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

by Lauren Algeo

  The Master’s gaze had been lingering on him, feeding off his reaction to that news.

  ‘Your brother slaughtered hundreds of innocent people,’ Brewer said through gritted teeth.

  ‘Come now,’ the Master said. ‘No one is really… innocent these days. Most people get what’s coming to them…’ His mouth curved into a smirk again. ‘Like you.’

  ‘Your problem is only with me,’ Brewer tried to reason. ‘Let Ellen and Mitch go and I won’t put up a fight. You can take your revenge on me, but just me, alone.’

  The smile disappeared from the Master’s face in an instant. ‘How dare you come here… and try to plead with me. You are all guilty. This woman killed some of my children… and your weak friend helped. You all deserve to be punished… painfully.’

  Ellen shifted her weight beside the Master and seemed to be looking at them now. Brewer hadn’t really expected the Master to respond any differently, his plan was their only way out of here.

  ‘So what are you waiting for?’ Brewer challenged him.

  He heard Mitch gasp beside him but didn’t look over. He knew the kid was seriously concerned about the whole situation and so far it appeared that he was making things worse for them, not better. Brewer knew what he was doing though.

  He wanted to test the Master’s anger levels. He’d only been inside Brewer’s head briefly to check he wasn’t lying about the weapons, but he hadn’t seemed as strong as the Grand had been. The Grand had been able to control both himself and Georgie easily, however Brewer doubted the Master had the same capability. He hadn’t fully released his grip on Ellen yet but she could now move a little, and he hadn’t tried to control Mitch or himself while he still had hold of her.

  Brewer hoped his suspicions were right. It would make the rest of this a hell of a lot easier. He watched Ellen’s face for signs that she had been listening to all of this. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was biting her lip.

  The Master thumped his walking stick down hard on the ground and the bang echoed around the room like a gunshot.

  ‘Enough of your insolence!’ It was the angriest he had sounded so far. ‘You are going to die… Scott Brewer… but I will determine precisely when… and how long it takes.’ The Master took a ragged breath that seemed to calm him down. ‘I think perhaps you should see… the weak one die first, as a lesson… before the woman here ends your… miserable life.’

  Brewer felt the fear tighten around his heart. So that was why the Master had kept Ellen alive. He wanted to use her as a vessel for murder. He saw it as the ultimate torture for Brewer, and it was. Being killed slowly by the woman he had fallen in love with, and couldn’t save. It would shatter her completely and she would beg for the mercy of death. No doubt the Master would love feeding off the heightened emotions radiating from all of them. The only way to stop it was to do what he came here for.

  ‘Wouldn’t you like to know how your brother died first?’ Brewer asked.

  ‘I know that little… whore killed him.’ The Master’s face was red with fury and every word seethed through his taut lips.

  ‘She did,’ Brewer nodded. ‘Georgie was strong enough to trap him in her mind while she jumped to her death from that window.’

  He saw the Master’s face twitch as he spoke. He would have learnt all this second-hand from Ellen, but not from Brewer himself. Hearing it from someone who had witnessed it all was different; he would be dying to see it first-hand too. It would be the perfect memory to draw him fully inside to execute the plan.

  ‘I can show you what happened,’ Brewer offered. ‘Show you exactly how your brother and all of his children died.’

  The Master glared at him through his narrow eyes. ‘I could just... take what I want anyway.’

  ‘And I would fight you every step of the way. I could try and conceal important moments from you, and possibly succeed,’ Brewer said. ‘If you release Ellen’s mind, I will let you inside and not try to stop you.’

  The Master appeared to weigh up his options for a moment then gave a small smirk. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘If you stand aside in your mind… I will let your woman go… for now. It’s only polite… after all.’

  Nothing changed in his expression but Ellen’s body suddenly went slack. She took a loud, gasping breath and blinked at them, as though she’d just awoken from a nightmare. Her eyes were filled with fear and sorrow, and her body began to tremble. Brewer felt an instant relief that she was temporarily safe. He tried to convey what he hoped was reassurance as their eyes met briefly. She would need to stay strong for a little while longer, and Mitch too.

