Episodes 1-2

Episodes 1-2

The first 2 episodes introduce the cast. The main family is the Anderson family. Richard Anderson, at age 15, had juggled two girls, one named Candy, and the other named Merry. However, it was Candy that he lost his virginity to at age 15, via a trick by her, and which resulted in her getting pregnant. She eventually gave birth to a girl, Julie. She and Richard married and about ten years later had twin boys whom they named Kyle and Trent.

On a dark night, while driving with Julie, Candy gets into an accident. Julie survives but Candy is killed on impact.

We cut to the present time, the twins are 15 and Julie is 25. Julie works a secretary’s job at the police station and is good friends with her father’s friend, Officer Chuck Haden, a cop at the station. Richard is a lawyer.

Our first episode has Richard defending a man named Trey Slyer for murder. Julie gets close with the man. Richard ultimately is able to get the guy off. As Julie goes to meet him later that night, she overhears that he was actually guilty of murder before quietly walking home.

As for Trent and Kyle, they couldn’t be more opposite. Trent is a very sexually curious teen boy. He’ll jack off to porn at every available opportunity. Kyle however, is very sexually withdrawn. So much so that he can’t stand seeing other people naked or being seen naked by anybody and will get upset if either is forced upon him. This creates some conflict when his best friend comes out as a nudist and wants Kyle to become one too. Kyle manages to accept his friend for who he is but asks that his friend give him the same respect, as Kyle still cannot be comfortable taking off his own clothes in front of others.

Richard and Chuck also solve another murder of a convenience store employee.

Episodes 3-12

This is when the plot really started to move forward.

Episodes 3-4 covered a medical case in which Julie and Kyle were suspected of having caught a disease due to the patient’s misdiagnosis. After the patient died, Julie and Kyle were forced to stay in the hospital. Kyle got very attached to a young boy who was also a patient in the hospital but the young boy died all too soon. Eventually Julie and Kyle were cleared to leave the hospital. This storyline also introduced the character, Dr. Charles Pepper.

Trent’s girlfriend Molly invited him to a party where there were no parents. The party turned out to be a “free pass” to have sex with nobody knowing. Trent and Molly quickly jumped on the opportunity and had sexual intercourse. Little did they know, they and everybody else loosing their virginity that night were being recorded and the videos posted on the Internet.

A girl who had left the party and called the police put a stop to the action the next morning. Trent was discovered by Chuck. To say that his father, Richard, was not happy when he found out would be an understatement.

The news continued to role in when it was revealed that Molly was pregnant from the sexual encounter with Trent. Trent’s life was now changed forever.

Also introduced in this episode was Richard’s old flame, Merry Corinth.(Refer to the mention of her in the introduction to the series at the start of Episode 1) She is now a cop and has come to Tanner Bay on the police force. It is obvious that there are still unresolved feelings between her and Richard.

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Episodes 5-6

These episodes introduced us to what Kyle’s secret is. It is Halloween and thus everyone is in costume. A Halloween party shows us how Trent and Molly expect to deal with their pregnancy.

Chuck finds a video of Kyle being molested by the child molester they arrest. He confronts Kyle on this and the truth comes out to everyone in an emotional way. Trent and Richard feel guilty for not being there for Kyle.

Chuck hires another prisoner to kill the man who molested Kyle. The molester is brutally stabbed by the other prisoner with Chuck promising a reward for the job completed. This is the last we really hear of this.

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Episodes 7-12

A new couple moves next door, Tommy and Amy Hampton, and their young son Jake. Amy is a stay-at-home Mom and Tommy was a child prodigy who became a lawyer early on. He gets a few cases during these episodes.

While doing sexual behavior with Molly, Trent begins to have severe head pains but he shrugs them off.

The main story of these episodes is the following.

Kyle finds something mysterious outside the house. He takes it and hides it in his room, sneaking this mysterious someone or something food. On Thanksgiving, the truth comes out that he is hiding a young boy around age 11, named Mason. Mason has bruises all over his body. He’s from a nearby orphanage. He says that he and the rest of the children are frequently beat. However, despite this, he is taken back to the orphanage. However, an emergency call from a guilty worker leads Richard and Kyle to the home just in time to witness the head of the home drowning Mason in the tub. The mad woman is chased out of the apartment and taken out.

Mason has stopped breathing but is revived and allowed to stay with the Andersons until they can officially adopt him.

Christmastime comes. At first it seems like most of the family won’t make it home for Christmas due to a series of unfortunate incidents including a hostage crisis and a car accident. However, Mason, the only one home besides Richard, is able to keep Richard’s hopes alive.

