by Lauren Algeo
One thought of the Grand was enough to crush any other emotions he had. How could he possibly be over here, alive? And how were they going to kill him… again?
Brewer glanced out of the window at the scenery rushing by, a terrible notion pushing its way to the front of his mind. What if the Grand was invincible? What if they’d never be able to kill him? No, he refused to accept that. They had managed to kill other hikers so there had to be a way for the Grand to die too.
Even if it was just from old age. Brewer didn’t know how old he was exactly – with hikers you could never fully tell – but the Grand was definitely the most ancient one he’d seen. Surely he couldn’t live forever?
Brewer looked forward at the road again. Even if he was invincible they could always track down and kill all the other hikers, put an end to his legacy for good. He prayed the insulin would work on whatever hiker they found next.
A little while later, still hurtling along the Wilbur Cross Parkway, Mitch began to entertain them with stories from the shop he worked in. It was part of a small chain of stores that sold an array of everyday items and groceries.
‘The woman was so angry!’ he laughed. ‘Her face was bright red and she kept shouting at me. Then when she turned to leave, she tripped straight over her own shopping bags!’
Ellen was giggling and even Brewer had to smile at Mitch’s storytelling. It wasn’t even particularly funny – a woman had smashed a glass and didn’t want to pay for it – but the mood was infectious.
‘You should have seen how mad she got then!’ Mitch said. ‘I had to stop myself…’
Suddenly Ellen spun the steering wheel hard to the right and the car swerved into the next lane.
‘Whoa!’ Mitch yelled as he was thrown to the side.
Brewer grabbed the dashboard as the car careered towards the hard shoulder. Ellen slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust. Thankfully there had been no other cars around them.
‘Oh my god. Oh my god,’ she was murmuring. Her eyes were squeezed tightly closed and there was a pained expression on her face.
‘Ellen, are you ok?’ Brewer touched her arm and she visibly jumped.
He noticed just how hard she was gripping onto the steering wheel. Her knuckles had gone white and the tendons in her arms were straining.
‘What the hell happened?’ Mitch demanded from the back seat.
Brewer ignored him and tried to gently prise Ellen’s fingertips from the wheel. She dropped her hands to her lap and finally turned to look at him. There was confusion in her eyes and her body began trembling.
‘I can’t…’ she gasped. ‘I don’t…’ She couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
Brewer quickly checked to make sure the car was safely off the road then jumped out and ran around to the driver’s side door. He yanked it open, unclipped Ellen’s seat belt, and helped turn her so she could lean forward over her knees.
‘Take deep breaths,’ he instructed. ‘Try not to panic. We’re all fine. No one got hurt.’
Ellen took long, wheezing breaths as Brewer crouched down in front of her and held her hand. It took her a couple of minutes to calm down, by which time Mitch had gotten out of the car too and was pacing around anxiously. Brewer motioned for him to keep back.
‘Feeling better?’ he asked Ellen.
She nodded. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered. ‘It just took me by surprise.’
‘What did?’ Brewer asked.
‘The hiker.’
Brewer’s heart jolted in his chest. ‘What do you mean?’
Ellen frowned in confusion. ‘Didn’t you feel it too? It was so strong.’
He didn’t have a clue what she was talking about; he hadn’t heard so much as a scratch of a hiker.
‘Ellen, I need you to be very clear here. What exactly just happened?’
Her face was pale and his words seemed to add to the fear already etched there. ‘I felt the hiker, just like you said I would.’
‘No,’ Brewer shook his head. ‘I said you would hear a hiker. What do you mean you felt one?’
‘It was in here.’ Ellen held a hand over her stomach. ‘It felt like a hard pressure inside and just… pure evil. It was a hiker. I had the exact same feeling when that one was whispering to me after Lucy….’ her voice trailed off.
Brewer’s mind was racing. Georgie had been able to sense them nearby and now it seemed Ellen could too. He’d thought it was Georgie’s age that had given her that ability but now he wondered if it was a female thing, if women were somehow more intuitive to them?
