Re: Earl's novella in progress

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 4:17 am

Section 9

Jason’s Ecstatic Experience

He spent three hours examining each of the publications. The publication dates of the newspapers and magazines in the two tall stacks on his desk indicated that they had been transported from the future in chronological order. Many of them had articles about Jason. Other articles provided information that would prove to be quite useful to him in his rise to power. Among the magazines were issues of a glossy weekly published by a political party that did not yet exist.

The first publication that had materialized on Darren’s desk was an issue of the local daily that would be run off the printing presses in the very near future. None of the articles in this issue were pertinent to Jason’s life, but a comparison of the publication with next Saturday’s paper would prove that it had indeed come from the future. The reason why this particular publication had been included among the others was quite evident to Darren. Jason would definitely need proof that his best friend’s father had not lost his mind. Darren put the newspaper aside. He would give it to Jason later.

At that moment Ron knocked on the door and asked his father if he could speak to him. Darren told him to come in.

He could see that his son was upset. Ron told him that Jason had walked all the way over from his uncle’s home in the middle of the night and was now hiding in the tree house. He broke down in tears when he told his father what Jason’s uncle had done to him.

Darren picked up the last publication that had materialized on his desk and followed Ron into the backyard, where he had built a good-sized tree house that was sturdy enough to support the combined weight of several big men. As the coach and his son headed toward a large oak, Loren was brought to this time and place for the last intervention. Then Ron ran the rest of the way back to the oak as the energy being positioned Loren directly above it, and he climbed up the ladder to check on his friend.

Darren found Jason on the tree house’s sun deck, huddled in one of its corners against the balustrade. The boy was lying on his left side, curled up in a fetal position. Facing the corner, he did not sit up or even turn his head. Twice his shoulders jerked spasmodically.

Darren glanced at the color photograph on the front page of The Washington Post, and a chill went up his spine as his heart was filled with awe. This traumatized boy will grow up to be the greatest leader in the history of this country!

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 4:41 am

Then Darren saw himself in Jason. He saw himself at the age of ten in the trailer park, beaten and bleeding; and his heart ached for the boy.

He squatted down close to him before he spoke.

“Jason, Ron told me what your uncle did to you last night.”

When Darren touched his shoulder, he jerked away from him.

“Please, son. Don’t jerk away from me. We care about you, and you shouldn’t be ashamed.

“You’re safe now. From now on I’ll protect you from your uncle. I promise. He won’t hurt you again, and no one will be told what he did to you. It will be our secret.”

Darren paused for a moment, but the boy did not respond.

“Jason, please listen to me. I know you’ve been through hell. You’ve been subjected to a double trauma. First, your mother was murdered; and now this.

“But your life has not been ruined. You’re down, but you’re not out. You will persevere through this tragedy. You’ll also grow up to be a very powerful man. In fact, you’ll go down in history as the greatest leader of this country!

“Your future was revealed to me just a few hours ago. I was in my study reading the morning paper when it happened. Suddenly, the paper was struck by glowing particles of green light that came out of nowhere; and it disintegrated without a trace. Then an invisible force cleared off the top of my desk, and a silvery beam of light caused newspapers and magazines to materialize upon it. These publications were transported from the future. Many of them have articles about you.

“I know this sounds crazy, but I’m telling you the truth. You’ve got to believe me!

“Jason, please sit up. Look me in the face when I’m talking to you.”

Darren paused while Jason did as he was told.

“This newspaper is one of the publications that materialized on my desk. Look at the publication date. It’s 25 years from now! The man in the photo is you, Jason! You’ve just been elected President of the United States of America!”

Hovering just above the oak’s topmost branches, the energy being was speaking telepathically to a totally helpless Loren. The bleak future of your country now depends on whether the special one truly believes Darren Black’s claims. So, they must be confirmed immediately in a dramatic way outside the range of human experience.

Suddenly, Darren was jerked up to a standing position by an invisible force. He nearly stumbled as he was pushed back from Jason. Then the coach and the two boys heard the humming sound as a silvery beam of light struck the sun deck between Darren and Jason. A startled Ron gasped in surprise; and a single newspaper began to materialize right in front of his friend, who stood up in amazement. As the colors around him seemed to grow brighter, a wide-eyed Jason experienced ecstasy.

Once the materialization was complete, the humming and the beam of light were cut off. Then the force was withdrawn, which allowed the coach to pick up the paper that had just been transported from the future. He compared it to the one he had brought with him.

Holding up the two identical newspapers for him to see, Darren exclaimed, “Now you know for sure, Jason! You’ve just seen proof! That beam of light you just saw is the same kind of light that appeared in my study. Whoever transported these publications from the future obviously has highly advanced technology at his disposal or possesses enormous powers beyond our understanding.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 4:45 am

“Whoever he is, this very powerful being wants you to rise above your victimization and fulfill your destiny. I will play a vital role in that regard as your mentor and coach. So, you and I need to talk about your future. We can speak privately in my study.”

Darren handed Jason the newspaper that had materialized before his very eyes.

“Now you have your own copy of this newspaper from the future.

“Don’t let anyone see it. When you go home after your father has been discharged, hide it in your bedroom. The top shelf in your closet would be a good place. No one must know that the future has been revealed to us.

“As you grow up, you will need to be encouraged from time to time. So, when the need arises, take out your future copy and read the articles that reveal your great destiny. They will inspire you to work hard and persevere.”

Then he spoke to his son. “Ron, since you’re Jason’s best friend and the only other eyewitness to this incredible event, I would be wrong to exclude you from the study. Besides, your future is linked to his.”

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:30 am

Section 10

Jason’s Future

The coach put his own copy of the newspaper back where it had materialized on his desk. Then he brought two plush armchairs into his study for Jason and Ron. Before he sat down on his office swivel chair, Darren picked up another newspaper -- the one he had set aside for Jason earlier that morning –- and handed it to him.

“You need undeniable proof that these newspapers and magazines were transported from the future. I have just handed you the first publication that materialized on my desk. As you can see from its name and its publication date, it is a copy of next Saturday’s paper.

“You will be presented with proof seven days from now when you compare the morning paper with the paper you’re now holding in your hands. They will be identical. In other words, both of them will be copies of the same issue. Copies that were printed on the same day. This copy, which I’m giving to you, was transported from that day in the future.

