Hunter (12 page)

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.

           
Creaking
from the stairs informed me that Hunter was back. I hadn’t heard him come in
last night. Either he came in quietly or I managed to fall asleep before he got
back. Now he was here and probably wanted to gloat about his meeting with my
brother. As much as I wanted to defend him, to say that Jason was in reality
able to beat Hunter, I couldn’t. When they met next, somehow Jason would have
to keep pushing until he got past Hunter’s defenses, and then Hunter would have
to expose his abilities to protect himself. Then Jason would know what he was
up against.

           
My
own situation was worrisome, and when I pulled away from the emotions of the
other two, it finally began to consume my thoughts. My wrist was raw and sore,
even though I wasn’t struggling against the shackle. My natural motions
irritated it, and I longed to have the wrist released, even for a moment. I
tried to rip one of the sheets to put a pad between the metal and my skin, but
with limited success. I managed to wrap it, but the cloth wasn’t thick enough
to prevent more rubbing. At least it was an improvement.

           
The
man who held me was clearly not right in the head, although he wasn’t as
completely nuts as Kindred had been. Or at least it wasn’t as obvious. But
anyone who decides to hunt people for fun is obviously not all there. And he
was holding me while hunting my brother, which led me to wonder why he took me
if his interest lay with Jason. From what I could tell about the man so far, he
didn’t have the best self-control.

           
Given
a little time to myself when both my captor and my brother were asleep, I was
able to properly assess my own emotions for the first time since this all
started. Fear and fury were the top two reactions. These should have been
obvious reactions, but I’d been so consumed with Jason’s terror and worry,
followed by Hunter’s cold and calculating anger—at the world, from what I could
figure—that my own feelings remained hidden.

           
Leaning
back on the pillow, I closed my eyes wearily, rubbing my free hand through my
now greasy hair in disgust. One of the things I missed least from our life on
the streets was the inability to stay clean. Now I was being forced into the
same filth I’d been stuck in for so long before. A shower would definitely be
on my list of things to do as soon as I was able to return home. Along with
trying to get Jason to at least visit our friends. It had been two years since
we saw the kids who were our family, who now felt like they lost their
protector and friend. Jason wasn’t the only person hurt by what happened, and
his natural reaction to run and hide from his problems dismayed everyone we
left behind.

           
It
also bothered me. I understood what he was going through, and would never leave
him to go through it alone. However, he never confided in me. If he had his
way, the dark things in his head would never affect me. I think he got stuck on
the idea that I was still the little boy he rescued from our father, and didn’t
realize I grew up. All I want is for him to tell me how he’s doing. To tell me
how he was still feeling lost and hurt by what happened with Trevor Mason. That
he was conflicted in how to deal with the horrible people he came across since
then. His fight to remain a good person after everything he went through was
not yet won. At least in his mind. Knowing all this because of my ability felt
like cheating, but it was the only way to know anything about his feelings.

           
At
one point, he considered doing what Kindred had done. He wanted to go after the
people who knew about his abilities, and stop them from ever being a threat
again. The worst part is; he knew he could get away with it. With his power, he
could kill them and hide their bodies deep in the earth where no one would ever
find them. Thankfully, his morality would never let him do it.

           
Killing
two men— Trevor Mason and one of the other men who tortured him—was a cause of
anxiety and guilt for Jason as well. To me, it seemed Jason felt worse about
wishing they had suffered, than he did about killing them. My brother is a good
man, but he doesn’t believe in himself. And when so many bad things happened to
him, he started to think he was at fault. He believed he did something to
deserve the horrible treatment. He was wrong. Nothing he went through was in
any way his fault. His desire to help the police may have led to some dangerous
situations, but that didn’t make it his fault.

           
In
some ways I think he’s a better man than I will ever be, because I was eager to
use my ability to manipulate Hunter again, and see how far I could push him.
Maybe to somehow manipulate his feelings into giving himself up or letting me
go. Most likely it won’t be that easy, but it’s worth a try. The emotions of a
madman would be much different than those I was used to feeling from my
brother, and Hunter’s were definitely different.

           
In
my brief contact with Hunter’s mind, there was no hint of guilt. Only the
thrill of the chase and the call of the hunt. My determination grew as my
thoughts turned back to my captor and my brother. No matter what it did to
Hunter, I would do whatever I could to help Jason and myself. If I could
influence the sociopath into following completely alien sentiments, we would be
in good shape. If not… well, I didn’t even want to think about what he would do
to us.