Eventually, everyone is able to make it home late on Christmas Eve, and along with the new neighbors, they spend Christmas Eve night together. The next morning, everyone exchanges gifts. Among the most notable gifts are those given to Mason.

From Kyle: A digital photo frame downloaded with the first picture of Mason’s new life.

From Richard: The official adoption papers declaring Mason as legally part of the family.

The family rejoices. That night, after a funny scene where Mason and Kyle witness Trent walked naked in the halls, they go to sleep, prepared to start their new life as brothers.

Episodes 13-15

There are 2 filler murder cases and a 2-part filler lawsuit.

Trent’s headaches intensify. He and his friend Seth masturbate to pornography.

While later getting a handjob by Molly, dies. Literally, stone cold, no pulse dead. At least for a few minutes. Then he quietly wakes up again and is ashamed at what he has been doing all of those years.

Trent’s refusal to repeat his activities with Seth causes Seth to lash out at Trent. That night, Trent has a nightmare about Seth burning in hell. The next morning, he is terrified to find Seth and his who family dead. He later tells Molly that during his own “death”, that he was told that he deserved hell as well.

Molly tries to convince him that it was all a dream but the visions remain painfully real to Trent. Trent decides to start taking the pregnancy seriously.

Meanwhile, Kyle’s nudist friend Tom gets harassed by a gang of atheists lead by an older teen named Buck. Buck physically attacks Tom and Kyle at one point. One Sunday morning, after Mass, Kyle finds Tom lying dead on his couch. It is revealed that Tom was strangled to death. Even more mysterious, Tom’s parents were killed in a car wreck the very night before Tom’s corpse was found by Kyle.

Buck is the prime suspect but is quickly cleared of any suspicion and the case becomes cold.

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Episodes 16-18

In episode 16, Kyle goes to a weird form of therapy for dealing with his molestation. He goes a boy his own age named Nash Taylor. Nash was also molested as a child and he had to deal with it. Through a series of odd events, Nash helps Kyle to become less ashamed over what happened and is able to be less sensitive about nudity.

A rare tremor hits Tanner Bay sends shockwaves throughout the community. After surviving an ordeal, Richard and Merry get engaged and plan a small wedding.

Mason’s friend at school, a boy the same age named Shane, is acting strangely. It is revealed in private that he has a strange bruise on his arm but we don’t know what from.

We are introduced to a mysterious woman who lives outside of Tanner Bay. Her name is Angela. After catching her boyfriend in bed with another woman, she decides to leave town and heads to Tanner Bay. She appears to be looking for somebody in Tanner Bay.

Oh and Julie and Chuck have sex. Unintentionally of course, but it does start their official relationship as a couple.

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Episodes 19-20

The day of Richard and Merry’s wedding arrives. Merry gets some cold feet but Chuck is able to talk her back to reality. The wedding goes off without a hitch, until Angela crashes the wedding and reveals herself as Merry’s long lost daughter. Later, Merry stuns everyone, including Angela, with the fact that Richard is the father. It turns out Richard had sex with Merry before he found out that Candy was pregnant. Merry gave the baby up for adoption and had a previous bitter confrontation with her later. Although everyone tries to accept Angela, it won’t be easy.

Shane is at home with his parents. They are planning to go out but they are interrupted by a visitor, Trey Slyer. (Remember him from episode 1) Trey goes on about owing money or something and that they don’t want to mess with him and his employer. Shane’s father tries to get rid of Trey Slyer but Trey kills the dad before he has a chance to complete his action.

Shane’s mother yells for the boy to escape but Shane is struck down by a bullet before he can. Believing her son to be dead, the mother tries to stop Trey but she too is killed by Trey. Shane however, is alive. He was only struck in the shoulder but he needs medical attention. He runs out of the house and out of Trey Slyer’s sight. He runs to the Anderson house and knocks on the door but nobody is home. However, Mason was staying next door. He runs out and catches Shane just as the boy collapses from blood loss. Tommy (Remember, he lives next door?) prepares to take Shane to the hospital.

Episodes 21-24

The fallout from the Angela mess continued into here with Julie and Angela still not getting along.

Shane survives his gunshot wound but Trey Slyer tries to finish him off at night by sneaking into his room and smothering him. Luckily, Chuck arrives in time to save Shane. The next day, Tommy and Amy decide to adopt Shane and prevent him from entering the foster care system.

Nash was given a school assignment to be an older brother to a young boy named Jack. He quickly takes a liking to the boy who seems to have no fear, and is actually walking around naked when they first meet cause his single mom forgot to put the underwear in his drawer.