“Do you understand what I’ve just said?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right. As I said in the tree house, you’re going to be staying with us until your father is discharged from the psychiatric ward.

“However, there is a problem that demands my immediate attention. I need to deal with your uncle. I’m surprised he hasn’t called to see if you came over. He must be sleeping late.”

“What if he doesn’t want me to stay here?”

“Don’t worry. I can be very persuasive.”

Darren checked his watch.

“Lunch will be ready soon. When we’re through eating, I’m going to call your uncle and tell him that you came over and that I’m bringing you back.”

“No! I don’t want to go!”

“Jason, you don’t understand. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay. We won’t be there long.”

“I don’t want to see him!”

“I won’t let him touch you. Believe me, you won’t regret coming with me. This will be good for you. Just trust me, son.”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right. Let’s get down to business. Jason, your father let you down when you needed him the most. He has shown himself to be weak. He lacks resilience, and he’s not strong enough to protect you. So, I am your father now. You must trust me completely as if I am God. These newspapers and magazines from the future, which I shall call the Prophecies, provide all the information I need to direct your life.”

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:43 am

“May I read them?”

“No, Jason. I’m sorry. Suppose I went to my dentist and he found a cavity in one of my teeth. Which do you think would be worse? If he went ahead and filled the cavity while I was sitting there in the dental chair or if he told me to come back in two weeks?”

“If he told you to come back in two weeks.”

“That’s right, Jason. Why?”

“Because you would have time to worry about getting your cavity filled. It would be better to just get it over with.”

“Trials and tribulations are a part of life, son. As you face the future, you will be better off if you don’t know everything that will happen to you. All you need to know is that you will be victorious. You will crush all of your enemies.

“I will keep you from making wrong choices and bad decisions.

“You must put your complete trust in me because I know what is best for you in the long run. You know I will never betray you. I would even die for you, Jason.

“Do you understand what I’ve just told you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right. You have been endowed with all the talents you will need in order to succeed, but you will still have to work hard. Being the bright student that you are, you will continue to strive for academic excellence. You will also become a great athlete and play professional football. I’ll enjoy the privilege of being your coach when you’re in high school.

“You will become the founder and leader of a new political party, a national movement that will save this country. Your high social standing with the public as a professional football player will guarantee you an audience. You will be in an excellent position to establish contacts in the news media and the business community.

“Your high salary will enable you to make an enormous financial contribution to the party. You will invest much of your pay in the Stock Market. The Prophecies tell which stocks will rise and which stocks will fall. So, you will become one of the richest men in this country. But you will spend most of your wealth on the party, which will gain the support of many Americans when times get tough.

“To help you prepare for the future, I’m going to put you on two special training programs.

“I will ask your father to let me work with you as a personal trainer. An article in one of the Prophecies says he gave me his permission on the day he was discharged from the hospital.

“You will be trained in bodybuilding and cardiovascular conditioning, and I will supervise your workouts. You will also learn more about playing the game of football. Sessions will be held four days a week. By the time you’re in high school, you’ll be a great athlete.

“As I’ve just said, your physical training will begin when I have your father’s permission; but I won’t seek his permission for your political training, which will begin this Monday.

“I will teach you about the domestic enemies of this country and why fascism is superior to our current form of government. You will also learn how to start and lead a political movement and how a dictator keeps himself in power.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:48 am

“Speaking of your father, don’t ever tell him about your political training. Don’t even say we talk about politics. As your father may have told you, he and I attended the university at the same time. He undoubtedly remembers that in our senior year I supported a political science professor who had become a fascist. In fact, the professor was like a father to me. So, your father would be upset if he found out I was indoctrinating you. No doubt he would have you become a liberal just like himself.

“Jason, I hate to say this; but he will oppose you when you run for President. So, please be careful what you say to him.
“If your father is discharged from the psychiatric ward before next Saturday, don’t let him see the future copy of that day’s paper, the one I’ve just given to you. If he were to see either of your future copies, he would ask questions.

“Finally, Jason, I know you’re very disappointed in your father; but you’ve got to keep your feelings to yourself. He must not suspect you no longer respect him. Instead of becoming rebellious, set a good example as an obedient son while I direct your life.”

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 7:45 am

Section 11

Uncle Creepy Meets Coach Black

Lester Stryker was worried when he hung up the phone. There’s no way that Jason could have freed himself from the bed. Someone else would have had to untie the ropes. So, how was he able to escape last night?

Darren Black had sounded cheerful over the phone as if he were unaware of what had happened the night before, but Lester was still worried. He hoped that Jason had been too ashamed to tell anyone.

Fifteen minutes later the doorbell rang, and Lester invited the coach to come inside (although he hoped he would leave soon). Darren smiled as an apprehensive Jason followed him into his uncle’s home. Lester offered to bring Darren a drink. After declining a beer and then a soda, Darren settled for a glass of orange juice; and Lester left him and Jason in the living room and went to the kitchen.

Perhaps I have nothing to worry about.

When Lester came back to the living room, he saw Darren and Jason sitting on the couch. Darren stood up and walked over to him. He smiled as he thanked Lester for the orange juice and took the glass from his hand. After he placed it on a nearby coffee table, Darren turned back to face Lester again.

Suddenly, he punched him in the nose and began to subject him to a savage beating. Jason had never seen a big man move so quickly.

Several minutes later Lester was down on his hands and knees, gasping for breath between sobs. He had been repeatedly punched, elbowed, and kicked.

Bruises were not the only injuries he had sustained. His nose was bleeding and broken. His upper lip was split, and both of his ears were torn. A bloody tooth was lying on the white living room carpet.

“Listen carefully. Jason will be staying with us until his father is discharged. You had better leave him alone, you stinking pervert. If you don’t keep your hands to yourself, I will kill you. I’ll make you suffer before you finally die. Then I’ll dismember your body and hide the pieces where no one will ever find them.”

Before his uncle could stand up, Jason ran over to Lester and kicked him in the mouth hard enough to crack a tooth. Glaring at him with rage in his eyes, he breathed, “Someday I will kill you!” Then he ran outside to Darren’s car. He could not stand to be in his uncle’s home.

