Hunter (9 page)

TWENTY

Sam

           
By the time Jason picked me up, he
was pretty much over his anger, and had fallen into a melancholy mood. We
picked up some take-out and drove home in silence. “I’m sorry, Sammy,” he said
when we pulled into our driveway.

           
“For
what?”

           
He
looked at me briefly, a bit surprised that I seemed confused by his apology.
“For dragging you here. I know you didn’t want to leave Crandal, and I never
even asked your opinion before I decided to leave.” I stared at him silently,
perplexed by his sudden apology. “It was wrong of me to take you away from
people who love you.”

           
“They
all love you too, ya know.” It was the only response I could come up with.
People caring about him was something he always had trouble believing. Jason
couldn’t believe he was worthy of anyone’s love. Sometimes I think he believes
I only care about him because he takes care of me. “Jason, if you’re thinking
of going back…”

           
“No.
Not yet, anyway. I need to find this guy, Sam. And…”

           
“What?”
I prompted, hoping he’d share more, but he shook his head.

           
“Never
mind. We should go eat. It’s pretty late. Sorry about that too, kiddo. I didn’t
think it would take quite so long to deal with the Caleb thing.”

           
He
found Caleb. That much he told me when he reached the Thompson’s house to get
me. Anything about why his emotions had been everywhere was kept to himself.
Being Jason’s brother could be frustrating at times, but somehow I wanted him
to understand he was worthwhile. That he could be loved just for being himself.
I wanted him to believe he wasn’t always seen as someone who was broken, and
needed to be pitied.

           
Due
to the late hour, we ate our meal and then went directly to bed. It was
Thursday night, and I still had school in the morning.

           
The
rumors started flying around as soon as the doors opened on Friday. Depending
on who you talked to, Caleb had been kidnapped, murdered, killed someone, or
killed himself after killing someone. Considering Jason said they found him, I
knew the rumors were not accurate. But one of the kids who’d been partnered with
Caleb on a project recently was pretty confident when she said, “I heard his
dad beat him up, and he tried to commit suicide.” I got a jolt when she shared
her opinion, and realized that situation would explain Jason’s emotional
responses the previous evening.

           
Except
for his completely unexpected apology. I still wasn’t sure what to make of
that. If Caleb was abused, and Jason figured it out… well… let’s just say I
wouldn’t have been too surprised to hear that his house collapsed with Caleb’s
parents inside. Abuse was definitely a trigger with my brother, and my own
anger rising exposed it as a trigger for me as well. Given the power my brother
held… I couldn’t be sure I would have been able to refrain from punishing them.

           
Whenever
someone asked me about what happened, because they knew my brother was
involved, I simply shrugged and responded, “I don’t know. Jason was working
with the police, but he doesn’t share details on cases.”

           
Most
of the kids in my class were not aware of Jason being a private investigator.
More rumors started, the new ones saying he was a special undercover cop,
brought in on the serial killer case. They were sort of right on that one. Or
they thought he was a federal agent specializing in tracking missing people.
Others thought he might be an Indian-trained Tracker.

           
Even
Jake asked me if any of those were true, but I wouldn’t tell even him exactly
what Jason was up to. “I don’t know what he does, but he’s gorgeous.” I
overheard Lacey—one of the more popular girls in my class—say during lunch. I
smirked, wondering what Jason would think of a fourteen-year-old girl crushing
on him.

           
“It
runs in the family,” another girl’s voice said shyly.

           
Suddenly
it was better to eat my meal than to listen in on other people’s conversations.
But… someone thought I was cute? I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see who.
The girls at the table next to mine were standing up by that point, and I saw
Katie and Josie. Both were pretty soft-spoken, and I didn’t know their voices
well enough to know which had spoken.

           
The
rumor mill died down after lunch. Conversations about weekend plans took
precedence, and for Caleb’s sake I was glad. He didn’t need all the gossip
spreading if the abuse story was true, which I strongly suspected.

           
The
rest of the day passed uneventfully, and I decided to walk home. I wouldn’t go
through the woods. Instead I planned to cut through town, and stop at the
grocery store for a couple things. When I called Jason to let him know my
plans, and find out if he needed anything from the store, he was at the police
station. He was going through his statement about what happened the previous
evening, so he agreed. He was reluctant to allow it, I could tell, but he also
needed to get things wrapped up so he could get home. “Call me when you’re done
at the grocery store.” He sounded a little distracted, and was feeling a bit
frustrated. “If I’m done, I’ll meet you there.” He hardly waited for my
agreement before saying a quick goodbye.

