Hikers - The Collection (Complete Box Set of 5 Books)

by Lauren Algeo

‘Lead the way,’ Brewer replied.

  They trailed the hiker for a couple of hours. She was moving slowly and didn’t seem to be heading anywhere in particular. Her job was complete and she was disciplined enough not to kill again until another order came from the Grand.

  ‘I want to see how they live when they aren’t driving people to murder,’ Georgie said after Brewer suggested returning to the flat again.

  It was already starting to get dark and the temperature was dropping. There were heavy clouds overhead that threatened freezing rain.

  ‘She has no job so there won’t be much to look at. She’ll probably feed and have a few hours sleep, then wait for the next contract.’

  ‘I still want to see. Please?’

  ‘Fine,’ Brewer gave in. ‘We’ll wait until she finds somewhere to rest then head back for the night.’

  They followed the hiker to a small restaurant and waited around the corner while she refuelled. It was getting rapidly colder and they both put on their extra jumpers to maintain body heat. Georgie was quiet again and she seemed distracted every time Brewer tried to talk to her. It was understandable – they hadn’t had a very pleasant afternoon.

  A while later, the hiker weaved her way through a passage of back alleys behind some shops and businesses. She would be looking for somewhere dark and quiet to recharge for a couple of hours. Brewer decided to let Georgie get close enough to see her properly when she was asleep. She hadn’t actually seen a hiker in person yet. They stayed in the shadows near the walls and moved cautiously.

  ‘She’s stopped,’ Georgie whispered.

  Brewer nodded in the darkness, his eyes were adjusting to the gloom. There were a couple of security lights illuminating the back of the next building and they were careful to keep away from the brightest areas. Georgie grabbed Brewer’s arm to halt him mid-step. They were really close now.

  He crept forward and peered around the corner of the next wall. In the space between two industrial dump bins, he could make out the hiker. She was standing facing one of the bins so he couldn’t see her features properly, but he knew her eyes would be open. Hikers slept standing up, without closing their eyes.

  He heard the rustle of Georgie’s rucksack behind him. He started to turn to gesture that it was safe for her to get a look at the hiker, only suddenly she was shooting past him.

  He just made out a large object in her hand that seemed to spark on fire, before it was launched in the direction of the bins. He watched it loop in a high arc then Georgie was screaming at him.

  ‘Run!’ she yelled, dashing back down the alley behind him.

  His feet moved instinctively to follow. They’d barely rounded the corner when there was a loud explosion. Georgie was already diving to the floor but Brewer was caught unaware. He was propelled forward and landed hard on his left shoulder. He rolled to the side and automatically brought his arms up to protect his head.

  The sound of the explosion was over in a matter of seconds. Georgie laughed manically as she pushed herself up from the ground. She was covered in dirt and grime.

  ‘It worked! It worked!’

  She started back towards the dump bins and Brewer was on his feet in an instant. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly.

  ‘What the fuck was that?’ he shouted over the ringing in his ears, and the sound of an alarm going off in a nearby building. ‘You could have killed us!’

  Georgie carried on laughing wildly. His fists balled subconsciously; he wanted to knock some sense into her.

  ‘A bomb!’ she managed to say.

  ‘What?’ Brewer spluttered. ‘You’re trying to kill one with a homemade bomb? You think you could get enough force to blow one apart with something you made?’

  ‘Kind of,’ Georgie grinned. ‘It was a sort of dirty bomb.’

  Brewer looked down at the ground. He could make out a couple of metal objects near the corner of the wall.

  ‘What are those? Nails?’

  ‘Close,’ came the smug reply. ‘Silver.’

  Brewer’s eyes widened in surprise and he stared at her stupidly. She’d made a dirty bomb with bits of silver?

  Georgie slithered out of his grasp. ‘We need to see if she’s dead!’ she called as she ran round the corner.

  Brewer followed dumbly, his mind still trying to process what had just happened. He had a million angry retorts waiting to be directed at Georgie. What the hell had she been thinking? Why hadn’t she told him what she was doing?