Darren gulped down the orange juice and spoke to Lester once more before he left. “Tell your doctor and your dentist you were mugged.”

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 7:54 am

Section 12

The Bonding

Darren and Jason had the house to themselves when they returned from Lester’s home. Ron’s mother had taken him shopping for clothes. As he shut and locked the front door, Darren said, “Everything’s going to be all right, Jason.”

“Thanks, Mr. Black, for all you’ve done.”

“You don’t need to be so formal, Jason. Just call me Coach.”

Jason’s eyes glistened with tears. The intense grief over the deaths of his mother and his unborn sister. The deep humiliation and shame over what his uncle had done to him. The extreme disappointment in his father. And now this big, tough man whom he admired so much -- the only man he knew personally who had once played professional football -- not only was taking a personal interest in him, but also would show him the way to future greatness. Jason was emotionally overwhelmed.

“I’m . . . I’m sorry, Coach. I . . . I don’t mean to . . . to cry.”

Darren squatted down so that Jason would not have to look up to see his face.

“Son, you don’t need to apologize. I know what you’ve been through. I understand. And there’s no shame in crying. Everybody cries. Just let it out.”

Jason began to weep, and Darren reached out to hug him. As the boy sobbed against his broad shoulder, he picked him up and walked over to the living room couch where he sat down. Darren continued to hold Jason closely in his strong arms (as the boy continued to sob deeply) and gently patted him on the back until he fell asleep.

Jason had now bonded with Darren, whom he would still call Coach when he was a man. Even when he was President of the United States.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:10 am

Section 13

David’s Second Loss

David Stryker was discharged from the psychiatric ward on the Saturday of the following week. Before he left the hospital, he was told where his son was staying. Then he called the Blacks to let them know he was on his way to pick him up.

Jason had already compared the morning paper with the first publication that had materialized on Darren’s desk. The two newspapers were identical.

When he arrived at their home, David expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Darren and Susan.

Darren’s demeanor of feigned friendliness concealed the contempt he now felt for his former university classmate, the father of his son’s best friend. You really let your son down, Professor.

David felt the same way about himself.

As Jason rode in the car with him, he tried to apologize for his nervous breakdown; but he was too embarrassed and ashamed to tell him what was on his mind. So, instead, he engaged in chitchat and asked him if he had had a good time staying with the Blacks.

Jason was smiling, but he was filled with bitter resentment. You should have seen what Coach Black did to that rotten brother of yours! Do you know how to fight? No, of course not! You’re just a wimp!

Before his nervous breakdown, David had lost his wife. Now he had lost his son.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 9:04 am

Section 14

The Conspiratorial Coach

Darren Black was a very popular man in conservative north Austin. This clean-living former professional football player was an outstanding high-school coach. The football boosters were happy because the teams he coached frequently had winning seasons. The teachers of the players were happy because he insisted that they keep up with their schoolwork and make good grades. The parents were happy because he stood for traditional moral values and expected his players to follow a strict code of conduct.

But Darren, whose sunny smile concealed a dark purpose, had nothing but contempt for the Republican politics of his fellow suburbanites. He was doing more than just coaching football at a local high school. He was training a traumatized but highly talented and intensely motivated boy for a most extraordinary future. One of Darren’s reading assignments for this intellectually receptive boy was an out-of-print book written years ago by a controversial political science professor at the university. Darren gave him an autographed copy. The boy was an apt pupil, and the conspiratorial coach taught him well. In time the consequences of Darren’s indoctrination sessions would cost tens of millions of Americans their lives.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 7:57 pm

Section 15

Eight Years Later

The energy being and Loren had left the coach’s backyard to resume their journey through space and time. It spoke to him before they made their next stop.

We will not return to the present until I have checked to be sure that the barrier’s vision of a bleak future for your country will be realized.

I will also need to monitor Jason Stryker’s mind as that future unfolds. So, we will be making several stops for that purpose as well.

We will now see him at the age of 18.

The time was the day of Jason’s graduation from high school. The place was the same park where Caroline Stryker had died eight years ago. Darren and Susan were hosting an outdoor barbecue that evening for the new graduates, who had received their diplomas earlier in the day. No alcoholic beverages were being served.

Loren saw David chatting with Susan, who was telling him how much she had enjoyed reading his latest book.

She knew nothing of her husband’s fascist beliefs (not to mention Jason’s indoctrination) because he deliberately had not shared them with her. She also had not been told about Jason’s childhood rape, and Darren had kept his low opinion of David to himself.

Susan was called away by her husband; and David was left with his thoughts, which Loren began to read by means of the mind link. Memories of the last eight years were also accessed and downloaded.

Loren learned that David had not remarried.

He also learned that he was still ashamed of the nervous breakdown he had suffered eight years ago, even though he had met all of his professorial responsibilities and had done the best he could to be a good father.

He had feared that Jason might have difficulty coping with the loss of his mother. The young boy had been very close to her. So, over the next few months, David watched his son closely for any warning signs that would have indicated the need for psychotherapy.

He did notice that Jason had become reserved in the way he related to him, but he thought he would eventually grow out of it. Although he missed the closeness that he and his son had enjoyed before Caroline’s murder, David did not believe this change was indicative of a serious emotional problem. (However, a time would come during his adolescence when he would worry about him again.)

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:09 pm

Jason continued to excel academically and kept himself busy. David was grateful to Coach Black for spending so much time with him.

He also continued to be obedient and was not rebellious during his adolescence.

David could not explain why his son had been so well-behaved. Perhaps he had grown up quickly because of Caroline’s murder, which still had not been solved.

David was very proud of his high achieving son.

When he was in high school, Jason joined the debate team. His speech teachers told David that his son showed great promise as a public speaker. He did not know that Jason’s decision to take speech and debate classes had been made for him by Darren Black as part of his clandestine political training.

During his junior and senior years, he was among the students honored in Who’s Who Among American High School Students; and he graduated as the valedictorian of his class.

Until Jason asked his parents if he could play on a youth football team, David had never imagined that any son of his would become a great athlete. He not only had not had any interest in sports when he was a boy, but also had become prejudiced against football players when he was in high school. Several members of his school’s team had bullied him.

