Show No Fear (The Dyian Series Book 2)

by Brandy Isaacs

  “Quiet,” the man hissed.

  The man stood slowly and Xander could tell he was average height and thin except for some extra weight around his waist. He also noticed that the hand that held the gun shook slightly. Either from nerves or from not being used to the weight of the gun. Maybe both. Xander knew immediately this wasn’t the man who had carted the berserker off into the woods. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “I’ll explain. Once we get out of here.”

  “I asked who the hell you are.”

  “I’m the man who’s saving your ass. Now move! Back to your truck. Now.” The man jabbed the gun at him to punctuate his command. “And put your hands on your head. Hurry.”

  Xander didn’t see any way out, but he also didn’t want to lead the man back to his friends. He raised his hands and placed them on his head, but he didn’t move. “No.”

  “Are you stupid?”

  “I’m not leading you back to my friends.”

  “Look,” the man stepped closer. “I have no desire to hurt any of you. But if you don’t leave here, you’ll die anyway. If I shoot you, your friends will either leave or they will come to help. If they try to help, the man that just went into the woods will come and kill them. Or, you can be smart, we can all get into your truck and we can leave here together. Alive.”

  Xander now realized how Sydney felt when Robards came for her at the cabin. “Goddammit,” he growled. “What’s to say you won’t just kill us all when I lead you back there?”

  “I just explained to you why I wouldn’t need to. You and I both know they wouldn’t actually leave you.”

  Xander knew he was right. “Fine,” he growled.

  Xander began the trek back the way he came. As soon as he passed the man he heard him follow, careful to stay directly behind Xander. He wasn’t completely hidden by Xander so it didn’t take long for Shay and the others to realize what was going on. She and Zak jumped from the truck but they stopped when Xander waved them back. As soon as they were close enough Shay hissed. “What’s going on?” she tried to keep her voice low but it didn’t mute her anger and fear.

  “Apparently,” Xander sneered. “We have a new friend.

  “Everyone back inside,” the man said. He had moved close enough to poke Xander in the back with the gun.

  Shay looked like she wanted to claw the man’s eyes out, but she slid into the passenger seat silently. Zak climbed back behind the wheel and shut his door.

  “Get in the back,” the man told Xander.

  When Xander slipped into the backseat ET had to slide across. He had apparently been on his way out with Shay and Zak and for a moment Xander felt a little more warmth towards the kid. He winked at him hoping to convey some reassurance he didn’t actually feel. The man slid in after Xander and jabbed the gun into his ribs. “Careful, I’m ticklish,” Xander narrowed his eyes at the man.

  “Drive,” the gunman told Zak.

  “Where to?” Zak sounded as nervous as he looked.

  “Where ever you guys have been staying.”

  Shay leaned around her seat and glared at the man. “Make sure your finger isn’t on the trigger. I don’t want any Pulp Fiction accidents.”

  Xander’s guts splattered around the backseat after an accidental discharge flashed through his head. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want for something like that to happen,” he wet his lips but relaxed a little when the man readjusted his grip on the gun.

  No one spoke until they were off the country club property, then Shay turned back again. “What the fuck is going on?”

  The man sighed and ran a hand over his balding head. This close, Xander could see that he was at least in his forties. His hair was dark as were his eyes. He looked exhausted and maybe even a little sick. “I’m saving your asses from making a huge mistake.”

  “That’s funny,” she said. “To me it looks like you are holding my brother at gun point and taking us all hostage.”

  The man hiccupped a small laugh. “Yeah, I guess you are right.”

  “Why?” Xander asked him. This close, he could also smell the man. His scent was a mix of body odor, outdoors, and dirty clothes.

  “If you had followed that man into the woods, you would have been spotted. Or worse.”

  “Meaning?” he asked.

  The man looked at him, clearly exasperated. “You would have been killed…or taken.”

  Xander tried to keep a blank face. “Taken?”