  He suddenly realised she was running straight towards a hiker that was most likely not dead.

  ‘Georgie stop!’ he cried, racing towards the bins after her.

  It didn’t matter – the hiker was gone.

  Chapter 22

  The Grand had warned them all. He had sent a message to her brothers and sisters to be extra vigilant.

  It took her a while to notice them. It had happened when she was in the restaurant. Feeding filled her with no enthusiasm and she flittered over the surrounding people’s minds to pass the time. It was a gift she had. The Grand had called her ‘special’.

  Instead of prying into people’s minds and giving her presence away, like most of her kin, she could pick up their top layer of thoughts undetected. If you went any deeper the vessel would sense you intruding but she had a light touch. She could only really find out what they were thinking at the current time, however it amused her.

  She sat at the table in the restaurant and listened to the thoughts around her. There was a couple on her left who were on their first date. She heard the girl praising herself on how well it was going, while the boy wondered if it would be too late after the meal to go out on the pull at a nearby nightclub.

  She revelled in the misery of a woman sitting with her friend who had just been made redundant from her job, and feared her marriage was on the rocks.

  When she tired of the thoughts inside the restaurant, she widened her circle to the road outside. Most people were going to and from destinations and their minds held no real interest, but then she landed on an interesting girl around the corner.

  The girl was nervous. She was keeping a secret from the man she was with and she was wondering if he suspected anything.

  She was intrigued. She flitted to the man’s mind to see if he did indeed suspect something, whatever the secret may be. She got a shock – the man was thinking about her. He was running over the day’s events. The girl she had forced to take those pills.

  She retreated rapidly. How did he know all of that? He must have followed her. But then how would he know what she had made the girl do? She was safely hidden in the garage the whole time and never went near the girl. He must be able to hear her. Could he hear her right now?

  She wanted desperately to search his mind for answers yet she dared not. He would sense her in there, and who knew what power he had.

  The man and girl were waiting for her and she wanted to get away from them to contact the Grand. He would know what to do.

  The girl was wondering if she would sleep so this secret could be carried out, so she obliged. She led them along some back alleys, feeling a primal sense of being hunted as she walked. They followed her cautiously, they were wary of her. She found a fairly secluded spot next to some bins and stopped. The man seemed to know she would sleep standing up. Had he followed her before?

  She stood motionless and waited for their next move. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl rush round the corner of the wall and she heard her thoughts shouting to ‘throw it now’.

  She held off until the girl and man retreated, with their backs to her, then she ran swiftly away as the bomb hit the ground. The explosion sent a flare of pain up her back and she felt little daggers of something sharp bite into her skin. They were flesh wounds that would heal momentarily.

  She hurried through the twisting alleys until she emerged onto a road then she kept moving. They weren’t following her but she ran until she could no longer pick up their thoughts. Now it was saf
e to contact the Grand.

  ‘Celiah, my child,’ he wheezed as a greeting.

  ‘My apologies for intruding, Grand, I have encountered the couple you spoke of,’ she told him.

  He was fascinated by her tale of the evening’s events.

  ‘Well…’ There was a spluttering cough. ‘This is most… intriguing.’

  ‘What action shall I take?’

  There was a long pause.

  ‘Hunt them down and get some answers… however necessary,’ he finally replied. ‘Summon me immediately when you find them.’

  He was gone from her mind instantly.

  Her initial shock at being followed had worn off. Why should she be wary of them, she was far more powerful. They should fear her. She spun on her heels and headed back in the direction of the alleys. She was determined to be the one to find them.

  Chapter 23

  Brewer strode fast along the road and Georgie had to run to keep up with him.

  She’d wanted to stick around and look for the hiker but Brewer had insisted they clear off immediately. The explosion would have been noticed, and there would be a lot of attention heading their way. Especially with a building security alarm still blaring. He had a face like thunder so she obeyed.