But as Jason was growing up, David respected his love for the sport. Even though he never learned how football was played, he attended all of his games. Now he was highly amused that these former bullies of his would soon hear that David Stryker’s son was playing college football.

Jason, who towered over his slightly built father by over a foot, was the biggest and strongest boy in his class. This fall he would start playing at the university, where he would major in economics and minor in political science.

David was especially proud of how his son had treated other students at school. Ignoring cliquish peer pressure, he had defended and even befriended students who were being bullied.

Jason had shown a propensity to side with the underdog ever since he was a young boy. For that reason David had chided himself whenever he suspected his son of cultivating a following.

He cherished the memories of watching Jason’s football games with the school outsiders, who sat together in the stadium. They were always happy to see Professor Stryker, the father of their friend; and because his own teenage experiences had been similar to theirs, he could easily relate to them. Had it not been for Jason, most of them would not have gone to any of the football games. (David had never gone to any at his high school.) But they were there for Jason, his son. They always brought a banner that said “GO, JASON, GO!” and had a great time cheering for him.

David’s thoughts were interrupted when one of his son’s formerly bullied friends came over to chat with him.

His name was Dirk Pierce. He and Jason were particularly close, and David had a special place in his heart for him. The two boys had become friends in the early fall of their freshman year.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:22 pm

They met for the first time in one of the high school’s hallways. Jason was on his way to the cafeteria when he saw a bully punch a scrawny boy without provocation. He reacted by slamming the bully against the nearest locker. The cowed bully would heed his warning to stay away from the boy.

Jason invited him to eat lunch with him. When the boy had told him his name, he also invited him to come over after school. So, Dirk took Jason’s bus instead of his own and followed him to his home, where he was introduced to David.

Jason asked his father if Dirk could eat dinner with them, and David said he could. So, the boy called home and asked his adoptive mother if he could eat dinner with the Strykers. David also spoke to her on the phone and said she would not have to drive over to pick him up. He said he would be glad to drive Dirk home when it was time for him to leave.

Then the two boys talked in the privacy of Jason’s bedroom until dinner was ready.

As the three of them ate in the dining room that evening, Dirk seemed to be lost in thought; but David thought nothing of it. The two boys occasionally gave each other knowing looks as if they were sharing a dark secret.

When he left for home, Dirk was carrying a newspaper that Jason had given to him. He had told him to put the paper in his backpack to keep it from being seen by David or anyone else.

David would learn from Jason that Dirk’s childhood had been traumatic. The boy had been beaten repeatedly by his alcoholic father for years, and his self-absorbed mother had been indifferent to his plight.

Child Protective Services had finally intervened when he was in junior high school. They placed him in the care of a loving married couple who adopted him.

Dirk was no longer being subjected to abuse at home, but he was still being bullied at school. So, Jason taught him how to defend himself.

He also persuaded his adoptive parents to purchase a health club membership for him. They also hired a personal trainer at the health club to work with him on a bodybuilding program.

After three years of strenuous workouts, a special diet, and bodybuilding supplements, Dirk had a well-developed physique and no longer lacked self-confidence. He even made the football team during his senior year. The vacant look in his eyes had been replaced by a penetrating stare.

Jason had also developed a penetrating stare. His father found it to be slightly disturbing. It reminded him of Hitler.

Loren was feeling oddly fatigued. So, he gave his brain a rest by deactivating the link to David’s mind. He would reactivate it when Dirk and David had finished talking.

I will give you a mind link to that human at our next stop in time. He will become the second most feared man in your country.

When Dirk had left, David beamed with pride. Jason had had such a positive influence on him. He had helped Dirk to turn his life around. Despite the demands of his classes and extracurricular activities, Jason had always found time to help his troubled friends.

As he continued to reflect on his son’s progress over the last eight years, David was intrigued by how different Jason was from the way he had been during his own teenage years. Jason certainly was not shy and introverted as his father had been, but he was not arrogant either. He did not swagger, but conducted himself with a confident air of purpose.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:36 pm

Since his son had developed a good work ethic and strong leadership skills, David was not concerned about his chances of being successful in a career when he was no longer a football player. But Jason would not discuss his long-range plans for the future. His father had no inkling of what he would eventually become.

Most of Jason’s outsider friends, many of his teammates, and other fellow students had joined a club that he had founded during his junior year. David had heard of this club, but assumed that it was just another extracurricular activity. He certainly did not know that his son had been conducting indoctrination sessions. By the time he graduated, Jason had set up more chapters of the Nationalist Club at other high schools in Austin.

David’s friends and colleagues told him he had the perfect son. They would have been surprised to learn that he was actually worried about him.

Jason behaved respectfully toward his father, but he would not confide in him. Last summer he had begun to have nightmares more often, but he refused to tell David about any of them. Not even when he woke up screaming.

His father was also concerned about his lack of interest in dating. When he was a teenager, David had been too shy to ask any girl out; but Jason, who was quite handsome and self-confident, had not even gone on a blind date. David suspected that his son was emotionally disturbed, and he feared that he might be asexual or gay.

On a rainy Friday evening last fall, he and his son were eating dinner in the dining room of his home. Jason was drinking a tall glass of tomato juice when his father spoke to him. “Son, I don’t mean to pry; but you haven’t gone on a single date since you started high school.”

“Dad, I don’t have time for girls. You know I’m extremely busy.”

“Son, I’m so proud of you. I don’t know where you find the time. I know how much you care for your bullied friends, but you really should have a girlfriend.”

“Dad, you never had a girlfriend in high school. So, where do you get off telling me I should have one?”

“Jason, I just want you to be happy. Some of my colleagues at the university have nice teenage daughters who would be thrilled to go out with you.”

“I said I don’t have the time.”

David then asked his son a question that he immediately regretted. “Jason, aren’t you attracted to young women?”

His eyes glaring with rage, Jason shot out of his chair. The force of his sudden movement caused the heavy wooden chair to fall over, and he bumped the sturdy dining room table hard enough to cause water to splash out of the heavy duty glass pitcher.

Then he threw his drink over his father’s head. The glass he had been holding shattered on the wall behind David; and Jason yelled in a deep, booming voice. “AND WHY HAVEN’T YOU REMARRIED? AREN’T YOU ATTRACTED TO WOMEN ANYMORE?”