  ‘There you go.’ The Master spread his palms eagerly. ‘Now for your… end of the bargain.’

  ‘Ok.’ Brewer gave a curt nod.

  His mouth was bone dry and he was aware of the blood rushing in his ears. He drank in one last look at Ellen, just in case this went horribly wrong. He prayed that Mitch would be true to his word and follow the instructions, no matter what.

  Brewer took a deep lungful of air and braced himself for the events ahead. He pushed the long sleeves of his jumper up over his elbows. This was it. He met the Master’s gaze with grim determination.

  ‘Come inside then.’

  Chapter 35

  The Master was over-eager and rushed forward into Brewer’s mind. His presence sent a chill through Brewer’s entire body but he fought the urge to try and block him out. He needed the Master fully immersed.

  They met in the main corridor of his mind, the Master having immediately bypassed the reception area. They stood facing each other in the long, grey passage. It was the one that led to the deepest part of his memories.

  Brewer intended to stay with him every step of the way so he couldn’t venture anywhere he wasn’t welcome. There were things in Brewer’s mind that it was imperative he didn’t see. The plan was heavily locked at the furthest end of the passage and he would not be getting that far.

  ‘Shall we?’ Brewer asked.

  He led the Master along the corridor to a secure door about three quarters of the way down. There was no trace of the Master’s frailty in here. He looked about fifty years younger and walked in purposeful strides. His mind was clearly not as diminished as his physical body implied.

  In here, he was reflected as the younger man he had once been. He had a full head of dark hair, albeit with some grey peppering the sides. The wrinkles on his face had receded to hardly anything, and his body was upright. He was almost as tall as Brewer and looked much stronger.

  As far as Brewer could tell, he himself was the same. One glance down told him that he was wearing the same clothes, and he didn’t feel much different. The only thing was that the pain from the bruising on his face had gone and his body no longer ached. He reached up to his cheek and felt that the raised scratch from the branch had disappeared. Not only that, his stubble had gone too. If he were going to die in here, at least he would go clean-shaven and more presentable.

  Brewer stopped in front of the sealed door. It was made of dark coloured oak and had a black doorknob. There were no markings on the door but he knew instinctively that this was the memory he needed. It was, after all, an exact replica of the door in the Grand’s house.

  He reached out for the doorknob, feeling suddenly terrified of reliving this memory. He knew the inevitable outcome: Georgie was going to die and he couldn’t do anything to save her.

  ‘Show me,’ the Master hissed insistently from behind him.

  Brewer had no choice but to go in. He opened the door to the Grand’s bedroom. He could see the back of himself and Georgie standing in the middle of the room. Georgie’s red hair hung loose on her shoulders, and her dark coat and jeans were dirty with mud from the crawl across the garden. Everything was exactly the same – the carpet, the wallpaper, the heavy furniture. It even smelt the same: musty and old. The memory must have retained the scent.

  Brewer led the Master into the room of his nightmares. They stood to the left so they had a view of the whole
room. The scene began to play in front of their eyes, as if someone had shouted ‘action’.

  The Grand was pacing around, with Vision Brewer and Georgie under his power. It felt strange watching from this viewpoint, and Brewer concluded that it must be the Master’s influence. He usually saw this in the first person in his head.

  Brewer glanced to his right and saw that the Master was staring intently at his brother. Brewer was the only one who had actually seen the Grand so this would be the first time the Master had laid eyes on him as an adult.

  ‘So powerful,’ the Master muttered to himself.

  The sight of the Grand filled Brewer with an intense rage and all the emotions of that night threatened to come spilling out. He had to keep his cool if this was going to work. He focussed on the side of Vision Brewer’s face. He would want them to succeed, for Georgie.

