Chasing the Monsters: 50

"That was so fun, Dad!  I love looking for treasure!  I can't believe we found this old fork and that arrowhead!"  Sam was smiling, ear to ear.

Todd noted how good it felt to see his son that way.  "You never know what you're going to dig up.  Could be really important stuff."

"Not more important than my family, though," Sam said, nonchalantly.

"Yep."

"I still remember when you adopted me.  I can see it right now."  The boy smiled.

"Good.  And me too, I remember.  One of the greatest days of my life.  You became my kid."

"Yeah,"  he smiled.

"Sam, I wanted to talk to you."

"Sure, I like talking to you."

"Good, I like talking to you, too.  I wanted to talk to you about something, sort of, well, private."

"Okay," he looked up to his father, genuinely interested, and his innocence pained Todd so much, he had to shift his eyes.

"Sam, someone's been talking to you, on your laptop, and you didn't tell us.  Right?"

The little boy started breathing heavily, and looked down.  

Todd said, "It's all right, I'm not angry at you, at all.  I don't want you to be scared."

"No, Dad, I can't . . . no one has been talking to me."  

Sam couldn't look in his eyes, and he could see his son's hands shake.  He said, softly, "You know, when I was your age, I had a secret about a scary man."

Sam looked up, his eyes were brimming behind his glasses.  "That's bad."

"I didn't tell anyone.  Ever.  Not Grandma Bitsy, not anyone."  

Of course I tried to tell the police, but they wouldn't listen, but that's another story . . .

"Why?"

"I was scared.  I was scared the man might do something to me or my momma."

"You were?"

"Yeah, but the more I kept it in, the worse it got, and then I got angry, and it took a long time to get over being angry like that.  So what I wanted to tell you today, Sam, was that you don't have to keep quiet.  No one will hurt us.  I will protect you, and your mother and Ray, Starr, Jewel and Jack.  Always."  The boy looked down, and Todd saw a teardrop appear on his small athletic shoe.  He continued, "And I was really scared to say it because the scary man was not a stranger."

"You knew him?"

"Yes.  The scary man was my father."

Sam looked up quickly at Todd, with tears running down his little face.  "That man, Peter, right?"

"Yeah, he was my father, who adopted me when I was a baby.  He and Grandma Bitsy.  He was a very scary man, and you know that already because he scared you and hurt you and Starr and Ray.  But he was scary when I was a kid, too.  And I should have told someone."

The boy looked right into Todd's face as he spoke, and then his mouth twisted a little and he sniffled.  "Dad?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Dad, I . . .I can't.  I . . . think something bad will happen."

"Nothing bad will happen.  Let me just ask something.  Is this why you're having nightmares?

"I think so.  Maybe.  Sometimes."

Todd's chest was on fire with rage.  He did everything in his power to control it, as not to scare the child, but inside he wanted to explode and fly over to Greece to strangle Zeus with his bare hands.  "You want to tell me, Sam?"

"I . . .no," he cried.  "Dad, I can't, I'm scared!"  he sobbed.

Todd took the boy into his arms and carried him to the gazebo, where they both sat down, and he gave Sam a minute to take a breath and try and stop crying, but the tears continued.  "Sam, you know it's all right, to be scared.  I won't let anything happen to us.  Look, no one is here, but us."  Todd said.

"Yeah.  I know."

"Is this about . . . Peter?"

"It was at first.  I was scared of him, then Grandma Bitsy taught me to paint about it, and it helped me a lot.  But . . ."

"What, Sam?  If you can't say it, I think I might know."

"You do?"

"I think so.  And you shouldn't be afraid to tell me or your mother anything that scares you."  Todd patted the boy's back a minute and then said, "It's about . . . well, like me.  I had a father who was scary, and you do, too.  Right?"

The boy cried harder as if a dam broke.  Todd put an arm around him and rested his chin on Sam's head.  "Your father, the biological one.  Zeus.  Right?  He's scary sometimes?"

He nodded.

Todd said, "Tell me.  It's okay."

Sam, still leaning against Todd's chest, began to relate the events that had taken place in the last few months; what started as a mystery player contacting him on the XBOX network, turned into private messages during the game, and then to Skype sessions.  

Todd worried because Sam looked as if he was making himself sick crying so much, and he felt sick himself.  But he had to let the boy finish.  Finally, Sam went quiet.  Todd said, "It's all right, Sam.  You don't have to talk to him anymore."

His crying gave way to soft sniffling, and his breathing would catch every few minutes.  After a while, Sam seemed to be exhausted, and the crying had stopped.  He said, "Is he going to come here and hurt us?"

"No, he's not going to do that."

"Are you sure?" he said, looking up, innocently.  "Peter did."

"I'm sure about this one.  Positive.  Did he tell you not to tell us?"

He nodded, "Kind of.  He said it was our secret, and then he would tell me about what Peter did to you when you were little."

Todd's stomach lurched.  "What do you mean?"  His eyes squinted.

"He beat you up and stuff.  He talked about it a lot.  Maybe to scare me, I don't know."

Todd said, "Sam, let's go to the house, now, okay?"  He held the boy's chin in his hand.  "I don't want you to worry about this anymore.  I don't want you to think about it anymore.  And, I'm taking your laptop tonight with me, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

"Just trust me, Buddy.  No one's going to hurt you."

"Okay.  But will someone hurt you?  or Mom?"

"No.  No one is going to hurt us either, especially not Zeus."

Sam stood up, and took Todd's hand, as they headed toward the house.  While walking, he had a strange pain in his throat that worked its way through his jaw.  He kept his head forward, and his eyes focused on the glass door.  He needed Blair.  