David was shocked by his son’s violent outburst. He had never acted like this before. David had never seen such an outpouring of anger and hurt. Jason, who had been remarkably self-controlled since the death of his mother, was now clenching his large fists in rage. His father could hear his heavy breathing. Jason’s piercing stare was so intense that he had to look away.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:46 pm

Other fathers would have yelled at their sons for doing what Jason had just done, but David saw an opportunity to hopefully establish a closer relationship with his son. Ignoring the insult, he spoke softly to him. “Jason, I owe you an apology. I didn’t mean to be offensive. I’m only trying to help you, son.”

“I DON’T NEED ANY HELP!”

Jason paused for a moment while he regained his composure. Then he bowed his head in embarrassment and shame as he spoke in a subdued voice. “I lost my temper. I’m . . . I’m sorry. I’ll clean up the mess, Dad.” He seemed to be fighting off tears.

While Jason was using a hand broom and dustpan to sweep up shards of broken glass, his father spoke to him. “Son, I don’t care about the mess. I care about you. I want to know why you reacted the way you did. I can tell that something has been troubling you, but I don’t know what it is. Jason, I want you to feel free to tell me.”

“Nothing’s troubling me, Dad. I just lost my temper.”

“Son, if you won’t talk to me, will you please talk to someone you trust? You’ve been close to Coach Black for years. Would you be willing to talk to him?”

“Dad, there’s nothing to talk about.”

“All right, Jason. I won’t say any more. Just remember that I care about you.”

“Yes, sir.”

This particular memory had come to an end.

One more memory was accessed and downloaded by the link to David’s mind. The time of this memory was later that same night.

After midnight David was still working in his study, which was across the hall from Jason’s bedroom. If he had closed the door behind him, he would not have heard his son moaning in his sleep.

“No . . . no . . . don’t . . . don’t . . .”

David stopped typing on the keyboard of his laptop and stood up. This was not the first time his son had talked in his sleep. Jason was having another nightmare.

“Go away . . . don’t touch me . . . leave me alone.”

Then Jason screamed himself awake. “DON’T TOUCH ME!”

David came into Jason’s bedroom without knocking and flipped the light switch. Jason was sitting bolt upright in his bed. Cold sweat had broken out on his forehead. David could see the frantic look in his eyes. Then Jason looked his father in the face and glared at him.

“I heard you moaning in your sleep.”

“Dad, get out of my bedroom! Leave me alone!”

“Jason, you need professional help. Would you be willing to see a clinical psychologist?”

“Are you serious? Absolutely not! I wouldn’t be caught dead in a shrink’s office!”

“All right, Jason. If you won’t let me help you, please talk to Coach Black. I trust his judgment. He’s had years of experience working with teenage boys.”

“Yes, Dad, I’ll talk to him. I’ll do what you say. I’ll call him after I’ve had breakfast. Just let me go back to sleep.”

“You look thirsty. Would you like a glass of ice water?”

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 9:01 pm

“Sure, Dad.”

When his father returned from the kitchen, Jason said, “Thanks. Sorry I got mad.”

The link to David’s mind deactivated itself. In addition to the usual slight dizziness, Loren was left with a feeling of sadness. David wanted to help his son, but Jason was unwilling. He longed to know what was troubling him. He wanted to know why he was having nightmares more often than he did when he was younger.

Loren glanced to his left and saw Jason leaning against the wide trunk of an oak with his arms folded across his chest. Left alone for just a brief moment, he was glaring at his father, who was not even aware of his presence.

As Loren began to read Jason’s mind, the link accessed and downloaded one of his memories. The time of the memory was the morning after his violent outburst in his father’s dining room. The place was Darren Black’s study. Jason was in the middle of a tearful conference with his high-school football coach.

“Dad suspects I’m not attracted to girls, and he’s right! I’ve never wanted to date any. One of the guys on the team once offered to set me up with a blind date, but I told him I was too busy.

“I went to a bookstore last week to look at an issue of Playboy. I wanted to see if I would be sexually aroused by any of the pictures of nude women. You know I had no intention of buying the rotten magazine. I just picked up an issue at the magazine stand and looked at it. But I wasn’t aroused by any of the nudes. No reaction at all. A normal guy would have been aroused. Coach, what’s wrong with me? I’m sexually abnormal! I feel like a loser!”

“Jason, you’re being way too hard on yourself. You’re not abnormal. Believe me, you have no reason to be ashamed. You’re sexually repressed because of the brutal rape you suffered when you were an innocent child. You were only ten, a particularly vulnerable age. You’re terrified of sexual arousal because of the pain and humiliation you suffered when you were assaulted by your uncle. I’ve noticed how nervous you get when the shallow girls come on to you.

“Son, I understand how you feel. The pop culture constantly sends the pernicious message that teenagers who abstain from sex aren’t cool, and you’ve been made to feel inferior about your repression. As a victim of sexual abuse, you deeply resent it; and rightly so. No wonder you got mad at your father. Besides, since you’re a big football star, you’re expected to be a stud.

“Even when I was your age, guys like me were expected to be skirt chasers. But I wasn’t sexually active, even though I had a steady girlfriend. I wasn’t a feminist, and I was just as red-blooded as the next guy. But I respected women. I couldn’t use any girl, not even any groupie who wanted to be used. I knew what the sexual revolution was doing to this country. It certainly had had a devastating impact in my mother’s life.

“Jason, even if you hadn’t been raped by your uncle, you still wouldn’t be sexually active today because you and I share the same moral values.”

“But that’s beside the point, Coach! I’m different from the way you were! You experienced sexual desire, but you chose to wait until you got married! I’ve not been able to make that choice because I’m not attracted to women!”

“Please calm down, Jason. I hate to see you torturing yourself.

“Since you’re so discouraged, you need to be told what the Prophecies say about your personal life in the future. I wasn’t going to tell you until much later, but you obviously need to know this now. You need to be encouraged.

“You will have a girlfriend, whom you’ll meet in Austin; and she will become your wife. A future issue of the party magazine features an interview with her. She tells how the two of you met, and one of the photographs that accompany the article was taken at your wedding. She has a radiant smile, and you have a big grin on your face.”