  If Brewer concentrated, he could make the walls of his mind waver, so they were just opaque enough to see what was going on out there, in the real world. There was some sort of stand off taking place. The Master’s physical body was standing opposite him, rooted to the spot. Ellen had edged a few steps away from him and was staring at Brewer with concern. He was aware of Mitch to his right, and to his credit, he was still maintaining his position. One of the male hikers had inched just into view on his left but the other two were still out of sight, behind him.

  As a test, Brewer twitched his fingers and shifted his weight a little. He could still move his body with the Master inside his mind. The Master seemed to sense that something was changing and turned his head towards Brewer, who quickly gave his full attention back to the room.

  The Grand was taunting Georgie with her flick knife and he put all of his energy into watching that. He couldn’t let on to the Master that anything untoward was going on. The Master seemed satisfied that Brewer was paying attention and flipped his eyes back to his brother to watch the drama unfold. Brewer would have to do this so carefully. It all had to happen at a precise moment.

  Vision Brewer had yelled for the Grand to leave Georgie alone and was now on the receiving end of his full wrath. Brewer knew he didn’t have much time left. He inched his fingertips under the hem of his jumper and they closed around the syringe that was tucked carefully into his belt. He knew the hikers out there wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing from their positions, but Ellen and Mitch could, and he hoped they wouldn’t give him away. They mustn’t draw any attention to his movements.

  Brewer’s right hand gripped the syringe and he manoeuvred it into the correct angle under the cover of his baggy jumper. He’d already rolled his sleeves up in preparation for the next step.

  The Master was still riveted by the events unfolding in his mind. Any moment now, Georgie was going to break for the window and that’s when he would make his move. He inched his arm across his body, still concealed by his jumper, and tensed his left arm.

  Time seemed to slow down. Brewer saw Georgie twitch her arms then moments later she was sprinting for the window. It was now or never.

  On the outside, Brewer freed his right arm and carefully moved the tip of the syringe to the crock of his left elbow. In his mind, the Master leaned forward in anticipation of Georgie hitting the window. Brewer pushed the needlepoint against the soft skin of his arm and risked a swift glance down while the Master was engrossed in Georgie’s fatal dash. His aim was perfect and the needle had found the large, bluish vein that pulsed near the surface.

  He penetrated his vein with the needle at the exact moment Georgie crashed through the glass window. The Master was fully enraptured by the spectacle and Brewer quickly injected the contents of the syringe, using the pain of the memory to mask the stinging in his arm. He tucked the empty syringe back into his belt and hoped that Ellen and Mitch hadn’t alerted the hikers to what he’d just done. He couldn’t risk another look outside yet in case the Master detected the change, he needed to stay put and wait – the hardest bit of all.

  Brewer had injected himself with the potassium chloride from the hospital – a large enough dose to cause a cardiac arrhythmia and kill him within minutes. He could feel the effects instantly but he had to disguise them for a little while longer. He felt hot and clammy, and tried to channel that into the memory.

  Georgie was gone and Vision Brewer was yelling by the window. The Grand collapsed on the floor then the high-pitched buzz began to emit from his body. The memory had trapped the sound and it was as excruciating as it had been at the time. The Master’s eyes were wide with surprise. He hadn’t expected to see this as the cause of the hikers’ deaths. That the strong connection to their father was what had killed them.

  There was a fire of pain spreading through Brewer’s chest and he was having heart palpitations. This was it. The Master was fully inside and he didn’t have long left. He knew from the research at the motel that any second now he was going to pass out as his heart gave out. Hyperkalemia, Mitch had told him, his body’s levels of potassium were too high.

  Brewer took an agonising breath and shouted as loud as he could over the deafening internal buzz.

  ‘Mitch! Check your left hoodie pocket,’ he yelled. ‘I’ve told you what to do!’

  The Master’s head snapped towards him the second he opened his mouth. His face contorted with rage as it dawned on him that Brewer had tricked him inside. He shoved Brewer aside with a snarl of fury and tried to run for the door out of the memory.

  Brewer lunged at him and grabbed his shoulder, hauling him backwards as hard as he could. He slammed the door tightly and envisioned a heavy-duty padlock on the other side, trapping them both in there.

