Zac stared at the caskets through the tinted windows of the limo. The funerals had been rough on everyone. More people had shown up outside the cemetery than anyone had expected. Even though Sarah had flown in to sing "I Will Remember You" just for the funeral things still hurt more than he thought it would. His chest hurt, his eyes stung.

The past three days had been the worst of his life. This all seemed so unreal. Not hearing Taylor's voice, or seeing his smile. Ike and Shiye had been standing by the gravesides for thirty minutes now. Walker and Diana beside them. Blankly staring. The sky was a dim gray. It was nearly six in the evening. A rain drop splattered against the window. The sky rumbled in the distance.

"Things always get worse," Zac muttered to himself. Squeezing his eyes shut.

The lyrics to 'I Will Come To You' echoed through his mind.

"When the night is dark and stormy, you won't have to reach out for me, I will come to you, oh, I will come to you."

A tear rolled from Zac's eye.

"How Taylor, it's all over now," Zac sighed.

He couldn't sit behind the drum set now. Not with Taylor gone. Zac rested his head against the leather seat. He stared down the length of the limo. His head pounded, and his eyes hurt, tunnel vision taking over. Making everything stretch out longer and thinner than it was. The sky was darker, the dim gray light barely making it's way through the windows.

A strobe flash of lightening seared through the windows illuminating everything instantly. Darkness returning almost faster than it had vanished in the pulse from outside. Thunder shattered through his ears.

"Must have been close," he thought to himself.

He glanced to his left out the window. The rain was pouring in torrents now. The flowers bouncing and jerking downward as the large drops of water hit them. Walker, Diana, Ike and Shiye stood there motionless. Zac's chest heaved. Tears welled in his eyes. The final realizations were colliding with his brain.

His heart aching. He tore at the door handle and kicked the limo door open charging out into the rain. He ran across the small drive skidding and sliding in the grass. The rented shoes he had on were slick in the rain. He slipped and fell into the grass beside Shiye. She gasped and bent down quickly to help him but he franticly crawled toward the mound of mud in front of him.

"Damn you," he screamed pounding at the mud.

"Damn you for leaving, how could you," Zac screamed tears running down his face.

"You weren't supposed to go," Zac screamed slumping into the mud crying.

Thunder crashed over head. Another strobe of lightening flashed in the sky above. The rain poured. The drops splattering on the marble double head stone. Running down the front over the carvings.

"Jordan Taylor Hanson -Born March 14, 1983 Died June 18, 2000."

"William Taylor Quest - Born April 1, 1979 Died June 18, 2000."

Beneath the carvings in a sealed compartment was a five by seven color photograph of the both of them. Smiling, happy, in love and young. As they would remain, forever young.

Ike tried to help Zac up, he jerked his arm away. He was mad. He slipped and felt his head colliding with the grave stone. His mind went numb. He heard Shiye's voice.

"You ok dude?" she chuckled.

"What?" Zac said rubbing his eyes.

Zac looked over to his side. Shiye sat holding a magazine. His head hurt. He looked to his right.

"Are you ok, that was some bump," Shiye asked with genuine concern.

"Huh, wait, what the fuck?" Zac barked looking around himself.

"Shiye, car window, Ike in front of him, Walker behind the wheel, where the hell, what's going on," Zacs mind rambled.

"Where are we?" Zac stammered tears welling in his eyes.

"Whoa, you really need to start sleeping at night dude," Ike laughed.

"No, fuck wad where the HELL ARE WE?" Zac snapped.

"Zachary," Walker snapped looking over his shoulder in reaction to Zac's cussing.

"Hon, we're on the way to the airport, you know, New York, airplane," Shiye smiled.

"You mean, oh God, you mean," Zac said tears running down his face.

"I mean what?" Shiye looked at Zac and then Ike with sheer confusion across her face.

Zac didn't reply. He pulled out his cell phone and punched a button and stared off. His stare melted into the brightest smile that had ever graced his young face.

"Taylor, don't go to Hawaii, just trust me," Zac said in a voice that made everyone in the van turn around.

"Promise me you won't, promise me Taylor," Zac said calmly and quietly.

"See you tonight," he smiled and hung up.

"What on earth was that all about?" Walker exclaimed over his shoulder.

"I'll tell you guys in a lil bit," Zac smiled to himself.

*          *          *          *          *

"What's the matter babe?" Will asked Taylor who had a look of sheer confusion on his face.

"I don't know but Zac just gave me the chills," Taylor said putting the cell phone down on the small shelf next to the front door.

"Mom, looks like we're gonna be eating breakfast here anyway," Tay called out.

"Great," she replied through a sudden crash of pots and pans.

"You ok?" Tay said peering around the corner.

"Yeah, just the shock of hearing those words caught me off guard," she smiled back.

"I'll go tell the driver we won't be needing him," Will said trotting out the front door.

"What changed your mind?" Diana asked Tay as she poured him a glass of orange juice.

"Zac called me just now, said not to go," Tay said quietly.

"Ok, who are you and what have you done with my son?" Diana said staring down at Taylor.