           
“Right.
See ya later, Jason.” The call was already cut off when I responded
sarcastically, but I understood his need to quickly finish reliving last
night’s events. I decided to cut him a little slack. After all, especially
given the scare yesterday, letting me walk anywhere by myself had to be difficult
for him. Jason’s distraction, I knew, was the only thing keeping him from
telling me not to walk alone.

           
And,
when I was grabbed from behind only a few steps from the grocery store parking
lot, I knew he would blame himself.

TWENTY-ONE

Hunter

           
My
wife and I got into a huge fight. That I started it for the express purpose of
giving myself an excuse to leave for an extended stay at my cabin was hardly
worth mentioning. She would be upset for a while, but her simple mind would get
over the blow, and soon enough she would forgive me and blame herself for the
way our argument had gone. This was a tried and true method of getting more
time away.

           
The
cabin was too quiet. It was haunted by reminders of previous hunts. Nothing was
there to keep me entertained, so I began to prepare for my next hunt. Walking
around town, I discovered some vibrations left behind by the mystery man, and
the boy I saw in the woods a couple weeks ago. The two sets of prints were
close together, indicating they knew each other. So I made the decision to
watch the schools, in order to find the boy. If they did know one another, I
might be able to use the boy to find the mystery man.

           
I
still couldn’t figure out what it was about him that captured my attention, but
now I seemed unable to keep my mind off him. It was strange, the way he walked
through the woods. Walking a while, then stopping, then continuing, and so on.
It made me feel… I don’t know exactly what. But there was something that
connected us, and it wouldn’t let go. Which made me wonder if he noticed
anything. How he could, I’m not sure. But something told me he would be my most
exciting prey. Although to get his attention, I might need to grab someone else
first.

           
Two
days after I arrived in town, my stakeout of the schools paid off. The boy was
probably about fourteen or fifteen, and was walking by himself. He was on the
phone, apparently finishing a call. “Right, see ya later, Jason,” he said,
sounding aggravated as he put his phone away.

           
It
was too soon. I hadn’t followed him to the mystery man yet, but I could hardly
pass up such a wonderful opportunity. Here was a strong teenager out walking by
himself, and no one was around to notice me sneaking behind him.

           
The
boy hardly put up a fight when I put a sleeper hold on him. He fell unconscious
in my grasp, his limbs limp and head drooping. My heart raced in anticipation
of the new hunt. I stashed him behind a dumpster while I walked quickly back to
my car. My luck held as I loaded him into the car, and it was only about twenty
minutes later when he was set up in the cellar of my cabin. He was connected to
a pipe in the wall, a manacle on his wrist with a chain long enough for him to
reach the table and the cot in the corner. I kept a small amount of food and
water on the table for him.

           
He
began to stir once I clicked the shackle on his left wrist, so I went upstairs
to give him time to figure out his predicament. His phone sat on the table in
front of me as I considered my next move. About an hour after taking the boy,
it rang. The ID said it was Jason, the same person he was talking to before I
grabbed him.

           
The
phone rang several times before going to voicemail. It then continued to ring
every couple minutes for a few hours, until the battery wore down. Every call
was from Jason. I plugged the phone in with my charger, and thought I might
call him back once the battery was charged. It might work to help figure out
who this ‘Jason’ was. I wasn’t following my original plan, but plans were made
to be altered. It was obvious this boy was important to the guy who kept
calling like a worried mother. Wouldn’t it calm him to know the kid was with a
responsible adult? Probably not, I suppose. Ah well. Not much to be done about
that now.

           
The
boy was wide awake now and stomping on the floor like a child throwing a
tantrum. When I paid a little more attention, I noticed the pounding seemed
methodical. Maybe he was testing for weak spots in the floor or walls? Who
knew? But the pounding
would
stop.
The vibrations through the cabin were distracting me, so I might have to move
him to an upper room. Or maybe move to my alternate safe house. Either option
meant confronting a boy I wouldn’t catch off guard again.

           
 
I smiled to myself, and went down to greet my
captive. Tomorrow was soon enough to hunt down this
Jason
person to see
if he was the mystery man. For now, I would enjoy the evening with my new prey.

TWENTY-TWO

Jason

           
I
should have insisted he wait for me. Giving my statement right then was not
completely necessary, but I wanted to get it over with. To get it done so I
could forget the situation, and push down the memories dredged up by it. So,
because of my demons, I allowed Sam to walk by himself. And now he was gone.
Every call went to voicemail, and he wasn’t at the grocery store. But he had
been. I could feel the vibrations where he walked, but there was nothing
indicating where he went.