THIRTY

Hunter

           
My
prey was deep in thought when I entered his room, and he jumped when I knocked
lightly on the doorframe. “I met your big brother last night.” He looked at me
with a strange lack of curiosity. Last night threw me off my game, and I waited
until morning to visit my captive. After meeting Jason in person, I needed a
little time to pull myself together before talking to the boy. Letting the kid
know how close Jason came to harming me was not an option. My reaction to Jason
was not normal, and I was not accustomed to feeling so nervous about an
opponent. On the other hand, at least I wasn’t bored anymore.

           
“He’s
worried about you, Sam. Your brother couldn’t even lay a finger on me to keep
me from walking away. He’s not as strong as I hoped, but I think some friends
of mine might be interested anyway. You know, once I’m done with him.” The boy
looked a bit startled at the use of his name, but otherwise stared me down
impassively.

           
“He’s
tougher than you think,” Sam said lightly, sitting up on the edge of the bed.
“But maybe you already suspect that,” his voice trailed off, and his face took
on a contemplative look as he studied me quietly. His face lit up slightly when
he apparently found what he was looking for. “You know already, don’t you?”

           
“Know
what?” Hiding any discomfort from the strange boy—who stared at me with no
fear, his dark eyes unblinking and young face serious—was proving to be more
difficult than it should.

           
“You
know he’ll beat you. Or at least that you won’t come out of your next conflict
unscathed, and that scares you.” He chuckled a little. The sound was startling,
as it was not a noise normally heard from my kidnap victims.

           
My
eyes narrowed angrily. I stepped aggressively into his space, and he rose,
meeting me head-on, showing no sign of nerves. “He’ll kill you if you hurt me,
but I think you already know that.”

           
“What
he doesn’t know can’t hurt me,” I growled. My anxiety grew as he spoke. Why? I
have no idea. “Back off, little boy. I could kill you right now, and your
brother couldn’t do anything about it.”

           
He
nodded mockingly. “True. But your ability to kill me won’t be much consolation
when he destroys you. Do you really want to risk ending up buried alive in a
hole no one will ever find? If you even lay a finger on me, that’s the least
he’ll do. Now, just imagine what he’d do to you if you actually kill me.”

           
My
anger grew, but so did my uneasiness. What was happening? I was always in
complete control of my few emotions. Why were they now turning against me? This
boy, this
child
was somehow causing me to feel what I never allowed
myself to feel before: fear. I was afraid of facing his brother. I may have
come out on top in our first encounter, but Jason came close to getting through
my defenses. He was exhausted and still almost beat me. Well rested, he could
be more than I can handle. But there was no way I could let this child know he
rattled me.

           
“I’m
going to keep you alive, little Sammy,” I threatened, “so you can watch me
defeat Jason. When I do, I’m going to sell him off to the highest bidder. Your
brother will be experimented on, and treated like a lab rat. How long do you
think he’ll be able to stand being poked and prodded? The people I know will
not be kind, and they will hold him as their prisoner until they decide they’ve
taken everything they need. Then they will probably dissect him alive, just to
see how he ticks.” I glared into Sam’s unblinking, wide eyes. “And only when
you’ve seen what they do to him, will I hunt and kill you.”

           
Sam’s
eyes, wide with fear for a moment, narrowed in anger. “You won’t touch him,
Hunter! He’s beaten people like you before. Worse than you, even. A man we
couldn’t see unless he allowed it, who took him over body and mind—and my
brother defeated him. Another who attempted to torture him into submission, and
my brother killed him. You will
not
be the one who defeats my brother.
Jason is strong, and you will not win!”

           
Terror
struck me, as Sam got in my face. I couldn’t believe such a strong feeling came
from me! “What are you doing?” I asked firmly. “How are you making me…?” I
trailed off, unsure.

           
“You
won’t remember this conversation when you leave,” Sam assured me. “But you
will
remember the fear. Any time my
brother gets near you, or when you think about hurting us, you will be afraid.
You won’t be able to kill us, Hunter. I won’t allow it. Now, get out and
forget
!”

           
I
left the room, and went downstairs to get something to eat. My captive was
secure, right? Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, I again got the feeling
that I was forgetting something important. My conversations with the boy were
always short. So why was it that so much time passed when I spoke to him?

           
It
didn’t matter. I would find his brother, and trap him like an animal. If he
managed to fight hard enough that containing him wasn’t an option, then I would
put him down. Kill or sell. Either way would be entertaining and rewarding.

           
It
would be especially rewarding to fight through the sudden thrill of fear I felt
at the thought of facing him.

THIRTY-ONE

Jason

           
Alice
and Hannah, my two best, and definitely most trusted friends, were coming. I’ve
known them since a couple weeks after running away from the man known as my
father. They never did anything to make me regret my faith in them. When I
first met Alice, she was working on a case involving a little girl I knew.
Something about her told me that she was someone who could be relied on. In
order to properly help in finding the little girl, Alice needed to know about
my abilities.