‘Can you still feel it?’ he asked.
‘Not right now, no. It was only for a fleeting moment as we drove.’
Mitch couldn’t wait any longer. He stepped up to the car door. ‘Will someone please tell me what the hell just went down?’
‘Ellen sensed a hiker.’ Brewer glanced up at him.
Mitch screwed his face up in that now-familiar expression. ‘Sensed one? I thought you could only hear them?’
‘No, some people can feel their presence,’ he said. ‘Georgie had the gift too.’
Ellen snorted. ‘Gift? More like a curse. That was horrible!’
Brewer stood up and looked around. There was a signpost in the distance that showed they were still a few miles outside of Meriden, closer to Wallingford. He turned back to face Ellen.
‘You aren’t going to like this…’ he started.
‘You want me to try and find it again, don’t you?’ she nodded in understanding.
‘Yes. It would be ideal to try and locate one to test the insulin on. Only if you’re up to it, of course?’ he added quickly. ‘If you’re not ready yet, we can just keep driving.’
She looked terrified, however she shook her head firmly. ‘No, I want to find this one. We don’t know when we’ll get an opportunity again.’
She didn’t say it out loud but she was praying it would be the one who’d killed Lucy. She would make him pay for taking her beautiful little girl away from her.
‘I’ll take over the driving and we can get off at the next exit to scout around.’ Brewer didn’t care about obeying the law any more. He didn’t want Ellen behind the wheel when she felt one again.
They were still fairly near to West Rock and he hoped the hiker she’d felt wasn’t the one who’d murdered Lucy. Revenge wasn’t the most rational emotion to carry into an encounter. Perhaps that hiker had long moved on and this one was new to the area?
Mitch was still trying to get his head around the fact that Ellen had been able to feel one. ‘How did you know it was a hiker?’ he asked. ‘What if it was heartburn or something?’
Brewer saw anger flash across Ellen’s face for the second time since he’d met her. She jumped up from the seat.
‘It was a hiker,’ she half-yelled in Mitch’s face. ‘You don’t think I know what one feels like after what that last son-of-a-bitch did!’
Mitch stepped back instantly and had the courtesy to look apologetic. ‘I’m sorry! I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.’
Her anger evaporated in a second. ‘I’m sorry too. I know this is all a lot for us to take in.’
A few passing cars had slowed to look at them and Brewer wanted to get off the Parkway as soon as possible.
‘Let’s get moving before someone accidently crashes in to us.’
Ellen walked slowly around the car to the passenger seat and Mitch got silently in the back. Brewer manoeuvred his tall body behind the wheel and slid the seat back a little. He hadn’t driven abroad for a long time and it was strange to be sitting on the other side of the car. He took a minute to adjust the mirrors and turned the radio down. He was aware of Ellen wringing her hands nervously next to him. He knew he was asking a lot of her but it was necessary.
They set off slowly on the hard shoulder and re-joined the road. Brewer took the next available turning off the Parkway and followed signs back to Wallingford. The atmosphere in the car was tense. He could
see Mitch in the rear view mirror; his eyes were locked onto Ellen, waiting for her to sense something again. Ellen herself was staring blankly out of the passenger window and her entire body was stiff in anticipation.
‘I remember the first time I heard a hiker after my own encounter,’ Brewer said to fill the silence. ‘I was walking to a shop in London and all of a sudden I could hear this voice in my head. A female hiker, who I thought was talking to me at first. I was scared another one had found me. I’m not ashamed to say I nearly fainted. I had to sit down on the kerb with my head between my knees and someone passing by got me a bottle of water, thinking I was ill. I couldn’t tell them what was really wrong – that I could hear a hiker’s voice in my head, telling a woman that her husband was having an affair. As soon as I could stand, I ran away from there and didn’t look back. I stayed locked indoors for days after, too terrified to go outside. I kept thinking one of them would find me.’