Jack plans a surprise for Nash, a ride on the debut of the new ferry in Tanner Bay. Everyone gathers at the pier. Most of the characters we didn’t use too much get a story. On the Ferry, Nash comes into contact with Buck again along with a pal of his. Angela, Julie, Mason, Shane, Amy, and her son are also in another section of the ferry. Just as the boat is about to complete it’s first small ride, Tommy arrives on the scene and is horrified to see Trey Slyer flip a switch which sets off a bomb in the water.

Trey Slyer vanishes and help is immediately sent to the scene. Everyone waiting on the piers dies but they are nobody important. On the boat, Buck and his friend die as well as Jack’s mother. Jack and Nash are trapped in the small sitting cabin. Everyone else is also trapped in the cabin on the opposite side of the ferry. Mason and Shane save Amy’s son from drowning. Mason pulls him out of the water and Shane revives him.

Eventually, both sides decide to escape the boat, and they successfully do. The first group to escape is Angela, Julie, Shane, Mason, Amy, and her son.

However, unknown to them, Trey Slyer had returned and started shooting at the rescuers, killing a random cop. When the unaware survivors get ashore, he opens fire on them. Angela saves Julie and takes a bullet to the shoulder. Luckily it isn’t fatal.

When Nash and Jack get out, they stand on the boat, unaware of the shooting. However, Jack spots the beam of the gun on Nash and takes a bullet to the chest. He falls into the water but Nash jumps in after him.

The boy says that it isn’t Nash’s fault before he dies in Nash’s arms. Nash totally looses it and refuses rescue. Kyle is eventually called to come to him. He convinces Nash to hand him the young boy’s corpse and the two go ashore.

Nash later visit’s Jack’s corpse at the morgue.

Merry and Richard come back from their honeymoon stunned at what has happened.

After Jack’s funeral, Nash decides to chase after Trey Slyer for revenge. He leaves town but promises Kyle that he’ll be back. Trey Slyer has left town but he promises his boss that he’ll be back to finish off the Anderson family.

Some time after Nash has left town, we see him buy a gun in the back alley, for the purpose of delivering justice.

Episodes 25-29

Episodes 25-26 mainly featured some wacky legal cases (filler) but they also introduced Chuck’s younger sisters, Susan and Christa. Susan is a medical intern who speaks with a British accent and she quickly becomes infatuated with Dr. Pepper. When they loose a young boy found beaten, she ends up facing the reality of the medical world.

Christa has a chance meeting with Kyle and the two immediately hit it off. Christa is the first girl to ever seriously arouse Kyle, and this upsets him but he gets over it and the two start dating. Their first date goes horribly wrong when their waiter is shot dead by his male ex lover but Kyle saves Christa from certain death and the two share a warm moment on the ride home.

Angela becomes close with Mason and Shane. The two frequently stop by the diner to see her. They are the only two she seems to accept.

A young boy who tried to commit suicide is brought to the ER by his mother Yvonne, who turns out to be an old friend of Dr. Pepper’s. She and her husband knew the good doc when he was young.

Her husband was recently murdered. Dr. Pepper becomes concerned with Danny’s suicidal behavior. He probes the boy and eventually finds out that he was brutally molested and raped a little over a year prior and that the man was never brought to justice.

Yvonne visits her lawyer and takes care of a mysterious legal matter. In the parking lot at the hospital, she is murder by Trey Slyer by having a dagger stabbed into her chest.

Episodes 30-32

After Danny’s mom is murdered, things begin to unravel. In her will, she leaves Dr. Pepper 2 documents. 1 giving him guardianship of Danny, the other revealing just why Trey Slyer is going on a killing spree. Trey Slyer works for a currently unknown employer, killing people of select families, 12 to be exact. 9 of these 12 families have already been completely obliterated, including the family of Kyle’s nudist friend Tom, or Nash’s “Little brother” Jack. Danny is also part of one of the target families, and is the sole surviving member of it. The same is true for Mason’s friend Shane. The final family is The Anderson family, the family our series focuses on. Dr. Pepper runs to deliver this information to Chuck.

Later, he takes Danny home and is there to comfort him after he breaks down in tears.

As we head into the season finale, a lot is happening.

Richard represents a businessman, Mr. Carter, in a murder case. Although he is sidetracked by his personal life, Richard gets the man acquitted.

Chuck receives a mysterious phone call luring him to a bad part of town where he finds his caller dead and is ambushed by three gangsters, who brutally beat him and leave him for dead.

Merry is keeping a secret. When Julie confronts her on it, Merry breaks down and tells Julie that she has breast cancer.

