Leaving my former place of employment, we drove back to the precinct in silence. Mark and I went over some of the information as Nickels drove. Some of the people I thought were extremely unlikely; most notably, the families with small children. I highly doubted that the family weekend activity was hunting down innocent people. So I focused more on the properties owned by single men or married ones who—according to Joe’s notes anyway—never brought their wives with them to the woods. Putting checkmarks next to those most worth a closer look, I finished my initial run through only a minute before we parked.
As we walked toward the building, I paused, noting some very familiar and welcome footsteps approaching the building from the visitors’ parking lot. Despite the gravity of the situation, I felt a smile crossing my face. “Jason?” Nickels looked confused when he paused to look back to where I stopped.
Ignoring him, I rushed forward, easily catching my quarry before she entered the building. Hannah spun around, surprise on her face as I grabbed her in a big hug. “Hello,” I said softly, releasing her.
“Hi.” Her face was slightly flushed, and her answering smile was tainted by the sadness in her eyes. “Any news?” She knew the answer before I said anything, the drop of my mouth telling her everything. Hannah put her hand up, touching the side of my face gently. I relished the contact, and missed the warmth of her hand when she dropped it back down to her side. “Alice is coming, but she couldn’t get off to come right away.”
She left unsaid the fact that she obviously dropped everything to come here once she knew where I was. “Thank you.” I would have continued speaking, but Mark and Nickels caught up.
“Hello, Agent Jones. It’s nice to see you again,” Hannah said, the ghost of a smile on her face. From what I could tell, she liked Mark, but still seemed wary—perhaps because he liked her sister; or maybe because he was most often around during dangerous cases.
Nickels took a step closer, and I spoke again, “Hannah, this is Detective Scott Nickels. He’s the lead on the case.”
They shook hands and exchanged greetings as we continued into the building. My hand stayed entwined with Hannah’s as we entered, and I started to think leaving her had been a huge mistake. Seeing her now grounded me in a way I hadn’t felt in years.
“Unfortunately I don’t think you’ll be able to help officially Miss Farrow,” Nickels said. “But you can stick around and share your thoughts as you hear the facts.”
She waved away the concern. “I’m not here to work the case, detective. Jason is a friend, and I came for him.” She met my eyes, warmth clearly showing as she spoke. She tightened her grip on my hand, and I realized she was holding me as much as I was holding her.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, breaking eye contact, and squeezing her hand slightly. “I…” She stopped me with a quick kiss to the cheek.
“We’ll talk later. After we’ve found Sam, okay?”
At some point I would have to talk to Hannah and Mark without Nickels. They had to know what we were up against. Nickels—Scott—was becoming someone I could consider trusting. My slip earlier showed that at least a part of me knew it. I’d been keeping him at arm’s length to avoid another person knowing my secrets, but if this case went how I thought it would…
I was going to have to tell him.
THIRTY-FIVE
Sam
The lack of activity was driving me insane. My wrist was killing me, and I was bored of the situation. Hunter, if that was his actual name, was less exciting than advertised. Not that I wanted to have him try to kill me or anything, but when I was kidnapped before, I didn’t remember it being so dull. Of course last time we lost a good friend and my mind was racing, trying to figure out how I could get out of the situation without ending up like her. Even in the interim, when Mason was not around, there were people talking and making plans. It was how we managed to find and rescue Jason.
My head throbbed painfully, partly from inactivity and partly from slight dehydration. He was giving me water, but not as much as I would normally be drinking. I was beginning to feel the effects. Similarly, my stomach clenched with hunger pains because he left only small amounts of food at a time. Enough to survive. With my history as a street kid, it was something I had been through before. Jason had always done his best to find food for all of us without having to turn to criminal activities. The fact remained, there wasn’t always enough, and sometimes Jason got desperate.
It was that sense of desperation I tried to send across from my mind to his. I’d tried earlier with no success. His emotions drifted on in the background of my mind, ranging from security earlier, to sharp fear about forty minutes later. Then he drifted a little, focused on what he was doing so the emotional response didn’t come through very strongly, until he had a surprising flash of joy. The happiness didn’t last long. As per usual with my brother. Although some small shard of it remained, even with the worry and fear that came to the forefront again.
After what he found out about Hunter being able to block his abilities, I didn’t think it would be too hard to shift the emotions to a slight desperation. Even with the distance between us he was easy to read. Normally, my inclination would be to help him feel more calm and confident. Unfortunately, neither of those emotions were present today. And, as this was only my second attempt to adjust his emotional state, it would probably be easier to work with the desperation already present. Hopefully, with some practice at emotional manipulation, I would be able to give him more confidence when he faced Hunter again. That way he wouldn’t lose his nerve in the middle of the battle.
My headache spiked when I pushed into my brother’s mind, but I was rewarded when the hint of desperation at the back of his mind began to grow. “It’s working,” I muttered to myself, my soft voice loud in the silent room. It was time to stop pushing, and the headache abated slightly when I stopped the mental exercise. Jason’s emotions were still present, and it was hard not to feel guilty about manipulating him. It was a necessary evil… or could be, anyway.
