Summerabbacat

Fingers crossed your power is restored soon. The only "positive" is that because it is so bloody cold any food you have refrigerated or frozen should not spoil, although I don't know about meat.

It may be purely coincidental @Paladin, but JJ's thought "The thought of crossing that bridge with him once more excited me, although at the time I had no idea just how prophetic those words would prove to be." was mere hours before he and his classmates were crossing over a creek on a bridge which as described appears to be anything but "perfectly safe", particularly with the apparent heavy rain overnight. I agree the gaping hole in the side of the mountain is potentially dangerous too, although I doubt there has been sufficient rain to cause a sudden rush of water which could fill that hole in a short time, thus drowning any of the students/teachers. Mind you, in an earlier chapter I thought a bushfire might be on the horizon because of the dried brown grass and high temperatures. I may be way off with my speculations, channelling my love of those all-star disaster blockbusters from the 1970's, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno and Earthquake. The story title has so many possible meanings too. Initially I thought it may be limited to JJ being beyond "saving" in the eyes of those who have levelled various insults and threats at him, but I am now more inclined to believe the story title means something quite different. I believe it is a reference to whatever fate has in store for JJ, Dallas and perhaps Pete, is going to have a significant impact way beyond their experiences in this "lost town" named Salvation. I think the former relationship between JJ and Dallas is going to come to light again as Dallas seems to be narrowing the gap between himself and JJ, but for what purpose I do not know. Or it may possibly be a reference to JJ being Dallas' salvation or vice versa. I do enjoy a good speculation and the pony has given us plenty to speculate about.

Jamie appears to be dropping hints he is gay too. The song reference, the fact his parents kicked him out of home, the enquiry if Adam is dating anyone and the reference to there being some pretty cute guys in their school, all suggest he is gay, but then again he may just be a friendly chill guy. He also appeared to seek Adam out twice in the one day, as if it was imperative he speak with him. I don't think Jamie's sexuality is as certain as Adam believes it to be.

Adam appears to be smart, articulate and surprisingly sensible for his age, and yet when it comes to "affairs of the heart" he is a complete novice, a blabbering idiot, much like many of us were at that age (and some of us still are). Some people have an innate confidence when it comes to flirting to achieve their desired outcome, whilst others have the looks and/or charm and/or financial means to achieve the same successful outcome, but the bulk of us just fumble and stumble on like Adam. Adam is far more outgoing that what I thought he was going to be @ChromedOutCortex. He seems capable of holding a conversation, unless it is with Jamie to whom he is attracted, and is not completely misanthropic. He has not as yet, shown any signs of body dysmorphia, although his self-esteem is not particularly healthy given his comments he is a 'nobody'.

My immediate reaction was, apart from being very moved, is Jamie real or is Jamie a figment of Adam's imagination, as well as the life lived with Jamie, in this carefully constructed parallel world. I look forward to reading more of this story @ChromedOutCortex. Adam's grip on reality appears tenuous at best.

George has been remarkably mature and kind from the moment he appeared in the prior story and first met Lionel. Although he has undoubtedly suffered great sadness himself with the death of his mother, he has consistently put the welfare and happiness of firstly Lionel, and then Lorenzo, before his own. A selfless boy too. Cunning and stupid, a recipe for disaster. I feel sorry for Teddie Sue and Bobby Ray, the fraternal twins resulting from their one sexual encounter (if @Lee Wilsondevelops this as a story line).

Mama Kincaid appeared to like Jack far more than narcissistic Noah. He was clearly moved by her comment “You’re not crashing anything. You’re my son’s roommate and best friend. You’re like family now. Hopefully, this can become our new Thanksgiving tradition!” Jonah is a welcome addition to the regular cast, his flirtatious and often irreverent comments a delightful accompaniment to Jack's often caustic comments.

