Hunter (5 page)

TEN

Jason

           
Sam’s
panicked call was exactly the excuse I needed to get away from the files of
dead and missing children. I’d been at it for hours since Nickels had finally
given up asking questions and gone out on a call. I grasped the phone like a
lifeline and felt grateful for the distraction, until I heard his breathless
fear.

           
I
assured him I was on my way, and hung up.

           
Nickels
walked into the room as I was getting ready to head out. Before he could speak
I said, “I’ve gotta go. My brother needs me home. Tell Sheila I still need to
finish with these. I’ll come back tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

           
“Sure.”
His eyes clearly showed his curiosity, but he had the sense not to ask. “Hope
everything’s okay,” he said instead. “I’ll put these away for you.”

           
I
rushed out the door calling out, “Thanks,” as I left. Despite my brother’s
fear, I was relieved to get away from the stuffy little room and Nickels’
questions, and out into the cool evening air.

           
Sam
wasn’t prone to panic. Through everything he had suffered in the past, he’d
been calm and easy-going. When he’d been kidnapped and beaten, when he’d
watched them kill our friend Erin, and when he’d been found and realized I’d
been taken—all of those things, he’d gone through without the panic I’d heard
in his voice today. I sped home even though I was leaving the police station,
and managed to not get pulled over as I did so. “Sam!” I called out, entering
the house.

           
My
brother was on the couch, looking both scared and embarrassed. “Jase, I didn’t
mean to scare you,” he said. “I may have overreacted, but there was a guy in
the woods while I was walking home, and I just got a bad feeling.”

           
Shaking
my head I sat next to him and put an arm across his shoulders. “Honestly,
Sammy? I can’t blame you. You knew I was working a kidnapping case in the area,
and you saw someone probably partially blocked by the shadows of the trees,
which could scare anyone.”

           
Including
me. My little brother was not the paranoid type. If he got a bad feeling from
someone, he probably had a good reason. “He was standing behind a tree when I
was by the creek, and then came out and was staring after me when I walked out
of sight. I don’t know… I guess I got a little anxious and overreacted once I
got home. No one followed me, so there really wasn’t a reason for me to call.”

           
Laughing,
I responded, “You honestly did me a favor, kid. One of the cops was starting to
ask me some questions again, so I was okay with you giving me an excuse to
leave. Also, looking at files that long is rough. Besides,” I added a little
more seriously, “I want you to call any time you need me. Even if you feel a
little silly about it later.”

           
He
nodded and turned his attention to the news, which was running another story
about the missing boy. They wouldn’t have anything new, so I changed stations
with a sigh of frustration. “No luck with the trails?” Sam asked.

           
I
shook my head. “Wasn’t really expecting anything though. Sheila found a few
other cases that seem similar, but I couldn’t prove it for sure yet.”

           
If
the cases were connected… what then? The other two boys in the files Sheila had
dug up had been killed, their bodies found a few weeks after. Obviously with a normal
kidnapping, it was unlikely that the victim would be alive this long after
they’d been taken, especially when there was no ransom demand or contact from
the kidnappers. If this case was connected, then we might expect to find him
anytime within the next two weeks.

           
Or
it could be an elaborate hoax and his mother had done something to him. Always
a possibility, but in this case, it seemed unlikely. “What’s my next step?” I
questioned myself quietly. Sam looked over at me briefly, but didn’t respond to
the question.

           
I’d
have to go over the files again, but first, “Sam, I want you to show me the
area where you saw the man. Just in case there’s something connecting him. I
want to find his footsteps and memorize them.”

           
If
this guy was a threat of any kind, I wanted the ability to find him and prove
it.

ELEVEN

Sam

           
The
trails were quiet when Jason and I went out that Saturday night, and he found
several echoes. He had been able to find the man’s prints because he could time
it back to when I was there. There hadn’t been many other people through since
my follower and me, so it was easy for my brother to use his abilities to find
them.

           
He
was worried. In spite of his light tone and joking around I could tell he was
concerned. By now we both had a pretty good sense about people and who would or
wouldn’t be a threat, so he seemed to take me at my word that there was
something off about that guy. It was almost funny that I wouldn’t recognize him
if I saw him again, but Jason, who hadn’t been there, would be able to identify
him easily.

