("The Equalizer" and Mickey Kostmayer have been 'borrowed' from Michael Sloan, Richare Lindheim and Universal Studios. Anna and Cathie remain real. The story is just for fun...we gain nothing from it.)

What has Anna done? Cathie wondered as she slowly chewed her breakfast of cold pizza left over from the night before. I know she loves Mickey and I know she's impulsive; but why did she get into the car with him? Pausing in her thoughts, she reached across the table for the mug upon which was written..."Not another crisis...my schedule's full!!!"

After reading these words, she slowly took a sip of coffee. I've tried to email her, but messages keep coming back as undeliverable. Absently she reached down to tie her shoes, but her thoughts had returned to a line from Anna's story. "To your friends and family, it will seem like you've dropped off the face of the earth." If the undeliverabale email was any indication, that was exactly what had happened!

Glancing up at the clock, she realized she was going to be late for work. Yet she couldn't get her mind off her friend. Putting her own life on automatic pilot, she gathered her purse and the canvas bag which served as her briefcase and rushed out the door.

Returning immediately from the garage to hunt for her car keys, she decided to boot up the computer and print out that last message from Anna. Perhaps there's a clue in it, she thought as she continued to race around the house in pursuit of the elusive keys. By the time the printing was completed, she had retraced her steps from the evening before and sure enough, the keys were where she had put them, under the unopened mail on the loveseat. Tonight I will put them in the key basket where they belong', she thought for what must have been the millionth time as she shut down the computer and snatched up Anna's story.

Once in the car, she started to place the printout in her bag, then dropped it onto the seat beside her. Pushing a tape into the player she started up the driveway to the strains of Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain". How appropriate,, she thought. This is such a bizarre piece and such a bizarre situation. I've never had a friend lost in cyberspace before.,

Before she realized it, she was approaching the turn to Brick Church Road. This was usually her favorite part of the drive and one of the reasons she didn't mind the forty-five minute commute. Today she barely realized she had made the turn. Passing by the only clearing on the two mile stretch of road, she was suddenly aware of where she was and that there was a car ahead of her. She really needed to pay attention to the road and to her driving.

Carefully she guided the car through the narrow passageway. Along the roadside, the land appeared to be huge waves with the dark, rich topsoil breaking over in crests. Fresh snow lay atop the moss and leaves creating frothy whitecaps. Underneath, the long knotty tree roots tore through the soil, visible where time and the elements has eroded their cover. Someday I must write a story about this road.,

Rounding the last of the many razor sharp turns, she suddenly felt a chill pass through her body. The car ahead of her was now broadsid in the road. Hurriedly, she applied the breaks. "I don't have time for this," she cried out as her car shuddered to a stop beside the other car.

"You don't have time for me?" Mickey Kostmayer asked as he stepped from the other car.

Pinching herself, Cathie leaned back against the side of her car. "Ouch!" she cried, stealing a shy glance at him. In contrast to the story which lay on the seat beside her, Mickey's hair was the longer, wavy cut she preferred. Writer's choice, she guessed.

"No, Cathie, you are awake," Mickey assured her. "You have been so busy trying to think of a way to 'find' your friend, that yu have lost track of all but this story. We, on the other hand, have been waiting for an indication from you telling us you were really eligible to join us."

"What do you mean...join you?" Cathie asked, a puzzled loon on her face.

From inside the car, Anna entered the conversation. "As you know, I was able to join Mickey because I have written some fanfic. You, on the other hand, have talked about it and dreamed about it. You've even started one or two stories...but you've never finished anything...am I right?"

"Well, yes," returned CAthie defensively. "I've always wanted to write something. I told you that..."

"Well," continued Mickey, in the voice Cathie considered so wonderful, "your efforts in this story have earned you the opportunity to enter our 'fictional dimension'." He paused before going on. "Because the two of you are such avid fans, I am able to contact you both and invite you to join me. As you know, Anna has already done so. Now," he challenged, looking directly into Cathie's dark brown eyes, "you must decide!"

Never one to be at a loss for words, Cathie was unable to make a sound. For a second, her mind went completely blank as she stood in the roadway watching Mickey pull a burgundy stocking cap from the pocket of his fatigue jacket. She remained speechless, aware only of the wind in the trees around her. Time seemed suspended.

What an opportunity!, she thought. It would be so great to get away from the daily rat race she had created here.

Hold on,, her rational side interjected. What about your family....your friends?,

Looking again at Anna she thought, Anna sure looks happy. If it worked for her, it sure should work for me!,

Again her rational side spoke up. Are you willing to give up control of your life for it?,

How would that be?, she puzzled.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Mickey answered. "As you know, once you enter this fictional dimension, you cease to exist in the real world. You're very being is in the hand of the writers. Only a stroke of a pen or a fleeting thought can call you into existence... Are you willing for that to happen?"

"I...I...I..," Cathie stammered. "I hadn't thought of that aspect," she said. "But you are right; you didn't appear in every episode of 'The Equalizer', did you?"

"And I can't appear in anything else unless some fo you are writing fanfic," he replied in a quiet voice. His gaze was pensively resing on her face, as if trying to shape her thoughts.

When she spoke, it was more with wonder than with conviction. "Then I am more 'valuable' to you here in 'my' world than I would be in "yours'..." she pondered aloud.

"I can't answer that question," he said. "You must determine that yourself...and be prepared to accept the consequences of your decision."

"But you must hurry," he said. "There is another car starting down the roadway. You must decide before it gets here!"

Glancing about, her eyes came to rest on the papers strewn about the front seat of her car, Cathie choked out her reply. "As much as I would like to go with you now, I cannot. I want to remain in this world as i have suddenly created it."

Mickey nodded in understanding but Anna's face displayed her confusion. "You would give up a chance to join us in our adventures?" she asked.

Looking into Mickey's car at her friend, Cathie smiled as she replied. "I only choose not to join you at this time, Anna. By finishing this story, I truly have become a writer. I can join you any time I choose...and I can create any adventures I choose to create.... THAT IS *MY* DESTINY!!!"

Cathie and Mickey turned and placed their hands on the doors to their cars. They both smiled. "You really are an author," he said. Go back and type this story. Who knows, you may be able to finish the others you have started...."

Cathie alone heard his parting comment. "...my destiny depends upon it!"

Just then she saw the lights from another car flash through the trees. Gathering the pages of Anna's story and placing them in her bag she resumed her drive to work. Looking ahead, she watched as Mickey and Anna disappeared around the turn, their car seemingly enveloped in the bare arms of the tree branches locked over her head. The car behind her was srapidly approaching. Her day was just beginning. Tonight she would put this story into the computer.