I settled back onto the flat pillow, using my free hand to fluff it up as much as possible to cushion my pounding head. There was only a small amount of water left in the jug, and, after taking a couple swallows, I rested the cool plastic against my temple to alleviate the ache. It might be worthwhile to ask Hunter for some pain pills when he showed up again. Most likely, he wouldn’t give them to me, but it couldn’t hurt to ask. The headache wasn’t helping my concentration. I needed to be able to focus, so I could keep Hunter afraid and try to get Jason confident and strong.
My guilt warred with the knowledge that what I was doing was necessary. I made a promise to myself to tell Jason about my abilities after being rescued. In the meantime, both of us were at risk and I had the ability to help. Even if my assistance was simply a nudge of insecurity in our pursuer's mind. Instead of the confidence and strength he normally felt, he would think; maybe I should reconsider. Do I really want to use this power right now? He can counter everything I do. It was what I imagined Jason thought during their first encounter, and I longed to make Hunter feel similar uncertainty.
Something that gave me a moment’s pause was that Jason would most likely end up having to kill Hunter in order to stop him. It would be nearly impossible to keep the man in a prison, even if the police could catch him. My brother had killed before, in self-defense, and it tore him up inside. Even now, he second-guesses his actions from that day. And it continues to make him unsure of his morality. During the Kindred fiasco, which led to us running away again, he actually felt grateful to the assassin for killing people who were a threat to him.
He tried to bury the emotions under the also-present disgust and horror, but even if he managed to fool himself, he didn’t fool me. His experience with Mason changed him. It became harder for him to find other ways to deal with dangerous criminals, and make them face justice. Killing them became the simple answer.
Hannah and Alice helped quite a bit. Neither of them sho
wed any kind of gratitude to the killer. Instead, they showed anger that he even considered the idea of killing someone to thank Jason. Eventually, Jason attempted to find Kindred’s identity, and fought to remind the previously good man of who he was before Mason screwed him up. Mason came too close to succeeding in his goals with my brother. It wouldn’t have taken much longer for the pain and fear to overload him to the point where Jason would have been someone completely different. Mason used pain and fear to manipulate those he wanted to control.
I used whatever emotions were most handy and, despite the lingering sense of guilt, I still felt the thrill of success when Jason became more and more desperate. The emotion I tweaked kept growing. It wasn’t what I expected, either from him or from me, but I had to admit…
It was kind of fun.
THIRTY-SIX
Hunter
After watching the men and newly arrived woman enter the police department, I figured they would probably be inside long enough for me to go get some lunch. I should probably also stop by the house to check on my prisoner. Even if they were done at the precinct by the time I finished, it would be easy enough to find Jason again. It seemed unlikely they would find anything of importance this afternoon, when they’d been unsuccessful so far.
Despite my meeting with him in the woods, and the odd sense of fear at the thought of facing him again, I still had confidence they wouldn’t find me. At least not without a little guidance. Goading Jason into coming after me was my plan, not that it would be difficult while his brother was in my power. This was the first time I held someone hostage in order to gain a better hunt, and so far it was fun playing the game. Even the lack of action wasn’t boring while anticipating our next encounter.
I stopped at the grocery store—the same one where I grabbed the kid—and picked up some pre-made deli sandwiches and a small package of carrots. I couldn’t remember giving the kid any food before rushing out of the house, so one of the sandwiches was for him. It might be time to change hands on the cuffs too, so he wouldn’t end up with an infection or something that would take him out of the running for a satisfying hunt. He already hardly moved the chained arm, so it was definitely painful for him. Maybe some padding could be put in so it wouldn’t hurt so much. There were some mattress pads I could use to place between the skin and the metal. Keeping him healthy and uninjured was important for the hunt.
Normally, comfort wasn’t something I worried about. However, Sam was waiting longer than most of my victims due to my game with his brother. Of all of my prey, he ran more risk of injury from being kept chained and stationary. Even young men could become weak and ill from inactivity, and it was no fun to hunt sick game. There was no sport in it.
Pulling up to the driveway, I made sure there were no unusual vehicles parked nearby, or people out who would normally be at work. Most people living near this house wouldn’t realize someone was using it, but some of them were aware that my friends left a caretaker. What they were unaware of, is that I wasn’t the one they hired. The actual caretaker became an early victim when I decided I was outstaying my welcome in my own little patch of woods. This house then became my alternate place to stay.
Now I have two playgrounds. It was nice to know that the second wasn’t on the radar, even if the cops and Jason were all over the first. Although, the only one who came close to my property was Jason, and even he didn’t make it all the way. Leaving the car on the street was risky, but I didn’t plan on staying very long. Only long enough to make the adjustments for my prisoner, feed him, and then go back to stalking my most challenging prey yet.
Before giving the boy his food, I stopped in another bedroom to prepare the padding for his wrist. As weak as he was, Sam posed no threat to me when I switched the chains. Preparing the padding was simple, and before long I entered the boy’s room.
