2.

A few short hours after receiving those two most odd, awe inducing, panic inflicting phone calls, Trevor sat home contemplating the situation he had found himself in when a knock came to his front door. He answered to find a man he didn't recognize standing before him, a man who didn't hesitate in identifying himself as the police detective with whom Trevor had spoken with only hours earlier.

Detective Nigel Ramsay asked if he could come inside, Trevor reluctantly allowed him in after the detective made the point that he had travelled a long distance and would prefer that the trip he made should be met with at least a little courtesy.

The detective could easily tell that Trevor knew something about Shannon's disappearance. From Shannon's home personal computer, he knew that they had been in contact. He needed to discern the reluctance which prevented the man before him from fully complying. Having had time to think, Trevor felt that his best option now was to inform the detective of what he knew no matter how crazy it may seem. Perhaps he might just be a little reserved.

There was the risk with the warning he had been given but Trevor had to do something. He knew for certain that Shannon was being held in an old, abandoned building in the middle of nowhere, the telling of this being a strange thing to state no matter how sure of it he was.

Trevor also thought that the building may once have been some kind of a warehouse, grey, paint flaking, wooden frames chipped, no electricity. It did sound strange, but what would also seem strange is that from the description which Trevor gave, the detective began to think of one building in particular he knew of. Detective Ramsay got on his phone and had people go check it out and sure enough Shannon was found bound and gagged within this building.

It is more than convenience that the Detective know where to go or have others go, it was more a due diligence from prior investigating that gave him somewhat of a heads up. If he were so inclined, he'd say that all of this is not his first rodeo.

Shannon had passed out when she had been found, and when she had come to, she would tell that she had must have been bound and gagged at the location where she was found or at least on the way to that place. She had no idea as to how she got there or who may have put her there. She hadn't had any recent disagreements with anyone, nor could she think of anyone to who would want to harm her in any way.

Surprised at how Trevor could have even known about the building where Shannon had been found, detective Ramsay had plenty more questions for Trevor. That dilapidated building was and is less than ten miles away from Shannon's home and of course on the other side of the world to where Trevor is.

The following afternoon the detective arrived back to Trevor's home informing him that Shannon was alive and well and had indeed been found at the location to which he had described. Just as the detective was about to inquire as to how Trevor knew about the building and that Shannon was being held inside, Trevor's phone rang. The voice on the line was again distorted.

'I told you not to involve the police,' said the voice.

'I didn't, a detective came to me. This is no longer important though; Shannon is safe now.'

'Are you sure about that? Have the money ready to transfer. I will be back in touch.'

Trevor now being quite confused asked the detective 'your guys did find Shannon, right?'

'Yes, and she is at a medical facility under cautionary observation, and I can assure you that all is well.'

'All doesn't seem too well to me' spoke Trevor before explaining the call he had only just received.

Detective Ramsay made a call or two of his own and discovered that Shannon was no longer at the medical facility to which he had spoken of. She had not been released, and no one knew of her currant whereabouts. She was just ... gone.

That distorted voice, whomever it belonged to had taken Shannon for a second time, Trevor knew this and Shannon was probably in more danger at this point than she had been the first-time round. A trace would be set up for when the distorted caller would call again, though it was highly improbable to be of any use. Tracing the money transfer seemed like an unlikely but possible lead.

What was needed was a recurrence of whatever it was that had happened to Trevor which brought him to that grey dilapidated building where Shannon had previously been held, ... not something which could happen with ease.

Having somehow travelled halfway across the world in an instant was something that had never happened to Trevor prior to the moments which led to his arrival at that old building so he was very unsure as to if he could do that again if indeed, he was responsible for it happing at all in the first place. Even if he was somehow travelling a great distance in an instant, it's not like he could flick an on/off switch to make it happen.

As much as he would like to have such an on/off button, all Trevor could do is sit and wait along with the police who were ready and waiting with their tracking devices. He had held back somewhat in his initial telling of what he knew or experienced. How could one just blurt out something like that, but tell all is what he needed to do now, so he did.

