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

by Lauren Algeo

  They had plenty of time during the journey to the Midlands to research the Grand’s village more thoroughly. Brewer scoured Google Earth to find the mansion they’d seen in the hiker’s vision. There were a couple of large farmhouses but only one place grand enough. It was secluded, on the outskirts of the village, with views of the dales.

  Brewer zoomed in as close as he could. The house was a couple of miles from any neighbours so it was nice and private, but that also meant it was harder to get near without being seen. It wasn’t the sort of place you could pretend you were just passing by.

  The house itself sat on a few acres of land, and there was a dark wall or hedge running around the perimeter of the grounds. From the grainy satellite images, it was hard to tell just how tall and secure the wall was, or what it was made out of. They’d need to see it for themselves to look for any weak spots. He could see the long driveway leading away from a gate south of the house so that was one possible entry option, if not the most obvious and dangerous.

  They could approach from the Dales to the north or the woodland to the west, but the terrain could be tricky and the Dales were too open. There were several fields to the east of the property that could be cut across although again there wasn’t much cover.

  If they made it onto the grounds of the house there was another obstacle. It looked as if there were plenty of shrubs and flowerbeds but the map didn’t give the impression of anything to hide behind. It did seem as though there was a maze on the south side of the house that could prove useful.

  ‘So what’s the verdict?’ Georgie asked.

  She had been unusually quiet that morning but Brewer wasn’t surprised. She’d be beating herself up about last night and trying not to panic at the prospect of confronting the Grand. He could see a calm in her eyes that gave him a sense of reassurance though, like she had accepted whatever their fate was.

  ‘It’s hard to tell,’ Brewer sighed. ‘There are some places to approach from but it’s not very clear what will greet us when we get there.’

  He briefly pointed out the areas he’d been studying on the map.

  ‘I think we need to do a stake out to get more information.’ He tapped the wooded area to the west of the house. ‘If we hide out in there with the binoculars for a while this afternoon, we’ll get a better idea of what we’re up against. We can access the woods from the rear via these lanes so we should go unnoticed.’

  ‘Ok.’ Georgie nodded.

  She leant back in her seat and toyed with the zip on the gun case as the train sped towards their final destination.

  The woods were wild and overgrown. From the amount of branches clawing their way across the paths to reach each other, it didn’t seem as though anyone ever walked through there, or if they did, it was with some difficulty. Brewer had a stinging scratch across his right cheek from a particularly stubborn branch and Georgie had tripped over several times on the uneven ground.

  It was mid-afternoon by the time they spied the outline of the house through the gradually thinning trees. They stopped, while still in the safety of the woods.

  ‘I can feel them,’ Georgie whispered, looking suddenly very sick. ‘More than I’ve ever felt before.’

  ‘How many?’ Brewer asked.

  He sat down on a fallen log and rooted through his pack for the binoculars.

  ‘I don’t know, it’s hard to tell.’ She frowned in concentration. ‘Maybe ten? They’re all merging into each other.’

  Brewer took cover behind a thick oak tree and looked towards the house. The map hadn’t shown it but the ground the house sat on was slightly elevated. He peered through the binoculars and assessed the area. The wall around the perimeter was covered in ivy and looked to be solid stone. From this angle, he could just make out the tall, iron gate along the south wall. It had one security camera pointed at it from a stand mounted on the wall, presumably so people in the house could monitor who they let in. He couldn’t see any other cameras anywhere.

  ‘Any easy ways in?’ Georgie asked hopefully.

  ‘No.’ Brewer glanced over his shoulder at her. ‘I still think our best option is to the south or east. It’s too obvious to approach from here – he’d be expecting an attack from the cover of the woods.’

  He checked out the house again. ‘I reckon if we stick low and close to the hedge line, we could make it across the fields to the eastern wall unnoticed.’

  ‘Can I see?’

  He handed her the binoculars and she carefully studied the areas he was talking about. It did look possible to get to the wall but scaling it was going to be a challenge. If Brewer had his initial way, he would just walk up to the front gate and announce himself, and she wasn’t about to let that happen.

  She started to turn to agree with him, when a movement at the front of the house caught her eye.

  ‘Someone’s coming out of the front door!’ she gasped.

  Georgie pressed the binoculars so hard to her eyes that it hurt. A figure was emerging from the shadows of the porch.

  Suddenly she doubled over in pain and dropped the binoculars. Her legs felt shaky and she struggled to the log to sit down.

  ‘What? What’s wrong?’ Brewer was by her side instantly.

  ‘It’s him,’ she whispered.

  Brewer snatched up the binoculars and looked towards the front of the house. There he was. The Grand.

  ‘He’s so strong.’ Came the quiet voice behind him. ‘I’ve never felt one so intensely before.’

  Brewer wanted to see if she was ok but the binoculars were glued to his eyes. He couldn’t believe the Grand was right in front of them after all this time, and that was what he looked like.

  The Grand was a little old man. Brewer had known he was old, he’d heard the age in his wheezing voice, but he looked ancient. He was walking slowly into the garden, slightly bent over. He was bald on top, with wisps of snow-white hair on either side of his head. He had on a tan blazer with navy trousers and dark shoes. That was the powerful Grand?

