brandy.

By all outside appearance, Benjamin Heyman is a cold and hard man. He never acknowledged the ability of kindness. The life he led never allows such human weakness.

"Sell your house. I don't care. I want my money." His voice is cold.

"I no longer own it. The house has become a rental."

Eric sits up straight when he looked probably at the younger man. The black eyes of earlier have grayness in its depths now. He feels his skin crawl. He couldn't look away. He doesn't like this man and his changeable eyes. It reminded him of someone else he didn't like much either. Something about the directness of the look made him remembered his plan.

"I have a counter offer."

"What?" Ben's eyes didn't waver.

"I have something of value I would like to trade for my debts."

"Spit it out."

Eric took a deep breath he realizes in his heart he is starting a fire that would consume him. He knew the consequences of a past he can't escape. Years ago, he was in a world he didn't understand. There he had learnt the value of a human life.

"Chestnut hair amber eyes height is tall in body but slender still a virgin and yours for the taking."

Eric speaks confidently. Now that he voices his plan, it made perfect sense to him.

"Excuse me!"

Benjamin grows so cold in his heart that such an extreme harshness settled on his face. The grayness fled from his eyes, leaving behind only darkness. He could not believe his ears.

"You heard me." Eric watch the granite face, still feeling confident.

Benjamin looks at the man who is the father of the young woman in question. Sometimes he drinks coffee at her place of business. She always appeared aloof and withdrawn but on the rare occasion when she smiles, heaven opened in his heart. He just keeps looking at the man, in his own mind's eye he could see himself killing this man and especially the man with the snake eyes.

"Let me get this straight. You are selling your daughter to me to settle your debt a transaction without her consent."

Benjamin sound so level and even toned that Eric didn't realize the danger just beneath the surface, kept in-checked with iron control.

"That is correct. Do we have a deal?"

Leaning closer to the older man, he speaks so softly but clearly, there is no way for any misunderstanding.

"You are a rotten piece of shit. First, chance I get, I will kill you, slowly. You will know precisely what is happening. I accept your deal. Knowing you, you would sell her to the first gutter slime that would make an offer. But out of curiosity, what right do you have doing this?"

"It's none of your business."

"You will regret this," Benjamin said.

It is hours later and still Eric drink to try to warm the chill inside him also to get rid of the fear in his mouth. He is frightened in more ways than he would like to admit.

He stumbled home. The street dimly lit. He is unaware of Deon following him. It is a difficult task reaching his house that night.

Shamane sees her father coming.

Moving quickly, she opened the gates, then sneaked behind some bushes. She is in no mood for him. The best thing tonight would be to avoid him at all costs.

Deon spotted her. Staying completely in the shadows, he watches her, remembering how she bolted earlier in the day. When he saw her reaction, he is now convinced she would make the perfect prey for him.

Eric stumbles into the yard, slowly going up the path towards the opened front door.

Keeping in the shadows, she patiently waits until he was inside. Moving swiftly again, she entered and shut the door behind her, also locking it securely.

"Joyce!" Eric bellowed. He is lying on the floor.

Staying in the passage until she was certain he is asleep. Shutting the lights in the house, she goes to her own bedroom. She sits down in her chair.

The curtain is open but her room was dark. As the hours passed, she grows strangely tense and worried about her mother. Prowling her bedroom, she stands in front of the window. The earlier brightness of the stars was gone. A storm brews in the distance. Opening her window, she smells the humidness in the air.

"The calm before the storm," she whispered softly.

The words made her shivered.

Steven started climbing the steep mountain. The truck is heavily loaded. He is feeling tense and nervous. He was always an active talker but the auntie beside him was too silent. Her very silence made him keep seeing the eyes of her daughter.

He is a man but he admitted to himself, he was very much afraid of that woman.

There is something dangerous about her, but he wasn't certain why he believed that to be the case.

He also realized the older woman's silence has him moody. He badly needed a smoke to unwind. Descending the mountain, he noticed a car in his rear-view mirror. Then it disappeared again, leaving behind a feeling of uneasiness.

Lowering his speed considerable, it was a lucky decision, his tire suddenly burst. Thinking fast and reacting slow, he lost control of the truck. It smashed into the side of the hill, burst backwards and spun around to face the road.

He hit his head against the steering wheel. He was hurt and dizzy. His world a blur but he was still conscious and immensely relief that the truck didn't overturned.

Looking at his passenger, she was slumped against the door. Searching in the dim light, he found her purse. With it in hand, he climbed out; kneel in front of the one remaining main light. He couldn't believe his luck when he found the big wad of money. Dumping the handbag, he walks away. Before he vanished completely into the night, he looked back. He just had too.

He sees Joyce and a man standing in front of the truck, watching him. The picture they made had a sinister quality about it. The man looking at him that made his skin crawl it feels like earlier in the truck, that he remembered the changeable eyes of the daughter, her image back in his mind freak him he bolted into the night.

Anna van Dyke opens the coffee shop. She had a restless and unsettled night behind her. When she is like this, one of her children messed up. Nervous and on edge, she starts the coffee machine bumping against the counter, the keys dropped to the floor, looking at it.

"Shamane"

The name popped into her mind. Her very instinct warned her something happened. The keys she holds tightly pricked her hand. A tiny drop of blood appeared. Completely on edge now, she tries her best to prepare the coffee shop.

A long-distance trucker stops at the garage. Anna watched two men climbing out. She frowned heavily, not liking what she sees. The men entered the shop together.

"Morning, Anna. Is the coffee ready?"

"Almost take a seat while I make breakfast, Gene."

"Is Joan home?"

"Yes." Anna looks at Eugene Hoffman. She like him as her son-in-law, but his sister is her boss. The young woman is so reserved it was hard to know her. Nevertheless, Shamane loves her mother and something is wrong, done by the hand of her own child, she was certain.

She watched Gene goes to the rest room. The moment she is alone her with son, she slapped him behind the head.

"Did you smoke something, Steven? Don't lie to me; I can see it in your eyes."

"Cool it Ma. Why the early mornings hassle?"

"Where is Joyce Hoffman?"

"Who" Steven slowly focused his eyes. His mind is hazy.

"Joyce Hoffman, is she safe?" Anna grabs him by the shirt and shakes him. "Think, Steven," she hissed urgently.