Mitch was listening with interest however Ellen barely registered that he was speaking. He’d thought sharing something he’d experienced might help to distract her, but apparently not.
They drove around for fifteen minutes in a winding route, roughly parallel to the Parkway. Brewer darted little glances at Ellen only there was no reaction from her.
‘I don’t think it’s this side,’ she said five minutes later.
‘Eh?’ Mitch piped up from the back.
‘You think we should have gone the other way when we turned off?’ Brewer asked, pulling over to the side of the road.
Ellen nodded uncertainly. He picked up the maps from the dashboard and checked the area.
‘Yalesville is the place on the other side,’ he said. ‘It looks roughly where you might have sensed the hiker.’
She swallowed hard. ‘Let’s go then.’
They drove silently over to Yalesville, the tension growing heavier. They were barely onto Main Street when Ellen gave a loud gasp.
‘It’s here!’ Her voice was shrill with panic.
Brewer pulled into the nearest layby and turned to face her. ‘What do you feel?’
Mitch leaned forward through the seats; his eyes were shining with excitement. ‘Where is it?’
‘I can feel the pressure again,’ she tried to explain. ‘It’s stronger than it was on the Parkway but I don’t know where it’s coming from.’
‘Is it bearable?’ Brewer asked. ‘Are you able to try and pinpoint the location if I keep driving?’
‘Yes,’ she replied even though she didn’t look sure.
He set off again and crawled as slowly as he could along Main Street. Ellen was checking all around the car as if she’d suddenly see the hiker standing at the side of the road.
‘Any different?’ Brewer asked after a few hundred metres.
‘I’m not certain.’ He could see the doubt on her face. ‘I think it might be getting weaker but that may just be because I’m getting used to it.’
‘There’s one way to know for sure.’ He spun the car around and drove back the way they had come.
As they neared the junction between Main Street and Church Road, Ellen gripped his arm. ‘It’s definitely stronger this way.’
Turning right would take them on the route back to Wallingford so Brewer turned left. There were signs for Broad Brook Reservoir a little way ahead. The road was empty so he stayed under the speed limit. They both heard the hiker at the same time.
‘The water looks nice and inviting.’
It was suddenly clear in Brewer’s mind. Ellen gave a scream beside him and her hands flew up to cover her ears. Mitch jumped at the sound of her cry; he hadn’t heard anything prior to that.
‘What?’ he asked. ‘What is it?’
Brewer braked to a stop to give Ellen time to adjust to this new development. He’d been so busy concentrating on her, he’d missed the warning scratching in his head. The hiker was male and it clearly had a vessel in its grasp. Brewer only needed one look at Ellen to know exactly who it was. Her composure had crumpled and tears began to flow from her wide eyes.
‘It’s him!’ she sobbed.
‘I know.’ Brewer pulled her towards him and enveloped her in a tight hug.
Her body quivered against him as she cried quietly into his jumper.
‘Is it the hiker who...?’ Mitch started but Brewer shut him up with a sharp glare.
He felt extremely guilty about putting her in this situation. She would have believed herself ready to seek revenge on the hiker but actually hearing him was an entirely different matter. His voice would have taken her instantly to the trail again and all the memories of Lucy would’ve come flooding back.
He held onto her until her sobs began to taper off. She pulled away, wiping hastily at her face. Her cheeks were red and blotchy, and her eyes were puffy. There was a wet patch on the front of his jumper and it clung to his skin, yet he made no move to pull it away. Instead, he rooted around in the glove box to find the pack of tissues he’d seen earlier and handed one to her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, blowing her nose. ‘I’m such a mess. I thought I’d be ok but hearing his awful voice again…’
‘There’s no need to apologise,’ Mitch said. ‘We totally get it Mrs Mac.’
She gave a wry smile and dabbed at her eyes.
‘I hate to break this to you,’ Brewer said. ‘But the hiker has a vessel so I’m afraid we’re going to hear him again at any moment.’
Ellen winced. ‘I don’t think… I can’t.’
