She let out a deep breath, and when she spoke her voice was firm. “Jason, you’re my friend. Do you really think I wouldn’t do the same for you that I would do for any of my other friends? If any of them were in trouble I would drop everything to do whatever I can to help. Don’t worry about me; just tell me where you are. You need someone, or you wouldn’t have called.”
Rubbing my hands over my face in a characteristic show of weariness, I gave in. “I’m in Necedah.” It was a small city about two hours away from Crandal.
She paused, but didn’t comment on how close we stayed. “Okay. I should be able to get there sometime tomorrow. Sorry I woke you, I was going to leave a message.” Checking a clock, I realized it was almost midnight. “Alice and I just got done talking things over… anyway, get to sleep, and in the morning go to the police. Tell them what happened and use the resources they have available to you.”
“I will. And Hannah?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.” We ended the call, and I decided to go up to my bed for a couple hours of sleep before heading to the precinct to talk to Detective Nickels.
TWENTY-SIX
Sam
He’s finally sleeping. This case, coming directly on the heels of one that ripped open some wounds, wore him down physically and emotionally. Now Jason was unable to ignore his body’s demand for sleep. Before he succumbed, something gave him a sense of relief. Not much, but enough that it was noticeable over his fear and worry.
It wasn’t a clue to where I was, or he would have never gone to sleep, so I had to guess he was finally getting reinforcements. Maybe he decided to go to the police for help, something I knew he hadn’t done yet. Honestly, I should be sleeping too. But with nothing to do but sleep, and with the anxiety caused by unintentionally giving Hunter information he could use against my brother, I found my sleeping habits changing. My only distraction from the monotony of the day was to monitor Jason’s progress, and I knew my initial guess was correct. He was looking in the wrong place. There was a moment when a flare of success gave both of us confidence, but it was short-lived. The preceding emotional pain and fear crept back in as whatever he found turned into a dead-end.
I also became familiar with my prison. The old twin bed with its musty blankets still managed to be comfortable. The floor was hardwood, with a red rug under the bed extending almost to the door. There was the lamp under the window in the far corner of the room. The window and the door were out of reach. The only things on the walls were smudge marks, possibly where someone hung posters, and a few small nails. It was those nails that held my attention. I moved silently, getting to my knees at the head of the bed, and reached up to the right side. One nail, barely out of reach. I groaned a little at the pain in my chained wrist when the restraint dug into already bruised flesh.
The nail was pretty tight in the wall, but I pushed at it, maneuvering it in as many directions as I could to loosen it. The stairs creaked, and I froze for a moment before slowly settling down to a more natural position on the bed. Only a small squeak from the old mattress indicated movement, but that could be attributed to my normal motions.
Since our conversation that morning, Hunter had left me alone. I hoped that would continue, except the rumbling in my stomach reminded me that without him, I would starve. So when he made his way into my room, carrying a paper plate with a sandwich, some chips, and a couple bottles of water, I was thankful he wasn’t going to make me go hungry. “I almost forgot your meal, kid. You should make more noise.”
“Right,” I said sarcastically, “Because you forgot you were holding a prisoner in the upstairs bedroom?”
He shrugged almost sheepishly, and my eyes widened when I realized he had. “I was distracted, and out of the house for most of the day.” His voice was almost apologetic as he set the food at the foot of the bed before going back to lean on the doorframe.
“You see, I went to the police station to watch for Jason, and lost track of time. He never showed up, by the way.”
My mouth quirked wryly at his confusion. “You really don’t know anything about my brother, Hunter.” I could have said more, but didn’t want to give away anything else he could use against Jason.
He watched me carefully, our eyes locked in a small battle of wills, and he smiled. “He thinks he’ll find me on his own, doesn’t he? If he’s out searching where I left the last one… I might be able to find him first.” He frowned slightly before muttering, “Should have done that right away.”
“Done what?” I asked the question without thinking, not really wanting to talk to the man, but needing to figure him out. From the look of surprise he shot my way, he hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud.
He glared, his anger flaring for a moment before settling back down to a wary excitement. “Why do you want my brother, Hunter? He doesn’t know you, and you don’t know him. So why are you so interested in him?”
My concentration was so intense that I almost didn’t realize that some of the confusion I was feeling wasn’t coming from me. “You don’t know, do you?” I said with a sudden flash of insight. The confusion was Hunter’s, and now it was fading to annoyance. To cover my discomfort at knowing his emotions I kept talking, trying to learn as much as I could on the off chance I’d be able to get free. “Come on. I’m your prisoner. What harm could it do to tell me what it is that’s making you go after him?”
He didn’t want to answer, but I wanted… no needed to know why Jason was again the target of a dangerous mad man. When he finally spoke, I think it surprised both of us. “I don’t know what it is,” he said through clenched teeth. “He was near me when I was hunting my last prey, and something about what he was doing drew my attention.”
“How did you know he was near you?” If Jason had been near this man during one of his ‘hunts’ he never would have allowed the hunt to continue. Hunter fought against answering. I felt the emotions connecting us, and somehow pushed my will against his until he finally answered.
