Chapter 14: Two Days Out

Many years ago our founder, Adam Slade came to Sunset Valley with a vision.  With nothing but a  large plot of land to his name he would establish a dynasty, a legacy that would put the Slade family at the heart of the town.  His only son, Brandon, now carries that dream and with the help of his wife Qiana, is passing the vision to their children, Cleo and Carl.

In this chapter both Carl and Qiana take a trip into town, but with very different outcomes  ...


Everyone loves Sunday.

A day without the pressure of work or school, nor the hustle of Saturday, a day to really unwind and do what makes you feel good.

Like many other Sundays, Carl Slade was up early to spend some time upgrading his computer - actually it was the family computer but, to be honest, he was the only one who knew how to use it!

There was this new graphics design software he wanted to use and that meant upgrading the graphics card and adding more memory. Ain't that always the way with new software!

He'd just installed the new graphics card when one of his mates from school called him. "Hey Carlo, fancy hanging out?"

Carl was a bit of a loner and hadn’t made many friends at school, but Jaron was cool and whenever they had classes together they would often spend more time teasing each other than paying attention to the teacher.

"Sure thing J., what you say we visit Pleasanton?"

And with that the arrangement was made.

Despite occasionally lapses, like when with Jaron, Carl was a bright kid and had been on the school 'Achievement Register' more than once so, as a reward his Dad had stumped up for his first car.

Not the greatest motor in the world, but at least Carl now had some freedom to travel around the three towns, and was learning about the responsibilities (and costs!) of ownership.

Even though it was the week-end, Cleo, had agreed to spend some extra time at the fire station to help with the training of some new recruits.

Her squad leader had recognised her abilities as a fitness tutor and suggested that she might want to set up a simple exercise programme. Cleo was smart enough to realise that when the boss says "you might want to" she actually means "I expect you to". She didn't mind, Cleo enjoyed keeping fit and helping others out and, of course, it wouldn't hurt her promotion chances.

Work at the Landgraab Institute had been hectic for the last few weeks and Brandon had not spent nearly enough time in the family garden. So, with it being a beautiful day, and the kids having taken off, he was going to enjoy getting his hands dirty and lick the garden back into shape.

It had been quite a while since she had retired as a stylist, but Qiana still loved to look and feel good, so today she was going to treat herself.

Putting on her latest, and smartest, outfit put her, immediately, in a good mood and so she set off into town.

Carl and Jaron Messer arrived at 'Pleasanton', their name for the Pleasant Rest cemetery.

Carl was relating the stories his father had him about his trips to Champs Les Sims and the riches often left in the tombs over there. And what with tales of how his grandfather, Adam, had basically financed their house from collecting gems and metals around Sunset Valley Carl was spinning an exciting tale of hidden wealth just waiting to be found.

Knowing that Jaron had something of a daredevil streak Carl suggested that they explore the Mausoleum for treasure.

"C'mon J., Dad said theres always underground chambers in these places, bound to be something valuable in there … maybe even enough to get you a half-decent haircut!"

He liked a good dare but Jaron wasn't convinced they would find anything in their local cemetery, and it was kinda spooky ... with all those dead people and stuff …

But he wasn't going to let Carl think he was scared. Anyway, he reckoned Carl was more likely to run out screaming first, he wasn't as brave as he made out.

They spent about an hour inside the mausoleum before they decided they weren't going to find anything. Neither would admit it, but it was a bit dark, and clammy, and there was those weird creaking noises and basically just a bit too spooky!

Jaron suggested that they head back into town, just chill in the park.

Carl was quite happy to back in proper daylight, and now it was his turn to be challenged by Jaron.

"So, Carlo, y'know how you’re always going on about being a brain, summat of a genius, yeah. Well, how's you try to beat me at a little game of chess?"

"Hah! You're on!" Carl scoffed, "I've been beating my Dad since I was a kid, you don't stand a chance!"

What Carl didn't know was that Jaron had recently joined a chess challenge club and had discovered he was something of a natural at the game.

Carl was quite surprised when Jaron upped the pressure a couple of moves in and adopted a fairly aggressive Italian game attack. But he was OK with that, it was a classic strategy and easy enough to deal with, provided he kept his eye on the board.

As their game progressed several visitors to the park noticed the quality of their play and stayed to watch the pair battle it out.

