Hunter (16 page)

FORTY

Jason

           
We
searched several properties, some of which were pretty deserted. There was one
broken down old cabin where I couldn’t feel any kind of echoes or vibrations from
human traffic. Only the occasional animal. I either didn’t have the ability to
identify the different animals, or I just hadn’t been around animals enough to
learn the skill. We were in the woods for about two hours, spent mostly in
silence except for Mark asking if I noticed anything, before I felt something
worth mentioning.

           
“Someone’s
here.” My voice was calm and quiet. I didn’t want to alert the man following us
that we were aware of his presence. “He’s difficult to pick up, but someone is
definitely behind us right now.”

           
Mark
hesitated for about half a step before falling back into his previous pace. As
dark as it was in the woods, he didn’t bother trying to look behind us for
verification. “How certain are you that he’s following us? And how far back is
he?”

           
Without
changing my pace, I concentrated harder on identifying the person behind us.
“He’s close.” I kept my voice barely audible and kept walking. “Let’s see if I
can slow him down a bit.”

           
With
each step I sent spikes of power through the earth back toward our pursuer,
trying to raise the dirt in front of him to trip him up. He avoided the first
trip point, so I sent more energy to sink the ground where he walked to make
him fall into the newly formed pit. Mark ran into me when I stopped in shock.
The man kept walking as if nothing changed. “It’s him,” I whispered. “It has to
be.”

           
“Who?”

           
I
turned and started walking toward the killer. “The man who has Sam. He’s the
only one I’ve met who can stand in front of me and completely absorb or block
any power I send his way. This guy is walking over my speed bumps like they’re
not even there.”

           
Mark
rushed to get in front of me, grabbing my arm to slow me down. “You can’t just
go after him, Jason. He knows about you, and if he can block your abilities…”

           
“You
have a weapon, Mark,” I stated. “Even if he can get past my abilities, I doubt
he’s bulletproof.”

           
Both
of us jumped a little when we heard laughter. “Not bulletproof, no. But I am
very gifted at avoiding that… unpleasantness.”

           
“What
are you doing here?” I called out, trying to hide my discomfort at being unable
to locate the man. “You’ve taken a lot of people, and there’s no record of you
taunting the families of your victims.”

           
When
he responded, his voice showed some irritation. “I told you, Jason. You’re
special. A dangerous prey I’ve never faced before. Why wouldn’t I want that
rush?”

           
“Jason.”
Mark’s voice held a warning tone. He almost certainly wanted me to hold my
temper, and get as much information as possible.

           
Taking
a deep breath, and letting myself relax before answering, allowed me to sound
like I still felt in control. “Okay. You have me here, so why do you still need
Sam?”

           
His
voice came from behind us now, and I was slightly shaken at how easily he was
able to move without my sensing him. We whirled around to face him when he
said, “You’re a different kind of prey. I’m still deciding if I kill you, or
sell you to the highest bidder.” I had to bite my tongue to keep from lashing
out. Mark’s heart beat sped up, and he needed to take a breath to keep from
responding. “If I sell you, I still need the feeling of a kill. Little brother
will do nicely. And now I have the little lady, Hannah, as extra insurance that
you’ll keep playing my little game.”

           
I
slowly lowered myself to the ground while he spoke, directing it to show no
change in pressure. While I could send energy without my hands touching the
ground, it was still easier to direct and send more powerful waves of energy
toward my target when in contact with the ground. Before he finished speaking,
I used every ounce of anger and fear to attack the man who now held two of the
few people I cared about.

           
With
the boost in emotions from his revelation that he now had Hannah, I was able to
pinpoint his location, and launch a more targeted attack. The ground heaved,
groaning as I forced tons of dirt and rock to the killer. I was rewarded with a
grunt and yell of surprise when my power finally managed to hit the man. “Gotcha.”
Once the dirt hit the killer, I attempted to use it to cover him in a cocoon of
hardened earth he couldn’t breathe through.

           
Mark
took a step back, his weapon drawn and flashlight aiming in the direction I
faced. His breath caught in his throat, and his heart raced as I showed my
sheer destructive ability. The killer’s counterattack wasn’t completely
unexpected. My adversary obviously had some sort of ability in order to be able
to counter my attacks. But I hadn’t thought through it enough to avoid it. So
when the ground opened under Mark—sending him to the ground in an undignified
heap, his gun still clutched in his hand—I was unprepared, and froze for a
moment.