“I could feel his movements through the ground, it’s how I hunt. My prey can’t escape once I know their movements.”
My shock broke our connection and he looked at me in confusion, apparently unaware of our conversation. “Why do you think I’ll tell you anything? You’re my prisoner, and soon your brother will be too. The reasons aren’t important.” Hunter stomped away and went down the stairs, leaving me alone to ponder what just happened, and what I learned. Both about his motives, and about my power.
Somehow sensing Jason in the woods caused this man to become obsessed, wanting to know why he felt such a connection to my brother. And I wondered at the fact that it had happened before. Trevor Mason was nearly untouchable by the law until his desire to get at Jason made him reckless. If he hadn’t been killed, he would have been arrested for kidnapping and torturing Jason, along with the murder of our friend Erin and attempting to murder me.
Then Kindred, the other victim of Mason’s who hadn’t been lucky enough to get away, also became obsessed with Jason. Kindred’s abilities made him impossible to find, and nearly impossible to kill, yet he was killed because of his obsession with saving Jason. Of course, that was after threatening him and taking over his mind and body several times. The fact remained; something about Jason drew people to him. Most often leading to more physical or emotional damage.
So when Hunter admitted to being drawn to him without knowing why, I got a chill. And when he told me how he noticed Jason to begin with, that chill became terror.
He shares the same abilities as Jason. And Jason has no idea.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Hunter
The kid had a lot of nerve. I can respect that. In a situation where older and physically stronger men fell apart, this boy tried to interrogate me. I snorted, thinking back on our conversation, but my disbelief at his questioning turned into confusion when I realized my memory of our talk was blurred. I remembered him asking questions, and I remembered my last response, but I
was in the room longer than necessary if that’s all that happened.
My eyes narrowed, and I glanced up the stairs toward the kid’s room. No. I hadn’t told him anything. Like I said, why would I share anything about myself with him? It was late, but my stakeout by the police department hadn’t been physically taxing. I decided to go out to the creek where I first saw the kid, and try to follow Jason’s tracks to find out where he lived.
I took my car, since the patch of woods with the creek was on the other side of town, and about fifteen minutes later I was parked near the trail entrances. A glance at my watch informed me that it was after midnight, and most likely Jason would be out of the woods for the night. I kept going anyway. The woods were cool and dark. The only noises I heard were the occasional rustlings of little animals and the hoot of an owl. No people were out at this time of night, and I relished the freedom of movement I was given.
A night hunt! That’s what I’d do next. Either Jason or the little brother would be my prey. I wouldn’t be able to use the ‘normal’ five senses, so it would be more of a test of the abnormal ones. Fewer people meant less risk of being caught, and, with four hunts in this area already, I may be pushing my luck. Necedah isn’t a large city, so eventually my movements would be noticed.
I reached the creek and opened my senses to find the familiar tracks belonging to Jason. There were recent echoes, indicating his presence in the woods only hours ago. Following the tracks, I frowned at the odd vibrations in between his footsteps that extended deep into the woods. Strange. They were completely unfamiliar echoes, but were not what I was there for right then. My priority was to find out where my captive’s brother lived.
Jason’s most recent trail led out of the woods, only a mile or so from where I parked my car, and to a small two-story house. The lawn was well-kept but had nothing to personalize it. There was a light on in the upstairs window, and I crouched at the edge of the yard peering up until I saw a tall dark-haired man go past in the light of the window. He paused, glancing out the window, and I was surprised when he seemed to look right at me.
Even from this distance I could see the exhaustion on his features, and I knew this was Jason. He obviously wasn’t getting much sleep, and I was the cause. The desire to take him right away warred with the need to know more about him. I already jumped the gun on my plans for the little brother; I wouldn’t take Jason until I was fully prepared to handle him. Because, despite his exhaustion, he was a strong young man, and his eyes held a wariness that made me suspect he would be harder to sneak up on than his brother.
I watched until he turned away from the window and turned off the light. No further movement came from the house, so most likely he finally went to sleep. I found him! Now it was time to figure out what was so important about him.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Jason
Someone had been outside my house. Despite my extra senses being dulled because of being on the second floor, I could tell someone was there. The back of my neck was tingling, a warning that someone was watching. No one approached and, with as tired as I was, it wouldn’t be a good time to get into an altercation. Instead, I turned off my light and crept slowly to the ground floor, straining every sense to tell if someone was still there.
It took almost half an hour before I felt motion near the edge of the woods behind the house. Peering cautiously out the kitchen window I saw a shadow—lit by the bright, almost-full moon—breaking away from the normal shadows cast by the trees. I knelt, closed my eyes, and sent energy toward the border of the woods to feel the man’s distinctive tread pattern. My eyes came open in shock when I recognized the pattern as the man who followed Sam. What was he doing here?
Exhaustion forgotten I crept out of the house to follow him. If there was any chance of finding Sam, the danger of following his kidnapper would be worth it. Once outside, it was easy to follow him. I attempted to direct the ground in front of the man to slow him down and allow myself to catch up to him. Unfortunately, everything I did he was somehow able to avoid, and he kept getting further away.