As involved as they were in the game itself, both Carl and Jaron were a little uncomfortable with the attention they were getting. Neither was used to being the centre of attention, preferring to stay on the sidelines and just get on with their stuff.

At least with chess, though, the nuances of the game were enough to focus their attention, so they could largely ignore the gathering crowd by concentrating on winning this challenge.

After what became an epic struggle of will and tactics, it was Jaron who eventually claimed victory. The crowd applauded them both as Carl conceded defeat and they smiled nervously as they quickly made their way to the side of the park, out of the public gaze.

"OK J., guess you got me there," Carl admitted, "good game, but don't think it'll happen again – your arse'll be mine next time!" he laughed. "But, this time, I'll stand ya a Bistro burger."

Qiana knew that clothes could only go so far in making you feel good, and today she wanted to feel her very best so made her way to the Sharma Sun Spa for some top quality body nourishment.

A few hours, a deep tissue massage and seaweed facial later, she emerged feeling totally invigorated and reenergised. Now, what to do with the rest of the day ...

A short couple of blocks away, Qiana was relaxing in the calm of Central Park. Sunset Valley was normally quite a busy town, but this was a warm Sunday afternoon and many people had taken the opportunity to enjoy the beach while the weather was good so the town centre was nicely subdued. Even the families having picnics weren't too noisy, it was if a sense of calm and tranquillity had pervaded the park and surrounding roads.

As she watched the people enjoying the park, Qiana's thoughts turned to her own family and, in particular, her brother Federico. They had grown apart over the last few years and she couldn't put her finger on why, they had just got out of the habit of calling each other every week, and then the weeks turned to months. They had both become so wrapped up in their own lives they never seemed to find the time to get in touch.

"Well," she thought to herself, "that has got to change. I have plenty of free time and I just convince myself that I'm busy doing important things when actually, I'm not."

With that, she had dialled her brother's number and there he was on the other end of the line. "Hi Federico, it's been too long, how are you?"

And so, brother and sister made a start on catching up on all the time they had missed.

Although, that is not to say that Qiana was interested in everything her brother had to say. Notably whenever the conversation turned to his wife, Qiana McCauley, she was a particularly tiresome woman. Qiana was, of course, happy that Federico had found a soulmate, someone who made him happy, but the two women never saw eye-to-eye on anything and only passed the time of day so as not to upset Federico.

Eventually, the conversation came to a conclusion and they both promised to make more of an effort to stay in touch. Qiana always enjoyed talking with her brother and never really understood why she had been denying herself that pleasure recently.

Anyway, it would be evening soon and she would have to be getting back home, but before that, one more little treat.

Still feeling the invigorating effects of the massage session, Qiana headed to the Petit Shark pool for some gentle exercise and socialising with the few late afternoon swimmers still at the centre.

She tried to keep herself in shape, even after she wrapped up her styling business, where looking good was a prerequisite. A few lengths of the local pool every week had helped her stay remarkably supple for her age, unlike many of her peers Qiana had never needed to use a stick or other assistance to get around.

As the sun started to sink over the hills that bounded the valley, marking the time for her to return to her family, Qiana emerged from the water.

Feeling unusually breathless after her exertions, she sat down on the edge of the pool to compose herself. This time, though, her body did not settle.

She let out a sudden, deep, gasp for air but the air did not reach her lungs, instead she fell to her side, closing her eyes, instantly aware that this was it, her time had come.

In the fleeting moments before consciousness finally left her Qiana smiled inwardly, content that hers had been a good life. She had a husband who had loved her and two wonderful children who would grow up to be fine citizens in this town that she had loved.



Chapter 15: A Sympathetic Stranger

Chapter 13: Dealing with Danger

Many years ago our founder, Adam Slade came to Sunset Valley with a vision to establish a dynasty, a long-lasting legacy.  His dream was passed on to his only son, Brandon who has now, with his wife Qiana, raised two fine children, Cleo and Carl, who will take the dynastic dream to the next Slade generation.

In this chapter Cleo once again faces dangerous situations ... but some she is better at handling than others  ...

With his sister now spending long hours at the fire station and his father doing more and more research at the labs, when he was at home Carl Slade spent most time with his mother, Qiana.

His grades had been good, and he was making friends at school, but Qiana was concerned that he was spending a lot of time on the computer, either tinkering with the family PC or playing games on his new console.

