Second Chance - The "Lost Chapters"

[RunAndGun]

Oh man! I hope he found a truly good guy out there to help and not hurt her!

Your doing it to us again Grande! Awesome stuff! Thank you!

[Pop_45]

Alas, more plot twists. Great stuff, Grand. IIRC. Nate is a minor. He'll go to juvenile detention, unless tried as an adult.

[Grand58742]

SECOND CHANCE – THE LOST CHAPTERS #4



“I want you to listen to me Nate. Your lawyer is here, you have had the proper rights advisement. Anything you say past this point is admissible in court. I want that to sink in before I start asking questions,” said Mitch and took in a breath. “Last night Cindy Gray was seen getting into your vehicle near the library.”

“Cindy who?” asked Nate.

“Charlie Gray’s niece. You know who I’m talking about,” said Mitch.

“Yeah, Cindy loo hoo,” said Nate, thinking it was a game since he was a minor. “She’s fine.”

“Be serious for a moment,” said Mitch, looking at the lawyer. “She’s been missing since last night and you were the last known person to see her.”

“Oh yeah, I am serious. Cindy is fine,” said Nate, again, not realizing how serious the issue was.

“Where did you take her or drop her off?” asked Mitch.

“Who?” asked Nate.

“Don’t play games with me,” warned Mitch, wondering if he should call the lawyer out and let Charlie and Greg get the information instead. But self-control got the better of him and he put the thoughts away into the back of his mind.

“Oh, Cindy, right,” said Nate with a smart aleck grin.

“Listen, you are in a lot of trouble for the alleged rape of Portia Foster. You need to let that sink in as well. But for the moment, I have a missing girl and you might know where she is,” said Mitch.

“I know she was in my car,” said Nate with the same grin. He knew there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part.

Mitch pounded his hand on the table and stunned Nate with the move. “Listen here boy! You can and will be tried as an adult for the crime of rape! Same goes for kidnapping! You are seventeen years old and according to State law, you can be tried as an adult. Best think of that prison sentence for a seventeen year old before making another smart aleck comment to me!”

“Sheriff, my client has rights, you can’t threaten him with those kinds of things,” warned the lawyer.

“I’m not threatening, I’m promising. He will be tried as an adult,” said Mitch.

“It sounded like an inducement to get him to talk,” said the lawyer.

“No inducement at all. Just facts,” said Mitch.

“My client and I have yet to be able to talk about the allegations you are throwing out here. We probably need a little time before you can ask questions,” said the lawyer.

“Your client was the last person seen with a missing girl. I need answers right now so we can find her,” said Mitch.

“What evidence do you have of that?” asked the lawyer.

“The testimony of a witness saw her getting into the car with him last night,” said Mitch.

“Everyone knows how unreliable eyewitness testimony is,” said the lawyer. “I could get that thrown out right now.”

“Indeed you may,” said Mitch. “But the fact still remains, your client might have information for us.”

“Do you have information about the whereabouts of this Cindy Gray girl?” asked the lawyer.

“Nope, dropped her off at her uncle’s place last night. That was the last I’d seen of her,” said Nate.

“My client obviously has nothing more to offer you in the way of testimony,” said the lawyer.

“How’d you get the broken nose?” asked Mitch.

“Is that relevant?” asked the lawyer.

“Could be,” said Mitch.

“Hit my head on the bedroom door going to the bathroom,” said Nate.

“And the scratches?” asked Mitch.

“Got into it with the neighbor’s cat,” said Nate.

“Looks like a big cat,” remarked Mitch.

“It was just a normal cat,” said Nate.

“Let me go run down those facts right quick,” said Mitch.

“Are we allowed to leave?” asked the lawyer.

“Nope, stay put,” said Mitch as he went to the dispatch. “I need to know if there are blood stains on the bedroom door in Nate Jones’ room and if they own a cat.”

“Unit 34, dispatch,” said the dispatcher.

“Go ahead dispatch,” said the deputy investigator.

“Landline this office,” said the dispatcher. The call came in within seconds. The dispatcher relayed the question and was given the answer of “no” and “the wife is allergic to cats, they don’t have one and the neighbors don’t have them either.” However, further information came from the deputy on scene as he passed on some other tidbits that would be helpful. With this new information, Mitch went back into the interview room rearmed.

“You say you hit your head on the bedroom door?” he asked.

“Sure did,” said Nate.