  “Don’t play dumb. If you didn’t know anything, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

  Xander glanced at Shay and caught Zak’s eye in the rearview mirror. He was surprised that his suspicion and fear eased a little. He realized it had been naïve to assume that no one else could be onto the invasion too. But how much does this guy know? “What do you know?” he finally asked.

  “What do you know?”

  A barked laugh bubbled out of Xander’s throat and it startled him and everyone else. “I think we need to compare notes.” He recognized the man now. Not who he was. He didn’t think he had ever seen him before. But he recognized the look of a man who was dealing with something so unbelievable that he felt like he was falling apart piece by piece. It was how he had felt for the past two months. Only this man clearly hadn’t had the support system Xander had.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Sydney looked at Mark over her shoulder before turning to Gary and Moreno. Both of the other men were trying to keep their faces as neutral as possible. “OK,” she muttered, still trying to play the accommodating guest. Every fiber of her being told her going into the room with the berserkers would be a terrible idea, but she didn’t see any way out of it. She shuffled forward and turned the knob. The door was locked but she pulled it so hard her hand slipped off and she threw a nervous smile over her shoulder before unlatching the deadbolt and trying again.

  The conference table and chairs had been removed. The room was now empty except for the people held there and they all sat up eagerly when she entered. “Hi,” her voiced cracked and they immediately picked up on her nerves. Besides just listening to her, they seemed to be tuned into her moods as well. She assumed it was pheromones. Doc had mentioned that was probably how they followed her and found each other so it seemed logical that they could also sense her emotions the same way. Even dogs and cats could do that.

  A heavy presence crept up behind her and she shied away from it. Mark was closer to her than he had ventured previously. A whole three feet behind her. But it was too close for her comfort. There were now eight berserkers in total that had been scratched and…converted? She still hadn’t figured out what to call it. Moreno had been calling it Taking, but she didn’t like that much. She wasn’t taking them anywhere.

  All of the berserkers were here except for the ones that had been scratched last night, but she didn’t think they were ready just yet. The musty, moldy smell that accompanied all berserkers she took was strong and concentrated with them all together.

  “So, what is it that you do?” Mark asked behind her.

  “I generally don’t do anything. I just ask them to do stuff and they do it.”

  “Well. Ask them to do something.”

  “Good evening everyone,” she tried to smile at them but she had a feeling it looked like she was in pain. The berserkers shifted closer together looking at her and Mark warily. Syd couldn’t help but feel like they were her responsibility. Her charges. Not her children, but she felt like their guardian. “Can you all stand up, please?” They only hesitated for a moment before standing. “There you go,” she held her hand out and glanced at Mark.

  “Oh, that’s not very impressive,” he grinned at her.

  “Okay,” she drew the word out. She shrugged at the group in front of her. “Do jumping jacks.”

  Slowly, the berserkers began doing jumping jacks in a variety of skill levels. Jake, the jogger, looked like he was in training. Libby, the blond, flailed about like she had never done exercise in her life.

  “N
ot bad,” Mark nodded. “But, like you said, this could just be a trick.”

  Sydney glanced back at Gary and Moreno who had moved so that they could see inside the room. Moreno scowled but the look was directed at Mark. Gary met her eyes for the briefest of seconds and gave her a barely perceptible nod. He was telling her to keep up the trickery ruse. She leaned towards Mark and ignored the fact that he shied away from her. She whispered conspiratorially. “I don’t know how I’ve gotten them…under a spell…hypnotized…whatever. But, it’s working. And it keeps the Colombian happy.”

  Mark narrowed his eyes at her. “If that’s so, why are they going crazy before you guys even find them?”

  Sydney shrugged. “Hell if I know. Some kind of rabies? Fever, or something?” She knew that Moreno and Gary could hear them and she prayed Moreno would be smart enough to play along.

  Mark was silent for a while. “Logic says you are right. But something is off.”

  She wisely decided to stay silent. She wanted to turn to Gary again, but it would be a mistake. When Mark pulled gloves out of his jacket she raised her brows. They were normal, black leather gloves but her gut told her something bad was coming.