Molly gives birth to a baby boy, but the happiness is short lived when Richard and Molly’s mom attempt to force the couple to give the baby up for adoption. Trent retaliates by hiring Tommy to help him get emancipated.

Nash is revealed to be out of town, and married to a young girl.

Carter is revealed to be Trey Slyer’s boss and the man who molested Danny. When he sees Danny in the hospital, he chases after him. Danny runs to Dr. Pepper and tells him whom the man is. As Carter catches up with Danny, Dr. Pepper gets in front of the boy and pulls a knife on Carter.

Trey Slyer takes everyone inside the diner hostage, including Mac, Angela, Kyle, Shane, Mason, and a boy named Markko. When Carter gives the order, Trey opens fire, killing Mac and Markko. Angela falls and hits her head. Out of bullets, Trey knocks Shane unconscious with the butt of his gun. He attempts to stab Shane but Mason attacks him. He forces Mason back and then turns to attack him with the knife but Kyle jumps in the way and is stabbed in the gut. Kyle collapsed to the ground. Mason is the only one conscious as Trey Slyer lunges at him with the knife.

To be continued in Tanner Bay Season 2

Tanner Bay Episode 33: The Death of a Brother

Trent stood at the altar of the town’s local Catholic Church. Molly stood next to him wearing a large white dress.

Trent asked, “He’s not coming is he?”

Molly replied, “I guess not. I thought he would, but he isn’t. But we have what we need here.”

Their baby was sleeping peacefully in a baby seat in the front row.

The priest at the altar asked them, “Are you ready to begin the ceremony?”

Trent replied, “Yes, let’s begin.”

Molly asked Trent, “Are you sure you want to do this like this?”

Trent replied, “A lot has happened in the past few months. We’ve been through more than we should’ve had to. We’ve seen firsthand how lives can be turned upside-down, or even end completely, in a single day, in a single moment. I don’t want to take that chance. I want to be your husband Molly Turner. I don’t want to wait any longer. With what has happened this year, why would we ever want to wait?”

She replied, “Yes, I guess you are right.”

The priest then prepared to begin the wedding ceremony.

(Return to present time)

--

Just as Trey Slyer was about to thrust down on Mason, Shane woke up and tackled Trey. He tripped Trey, sending him to the ground. The knife fell out of Trey’s hand and onto the floor. Shane kicked it away. Seeing that he’d lost control of the situation, Trey quickly got up and dashed out the door. He left so fast that he dropped his cellphone.

Shane saw Mason desperately trying to stop Kyle’s bleeding.

He asked, “Is he dead?”

Mason replied, “I don’t know. I think he’s still alive but he needs a doctor, and he needs one now.”

Shane quickly ran and called 911. Within a few seconds, help was on its way. Now came the wait for them to get here. Shane glanced around at the chaos of the restaurant. Angela was alive but unconscious. Mac and Markko were both dead. Shane went up to Markko’s corpse and she the boy’s gentle eyes.

Mason began crying. He said, “He just can’t die. He can’t.”

Shane didn’t know how to respond to the situation. All the three could do is wait for help to arrive.

--

Dr. Pepper stood before Mr. Carter. He said to him, “You make me sick. Well, as tough as you claim to be, you’re finished now.”

Mr. Carter laughed. He said, “What the devil are you talking about Doctor? I’m just minding my own business.”

Mr. Carter gave a sadistic smile as he walked away.

When the man was safely out of sight, Dr. Pepper turned to Danny, “Are you ok? Did he hurt you?”

Danny replied, “No, just scared the crap out of me. He’s back in town and wants me again.”

“Well, you can rest assured that I won’t let him hurt you. Not now, not ever.”

Susan suddenly came running up to the two. She appeared very hyper.

Dr. Pepper asked, “Susan? What’s wrong?”

She replied, “Something’s happened. It’s bad.”
--

Theme Song

--

The paramedics arrived at the scene. Kyle was taken in the ambulance and rushed to the hospital. Mason refused to stay put so the paramedics let him go with Kyle in the ambulance.

Police arrived and began taking pictures of the crime scene. Angela too was taken to the hospital.

As a paramedic treated Shane’s wound, a cop took his statement.

The cop took questions on everything that had happened during Trey Slyer’s terrorizing of the diner. Shane told it exactly as it had happened. When he has finished, he was allowed to go to the hospital. Mac and Markko’s corpses were placed in body bags and taken away.

--

Kyle was rushed into the hospital on a stretcher. The paramedic explained the situation to Dr. Pepper and Susan who were waiting near the entrance.