‘I can drive us out of here,’ he told her. ‘If you aren’t ready, we can leave right now. Are you?’
She gave a brief shake of her head. She wasn’t ready yet.
Brewer nodded and immediately turned the car around. Mitch sat back in his seat looking disappointed. Ellen chewed her lower lip and stared out of the window through blurry eyes.
The evil sensation that resided in her stomach was slowly dispelling with every second they drove. She was making the right decision, there was no way she was strong enough to face that thing again.
Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling of regret that instantly replaced the pressure of the hiker. An image of Lucy’s face the moment before she’d jumped swam to the surface of her mind. She had known what she was about to do but there had been no way for her to stop it. Now this hiker was about to do the same thing to someone else and there was something that Ellen could do.
She could end this hiker’s reign of terror and get justice for Lucy. Was she strong enough though? She sent a quick prayer to Lucy to please watch over her.
‘Turn the car around.’
Brewer looked across at her in surprise. ‘Are you sure about this?’
‘Yes.’ Her eyes met his defiantly. ‘I want to go back.’
Mitch gave a loud whoop from the back seat. Brewer did a sharp U-turn and sped back in the direction of Yalesville. The hiker had mentioned water to its vessel so it had to be at the reservoir.
‘I can try and teach you how to block it as we go,’ he spoke fast. ‘Mitch, you’re going to have to hang back a little on this one and listen to what I say. We need to park somewhere secluded by the reservoir and scout around for them. I should be able to track it fairly quickly now I can hear it.’
Mitch and Ellen nodded along meekly. He’d experienced this dozens of times before however this would be their first attempt at trying to kill a hiker. Ellen looked as if she wanted to throw up.
‘The pressure is getting stronger,’ she informed him.
‘We’re not too far now.’
They heard the hiker’s whispering again seconds later.
‘You should go in,’ he urged. ‘Let the water wash everything away.’
‘Oh my god,’ Ellen murmured.
‘What? Can you hear it again?’ Mitch asked.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘He’s trying to make the person go into the water.’ She angled her head towards Brewer. ‘Is he trying to make the victim drown themself? Is that possible?’
&n
bsp; ‘I’m afraid so,’ Brewer nodded gravely. ‘If someone is susceptible enough, the hikers can make them do pretty much anything.’
He saw another signpost ahead and turned right onto Highland Avenue. They were close now. The sound of the hiker’s voice increased in his mind, like someone had turned up the volume.
‘You can leave all your problems behind,’ he said in his soothing tone. ‘Just let it all go.’
‘It’s so loud!’ Ellen exclaimed.
She wanted to shut out the sound only she didn’t know how. Hearing his voice sent goose bumps crawling across her skin. He was speaking so much softer than he had to her. With her, he had been spiteful and mocking. In a way this gentle tone was worse; he was persuading this poor person to kill themself and they would have no idea. He made it sound so rational – an easy, painless way to put an end to whatever problems they were having.
She wondered if this was how he had whispered to Lucy before that fatal trip. Her poor baby would have been powerless to resist the relentless mental onslaught. She’d already been so down about the bullying that he must have made her think ending it all was the only way to stop her suffering. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and she forced them back down, trying to swallow the choking lump in her throat. She needed to find the strength to carry this plan through. For Lucy.
Brewer pulled the car over on Reservoir Road. They could see the water now and the hiker’s voice was continuous. He let the car crawl to a stop by some trees and killed the engine.
‘We should go on foot from here,’ he said.
They climbed out of the car and Mitch slammed his door closed.
‘Quietly!’ Brewer scolded.
He opened the boot and reached for the bag with the guns. He unzipped the holdall and took the tranquiliser gun out of its case. He carefully got a dart from the side pocket. They’d preloaded it with insulin back at the motel and he slipped it into the gun. They were ready. He held the gun out to Ellen but she shook her head.
‘I’ll take it when we find them,’ she said. ‘I don’t trust myself to carry it at the moment.’