CHAOS AT THE COAST
ELLIOT LAKE MYSTERIES 2
CHAPTER ONE
ELLIOT LAKE MYSTERIES 2
CHAPTER ONE
“I love her, Vhitori.”
“You don’t get to love her, Vheli. Put her out of your mind. We don’t have time for this. We have a mission.”
The brothers trudged their way to the house they were staying in while Vheli’s mind dreamed of the woman he knew he could no longer live without. Dawn.
Her long, straight hair was the color of the foam floating on the drink they called Guinness. He could get used to beer too. To everything, to freedom, to life.
Her breasts were huge, much bigger than any he had seen in the north. They filled his hands. Vheli could still remember the incredible weight of them, how they tasted. Her hips were wide, a promise of children and a warm harbor for long, winter nights.
But he’d had enough of long, winter nights. He couldn’t believe he’d been inside her only a few hours earlier. That she let him take her into the woods behind the shared house she was staying in, and on a blanket he’d spread on the mossy forest floor, she’d taken him inside her and changed his destiny.
Vheli had still been a virgin at twenty-five. He’d spent his life taking orders, doing his duty, and he never questioned his superiors until this trip. This assignment which brought him and his twin brother to the remote rocky coast of Oregon opened a door, and Dawn had stepped through.
That wasn’t supposed to happen. He’d trained his entire life to be the front line, to be the security that would maintain his society’s secret, and now all he could think about was staying here, in Oregon. Becoming a turncoat, the same as he hunted now.
“Vheli, you have to focus. Now is not the time to have your head turned by someone from the outside. You know why we are here. We have to finish this mission and get back. This has already taken longer than it should have. They are waiting for our report!” As if on cue, Vhitori’s cell phone rang. “There they are now.” He scowled at his brother as he took the call.
“I know,” Vheli said to his brother’s back as he pulled ahead in the sand. Most people would imagine walking along the Oregon Coast would be relaxing, but not in the middle of the night under a cloudy sky. No moon in sight. It didn’t get any darker than that.
Vheli’s watch showed the time to be past one in the morning. They’d spent too much time that evening at the encampment they’d found a few miles up the beach from the home they were staying in, and now they were paying for it.
“Too bad we didn’t bring a car tonight,” Vheli said.
“We would have been back sooner, but I couldn’t pull you off of that cow.”
Vheli grabbed his brother’s shoulder and spun him to face him. Then he grabbed the front of his brown suede jacket and growled, “Don’t ever call her that again.”
“Vheli, for the love of God, have you lost your mind?” Vhitori threw his brother’s arms from him and pushed him back. “I think you have! What, you’re going to stay here with her? Raise stupid little brats on the beach? She doesn’t have a fourth of your intelligence. It would be like mating with one of those pet dogs so popular with these people!” Vhitori grabbed Vheli’s shoulder and said while staring into dark brown eyes identical to his own, “You are better than this. We are better than this.” His fingers dug into Vheli’s collarbones, causing pain.
Vheli threw off his brother’s tight grip and pushed him back. “Better than what, Vhitori? What’s wrong with how they live? At least they have freedom and a say in how they live their lives. They can have as many children as they’d like without someone sending them a DNA-testing kit to make sure it’s an advantageous match for their community! Talk about bullshit! Why would you want to go back to that? Think about it, brother, we could be free here!” He stumbled toward an outcropping of rock marring an otherwise perfectly smooth beach. Vheli turned and leaned against the rough rock wall, unable to bring his thoughts together.
Vhitori yelled over the sound of the crashing waves as he made his way to his brother’s side, “You are insane, my brother! We’re almost done here and you know how important this is to our leader. I will not let you jeopardize this mission. We have to bring these people in. Think of our reward for this one!”
Vheli cried and shook his head, looking at his twin’s face through tears and ocean spray. “Reward? I don’t care about a reward, Tori. I care about my life. I’d like to have one. I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here. I want to stay with Dawn. Have babies with her. Eat bacon and eggs with my whole wheat pancakes once in a while.”
Making an attempt to rein in his anger, Vhitori ran his fingers through his black hair and tried to reason with his brother one last time. “I can’t go back without you, Vheli, you know that. If I show up without you, they will punish me and then send another team to find you.”
“I’ll help you finish the mission, Vhitori, but go back by yourself. Tell them I died or something, then they won’t come looking for me.” He reached for the black band circling his right wrist and began to take it off. “Smash this, brother. They will think I’ve died.”
“God damn you, Vheli! You cannot be serious.” He pushed his brother again, and Vheli pushed back. Years of competition between the two and decades of neglect from the people who raised the brothers to be the agents they were today found its release on a deserted Oregon beach.
When the struggle was over, one brother lay in the surf, blood oozing from a crack in his skull from the jagged rock wall, his body drowned by the saltwater of the sea, and the other was on his knees, shattered. Nothing would ever be the same again.