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 9:10 pm

“What’s her name, Coach?”

“Jane Billingsley.

“But don’t go searching for her, Jason. You won’t meet her that way.”

“When will I meet her?”

“During your senior year at the university.”

“Four years from now? Coach, I can’t wait that long! I want to be normal now!”

“Jason, you’ll just have to wait. In the interview Jane says the two of you met during your senior year.

“Give yourself a break, son. You shouldn’t be ashamed. Think of all you’ve accomplished. You’re a genius. You’re truly a Renaissance man. Try to not dwell on your emotional pain. While you’re studying hard and playing football at the university, you’ll hardly have time to think about it; and you won’t have to worry about finding a decent young woman to be your wife. Four years from now, Jane will just happen to cross your path.”

This particular memory had come to an end.

Loren had barely begun to read Jason’s thoughts.

The new graduate could not deny that his father loved him, but he still held a grudge. His uncle was still among the living, and he had not spent a single day in prison. If Dad had been more of a man instead of having a nervous breakdown, Uncle Creepy would have left me alone.

The mind link also accessed and downloaded earlier memories.

The physical wounds that Lester Stryker had suffered at the hands of Coach Black had long since healed, but the deep psychological wounds that Jason had suffered had not even begun to heal. His undeserved feelings of shame had deepened over the last eight years. Besides Ron, he had told no one.

Sometimes his shame would turn to anger. Football had provided an outlet for his anger; and during the off-season he would take his anger out on a punching bag, which he would imagine was his uncle’s head.

His uncle had been the cause of the nightmares. Nightmares in which Uncle Creepy would morph into a horribly repulsive monster that was about to rape him.

“Hey, Jason!” hollered Dirk. “We’re going to have a water balloon fight! Want to join us?”

“Sure!”

He grinned as he ran to his friends. The link to his mind had deactivated itself.

Loren cared deeply for David and Jason, but there was nothing he could do to save them from their dark destinies. He was on the verge of tears when the energy being took him away.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 11:15 pm

Section 16

The Girl in Lufkin

The girl had grown up in Lufkin, the quiet East Texas town of her birth. She graduated from high school in the same year as Jason. She would also be attending the same university.

On the day she was born, her father was bitterly disappointed. Not only had he wanted a son instead of a daughter, but also his wife would not be able to have any more children because her Fallopian tubes had been damaged during the pregnancy. The new father was too petty to consider adoption; so, his daughter would remain an only child.

Her mother Beth was a traditional housewife who was devoted to her.

But Beth’s husband Fred, who ran a lucrative business in their hometown, was not the father he should have been. Fearful of alienating his wife, he went through the pretense of being a dutiful father. But he never showed affection to his daughter during her formative years, and she sensed and internalized his rejection.

The storybooks her mother read to her provided an escape for the imaginative young girl. As she advanced from one grade to the next, she would busy herself with schoolwork to keep from dwelling on her emotional pain. She would also become a voracious reader of popular fiction and classical literature.

By the time she was ten years old, her father had developed a drinking problem. He never became inebriated on his lunch break at work, but would get drunk at home or go out drinking after dinner. When he got drunk, the young girl would seek the refuge of her bedroom.

Beth once had to leave her alone with Fred for the weekend. Their daughter’s freshman year in high school had just begun. That Saturday in the early evening, the girl cooked dinner for the two of them. As they ate in the dining room, Fred drank several glasses of wine and became tipsy. The girl attempted to engage him in chitchat about school, but he responded with an insult. Reinforcing her negative self-image, he told his sensitive daughter she was not attractive and no boy would ever want her. As the girl fought back the tears, Fred warned her to not tell her mother when she came home.

For the next three years, she would not complain to Beth about him because she did not want to cause any trouble. But in her senior year on the night before Christmas, her mother found her crying in the garage of their home. Beth wanted to know why.

They had just finished dinner. While Beth was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher, Fred was drinking another glass of wine in the dining room. The girl, who was helping her mother clean up, had just returned to the dining room to finish collecting the dirty dishes. She told her father she had started writing a valedictory address. Since her grade point average was the highest of the senior class, she was expected to be the valedictorian.

But Fred, who had already become tipsy, responded with an insult. “Why would the school choose you?”

Her mother saw her just as she ran out of the dining room. She caught up with her in the garage.

When the girl finished telling her how her father had treated her over the years, her mother told her to wait in her bedroom while she talked to him. Beth had turned a blind eye to her husband’s drinking, but now she had had enough.

The girl could hear her parents raising their voices all the way from the dining room downstairs. Distressed by the family discord, she slipped out of the house without telling them where she was going and drove to the town square.

Christmas lights and other outdoor decorations had been put up by hired professionals the day after Thanksgiving, and snow had just fallen in Lufkin for the first time since the day she was born. As more snow began to fall, she parked her car in one of the parking spaces around the square and started listening to Christmas songs on her iPod.

by **Earl** Thu Jan 01, 2015 11:26 pm

She had just calmed down when her cell phone vibrated with a ring. Upon answering the call, she heard her mother’s anxious voice (a voice that was hoarse from shouting) asking her to please come home.

Her parents had a heart-to-heart talk with her when she came back. She could tell that her mother had been crying.

Fred had admitted to Beth that he had rejected their daughter from the day she was born. He had also agreed to seek medical treatment for his alcoholism.

He broke down when he apologized to his daughter for the way he had treated her over the years. Since her father usually was not emotional in her presence when he was sober, she was surprised to see him cry. But she suspected that he was more upset over her mother’s threat to leave him if he did not change his ways.

Their daughter had suffered deep psychological wounds. Her father was willing to pay for clinical therapy, but she declined his offer. She was afraid she would be teased even more if classmates found out she was seeing a psychologist.

A week later the girl was spending New Year’s Eve at home with her mother. Her father was not there. He had checked into a detox center. The girl had finished writing the final draft of her valedictory speech late that afternoon, and now she was listening to Stravinsky’s Petrushka on the CD stereo in the living room. After dinner she and her mother would watch It’s a Wonderful Life on TV.