I too felt Nick was playing with Jack's emotions in this chapter. I don't believe it his intention to hurt Jack, but knowing Jack is in love with him and using that to get Jack to do what Nick wants him to do is with playing with fire. Nick has witnessed first hand how fragile Jack has been at times, thus I am very surprised he is being so cavalier with Jack's heart, I guess at the age of 14 he does not realise that Jack's mental health appears to be something which must be managed at all times. I, like @Philippe, am looking forward to Mama Kincaid's assessment of Jack, particularly as compared to Noah.

As much as I am not fond of Noah (I am trying to be "nice"), I don't think he is entirely to blame for being a shallow, narcissistic and manipulative arsehole. In a prior chapter he referred to his parents curating his friends for him; I suspect he has "learned from the best", his parents. They have set the example and he has followed. His desires and expectations from a relationship are very different from those of Nick, and whilst I am more like Nick, I cannot in all fairness dislike Noah because I don't share his desires and expectations. But fuck being fair, I don't like Noah. Nick needs to ditch him and quick smart, even though I was "pleasantly" surprised by Noah's behaviour towards Nick at the party. I thought the outcome was going to be far worse than what it was, far more Gold Dust Woman than Rhiannon, and I feared Nick was going to forced into a situation where his saying 'no' fell on deaf ears. I was very impressed with how Nick handled himself post-party. His assertive stance when he addressed how unacceptable Noah's behaviour really surprised me. Way to go, Nick.

Mark is astute, articulate and amusingly acerbic. He also cares a great deal about Jack, and by extension Nick. I wonder what he really thinks of Noah. Nick's breakdown has seemingly been beneficial for both Jack and himself, and may be good "practice" for when Noah breaks his heart or tears him apart, which I feel is imminent. Predatory, a very apt word for Noah @SilentandBroken, and from what I have observed, a "natural" extension of his manipulative, smarmy and disingenuous behaviour. I got the sense Jack's pronouncement of love was HUGE too. Not an emotion he is used to experiencing, let alone expressing. The Halloween party may prove to be a Helloween party. I don't think illicit drugs are the only danger facing Nick. Fresh, young, virginal meat.

“Fleetwood Mac? So tasteful. And Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were born just to harmonize with each other”. And reputedly almost throttle each other, well at least him almost throttle her. For every Rhiannon, Dreams and Sara there was a Save Me A Place, Walk A Thin Line and Caroline. “He looked genuinely flabbergasted, like I’d just revealed we lived by candlelight and churned our own butter, or that the Earth wasn’t really round.” The book-burning Moms For Liberty? “Part of me wanted to jump up and down on the bed, but I figured that might look a little silly.” It's been done before Nick, and it would have looked very silly. Just ask Oprah, Tom Cruise did it and it was embarrassing. “I wanted to crawl under the table. Noah winked at me over his coffee. Something about the way Noah talked to my mom bothered me, though. It seemed manipulative in a way. Fortunately, I think my mom took it more playfully.” Ya think Nick? I agree with you @drsawzall. Noah is smarmy; a disingenuous sycophant who feigns cool and chic because he is an entitled prig. He makes my skin crawl. Jack is highly intelligent and very introspective, a dangerous combination. It appears his mental health issues are not being managed properly at all, and the "food" he eats will not help at all. Very impressive writing @LittleBuddhaTW.

Jack left no stone unturned when berating his mother, she must surely know exactly what he thinks of her, but maybe she does not. Has she abused him either physically or verbally, or perhaps she has abused him by simply ignoring and/or neglecting him for much of his life. He has been at the boarding school for a long time; has he essentially been dumped their by rich parents who want little to do with him. He is on medication, a regime which Mr G seems to be well aware of. Is he just being medicated as his only form of therapy for what may be a very serious problem? I, like a number of my fellow readers, am suspicious Noah has contributed at least partially to Jack's problems. Nick's vacillating is not helping either Jack or himself. I am definitely team Jack, however, Nick is a 14 year old boy who is not equipped to deal with Jack's problems, which appear to be complex to say the least. I wonder what Nick's mother will make of Noah. An outsider's observations may be very useful.

It must have been so brief I missed it. No doubt Eve would have made it all about herself, how she had been wronged and she was making the effort to amend. I will NEVER like her.

