Monsters of the Night

Chapter Two

Jemma looked up as she made her way over the rubble. She stopped as she saw Harold standing next to three men that looked very familiar.

"David? Dad? Grandpa Halt?" She called out. They all studied her with wide smiles.

Jemma picked up her pace, starting to stumble as she raced over to them. David started to walk slowly towards her, until they were stumbling over the rubble, hurrying to each other. Jemma fell into her husband's arms, crying tears of joy.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as David wrapped his arms around her waist, swinging her around with joy. He kissed her, pressing their foreheads together.

"I missed you so much." She whispered.

"The same with me." He replied.

They stood their for a few minutes, before Jemma moved to hug her father and Halt. "I'm so glad to see all of you."

"I'm sure Harold has probably already introduced himself." Jemma watched as they nodded. "I'm looking after him until we can find him a new place to relocate."

She beckoned for them to follow her and giggled as Sapphire acted like an excited puppy, happily nipping at their heels and chasing them.

"Come on, we'll take you back to camp. I'm sure there are two little ones you would like to meet."

...

"Jemma, Harold, you're back!" The men cheered as they strolled into camp. Lydia greeted her with a hug and a smile, before the twins raced up to her.

"Mummy!" They called out, leaping into her arms. She let out a laugh.

David, Will and Halt stayed silent as they watched Jemma embrace the two boys, before she turned around and knelt next to them, wrapping an arm around each and whispering, "Stanley, Daniel, this is your father."

David stepped forward and wrapped the three in a hug.

"After our grandfathers?" He whispered in her ear. She nodded, tears once again in her eyes.

"I love you." He whispered again.

And the family were reunited.

...

"We think after Harold was taken, there may have been about a week before they came back to town, enough time to report him missing."

They were sitting around the campfire, listening to Jemma telling them her theories.

"Obviously, they would have taken the children they kidnapped to the coast, so we were actually preparing the Heron to follow a possible track."

The three men studied her face.

"You think there's something more to it, don't you?" Halt asked.

Jemma nodded. "Actually, I do."

She leaned forward to explain. "Dad has dealt with a case of stolen children before, with Maddie. They were pretty discreet about it, until they knew someone was on their case, and they kind of panicked."

Will and Halt nodded, but David seemed to be following a similar train of thought.

"They haven't been discreet at all." David realised. "It's a different sort of operation."

"Exactly." Jemma nodded. "They burned the entire town to the ground, killing the resident Ranger. They wanted to make a show of it, knowing that the Ranger Commandant would send someone or a few people to check it out. Then everybody's focus would be on what happened here."

"And then what?" Halt asked.

"It leaves them open to attacking a bigger fief." She finished her theory.

Halt and Will looked doubtful.

"Which fief?" Will asked. "The biggest one near here is Redmont. That's built like a fortress, and you said yourself, they would have headed to the coast."

"I wasn't thinking Redmont." Jemma bit her lip. "Is there any news from Araluen castle I should know about?"

"Maddie had a little baby girl." David informed her.

"Castle Araluen?" Will and Halt laughed. "You think there are people who are going to attack Castle Araluen? That's even more preposterous!"

Jemma rolled her eyes, pulling out a map of Araluen. "Think about it. We're here." She pointed to a spot on the coast past Redmont. "They go to the coast, then travel to the gulf, where they unload. They leave the children there, they don't care about them, they're not part of the plan. They trade the children for horses and travel across the land to Castle Araluen."

"I'm still doubtful, Jemma." Halt said.

"It makes sense though!" She protested. "There's going to be a Ranger conference soon about whether or not female Rangers should be allowed in the Corps. There must, or could be at least, someone who highly disapproves of this idea and will do anything to prevent this permission.

"We were already witness to everything these people would do. With Maddie having had a baby, all it would take is for one Ranger at the conference to sneak into the baby's room and take her for ransom so as to prevent the conference from letting women into the Corps."

"And Rangers are specifically trained for stealth." Will realised.

"They have the back up committee on their way to help get the child away and the Ranger to flee." David finished.

"One thing I am doubtful about is how the boat fits in. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to have a boat with them, as Araluen is not known for its boats." Halt pointed out.

"That would make sense, especially considering the channel of water near the castle." Thorn said. "But what about the children?"

"Payment." Hal said. "The children would be payment. They would take the children back to their country and sell them into slavery. With a town full of children, they would make a good sum for it."

"You're right." Jemma realised.

"They're coming around the back while we're distracted by the town."

............

This is an image of Jemma created by one of my friends who shall remain nameless for privacy.

The idea for the white hair is when she was in hiding in the forest, she was in the dark for so long her hair went white.

I hope you're enjoying the story, and there is more to come!