  Georgie had gotten over her initial shock and joined him by the tree again. He handed her back the binoculars without a word.

  ‘That’s him?’ she exclaimed, after getting her first proper look at him. ‘He’s decrepit! He looks as if he’d break if you knocked him over.’

  ‘But he won’t,’ he reminded her. ‘We can’t underestimate him based on the age of his body. You can already feel how powerful he is from here, imagine how strong he’d be if he turned his attention to your mind.’

  Georgie shivered involuntarily. Could they really pull this off?

  They watched silently for a few minutes as the Grand shuffled over to a bench next to a pond and sat down.

  ‘We don’t need to get into the house,’ Brewer burst out in the stillness.

  ‘Huh?’ Georgie asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the man in the garden.

  ‘I said, we don’t need to actually get inside the house.’

  She finally turned to him with a confused expression.

  ‘Look at where he is – outside. If we know he comes out, then we don’t have to go in.’ Brewer gestured animatedly. ‘If we can get into the grounds and hide somewhere in range, when he next comes out we can shoot him with the dart.’

  Georgie smiled brightly. ‘That’s perfect! We don’t have to put ourselves in his way. If we got in range of the house we could even try and shoot him through a window or something.’

  Brewer nodded enthusiastically. ‘Let’s wait until it gets dark to try and get in. The maze is probably the best place to hide but I can’t see it properly from here. We should go to the local libraries and see if they have any records of the house. They might have some floor plans that will give us a better idea of the layout.’

  Georgie grinned and looked back through the binoculars at the Grand.

  ‘We’re coming for you,’ she whispered.

  Chapter 45

  The Grand was frustrated. Even sitting on his favourite bench by the pond wasn’t doing
anything to calm his anger.

  His children had taken their time getting to the town of West Dulwich and he had become increasingly impatient. He’d sent ten of the children who weren’t occupied with jobs down there and called three of his elite team to the house.

  It was more of a precaution really, he knew Matildah wasn’t one of the strongest children and she may have given away details of where he resided. He didn’t think they would actually come but he took measures to protect himself against an attack none-the-less.

  The children in the south had been given their orders when they were all assembled mid-morning. It was a straightforward mission; which was why he hadn’t sent any of the elite children, but he was starting to wish he had. It had been hours and there was no word of progress. The town hadn’t looked that big on his map – how hard was it to locate two people?

  Two meddling people who needed to be taught to keep their noses out of his operation. His mind drifted to delicious thoughts of how to punish them when they were finally brought to him. The sensual feel of their distressed minds when he tortured them with their darkest fears.

  ‘Father!’ Celiah appeared beside him and disturbed his pleasant daydreams.

  She had spoken out loud, rather than to his mind, which was unusual. She moved slowly to stand in front of him, keeping her face neutral, however her eyes showed fear.

  ‘They’re here,’ she spluttered in disbelief.

  The Grand felt every muscle in his body tense. Here?

  ‘Where are… they?’ he spat out loud, mindful that these savages seemed to be able to pick up their thoughts when they communicated with each other.

  ‘At the edge of the woods, watching.’

  His blood boiled. How dare they come there, to his territory. They were braver than he’d thought. He’d sent an army to collect them but they’d come on their own mission.

  ‘What is… their purpose?’

  Celiah’s eyes closed briefly as she skimmed over their minds to find out.

  ‘They plan to come tonight. To climb the wall and attack. Come inside with me and I will tell you all I heard.’

  She walked briskly towards the house. The Grand stayed sitting for a minute, feeling the weight of their eyes boring into him. He fought the urge to look towards the woods. He didn’t want to let on that he knew they were there. They would be more brazen if they thought they had the advantage of surprise over him.

  He felt extremely grateful that he had called Celiah back to the house as one of the elite team. Only her gift could have picked them up without giving them any telltale sense of intrusion in their minds. She truly was special.

  He slowly got to his feet and walked back towards the house. Once Celiah had informed him of everything they were planning, he could make some plans of his own. His counter attack would be brutal.

  Chapter 46

  Brewer and Georgie visited the libraries at two nearby towns. The first was too small and a waste of time, however the second held old articles about the surrounding villages and had records of some of the properties. There was an old floor plan of the Grand’s house among some planning documents. The elderly librarian didn’t seem concerned that they wanted to study it on the pretence of being interested in the history of the house.

  ‘Just pop it back on my desk when you finish dears.’ She smiled and busied herself putting returned books back on the shelves.

  The house was two-storeys high, with a large loft area as a third floor. The layout was most likely no longer accurate, as the plans were over fifty years old, but it gave them an idea of the place.

  Besides the front door, there was only one other door into the house. It was to the rear of the property and opened in to a kitchen. There was a balcony from one of the bedrooms upstairs, although it was too high to be used as an entrance or exit.

  The plans didn’t give any other indication of a door in the stone perimeter wall. It still looked as if the only ways in were the front gate or scaling the wall.

  There was a DIY shop in town and Brewer bought a small, folding ladder – one of the lightweight, metal types that would be easier to carry across the fields. They ate an early dinner of greasy burgers and chips in a café and went over the plan one last time.