“Why are there no bloodstains on the doorway? Or on the carpet? Or any trail of blood going to the bathroom? No bloody rags in the house? But there are plenty of bloodstains in your car as well as a bloody rag. And guess what buddy? We’re checking the GPS on your vehicle to see where you’ve been in the past twenty four hours. I think we don’t need your testimony after all,” said Mitch.

“My GPS was turned off,” said Nate, thinking he had the upper hand. “And I cleaned the carpet.”

“The GPS in a car is not off until the motor stops. You turned the screen off, but the unit was still tracking where you were at. Bet you didn’t know we could pull that up. And your cell phone can be traced through the towers. Additionally, there were no blood samples on the carpet. None. It doesn’t matter how much you clean, there is still traces that can be detected. You’re lying to me, but that’s fine, the truth will come out,” said Mitch.

“You can’t prove nothing,” said Nate. “I might have been up there just because.”

“Up where?” asked Mitch.

“Just anywhere,” said Nate.

“And the pictures of the girls on your closet door?” asked Mitch. “You have six pictures of teenage girls on your door with an X through all but one. Why is it you have a red X marked through the one of Portia Foster and another of Cindy Gray with the word ‘next’ under it?”

“Maybe I keep track of the girls I want to go out with,” said Nate smugly.

“Or keep track of your prey. You know, I don’t need any more of your testimony. The photographer is going to come in and take some pictures of your wounds. And we’re going to have a lab tech come in and take a DNA sample. The judge is already ordering it. Additionally when we find Cindy, and we will find Cindy, she’s going to have your DNA under her fingernails. And when that happens, I’ll have enough evidence to throw you under the jail boy,” said Mitch as he got up to leave again.

“Wait!” said Nate as Mitch opened the door.

“Wait for what?” asked Mitch.

“I can cut a deal right? If I tell you where Cindy is?” asked Nate.

“We need to discuss this privately,” suggested the lawyer.

“Nope, no deals. I’m going on evidence alone,” said Mitch as he turned to leave.

“I left her on a forest service road off Spivey Mountain Road!” exclaimed Nate.

“Did you?” asked Mitch.

“Yeah, she ran out of my car. I was just trying to get a little nookie you know? But she didn’t want it and ran away,” said Nate.

“And scratched your face and broke your nose in the process?” asked Mitch.

“Yeah, she attacked me,” said Nate.

“We’ll see if that story holds up,” said Mitch as he departed to send units out to the last known location. He informed Charlie of the location and watched as his best friend ran out of the courthouse and headed that way himself. Mitch told the dispatcher to send out an alert that a blue Ford truck was going to be seriously exceeding the speed limit and they were good to go. He departed the station and got into his own vehicle and attempted to catch up to Charlie before he got there.

********************

“About another mile,” said the hiker as they started the downhill stretch heading into Unaka Springs. “You have anything to eat?”

“Yeah, an energy bar,” said Cindy and took a drink of water.

“You have someone to call once we get there?” he asked as they took a quick break.

“Yeah, my uncle,” she said.

“You sound kind of familiar. Do I know you?” asked the hiker.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Cindy.

“You sure? I’m positive I’ve heard your voice before,” said the hiker.

“I don’t know from where,” said Cindy.

“Wait a second…you’ve got a hint of a New York accent! You’re that girl from TV! The one with those Muslims after her!” he exclaimed.

“No, sorry,” she grinned, but must have showed him otherwise.

“You sure about that?” he asked.

“Yeah, positive,” said Cindy.

“Well, if you were her, I was going to say how much I admired the fact you stood up for what was right and my family was supporting you all the way,” said the hiker.

“I bet she would be pleased to hear something like that,” said Cindy.

“Maybe someday I’ll meet her,” said the man with a knowing smile. “Let’s head on out. Less than a half an hour.”

********************

“Tracks lead here and we found evidence of a fire over that way last night,” said the deputy as Charlie and Mitch got out of their vehicles.

“Evidence?” asked Charlie.

“Some kind of shelter and a makeshift fire pit,” said the deputy.

“You think she was out here?” asked Mitch.

“She’s got a good head about her and this is probably her handy work,” said Charlie as he leaned over the shelter when they arrived. “Blond hair right there.”

“Didn’t see that the first time,” said the deputy.

“She was here, now where did she go?” asked Charlie as he looked around.

“We can get the scout dogs up here and try to find a trail,” said Mitch.

“She’s long gone and probably headed west,” said Charlie.

“We have to start somewhere,” said Mitch.

********************

“Do you have a phone I can use?” asked Cindy as they arrived at the spot near the Nolichucky River where hikers stopped. A small store was sitting next to a house and she could see several hikers lounging around the outside, starting their trek north on the through hikes on the Appalachian Trail.

