Kindred (4 page)

SEVEN

Hannah

After sending the boys downstairs to talk, I was at a loss. I wandered aimlessly for a while, and then joined Sam in the office where he was playing a game on the computer. I looked over his shoulder: Tetris. He was going old school today. He sniffled, and I realized suddenly that he was crying.

"Sam? Are you okay?" I placed my hand on his shoulder, knelt down, and turned him toward me.

He jumped a little, trying to cover his tears in the way that pre-teens do. "What's wrong with my brother?" he asked, giving up the attempt to hide his tears. "Why didn't he… why wouldn't he answer you? The other day you yelled his name over and over…" His voice trailed off.

He'd overheard us two days ago when Jason had blacked out. Possibly eavesdropping or maybe he just got curious once I'd begun to frantically call Jason's name. Either way he'd noticed something that Jason had been trying to keep under wraps. And we’d thought we succeeded until now. Apparently, Jason wasn’t the only one good at hiding his feelings.

"We don't know yet, kiddo," I admitted, sitting in a chair and pulling him closer to me, allowing him to rest his head on my shoulder. "Your brother went through a rough time last fall, and he's still working it out in his head. He's going to talk to Dustin now, like you did. It will hopefully help him, like he helped you."

"Jase doesn't like to talk," the boy protested. "He said he didn't want to talk about it to anybody," his voice became stronger, more protective. Apparently, Jason wasn’t the only one with the desire to keep his brother safe either.

I'd heard him say that also, so I nodded. "That was before he started with his… blackouts. He doesn't want them to continue, so he's going to talk through his problems." Sam looked doubtful, but I patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "He wants to be here for you, Sam. If that means talking about his problems when he doesn't really want to, he will." I gave him another squeeze and stood. "You wanna watch some TV while they talk?"

He nodded and walked with me to the living room. I hoped I was right. Jason needed the help, but he needed someone who knew more about how to treat his PTSD. Dustin was great, but even after a couple days of research he didn't know the problem inside and out like a professional would. Sam's problems were not as deep running as Jason's, due largely to Jason being very protective of Sam. He hadn't dealt with the horrible childhood I suspected Jason had. Life on the street had been made easier for Sam by the fact that the other kids Jason had 'adopted' had sheltered him from any problems in order to help their protector. Compared to his brother, Sam lived a charmed life. He had only a small scar on his side from a cut that had been deeper than the others.

Jason's scarring was awful. He had scars all over his torso and arms, including the brand Mason had marked him with. He would forever be reminded of his ordeal. I was thankful Sam wouldn't hold the same physical and emotional scarring, and I knew Jason was too. But I had seen a peculiar look on Jason's face when he watched Sam while he thought no one was looking. I don't know what it meant, but I suspect he goes through times when he's angry about what he went through, and that he wishes he could be a different person, for his sake and for Sam's.

The steps creaked and I looked up from the TV and saw Dustin coming up. "How did it go?" I asked softly, noting his pensive look and pale skin.

"He opened up. I can't tell you about what, but he definitely jumps into things with both feet. I need to go home and think through some of this. He may take some time to himself before he comes up. Most likely he'll want to try to repair some of his walls…" He was going to keep talking, but the ground outside began to rumble, and we heard a shout from the yard.

"What the…" Dustin pushed me behind him and headed to the window, glancing out. "There's a guy out there, but I guess Jason noticed him first. He's stuck," he looked back at me. "Call your sister. If Jason felt like he needed to trap this guy, she should get here and find out why."

There was some clunking up the stairs and Jason poked his head around the corner. "Hey, guys… One of Mason's guys is outside. Is Alice going to be back soon?" He spoke matter-of-factly and seemed calmer than he should in this situation.

"Jason, how did you do that? Is there a hole in our basement floor now?" I asked curiously. As far as I knew, he didn't have the ability to control his power that exactly.

He looked a bit sheepish as he replied, "I've been practicing. No hole. I can sense the ground under the foundation and push it up to the surface, which is what I did when this guy showed up. Could we call your sister?"

"Working on it," I said heading to the phone. He seemed almost confident. It was an attitude we hadn’t seen from him since last fall, and I hadn't expected him to feel that way after Dustin had come up looking so upset. I dialed and Alice picked up after two rings. "Ali? Jason caught a guy that he says worked with Mason. He's currently trapped in our side yard between the house and the bushes. We haven't talked to him yet, we figured we should wait for you."

"Good call, little sis. Dan and I will be there shortly. Stay in the house in case he gets free," Alice replied calmly. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that Alice and Dan could handle a lot of problems, and that Jason would most likely not allow this guy to get out of his dirt trap until they arrived.

"We'll stay in the house," I promised, meeting the eyes of all three boys as I said it. They nodded agreement and I hung up. "She's coming," I said unnecessarily.

Jason nodded. "I'll go back downstairs and make sure he doesn't go anywhere. See you guys when Alice gets here," he waved and disappeared back down the steps.

"We should email our professor," I said to Dustin. "With filing police reports and stuff, we probably won't make it to class today."

He was staring out the window at the trapped man and back to the steps where Jason had gone. "He shouldn't be feeling like that," he said softly. "Go email the professor. I'll be down with Jason."

I frowned at him in concern. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure, but Jason seems almost too carefree. Considering it was about five minutes ago that he was spilling his guts to me about how helpless he's felt… sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I just need to talk to him real quick again. I'll be back shortly."