  “Tell the blonde to come here. And the dark haired one.”

  Sydney’s gut churned. “Why?”

  The look he gave her turned her blood to ice. “Don’t make me ask twice.”

  “Libby. Jennifer. Come here.” The two shuffled closer even though they clearly did not want to. Sydney was finding it hard to breath and sweat dripped down her back.

  Mark reached inside his jacket again and withdrew a wicked looking knife. He flipped it so he held it by the blade. “Here,” he held the knife out towards Libby who shook like a leaf an arm’s length away. Libby didn’t move. She only stared wide-eyed at the knife. “Tell her to take the knife.”

  “Why?” Mark glared at her again and she cringed. “Sorry, Libby.” The skinny, blonde turned to her. “Take the knife,” she said, barely more than a whisper but Libby heard her anyway. The woman bared her teeth in a grimace of pain as Sydney’s will pushed against the creature in her brain. Soon, she reached out and snatched the knife from Mark. Jennifer’s eyes kept flipping back and forth between Mark, Sydney, and Libby.

  “Tell Libby to cut off Jennifer’s ear.”

  “No!” Moreno growled behind them.

  Mark didn’t even bother to glance back at him.

  “I-I can’t do that.”

  “You can and you will.”

  “That’s cruel.”

  When something jerked Sydney’s hand, she wasn’t even sure what had happened. One second she was standing next to Mark, the next she was on her knees with her hand, wrist and shoulder exploding in pain. “Fuck,” she squealed. He had some kind of hold on her hand that left her completely unable to move without sending shockwaves of agony through her arm and back. “What the fuck?” she groaned. Looking up at Mark she was appalled to see that he still had the bland but pleasant smile on his face.

  He fumbled in his jacket again and withdrew some kind of tool. When he held it up to her face she recognized them. Wire cutters. Unusually sharp looking wire cutters. “Either tell Libby to cut off Jennifer’s ear, or I will cut off your finger. You get five chances to comply. Then I’ll start on your face.”

  Is he serious? Sydney tried to think beyond the pain but her bones and tendons screamed. There was no great love lost between her and the berserkers, even if she did feel responsible for them. She wouldn’t hesitate to choose herself (or anyone else) over one of them. But the real problem was that if Libby did what she told her to do, then she couldn’t continue to insist that the whole thing was a trick. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Despite the crap on TV, hypnotism wasn’t that strong. And no one would just willingly let someone cut their ear off. She needed a plan. Her heart slammed in her ribs and her breath wheezed. She tried to relieve the pressure on her hand but when she moved Mark only squeezed harder causing her to yelp.

  “Five, four, three…” At three, Mark lowered the wire cutters to her hand. She couldn’t see them, but she could feel them as he closed them over her pinky.

  “Two—”

  “OK!” she shouted. “OK. I’ll do it.” Mark removed the wire cutters but didn’t release the pressure on her hand. “Libby, cut off Jennifer’s ear,” she croaked. She didn’t look up but she knew Libby was doing what she asked. She could hear the two woman struggling and eventually they fell. Syd could see them from the corner of her eye. The only thing Jennifer had going for her was that she was at least thirty pounds heavier than Libby. But that advantage didn’t last long.

  Mark had a laugh in his voice when he spoke again. “Tell Jennifer to stop struggling.”

  “Goddammit!” she groaned. But she didn’t give him a chance to threaten her again. She knew there was no point. “Jennifer. Let Libby cut your ear off.”

  The knife on flesh didn’t make any sound, but Jennifer did.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Sydney was pretty sure she was going to throw up, even after Mark released her and she fell to her side. Curled into a fetal position, she tucked her hand into her stomach and tried very hard to shut out the sounds of Jennifer’s screaming. She wanted to be anywhere other than where she was. She felt hands on her shoulders and began violently throwing her elbows backwards.

  “Stop it,” Gary grunted.