I have but one question after this chapter @Josh Aterovis. “Adam is taking Kane to stay with his mother for a week, remember?” Why, what possible reason could Kane have for wanting to spend time with that evil bitch? I am trying to determine the significance of the house Steve is keen to purchase in Chicone. Is it significant because Killian may be sensitive to at least one deceased former occupant of the house, and this may convince him he has a connection to dead people e.g. Seth and perhaps Amalie? Or, does Ira's murderer have a connection to the house? Or is the house totally unrelated, its only purpose the death knell in the relationship between Adam and Steve if Steve proceeds to purchase it? A very intriguing diversion perhaps @Josh Aterovis. And what of the imminent return of Judy and Jake? Is this another potential intriguing diversion or is it somehow linked to Ira's murder too? I think Killian can learn a lot from Novak, discipline and focus being chief amongst the learning opportunities. Killian is very bright, but as Novak so sagely pointed out "unless you learn how to harness them and put them to use, they won’t amount to a hill of beans. Just like any talent, you have to learn how to use it to its fullest potential". You certainly have we readers on the edge of our seats as noted by @camerio1, with no one person appearing to stand out yet as the possible murderer. It was perhaps telling Novak appears to believe there is more to Travis and Paige Haynes and their relationship with Caleb than meets the eye.

Oh what glorious weather, send it my way please. In such weather I never use my aircon. Mine has been running for 12hours + per day since early May with temperatures dropping as low as 11°C during the day, strong winds and rain. My cats hate such cold weather too. My eldest has been putting her nose just outside the door onto the terrace off my bedroom, then looks at me with a WTF look and quickly retreats back inside. The youngest one who loves to sit on the terrace does not even bother to try, she gets out of bed, comes downstairs, sits directly under the aircon or goes under a blanket wrapped around her floor cushion, and stays there all day until it is time to go back upstairs to bed where she will snuggle up to me all night.

Very well written and profoundly moving @Gary L. The "shame" of his illness was so pronounced, I suppose anything bowel-related is "icky", and that was the part I found the saddest. His refusal to suffer in silence and shame again, and the sympathy of the policeman, a glimmer of hope.

You're too quick off the mark, Mark. My comments were so poorly written. I have heavily edited them, but to no avail. I should learn and write my comments in a Word document before publishing as I find the ads constantly popping up on my screen distracting and very fucking annoying, plus one of the cats usually appears bottom first in front of the laptop screen as I write too.

"The thought of crossing that bridge with him once more excited me, although at the time I had no idea just how prophetic those words would prove to be." Will JJ and/or Pete and/or Dallas find themselves Under The Bridge, or on a Bridge Over Troubled Water, or on a Bridge To Heaven? I assume the log bridge all the students crossed over safely to trek to the coal mine, will have to be crossed over to return to the buses to take them back to the campsite, and this is possibly when JJ's prophecy will come true. It does not appear the log bridge is secured into concrete blocks or affixed in any meaningful way to the surrounding earth, and with the number of students, teachers and rangers who already crossed over it, I imagine it may already have started to loosen from the earth. Furthermore, with the heavy rain which has apparently fallen over night, I assume the creek over which the log bridge crosses will continue to fill up with more water from higher ground, thereby making the earth "foundations" into which it is "built" even looser still. "Are we expected to walk across that?' one of the girls screeched. 'It's perfectly safe,' Mrs Bird said to us all. 'It has been used for years." Mmmm, famous last words, perhaps. I sense an impending disaster is the "excitement" prophesied by JJ @Mark Ponyboy Peters, with his thoughts so closely aligned to the events which have just taken place. Nothing humans build is indestructible, especially when the unpredictability of Mother Nature is part of the equation. I just hope JJ and/or Dallas and/or Pete can swim. I sense JJ and Dallas may be thrown together again, with possibly Pete joining them in some manner.

