His response was quick and merciless as he pushed the earth in front of me. The sudden motion dropped me to my hands and knees, and he raised the dirt to trap me there. Once I was stuck, and helpless, he grabbed me by the throat and squeezed. I gasped for air as he spoke. “You forget who’s in charge here, Jason. I know who you are, and I know you care for Sam and Hannah. If you want them to survive this, you will be more cooperative.” He let go, and dropped the earth bindings, allowing me to stand. I rubbed my sore throat gently, and tried to hide how much it hurt to breathe. My awkward landing jarred the bruised and cracked ribs from our earlier fight.
“This can be pleasant, at least for now. Just do what I want.” The man showed no sign of injury other than a slight stiffness, while I could hardly catch my breath without feeling sharp pain. “Now, tell me about your friends in law enforcement, before I decide to take your stubbornness out on baby brother,” he sneered.
“Fine,” I snapped breathlessly. “I worked with Alice and Mark on a case involving a man who ran a child prostitution ring, and ran all the drugs in and out of the city. They helped me when I got in too deep, and offered to help me again if I needed anything. So when you took my brother, I called them. Is that good enough for you?”
“So how does Alice fit with Hannah?” His voice was only mildly curious.
“Why do you think she does?”
“It was pretty obvious when she arrived at your home that she has a personal stake in what happened. That either makes her a relative of yours, which—from what I’ve heard—are in short supply, or a relative of Hannah’s. Since she only showed up after I took Hannah, it made me think there was a connection.”
“Fine, yes.” The admission came grudgingly. “She’s Hannah’s sister. But she’s still a cop, working to catch you.”
He shrugged indifferently. “She’s of no concern or interest to me. I simply wanted you to realize who’s in charge. You are interesting, Jason. Interesting enough that I still haven’t completely decided what to do with you. But my decision can wait until you see your brother. I did promise you, after all, didn’t I?” He was alluding to the note he used to get me to walk away from my friends without a fight.
“I know you aren’t going to just let me take you as my prisoner, so I did pick up a few things to help keep you in line. Just remember; if you fight me on any of them, your little brother will pay the price,” the killer warned.
There was the slightest hitch in his breath, and my lips curved up into a wry smile. “You’re scared of me.” It was said without a hint of aggression, but he reacted violently. This time I was able to see it coming.
He tried to hit me with a hardened spike of earth, but I smoothed it before he could touch me with it. “Like you said, I’m not just going to let you harm me or take me prisoner. Why should I pretend to be afraid of a worm like you?” I asked, tilting my head curiously.
His fear boosted my confidence, and I kept blocking his attempts to use his earth moving abilities against me. “You’re a weak little man. You prey on those you’ve kept barely alive and consider yourself a great hunter. Just take me to my brother, and let him and my friend go.”
Realizing he was getting nowhere in his effort to crush me, he drew a gun from a holster he had hidden under his jacket. At the sight of the weapon, I froze in my tracks. My earthshaking abilities were working, but my body was still hurting and I was unable to move quickly. “For that I will punish both the girl and the boy,” he growled angrily.
He gestured with the gun for me to move in front of him, letting me lead the way out of the woods to the edge of town. There was only one car parked on the quiet road, and I stopped just short of it. “I’m going to get a few things out of the car, but the gun is still on you. Don’t think I will hesitate to shoot you, even if that would deprive me of a challenging hunt.” His voice was a low growl. He was probably trying not to draw attention from the nearby houses.
Not wanting to lose my chance to get to Sam, I stood quietly, waiting for him to gather his supplies. The first thing he pulled out wasn’t surprising, but I still wasn’t pleased to see the handcuffs. He pulled my arms behind my back, binding my hands together tightly. Then he pulled a thin rope with two electrodes attached, and I froze as he began to tie it around my neck. The move nearly sent me into a panic attack.
Breathing quickly, I tried to hold myself together as I began to grasp how serious an error I made going with this psycho. The smirk in his voice was obvious when he commented, “I see you’re familiar with this little contraption.”
My throat was dry, and my voice weaker than I would have liked when I replied, “Not this, exactly, but yeah. I get the idea.”
“Good. Because you still have some punishment in store for your little trick back in the woods.” He opened the trunk, and gestured at it. “Get in and I’ll take you to Sam.”
I hesitated for a few seconds too long and found myself crashing to my knees as electricity coursed through my body, freezing my vocal cords and locking me in a strangled scream. The torture lasted several seconds, and tears of pain and frustration gathered in my eyes. It felt like hours before the shock wore off, and somehow I was in the trunk with the kidnapper standing over me. The last thing I saw before the trunk door slammed was the gleeful smile on my abductor’s face. Then I was left in darkness.
It was my worst nightmares come to life. My past torments had come around again, leaving me helpless in the hands of someone who meant me only harm. There was no way he would allow my brother or Hannah to leave. All I accomplished by going with him was to sign all of our death warrants. My body was shaking, from the electricity or fear, or possibly both. No matter what I did, my muscles wouldn’t stop trembling.