“Local call?” asked the man they all called “Uncle.”

“Hey bro, she was almost…she had a run in with a boy last night. Can you call the police?” asked the friendly hiker.

The man looked at Cindy and recognized the fact she looked to be in distress. Additionally, he knew who she was and who her uncle was as well. He picked up the phone and called in to the Erwin Police department and asked for a unit to be sent over. The dispatcher was thrilled to hear Cindy was okay, but was unable to contact the Sheriff or Charlie since they were out with the tracking dogs and out of both cell and radio range. However, he did pass on the information to Erica who practically ran over people trying to get out of the courthouse. However, she was intercepted by a deputy and given a ride over to the store.

Upon arrival, she again knocked over anyone in her way as she ran towards Cindy. She was met halfway and they both hugged and cried as they were reunited. After a few moments, the deputy politely interrupted and told Cindy they needed to take her statement and any evidence she might have under her fingernails. He further explained about taking Nate Jones into custody and asked if he was the one who had taken her. Cindy informed the deputy he had taken her and attempted to force himself on her. She looked down at her fingernails and saw they were quite dirty and wondered if the police could actually get any evidence from the dirt packed away there.

“Where’s Charlie?” she asked as they got back into the cruiser after thanking both “Uncle” and the friendly hiker.

“He’s up in the mountains looking for you,” said Erica.

“What?” she asked.

“They found your camp and went west from there,” said Erica. “They can’t be contacted.”

“He’s going to be mad at me for leaving the camp isn’t he?” asked Cindy.

“No sweetie, he’s going to be very happy you are okay. You are okay, right?” asked Erica.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Cindy replied. “Just a few bruises.”

“Let me see,” said Erica as she turned in the seat. She gave Cindy a quick once over and found that nothing besides the bruises was out of place. “Everything else okay?”

“Yes, I managed to get out before anything else happened,” said Cindy.

“We’ll get you in to the hospital once we get a statement done. Or do you need to go now?” asked Erica.

“No, I’ll be fine,” said Cindy. “I just want to get this over with.”

“Portia was the one who came forward,” said Erica. “You need to thank her.”

“What happened?” asked Cindy.

Erica briefly explained how Portia had come forward with the revelation of what happened the past winter. Cindy was horrified since she knew Portia had been acting strange for the past few months, but didn’t know exactly what it was. Her friend had been hurt by Nate and she wanted to have a few words with him. She stated so, earning the amusement of the deputy as they pulled back into the courthouse area. After entering the courthouse, they saw Portia coming out of the interview room, looking visibly shaken after giving her testimony. She attempted to turn away from Cindy, unsure of what to do.

“Hey girl,” said Cindy as she walked up. Portia froze in her tracks and slowly turned around.

“I’m…so…sorry…Cindy,” she said between sobs.

“Sorry for what?” asked Cindy.

“For not…getting…you…and taking…you…home,” she cried.

“No! This wasn’t your fault!” exclaimed Cindy and took Portia into a hug. “You were afraid and I should have helped you out! I should have realized how scared you were and helped you!”

“But it is my fault,” said Portia sniffing.

“Portia, you were very brave to come forward,” said Cindy with a smile and tears of her own.

“But I didn’t do anything to stop him! You could have ended up…” she started to say and broke down again. Cindy did nothing but let her cry and shed her own tears. Her best friend had been hurting inside all this time and she never knew it. But the dam had broken and her emotions were finally able to be showed to the world. They stood there for several minutes before Cindy spoke again.

“Portia, none of this is your fault. Nate has a few screws loose and would have done this sometime else. But you got me help since you decided to come forward. I might have ended up raped another time if you hadn’t come forward now. Or any number of other girls might have been assaulted as well. But you were brave enough to put a stop to this,” said Cindy.

“But he hurt you! I should have said something last night,” she cried.

“Last night or this morning doesn’t matter. What matters is you were brave enough to come forward and that means something,” said Cindy. “You’re the best friend ever.”

Portia broke down again and the two shared another hug. Eventually, her parents came over and led her away to start the healing process. It would take a long time, but hopefully she would bounce back. Cindy headed into an adjacent room where she started giving a statement and had the dirt removed from under her fingernails. She too had witnessed something horrid and wanted Nate Jones to pay not only for what he did to her, but for scarring her friend for life.

