Taylor watched sadly as the casket was lowered into the ground. Ike and Zac stood at his side and his parents were behind him. After the scare at the restaurant, they wouldn't leave him alone. He had to have someone accompany him to even the bathroom now.

He stood silently, thinking about Detective Robbins.

I can't believe she would commit suicide! Just shot herself in the head. She has a daughter! A family! Why would she do this?

A more disturbing thought went through his head.

Is this because of me? Did I make her do this somehow?

Getting the feeling that someone was staring at him, he looked up. Across from him, no more than ten feet away was Sara Robbins, the girl he had met in the hallway in Canada. She was looking right into his eyes with an expression he couldn't read.

And on top of it all, her daughter hates me because I didn't call her.

The funeral ended and the crowd dissipated, leaving only a few mourners. Including Sara.

I at least owe her my condolences.

He walked up to her with his hands in his pockets.

"Hello, Taylor." she said, her eyes not leaving his for a second.

"I'm really sorry Sara-"

"Oh, I'm surprised you remember my name." she said giving him a cold look.

"I'm sorry about your mother. She was a really nice person and I just wanted to let you know that she'll be missed." Taylor continued.

Sara's hard eyes were making him shiver. "That still doesn't make up for it. You're a jerk you know that? I can't believe you didn't even call me!"

Taylor's jaw dropped.

What? Her mother just committed suicide and all she can think about is me calling her?

"Wha....Your mother just died, Sara! How could you think of something like that at a time like this?" Taylor sputtered.

"Oh, we weren't that close. I barely knew her. She never talked to me. Just dragged me along on cases and stuff." Sara said quickly. "So, are you free this Saturday?"

Taylor shook his head in disbelief. "What kind of a person are you? No. I'm not free on Saturday or any other day for you, understand?"

Sara's face crumpled up and she looked like she was about to cry. "I understand. I understand perfectly Taylor. You don't want me. I think you're really missing out though, and you WILL be sorry. Did you hear me? You are going to be SO sorry!"

She walked away from him, wiping her eyes angrily. Immediately, Taylor felt bad.

"Wait, Sara, no! I....I...." he called, but Sara just continued walking, almost running away.

"Are you Taylor Hanson?" a gruff voice said. Taylor turned and saw the biggest man he had ever seen. He was wearing a black suit and tie and looked like a secret agent of something, with shiny black sunglasses that didn't show his eyes.

"Uh....yeah."

The man grabbed his hand and shook it , hard. "I'm Harve Stetson, one of Ruth's colleagues. I'm going to be taking over your case."

"I'm sorry about Ruth, I really am." Taylor said softly, looking at where Sara had been standing.

"Thank you. She was a good friend."

"I feel so bad for her family, Sara seemed pretty upset." Taylor mused.

Harve looked confused. "Sara?"

"Yeah, Sara Robbins, Ruth's daughter."

Harve looked even more confused. He looked around and then called to a woman over by the pastor.

"Danielle!"

The woman came over and looked from Taylor to Harve as if to see what this was about.

"Taylor, this is Danielle, Ruth's daughter."

Harve asked Danielle, "Dani, do you have a sister named Sara?"

Danielle shook her head.

Harve looked at Taylor. "There is no Sara Robbins, son, Danielle is Ruth's only daughter."

Taylor's blood ran cold and it felt like the whole world was spinning around him as the information ran through is head.

"Then....then who was....I....I talking to?" he asked fearfully.

Harve sighed and put a comforting hand on Taylor's shoulder. "I think you've met your stalker Taylor."

"Paranoia, Paranoia everybody's coming to get me! Ohhhh I'm not sick but I'm not well...." Zac sang cheerfully.

"Zac." Ike said impatiently.

"What?"

"Shut up. Those aren't even the words."

Zac glared at him. "You know, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood."

"Lighten up somewhere else then." Ike said.

"Boys, we don't need this right now." Diana Hanson said, switching Mackie from one hip to the other.