The girl was encouraged and looked forward to the new year.

by **Earl** Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:17 am

Section 17

The Coed in Austin

The time was four years after Jason and the girl had graduated from their respective high schools. The day was a Friday in February, late in the afternoon. The place was the campus of the university.

Loren, whose abduction had occurred three months before this time, was not here. The energy being was not stopping at this time and place.

Sitting behind the steering wheel of her used car, a slim coed wearing John Lennon glasses was waiting at an intersection for the traffic light to change. Her long dark brown hair was done up in a loose ponytail. She had a double major in library science and English literature and would be graduating summa cum laude at the end of the semester. She had just left her last class of the week and was on her way back to her apartment where she lived by herself. She had been looking forward to a restful weekend. But when the light changed, the engine of her car died. She sighed when she could not start it again.

Glancing in the rear view mirror of her stalled car, the coed saw a big guy get out of the white pickup behind her. She recognized him immediately; he was a popular but taciturn football player named Jason Stryker. She had seen pictures of him on the front page of the student newspaper. But since she was not a football fan, she had not read any newspaper or magazine articles about him until last summer, when she read a front-page article in the local daily. Stryker had saved a local high-school girl from being gang-raped by five of his teammates in the athletic dorm.

The university coed did not know that he had been living off campus with his father, and she certainly did not know that his presence in the dorm that night was not a coincidence. His former high-school coach had given him a call on his cell phone.

The big guy walked over to her car door, and she rolled the window down. He was even better looking in person than he was in pictures.

by **Earl** Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:09 am

“Having car trouble?”

After he finished speaking to her, Jason got back into his pickup and drove it around her car to the other side of the intersection where he parked by the curb. Then he ran back and pushed her car as she steered. Several students stopped to watch him. She followed his instructions and parked her car in front of his pickup. Then he used his cell phone to call the nearest reputable auto repair shop. A wrecker would be sent to tow her car.

As they waited for the wrecker to arrive, Jason asked her a question to break the awkward silence between them.

“What’s your name?”

“Jane Billingsley.”

It’s her! After all this waiting, I’ve finally met her!

“W-w-would you like me t-t-to take you out to d-d-dinner after we’ve dropped your car off?”

“Sure! You’re very kind.”

Get a grip on yourself, Stryker. Don’t stutter.

The two of them were chatting about the university when the wrecker arrived. Jane rode in Jason’s pickup as he followed the wrecker to the auto repair shop.

They were hungry by the time she had finished speaking to the mechanic who took charge of her car. As they walked back to Jason’s pickup, he asked her if she liked Italian food; and when she said she did, he said there was an Italian restaurant nearby.

While they waited in the restaurant for the waiter to bring their orders, Jason started asking her questions to get to know her.

He asked her where she was from, and she told him.

Then he asked her if she had liked high school. She told him she had hated it. She had excelled academically, but had been teased by many of the popular students because of her father’s reputation as a drunk. Mocking her shyness and her sense of modesty, they had also called her “plain Jane.”

I just knew my future wife would be an outsider. None of the outsiders at Jason’s high school had been shallow.
She wondered why he was so eager to learn as much as he could about her. He hardly talked about himself. She had not intended to confide in him, but was flattered by his attention.

He would have taken her to a movie when they had finished eating, but now was not the time. She had just met him, and he did not want her to think he was on the make.

As he drove her to her apartment, Jane told him how her father had compounded her misery at home. She told him that he had said she was not attractive and no boy would ever want her.

“Your father was dead wrong, Jane. You’re a beautiful gal, and I admire you for studying hard and excelling academically in spite of your father and the bullies at your school.”

“Why, thank you, Jason,” she replied, blushing. “I appreciate your compliments.”

“How are your parents doing today?”

For a moment she could not speak.

Upon regaining her composure, she answered his question and told him what had happened during the Christmas break and the rest of her senior year in high school.

by **Earl** Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:50 am

She told him how hopeful she had been since Christmas Eve. The valedictory address she had written over the break was approved by the principal in the first week of the new semester, and she started practicing her speech.

Fred suffered a relapse, but he did not give up. He continued to undergo treatment for his alcoholism.

He had had a change of heart about his daughter. When he was told that she had been given the title of class valedictorian, he told her he was so proud of her. He also tearfully promised that he would make up for all of the years he had not treated her right.

Ever since she had read about them in elementary school, Jane had wanted to visit the Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon; but her father would always say he was too busy at work to leave town. Now he was telling her that he would take the family to both of those tourist attractions this summer. But that time would never come.

At the graduation ceremony, Jane delivered her speech with poise and self-confidence. Both the content and the delivery of her speech impressed her audience, including many of those who had made fun of her over the years. Jane was basking in the moment of her final triumph in high school, unaware that her parents were now dead. They had been killed in a car wreck on their way to the football stadium.

When the graduating seniors had been dismissed, several of Jane’s former classmates found her in the crowd and spoke to her. They praised her speech and apologized for the way they had treated her, and she graciously accepted their apologies.

She had never been so happy. Her life seemed to have changed for the better.

Jane was eagerly anticipating her parents’ reaction to her speech. The new graduate could not wait to hear what they had to say. She expected to meet them outside the south gate, where they had said they would wait for her after the graduation ceremony.

Upon exiting the stadium, Jane noticed that a patrol car was parked by the curb in front of the gate; and she was met by two police officers who had been waiting for her. Informed about her parents’ deaths, she began to sob hysterically. She had loved her mother dearly and had longed for her father’s love.

Then an English teacher named Alice McCready exited the stadium through the same gate. She had been one of Jane’s favorite teachers. When she saw her sobbing, she asked the cops what had happened.

Alice did not want her grief-stricken former student to spend the night by herself. Since Jane obviously was in no condition to drive, the concerned teacher gave her a ride from the stadium. When the two of them arrived at Alice’s home, they were met by her husband Harold. She had called him on her cell phone to let him know what had happened. Jane handed her keys to him; and the McCreadys’ teenage son Mark drove him to the stadium, from which he drove Jane’s car back to his home. She would spend several nights at their home until she was ready to sleep alone.

Alice and Harold also helped her make the funeral arrangements. She would never forget their kindness.

The funeral home was not large enough to accommodate all of the people who came to her parents’ funeral.