As she was exiting the interview room to use the bathroom, a deputy didn’t realize she was in the hallway and started bringing Nate out of another interview room. The investigator leading Cindy towards the restroom tried to get her back inside quickly, but she caught a glimpse of Nate as he entered the hallway. Luckily enough, there was another deputy between her and Nate that was able to catch her before she got hold of him. The investigator managed to chase her down and grabbed on to the other side as she kicked and yelled at Nate, screaming for them to let her go so she could handle business in an old fashioned way. For a girl barely a buck twenty, it took three policemen to get her back into the interview room and away from Nate Jones. The police later commented they didn’t need the adult men to handle business, but rather to let Cindy loose in a room with him and pick up the pieces later.

She gave her statement as well as letting the investigators take evidence from her, including her sweat shirt that had blood on it as well. Charlie brought out a change of clothing for her and continued to stand over her like a protective bear just waiting to mangle any threat that approached her. Mitch came by along with an FBI Agent for some reason and talked for several minutes and suggested several counselors. Charlie agreed to take her in as soon as possible as well as getting her into the hospital to get checked out.

“Charlie, it’s just some bruises,” she exclaimed. “I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t understand the meaning of ‘you are going to the hospital’ do you?” he asked.

“But I’m fine!” she protested.

“We aren’t having this discussion. You will let a doctor tell me you’re fine,” he replied.

“But-” she started and was cut off.

“No buts, we are going as soon as we get out of here,” he replied in an even voice. She saw it was an argument she couldn’t win and knew he was being far more stubborn about it than she ever thought she could be. She let out a sigh and moved on in the conversation.

“Your survival kit helped me last night. Thanks for making me keep it on me,” she said.

“You thought I was crazy for making you carry it weren’t you?” he said with half a smile, still mad at not being able to protect her.

“I did until I really needed it,” she replied. “But now I know why you did.”

“Uncle Charlie ain’t so crazy now is he?” he chuckled.

“Nope, you’re still crazy,” she grinned for the first time since the previous evening.

“And you’re still going to the hospital when we get finished here,” he said.

Cindy sighed and resigned herself to getting checked out by a doctor although she knew nothing was wrong. But she knew Charlie was right as her wrists were sore as well as her face. She had yet to look in the mirror and see the bruise forming on her face but remembered the slaps she had received from Nate. And in remembering, her anger grew once again and she wanted just five minutes alone with him. Well, maybe ten minutes to do the job up right, she thought as she looked over the bruises once again.

But she didn’t realize her anger would be replaced with fear after a while. She was madder than a wet hen right then, but would become fearful over the fact there were evil people in the world as she had forgotten. And even more fearful since the same thing would have happened to her repeatedly had she still been in New York. For the millionth time, she thanked her lucky stars she had the good fortune to find Charlie, or rather have Charlie find her.

********************

“Well, four of the five girls have come forward with stories of being raped or assaulted. Apparently Nate liked to take them out on Spivey Mountain and do his business up there. However, one thing he didn’t realize was the fact that road crosses the State line in a couple of places,” said Mitch after several weeks of investigation along with the FBI and TBI.

“And that means what?” asked Charlie.

“Well, taking a kidnap victim across State lines makes it federal,” said Mitch.

“And the judge agreed with charging him as an adult?” asked Charlie.

“Spent about a second and a half debating it. Of course his lawyer had some choice words to say, but at six months shy of his eighteenth birthday, he won’t have any luck getting that changed,” said Mitch.

“Good,” said Charlie. “Of course, between Greg Foster and me, we could settle this without the benefit of a trial or anything else.”

“Greg Foster ever gets his hands on that boy, it will not be pretty,” said Mitch.

“What are we looking at here?” asked Charlie.

“Life in prison, does fifty years before parole is even thought about,” said Mitch.

“And realistically?” asked Charlie.

“No, that’s about the truth,” said Mitch. “He’s a serial rapist and juries won’t be too keen on letting him just walk as a misunderstood child. He also targeted underage girls, which can and will mean he will get the max. He’s looking at life at a minimum.”

“You think he’ll get it?” asked Charlie.

“There isn’t a card to be played for the whole ‘victim of society’ thing. He’s a white male from a middle class family and doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” said Mitch.

“You believe the lawyer will play the insanity card?” asked Charlie.

“Already tried, but found competent to stand trial by three different psychologists,” said Mitch. “He tried a fourth time, but the judge squashed that since it was starting to look like a bunch of lawyer tricks just to find one psychologist to declare him insane. He’s got screws loose, but is just an evil person.”

“Why won’t the fifth girl come forward?” asked Charlie.