***

Trevor felt uneasy about the police presence and the equipment they had set up in his home. Maybe this uneasiness was a hindrance to whatever it was that allowed his first moment of instant travel. All he could do was sit and wait for his phone to ring, and ring it eventually would. The police made themselves busy trying to track the call, the distorted voice told of the details of the account where he wanted the money to be transferred and as soon as he did so ... the call ended.

The trace on the call was unsuccessful. Trevor began the wire transfer. As soon as the transfer was complete the money moved again and the original account it was wired to immediately closed so tracking the money only went so far before coming to a dead end.

It wasn't all a total loss though. The call had been recorded, and the voice distortion was removed through a number of programs designed to do just that. The equipment brought to Trevor's home was able to clear up the voice and made it crisper revealing the actual voice of the caller. When the call was played back without distortion, Trevor instantly recognized the voice. It was the voice of his former business partner Abraham Matthews. What had he got to do with all of this?

Abraham had himself a new business partner and with the world being such a forever shrinking place, Abraham's new business partner just so happened to be Shannon's ex-husband and Shannon's ex-husband was a man who had a gambling addiction, an addiction which left himself and Abraham in some serious financial difficulties.

It was Shannon's ex who lost money having invested in a new business venture under apparent quality advice from Abraham, and with a realisation having been made, it had been Abraham's idea to stage her kidnapping and hit Trevor for the ransom. An ex-husband had duped Shannon into believing all was well and good.

Strange how some connections come to be, Trevor's friendship with Shannon, the connection between Trevor's ex-business partner and Shannon's ex-husband.

It was only moments after the discovery as to whom the distorted voice belonged to when Trevor was to go on another excursion. With his living room being invaded by police, Trevor had moved into the kitchen to give himself some space. Being so deep in thought, Trevor began to stare at the kitchen floor as if a hole had opened up and he just stared right into it, an imaginary hole big enough for him to jump right into.

When he switched his glace up from the floor, he received a shock ... a shock which almost sent him crashing out of the chair he was sitting in. Shannon was standing right there before him, only just a few feet away.

'Shannon you're here, with me, how is that possible?' he asked standing up out of the chair he had only just almost fallen out of.

Detective Ramsay looked on into the kitchen where Trevor was, noticing him stand and begin to talk to someone, when the detective looked across the space near to Trevor, he noticed that there was no one else, as far as he could see, other than Trevor himself in the kitchen.

'It is you who is here with me, silly' spoke Shannon.

Trevor's surroundings began to change; indeed, he did seem to be moving somewhere else while also staying right where he was, as if he were in two places at once.

Detective Ramsay walking into the kitchen asked ... 'who are you talking to Trevor?'

Half being in his own kitchen and half being somewhere else entirely, Trevor responded 'I am talking to Shannon' as if it should be quite obvious.

Not quite sure what to make of this the detective asked ... 'is she here right now?'

'No, I am with her, where she is.'

He hadn't quite believed the story Trevor had told him though there was the phenomenon of Trevor knowing about a certain location. What else could the detective do but go with it? 'And just where would that be?'

'I am in a cabin, I think.'

Shannon would speak knowing only Trevor could see and hear her. Maybe this travelling thing, ability or whatever it is that is happening is somehow related to Shannon as she didn't seem to need an explanation for what was going on.

'This was my father's cabin; he used to bring me and my mum up here quite a lot while I was a child' she said.

Shannon smiled as she reminisced.

'She is in her father's cabin' Trevor told the detective.

Trevor was standing in his kitchen with the detective standing to his right, while also somehow standing in Shannon's father's cabin with Shannon standing in front of him.

Detective Ramsay watched as Trevor physically became transparent. The detective could literally see right through him. It is as if Trevor was being pulled into being only in the cabin rather than existing in two separate places. Being in shock at what he was watching unfold, as well as feeling a panic with the hope of finding Shannon still alive, the detective told Trevor 'I need you to tell me where that cabin is, can you do that? Trevor, can you help me?'