After the funeral Jane wrote letters to thank everyone who had purchased floral arrangements or mailed sympathy cards to her; but aside from her former English teacher Alice McCready, she had no desire to see anyone. She just wanted to be left alone.

by **Earl** Fri Jan 02, 2015 11:19 am

Within a week of their deaths, she had a meeting with her parents’ attorney at his law office. She was emotionally numb as she listened to the reading of the will. Her inheritance would provide more than enough funds to cover all of her living expenses while she was attending the University of Texas, but her newly acquired wealth did not lessen the intensity of her grief.

Jane would study hard to keep from dwelling on her grief and loneliness. She also would keep to herself and have only a few friends.

Jason and Jane had arrived at her apartment complex. He parked his pickup in a parking space near her apartment and turned off the engine. Reaching across the seat, he gently grasped her left hand with his right and spoke to her in a deep but gentle voice. “Jane, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” There was an intense look in his eyes as if he wanted to say more.

“There’s no need to apologize, Jason.”

As he escorted her to her apartment, he told her to call him tomorrow when her car was ready. He waited as she searched her purse for her keys. When she had unlocked the door, they told each other good-night.

As she got ready for bed, Jane thought about him. She certainly was attracted to him, but did not want to get her hopes up. After all, he was a star football player while she was just a plain girl from Lufkin. Besides, he probably had a girlfriend.

As he drove her back to the auto repair shop the following day, Jason asked her if he could take her out to dinner again.

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“No, I don’t have one.”

Jane was surprised. She would have asked him why he did not have a girlfriend, but he had become tense.

“Jason, why are you interested in me? I’m not as pretty as the cheerleaders and the sorority sisters.”

“That’s not true, Jane. Don’t sell yourself short. Besides, I don’t want to date any social climbers. They’re superficial. I can’t stand them.”

How interesting. He’s a football player, but he talks like an outsider.

He took her to an expensive seafood restaurant that night.

When they returned to her apartment, she invited him inside. Jason sat on a large sofa bed in the living room. After she set her purse down on a coffee table in front of the sofa, Jane went to the refrigerator in the kitchen. She brought him a large glass of tomato juice and sat down on a plush armchair. They faced each other across the coffee table and continued talking about his father. Jane told Jason she had read each of his father’s best-sellers. She had not been particularly interested in world history before she read his first book. But she had found the best-sellers to be fascinating because they read like novels.

As he swallowed the last mouthful of tomato juice, she said, “You haven’t told me about your mother.”

“Jane, she’s been dead for twelve years. S-she was m-m-murdered.”

Stop stuttering. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his thighs as he bowed his head. Then he hid his face in his hands. Get a grip on yourself, or she’ll think you’re weak. He had not cried since the conference with Coach Black during the fall of his senior year in high school, but now he failed to regain his composure and began to weep.

Jane stood up from the armchair and walked over to the sofa. She sat next to him on his left and gently draped her right arm on his heaving shoulders.

by **Earl** Fri Jan 02, 2015 11:31 am

Jason (who was now sobbing) was the exact opposite of her father, a scrawny man who had cut himself off from his own emotions. Her father had made her feel less than feminine, but this star football player had taken a personal interest in her. His emotional vulnerability enhanced his rugged appearance.

Jane was touched by Jason’s distress. She had never had a crush before, but now she was feeling a sudden onrush of affection for him.

She removed her arm from his shoulders when he stopped crying and sat up.

As she handed him a packet of tissues from her purse, Jason began to tell her about the day his mother’s body was found in the park. When he told her about his father’s nervous breakdown and the rape, tears came to her eyes. He even told her about the nightmares and his sexual repression.

“I never would have suspected that someone like you was hurting so much. I was jealous of the popular students at my high school because they seemed to be living charmed lives while I was having to put up with my dad.”

“You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, Jane.”

For a moment neither of them said a word. Then Jason broke the silence.

“Now you probably think I’m less of a man.”

“Jason, that’s ridiculous. Don’t be so macho. Remember what you told me? Don’t sell yourself short.”

As he stood up, he said, “Jane, I really should leave now. I’ve just made a fool of myself. I never should have told you about my personal problems.”

“But I don’t want you to go.”

“Why not?”

“Because . . . because I’ve fallen in love with you.”

“You have? Really?”

“Yes, Jason.”

“In spite of my sexual problem?”

“Yes, in spite of your problem. I don’t think you’re less of a man just because you’re sexually repressed. You’re the most rugged guy I’ve ever met, and I’m amazed at how much you’ve accomplished in spite of your childhood trauma. You’ve been way too hard on yourself. I’m sure you’ll overcome your problem someday.”

With your help, Jane.

“I didn’t think I’d ever have a boyfriend, but now I’ve fallen in love with you.”

“I love you, too, Jane.”

“Jason, have you ever held a girl in your arms?”

“Are you kidding? Of course not. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve never been held by a guy.”

“Do you want me to hug you?”

“Yes, Jason. That’s all I want you to do. Just hug me. I want to be the first girl you’ve ever hugged.”

“You’ll be the only one, Jane.”

They gave each other a long hug while standing up.

Then as Jane smiled shyly at Jason, she lowered the back of the sofa bed; and he got on the sofa and lay down on his back.

As Jane lay next to him, she sighed. “I feel safe with you. I know you wouldn’t take advantage of me if you were free of your repression.”

by **Earl** Fri Jan 02, 2015 11:38 am

“We share the same moral values, Jane.”

As they tenderly embraced each other, both of them were feeling a great sense of relief.

Jane had peace of mind for the first time in her life. In addition to her academic achievements, she now had a wonderful boyfriend. The popular girls at her high school who had put her down would turn green with envy if they could see her now.

Jason had known he would meet her during his senior year. However, since the beginning of the fall semester, time had seemed to slow down to a crawl as he waited for the day; and he had grown tired of waiting. But now he was relieved because his future wife had just fallen in love with him. Once they were married, he would overcome his sexual repression -- although, as Coach Black had told him, it would take time. He would lead the Nationalist Party to victory with Jane by his side.

The two of them had also begun to feel drowsy. Soon he would fall asleep on her sofa. As she dozed off in his arms, he whispered, “I’ve waited so long for you.”

by Sponsored content