ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      Mike, thank you for all your encouragement, love and support. I love you!

      Jacob, you are my inspiration . Thank you for your suggestions and help. I love you!

      To my family and Mom and Dad Blum thank you for all of your support.

      Tracy and Trudy, thank you for your help and for answering all those emails,

      I sent you.

      Glenna, thank you for editing my book.

      In Memory of:

      Mom

      A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of you.

      I know where you are and know that you are close by.

      I love you and miss you!

      My Uncle “Will”, William Bruce Maier

      Thank you for being there when I needed you.

      Steven Winkler

      My teacher, my helper, my friend.

      Chapter 1

      Bang! Bang!

      The sound of a gunshot had Judy bolting upright in her bed. It was an oddity for her to nap during the day, so she woke up feeling out of sorts and wasn’t sure if what she heard was real, or the result of a bad dream. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she listened for more blasts. When none were heard she began to calm down.

      Easing out of bed she headed for the washroom. She turned on the tap and splashed cold water on her face to try to wake up. Her heart still felt heavy so she grabbed a bottle of lavender aroma oil, poured a few droplets on her hand and rubbed it over her heart. Within a few minutes, the tension began to ease and she felt almost normal again.

      Leaving the bathroom she decided to go downstairs to see if her mom was home. The house was quiet as she walked from room to room making her wonder if her mother had stepped out. She was about to enter the kitchen when the sound of dogs barking caught her attention, so she walked over to the window. She noticed the mailman making his rounds and wondered what it was about a man in a uniform that made dogs go ballistic. Opening the door she greeted the mailman.

      “Hello Mr. Kraemer.”

      “Good day Judy.”

      He handed her a stack of mail.

      “Thank you.”

      “You’re welcome.”

      Mr. Kraemer wasn’t a man of many words and usually didn’t strike up a conversation. He was pleasant enough; it’s just any exchange with him was short and sweet. Then he was on his way.

      Judy perused the mail to see if there was anything interesting. The pile was made up mostly of bills, something her mother wouldn’t be thrilled with. She was about to step inside when Mr. Croaker called out to her.

      “Judy, I need to speak to you about something.” His stern voice bellowed from across the way.

      Judy sighed as she walked towards him.

      “I would appreciate it if you did something about all those dandelions on your lawn. When it’s windy the seeds blow over and then I get riddled with them,” he griped. “I work hard at keeping my lawn looking nice. I just wish other neighbours would do the same.”

      The look in his eyes was wild as he stood glaring at her. Before she had a chance to respond, he turned his back to her and stalked away.

      Mr. Croaker was the neighbour from hell. He patrolled the neighbourhood on a daily basis and called city officials regularly to file complaints. To date the city had been called on neighbours watering their lawn outside of their scheduled days, parked cars on lawns instead of driveways, and barking dogs.

      Judy, along with many others, loathed living with this crotchety old man. Many agreed that if he wanted quiet living that he should move to a retirement area and get out of the neighbourhood. Life was tough enough as it was and no one needed this guy making it even more unbearable.

      Judy stood staring at the yellow weeds on her lawn and knew her neighbour wouldn’t get very far if he lodged a complaint with the city, since they had banned pesticide use. Besides, the parks and schools were riddled with them so they could be the culprits for his weed problem.

      Going back inside, she began the search for her mother.

      “Mom,” Judy called out.

      When there was no answer, she headed for the kitchen since it was the only room left that she hadn’t searched. She was about to enter when the phone rang. Walking over to the table she picked up the receiver.

      “Hello.”

      “Hi I’m Heather. I’m doing a short television survey and wondered if you would care to participate?”

      Judy agreed and in the next few minutes informed the woman of her TV viewing preferences. It was surprisingly short and in no time Judy hung up.

      As she turned to head for the kitchen, the doorbell rang. A strange feeling came over her as she walked to the door. Every time she went in search of her mother something stopped her. Opening the door she found a neatly dressed old man with a Bible in his hands.

      “Hi, I’m Vernon and I’m here to talk to you about God.”

      Inwardly Judy groaned.

      “Judgment day is coming and all the sinners will be banished to the bowels of hell while all believers in God will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven.”

      “Look, I respect your beliefs, but I personally don’t believe in such things.”

      “Well you should,” he said strongly.

      Judy shrugged. “I guess.”

      “You guess?” The man’s voice raised an octave. “You should be preparing yourself for the end.”

      “That sounds pretty doom and gloomish,”