This is what he was working up to since he took Sam. What was he going to do now that he had all of us? How far behind me were Alice and Mark? Surely by now they realized something was wrong, and were following me through the woods. I hadn’t been able to check for their movements. All my senses were focused on the immediate threat of the killer. I managed to leave a trail while we were fighting, but even if they followed it, they would only be able to tell that we went to the edge of the woods.
My feeling of panic was beginning to recede, but I had no idea why. The situation hadn’t improved, but somehow my thoughts were clearer now. This guy was scared enough of me that, even with his own abilities to pit against mine, he brought a gun. That thought was enough to make me smile again. Having someone fear me was not something I was accustomed to, but it sure beat me being afraid of him.
I closed my eyes. Sam was close. I would be with my brother soon.
FIFTY
Sam
Keeping tabs on the ever-changing emotions that roiled around in my brother’s mind was difficult at the best of times, and right now was not the best of times. He was obviously in the middle of something, which was dredging up so many different feelings I almost had to give up on picking one or two to adjust. Hunter was feeling strong and triumphant, but over the last hour or so there were moments when his terror levels rose significantly. When Hunter felt most scared matched the times when Jason felt the strongest. But even at his strongest, my brother seemed resigned to feeling afraid. He also seemed regretful and angry.
Hannah shook me out of my musings. Her eyes were wide with worry. “What’s going on? You haven’t told me anything in over an hour.”
“Sorry.” Pushing Hunter and Jason’s warring emotions as far from my mind as possible, I tried to focus on my fellow prisoner.
The full impact of what I sensed finally hit me, and it became clear that some of the terror I’d attributed to Jason was my own. “Hunter has Jason.” My voice was barely a whisper, but as soon as I spoke the thought, I knew it was true.
“What? Sam, are you okay? You’re white as a ghost.”
My head was shaking in denial of what I knew was true. My meddling accomplished nothing. After everything I did to try to weaken Hunter’s focus and strengthen Jason�
��s confidence… Hunter still managed to get Jason. “Hunter has Jason.” I repeated just loudly enough for Hannah to hear me.
“How? Alice and Mark wouldn’t have let him out of their sight.” Hannah obviously didn’t want to believe it. The sharp spike of terror I felt from Jason was strong enough to make me wince, and I shook my head again.
“Sorry. My brother needs me right now. Don’t talk to me for a little while, okay?”
She wanted to ask more, but I hadn’t yet told her about my ability to influence emotions. Now wasn’t the time to explain to her that I needed to help my brother pull out of a panic attack. If he was going to help himself, or us, he needed to be able to think clearly. Pushing at his panic, I fought it with a dose of courage and determination. The strain as I fought against such a strongly ingrained sense of terror scared me. What could be happening to cause it?
My brother was damaged enough without another psycho adding to the scars and emotional turmoil. I had to pull away before the panic fully receded, but he was doing better. “I don’t know exactly what’s happening.” My admission came softly after a few moments. “But I do know that whatever it is drove Jason to a panic attack. He isn’t handling this very well.”
“So how are you helping him? Understanding and sensing his emotional state isn’t all you can do, is it?”
She already guessed as much, so nothing could be gained by hiding it. “I can adjust the levels of his emotions, at least to some extent. Just now I was able to turn down his panic, and help block it by turning up his courage and determination. But, until I know exactly what’s happening, I have no idea if what I’m doing will stick.”
“You can do the same to Hunter?”
“Yeah. I’ve tried to make him more afraid of Jason, and more hesitant to go after him. Unfortunately, it seems like my adjustment made him want to fight through the fear, and win anyway. I don’t know how to work with the limited emotions of someone who would normally be considered a sociopath. He doesn’t know true fear or compassion, because he’s never felt it before. I have no idea how to manipulate him to our advantage, especially now that he has all of us.”
Hannah seemed to hesitate a bit before asking quietly, “How exactly did you discover this ability? And when? You said Jason doesn’t even know, and I can’t imagine you would be able to keep a secret like this from him for long…”
Snorting in disbelief I rolled my eyes at her. “Look, my brother does care about me, but he is definitely too distracted by his own stuff to notice everything I do. You know him well enough to know that.”
She cringed, and nodded once. “Yeah, you’re right. Even this long after everything that has happened, he’s still letting it control him, isn’t he? Or he would have realized asking for help, or accepting it from people who care about him, doesn’t make him weak. Or unworthy of the accomplishment. All it means is he has someone behind him every step of the way.”
“Right. I wish he wasn’t so stuck in his belief that he has to do everything himself. He needs to pull out of his own head in order to see the people around him. But, that’s not important right now. I don’t know how to help him, and they’re almost here. I can always sense Jason, but for Hunter my range is a little more limited. His feelings are getting stronger.”
Hannah shuddered. “I can’t even imagine what Hunter’s feeling right now. I don’t envy you the ability to know for sure.”
Feeling strangely pragmatic, I shrugged. “I prefer knowing, honestly.” At her questioning glance, I explained, “Without this ability, I would never know what Jason is feeling, or how he’s coping with things. And with Hunter… well, it’s easier to know what kind of mood he’s in before dealing with him.”