  ‘She must have been wounded,’ she gasped breathlessly. ‘There was some blood on the floor.’

  ‘She was well enough to walk away,’ Brewer snapped. He was still furious that she hadn’t told him what she was planning. ‘Do you know how dangerous that was? Why the hell didn’t you warn me what you were doing?’

  Georgie felt herself getting angry back. ‘Oh, please!’ she snorted. ‘As if you would’ve let me carry out my plan after that shit at the golf club!’

  ‘We could have talked about it.’

  ‘No, admit it! You would have treated me like a kid and told me I wasn’t ready yet.’

  ‘You aren’t ready yet!’ he roared at her. ‘Today proves it. God! I don’t know why I’m letting you tag along with me when you seem hell bent on getting us killed!’

  ‘Fine. If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave!’ she yelled back, her face growing red with rage. ‘I can do it by myself!’

  She stormed off down a side street without looking back, and Brewer made no effort to stop her. She wouldn’t last five minutes without him.

  His anger had cooled by the time he got back to the flat. It seemed quiet and empty without Georgie there. He paced around the main room with his mind buzzing.

  He was livid that she’d kept it a secret from him, however he had to give in to the nagging feeling inside and admit to himself that it had been a good plan. He hadn’t thought of combining silver with a bomb before. The silver bullet hadn’t worked but multiple entry wounds might have done some damage. They didn’t know for sure if the hiker had been hit directly, or sustained any injuries from the explosion.

  An hour later, there was no sign of Georgie and Brewer started to get worried. It was late and the temperature had plummeted outside. He knew she had her extra jumper on, although that wouldn’t be enough to keep her warm all night with the wind biting into her skin and chilling her bones. She was stubborn, and he knew she’d stay outside, freezing, rather than come back to the flat yet.

  He tried to doze on the sofa but he jolted awake at every small sound. He repeatedly checked the front door and stairs to see if Georgie was there. He felt increasingly guilty at losing his temper and worried that something might have happened to her. That hiker could have found her after she’d stormed away from him.

  At 4am, he gave up any hope of sleep and went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. He glanced bleary-eyed out at the road then had to blink and look again. Sitting against the wall of the building opposite was a figure. They were huddled up small, and he couldn’t even see if it was a girl or boy, yet he knew immediately that it was Georgie.

  He felt a wave of relief crash over him – she was safe. He also had a sense of pity that she’d been too proud and pig-headed to come up to the flat earlier. Her stubborn streak had only let her come as far as the street outside.

  He poured his coffee into a flask and filled another one with hot tea. He put on his jacket and boots, and went down to the road. There was no one around at this early hour, only the sound of the wind.

  He walked across the street and sat down next to her. She didn’t look at him. He could see her whole body shivering. He passed her the flask of tea and she took it without a word, holding it gratefully between her numb hands. Brewer sipped his coffee and waited.

  Finally she spoke.

  ‘About ten minutes after I left you last night, I realised that I don’t have anywhere else to go,’ she said in a small voice.

  She was staring at an empty spot across the pavement but he could see the hurt in her eyes.

  ‘I haven’t… I don’t have anyone,’ she went on. ‘I could never go back to Spence and my old life, my family are dead to me, and I have no way of going forward. I only have you. And this place.’

  She turned her head to look at him for the first time.

  ‘I’m sorry. I got stupid and carried away. I should have trusted you with what I was thinking. You’re the only person who actually gives a shit about me.’

  ‘I’m sorry too,’ Brewer replied. ‘I overreacted because you caught me by surprise, and ever since my own hiker experience I hate not being in control.’

  She smiled ruefully. ‘I knew you were a control freak.’

  ‘Are you ready to come back up then?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes please,’ she said. ‘I’m freezing my tits off out here!’

  He laughed and helped her to her feet.

  ‘You’re pretty much the only person I have too,’ he told her when they were inside the warm flat and Georgie had a duvet wrapped around her. ‘I mean, there’s Marcus and Trudy, but they don’t know anything about this life. I was worried about you, you know? Me and Karen never got the chance to have kids but tonight is the closest I’ve ever got to feeling the worry of a father.’