           
 
She took the revelation of my powers pretty
well, considering what I showed her disrupted her belief that such powers
didn’t exist. Proving my abilities was easy; and once she knew, I was able to
lead her to the missing girl. Following that case, she kept my secret and
protected me. Until I was older, probably about fifteen, most of the other
officers didn’t know about me. I was her personal, confidential informant.

           
She
never shared her knowledge of my abilities with anyone. Eventually I shared my
secret with her little sister, Hannah, my only friend at the time. Like her
sister, she took the revelation of my abilities in stride, never treating me
differently because of them.

           
Only
the knowledge that they were coming gave me the ability to get any sleep after
confronting the man who took Sam. It was a small consolation in the face of my
failure to gain any useful information, but the idea of seeing them now gave me
some hope. With my friends by my side I could do anything. In the past, I did
some things I am not proud of, but they stood by me through everything. Even
after ignoring them for the last two years, they were still willing to come
help me. I would be forever indebted to them for their loyalty and friendship,
which never felt deserved, only needed. Their loyalty was difficult for me to
accept, but I was finally beginning to see having trusted friends was not a bad
thing. In fact, it can only help.

           
Detective
Nickels would have to be told. I woke only a couple hours after falling asleep
and stared at the dark ceiling. The detective needed to know there was another
kidnapping… it was time to let him know about Sam. I should probably also share
my meeting with the man who took him. I closed my eyes, bringing my arm up
wearily to cover them. Trying to prepare for another day of searching for my
little brother may be the most difficult thing I’ve done to date. My phone
beeped, and I groaned when I saw the text from my boss demanding I come in to
the office. Since our confrontation, I hadn’t seen or spoken to Joe. And
considering our last encounter, I had no desire to face him again. Especially
since I had no way to know what kind of mood he was in, or what he remembered
from our previous clash.

           
Later.
Sam came first. My next step was to bring the local police up to speed on
everything I knew. Honestly, what I learned so far wasn’t much more than they
already knew. With another groan I finally managed to leverage myself out of
bed to shower and get some fresh clothes on. It was about seven AM. A little
early, but I still hoped Nickels was on an early shift so I wouldn’t have to
wait.

           
There
was little traffic flow at this time of morning, so it didn’t take long to
reach the police station at the center of town. I braced myself before getting
out of the car, and took several deep breaths. Sam was gone. I knew that, yet
the idea of sharing what happened made it feel more real. It was difficult to
remain calm. I knew in a few minutes the whole town would know about Sam’s
disappearance. A knock on my window made me jump.

           
When
I looked up, Detective Nickels was standing outside, leaning lightly on the
car. “Good morning. What brings you here so early?” His smile dimmed when he
took in my appearance. “What happened?”

           
Looking
around to make sure we were alone, I answered. “He took my brother.” My voice
was low, and continuing was nearly impossible. “Sam’s gone!” I almost sobbed,
but caught myself before I allowed any tears to fall.

           
“When?”
Nickels asked. “What happened?”

           
This
part was a little tricky. I needed to admit that Sam went missing while I was
giving my statement two nights ago. It would be difficult to explain why I
didn’t report it right away. “Two nights ago, right after…” My voice broke, and
I rubbed my face hard and continued. “Right after he called, while I was giving
you my statement.”

           
Disapproval
and surprise were evident in his frown and raised eyebrows, but he didn’t call
me on it. “Have you found anything?” He asked instead, allowing me to explain.

           
Here
my anger almost got the best of me. “I saw him!” My voice was a low snarl. I
finally allowed myself to meet the worried eyes of the detective. “I saw the
bastard who took my brother, but it was too dark to get a good look at him. He
got away before I could stop him.” I took deep breaths and clenched my fists,
trying to hold back the surge of destructive power threatening to escape. I
wasn’t ready to give my secret away to yet another person. It was likely he
would find out eventually anyway, but I didn’t want it to be because I lost
control.

           
Nickels
took a step back. Shock and anger flashed across his face, and was evident in
his suddenly tense muscles. “He approached you? Can you tell me anything about
him?” His voice was tight, but he was all business.

           
“He
was at my house, Scott.” I wilted a little. The detective’s hard look softened
when I used his first name for the first time since we met. “He came, and I
followed him through the woods. I shouldn’t have followed, but I was hoping
he’d lead me to Sam. He knew I was there, and stopped to talk to me. I can’t
tell you anything about his voice.” I interrupted myself. Nickels was going to
ask anyway, so I might as well address it right away. “He was disguising it. He
is taller than me, and built like a bear. All I could see was his silhouette…”
I trailed off, again thinking about Sam in the clutches of a monster.

