Hunter (23 page)

FIFTY-FIVE

Jason

           
It
was getting easier to pay attention to what was going on. Apparently, whatever
Hunter drugged me with did not last long. It was something to be thankful for
as I, yet again, lay in the trunk of a car. There were few things to be
grateful for at the moment, but I was happy Hannah would be with her sister
again soon. At least she would if Hunter kept his promise.

           
Of
course the downside to Hunter keeping his promise was that he was going to be
hunting my little brother like an animal. The thought of it had me struggling
to reign in the force of my destructive ability before I caused an accident. If
he hurt my brother all bets were off. I yelped when there was a slight warning
buzz and shock from my collar, and I realized I hadn’t fully blocked my power.
The ground had begun to rumble; it wasn’t noticeable to me because of the
motion and noise of the car. The electricity did its job and suppressed my
abilities, allowing me to regain control, albeit in a painful way.

           
The
drive wasn’t long, but by the time Hunter dragged me out of the trunk, the
drugs were worn off the rest of the way. Still, I tried to act a little out of
it to keep his guard down. “Where’s Sam?” I demanded, looking around at the
dark little cabin, and stumbling a bit when Hunter kept dragging me into his
den.

           
He
tossed me into a bedroom with bars fitted on the window and a heavy door with
strong padlocks on the outside of it. I was still handcuffed, and when I fell
to the floor, he zip-tied my ankles together. Only when that was done did he
answer my question. “Your brother is in another room. You will be able to feel
the events of the hunt from here. And just to be sure you can’t get away…” He
leaned over me, reaching for my neck. I flinched back, trying to stay away from
him.

           
My
breath was coming out in harsh pants, and my heart was beating a mile a minute
as the other man grabbed the collar. Hunter did something to it before stepping
back. “Wha—?” My voice cut off when a low-level electric current began to run
through my body, making it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything.

           
“You
should be able to still sense the hunt through this. Even if you can’t, at
least you know it’s happening. I once shocked myself and cut off my abilities
for a while, so I understand it’s painful. But this shouldn’t permanently
damage you.”

           
I
clenched my jaw, refusing to allow him to see the pain he was causing, and
gritted out, “If you hurt him, I’ll
kill
you!”

           
He
smirked and left the room. The door closed with a loud clunk, and the deadbolt
slid into place. I didn’t want to abandon my little brother, so I concentrated
through the low-level current, and felt the tapping from the next room over.
The code we developed years ago was ingrained in my mind and easy to sense,
even through the physical discomfort of the electricity.

           
My
mind was fine-tuned to feel out footsteps; had been since I was thirteen and my
life depended on learning the skill. Even through the current I was able to
follow events fairly clearly. It was a struggle to stay calm when Hunter
dragged Sam out of the cabin. Sam made it clear that I was to do nothing until
Hunter was distracted with the hunt, and no longer paying attention to what I
was doing. Sammy seemed confident that I would be able to get myself out of
this mess, but I had my doubts.

           
Hunter
stood just outside the cabin, waiting while Sam took off running through the
woods. My little brother was making good time, racing away from the cabin and
toward civilization. Reaching past the electricity for a moment, I frowned;
there were sand traps set up all around the killer’s property. If Sam made it
that far, he would sink into the ground and suffocate.

           
On
the plus side, Hunter was now moved away from the cabin. He went after Sam and
left me alone in the cabin. Now it was time to try to get myself loose.
Scooting across the floor I was able to get to the small bed in the corner. It
was an old box spring, which made me hope I could find a sharp edge to cut the
tie from my ankles. I kept an ‘eye’ on my brother while examining the bed,
pleased that so far he had managed to elude Hunter’s efforts to capture him.

           
Success!
There was a sharp edge on the metal frame. I maneuvered myself until I could
position my ankles over it. I rubbed the binding back and forth over the sharp
edge, cringing through the shocks—made stronger by the contact with metal—until
the plastic tie snapped.