           
The
lack of receding steps made me pretty certain he was transported in a car.
Still, I thought I was able to get a pretty good read on the person who took
him. The man snuck up behind Sam, probably knocking him out somehow. There were
constant pressure lines, indicating Sam was dragged behind a dumpster before he
disappeared. And there were no witnesses.

           
My
little brother was in the hands of a madman. Again. I failed to protect him. I
also broke my promise that he would be safe. We left a home we both loved,
because I thought we would be safer. No one here knew anything about me, which
seemed better for a while. But now? I took a shuddering breath, once again
attempting a call I knew wouldn’t go through. When it beeped for me to leave a
message I spoke strongly, as if Sammy were listening to me. “I will find you,
little brother. And whoever took you will be sorry.” My voice lowered into an
almost growl at the end of the message, and my anger rose to the forefront.

           
I
promised him I would look after him. That no one would hurt him again. Whatever
I needed to do to get him back, I would do. The footprints by the grocery store
were the same as those I felt when Sam thought he was being followed through
the woods. But those tracks led nowhere. Either this man was another person
skilled at blocking his footsteps, as Kindred was, or he had some kind of
vehicle he used to go around the woods.

           
I
was betting on a vehicle. A car or four-wheeler used to transport his victims
from wherever he kept them to where he decided to dump their bodies. My hand
shook as I reached for the phone again, and I realized my body was trembling.
“Sammy… where did he take you? Somehow, I have to find someone I’ve never seen,
and stop him before you get hurt.” My voice was soft, and I put down the phone.
Calling was accomplishing nothing.

           
To
find the man who took Sam, I needed space to do my thing. The local police
wouldn’t be able to help, so I put my phone back in my pocket. I glanced around
the parking lot once more, until I was sure every useful piece of information
was gathered. It was harder than I thought it would be, to get in my car and
leave. The parking lot was the last place I knew my brother had been, but in
order to find him I needed to go.

           
The
first thing I could think to do was go back to the woods and search.
Eventually, something there might give me a clue to help find him. If he was
even there. After all, just because the previous victims were found in this
patch of woods, didn’t mean they weren’t kept elsewhere before.

           
My
only comfort was that the killer normally kept his victims for several days
before hurting them. The coroner had confirmed all the injuries on the other
boys were acquired at the same time. Only sores on one wrist—indicating they
were chained somewhere in the days leading up to their deaths—were acquired
before the day they were killed.

           
I
parked at my house then walked the short distance to the trail where Sam had
been followed. Kneeling, I tried to see if there was any recent activity in the
area. Using my fear and anxiety, I pushed out as far as I could with my
ability. Stretching my capabilities, I strained for any sign of my brother. I
felt echoes deeper in the earth than ever before. I could feel the passage of
people from days ago, including weak echoes of the man I attempted to find the
night Sam was followed. And the echoes went further than what I felt that
night.

           
“Gotcha.”
My voice startled me in the dark quiet of the woods, and I suddenly jolted back
to myself. Only the normal surface echoes I could always feel were now present.
Those were always at the edge of my senses. Now I had a direction to start, and
that’s all I needed. “I’m coming, Sammy.”

           
The
words I spoke sounded sure and strong, two things I certainly wasn’t feeling at
the moment. I needed to bolster my confidence as I memorized the feeling of the
deep steps, and realized I was stronger, even in the tracking aspect of my
abilities. It wasn’t only my destructive power that had grown. I felt that a
couple years ago, when I began feeling heartbeats through the ground, but there
wasn’t much of a jump in strength since then. Until now.

           
Now,
I would use my stronger tracking ability to find the man who took my brother.
And then I would unleash the full strength of my destruction, and punish him
for doing so. I moved at a jog along the trail, until the tracks veered deeper
into the woods. Then I needed to move more cautiously to avoid tripping or
running into branches. This was a wild part of the woods. The tangle of brush
and canopy of leaves would have seemed beautiful on any other day, but today
they seemed dismal and harsh. They were getting in my way as I attempted to
continue following the now very faded tracks, but I kept moving until I could
no longer feel any sign of the murderer.

           
“NO!”
I yelled. The ground roared with me as I dropped to my knees, and punched the
leaf-covered earth. “You aren’t going to get away from me!” My voice echoed in
the empty woods, the birds silent in the face of my anger. “You took my
brother, and I
will
get him back.”

           
My
anger and pain were still helping me reach further than ever before, but,
unlike earlier, there was nothing to find. I sank back, hugging my knees as
fear for my brother replaced the anger, and tears gathered in my eyes. My
useless rage helped nothing. Sammy was still missing, and I was no closer to
finding the person responsible.