All the words around him didn’t seem to register to Mason. He just ran with the stretcher, watching his brother slowly bleed out.

Before he knew what was happening, he was taken aside and watched as Kyle was wheeled into a cubical so that the bleeding could be stopped.

Mason sat down on a near by chair. Nobody he knew was around. Everyone was too busy saving Kyle’s life to call the family. Mason was alone in a very scary place. However, unknown to him, before leaving the diner to go to the hospital, Shane had made a single telephone call.

--

Shane rushed in through the emergency room doors with Christa, the person he had called.

Christa was breathing heavily in worry for Kyle. She went up to Mason and said, “Shane told me what happened, how is he?”

Mason didn’t answer. He just blankly stared off into space.

Christa asked her question again, this time louder but it still didn’t seem to register with Mason.

She began to shake Mason, causing him to reply, “I don’t know. They took him in there. I don’t know how he is. I don’t know anything.”

Christa calmed down and sat down next to Mason. Shane sat down as well.

Christa said to herself, “How could this have happened? Why would that man do all of this?”

Shane replied, “Maybe he gets off on destroying lives, like he did mine.”

The three simply sat in their seats, waiting for news of some kind.

--

Angela was taken in to the hospital and taken into a cubical where her wound was treated.

After her wound was treated, Mason walked in to see her.

The sound of him walking in awoke Angela.

When she saw Mason, she said, “Hey kiddo.”

Mason managed to put on a smile as he replied, “How are you feeling?”

“Like a boulder fell on my head but I’ll live. So what happened after I passed out? Did one of you like turn the guy on that creep?”

Mason replied, “No, he got away. Mac and that Markko kid are dead.”

“I figured. I didn’t expect them to survive those wounds. How’s Shane, is he alright?”

“He’s fine, just a bump on the head.”

“And you, you look alright.”

“I’m fine, physically.”

“But something is bothering you? I can see it in your eyes, what are you not telling me?”

“Its Kyle.”

“Kyle? What happened to Kyle?”

“When that man tried to stab me, Kyle stepped in the way, and was stabbed instead.”

Angela gasped as she put her hands on her mouth. Lowering them, she asked, “Is he ok?”

Mason replied, “I don’t know. They’re operating on him now. But it doesn’t look good.”

“Did you call Rich, I mean Dad?”

“No, I don’t want to call anyone else until we know something for sure.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s the smart thing to do.”

“I’m glad you’re alive Angela.”

“I’m glad you’re alive. And thank you for coming to see me. I know with what is happening to Kyle, you probably didn’t want to.”

“No, I wanted to. I can’t see him right now anyway, heck, I don’t know if I’ll ever see him alive again. I just don’t know what I’ll do if he dies.”

Mason quietly walked out of the room. Angela gently laid her head back. She said to herself, “Oh God, you really need to help us through this.”

--

Mason returned to where he was sitting before. Christa and Shane were still sitting there, quietly, neither of them uttering a word. The rain was still falling heavily outside.

For the next few minutes, Mason simply sat in his seat, oblivious to the usual sounds of the hospital around him. His heart was racing. He didn’t know what to expect.

Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by the sound of a racing heartbeat on a heart monitor. Interns and nurses rushed into the room where they were working on Kyle.

Kyle lay on an operating table, attached to numerous machines, with his shirt removed.

Mason, Christa, and Shane quickly got up from their seats, with Mason and Christa running to Kyle’s room. Kyle’s heartbeat was racing and was erratic. Suddenly, Kyle flat lined and a loud consistent beep pierced through Mason and Christa’s souls like a spear piercing through the heart.

Christa yelled into the room, “What the hell is going on? Why did his heart stop?”

Susan yelled to Christa, “Christa, get out of here.”

“But”

“NO BUTS, we can’t have you here.”

Dr. Pepper tried to shock Kyle back but his heart still did not beat.

He tried it a few more times but still the piercing sound of Kyle’s stopped heart on the monitor remained.

After the 5th try, Dr. Pepper pulled away. He said, “It’s no use. He’s gone.”

He said to Susan, “Call it.”

Christa and Mason barged into the room.

Christa said, “NO, you are not going to declare him dead, because he isn’t. He is alive and well and just needs a little push to get back into things. So you fire up whatever name you have for those shock pads one more time and you bring him back.”

Dr. Pepper said, “Christa, it wouldn’t do any good. He’s gone. There’s nothing we can do to save him now.”

Mason said, “He isn’t dead. He can’t be. Try again. Just one more time.”

Christa added, “Try just once more. If he doesn’t come to after that, then I guess you’ll have no choice but to call it.”