He was a pretty well balanced and sensible boy, but Qiana knew to be wary about challenging a teenage boy, so was always carefully not to sound too judgemental or critical of his interests.

"All my mates play an' we got a league going 'tween five of us. I won the quest last night so I'm second now in our league." Carl explained when his mother asked him about what he was doing on the console.


"Well done, I suppose," she laughed, "always better to be good at something you enjoy, as long as it doesn't interfere with your school work."

"Nah, it's all good," Carl replied, "fact, I've been messin' around with writing my own games."

Qiana, was quite impressed, "That's excellent Carl, and that would be a good career choice too. Your father or I don't know much about computers, but if you want any help I'm sure your dad will know people at the Institute who would know all about that sort of thing."

Carl wasn't the only one who enjoyed playing computer games.

The fire station had a console system recently installed in their rec. room, and it had quickly become was one of the favourite ways Cleo and her colleagues used to relax between calls.

The fire crews certainly needed to unwind when they could, the daily routine wasn't just rushing out to deal with emergencies, there was plenty of maintenance work to do in the station.

Not that Cleo minded much, she rather enjoyed getting her hands dirty working on the station's engines and had quickly established a reputation for being able to coax that extra bit of performance out of their fire trucks.

Though her family were surprised when she brought her work home.

Many the times when they would have to drag her away from fixing up or enhancing some piece of her kit or other.

Of course, work wasn’t all fixing and maintaining, every day they would be out dealing with small house fires, people or animals getting trapped, doing safety inspections, a whole variety of different types of job. That’s one thing that Cleo loved about being a fire fighter – no two days were ever the same, always different people and different challenges to deal with, being bored was not on the agenda!

Thankfully major incidents were few and far between, but the next big call the SVFD had to deal with directly affected Cleo.

It came in from the Landgraab Institute, there had been an explosion in the sub-atomic research lab and they feared that a stream of sim-boson particles could wreak havoc across the whole town.

But, for Cleo, there was an added complication - she also knew that her father, Brandon, was actually working in one the labs at the Institute – he could be in imminent danger!

As well designed as the labs were, with all the safety features and lock-down systems they had in place the effects of the particle escape could be felt across the whole campus. There was a sense of movement, almost imperceptible but somehow you just knew that the walls and floors were moving, rippling. Even the ground outside was trembling and there were waves on the lake at the rear of the Institute.

As a relatively inexperienced fire-fighter Cleo went in as part of the second team whose job was to ensure that the areas around the epicentre of the explosion were clear and stable. As she was making sure everyone was out of the building she learnt that Brandon was not actually in the building when the accident happened – he was out on a field trip collecting samples for his experiments.

Having secured the site, Cleo’s team passed control over to the Scientific Incident Control Unit who would shut down the systems that had failed and assess the scale of the damage. This initial stabilisation work would take hours during which time a couple of the SVFD teams, including Cleo’s, stayed on site just in case the SICU encountered any problems. At least she was glad to know that her father was safe, but this had turned into one very long day!

Thankfully the actual physical damage caused by the explosion that released the sim-boson particles was confined to just one wing of the Institute and although there may be some hidden structural impact from the effects of the particle beam itself but the first report from the SICU suggested that the swift action of the local fire fighting crews had limited the risk of any longer term damage to either buildings or people.

It was a month after the incident at the labs that Cleo and her colleagues were presented with, yet another, award, the prestigious “Trophy of Heroism” for the selfless way in which they had responded to the largely unknown dangers they had faced.


It was a Thursday.  It was an off work day for Cleo.

On this particular Thursday Qiana had decided she deserved a little extra pampering and was taking it easy in town.

Brandon was at work, researching the latest findings in cybernetic designs.

Carl, of course, was at school but had said that he would be going over to work on a project with a friend, Ruby Vail, in the evening.

On this Thursday when Cleo answered the knock at the door it was Garett Fisk.

"Hi Garett, how are you? What are doing up here?"

"Hi Cleo, I'm good, thanks, and, y'know, I was just up 'round this part of town and thought it'd been a while since I last saw you ...”

Summer Hill is not exactly close to anywhere else in Sunset Valley and it's not really the sort of place you visit for no reason but, nonetheless, Cleo was pleased to see Garett again.