           
Sunday
passed quietly. I didn’t leave the house, but Jason went out again to look at
the files at the police station. Unfortunately, the people who normally let him
in were not there, so he was told to come back the next day. He came home
frustrated that he was being stalled, and went out onto the trails again.

           
The
only things I did were finish homework and watch television. But Jason didn’t
seem inclined to get me to go outside for anything, so by the time Monday
rolled around I was very ready to go to school. Anything was better than
dwelling on the strange man or the case my brother was working on. Even a math
test was an improvement.

           
“So
how’d you do?” Jake asked from behind me once we both handed in our test
sheets.

           
I
shrugged, “Not sure. Pretty well, I guess.”

           
“Hey,
you all right?” Becky asked. She had been sitting in the desk next to me all
year, but almost never talked to me.

           
“Fine,
why?”

           
She
shrugged, her cheeks reddening as she stared at her desktop. “I dunno,” she
mumbled. “You just seem a little distracted today, that’s all.”

           
“Enough
talking. There are still people working on the test,” our teacher scolded.
“Those who are done can work on other homework. The assignments for tomorrow
are written on the board.”

           
Distracted,
frustrated, and probably a little nervous. All these feelings were not my own,
so I tried to push them away. Jason never handled children in danger very well.
Too close to our own childhood, I guess. I turned my attention back to the
board to get the next assignments written into my notebook. “Hey,” I hissed at
Becky. She looked up, surprised by my initiating conversation. “Thanks for
asking,” I said with a slight smile.

           
She
smiled shyly and hunched back over her book, scribbling answers onto the page.
The class period was almost over. Lunch was coming up next, giving me a little
time to sort out my feelings from Jason’s, so I could concentrate better in the
next few classes.

           
My
day was going fine. I had no reason to be frustrated or nervous. Except that I
always mirrored Jason’s feelings to some extent. If he was nervous or angry,
then I would worry about what was bothering him. It was kind of a cyclical
problem that I hadn’t managed to figure out in the almost five years of living
with him. It was a blessing that I couldn’t sense anyone else’s emotions,
because I’d then also have to separate those feelings from my own.

           
It
was also a blessing that I could feel Jason’s mental state. Without my ability,
I would have no clue how much hurt and fear he tried to hide from me on a daily
basis. Although I wouldn’t worry about him so much if I didn’t know about it.
Knowing Jason’s moods wasn’t always useful, because Jason didn’t know I knew.

           
I
sighed. My problem wouldn’t be solved in fourth period algebra. Most likely,
I’d have to tell Jason about my ability so we could figure out something
together instead of trying to figure it out by myself. But then we’d have to
deal with him realizing that every feeling he’d tried to keep private had been
shared for the last five years.

           
Maybe
I should talk to Dustin first. He might have some suggestions for how I could
tell Jason. Of course then I’d have to tell him. Why I hadn’t told Jason as
soon as he’d shared his ability with me, I’ll never truly know. But it was a secret
that held a life of its own, and it wouldn’t be given up easily.

           
The
bell finally rang, and I trudged off to lunch. The rest of the day passed in
boredom as I couldn’t fully concentrate in any of my classes. I thought Jason
might be picking me up from school since he really didn’t want me walking home,
but his car wasn’t at the normal pick-up spot.

           
His
emotions had been all over the place today, and as I left the school I was hit
by such a strong feeling of despair and failure that I had to lean against the
wall to steady myself. “It’s not me,” I muttered to myself. “I’m fine. Jason’s
feelings not mine.” My eyes filled with unshed tears that Jason would never
allow himself, and I lightly hit my forehead against the wall. “Stop. Not my
feelings.” I shook my head slightly and pushed away from the wall. No one had
noticed my minor breakdown, so it was easy to pretend nothing had happened when
Jake approached me. “Hey, can I come over to study history today? I need some
help with remembering the dates, and you’re pretty good at them.”

           
I
plastered a smile on my face, hiding the negative feelings I kept getting from
my brother. “Sure, but we’ll have to walk.”

           
He
shrugged, sauntering off with an easy grin, “No prob. I could use the exercise
after being cooped up all day.”

           
“Will
your dad pick you up later?”

           
“Not
sure. I guess if he has to. I’ll call him later. He’s the one who told me to
ask you if I could come over to study.”

           
We
walked for a while in silence, Jake occasionally skipped off to the side to throw
a rock. “Do you wanna cut through the woods?” he asked when we got to where the
paths into the woods started.