           
Nickels
put his hand on my shoulder hesitantly. He seemed unsure whether I’d welcome
the contact. I did flinch slightly at his touch, but he didn’t loosen his grip.
“We’ll find Sam, Jason. What did the perp say to you? Only his victims have
seen or heard anything from him up ‘til now, so why did he talk to you?”

           
Another
tricky point. I wasn’t sure how to explain it without telling him anything
about my secret. I decided on the direct approach. “He told me I was special,
and he taunted me about having Sam. That no matter what I did,
he
was in
control of anything that would happen to my brother. But what I do could
determine what he chooses to do.”

           
His
eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully. “What do you think he meant by that?”

           
I
threw my hands up in frustration. “I don’t know! Whatever I do, something goes
wrong. We came here to be…” I stopped, not wanting to talk about the past. From
the look the detective was shooting at me, I guessed there wouldn’t be much of
a reprieve.

           
“The
impression I got is: he either wants something from me, or wants me for
something. I don’t have the first clue what he would want,” I hurried to say,
“but that was my impression.” I hoped my words would disrupt the train of
thought most likely rushing through the detective’s mind.

           
“Do
you have any clues as to where he might be hiding?” he asked, moving on with
the case. He gave me a pointed look. Clearly he figured we would revisit the
issue I almost brought up, but was willing to put it off for now.

           
“I
don’t think he’s in the woods anymore. At least not in the same area. He came
in a car last night, and followed a trail to my house. Besides that, I don’t
know,” I said more calmly. “Do you have any other ideas on how we can locate
him?”

           
He
started to reply, but stopped when I turned to look behind me. Familiar
footsteps were approaching. “Jason?” Nickels questioned, eyes narrowed and hand
resting on his holstered gun, when I stepped back toward him slightly.

           
“Mark
Jones. Long time no see,” I said with a lightness I definitely wasn’t feeling.
“What brings you here?”

           
FBI
agent Mark Jones, the agent who was undercover in Trevor Mason’s organization.
He saved Sam’s life, and found me in the woods after I was tortured. Honestly,
Jones was the last person I expected to see in Necedah. “Alice called. She
can’t come yet, but she wanted you to have someone here who
knows
you.”
He glanced at Nickels with a slight arch of an eyebrow, questioning without
words what he knew.

           
“Yeah,”
I said with a slight smile. “It’s good to see a familiar face.”

           
In
a move mirroring Nickels’, Mark rested a hand on my shoulder and asked, “Are
you okay? Have you found anything?”

           
Nickels
watched closely, something resembling hurt flashing in his eyes when Mark put
his hand on my shoulder. I was as stunned as Nickels when I realized I didn’t
flinch at the contact. “I’m as okay as I can be, Mark. And I was just telling
Detective Nickels about my contact with the man who took Sam. By the way,” I
interrupted myself. “Detective Nickels, this is FBI agent Mark Jones. He’s…
he’s an old friend.” It was surprising to find that I meant it.

           
Mark
might have been someone forced into my life, but he was another who took my
abilities in stride. Like Alice and Hannah, he worried more about my well-being
than the fact that I was a freak. He found me at my most vulnerable, and helped
me. For that reason, a deep sense of security engulfed me when he approached.
Safety and security were not things I was accustomed to, so when I could find
it, I wanted more. My instinctive step away from him was due to worry that I’d
be flooded with bad memories of torture and pain. Instead, seeing him gave me a
boost of confidence and hope.

           
When
I explained to him what I told Nickels, he raised his eyebrow at me, questioning
whether there was more to the story. I nodded slightly, and made a mental note
to explain when we were alone. “Sounds to me like we need to figure out where
he was, so we can get some idea of who he is. Jason, you’ve been searching the
woods for quite a while, is there any place you’ve found that made you think
you were close?”

           
“There
was one place,” I said thoughtfully. “I can’t explain it, but I haven’t been
able to get it off my mind. There’s nothing specific to tell me
why
I think it’s important, and I don’t
think there was a cabin nearby.”

           
Mark
nodded silently, and I could almost see his mental note to visit that place in
the near future. He turned to Nickels. “Detective, is there any kind of listing
of who owns property in the woods? If there’s a list, we should be able to
narrow down the names to a few who would make the most sense.”

           
“Honestly?
There are quite a few little properties in there, and they change hands fairly
often. I’m not sure if there’s a list. But I know someone who knows most of the
people in town. He’s had contact with the majority of people who have cabins
here. You may not like it, Jason, but we’ll have to go see Joe.”

           
A
groan escaped at the thought of facing my boss again. But if he could help, it
would be worth the awkwardness I knew would be there after his drunken behavior
the last time we spoke. “Okay. Let’s go see my boss.”