           
A
lot can happen in a moment. Like the moment I realized living with my father
was no longer an option. He came home from work, not even drunk yet, and
started in on me as soon as he walked through the door. It wasn’t anything new,
but he told me he would never let me leave. At that moment, I knew I was going
to leave him as soon as I could, but he told me he would kill me rather than
let me go. That was the moment when I decided to kill myself, and take the
pleasure away from him. When my attempt to die failed, I chose a different
path. The next time the monster left me alone, I ran.

           
That
moment led up to a lifetime of experiences I would never have had otherwise. I
was free of my tormenter for the first time in my life, and I strove to enjoy
that freedom. Even if the freedom led to a different kind of suffering. Some of
those experiences I could definitely have done without, but the point is one
moment can change everything.

           
In
this instance, one moment I was winning the fight with the unknown assailant
and the next he threw me against a tree. Without touching me. The same attack I
used on him, he turned against me, and I had no defense. Mark was back on solid
ground, but still shaken by his fall. And I was completely taken off guard by
the sudden show of a power that matched my own. The wall of dirt hit me at
chest level, knocking the wind out of me and launching me back into the trunk
of a rather large tree.

           
I
was probably lucky the tree was so large, or my body could have wrapped around
it and broken my back. As it was, I lay on the ground dazed, and was struggling
to get my breath back when the killer stood over me in the darkness. “Now you
understand the game. Until next time.” He dropped out of sight and I couldn’t
concentrate enough to track his movements.

           
Trying
to get up to go after him was a waste of effort. My back, although not broken,
was plenty bruised, and I still couldn’t breathe properly. “Mark!” I wheezed
out, trying to convey to him to go after the man, to find out where he was
going.

           
The
light from the flashlight shone toward me, and I raised a hand to block the
light, wincing at the brightness. “Jason! What was that? How the
hell
did that guy do that?”

           
Finally
able to breathe, but still a bit winded I answered, “The same way I did. He’s
like me, Mark. He’s a Tracker.”

FORTY-ONE

Sam

           
Most
people like surprises. A lot of them say they don’t, but are secretly thrilled
when someone jumps out at them with something they weren’t expecting. Some like
the adrenaline rush of shock that flows through their entire being; others
think surprises are ways for people to prove they care. To be fair, those kinds
of surprises are usually good ones. A surprise birthday party, or surprise
visit from someone you haven’t seen in a while, stuff like that. They are
things people can enjoy.

           
I,
for one, have learned to hate surprises. Nothing good has ever come from a
surprise. The first one I can think of is the day I found out I would be
leaving my father and brother to live with mom. Until that point, my father
never laid a finger on me—although I suspected he did much more to my brother,
even before mom and I left—so the idea of leaving them wasn’t pleasant. My
brother always cared about me, and my mother took me away from him. I’m still not
sure why, since she spent the next few years almost completely ignoring me.

           
The
next horrible surprise was receiving the news my mother was missing and
presumed dead. I may not have spent much time with her, or approved of her
lifestyle, but she never physically abused me. She also always managed to keep
a roof over my head, and food on the table. Sure the roof sometimes leaked, and
sometimes it belonged to one of a long line of ‘uncles’, but it was protection
from the elements. She was still my mother. Hearing she was gone when I was
only seven was not easy, and led to the extremely unpleasant reunion with my
father. Jason was gone by then, so it was just me and dad. Not a good surprise.

           
The
only time I was surprised, and actually happy about it, was when Jason came
back for me. Dad wasn’t as horrible to me as he’d been to Jason, but the
morning Jason rescued me from him, I was pretty beat up. The night before my
rescue, dad was out drinking, and came home angry. He was ready to hurt me for
the slightest fault. So when my big brother came back from wherever he ran off
to, I was ready to follow him. Even when he told me there would be no roof, and
not always a ready meal, I wanted to be away from our father.

           
One
surprise in my life had been good, but this most recent one? Not so much.
Hunter came back, carrying an unconscious woman. He dumped her on the foot of
the bed without a word, and marched away. I brushed the long blonde hair out of
the woman’s face and gasped. “No!” Checking for injuries, I tried to get her to
wake up. “Hannah! Are you okay? Hannah, wake up!” I kept my voice low, but
couldn’t hide the panic. How was she even involved? Thinking back over the
course of the day, I realized the shock and joy Jason felt early in the
afternoon, must have been Hannah arriving.