           
I
almost said yes, but then remembered my promise to Jason. “Not this time. Let’s
keep going and we can stop in the gas station for some snacks. We’re a bit low
at home.”

           
He
accepted my answer without question, and we continued on our walk. “How’s your
brother doing?” he asked after we stopped for snacks. “You usually don’t let
people come over on short notice.”

           
“He’s
fine,” I lied, feeling the strength of his misery almost overwhelming me. I
could tell that he was almost to the point of losing control of his power. All
I wanted to do was call him to find out what was wrong, but until he knew about
my abilities, it wouldn’t make sense for me to call. “But he’ll probably be
working late tonight, so he won’t mind if I have someone over.” And if he came
back before Jake left, maybe it would give him something to think about besides
whatever was causing him so much distress now.

           
Jake
wasn’t the suspicious sort, so he accepted my answers without question. We got
to my house and set up our books at the coffee table after I cleared Jason’s
files from it. We’d only been studying for a few minutes when I gripped my
book—hard! The edges cut into my hands, and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as
I tried to separate myself from my brother. I felt Jason lose control.

           
His
powers had erupted, and I had no idea why.

TWELVE

Hunter

           
I
dumped my victim’s body near the creek where my potential next target, the
brown haired boy, had been watching the birds. Using this area was not to make
it more difficult for me to grab him, but to allow myself plenty of room to
hide to see who showed up once the body was found. I decided to figure out who
in the police department would be in charge of hunting me, since I was having
no luck finding the ‘mystery man’ who came so close to my hunting ground. It
was always good to know who I was up against.

           
I
set up a tent in one of the camping areas near the creek, but a ways downstream
from where I left the body. I would be close enough to tell when the body was
found, but probably far enough away to not attract attention. All afternoon and
overnight I acted like a normal camper, hiking the trails and sitting by my
little campfire, knowing all along that my time was running short. I had to be
back at work on Tuesday, so the body had to be found sometime today.

           
The
trail where I left him was one of the more popular trails, but apparently not
many people had taken advantage of it in the last couple days. After sitting in
the tent waiting for about two more hours, I decided to make my lunch. The
interruption came while I was eating: screaming and pounding footsteps through
the ground as the body was discovered, followed shortly by the wailing of
police sirens approaching the scene.

           
My
face stretched into a smile. Good. Soon I’d be able to put faces to the
officers pursuing me.

           
After
all, it would seem more suspicious if I didn’t go to check out what was going
on, than to sit here listening to it without curiosity. I’d be one face in a
crowd of hikers and campers, and no one would know I was there.

           
When
I reached the scene, it was already closed and taped off. There weren’t a lot
of people around, but enough to give me some cover. Several officers were on
the scene, keeping people far enough back that they couldn’t see details on the
body by the creek.

           
Details,
like the knife I left with him. The cut that went deep into his throat. The
small cut on his right hand from handling his knife incorrectly. The smears of
blood across his face and chest from the wound on his neck and the—probably
unnecessary—fatal wound to his chest. Random smears and tears in his clothing
from being dragged from one location to another. All things I knew about, but
couldn’t see from this vantage point.

           
Nor
could I see the important players in the game. There were only first responders
so far, but they’d done an admirable job containing the scene for the
detectives who were sure to follow. They were already talking to the man and
woman standing inside the tape; probably the people who found the body. Both
seemed upset, but were holding it together for the time being. They were young,
clinging to each other like they couldn’t even consider losing one another.
Engaged. Or newlywed. It was hard to tell which without seeing the woman’s
finger.

           
Another
police vehicle approached and a young man stepped out, badge clearly visible on
the clip attached to his belt, gun just as visible, strapped to his hip. The
first responders approached him. Clearly he was the detective on the case. I
frowned. He was young; probably newly promoted to detective. Only a handful of
cases under his belt, but he held himself with confidence as he surveyed the
scene.

           
A
slightly older woman exited the vehicle next to him. The senior partner. She
was in her forties, but in excellent shape. She held herself with just as much
confidence as did her younger partner and both approached the body by the
creek, peering at him carefully before conversing for a moment and approaching
the young couple.

           
These
were my hunters. These two detectives would scour the evidence, and try to
guess at my motives and find me before I could find another victim.

           
Too
bad for them. I already found one.