The Gatekeeper

Part III Love Child Chapter 23

23

ALL OF LAUREN’S CHILD ALTERS had a deep affection for the family's pet dog. After incidents of abuse, young Lauren would always find her beloved puppy and snuggle with the gentle creature who was able to always love her unconditionally without expecting anything in return and without hurting her in any way. 

One of the worst aspects of Lauren's chronic abuse involved manipulative threats to harm Wolfe by her uncle and later by an older boy named Lance. Fearing that her uncle would some day follow through on his threats, Lauren lavished the animal with affection and tender attention. 

During the winter, Wolfe slept in the workroom. Whenever Lauren visited the animal she instinctively covered any sharp object nearby, like an ax or a knife, with a cloth in a desperate attempt to protect him from any displaced blind rage on the part of her uncle. Lauren cherished her much-beloved Wolfe and by kept him close throughout her early life and teenage years. 

It is not uncommon for chronic childhood trauma victims to develop a keen sixth psychic sense. Animals have thoughts, feelings, and form real relationships with people. Some people are capable of communicating with animals through converting word thoughts into pictures. For Lauren, the communications link with her beloved pet went even deeper. 

ONE NIGHT LAUREN, older now, left Wolfe to have dinner with a friend. The canine was on medication to help heal a chronic lung ailment. The drugs were just barely coping with the malady. Lauren and her friend were in the middle of a meal when suddenly she received a mental picture of Wolfe in severe distress. 

"I'm sorry but I've got a terrible feeling that something is wrong with Wolfe," a near-panicked Lauren told her companion.

"By all means, I'll take you home right away."

Lauren was overcome with grief and anguish. They sped home to find the animal in torment and at death's door. Somehow she summoned some otherworldly resources to revive the dying dog. Such was the nature of their bond and her untapped and for the most part unrecognized powers.

Lauren had a deep psychic link with the animal and they routinely shared both feelings and information. When she finally left home, Lauren took the animal with her and as Wolfe aged he inevitably became ill. 

She could not let the dog pass on to find rest and relief from his physical agonies because she had somehow infused part of her soul into the animal, which served as an alternate host for several of her ill-fated infant alters. She feared that part of her would die with Wolfe. She spared no expense to find a cure for the convulsing canine. 

DURING THE LAST TWO years of Wolfe’s life, Lauren was involved with a young man who was in the Navy. They’d met in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee during his early training. 

Brad was a child victim of an alcoholic and abusive father, but his mother was good to him. Brad and his mother grew close, which is often the case when an abused, neglected wife turns to her children for love and support. 

After years of a failed marriage, her husband left her and she lost the will to live. She died prematurely of lung cancer, a complication of years of smoking, a habit picked up in response to the anxiety of living with chronic abuse.

On the day his mother died she promised her son that she would send a guardian angel to find him a wonderful woman to love. On her first birthday after she died, Brad prayed to his mother to fulfill her promise. On that fateful day he met Lauren at a dance!