No, he needed to feel Zeus' neck in his hands as he squeezed with every ounce of his strength.  

"Dad?"  You're squeezing my hand too tight," Sam said.

"Sorry, Buddy."  He softened his grip but did not let go.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

Blair was in the kitchen, bending over Jewel and giving her a snack when she looked up and saw them, her son, red-nosed, but seemingly in control, and her husband, steel.  She recognized his look immediately, and said, "Jack, are you up there?  Come down, please?"

She waited a few minutes, her gaze still resting on Todd.  His movements were too calculated, too precise.  He wasn't his usual fast-moving, interactive self as he usually was when with his children.  She paused, putting her hand on Jewel's head, and gently stroking her hair.  "Mommy," the little girl said.

"Something . . . Daddy's . . . not . . . right," she barely got out, more to herself than anyone.  

Please Todd.  Don't say Peter hurt Sam.  Please.  Please don't say that.  Then she flashed on her son, unable to speak in the hospital . . .

"Mommy? Daddy, Sam!"  Jewel said.

"They're coming, honey.  Almost here."  

The sliders flew open, and Todd and Sam entered the kitchen.  Blair said nothing; Sam stopped at the refrigerator to get a juice box.  Blair's eyes couldn't leave Todd's face as he went past her and Jewel and to the staircase.  She looked back to her children.  Jewel said, "Daddy, mad?"

Blair said, "Maybe, sweetie."

"He's mad," Sam said, drinking his juice.  She could tell from his face he had been crying.

"Why, Sam?"  she asked.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"What for, Son?"

"I lied to you and Dad about something."

Jack walked into the kitchen just then.  "Dad just passed me on the stairs, Mom.  He's looking really, well, you know, about something."  Then he turned to the kids, "Hey, let's go play hide and seek, come on, Jewel, you too," and lifted her out of her high chair, carrying her on his hip.  Sam followed.

Blair bounded up the stairs as she heard the copter blades start to whirl above her.  She pushed her limits to get to the top as fast as she could, and raced to the bedroom, where she spied Bitsy, just poking her head out of her room, and Ray, right behind her.  "Blair?" Bitsy spoke softly, but didn't continue, as she caught sight of her daughter-in-law's expression.

Blair pushed the door open with panic and raced to the balcony.  Within minutes, she found herself on the helipad, banging on the copter door.  "Todd!  Todd open this door, damn it!  Damn it!  Tell me!  Now!"

In his rage, he realized that his wife had no idea what he had heard from Sam.  Can't do this to her.  She at least has to know what's happened.  Hesitantly, he shut the copter engine off and opened the door.  "I have to go take care of something.  It's . . . nothing to worry about right now, Blair.  I've got this."

"Todd Manning, you get out of that helicopter and talk to me, now!" she said, pulling at his safety belt and unhooking it.  "What is it?"  She was losing it, and screamed loudly, "Did Peter hurt our son?  What did he do to him?"

He jumped out of the copter as she dissolved into sobs, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her.  "No, no.  It's not that, it's not that.  Shit," he said.  "Damn it."  

He held her tightly to his chest and she cried first with fear and then relief.  His hand dwarfed the back of her head as he comforted her.  Through her crying, she said, "Then, what?  What is it, Todd?  Don't shut me out, not from this, please?"

He realized his going to Greece to strangle Zeus was going to have to wait.  He put an arm around her, and they went back into the house.  "All right, calm down, Babe," he said, "you won't believe it."

"Try me," she sniffled.

"Zeus."

"What?"

"Zeus, he's been secretly contacting Sam.  Sam's terrified."

"Zeus?  Why would he do that?  I don't understand," she said, sitting next to Todd on the couch in the bedroom sitting area, wiping the black smears from under her eyes.

"Not sure, but I intend to find out.  Then, I'm going to Greece to strangle the life out of him."

"Todd, now . . ."

"Bastard.  Fucking takes my life, my wife, my world.  Hurts my kids.  And just when you think it's over . . ."

She smiled very weakly, "Your kids.  You . . . thought of Sam as your kid even then?"

"He was your kid, wasn't he?  Since I first met him, I just loved that little guy."

She lightly squeezed his arm.  After a moment, she said, "I don't understand it.  Why, now, after all this time, would he be doing this to Sam?"

"Not sure, but as I said, I'll find out, even if I have to strangle it out of him."

"Should we call Tea?"

He stared at her in disbelief.  "What?  No!" his face showed confusion.  "I swear, me being gone really did something to you.  All that damn hair braiding.  Since when do you trust Tea like that?"

"I don't know, Todd, I just want answers.  We were friends, while you were gone.  Well, sort of."

"Sort of is more like it.  I doubt she was ever your friend.  But that's you, Blair.  You take care of people.  Got that big heart in there, heart of gold."

"I wasn't always that way, you know." 

For a moment, he couldn't help but think how beautiful she was, with her nose a little reddish from crying, and her face now smiling through it.  "You were.  You were that sexy, steel bad girl, but in here," he pointed to her chest, "was that big lump of shiny stuff."

She closed her eyes a moment and then opened them again to his.  She said, "What do we do?"

"I said, I'm going to go there."

"No, Todd, that's not the answer.  We should call the police."

"Police?  For what?  He's talking to his biological son, and there's no record of him saying anything bad or threatening?"

"I don't know.  Where's he talking to him, for God's sake?"  Blair asked.

"The laptop."

"Tha laptop, huh?  Skype?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"Remember, Jack set it up for us, a few times, when we were apart?  You couldn't have forgotten that,"  she asked.  "Why don't we just confront him over the internet?"

Todd thought a minute and then said, "Okay, but how do I get my hands around his neck through the screen?"

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