"Yeah, it has been, but work, y'know ... anyway, it's great to see you again." Cleo couldn't deny that she was pleased to see him, there was something about Garett that immediately made her heart quicken, bring a flush to her cheeks and a smile to her face.

"Y'know, I haven't stopped thinking about that time in the park," Garett confessed, "I had such a great time, I really loved spending that day with you. I was hoping, maybe, we could spend some time together today ..."

As Garett stared deep into Cleo's eyes, like he was trying to connect to her soul, Cleo felt any resistance she might have dissolve. Thoughts of her family, of Pascal, just evaporated.

Unlike their previous date, they didn't need to do much talking. For Cleo there was an instinctively physical reaction, there was an 'electricity' between them that wouldn't be denied. It wasn't even a conscious thought when she invited Garett inside ...

As they relaxed on Cleo's bed, it was clear that they made such a beautiful couple. Garett was charming, sensual, sexy and just plain … gorgeous.

They was no need for words, or thinking, they "clicked" on a basic, primitive, physical level. Every touch of his fingers on her body was pure pleasure.

Without asking or prompting, Garett knew exactly how to make Cleo feel good. No, not good, not even great ... incredible!

As they lay in bed, afterwards, Cleo felt as if she now knew how heaven felt. Every inch of her body was telling her that she had experienced something amazing.

Garett knew he had done good, he had worked his magic.



Chapter 14: Two Days Out

Chapter 12: Cleo on Fire

A vision of creating a long-lasting legacy brought our founder, Adam Slade, to Sunset Valley many years ago.  Now it is his only son, Brandon Slade who is continuing this vision.  Raising two fine children, Cleo and Carl, Brandon and his wife Qiana are feeling confident about passing their legacy on to the next generation.

In this chapter Cleo faces unexpected dangers in the heart of Sunset Valley  ...


Cleo was having a great week-end with Pascal.

He loved the film she had arranged at the local cinema and, as it was still light and warm, they enjoyed a picnic in Central Park. Just spending time together in the open air, talking about anything and everything, as the world went by around them, oblivious.

With the picnic exhausted, and as the air started to chill, they returned to Summer Hill Court, to the warmth of the Slade home and, in particular, to Cleo’s welcoming bed.

Snuggling up with Pascal, Cleo had never felt happier. He was warm and generous, kind and thoughtful. She mused, what a wonderful life they could have together.

As he gently stroked her arm, a frisson of excitement coursed through her body. Cleo pushed Pascal onto his back wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply, passionately, urgently.

Pascal broke the kiss and, gazing deeply into Cleo’s eyes as if to see her innermost desire, "Cleo, are your ready for this? Is this really what you want?"

"More than anything. I want to spend this night with you, here, to make love as if our lives depended on it!"

With that Cleo pushed his shirt up, kissing his exposed belly, while her hands roughly caressed the muscles of his broad, strong, back …

They did not, could not, count the times they made love that night. Whether it was a moment of carnal passion or gently tracing the contours of their bodies it was all one long, almost unbearable sensation of pleasure and joy from the centre of their very beings.

Inevitably, the night and, indeed, Pascal’s visit had to come to an end. As they lay in bed on that last morning of his time in Sunset Valley, they discussed their plans for the future. Pascal was going back to run the main bookstore in Champs Les Sims but Cleo was still a little undecided on what career path to follow.


Pascal tried to encourage her "You are brave and daring, ma chérie, you love helping people, and everyone loves you. You just need to find somewhere that will use your talents, and will satisfy you ..."


That was why Cleo loved Pascal, he 'got' her, he understand what she was all about. As they parted at the airport, she promised him that she would find the job that would make her happy, and him proud.

In fact, the very next week, Cleo went for an interview with Caren Valenzuela. It was quite tough. Not only did they test her aptitude for the job, they tested her ability to quickly fix damaged equipment, and also, a very important aspect of the job, her general level of fitness.

Her family wasn't particularly 'sporty' but from a very young age Cleo had always enjoyed keeping fit and healthy, and from the time she had spent with her father she had become quite handy around the house.

All this 'accidental' preparation paid off and at the end of a gruelling examination, Caren was delighted to tell Cleo that she was an ideal candidate for trainee fireman.