  The Master struggled to his feet and attacked Brewer again, only he was ready. The Master was strong but Brewer had all of his pent up emotions on his side. He could feel his legs giving way on the outside and through the wavering walls he saw the ground coming up fast to greet him.

  He gritted his teeth and held onto the Master’s bucking body. He would not be leaving his mind, he would make sure of that. Even if it killed him.

  Chapter 36

  Mitch watched the scene unfold in front of him with mounting horror. Scott had bravely let the Master into his mind in order to release Mrs Mac. It felt like the two of them had been frozen in time for an eternity. They were standing opposite each other, eyes locked, and neither of them was moving.

  The hikers were waiting patiently behind him, but Mitch was getting restless. He kept shooting nervous little glances at Ellen. Should they try and make a break for it? Was this Scott’s plan – distract the Master so they could escape?

  Ellen was staring wide-eyed at Scott but she made no attempt to move. Mitch doubted they would get very far with three hikers to contend with anyway. If they tried to escape, their punishment from the Master would be even more severe.

  Out of the corner of Mitch’s eye he noticed Scott’s right hand creeping up to the bottom of his jumper. Mitch almost asked out loud what he was doing, but a primal instinct told him not to. The hikers couldn’t see Scott’s arm from their angle. The one that was furthest forward was staring at the Master. He waited with his breath held. Scott was fumbling with something under his jumper and he wondered if he’d somehow managed to sneak a gun in. Was he strong enough to have hidden that fact from the Master when he’d checked their minds?

  Mitch was amazed that Scott could move while the Master was in his mind, Ellen hadn’t seemed able to. He glanced up at her to see if she’d noticed what Scott was doing. Her eyes were even wider now, like saucers, and she was doing her best to keep composed. She dragged her eyes back to Scott’s face so the hikers wouldn’t suspect anything.

  Scott’s arm continued to inch around to his left side, concealed by the heavy material, and out of Mitch’s viewpoint. He wanted to change position so he could see clearly but he didn’t dare. Scott’s arm came out from under the jumper only Mitch couldn’t see what was in his hand.

  He looked at Ellen and saw her face drain of colour. She let out a small squeak
that she covered by clearing her throat. Mitch shifted his feet and craned his neck, as if he was trying to look at Scott’s face, instead of south of there. He caught a glimpse of a syringe clenched in Scott’s hand and his heart gave a stunned jolt.

  For one hopeful moment, he thought that Scott had smuggled in one of the syringes of insulin to kill the Master with, but then his mind processed what he had fleetingly witnessed. Scott had the needle poised above his own, exposed arm. He was going to inject himself with something.

  Mitch wanted to shout at him to stop, to rush over and snatch the needle away, but he couldn’t seem to act. He was glued uselessly to the spot. Scott had told him his plan was crazy, had he just not wanted to admit that he was intending to try and kill himself? What the hell was in that syringe?

  Scott’s head flicked down briefly. It was so fast that Mitch wasn’t entirely sure it had happened, it was more of a twitch really. He gazed helplessly across to Ellen. What were they supposed to do?

  Ellen had tears shining in her eyes and as she blinked, they began to roll slowly down her cheeks. Mitch knew instantly that Scott had injected whatever was in the syringe. He felt a lump form in his throat. No. It couldn’t be. He refused to accept that Scott would commit suicide. The evidence was undeniable though, he had the Master fully inside his mind and he hadn’t given Mitch any instructions like he’d promised.

  You selfish bastard, Mitch thought. The lump in his throat was starting to choke him. It was up to him to get Ellen out of there now. Was there a way for them to escape safely?

  Suddenly Scott took a deep breath beside him and began to yell.

  ‘Mitch! Check your left hoodie pocket.’

  Mitch froze at the words. What the hell was going on?

  ‘I’ve told you what to do!’

  Confused, Mitch fumbled his hand inside his left pocket. His trembling fingers closed around a square of folded paper. He yanked it out of his pocket to find out what it was but before he could look, everything descended into chaos.