Dr. Pepper said, “Ok, we’ll try once more.”

Dr. Pepper prepared to shock Kyle’s body one last time, in an attempt to revive him.

He pressed the charged pads on the boy’s chest. The shock jolted the boy’s body. After the shock, there was still no activity on the heart monitor.

Dr. Pepper said to Susan, “Call it.”

Susan glanced at the clock in the room. She said, “Time of Death, 7:04PM.”

Kyle was disconnected from all of his machines, having officially been declared dead.

Christa fell to her knees. She cried out, “No, you’re making a mistake, he’s not dead. You’re making a big mistake.”

Susan helped Christa to her feet. She said to her, “Christa, I’m sorry. I know you and he were getting close. We did everything we could.”

“No you didn’t, because if you everything you could, you’d see that he’s still alive.”

“Christa, I’m sorry, but he’s dead.” Christa watched as Kyle’s body was placed on a stretcher and a sheet placed over his body. An orderly wheeled his body away.

Susan said to Christa, “We’ll let you and Mason spent some time with his body after he’s registered in the morgue.”

Susan tried to comfort Christa but Christa pulled away, walking to a window of the hospital. She stood looking out the window, seeing the drops of rain pour onto the window.

--

Mason, feeling nauseous, ran outside. He quickly came to a trashcan and put his head over it. He immediately threw up loudly with the regurgitation waste falling into the trashcan.

Shane followed Mason outside. He saw Mason on the ground on his knees.

Shane kneeled down next to Mason and put his hand on his back.

Shane asked Mason, “Hey Dude, are you alright?”

Mason replied, “He’s really dead. Kyle’s gone, isn’t he?”

Shane said, “I’m sorry man.”

“Don’t be. You don’t have anything to be sorry for. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because after your parents died, I was so insensitive. You must’ve been feeling everything I am feeling right now, and I didn’t treat you right.”

“Dude, you did what you could and I thank you for that.”

Mason took deep breaths to stop the flow of tears falling down from his face.

The thick spring air made it hard for him to breathe.

Mason said, “I didn’t know him that long, but he was still my brother. He brought me to this family, he was the big brother I never had, and now he’s gone. And it’s my fault. He died protecting me.”

“No, don’t you dare blame yourself. You did not do this, Trey Slyer did. He killed Kyle.”

“But it’s still my fault. He took that knife that was meant for me.”

“Mason, he loved you. He was your big brother. It’s not your fault; so don’t go blaming yourself. Kyle would not want that.”

“Shane, what makes this pain go away?”

“Nothing. You just, accept it at some point, and then, live with it.”

“Live with it? I’ve lived so long before Kyle, but I don’t know, how I’ll live after him. I may only have known him a short time, but he was the person who introduced me to the life I have now. With him gone, I just feel so empty.”

Christa came outside and said to Mason, “Hey, Mason, they said that we can see him now. I thought you’d want to come.”

Mason said to her, “Thank you.”

Shane helped Mason to his feet and Mason followed Christa into the hospital.

Shane stood under the hospital’s canopy, watching the rain fall.

Shane quietly said, “Trey Slyer, why? Why do you destroy people’s lives? What gives you the right to just take people away from their loved ones, from this earth? I don’t know who you think you are, but you’ve gone too far. You’ll pay for this, you’ll pay for what you did to me, what you did to Mason, what you did to everyone. You’ll pay for it all.”

--

Susan led Christa and Mason into the morgue. On two slabs, the corpses of Mac and Markko lay covered with sheets. Susan led the two to a slab in the corner.

She said, “This is him.”

She went to remove the sheet from the corpse.

Christa interrupted her, “I want to remove the sheet.”

Susan said, “It’s highly”

Before she could finish, Christa said, “I’m going to remove that sheet, and I am going to hold him. And you are going to let me because you are my sister.”

Susan said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Susan walked out of the morgue, leaving Christa and Mason alone.

Christa asked Mason, “Are you ready?”

Mason replied, “No, but I’ll never be.”

Together, they lifted the sheet completely off of Kyle’s corpse. Both of them struggled to hold back the tears. It was no apparent to them that Kyle was dead. His nude body was pale all over and very cold, despite only being dead a short while. Other than his head, the only place Kyle had significant hair growth was on his pubes. Despite having gone through puberty, his skin remained unusually soft with only light and soft hair on the rest of his body.

Christa and Mason together lifted the body off of the slab and slowly held it as they sank to the floor.

Christa ran her hands across Kyle’s cold and smooth chest.

She said to him, “Wow, you are quite the guy. Or, you were.”

