The evening had gone quite nicely at the Hurst mansion, Summer had the entire estate to herself, no staff, no prospects, no annoying neighbors, nothing.  She sat relaxed upon the lounge chair just off from the den, overlooking the 30 acres of luscious landscape.  Sliced cucumbers over each eye, her hair wrapped up in a towel and a glass of wine in hand.  The only thing missing was her beloved Hunter.

 

Hunter had been away on a weekend fishing trip with Charlie.  Something that had always taken place around this time of year.  It was a time to kick back, reflect on life’s daily challenges and to get that little piece of sanctuary it brought to them both.  

 

The sky was perfect, not a darkened cloud in sight. The water was calm, the beer was cold, and the bait was fresh; It was the perfect day for fishing. 

 

“Damn, you old fucker, did you forget to wash your ass again?”   Hunter looks to Charlie who opens a can of stink bait and proceeds to bait his hook.

 

“Not since the last time your lovely wife sponged me with your favorite bar of soap pal.”  Charlie replies with a raise of his right eyebrow.   Hunter shook his head, it would not be beyond him to toss Charlie into the river, however, the old geezer was of no threat to him. 

 

Hunter shuts the motor off on the boat, he drops the anchor and reaches for a beer.

 

“This looks to be a good spot.”   He takes a swig, reaches for his pole, angles it towards the mossy bank and casts his line.  “Right in the G-Spot.” Hunter laughed.

 

“That’s what Summer said last…”  Charlie was quickly cut off. 

 

“You only get one shot, Charlie.  Don’t think I won’t toss you out for gator bait.”  Hunter looks at him with a stern face.  He reaches inside the blue yeti and tosses Charlie a beer.

 

“Drink up, you know you can’t catch a damn fish sober.”  Hunter smirks as he takes another drink of his.

 

The two engage in random small talk, each one with an old story to tell.  It was just two old friends, enjoying the outdoors.  About an hour into the trip, the boat was beginning to look like a weekend fish fry was about to go down.   Both men, being a six pack plus, in, Hunter pulls out his phone, to check the time.  He notices a text message from Colton.  He looks oddly as it was to multiple people.  Hunter was never the one for texting.  If words could not be spoken, it wasn’t worth his time.  He opens the message out of curiosity, going over the several replies from Gyon, and Shooter.

 

He begins to scroll through the text, to somehow make sense of all the replies.  He notices Summer’s name as one of the recipients and begins to wonder why she has not responded.  She was normally the one person who would get involved with these and it was quite odd that she wasn’t.  One response caught his eye however, it was the message to Summer from Gyon.

 

 

Gyon was sitting in his favorite chair reading a book in his long Island home. His knees are bandaged and there is trace of a light back brace seen wrapped around his midsection.   The years of being a Highflyer and running with Hunter, Summer and the rest of the New Breed really took a toll on his body. He sits relaxing as a ping from his phone alerts him to a text message. He picks up the phone with a sigh; it pings again and then again. He finally looks at the messages. They are from Shooter. Gyon rolls his eyes.

 

"What does this moron want now? Wait how the hell did he get my number?"

Shooter:  Hey man what the hell is all this about?

Shooter :  Dude this can't be right!

Shooter : Okay, I have bats and shovels and I got Seth to get the boys. We are heading to Texas after we fill up the van and stop for duct tape and plastic. See you the day after tomorrow.

 

Gyon has no idea what the hell is going on. He notices the text is from Colton and looks at it. He reads the photo of Cassie's letter. He read it three more times, anger flashes in his eyes as he types out a message.

 

Gyon:  Hunter what the hell is going on down there?

Gyon:  You better fucking answer me.

Gyon:  Who is this Damon guy?

He starts to get even more mad as he gets no response from Hunter. He looks through his contacts. "She will answer me."

Gyon:  Summer what the hell is this? Cassie was beaten and raped and lost her baby. I will be there in the morning. Shooter is on his way there also. They will be buried six feet under.

 

Gyon notices the text he sent went into the group, he wasn’t worried, at least he would hopefully get an answer from somebody.  Still with no response coming from either Hunter, or Summer, he began to think the worst.  He stands up from his chair and makes a call.

 

 "The New Breed is back. I will pick you up in an hour."

 

Gyon tosses some clothes in a bag and hops into his car and races down the road.

 

The message from Gyon, hit Hunter like a wrecking ball.  His face, blood red, his eyes as cold as death.  He did not need to read the message, he did not need to know the details, what he did need was answers.  He gripped his phone with an unforeseen force and tossed it into the river.  Charlie looks on, a bit confused.  Hunter slings the poles into the water.

“Grab that fucking rope out of the water, I’ve got a punk to hang!” 

 

Charlie begins to pull up on the anchor, but the speed of the engine was too much for him to grip.  Hunter drags the anchor behind as he slams the front of the boat hard into the dock.

 

“Give me your fucking phone Charlie, NOW!”  Charlie reaches into his pocket, still unaware of what’s going on.  Hunter scrolls through his list and calls Colton.

 

While the sun continues to beam its radiant glow upon Summer, the quietness of the day diminishes.  The ongoing pings from the group text catch Summer’s attention.

 

“What the hell now.”  Summer removes the slices of cucumber from her face.  She leans forward and retrieves her phone.  Looking upon her lock screen, the notifications state:  15 unread messages, with Gyon’s name as the last contact.

 

 “What the hell? I swear to God almighty if something happened to that man of mine out in that boat, he better be unconscious, for him to be having Gyon message me like this.” 

 

Without hesitation, or even checking the text, she stands to her feet and dials Hunter’s cell.  It immediately goes to voicemail.  She tries again. 

 

“That Idjit better have a damn good reason for shutting his phone off!”  Summer now opens the text.

 

Gyon’s words left Summer speechless.  There were absolutely no words she could justify saying at that moment.  You could see life being sucked right from her body.  Her once sun kissed skin; now a shade of white ash, she drops to the concrete and screams.

 

Moments pass, as she begins to regain her senses, she looks to her phone and makes a call.

 

“I need your help, I don’t care what you are doing, I don’t give a fuck who it’s with, you gather all your things, and I do mean ALL of them and come to the mansion, NOW!”

 

Summer tried to stand; her legs just stumbled.  There was an emptiness in her chest that only a mother could feel.  For the first time, she was helpless.  Her soul had turned black, her head filled with all possibilities of revenge.  She tries to fight it, the urge is too great, the dark influence of Cade was a history she had rather forget, but the urge was so tempting.  She could not be a helpless parent.  Cassie deserved better.  She deserved to be avenged, she deserved to witness the suffering.  For this man’s death was the only relevant option, his suffering is what Summer wanted.

 

She looks at her phone and dials the number she has just called, in a much calmer tone than before she speaks.

 

“Stefan, you need to help the kids.  You make sure nothing, and I mean nothing happens to them.  When you get here my phone will be on the counter, read the messages I will have opened.  Do not say a word to anyone. I’m sure your brother-in-law already knows, and he will try to stop me.  This family will need you more than it ever has before.  I trust you will do the right thing for the family, just not what’s right.  Work your magic brother, your sister is going hunting.”

 

Summer lays the phone upon the counter of the deck.  She goes into the house, upstairs to the master bedroom, she opens a box that is stashed on the top shelf of the closet.  She opens the box, to a collection of Hunter’s knives.   There she pulls a Damascus steel full tang skinner blade with a gut hook at the tip.  She slides the blade from its leather holster and brings it up to her lips.  She gently kisses the blade and slides it back in before tucking in the back of her pants.

 

"You didn't realize I was crazy; now, I'm crazier than before, you stole my daughter's whole life, now you owe me yours!"