A week later Cleo was at the Sunset Valley Fire station for several days of induction and training. The station was really well equipped with exercise equipment, a kitchen, a relaxation and games room and a small dorm for those long night shifts.

One of the first things her team leader had her do, was practice the emergency deployment protocol – getting down the pole without getting in everyone else’s way or falling flat on your arse!

Cleo was pretty well organised so she had no problem getting into the swing of the “merge-and-drop” exit routine, but she took a while to get the hang of landing on her feet, and staying upright!

There was also a lot of theory to learn, the causes of fire, prevention techniques and, of course, how to extinguish the different types of fire.

At each stage of the training there would be a 'practical' session where she learnt how to deal with the typical scenarios that she could encounter in and around the Valley.

It was in these sessions that Cleo started to appreciate how well suited she was to this career choice. The drama, the danger and, most of all, the satisfaction of being able to save someone's property, or even their life.

When Cleo rang him to tell him all about her new job Pascal was, at once delighted that she had a worthwhile career but then also concerned about the dangers and risks she would face.

On balance, though, he knew it was exactly the right job for her. If nothing else, it complemented with his safe and gentle career in the bookshop!

Cleo was not the only one with job news.  Shortly after returning from his assignment in Egypt Brandon was invited to the Landgraab Institute.

He had, of course,  been to the Institute many times before, supplying minerals and insects, but after the Egyptian job he couldn't help but be nervous of of what they would ask of him this time.

It turned out that Dr Livsey had been true to his word in Al Simhara and wanted to offer Brandon a job as a Contraption Manipulator for the Institute.

Having gone about as far as he could with his workbench at home, Brandon jumped at the opportunity to work in a fully equipped laboratory alongside the scientists who had created the 'cybercroc'.

Although approaching middle age, Brandon's horizons were definitely expanding, what with his new role at the LIS but also his travels to France and Egypt had brought him into contact with the fascinating and extraordinary history of these foreign cultures.

As part of this new interest he had started to assemble a collection of relics and artefacts from across the world.

Not only were these treasures a great way to inspire an understanding of history for future Slade children, but they were also a valuable investment should they ever fall on hard times. 

In addition to the dry and dusty relics, Brandon's interest in the natural world was also aroused by the variety of exotic wildlife he had seen on his travels.

With the aid of his friends at the Landgraab Institute, he began collecting exotic birds and hoped, over time, to create a fully fledged aviary.

Fascinated as she was by Brandon's foreign collections, Qiana's concerns were more mundane and practical, such as making sure that Carl continued to study hard and get good grades at school.

Of course, that didn't mean she had no time to enjoy herself.

On the contrary, she loved spending time in the garden and also, occasionally, putting brush to canvas to express her creativity.

However, at the fire station, 'creativity' was not high on Cleo’s objectives.

Before she went out on her first response, she was part of the maintenance team that ensured all the critical equipment was always in good working order. This included all the alarms as well as the engine itself.

Then, the day arrived, her first call-out. It had the potential to be a serious incident; two people were apparently trapped inside their burning home! 

Having mastered the pole, Cleo was quickly onboard the fire engine and speeding across town to a blaze on Skyborough Boulevard. Nervous energy coursed through her, even as a junior member of the squad she would have an important part to play in controlling the fire and ensuring everyone on the site was safe.

When they arrived at the incident, the fire had already spread from inside the house to the garden which made it difficult to get to anyone trapped inside.

Cleo was immediately assigned to ensuring that the fires inside the front of the house did not spread any further. Quickly setting up the power hose, she began dousing the front of the property and the flames coming through the windows with water.

The flames were terrifying as they lapped up and out towards her and her colleagues but the most powerful sensation was the heat that radiated out in waves. Even the rigorous training she had gone through barely prepared Cleo for the intensity of the fire she was facing here.

Thankfully it was not too long before the fire was brought sufficiently under control to allow access into the house. Cleo was ahead of her team, taking an axe to what remained of the front door. Inside, the house was still full of acrid smoke which made it difficult to see where she was going but when she called out she managed to locate the two voices she heard crying out in response.

There, huddled in the kitchen, which they had managed to secure fairly well against the worst of the fire, were Alex Maddox and Dwayne Roe.  Although the fires were now out, the building was badly damaged so the risk of injury was still substantial and the two men were clearly traumatized by what had happened.  Having used her practical skills to put out the fires Cleo then had to exercise her considerable social skills to calm the men and guide them out to safety.

