Madelyne

"If I go with you," I spoke up, "Do you promise that Maddie, Rosa, and Harley will be safe?"

Stevens nodded as he told me, "I'm not exaggerating when I say that their safety - along with the survival of the very planet - lies in your hands, Mister Veovin."

This had to be a mistake. This sounded like the beginning of a bad movie...or maybe a good one depending on the taste of the consumer. Still, I couldn't deny the fact that I was partially intrigued...but of course, my main reason for coming to the decision I made was because of my lovely ladies who meant the very world to me. For whatever reason, I could tell that the two men standing before me were telling the truth and that disappearing from my normal, everyday life would keep the women I cared about safe. I finally said the only thing I could when I answered, "I'm in."

Stevens smiled as Talenos threw his hands up and grumbled, "It's about time."

I wasn't crazy about climbing into an automobile with either of the two men...but especially Talenos. He didn't exactly seem like a good time. I was already having second thoughts, but when my mind circled back to the safety of my girls...

"You've made the right choice, Mister Veovin," Stevens told me. He then turned to walk down the path leading through my front yard...but stopped when he noticed that I wasn't following. "Mister Veovin...?"

"I have stuff in my house," I said as I motioned back toward my rented dwelling with a thumb. "I need to grab some clean clothes..."

"You'll have everything you need where we're going," Talenos told me. "Clothes, food, a roof over your head..."

Stevens nodded to confirm what his partner had told me. "You'll be taken care of, Mister Veovin. Besides, your survival means the world's continued survival."

It still blew my mind that these guys actually believed what they were telling me. It sounded ludicrous, but they sincerely believed everything they were saying.

"Before we leave, can I make one last request?"

The two operatives glanced back in my direction.

"Stop calling me Mister Veovin, okay? Mister Veovin is my old man. Call me Marcus...or if you absolutely have to, just Veovin, okay?"

The two operatives nodded and then led me to their black automobile. As I climbed into the backseat, I was more than a little surprised to see that Talenos was climbing in the back with me...and that was because the passenger's seat up front was already occupied. An auburn-haired woman who looked to be in her early to mid-fifties was seated there and glanced back at me with dark eyes. "Ah," she somewhat chortled as she looked me over. "So, this is Marcus Veovin, huh?"

I was about to ask who exactly she was and why I hadn't been told about her, but I thought better of it. As Talenos situated himself next to me, he simply grumbled, "Yup. This is the guy."

The mysterious woman gripped the back of her seat with one hand as she glanced back at the operative sitting directly behind her. I think she was trying to be funny in order to put me at ease as she told him, "Ah, quit coming off as such a sourpuss, Talenos! You know, some people would say you're not the most sensitive of guys..."

"Some people?" Stevens also somewhat jested as he made himself comfortable behind the wheel.

Talenos simply grumbled as he crossed his arms and turned his gaze out the window to his right.

The auburn-haired woman continued to smile as she turned her attention back to me and examined me for a few more seconds. "Anyway," she went on, "It's hard to believe that after all these years, I'm finally meeting you in the flesh." The enigmatic third member of the inscrutable triad then turned to gaze through the windshield of the automobile as Stevens started the vehicle. She didn't bother looking at her fellow operative to her left as she marveled, "Simply unreal."

I thought I deserved to know who the mysterious woman was, but I figured it was best to let the trio of operatives tell me on their own time. Even though I trusted everything that was going on for whatever reason, I was still a tad bit shaken. I'm not afraid to admit that.

As Stevens pulled away from the house I had been living in for the last several months, I took one final glance at what normal life looked like. I had no idea where I was off to, but I knew things would never be the same again. It may sound outlandish, but I somehow knew that what I was doing was right. Leaving with this trio was my best course of action even if my heart was nervously racing in my chest. I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever see any of the women I cared so much about ever again.

While my main reason for up and disappearing was being utilized in order to protect Maddie, Rosa, Harley and possibly many others from a fate I couldn't even begin to understand, I couldn't help but wonder if Stevens' words didn't have a little bit of truth to them: Maybe I did have the makings of a great hero within me...

END OF MADELYNE'S TALE