"What, Mom you're joking right," Tay laughed.

"Well, first you're gonna actually eat my food, and now you're listening to Zac, and doing what he says, it must be pretty cold in hell right now," Diana said handing him the glass.

"Uh, Mom you know I don't do juice," Tay said handing the glass to Mackie who started to gulp it down.

"Coffee please, and black," Tay smirked.

"Now that's my Taylor," Diana chuckled getting a mug.

"I don't know Mom, something in his voice, got to me."

"Well, did he say why you shouldn't go," she asked handing him the mug.

"No, but I could hear this relief in his voice when he said they'd see us tonight," Tay said sipping the coffee.

"Ok, so what are we going to do," Will exclaimed walking into the kitchen.

"Well, I'm about to cook you boys some breakfast," Diana said with a bright smile that masked a face of nervousness.

"How about you two sit down, relax and I'll whip us up some gnarly French Toast," Will said with a smile watching Diana's face relax.

"Sounds great to me," Tay exclaimed stressing the 'great.'

"I think I could handle that," Diana said sitting down beside Taylor.

Will winked at Taylor and started shuffling around at the stove. Taylor's heart tingled. He felt so amazing inside. He was sure this was the happiest he had been in a long long time.

*          *          *          *          *

Anthea glanced out her window as the van passed. She strained to see inside but the windows were too tinted. She turned and dug through her mothers purse and retrieved her Visa Platinum card. After logging on to the Internet, a few mouse clicks and key strokes later she had booked herself a seat on the next flight to the islands. She chuckled to herself.

"Damn I'm good."

*          *          *          *          *

"I swear that movie gets funnier and funnier every time I see it," Tay said as the end of 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,' finished up.

"Oh, look at that sexy body," Will snickered rubbing Taylor's right nipple through his beater.

"Oh gawd," Tay shrieked with laughter. Tay grabbed the romote and flicked the channels, the eleven o'clock news was on.

"Whoa," Tay muttered looking at the screen.

"News of the hurricane just reached the islands, the likely hood of anyone leaving is very slim, since all the flights have been grounded."

"Oh my God," Tay said covering his mouth, his eyes welling up as he looked over at Will.

"Oh shit, we woulda' been right in that," Will said looking over at Taylor with skin as pale as a ghost.

They threw their arms around each other hugging tightly. In the distance they heard the front door open.

"We're home," Zac yelled as he came rushing down into the garage. Leaping through the air and landing directly on top of Will and Taylor. He glanced at the tv set.

"I see you realize now why you couldn't go this morning," Zac said smiling.

"How in God's name did you know that was going to happen Mr. Psychic," Tay laughed hugging him.

Zac was quiet. Tay pulled away and looked at him tears streaming down his face.

"Whoa dude, it's ok," Tay said hugging him again.

"Taylor, I dreamt that you and Will died there in that hurricane," Zac cried quietly. Will reaching over to hug them both.

"It was horrible, and so fucking real," he whispered.

"We're ok, we're here, we're safe," Will said tears in his eyes looking at Taylor's face.

"I know, but you don't understand how horrible it was," Zac cried as Ike and Shiye walked in quietly.

"That's why you were so confused," Ike said sitting down beside Taylor.

"Yeah, I guess I dozed off in the car on the way to the airport, in the dream I had slipped in the mud and hit my head on your grave stone and in real life I had hit my head on the window of the car," he sniffled as he wiped his eyes.

"Oh sweetie I'm so sorry for being a dork to you when you woke up," Shiye said hugging Zac.

"It's ok you didn't know," he defended her.

"The important thing is we're all here, we're all together, everyone is safe," Tay exclaimed.

Walker and Diana watched from the stairs. Both smiling, hugging one another.

"We've got a lot to be thankful for," she whispered to Walker.

"I know, every day He shows me everything we have and how blessed we are," Walker replied quietly.

"Those kids down there, those two boys are going to have it rough," Diana sighed.

"I know, but hopefully it will change as time progresses," Walker replied.

"But honey, it's taken everyone so long just to get where they are now, there will always be people out there that," she tried to explain.

"I know this, that's when we do our best to help keep those kinds of people away, and when we can't all we can do is pray," Walker finished.

"I know," Diana whispered hugging him tighter watching the gang below.

*          *          *          *          *

The moon shined down. Taylor's eyes lazy with sleep. The shades of their bedroom window totally pulled open. The blue light from the full moon flooding the room. Will lay there silently. His chest rising and falling with each breath. His long flowing brown hair softly pushed to one side of his face. Tay felt his heart flutter. Wills eyes opened slowly.

They stared at one another. No words spoken. Miles away the ocean slammed against the island. Wind ripping through every standing object, tossing cars and trees like toys. But back in Tulsa, side by side in beautiful soft calm moonlight Taylor and Will kissed. Their hearts aching, only this time because of the love that flooded their bodies. The scales had been tipped, their lives had been spared yet again. There in their arms was love, acceptance, peace and joy. While thousands of miles away there was disaster, disaster in paradise.

The End


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Disaster in Paradise is Copyright © 2000 by Taylor W. Quest.
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