He lifted his brother’s body from the water and carried him to the house they’d been using. As the flames licked the living room walls, a shadowy figure disappeared into the night.
“You don’t get to love her, Vheli. Put her out of your mind. We don’t have time for this. We have a mission.”
The brothers trudged their way to the house they were staying in while Vheli’s mind dreamed of the woman he knew he could no longer live without. Dawn.
Her long, straight hair was the color of the foam floating on the drink they called Guinness. He could get used to beer too. To everything, to freedom, to life.
Her breasts were huge, much bigger than any he had seen in the north. They filled his hands. Vheli could still remember the incredible weight of them, how they tasted. Her hips were wide, a promise of children and a warm harbor for long, winter nights.
But he’d had enough of long, winter nights. He couldn’t believe he’d been inside her only a few hours earlier. That she let him take her into the woods behind the shared house she was staying in, and on a blanket he’d spread on the mossy forest floor, she’d taken him inside her and changed his destiny.
Vheli had still been a virgin at twenty-five. He’d spent his life taking orders, doing his duty, and he never questioned his superiors until this trip. This assignment which brought him and his twin brother to the remote rocky coast of Oregon opened a door, and Dawn had stepped through.
That wasn’t supposed to happen. He’d trained his entire life to be the front line, to be the security that would maintain his society’s secret, and now all he could think about was staying here, in Oregon. Becoming a turncoat, the same as he hunted now.
“Vheli, you have to focus. Now is not the time to have your head turned by someone from the outside. You know why we are here. We have to finish this mission and get back. This has already taken longer than it should have. They are waiting for our report!” As if on cue, Vhitori’s cell phone rang. “There they are now.” He scowled at his brother as he took the call.
“I know,” Vheli said to his brother’s back as he pulled ahead in the sand. Most people would imagine walking along the Oregon Coast would be relaxing, but not in the middle of the night under a cloudy sky. No moon in sight. It didn’t get any darker than that.
Vheli’s watch showed the time to be past one in the morning. They’d spent too much time that evening at the encampment they’d found a few miles up the beach from the home they were staying in, and now they were paying for it.
“Too bad we didn’t bring a car tonight,” Vheli said.
“We would have been back sooner, but I couldn’t pull you off of that cow.”
Vheli grabbed his brother’s shoulder and spun him to face him. Then he grabbed the front of his brown suede jacket and growled, “Don’t ever call her that again.”
“Vheli, for the love of God, have you lost your mind?” Vhitori threw his brother’s arms from him and pushed him back. “I think you have! What, you’re going to stay here with her? Raise stupid little brats on the beach? She doesn’t have a fourth of your intelligence. It would be like mating with one of those pet dogs so popular with these people!” Vhitori grabbed Vheli’s shoulder and said while staring into dark brown eyes identical to his own, “You are better than this. We are better than this.” His fingers dug into Vheli’s collarbones, causing pain.
Vheli threw off his brother’s tight grip and pushed him back. “Better than what, Vhitori? What’s wrong with how they live? At least they have freedom and a say in how they live their lives. They can have as many children as they’d like without someone sending them a DNA-testing kit to make sure it’s an advantageous match for their community! Talk about bullshit! Why would you want to go back to that? Think about it, brother, we could be free here!” He stumbled toward an outcropping of rock marring an otherwise perfectly smooth beach. Vheli turned and leaned against the rough rock wall, unable to bring his thoughts together.
Vhitori yelled over the sound of the crashing waves as he made his way to his brother’s side, “You are insane, my brother! We’re almost done here and you know how important this is to our leader. I will not let you jeopardize this mission. We have to bring these people in. Think of our reward for this one!”
Vheli cried and shook his head, looking at his twin’s face through tears and ocean spray. “Reward? I don’t care about a reward, Tori. I care about my life. I’d like to have one. I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here. I want to stay with Dawn. Have babies with her. Eat bacon and eggs with my whole wheat pancakes once in a while.”
Making an attempt to rein in his anger, Vhitori ran his fingers through his black hair and tried to reason with his brother one last time. “I can’t go back without you, Vheli, you know that. If I show up without you, they will punish me and then send another team to find you.”
“I’ll help you finish the mission, Vhitori, but go back by yourself. Tell them I died or something, then they won’t come looking for me.” He reached for the black band circling his right wrist and began to take it off. “Smash this, brother. They will think I’ve died.”
“God damn you, Vheli! You cannot be serious.” He pushed his brother again, and Vheli pushed back. Years of competition between the two and decades of neglect from the people who raised the brothers to be the agents they were today found its release on a deserted Oregon beach.
When the struggle was over, one brother lay in the surf, blood oozing from a crack in his skull from the jagged rock wall, his body drowned by the saltwater of the sea, and the other was on his knees, shattered. Nothing would ever be the same again.
He lifted his brother’s body from the water and carried him to the house they’d been using. As the flames licked the living room walls, a shadowy figure disappeared into the night.