Sam raised himself slowly as I walked in, looking like he was a little the worse for wear. He blinked slowly a couple times, taking in my presence. “Hunter.” His voice was flat and emotionless. “He hasn’t found you yet, huh?” With his free hand he reached up and scratched his head near the hairline. “Oh well. It’s only a matter of time.”
I set the sandwich on the table next to his bed, and pulled a key from my pocket. “I’m going to unlock your chain for a moment. If you fight me I will hurt you, and you will not get the padding under the chain. If you’re good, you can have the padding and some bandages for your injured wrist. Which will it be?” I asked, ignoring the mild threat issued on his brother’s behalf.
He met my eyes, challenging me for a moment before dropping them submissively. He held out his chained wrist. “I’ll be good,” he said. “Could I ask one favor though?”
Considering the request, I nodded slowly, unsure what he would want from his captor. “I have a monster headache. Do you think I could have some pain relievers?”
Pain relief was along the lines of keeping him healthy enough for a hunt, so I nodded. “Once your wrists are taken care of, I’ll bring you some Advil.”
He stayed silent for a moment, allowing me to take the chain off the obviously chafed and sore wrist. After removing the manacle, he remained seated on the bed while I wrapped the handcuff in padding. I then clasped the padded chain around his uninjured wrist. “Thank you,” he whispered, not meeting my eyes and obviously ashamed of thanking me for anything.
The padding was thick enough to prevent chafing, at least for a while. Eventually the metal edges would rub through the pad. He probably wouldn’t be around long enough for that. “Give me your hand,” I demanded, holding some gauze and tape. The gauze was already covered with wound cream, so all I had to do was wrap it around his wrist and tape it so it would stay in place.
“Eat,” I said briskly, pointing to the sandwich and grabbing the empty bottle of water. “I’ll be back with your Advil.”
If Sam was confused by my sudden concern for his wellbeing, he chose not to comment. To be honest, I wasn’t completely certain why his welfare mattered, but for some reason it did. My phone beeped from the table near the door. Apparently, there were several missed calls from my wife. The idea of talking to her was in no way stimulating. Several days had passed already, so she probably thought it was time to reconcile.
Personally, I thought it was time to move on. But I wanted some kind of satisfaction from her before cutting ties completely. I already quit my job—although she may not be aware of it—so perhaps it was time to sever our relationship as well. Once my game with the other Hunter was complete, I could go anywhere. With no ties to anyone, I could hunt without a pattern for the authorities to discover.
It would be impossible to stop me.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Jason
He’d been outside the police station. It wasn’t until we wrapped up our file search that I discovered the echoes. Based on how degraded the footsteps were, the killer had been right across the street when we got to the station. Hannah’s arrival distracted me enough that I hadn’t noticed his presence.
Nickels needed to stay at work for now, so Mark, Hannah, and I left to get some supper to bring back. Mark was next to me as we walked out, and Hannah was behind us. She bumped into me with a startled Humph! when I stopped suddenly, feeling the vibrations I should have noticed earlier.
Mark stopped when he heard Hannah, and looked at me curiously. His head was cocked to the side, and he raised an eyebrow in a silent question. “He was here.” My voice was rough with emotion. Any possible interaction with the man could lead to my brother, and I let this chance slip through my fingers.
They didn’t question who I meant, but Mark did ask, “When?” While looking around warily, his hand hovering close to his concealed gun.
“When we got here earlier this afternoon. He must have been following us.”
“Is there a trail?” Hannah was also looking around warily, but she looked at me when she spoke.
To get a better feel, I stepped off to the side of the walkway onto the grass a
nd crouched with my hand lightly touching the ground. Closing my eyes, I sent part of my consciousness through the earth, and tried to follow the echoes. With a sigh, I gave up. “Nothing. He must have hardly stepped out of his car, but he paced by it enough to leave an imprint.”
I remained crouched for a moment; my hand now resting over my eyes as I considered what could have happened if I noticed him earlier. “We could have followed him or something.”
“Or you could have caused an earthquake, and damaged a lot of people’s property.” Until Mark spoke I didn’t realize my last thought was spoken aloud, and I winced at his assessment. It might be true, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear.
Hannah spoke up in my defense… sort of. “I don’t know, Mark. He’s been here for two years. You’d think he’d have more control of himself than to wreck things he doesn’t want destroyed.”
It was difficult to tell if she meant it as a compliment to growing control over my abilities, or to reprimand me, both for leaving and for destruction I caused in the past. Finally rising from the crouch, I spoke up again. “You’re both right. I do have more control than two years ago, but with Sam at risk, I would destroy anything if it meant getting to the person who took him.” My cold tone seemed to snap both of them out of the slightly joking tone they’d adopted, and back to the seriousness of the situation.
“I want to check out some of the cabins from the list,” I said, heading toward the car. With the two of them, I would be able to use my abilities as needed, and have an FBI agent readily available to arrest the killer if we found him.
Hannah turned toward the building and asked, “Won’t Detective Nickels wonder where we went? We said we’d be back in a little while with some food.”
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