  He expected her to laugh, but she looked at him steadily instead.

  ‘I would have been proud to have you as a father,’ she said. ‘You remind me of my own dad in lots of ways.’

  ‘Well you can stay at the flat for as long as you want anyway. Our own little dysfunctional family home.’

  ‘Well then, dad,’ she grinned. ‘Can you make me some hot food, I’m starving!’

  Brewer cooked a mini fry up of bacon, eggs, beans, and toast, and Georgie wolfed it down. Spending last night outside, alone, had been a harsh reminder of her time on the streets and she swore to herself she would never end up like that again.

  ‘So what did you really think of my plan?’ she asked through a mouthful of food.

  Brewer swallowed his own pride. ‘It was actually a decent idea,’ he admitted.

  She smiled broadly. ‘I know, right? I mean you said you tried silver bullets, but I was reading about demons and stuff the other day and I thought what if one bullet wasn’t enough. What if you had to hit them loads of times at once.’

  ‘And you thought of a dirty bomb to do it?’

  ‘We learnt about the IRA and terrorist attacks at school,’ she shrugged. ‘I did a bit of research online when I borrowed your laptop. There are some sick websites out there you know, step-by-step guides to bombs and everything!’

  ‘When did you make it?’ Brewer asked.

  He felt like an idiot now knowing that she had been planning this right under his nose and he’d never suspected a thing.

  ‘When you went out to the shops, and at night in the bedroom,’ she told him. ‘It didn’t actually need anything too complicated. I got some bits whenever it was my turn to go to the shops.’

  ‘And the silver?’

  ‘I ransacked this place when you were out a couple of times. Sorry, I uh, took some silver plated bits from the drawers in the bedroom so open those carefully,’ she admitted. ‘Then I got some stuff from the shops – most of
it was cheap crap so I doubt it was pure silver.’

  She paused and suddenly looked more animated. ‘Maybe if we try it again with more, genuine silver it might work!’

  ‘We’ll see,’ he said.

  ‘No more treating me like a kid, remember?’ she said pointedly.

  ‘No more getting carried away then. Next time we’ll do it my way… carefully.’

  A little smile played at the corner of her mouth. ‘Kill joy.’

  He rolled his eyes.

  ‘It was torture,’ she told him. ‘I was carrying that bloody thing around all day waiting until the right opportunity.’

  ‘At least you picked somewhere quiet. Anything could’ve happened if there had been people around. I’m still surprised it didn’t kill us!’

  ‘What can I say, I’m a genius!’

  ‘Obviously a modest one!’

  Georgie stifled a yawn. She’d barely dozed for an hour in the cold – her chattering teeth had kept her awake.

  ‘Time for sleep,’ she said, heading to the bedroom.

  ‘No making secret bombs!’ Brewer yelled after her.

  ‘Yes, dad,’ came the laughing reply then the door banged shut.

  Chapter 24

  The second silver bomb didn’t work. They travelled further out of London, to the East coast, where they found a hiker for the second attempt. Georgie had shown Brewer the research sites she’d used to make her dirty bomb and together they’d constructed something a lot more solid. With Brewer’s money, they bought some pure silver ball bearings and packed them tightly into the bomb.

  They waited a couple of weeks for the perfect opportunity to use it. Brewer came up with the idea of dropping the bomb onto the hiker from a height. The explosion should be quite contained, but the ball bearings would be unpredictable so an elevated hiding place would keep them out of harm’s way. Then, from above, they could see the effect the bomb had on the hiker afterwards.

  It took two days of trailing the hiker for an opportunity to present itself. Georgie was beginning to lose hope that it would ever stop somewhere secluded and rest. On the second night, after a particularly harrowing murder, the hiker led them to the back of a disused car park, where it concealed itself by the wall to sleep. Brewer and Georgie rushed to the top of the building as quietly as they could. This was their chance.