“Don’t know, maybe embarrassed about the whole thing. I know it sounds silly, but that’s the way it is. We managed to get statements from the other four and even some evidence to the fact. Odd, but it happened,” said Mitch.

“Evidence?” asked Charlie. “How could you get evidence well after the fact?”

“Well, it seems Nate has a birthmark in a rather unusual place. All four victims identified the same mark,” said Mitch.

“Good,” said Charlie, feeling better about the situation.

“But anyway, Nate Jones will not be a problem from now on,” said Mitch.

“Until he posts bail,” said Charlie.

“Harry Jones will not be able to come up with the ten million dollar bail for his release,” said Mitch. “Judge set it deliberately high for that reason. Again, he doesn’t want to see a serial rapist walking the streets so he set the bail as high as he possibly could. So Nate isn’t our problem anymore.”

“We hope,” said Charlie.

“We know. Between the testimony from Cindy and Portia along with the others, the trial will go smoothly,” said Mitch.

“I appreciate what you did for Cindy with the counselor and all,” said Charlie.

“I would have recommended Sarah, but she has the emotional tie in to this as well as the borderline professionalism since she is my wife,” said Mitch.

“Cindy wouldn’t have cared,” said Charlie.

“But the courts might have. We are playing this one by the book to get the conviction,” said Mitch.

“Anything else you need, let me know,” said Charlie.

********************

The trial went smoothly and Cindy’s testimony came towards the end of the victim’s. Charlie was still recovering from his injuries received in the attack but made it to the court to give Cindy some moral support. The defense lawyer attempted to play the “you gave off signals that led my client to believe” card and was quickly slammed by the objection of the prosecution and the judge himself. But Cindy was brave on the stand and told the story of the encounter with chilling details. Unlike the other victims, she never broke on the stand and endured the probing questions from the defense and the prosecution. But when she got off the stand, she cried on the shoulder of Erica, still wondering why some people were that evil and why they wanted to hurt others like Nate had. And she wondered why her own father would have put her in much the same situation as he was planning. She didn’t have all the answers to the questions, and probably never would as some people in the world just had dark hearts.

The evidence was clear for all to see and the compelling evidence against Nate could not be duplicated. All four rape victims described his birthmark exactly as it was and this more than anything led the jury to believe their side of the story. Plus the random outbursts by Nate Jones didn’t help his case at all as he received three contempt of court violations from the judge. He was still trying for the insanity plea but the judge wasn’t having it. The closing arguments came forward with the prosecution making a good presentation of why the jury should show no leniency towards the defendant. He had played his case well, presenting the evidence in a clear undisputable manner and had the entire court believing Nathan Jones was guilty of everything.

On the other hand, the defense tried one last attempt to sway the jury, claiming his client wasn’t as bad as the prosecution made it seem and could be reformed. He was simply misguided and needed the proper motivation to become a productive member of society and didn’t have the opportunities others had. It wasn’t a very strong closing argument, but more of one asking for the jury to be lenient on his client.

But the jury wasn’t buying it as they went in for deliberation. The case was airtight and there was only one verdict for them to reach.

“Has the jury reached a verdict?” asked the judge.

“We have your honor,” said the jury lead.

“Please inform the court of the decision,” ordered the judge.

“On the four charges of rape on a minor, the jury finds the defendant guilty on all counts.”

“On the two charges of kidnapping, the jury finds the defendant guilty on all counts.”

“On the three charges of kidnapping and crossing State lines, the jury finds the defendant guilty on all counts.”

“On the charge of sexual assault on a minor, the jury finds the defendant guilty.”

“On the four charges of lying to a police investigator, the jury finds the defendant guilty on all counts,” he concluded.

“Please record the verdict as reached by the jury. Nathan Jones, you have been found guilty by a jury of your peers on four counts of rape on a minor, five counts of kidnapping with three of those occurrences crossing State lines, one count of sexual assault on a minor, four counts of lying to police investigators and two counts of contempt of court. Due to the heinous nature of these crimes, I’m prepared to render sentencing at this time.”

“You are hereby sentenced to fifty years per charge for the crime of rape, equaling two hundred years.”

“On the charges of kidnapping and kidnapping across State lines, you are hereby sentenced to fifty years per crime, equaling out to two hundred and fifty years.”

“On the charge of sexual assault on a minor, you are sentenced to twenty years.”

“On the charges of lying to police investigators, you are sentenced to eighteen months per occurrence, equaling six years.”