"Yeah! Quit bickering you losers." Jessica said in her usual, 'I'm too cool' voice. She was in the stage now where she was fed up with all boys, especially her older brothers.

They had been in the auditorium for hours now. It was a Hanson brother tradition to come to the theater the night before a show. They were in the Beacon Theater just hanging out.

Taylor had left only 3 minutes ago for the bathroom and already Zac was "entertaining" the family with a poor impression of Harvey Danger.

"I'm bored. It isn't as fun as it usually is, checking out the theater. Taylor's in a bad mood." Zac whined.

Ike threw his hands up and was about to yell at Zac again when he decided that it just wasn't worth it. Taylor WAS in a bad mood. "I don't know why he should be upset. It's not like the girl is here or anything."

"I'm here."

Startled, the family looked behind them in confusion. A girl with dark brown hair and huge brown eyes was staring at them. She did NOT look friendly.

"Where's Taylor?" she asked calmly.

"Why should we tell you?" Ike asked, trying to be macho, but inside, he was scared to death.

"Miss...." Walker began.

"Because if you don't, I'll find him on my own and then I'll kill you, and if you do, I'll kill you, then go find him anyway, so you really have no choice." the girl said.

They all froze. Zac started to shake, visibly trembling.

I'm gonna die. She's gonna kill me....but she's not going to kill Taylor.

"No! I'm not going to tell you where he is! Never!" Zac cried.

The girl smiled. "Awwww. How cute. Little Zaccy is being brave." her smile turned into a cold hard snarl. "Listen kid, you have no place being brave!"

Walker saw her pull a gun out of her jacket.

"Now, take me to your dressing room."

Slowly, they led her to Isaac's dressing room. She locked the door behind them and pulled out a large knife.

"I thought I'd try a knife this time, is that all right with you?" she asked.

"Wait! You....you can't do this! Taylor will hate you! He'll never go out with you!" Ike cried.

"That's right! We're his family! He loves us! He'd be sad if you killed us!" Zac joined in.

Claire's chin trembled. "I don't want to be with Taylor anymore. He yelled at me and told me he didn't want to go out with me." her expression changed. "So, I reasoned that if I couldn't have him, no one could."

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Ike spoke up in an angry voice.

"I know what you mean! Taylor did the same type of thing to me! I'd kill him too!" Ike cried.

The rest of the family looked at him, horrified.

Claire thought for a moment. "I guess there's no reason why I should kill you then. You don't even like Taylor."

"Yeah! We hate him! All of us! Don't we Zac?"

Zac still looked horrified, then like a beam of light, he got what his brother was doing.

"No sir. I've never liked him. None of us have."

She smiled. "Well then, it's settled. I'll keep you all alive." she headed out the door, closed it behind her and then they heard a series of clicks.

Diana walked over to the door. "What are you doing? Aren't you going to let us out?"

"I'm locking the door, I can't take any chances." Claire said. Then, twirling the key in her hand, she walked down the hall in search of Taylor.

"Ike? Zac? Mom? Dad? Where are you guys?" Taylor called out. The auditorium was empty, no one was there. The seats in which his family had occupied before held only a few coats and a magazine.

"Guys? Where'd you go?"

Frustrated he sat down in a chair and looked up at the ceiling. For a moment, the room seemed to glow with light. Then, it was plunged into darkness.

Taylor gasped and tried to see something, anything. But it was so dark he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face.

Then over the speakers, light music started to play, filling the theater with sound.

"Listen as the wind blows....from across the great divide....forces trapped in yearning....embers trapped in time....the night is my companion....and solitude my guide...."

Taylor sank to his knees and almost cried as Sarah McLachan's "Possession" filled the auditorium.

My family is gone. No one else knows we're here. This girl is going to kill me.

"Taylor." the voice startled him, brought him back to his senses.

"Taylor?" she called again. He could hear footsteps moving around the theater, looking for him.

He heard a small click and then a gun shot rang out through the theater. "TAYLOR!!! Answer me, damn it!!" Another shot. "I HAVE A GUN!!! I'LL USE IT!!!"

