Daniel woke slowly. What? He looked around, straining to see in the dark. What was going on? A sliver of moonlight painted a silver path from the window. Silently, he slipped from the bed and reached for his clothes. He dressed, careful to not make a sound. Moving like a ghost, he left his room and glided toward the back door of the medical clinic. He paused for a second outside of Doctor Watson's door. With a shake of his head, he moved on, following a tug that only he could feel. He opened the door and stepped outside. He shivered in the cold night air. His eyes, distant and remote, were drawn to the little church on the hill. The man once known as Rollie Tyler and now as Daniel Cooper walked with delicate, slow, silent care to the little house and church that were now his home. No one heard him leave the clinic, no one saw him walk through the town. It was as if the world was empty of life. There was a look of distant worry and concentration on his face.

The men jerked the tall man in their charge to an abrupt halt. He stumbled at the unexpectedness of it and sank to his knees. Fine tremors ran unnoticed through his lean body as he threw his head back and strained to listen, to hear what lay in the darkness surrounding him. A creak as if a door was opened reached him. An eternity later, it slammed open, causing him to jerk slightly in surprise. It didn't matter, the hands holding him were cruelly tight and show no signs of freeing him. His straining ears caught the tight words spoken to the Other.

"He's not here."

"Well, find him! I knew we should have placed someone to keep watch on him."

The man's shivers deepened at the angry words. He didn't like the Other. He was cold and there wasn't the least trace of humanity in his voice. The thing was you only heard it if you listened very, very closely. He hid his cold interior well and truly, deceiving those around him with careful words and gestures, with looks that were calculated to show a caring image with a desire for justice. He had time in this eternity to learn the Other's  true nature. It reminded him of what he had read about the devil and he felt as if his life had become Hell. His only consolation was the knowledge that his twin was safely away and that his love was far beyond this evil Other's reach. Ironically, it was his insistence on blindfolding him that had caused his nature to show most clearly. He had become reliant on his ears in their covert moves and that had lead him to the truth. He'd lost his appetite and stopped eating for a while. They had taken to feeding him through an IV. Not every day, just periodically, just enough to make sure he stayed alive and reasonably healthy. Of course, he wasn't trying to kill himself, it was just... He wasn't hungry, fear and anger stole his appetite away. He'd fought with the only tool he'd been left with - prayer. Giving himself a mild shake, he turned to it now, praying fervently for whoever they sought. He greatly feared for his twin. He listened closely, hoping for something that would be useful later.

"That would have been impossible, sir. This is a small place. Strangers would have been noted."

"Why did his father have to send him to this forgotten place? Why didn't he keep him in California? We would have had no problem keeping an eye on things there. Still, we could have placed someone here as a tourist until we could find someone for permanent placement," the Other complained, "or until we could recruit someone." He paused for a instant. "Did you ever find out about that one... Flanders. Nub? Obviously an alias. There is no way someone could not be that unknown in this day and age."

"No sir," one of the men holding their prisoner with bruising force answered softly. "We never managed to trace his movements past that fishing boat and our questioning of the captain and crew didn't discover anything."

"Bah! Incompetents!"

The thin man rocked back on his heels as he was slapped with brutal force. He shook his head, his ears ringing. He hadn't expected to take the blunt of his anger. The Other was losing control again. He cringed, waiting for more blows. A soft sound, the slight crunch of a step on dry leaves, reached his ears. He held his breath, suddenly terrified beyond words. Somehow, some way he didn't understand, but he knew with absolute certainty that his twin was near and had seen the slap. Silent pleas filled his mind. Stay away! Get away! Don't let them catch you! Please God, don't let them catch him! Flee for your life! Run! Run! Run, Rollie, run!

"Let him go!" The tall man who stepped into the silver moonlight looked just like their prisoner. "Leave him alone!" His words were deep with warning, his Australian accent rang out loud and clear.

"So, you remember. How?"

Suddenly his blindfold was gone and Daniel blinked owlishly in the moonlight. So long! So long since he'd seen anything. His brown eyes automatically sought his twin's, his very being starved for a gentle, loving touch. He found the warmth he sought in his twin and struggled to regain his feet. Once there, the men holding him gave him a bone rattling shake in warning. He smothered the moan that brought and watched his twin carefully, waiting.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter. We will have plenty of time to discover what went wrong. You're coming with us, Mister Tyler."

"No. Let Daniel go. Now." Rollie stood tensely, waiting for... something. There was no way for him to fight four men. There was nothing he could do, but he was determined to free his twin and ... What? What could he do?