“On the three charges of contempt of court I ruled against you during this trial, you are hereby sentenced to two years per occurrence, equaling six years. And for the record, when you appeal, it might help your case if you don’t smart off to the judge again.”

“Total sentencing time is four hundred and eighty-two years. You will be eligible for parole in…two hundred and seventy years. Possibly with modern science and the advancements in medical technology, you might live to see your parole officer. But that’s a maybe. Additionally, you are required to register as a sex offender, but that will do little good since your parole is so far in the future. Bailiff, escort the prisoner for processing and transport to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution where he will serve his sentence.”

“Court is adjourned.”

[Grand58742]

Okay folks, that's it for "Second Chance."

Moving back into the shadows to work on something else.

[barfife]

Thoroughly enjoy your story delivery.....and sense of justice. Good work. Grand, have you a list of your completed stories by title so they can be searched on the web. Thanks for your hard work.

[stonewater]

good good good good good!!!! throw him in the slammer, no wait, he is going to cost us a bunch of money!!!

[eeyore]

Grand,

What happened to Toby, during this time?

[Grand58742]

Grand,

What happened to Toby, during this time?

Just didn't add him into this part. Again, these were going to (originally) be expanded slightly and put into the main story at some point, but never found a place to put them. So I linked them together into a "short story" and figured I wouldn't let them gather electronic dust on my computer and put them out there.

I might have added him in as well as Jeff, Mack and others during this part, but since it was a shorter follow up, I just never did.

[RunAndGun]

That was an unexpected cherry on top! Thanks Grande!

[C-POP]

Great addition to a great story .

[brokebronco]

Give the man a breather. He has said he will finish lucky but there is no need to pester the man. All in good time. Great writing Grand!

[610Alpha]

Give the man a breather. He has said he will finish lucky but there is no need to pester the man. All in good time. Great writing Grand!

Great reminder for all of us to be patient. He enjoys writing and does so for FREE so don't badger and if you don't understand that then you need to read the Rules of Engagement thread at the top of this forum. Don't be rude with stupid comments like "waiting for the next post"..."hope you go back to the other story soon".

DO NOT post that crap! That is rude and inconsiderate and can get you in trouble with the Mods and Admins of this site.

[Ozarks Lady]

Hows he going to know we want more if we don't bug him just a little? Huh, answer that will'ya.

[Ozarks Lady]

Grand, I really enjoyed these lost chapters and want to thank you for posting them. You write'em, we'll read'em. Thanks a bunch.

[Grand58742]

I'll know...and there's always PM and e-mail for words of support and asking for updates.

The reason the rule was put in play was because life happens. Sometimes we have family or job concerns, other times we have this thing called writers block. Other times we just can't get around to finishing up a story in due time and really don't want to disappoint the readers because we've reached the limits of what we could do with a story. The steam just runs out and we are hard pressed to finish what we started without taking a step back and evaluating what we have so far and where we are going.

But when we (writers) start getting the "more please" and "ready for it, please post" and "I can't handle my life without the latest installment of Prepper takes on the World" so on and so forth, we sometimes feel like we HAVE to post and end up writing to please the readers. We let other things slide, focusing in on the story instead of other items. And in our rush to post, we might omit things, not do complete reviews and generally look back and think "yeah, I should have done this different."

I know I can't speak for all the writers on this board or any other boards for that matter. But I know how it feels to be pressured. I know it isn't pressure, but at the same time, we sometimes feel an obligation to finish up when we might sit back and wait for that moment of inspiration in a critical moment of our story. Or sometimes writers just give up completely and never finish it. I've got more than a few stories (eleven actually) in the hopper I would like to finish, but unfortunately I have a paying job I have to do. And I can't focus on but one at a time to finish.

Honestly Nancy, you are one of the few that's been around since I started posting stories. And yes, I would understand you are just teasing. But there are others out there that feel like they can push the limits with weekly/monthly/daily "please put more up soon!" comments. But you didn't see (at least I don't think you saw) what happened "over there." I know it was the actions of one person, but it affected many of us. And to eliminate the potential problem with the "moar monsters," we collectively decided on the rule and I fully support it. What's good for the goose is good for the gander and while one person might not mind the comments, other writers just might and the rules apply to everyone equally. Hence, I fully support it and it's policy.

I'm honestly taking somewhat of a break right now and have my head wrapped around another idea for the moment besides "Lucky." I do have a house I'm going to start closing on (finally) and my job concerns, so life is taking a priority to me right now. Eventually I'll get back into writing, maybe even finishing "Lucky" but I have other concerns right now I have to address.