Mason said to Kyle, “I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can, I just wanted to say thank you, for everything, for introducing me to this life, for saving my life, for being my brother.”

Mason began to feel light headed. He stood up and walked to the other side of the room.

Christa stared at Kyle’s pale face.

She said, “You were violated when you were young, but you said that it didn’t matter with me, because if we were ever to be married, you would’ve still given yourself to me nonetheless. So selfless, you always were selfless. You were the poster child for shy, but you were selfless nonetheless.”

Christa could no longer fight back her tears. They came flowing out. Mason’s did as well. Mason walked back to where Christa was sitting with Kyle’s body. He kneeled down next her and put his head on Kyle’s chest, sickened by the lack of a heartbeat within.

--

Trey Slyer ran back to his apartment. He grabbed a large sack with two straps as handles and stuffed it with his few belongings.

He said to himself, “Damn kids. I’m not doing this anymore. I’m out of here.”

He angrily pulled the zipper shut on the sack.

--

Mason continued to keep his head on Kyle’s chest as Christa caressed Kyle’s face.

Both of them were crying now, unable to restrain themselves anymore.

They each remembered their times with Kyle.

(Mason’s memory of Kyle pleading to his family to adopt him)

Richard said, “Kyle, he can stay the night but tomorrow morning we have to give him back to orphanage. We can’t just keep him here. They’re probably frantically searching for him by now.”

Kyle protested. He said, “You can’t send him back there. I won’t let you.”

Richard said, “Kyle we don’t have any other choice.”

Kyle replied, “Yes we do. We can adopt him. We can make him legally ours.”

Richard said, “What? Adopt him? But why? I’m sure he’ll be adopted by somebody soon.”

Kyle said, “There isn’t going to be a soon if you send him back to the orphanage.”

Richard asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Kyle turned to Mason.

He said to him, “Mason, you have to show him what you showed me.”

Mason said, “But, I don’t want to; I don’t know them.”

“You didn’t know me but you let me see. Mason, if they don’t see this then they will send you back. If you show them, it’s the only way to convince them to not send you back.”

Mason said, “But can’t you just tell them?”

“This is something that they need to see.”

Mason reluctantly nodded his head in agreement. Mason stood up. He removed his clothes and stood in front of everyone totally naked.

He was facing the wall with his bear backside facing Richard, Julie, and Trent.

All over his back where bad and sickening bruises, scars, and cuts. On his butt and legs were the same.

Kyle said to everyone, “They abuse him there. They beat him. His body can only take so much before it gives out. If you send him back that orphanage, they’re going to kill him. And his death will be on your hands.”

(End of Memory)

(Christa memory of her first meeting with Kyle)

He was unable to catch her, having tripped and fell on his back while running. The girl came down and fell face down on top of Kyle. Books from the shelves came crashing down around the two.

The girl said, “Well, what do we have here? A cute boy it looks like.”

Kyle didn’t know how to respond.

The girl asked, “What, a pretty girl falls facedown on top of you like this and you don’t say anything to her?”

Kyle replied, “I just don’t know what to say.”

“Think of something.”

“Ok, um, are you ok? That was a big fall.”

“Yeah I’m fine. Your soft but muscular body broke my fall.”

“Shouldn’t we like, get up, and then pick up the books?”

“Yeah you’re probably right.”

The two got off of each other and picked up the books. They both left some money to pay for the broken shelf and then left the store. Kyle walked the girl to her car.

She asked him, “So, need a ride home handsome?”

He replied, “Yeah sure.”

Kyle got in her car and she drove off.

(End of Memory)

(Mason’s Memory of the only Christmas he had spent with his brother)

By 10:30AM, all the gifts were open except for two of them. The remained two gifts were addressed to Mason. They were from Kyle and Richard.

It was agreed upon that Kyle’s gift would be opened first. Kyle took the gift from under the tree and handed it to Mason.

Mason asked, “So what is it?”

Kyle replied, “Why don’t you open it and find out.”

Mason ripped off the wrapping paper and revealed a box, which he opened. In the box was a frame.

Mason asked, “A picture frame?”

Kyle replied, “Well, not just a frame. It’s a special electric photo frame. What you do is you can upload up to like thousands of digital pictures and you can alternate pictures simply. The picture you choose is displayed in full picture quality in the frame and you can switch it whenever you want to. It’s like a digital photo album. I already uploaded your first ten pictures of your memories so far with us. But you got more than enough room for pictures of all the memories to come.”

Mason said, “Cool, I didn’t even know something like this existed.”

Kyle replied, “Neither did I until I saw it. I hope you like it.”

“Like it? I freaking love it. Thanks.”