Although female fire-fighters were not new, Cleo was one of very few in Sunset Valley, and had certainly been thrown in at the deep end on her first job, so it was not surprising that the local newspaper made quite a story out of the incident.

"Summer Hill Woman Saves Two in Blaze Drama"

"Cleo Slade, 21, from the well-heeled Summer Hill area of Sunset Valley steps out of her expensive party frocks to don the unflattering uniform of the SVFD and lead a dramatic rescue in downtown Skyborough ..."


A few days after the article appeared, Cleo received an unexpected phone call ...

"Hi Cleo, this Garett, Garett Fisk.  Saw the article in the paper, really impressed, you did a great job saving those guys.  Umm, I was wondering, if you'd, y'know, like to meet up sometime?  Err, I was thinking there's a cool band on in Mayflower Glen tomorrow  ... if you like we could go see them?"

O. M. G!

Cleo was now a 'proper' adult, with a real job, a dangerous and serious job, but some things (some people) could still release the excitable teenager she thought she had left behind.  Garett was one of those people.

Every girl in her school (well, every girl she knew) had had a crush on "Gorgeous Garett", and just hearing his voice sent her right back to those days.

"Oh that sounds great Garett, I would love to!  See you there."

The following day, Cleo made her way to Mayflower, she wasn't too bothered about the band, but it would be great to see Garett again.

"Hi, Garett, great to see you."

"Yeah, glad you could make it Cleo.  Been meaning to call you for ages, and when I saw you in the paper I just had to."

"It has been a while ..."

"Must have been your birthday, last time we actually got to talk to each other."

It was a slightly awkward conversation, they had never been close; they'd see each other at parties and around town but mostly knew about each other through mutual friends.

The park was starting to fill up, and the stage was being set up for the band.

"Err, do you wanna get a spot, near the stage?" Garett asked.

"Yeah, we could, or we could hang here for a while, y'know, and just catch up?" Cleo suggested.

For some reason Garett seemed quite shy, rather surprisingly for someone who was always so 'cool' and popular, but Cleo loved talking and could manage well enough for two.

As she told him about her trip to France (though not in too much detail!) and what it was like being a 'famous fire fighter', Cleo also got to learn more about Garett.  One thing which Cleo didn't expect was discovering how much his family meant to him.

She had always assumed that guys like him would be too in love with themselves to care much for anyone else.  But the way he talked about his parents, how proud he was of them and the rest of his family was so unexpected and endearing.

To Cleo they seemed to be getting on great, he was actually a really nice guy and then Garett suddenly stopped, looked bashfully away.

"Umm, Cleo, there's something I've wanted to say to you ...

"I've fancied you for years ... that's why I came to your last party ... but, y'know, you being so smart and all, always knew what you were doing and I didn't think you even noticed me ..."

"What?"  Cleo could barely conceal her surprise, "I thought you were seeing Sandi, and you two were the couple everyone talked about?"

"Well, yeah, but, to be honest, we weren't a real couple, it was just what was expected, we were the 'hot kids', we kinda had to be together.  Yeah, I liked Sandi, but it was never 'love'. "

Cleo was so taken aback by what she was hearing that she just did the first thing that came to her mind.  She kissed him.

"Whoa!" Garett gasped, "what was that?"

"Garett, you idiot!" Cleo exclaimed, "do you realise how many of the girls at school fancied you? I would have given anything to have been your girlfriend ... and now you tell me!"

"I never realised ...", Garett blushed and stammered.

"Oh shut up!" and with that Cleo pulled him close for a passionate kiss, a kiss she had waited years for." 

The rest of the afternoon seemed to pass in a blur.  There was a band playing in the background somewhere, and the sun started to set, but it was as if they were a little bubble of their own, separate from the rest of the world.

This had been a day Cleo could never have expected.  One of the hottest and most popular guys in the Valley had declared his love for her and she couldn't deny she had feelings for him too.

But, as the day inevitably drew to an end, she was left wondering what on earth she was to do.  She loved Pascal, a kind, generous and loving man but now there was Garett.  In the space of this one afternoon she had learnt so much about him, she knew she could so easily fall very much in love with him ...

Chapter 13: Dealing with Danger