Time may be short, and the detective understood this, at least to a certain degree. Before Trevor could reply, he had completely vanished. The detective walked right through where Trevor had only just stood a moment ago, Trevor was gone, no longer there and the detective was at a complete loss to explain this.

'How am I here? What is happening?'

'Trevor it is alright, the connection we have had, we have always had, still do have, is what brought you here, it is what allowed you to smell the scent of my perfume, it is what allows us to share one more moment.'

'One more moment? What do you mean by that?' asked Trevor as his confusion grew.

Their eyes met and became fixated. Shannon's eyes welled up and a single tear rolled down her face. Trevor wiped it away with one thumb. She had indeed been duped; she knows this and knows she should never have allowed herself to be duped though what was and what is are two separate things.

She reached for and held each of Trevor's hands. The two were more or less level with regard to their respective height. Neither pair of eyes distracted from the others. They moved closer and their lips met. A perfect moment in time and space, a moment together which encompassed the distance of half a world.

They both would have liked more but Shannon walked away, and over to the living room window in answer to Trevor's query. Trevor began to follow but stopped when he came across a pair of boots on the floor just beyond some furniture. These boots were still being worn and were attached to legs, legs which belonged to Shannon. Shannon lay lifeless on the floor while also standing next to the cabin's living room window.

'What the ... ?!'

'It is alright Trevor; there is nothing you can do.'

'What is this? What happened?'

'I can show you.'

The daytime light turned to nighttime darkness and Trevor became somewhat of an observer. Shannon's body was no longer lying on the floor however she was still standing by the window though now, at this point, she was seemingly unaware of Trevor's presence. There were two other men in the room, one of whom being Trevor's ex-business partner and the other Trevor presumed to be that of Shannon's ex-husband.

The ex-husband had a gun, the two men began to argue, and the gun was placed on a table. Seeing her chance for escape, Shannon made her way to the gun. The other two noticed what was going on just as Shannon reached the gun. A tussle ensued and the gun went off. Shannon immediately hit the floor. She was dead and there was nothing either man could do about it, neither of them meant for this to happen but happen it did. There was nothing Trevor could do about it either.

Daylight resumed and Shannon was back standing by the cabins living room window, her body also back in position on the floor. She approached Trevor, placed her right hand on his face and kissed him once more. She whispered, 'I love you', turned, walked back towards the window and vanished.

Trevor soon found himself back home in his own kitchen. The detective being more concerned with finding Shannon alive rather to what had just happened to Trevor, his disappearance and reappearance, asked the returning Trevor as to how anyone could get to Shannon. Trevor placed his hand on the detective's shoulder saying ... 'we are too late, she is gone' and then left the police to it as he made his way outside for a walk to nowhere in particular.

The detective just let Trevor be, making no effort to follow him. He knew where and how to contact him again if he needed to. Now was for getting details of the location of Shannon's father's cabin.

Shannon's ex-husband had drugged her allowing him to take her the first time and bring her to that abandoned warehouse. He had planned to have her released upon Trevor wiring the money. With not knowing what had happened at the time, Shannon was not surprised when her husband came to visit her in hospital after she had been discovered. He tricked her into leaving the hospital with him and he took her up to her father's cabin.

It was at this point Shannon realized what was going on. No one meant for anyone to be hurt but that isn't how things worked out. Shannon was dead, she is dead. Her ex-husband and Trevor's ex-business partner are to blame, and they are to spend the rest of their lives in prison.

As for Trevor, he would never forget Shannon, nor would he forget the connection they shared. He may have lost someone very special, but he does have a new project to work on. If anything, he now could immortalize that very special person in his newest writings ... perhaps there will be a career in this writing venture after all ...

Sometimes, inexplicably ... connections are made and bonds are created, such is the nature of the universe. They connections can last a moment, or they can last a lifetime. They can be as near as being between two people who pass on a street or as far as two people who live half a world away. Who knows how or why these things happen? It is just part of Human nature; it has always been and will continue to always be.