Richard said, “Not to interrupt but there is one more gift to open Mason, and it’s yours.”

He handed Mason a medium sized box.

Mason took off the lid and looked inside. He saw documents, which he didn’t completely understand.

He asked, “What are these?”

Richard said, “Those are your adoption papers, declaring that you are now officially part of the family, Mason Anderson.”

Mason gasped. He asked, “You mean? I’m legally part of the family now?”

Richard replied, “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Merry Christmas Mason.”

Mason ran into Richard’s arms and the two shared a hug.

Richard said, “I know your life up until recently has been tough. And I cannot promise you that it won’t still be tough after this. But now you have a family who will love and be there for you when you need them.”

Mason then ran to Kyle, Julie, and even Trent and hugged them.

Trent was a little annoyed but didn’t let it be too noticeable since it was Christmas.

Kyle gave Mason a high five and said, “Well, welcome to the family Mason Anderson. Hope you won’t regret this. This family can drive you pretty insane sometimes.”

Mason said, “Maybe so, but it’s still a family. And no matter how crazy we all may be, it won’t change that fact.”

Everyone congratulated Mason on becoming part of the family.

(End of Memory)

(Christa’s Memory of the ride home of her first date with Kyle.)

Kyle was driving Christa home.

The ride was quiet until Kyle broke the silence.

He said to her, “So, that was one hell of a date.”

She replied, “Understatement of the year.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think that would happen.”

“Oh no I don’t blame you for that.”

“Then why do I get the vibe that you’re angry at me?”

“Because I am!”

“Well what did I do that’s so bad?”

“What did you do? You attacked a man with a gun. He could’ve shot and killed you.”

“H could have but he didn’t He could’ve shot and killed you too. And I couldn’t let that happen.”

“You shouldn’t be so reckless in risking your life like that. My brother had the situation under control.”

“Chuck couldn’t do jack if he decided to pull that trigger. If I didn’t do what I did, there’s a likely chance you’d be going home in a body bag right now.”

“I know, it’s just, you could’ve been the one leaving in a body bag. I care too much about you Kyle Anderson to see you risk your life so freely like that.”

“I told you, I’d die without hesitation to protect the ones I love.”

“Love? Since when does that apply to me?”

Kyle remained silent, surprised by his own choice of words.

Christa smiled and said, “Kyle Anderson, I do believe you just said that you loved me.”

“I guess I did. Wow!”

“Well, since you love me now, I guess I have no choice but to forgive you for almost getting yourself killed.”

”And I can forgive you for yelling at me for saving your butt.”

“Ok then, it’s a deal.”

“Well, you’re home now.”

Christa looked out the window to see Chuck’s apartment building.

She said to him, “Wow, I got so involved in the conversation that I didn’t even realize I was here.”

“Yeah, well I guess you’ll be wanting to go to bed now. It’s been a very long night.”

“Yes it has. I guess I should be getting to bed then.”

She reached over and kissed Kyle on the cheek.

She said to him, “Later Chuck Norris.”

Kyle laughed as he watched Christa walk into the apartment building. After she was safely inside, he drove off.

(End of Memory)

Christa and Mason both wept heavily over Kyle’s cold and pale corpse.

Christa said to Kyle, “You no-good bastard. Why’d you have to go and die on me?”

Mason said to Kyle, “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better brother Kyle, because compared to you, I was, terrible. I just hope you can forgive me.

Christa clutched Kyle’s corpse harder. Mason, keeping his head on Kyle’s chest, grabbed one of Kyle’s hands and held it in his own.

They both said simultaneously, “I love you Kyle.”

Those four simple words said more about each of them as a person than any other. Mason’s words showing his brotherly love for Kyle, the boy whom he had come to know as a brother, and Christa’s words, showing that she had indeed fallen hard for Kyle.

Both of them closed their eyes as they clutched Kyle’s body, knowing that in a few minutes, they would have to leave Kyle for the last time.

Suddenly, their eyes were opened by a sound. It was the sound of a breath exhaling. Within this breathe were the words, “Christa, Mason,”

The voice saying those words was Kyle’s.

Both Mason and Christa’s eyes were opened. They both sat up really quickly, their eyes now wide open.

--

Tanner Bay

On the next episode of Tanner Bay:

Kyle’s corpse has exhaled a breath and said the names of his two mourners. Could it really be that he is alive after all? And what will The rest of the family and their friends do when they find out about the events of the diner. Will Trent call off his emancipation due to the situation? What about Merry’s cancer? And what of the fate of Chuck? It’s a can’t miss episode of Tanner Bay. We’re BACK!