  She stopped fighting and he pulled her to her feet. Sydney looked around her and Mark was smiling as he tapped away at his phone. Moreno was cooing at Jennifer who had stopped screaming but was moaning on the floor. Blood leaked from underneath the hand she had clamped against the side of her head. The rest of the berserkers, including Libby, were cowering in the corner furthest from the door. Syd tested her hand by flexing it. Stiff and sore, but it was movable and unbroken. She examined her pinkie finger and could see slices in the skin at the base where the wire cutters had almost drawn blood. “Happy now?” she glared at Mark. Gary shot her a look of warning but she ignored him. “What are you going to do now?”

  Mark put his phone in his pocket and turned towards her. “My dear, I don’t know how you did it, but you have an incredible ability.” Sydney didn’t say anything. She just continued to glare at him. “Boss is going to be so happy with you,” Mark grinned at Gary.

  “Yeah?” he grunted.

  “Oh yes. He has assumed that Moreno was bat-shit, but I told him something was up.” Moreno shot daggers at them from his position on the floor. “And it turns out I was right. If this woman can control these berserkers…just think of the possibilities.”

  Sydney struggled to swallow. Possibilities? Coming from a psychopath, those possibilities didn’t sound like a good thing. “What is Boss going to do?”

  Mark turned to her. “To you? Only what you make him do. To the berserkers? He’s going to put them to good use.”

  “Such as?”

  Mark chuckled and looked to Gary. “She’s not very bright, is she?”

  Sydney narrowed her eyes at him. “Drug mules? Dealers?” It seemed like a perfectly supervillain type of plan. With automatons dealing your drugs, you wouldn’t ever have to worry about them trying to cheat you.

  “Oh, for starters,” Mark grinned.

  “What else?”

  Gary gave her a level stare. “Boss’ business is supply and demand. People want it, he gets it for them. Drugs, property…women.”

  Sydney’s blood went cold as what Gary was saying became clear. Not only would Boss use the berserkers for drugs, theft, probably violence, but he would also use them for prostitution. Sex robots. Bile rose in Sydney’s throat. She struggled to breathe calmly and Gary’s grip on her arm steadied her a little. But it also sent a message. The timing was terrible, but they needed to act now. They had to stop Mark, and hopefully Boss and Moreno before things went from bad to awful.

  Before Sydney could even think her next move, Moreno jumped to his feet. “You cannot use the Dyians for your own pleasure!” His hands were ball
ed into fists.

  “I can’t? And why can’t I?” Mark was amused by Moreno’s anger.

  “They are not your playthings. They are living gods!”

  Mark laughed so hard he threw his head back. “Oh, that’s right. They are your gods.”

  “Do not laugh at me!” the Columbian screeched.

  Sydney realized she was watching something spiral out of control. She felt the entire situation spinning into chaos and the feeling that something terrible was going to happen grew. The barely contained insanity of Moreno was colliding with the cold brutality of Mark and it was going to explode like a grease fire. Her breaths were shallow and she felt Gary pulling her backwards inch by inch.

  “Boss has been growing tired of you for a while now Moreno. He was entertained by your antics for a while. But not anymore. You’ve outlived your usefulness.”

  “When the Dyians rise—”

  The explosion was so loud at first Sydney thought a bomb had gone off. Moreno’s head disappearing into a poof of blood and gore at first reinforced that. But then she realized Mark was holding a gun pointed at Moreno’s falling body. A massive gun. One big enough that the shot was so loud her ears were still ringing with the concussion. Syd barely had time to register what had happened before Gary threw her to the floor and covered her body with his own. Two more muzzle flashes and deafening bangs and Sydney felt Javier and Oscar fall at their feet.

  The smell of burnt gunpowder and blood hung in the air. She was shaking so hard she was sure she would vibrate across the floor if Gary wasn’t on top of her.

  “You can get up now,” Mark told them calmly.

  Gary climbed off her and pulled her to her feet, for the second time in fifteen minutes. “Are you OK?” he asked her.