“And now?” she asked. “How is Jason doing since he encountered Hunter?”
Frowning in concentration, I answered, “He seems calm, or at least calmer.”
“Isn’t that what you were going for?” She asked, sounding confused at my bewilderment.
“Yeah, but I was failing miserably to bring any sense of calm to him. Jason’s panic was overwhelming.” I scratched the side of my head with my free hand and waited.
“Okay,” Hannah said after a moment. “So what happened?”
FIFTY-ONE
Hunter
The mystery man was mine. I finally captured the one whose gifts rivaled my own and I still had no idea what to do with him. He was worth a lot if he was kept alive. I would get much less if he died. It was a conundrum, but I was leaning toward hunting him. My enjoyment is paramount, and monetary gain isn’t as fun.
Jason’s panicked expression when I placed the collar around his neck was intoxicating. The pure terror indicated that, somewhere along the line, he had a similar experience. He seemed ill prepared to go through it again. I figured he would be scared, but his absolute terror was a bit unexpected.
Not, however, as unexpected as the rush of pride I felt about winning against an opponent who inspired me to feel fear. Just as the dread was new to me, so too was the feeling of overcoming that fright and winning. I could only hope to come across others in the future who could make me feel as strongly. “Not likely,” I muttered to myself, pulling into the garage of the house I had appropriated. The high was already starting to dissipate. Realizing I was unlikely to come across another opponent like Jason was a downer. I fought the feeling, not ready to give up my delight about catching him.
“Ready to come out, kid?” I asked before opening the trunk. He remained silent, and I popped the trunk. The control to the electrical collar was in my hand, ready to use in case he decided to try anything.
I was only slightly disappointed when he didn’t.
My guess was that he was unwilling to risk his chance to see his little brother and the girl in order to try an ill-fated escape attempt. After all, he was still handcuffed and probably still reeling from the electrical shock earlier. I will admit, if only to myself, to feeling some embarrassment that it took drawing a gun and electrocuting him to beat him. But I’m also still okay with using any means at my disposal to go against a worthy opponent. “What’s next?” he asked, acting subdued as I pulled him from the trunk.
“You get to see little brother.” I kept my voice matter-of-fact, and gestured to the door leading into the house. He shrugged a little and turned toward the door. He paused to let me open it, since his hands were otherwise occupied.
He paused again in the entryway, unsure where to go. Jason seemed content to wait silently until I decided to share. Watching him, I thought he looked strangely in control for someone who had just been abducted at gunpoint. The trepidation was building again, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. What was it about this kid that led me to believe he could beat me? That even handcuffed and kept under control with electricity, he was still a threat?
I nudged him in the back with the gun barrel, and was rewarded with a slight flicker of concern on his otherwise impassive face. He moved in the indicated direction without a fuss. His flash of worry about the gun proved he wasn’t as stoic as he was trying to pretend to be. Jason was completely docile and silent as I led him through the house. His reaction made me wonder if something snapped when I hit the button on the electric collar. It obviously brought out some horrible memories, and I was eager to figure out what had happened to make him so afraid.
The simplest way to find out would be to ask, but I doubted he would be willing to open up to the man who would most likely just kill him anyway. I may have to figure out something a little more creative. Bringing up the subject now might be useful in making him tell me later.
“So, Jason. You seemed pretty familiar with my little electrical device. Seems like there might be a story there. Care to share?”
Cocking his head to the side incredulously he scoffed. “Like I would tell you? Why do you even care?”
Shrugging as if it were no big deal, I answered, “I like to know about my possessions before deciding what to do with them. That’s all.”
Shrugging as if it were of no consequence, I said, “We’ll see.” It wasn’t necessary to tell him that, since he was in my possession, I could do anything I wanted with him. He was at my mercy. I could either kill him or sell him, depending on my mood, and there was nothing he could do about it. “Keep moving, kid. You can see your brother and girlfriend one more time.”
Pointing the gun in the direction of the stairs, I herded him to see my captives. Before making my final decision about what to do with them, I would even let them say goodbye.
FIFTY-TWO
Jason
Finally, I’m going to see my brother! Having our abductor attempt to get into my head was driving me crazy. I knew my best chance to see Sam, and possibly figure out how to escape, was to cooperate the best I could. Of course, cooperating didn’t mean sharing every detail of my past with this psycho. If he wants to know, he has to work for it. He seemed almost amused by my reluctance to share, and I took that as a good sign. If he was amused, he could be less likely to turn violent without warning. Hopefully.
The house was… normal. There were family pictures up on the walls, and random knick-knacks on shelves in the hallway. “This isn’t your place, I’d guess,” I commented as we walked up the steps.
“Why? Too nice for me?” he asked, still seeming amused.
Shrugging, I replied, “Just doubting you would hold hostages in your own home, especially if you have a family. Also, you aren’t in any of the pictures.”
He grunted slightly in agreement. “You are correct. This is not my house, but it has been useful since the owners left for an extended vacation.”
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