'Uncle Doug got into the mix, "You do tend to be a little, um..." "Bitchy? You can say it." "I was leaning toward overbearing, actually." Seemingly Marie Louise has always been unpleasant and bossy, even before the chemical leak which killed millions of her fellow Americans. "Marie-Louise thought, 'At least I pretended I didn't want the bigger bedroom. Todd's already in a smaller room.' Billy was almost fifteen and Todd was thirteen. Elaine and Doug had no idea how much trouble that will cause." I imagine Marie-Louise will thrive on the discord her arrival will bring to the household. She may well set her sights on Billy, but if he refuses her advances she will move on to Todd. Let us hope both boys are not a slave to their hormones completely. George Dunlop Sr. profession is one which will make him increasingly wealthy as the population ages and sags. Gravity and obesity are his best friends, at least financially. Vanessa will benefit greatly from his skill, ageing far slower than her contemporaries, with a little touch up here and there along the way to make her appearance less prone to extreme change. Think Raquel Welch rather than Cher or Nicole Kidman.

Lachlan and Medea MacDonald are a horrid pair. I thought at first they may have reared Rory as a trophy or status symbol, or to prove their ability to breed, but it appears they have no use for him at all. Thankfully he has Mirenna, the housekeeper, who appears to provide him with some companionship whilst he resides in the family tomb, an ostentatious display of alleged architectural splendour. I am sure Matthew realises far more about Gavin and Jason's new found relationship than what they think he does. He is perceptive and non-judgmental, and clearly wants his father to be happy, having raised him single-handedly since the death of his mother at a young age. Another slow-burner, Hugill-style @Robert Hugill. Unlike your other stories, I have not noted any regional language as yet, although perhaps as a reader I am so used to words hitherto unknown appearing in the Hugillverse that such words have lost their power to surprise and delight. Mmmmm no, I don't think so.

I suspect what you consider "heat" is nothing like what we have and I relish in Australia, and what I bemoan as freezing is nothing like what you experience as cold in Baltimore. My perfect climate is between 30°C - 40°C with humidity of 80% plus. Anything less than 25°C and I am starting to feel a little "chilly". I have been like it since childhood. Christmas Day is just not Christmas Day unless it is 38°C+. As for snow, no thank you.

It is no wonder the boys are angst-ridden; the "food" they eat is disgusting. All that fat, salt, sugar and soft drink. The description of the cinema was most amusing @LittleBuddhaTW. "The theater smelled like warm fake butter and ancient upholstery. The air was thick with salt and sugar and something vaguely sour that clung to the back of your throat. The floors were sticky in that classic, unloved way – every step came with a faint shlk of shoe meeting syrup (or, God forbid, bubblegum). Popcorn was everywhere. Scattered along the aisles. Piled in corners. Like no one had ever bothered to sweep up after a movie ended … in the 1990s." Noah is smarmy and projects an air of jaded boredom. Jack is uber-emo and projects an air of jaded boredom. Of the three, Nick appears to be the only one not in disguise. Noahnickjack - what a conundrum.

The age old phrase 'if it is too good to be true it probably is not' surfaced before Jack said of Noah “But Nick... Noah isn’t who you think he is.” After Jack's remark, I am even more certain Noah is not who he is presenting himself to be. There is something a little too well-rehearsed about his manner, a veneer of affable pleasantry. I don't trust him.

