October 7, 2009 - a slight departure...

The call came in the middle of the night. It didn't come as a shock as I'd been expecting it for some time. He was newly out of the Academie, into his first posting. And with his pedigree, I knew his number would get pulled quickly.

"Sis, I need you."

I swung out of bed, narrowly missing the dog. "I'm on my way. Three days, maybe four with the trains. Can you hang on that long?"

I could hear a quake in his voice. "Yeah. Yeah, I can make it."

"You know where to go to ask for refuge. Don't be a hero. Just go. First light, you go." I was looking for my heavy boots. I'd probably need them. These things usually required a sturdy pair of boots.

"But what if-"

"You go and you ask the first person you see in vestments to take you to the Abbas Praesul. Keep asking until they get it. The younger ones won't. It's not taught anymore. Just keep asking. Don't do anything stupid."

"Okay. Alright. Four days?"

"As soon as I can. I'll be at the Basilica at dawn. They'll need to know I'm leaving and they'll want to offer a blessing. " The dog was fully awake now and didn't appear pleased. "Take your dog with you," I told my brother. "You're always safer with the dog." 

My dog yawned, stretched and repositioned himself next to the door. At least he was ready.

"Jess, how are they manifesting?"

There was a crackle in the line as he answered. "Hallucinations, mostly. Stuff moving around. It wasn't much at first, but they're getting bolder. They changed the color of my car." The line crackled again.

"Jess, you need to get off the phone. Stay off the phone, stay off the 'net. Four days."

The line went dead before I was finished talking.