  ‘We cross the fields when it starts to get dark and stick to the hedges at the sides so no one in the house will see us,’ Brewer reiterated. ‘Then what?’

  Georgie rolled her eyes. He was back to his safety-conscious self again.

  ‘Then we use the ladder to climb over the southeast side of the wall,’ she said on autopilot. ‘We creep along the base of the eastern wall, staying in the shadows then if the coast is clear we break for the maze. We hide there until the Grand comes outside tomorrow, then I shoot him.’

  ‘Good,’ Brewer nodded.

  He was still reluctant to take Georgie into the danger of the garden but she was a much better shot than he was, and she’d already proven she was accurate under pressure. If it all went to plan, none of the hikers would even know they were there. They would all be killed when the Grand died, and he and Georgie could just walk out the front gate after.

  ‘How long do you think he’ll take to die?’ Georgie asked.

  She was toying with her burger and he could tell she was starting to get nervous.

  ‘A few hours hopefully, with another shot to the heart; maybe even quicker as his body’s so old.’

  She lifted her eyes to meet his. ‘Will we be safe hiding in the maze for all that time?’

  He hesitated before replying. It was the weakest part of the plan.

  ‘We’ve got enough for three hits,’ he said. ‘If we take out the Grand first then we can hit any other hikers who come out. We can use your senses to see exactly how many are in there tomorrow. They won’t know how many rounds of the disease we have so if we keep our minds blocked, they might not come out for fear of being shot too.’

  ‘And if more do come out?’

  ‘Then I go out to meet them.’ He stared straight at her with determination. ‘You stay hidden in the maze until it’s all over. I’ll keep them occupied and make sure they leave you alone.’

  ‘Ok,’ she agreed, although she had no intention of staying put and doing nothing if it all went wrong. She had her knife in her pocket and she would fight as hard as she could, but Brewer wouldn’t take her in if he knew that.

  They waited until the sun began to set to walk across the fields. The ground was frozen and hard, and they tried to keep to the edges. Brewer had the small ladder tucked under his arm and Georgie walked behind with the gun case. The air was still and icy cold, and they exhaled white clouds. By the time they reached the wall of the house, it was fully dark.

  They stood at the base for a while to catch their breath. Brewer opened out the ladder and propped it against the ivy-covered wall.

  ‘Last chance,’ he said to Georgie. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

  ‘I’m sure,’ she shot back. ‘What are you waiting for?’

  Brewer put one foot on the ladder and steadied it then he began to climb slowly upwards. The house loomed into view as he got closer to the top. There were several lights burning inside but he couldn’t see anyone silhouetted against the windows. The CCTV camera on the wall was pointed straight down to the gate. He beckoned for Georgie to follow him up.

  Brewer put his hand on the top of the wall to ease himself over and saw a gleam of metal to his right. There was a spike nestled in the ivy, waiting to impale someone. He looked to his left and realised there were iron spikes all the way along the wall. They wouldn’t be able to lay flat to shift themselves over the top.

  ‘There are spikes up here,’ he whispered down to Georgie.

  ‘What? Can we still climb over?’

  ‘Yes but we’ll need to be careful. I’ll take the gun. Copy what I do.’

  Brewer reached behind and Georgie passed up the gun case, and he slipped the strap over his head. He checked the house again then hoisted himself th
e last foot to the top of the wall and crouched awkwardly between the spikes. He shuffled on his toes to the edge of the wall and looked down. The drop seemed much further from up there.

  He lowered himself until all his weight was on his arms and his legs were dangling against the wall, then he let go. He landed clumsily in the flowerbed below and fell back onto his bum. At least he was down in one piece. He looked up in time to see Georgie gracefully manoeuvre over the wall and drop down silently next to him.

  ‘Stealth Scott.’ She gave him a tight smile.

  He pushed the gun case back at her arms. They hunkered down in the shadows at the foot of the wall and watched the house.

  ‘How many can you feel?’ he whispered.

  She shrugged in the darkness. ‘Dunno, maybe eight, but it’s hard to tell.’

  She couldn’t explain it to Brewer but the weight of their presence made her feel nauseas. She was used to only sensing one at a time and the Grand seemed to magnify it somehow.

  They waited for a tense ten minutes to make sure no one in the house had seen their wall scaling. It was all quiet.

  ‘Let’s move nearer the maze,’ Brewer said.

  They inched their way along the wall, keeping low in the darkness. The gun case bumped lightly against Georgie’s hip as she moved.

  Light suddenly flooded the front of the house and part of the garden. Brewer heard Georgie gasp in surprise and his own breath caught in his throat. He dived for the floor and she thumped down beside him a split second later. They both stared towards the house in horror.

  The front door opened and they could make out several hikers inside. They came out onto the porch and stood for a moment. Georgie dug her nails into Brewer’s arm as they gaped at the group of hikers.

  They heard the sound of a car engine starting then saw headlights flick on near the porch. Three hikers walked to the car and climbed inside. The sound of the car doors slamming closed carried loudly in the still air. The car pulled away from the house and cruised along the gravel driveway to the gate – the headlights illuminating the way.