Ya think @Tris? Killian's heart is in the "right place", but he does seem to have a laissez faire attitude towards danger, which is unfathomable given the ferocity of the two murderers he has encountered in Todd (Bleeding Hearts) and Caitlin (Reap The Whirlwind), particularly the former who tried to kill him and whom he killed in self-defence. I hope Killian's questioning of Mrs Fields and his display of affection towards her with the parting hug was not observed by the murderer @VBlew. If it was, I believe Mrs Fields' life is in grave danger as @Josh Aterovis' killers have not to date stopped after a single killing; both Todd and Caitlin went on to commit multiple murders, although the "cast" of both Bleeding Hearts and Reap The Whirlwind was much larger than the cast in this story, at least to date. Given Mrs Fields dire living conditions and her precarious health, it would not take much to finish her off; Nadine could probably finish her off merely by breathing her "smoke sour breath" on her. I, like @Philippe, wondered if it might have been Travis Haynes who visited Caleb for some evening amore, but discounted this speculation after Mrs Fields indicated the person was of a small build like Caleb. It is possible Mrs Fields eyesight may be so poor she might mistake a grown adult for a much smaller person, but I don't think so. If Travis was partaking of a bit of "enboyment" with Caleb, it would explain Caleb's refusal to reveal who he spent the evening with on the night of his father's murder. It would also have given Paige the opportunity to murder Ira, a murder which would serve a dual purpose, ridding her life of a man she despised, but also having the murder pinned on Caleb whom she may have come to despise if she knew he was on the "downlow" with her husband. Another possibility as to the identity of Caleb's nightly visitor, whom he may have spent the evening with on the night of his father's murder, is someone who is underage. Many of we readers have assumed, or it at least appears that way to me, that Caleb is trying to protect the identity of his lover, but what if he is merely trying to protect himself because he is having sex with a boy less than 16(?) years of age. The DNA and prints may have been contaminated by now by Killian @drsawzall. Having never watched an episode of any of those CSI TV shows, I am not au fait with the wonders of DNA testing, although I vaguely recall it may have been relied upon in a few episodes of the British TV series, Silent Witness, which I saw a few episodes of many moons ago. I am sure he will have an app on his phone he can record his discoveries on, although he did seem fond of the trusty notebook. He has not had a car accident in the last few chapters so one of those may be on the cards, or a heated row with Arsehair which leads to the two of them fucking like bunnies. @drsawzall's red herrings have made another appearance @Josh Aterovis, even making an appearance in @Philippe's "pond". They sure seem to be in plentiful supply in Baltimore. Do they swim from the Atlantic Ocean into Chesapeake Bay before congregating in the Patapsco River at Baltimore (apologies if I have the geography all wrong)? And I have to congratulate you @Josh Aterovis on your physical description of Nadine. From her "smoke sour breath", to her "leathery skin" to her "freckled cleavage". I imagine she has skin like a reptile, all dry and scaly from heavy smoking and too much sun exposure. I can relate to the latter as I was an avid beach-goer and suntan lover from my early childhood, and particularly from my mid-teens until well into my late 30's/early 40's. I still love the sun and DO NOT wear SPF50+ sunscreen, but I am more cautious than I use to be (getting a crispy scalp is not pleasant).

I am not defending Killian's unnecessarily rude response to Adam's questions and comments when he arrived home late, but I don't think Killian realises the positive difference he has made in Adam's life. I suspect Adam views Killian as a link, albeit a tenuous one, to Seth, which only strengthens the paternal feelings Adam has for Killian. Adam wants to "do right" by Killian as I think to some extent he may think he "failed" Seth. The murder of Seth must have almost destroyed Adam, moreso because he had missed out on so much of his life. I was shocked by Adam's response to Steve, there is a palpable tension between the two. I sense the Blues Are A Brewin'. I think Killian well understands Novak's instructions @drsawzall; he just has little or no intention of following those instructions. He has shown a wilful disregard for his own safety in the past and I cannot see that changing, particularly when he believes it is he who will uncover the truth. I understand his reluctance to disclose his dream to anyone, but I believe he should disclose it to Adam or Steve at least. It appears Caleb may have been using Arsehair to some extent given the latter's reaction to Killian's revelation Caleb was staying with someone on the night of the murder. There is merit though in Novak's speculation that Caleb may have lied that he stayed with someone. If Mrs Field is still in the hospital as indicated by Paige Haynes then who was it that made the curtain twitch, if it twitched to the touch of a human? Perhaps it was the killer. More intrigue @Josh Aterovis. I do hope Love On The Rocks is not "in the cards" for Adam and Steve. Adam has had more than his share of heartache and deserves happiness after the harrowing time he had at the hands of that hateful bitch, Eve. Perhaps you can arrange for the person with the axe to pay a visit to Eve too. I doubt she would be missed.