Scared out of his mind, he stood and silently crept to the door of the auditorium, the one that led to the hallway his dressing room was in.

I have to get out of here!

"Taylor, I know you're in here. There's no use hiding, I'm going to find you."

He ran into a chair, and the pain was almost unbearalbe. He limped slightly, but regained his balance and continued to the door. Or at least, where he thought the door was. He couldn't see a thing.

"You said you didn't want me Taylor! And I can agree to that! But that doesn't mean I'm going to let some other girl go out with you. If I can't have you, no one can! Do you understand? I'm not going to share you Taylor!"

He reached the door and pulled it open. The hallway was pitch black too.

"Don't bother looking for your family! They're gone! GONE!! They hated you anyway, Taylor!!!"

She killed my family.

A white hot rush of pain filled his body. His family meant everything to him, they were his guidence, his best friends. Sweet little Mackie, Avery and Jessica, so innocent and unknowing, and because of him, they had to die.

A tear slid down his cheek. He brushed it away.

Now is not the time to grieve. I have to fight for my life.

He ran down the hall, so fast it was almost as if he was trying to run away from his problems, feeling for the doorknob of his dressing room. Realizing that he had passed the door, he doubled back.

Finally he located it and flung the door open. He fumbled around with the locks until he was positive all of them were locked. He turned around.

He choked. Hundreds of candles were light, glowing brightly in the darkness of the room. Posters, pictures were everywhere, X's drawn all over his face.

Somewhere, Sara McLachlan's "Possession" was playing softly.

He couldn't breath properly, he started taking big gasps of air. His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest any moment now.

This girl is sick and dangerous. And now she's going to kill me. I have no one to call, no one knows where I am. "It's about TIME you showed up."

His head whipped around and then he caught sight of her. She was over in the corner, leaning up against the wall. He backed up to the door.

"I was beginning to worry." she said. She noticed him clambering to open the door. "Don't bother, Taylor. It's locked. And I...." she held up a key. "Have the key."

"But....but you were out there!" Taylor sputtered.

"Well, obviously I found your dressing room before you did. I think it's rather funny that you locked me in here with you." The girl said.

"Help!" Zac cried again. No answer came.

The lights had gone out a few minutes ago and now, not only were they locked in this room, but they couldn't even see their own hands.

He sat back down.

He could hear his mother sobbing loudly somewhere, his sister's were crying too. Mackie was a too young to realize what was going on, but he was crying anyway, just because everyone else was.

"Dad? What are we going to do?! We can't just let her hurt Tay!" he cried.

"Dad?"

No answer.

"DAD?!"

His mother's sobs grew louder.

"Zac, be quiet, Dad's trying to think." Ike angrily stated.

Zac shut his mouth.

He can be so rude..........

"We've got it! We've got a plan! Come here Zac!" Walker finally called out.

"Where's "here"? I don't know where you are. I can't see anything."

"We're over by the clothing rack." Zac followed the sound of their voices.

"All right, here's the deal: See that vent up there?" Ike pointed up.

Zac looked up and squinted at the ceiling. "Um....barely."

"Good, okay, you need to get inside that vent and crawl through it until you get to Taylor's dressing room. That door should be unlocked. Then come unlock my door and we'll go help Taylor." Walker finished.

"Why do I have to go in the vent?!"

"We're too big, Zac! Do you want Taylor to die?"

"NO! Of course not!"

"Then get in the vent!"

Zac crawled up onto Walker's shoulders and boosted himself up. He took the cover off the vent and threw it to the floor.

Wow. I never realized how heavy those things were. That vent cover must weigh 60 pounds!

"This isn't so bad....I kind of feel like I'm in "Mission Impossible". You know, when he's crawling through the vent."

"Just crawl, Zac, and hurry up, Taylor's depending on us."

They watched Zac until he had completely disappeared, then wandered over to the door, waiting for Zac to unlock it.

Walker listened to his wife and younger children crying their poor little hearts out.

I hope this works. And I hope we're not too late.

Chapters 16-17
Possession Index
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