           
I
pushed away from the bed for a moment, relishing the slightly less painful
electric current, and taking several deep breaths while contemplating my next
step. The handcuffs wouldn’t be as easy to remove, nor would the collar.

           
By
now Sam and Hunter were far enough from the cabin that I felt comfortable
moving around a little more. I worked my way to my feet, struggling a bit
because my hands were trapped behind me. I eventually managed to stand. Moving
around the room I was able to find a loose nail, and with some maneuvering and
a little patience—especially with the extra shocks making me jump and making it
very hard to concentrate—I finally worked one hand free. After that it was only
a matter of unlatching the collar.

           
The
relief was immediate, although my muscles continued to twitch for several
minutes as I monitored Sam, who still managed to elude capture. Taking a moment
to admire his skills, I realized Sam had Hunter’s undivided attention, so it
was time to get out of this room.

           
“I’m
coming Sammy.” My voice was loud in the silent room as I made my promise.

           
Gathering
my strength, I figured a large show of power would draw Hunter’s attention back
to the house and away from Sam. Hopefully, I could keep Hunter’s attention long
enough for Sam to escape the hunting ground and find help. With Sam’s safety in
mind, I hurled all of the frustration, fear, and anger I’d felt since Sam was
taken, through the ground. The earth shook with a grumbling roar before rising
and tearing through the floor of the cabin, and pushing at the wall. My anger
drove the dirt through the wall like paper, and it shattered with a loud
cracking sound. I stepped out, keeping my concentration on controlling the
power so I could use it properly once Hunter returned. And he was coming. His
heart pounding quickly and his breathing coming in quick gasps. My adversary
was coming for me.

           
I
sent a thought through the earth, a message for Sam to lead him through the now
safe path I set up for his escape. It took only a few seconds for him to
receive the message, and tap out the reply. He was tired, but didn’t forget to
warn me to be safe.

           
There
was dirt and rock roiling around me like waves, waiting for me to choose a
target for the anger that consumed me. Sam made it out of the hunting ground,
pausing only for a second before tearing away, hopefully to safety. At that
moment Hunter arrived. Without giving him the chance to take in the wreck that
had been his cabin, I threw a massive amount of energy through the ground,
knocking him down.

           
Due
to my injuries and the electric shocks, I was not in the best shape for an
extended fight. My hope was to knock Hunter down and out quickly, before my
energy depleted and I could no longer fight.

           
Hunter,
on the other hand, wasn’t injured to the same extent. He was able to soften the
ground when he landed, which lessened the impact. As a result my first strike
wasn’t as effective as I hoped, and I was left with much depleted energy when
Hunter made his counter strike—not throwing a wall at me as I expected, but
dropping the ground out from under me.

           
I
landed awkwardly, and it took a moment to gather my concentration enough to
raise myself out of the hole.

           
Unfortunately,
it was just in time to be slammed to the ground by a spike of rock hard soil. I
only vaguely felt Hunter dragging me to the car, and tossing me into the trunk.
One thing I could be grateful for is that he never got the chance to replace
the collar. But any attempt to use my power could cause the car to crash.

           
For
a moment, as he was dragging me, I thought I felt something familiar
approaching. A set of footsteps that couldn’t possibly… No. It wasn’t possible.
My luck couldn’t be that bad. It was just the concussion making me paranoid.

           
The
footsteps I thought I felt belong to a dead man: Kindred.

FIFTY-SIX

Sam

           
My
plan worked perfectly. Hunter was too involved with chasing me to pay attention
to Jason, and I could hear the explosion when Jason apparently escaped. Only a
few minutes later I saw the message writing itself in the dirt. Even waiting
for Hunter to attack, Jason was warning me about the traps, and directing me on
a safe route through. Despite the power my brother displayed in his escape, he
had to be short on energy. The last part of his message read: Get Help Fast. I
raced to follow his instructions.