           
She
groaned and began to stir, as Hunter returned with another chain. He used the
new chain to attach Hannah to the foot of the bed. “Sorry, Sammy. You’re going
to share your space with Jason’s little girlfriend. You two behave yourselves
while I go visit big brother.” With a smile and mocking wave, Hunter sauntered
out of the room. The front door slammed behind him. I was left with a
semi-conscious friend, and several questions.

           
About
fifteen minutes after Hunter left, Hannah moaned and sat up. She absently
rubbed her free right hand over her now chained left. “Wha…?” She looked up and
saw me, smiling despite our situation. “Sam!”

           
“Are
you okay? What happened?” I asked. “How did you…?” I trailed off when I saw the
tears in her eyes, and she reached to give me a hug.

           
Still
in shock, I hugged her back. We held each other in silence for several minutes
before she pulled back and smiled. “Sam, I’m so glad you’re okay! Jason’s been
so frantic looking for you. He called us, Sammy. It took you getting kidnapped,
but he finally called us.” Her smile faded, and she sobbed. “Now we’re both in
trouble. Oh, Sam. I’m so sorry. I’m all over the place right now.”

           
My
eyes began to burn and fill with tears at the sight of one of my favorite people,
someone I considered family, breaking down in front of me. “Hannah,” my voice
cracked. “Is he okay? I mean, I know he’s worried and scared, but what has he
been doing?”

           
She
leaned back against the wall, and I handed her the pillow to cushion her head.
Hannah took several minutes to calm herself enough to answer. “He’s looking for
you, Sam. He looked for almost two days before he finally called for Alice. It
was only after calling her that he decided to talk to the police about your
disappearance. You know Jason, always hesitant to trust anyone but himself with
your safety. Mark Jones is here too. He’s working with Jason and Detective…
Nickels, was it?” I nodded. The name was familiar, but I was surprised Jason
would so readily work with him.

           
“Nickels
has been trying to figure out Jason’s issues since they met. He’s always asking
questions Jase doesn’t want to answer. Honestly, he’s never seemed overly fond
of the guy.”

           
She
shrugged. “They seemed to be working pretty well together from what I could tell.
Although, he has no clue what Jason is capable of. But Hunter does, doesn’t
he?”

           
Nodding
an affirmative I added, “Not only that, but Hunter can do the same things as
Jason. From what he’s said, he has the same control over the earth as my
brother. Hannah, Jason doesn’t know. He has no idea the man he’s tracking is
planning to do the same to him.”

           
There
was silence at the other end of the bed as Hannah contemplated what I told her.
Or she was in shock. One of those. “This guy confronted Jason in the woods
after he took you. He stopped Jason from hurting him with his powers without
putting forth any visible effort. At least that’s what Jason said. So you’re
telling me Hunter is able to block Jason’s abilities because he has the same
ones?” Waiting for my nod, she paused. When I agreed with her statement she
continued, “Was it because of Jason’s power that you were targeted?”

           
“I
don’t think so,” I said as I considered the events of the last couple days. “He
took me because I was available to him. I think he found out about Jason’s
abilities when he went looking for the person who got too close to his previous
hunting ground. I’m assuming that was Jason, so I guess indirectly it was
because of Jason’s powers.”

           
She
sighed and rubbed her hand over her eyes wearily. Dropping one hand onto my
shoulder, she asked, “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

           
“Just
my wrist,” I said, holding up the bandaged appendage. “Sores from the chain,
before he put padding on it.” I noticed he added padding for Hannah with very
minimal prodding from me. Some of my emotional conditioning was sticking with
him then. Interesting.

           
She
narrowed her eyes, about to ask a question when we heard the front door slam.
Hunter’s normally silent footsteps now pounded up the steps in agitation. We
both jumped when he slammed the door of the room open, the impact making it
crash against the wall hard enough to leave a dent. He was breathing heavily,
covered in dirt from head to toe. Hunter was also bleeding from a couple
locations, including what looked like a large gash on his arm. He apparently
went one on one with Jason, and came up a bit short.

           
When
he spoke his voice was filled with fury, the most emotion I ever felt from the
sociopathic man. “Tell me everything your brother can do, little Sammy. I won’t
be taken by surprise again!”