Then his tracks stopped. Frowning, I rushed to where the last vibrations were. Then crouched to touch the ground and confirm what I already knew. The man was gone. There were fresh echoes nearby so I left the newest trail, back-tracking to where he came from.
The ground around me rumbled slightly, and I looked around in confusion. I didn’t do that, did I? Maybe I did. I was exhausted and emotionally on edge. It was very possible my control slipped a little.
The trail led out of the woods to a car, and I frowned in confusion. If he was using these woods, why did he have to drive here from somewhere else? He should have been wherever he had Sam. I wished wholeheartedly that I could differentiate between vehicle movements so I could follow the trail back to where he had my brother.
Frowning again, I realized he should have beaten me back to the vehicle. So where was he? I faded back into the woods, hiding in the shadows of the trees and crouching in an attempt to locate the killer. I was caught completely off guard when he suddenly appeared in front of me! He dropped from a tree above me and I was too startled to defend myself properly. “You’re special.” His voice was deep, but the way he spoke made me believe it wasn’t how he normally sounded. Like he was trying to intimidate me.
“Nice to be appreciated.” I backed slightly away from the man, not wanting him close if he tried to attack. “Where’s Sam?” I asked when he didn’t speak again.
He cocked his head to the side, visible only in a silhouette, and replied, “Little brother is alive and well, waiting for his protector to rescue him.”
I glared, knowing he couldn’t see my expression in the dark. Then I began gathering my power with the intent to force him to tell me where he was holding Sam. “Where is he?” My voice now a low, warning growl.
“Temper, temper, Jason. Is that any way to talk to the person who decides if your brother lives or dies? A choice that could be influenced by your response tonight, by the way.” He dropped the false voice and spoke calmly; like he was used to the threat of violence and it no longer worried him.
“Last chance. Where is he?”
The ground around us rumbled and began to rise, but I couldn’t make it approach him. “Having problems? You can’t do that with me, Jason. I’m going to walk out of these woods, go back to your brother, and do whatever I want to him, and you can’t stop me. How does that feel?”
When he turned toward his car I rushed forward and, for the first time I could remember, tripped over an unnoticed bump in the ground and fell. My hands grasped the cool dirt and broken branches trying to get up quickly, but he already started the car and was driving away. And I still hadn’t seen him. Pounding my hand into the ground I let my frustrations out in a small earthquake as I yelled in anger. How could he stop me from using my abilities? In the past, the only thing capable of stopping them was an electrical shock.
I threw all my anger and fear into the attack, and nothing went near him. It made no sense. I thought I would be able to follow him. That I could catch him using my powers. I thought wrong. I had nothing to show for my efforts tonight except some scrapes on my palms from the hard landing.
There wasn’t even a license plate number, because the car didn’t have one. Something I assumed would change once he got back to his hiding place. He couldn’t just drive around without plates and not get caught. Not for long, anyway.
Lingering in the woods was accomplishing nothing, so I slowly made my way back to my house, feeling defeated. And confused. He had my brother. Why would he approach and taunt me about it? From the statements in the other files we attributed to this guy, he never made contact with the victims’ families. He took their loved ones and held them for a while before killing them.
But with Sam, he came to my house. He talked to me and swatted down my efforts to stop him like I was no more bothersome than a fly. Then he simply walked away. Why? What possible motive could he have? I thought back on our confr
ontation. “You’re special,” he’d said. My breath caught in my throat for a moment, and I stopped almost where he’d been sitting and watching my house. He knew. Somehow he figured out what I could do before I showed him. And somehow he could counter it.
My greatest asset in getting Sam back was my ability to track the killer and use my more dangerous ‘Earthshaking’—as named by Trevor Mason—ability to force him to talk. If he could hide from my tracking and swat down my earthshaking… what was left?
TWENTY-NINE
Sam
While working through what happened with Hunter, I fell asleep. My ability to sense emotion had always been limited to Jason, but there was never any indication it was possible to affect emotion. Although, it was not something I previously thought of trying. My need to know what Hunter was doing, and why he was trying to go after my brother, apparently gave me some kind of boost.
Because now I could feel him: his emotional high when he confronted my brother; the slight fear when Jason’s power almost overwhelmed him in the woods; the triumph when he prevailed and was able to walk away without trouble.
Hunter had the same powers as Jason, but was older and presumably had more practice using them. Most likely, it wouldn’t take him long to realize that, while he had more time with his abilities, Jason had more motivation to learn everything about them. My brother uses his abilities to help those who need it, and to defend himself from highly dangerous people. Hunter had no qualms about using his abilities to hurt people, but it seemed likely he never needed to use them for true self-defense. He may not know as much about all the aspects of his powers. Jason was more hesitant to use his destructive powers, but when he needed to, he used them to kill.
The fact that I was in danger now was definitely motivation for Jason to unleash his abilities, and hurt or kill Hunter before he had a chance to hurt me. But I could feel his confusion after he met Hunter, and it seemed he still wasn’t sure how the man got away. He couldn’t tell just how close he came to breaking through Hunter’s defenses and simply crushing the guy into the ground. All he saw was his best effort failing and the person who stopped him walking away.
Hunter Page 10