           
Jason’s
exhaustion was palpable, and I struggled to ignore it in order to do what was
needed. Reaching another cabin, I pounded on the door. I needed to get in to
call the police—or more specifically, to call Alice. I knew she’d been around
at least since Hannah was taken.

           
A
huge grizzly-looking guy finally opened the door. I sensed no danger from him,
so I pushed forward. “I need help! I just escaped from a killer, and my brother
is still with him! I need to use your phone!” I talked quickly, but the big man
moved away, leading the way to his phone.

           
“It’s
right here. Are you okay?”

           
“Not
hurt,” I said, dialing the phone. “But I can’t say the same for my brother.” I
forced tears back as Jason’s emotions faded, indicating he was no longer
conscious. I wanted to scream. With him completely out, there was nothing more
I could do. I couldn’t figure out a way to manipulate Hunter to my advantage.
Instead, I took all my fear for Jason’s safety and anger that he was hurt
again, along with the constant anxiety I felt since Hunter abducted me, and
threw it into Hunter’s mind with a wordless yell.

           
The
big man stared at me in trepidation, but I ignored him in favor of telling
Alice—who finally picked up the phone—where to find Jason. “Hurry,” I urged
her. “He’s… hurt.” I amended what I wanted to say, in order to prevent a random
person from questioning my ability.

           
“We’re
almost there.” Alice’s words, meant to be reassuring, were anything but when
taken in the context that Hunter was already escaping with my brother.

           
“I’ll
meet you there.” I hung up before she could object. There was no way they were
going after them without me. I knew Hunter and Jason were already gone.

           
I
ran out the door yelling back, “Thank you!” to the man who so kindly allowed me
into his cabin. I rushed back to Hunter’s property, careful to only follow the
trail Jason cleared for me.

           
Alice,
and to my surprise Mark Jones, arrived at the cabin at almost the same time as
me. “Guys,” my voice held a warning note as I felt something from Hunter I
never felt before. “Something’s happening, and I don’t think it’s good.”

           
Alice
looked confused, and Mark looked concerned. “What is it?” Mark asked, not
waiting for an explanation as to how I knew.

           
“It
might be my fault. His mind, it’s… shattering. He’s feeling more emotions than
he’s felt in his lifetime, and he can’t handle it.”

           
“Who?”
Alice asked. “Jason?”

           
Shaking
my head, I answered, “Hunter. The killer. He’s a sociopath, and not accustomed
to feeling emotion. I threw so much at him that he can’t handle it, and I can’t
shut them down. And Jason is terrified. Something bad is happening, guys. We
need to go after them now!”

           
All
three of us jumped into the car, Alice driving. The tires squealed as she
pulled out of the woods. She followed the directions I indicated based on the
strength of my connection to Hunter and Jason.

           
“Guys…
Hunter just disappeared off my radar. Whatever was going to happen just did.” I
fought to keep my voice steady, but Jason was in trouble, and I heard it
tremble.

           
Alice
didn’t reply, only pushed the car faster. I hoped we were still going the right
direction on the highway. “Whoa,” Jones breathed out as we approached an
accident scene. The street was ripped up, and the car Hunter had been driving
was flipped onto its roof.

           
“Stay
in the car,” Alice ordered as we stopped. She and Jones rushed to the other
car, guns drawn. Alice went to the driver’s side of the crashed vehicle,
bending down to see if Hunter was still in the car. She lowered her weapon and
waved me over.

           
I
approached cautiously. “Is that him?” she asked gently.

           
The
man who had kidnapped Hannah and me, held us captive, and then tormented my
brother was hanging limp and lifeless, belted into his car. “Yeah,” I choked
out. “Where’s Jason?”

           
“He’s
not here,” Jones answered from behind us. “The trunk was forced open from the
outside. I don’t think he left by choice.”

           
“So
where is he?” I asked frantically, searching the empty street around us in
despair. “Where is my brother?”