The men holding Daniel Cooper shoved, throwing him forward. He stumbled to his knees and looked up in despair as his twin lunged forward to reach him. Unseen, two men stepped from the trees. One swung his hand, something metallic glinted blackly in the moonlight. He caught Rollie expertly behind his right ear. Daniel watched in horror as his twin collapsed in front of him. He scrambled to his feet, desperate. He tripped over a foot that was stuck in his way. Falling, he twisted so he didn't land on his twin. Daniel reached out and grabbed Rollie, pulling his limp body into his arms. He knelt, curving protectively over the man in his grip. "Rollie?" With a feather touch, he traced Rollie's chin. He touched him behind the ear and hissed as he found blood on his fingers. "Why? You didn't need to do that."

"Unlike you, Mister Cooper, Tyler is a dangerous man. It is time for you to become Reverend Daniel Cooper of Hope Island Community Church. You will forget your time with us."

"How? You can't do that! I don't know anybody here. I..."

"It won't matter, Reverend Cooper. You will have his memories of Hope Island. You will have lived here since your father exiled you." The Other gestured imperiously.

One of the men standing over them bent over. A hypodermic was in his hands. With expert movements, he twisted off the cap and injected it into Rollie's neck. Before Daniel could form his protest, he felt a sting on his own neck.  Darkness, this time from within, stole his sight. The last thing he saw was the Other's cruel smile.

Christie Culhain woke early. She stretched like a contented cat in the early morning gloom. A glance out the window showed a thick fog hiding everything from sight. Sunday... She was going to hear Reverend Daniel Cooper preach today! She smiled at the thought of hearing Rollie Tyler give a sermon. Who would have thought? It certainly wasn't something that would come to mind when you thought of the shaggy haired Aussie. True, he'd been deeply moving when he'd spoken that memorial for Rick and again with his words at Leo's funeral. Still, a sermon? A real sermon? It boggled the mind! With a giggle, the former Angie Ramirez moved to dress her daughter for church.

Doctor Watson turned on her coffee maker and went to see if her patient was awake yet.  She opened the door and peeked inside. Seeing the bed empty, the covers rumpled and discarded, one blanket trailing to the floor, she threw the door fully open. "Daniel?" she called, suddenly worried. Surely, Daniel hadn't left in the middle of the night to go home! Not getting a response, she went searching through the clinic, checking the bathroom and the living room. "Daniel!?" With a soft growl that promised just retribution on her wayward patient, she headed for the phone.

The doctor's call to Callie stirred up a hornet's nest of activity. Christie with Ailene in her arms followed Callie out to her car.

"Are you sure you want to take Ailene, Christie? Doctor Watson may get a little, um, salty fussing at Daniel."

"You're right, but I'm going." Glancing around, she spotted Molly on her way to Kevin's. "Molly!"

Hearing her name, Molly stopped and looked around questioningly. "Hi Christie, Callie. Hello Ailene!"

"Could you keep an eye on Ailene?" Christie asked anxiously, thrusting her daughter into the other woman's arms without waiting for the answer.

"But I'm going to church with Kevin!" Molly protested.

"So are we," Christie answered as she climbed into the car.

Molly watched in bewilderment as Callie drove away, heading toward the road that lead to Hope Community. She walked on, stepping aside as Doctor Watson drove past. "What's going on, Ailene? Hm?" She asked the little girl in her arms. She reached Kevin's and found him standing outside watching the two cars driving away.

"I should give them tickets for exceeding the speed limits," Kevin said absently. "Hi Molly. I see we have company."

"Yeah, Christie asked me to watch Ailene." She looked up at the church. "I told her we were going to church and she said they were too. What's going on, Kevin?"

"I don't know. I..."

Rebecca, Dylan's 'girl' friend, bounced up to them before he could finish. "Mister Mitchum! Who were those men?"

Kevin looked at Rebecca in confusion. "What men, honey?"

"The men from the church." She pointed up the hill. " I woke up early and it was still dark. I looked outside, hoping to see a shooting star. That's when I saw them. They had someone with them. I couldn't see who it was. He looked sick. They were carrying him." She waited patiently for an answer, certain the adults would know.

Kevin and Molly exchanged distressed looks. Sick? Was it Daniel? Had something happened last night? "I don't know, but how about I go find out? I'll call you later, Molly. You better wait at the Widow's Walk."

"All right, Kevin." She hugged Ailene close, a feeling of dread beginning to thread its way through her mind.

They kissed hastily and Kevin practically ran for his car. Soon, he was speeding up the hill after the others.

Father Mac, seeing Kevin's departure, walked over to join Molly, Rebecca and Ailene. "Ladies," he nodded graciously. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, Father Mac." Molly hastily explained about Callie, Christie and Doctor Watson. Rebecca told her story of seeing the men in the early, pre dawn hours.

"Oh my! I hope Daniel is all right."

"So do I, Father Mac, so do I."