All I could do was nod. Helpless. It was a good word to describe how Jason had to feel during his ordeal with Mason. Hanging in a shed blindfolded and gagged. He had been completely helpless. And we had all felt helpless when we'd realized he'd been taken. But I'd gotten the sense that Dustin had meant more than just recent events. Jason had never mentioned his childhood or his parents to me. I wasn't sure if Alice or anyone else knew exactly how he'd been raised, but the lack of comment was enough to hint at all sorts of problems.

Sam was looking at me wide-eyed and scared. "What's going on? Is Jason in trouble again?"

"No, sweetie. Dustin just needs to talk to him and make sure he's feeling okay."

"But they just got done talking," the boy protested. "He shouldn't have to talk about things again so soon!" He seemed too angry for the situation and I wondered how much he knew about what Jason was going through. Sam was more observant than we like to give him credit for, and he could very well know more about Jason's issues than he let on. The brothers protect each other. Jason was just more obvious about it. Sam would try to keep Jason from having to relive his experiences; Jason would fight tooth and nail to keep Sam safe from any danger. He literally moved the earth to protect the ones he loved.

EIGHT

Jason

It was an odd feeling I was having right now. I was going back and forth between feeling confident in my ability, and worrying that I was going to lose control again. The successful use of my power after fearing it for so long gave me an adrenaline rush and a burst of confidence that I knew wouldn't last long. I had to make use of it while I could. I kept my main concentration holding the man prisoner, ignoring his yells outside my window as I extended my awareness around the house. If this guy had a partner, I wanted to know about it before he caused any problems.

There was something… I tilted my head, reaching and concentrating…

"Jason, I'm coming down," Dustin interrupted, and I felt my focus and energy snap back, and I lost the hint of an echo I was feeling.

"Come down," I said, trying not to sound impatient. He couldn't know that I was trying to figure something out right when he was coming down. "What's goin' on, bud?" I asked as he walked into my room.

He met my eyes, staring down at me as I stayed crouched on the floor monitoring the man outside. "What's going on with you?" he countered urgently. "One minute you're spilling stuff you haven't told anyone, and the next you seem more confident than you've been since I met you. What's going on?" he asked again.

I shrugged. "Dunno. But for now it feels pretty good. It might just be a reaction to controlling my power for the first time in months, or I might be on some kind of high from talking about that stuff to you. I don't know," I repeated, subconsciously tightening the bonds on the guy outside as he wiggled and tried to get loose. Dustin seemed worried, but I couldn't concern myself about something that made me feel good for the first time in months. Perhaps if I worked it right, I'd be able to gain more control over my abilities and no longer have to be afraid of hurting someone accidentally.

"Someone else was here," I said after a few minutes. "I was trying to concentrate on their steps when you came down. If you'll just give me a few minutes to concentrate, I'll try to figure out where they’re going and if they're familiar."

"Sure," he said with a nod, the concerned look still on his face. I put him out of my mind and sent my concentration across the street to where I'd picked up the odd footsteps. They were light, almost non-existent, but they hadn't been there before. To try to clarify them, I poured more energy into reading the prints and I followed them to the house and then back around to the road where they disappeared again. "He was here, but only for a moment," I said, my confidence from a moment ago almost gone in the face of what I realized. "He dropped something off again. How could I have missed his approach? We were here! How could he have come up to the door unnoticed?"

"Who? Jason, who was here?" Dustin asked. I jumped when he spoke; I'd forgotten he was there.

"Kindred. The footsteps were the same; almost impossible to feel. They were nearly non-existent. I don't know how he does it, but I noticed it in the woods that day. I was so out of it at the time that I almost didn't notice, but I remember now. It was also him in the warehouse, I think. I’m still a little fuzzy on that one, but I felt someone, and there were no echoes that felt familiar when Alice and I went back to check."

"We should check what he dropped off, if he left something at the door. Is anyone else out there?"

"No. Just Mason's guy, but he's not going anywhere," I stood up, feeling shaky. Kindred seemed to be the one person who was able to sneak up on me; all the confidence and good feeling I'd been having drifted away. "He must have… removed another supposed threat to me. I don't know. I…" I shook my head, not sure what I was about to say and allowing my discomfort to show.

"None of it is your fault, Jason. Just remember that, and you should be able to get through this. Don't let his actions affect how you see yourself. You are a good guy, and even good people have bad thoughts once in a while. The best person in the world would have dark thoughts after what you've been through."

I nodded, not sure I believed him in spite of his urgency, but wanting to drop the matter. "I should check," I said gesturing upstairs. "Keep an eye on him and yell if he starts getting loose."

He gave me a thumbs up and I headed upstairs slowly, not at all eager to see what Kindred had left for me. Sure enough, there was an envelope sticking out of the edge of the door, 'TRACKER' written across the front of it in big block letters. He’d called me that before, but it struck me now that I had never told him what I called myself. How had he known? The only people I’d told besides Sam were Alice, Hannah, and Dustin. Not even Dan or Agent Jones knew. If Kindred was one of Mason’s employees, he should only know the name Mason had given me: the Earthshaker. As far as I knew, Mason never even knew about my tracking abilities. It was a question for another time, and one that was perhaps destined to be unanswered.

I opened the envelope and stared at the picture in confusion. I didn't know the man, why would he send me a picture of someone I'd never seen before? The note fell out onto the floor and I picked it up. I read it to myself:

This man worked for Mason, he was part of the group sent out to find you and grab you off the street. He was a bad man and still a threat to your safety. Stay safe, Tracker.

- Kindred
.

This was almost worse than the others. If he was going to kill everyone Mason had on the street looking for me, there was going to be a bloodbath in the city before too long. He'd had nearly every person on his payroll trying to find me. If that's all it took to get Kindred to go after someone, there was no way I'd be able to sit out this investigation. Hannah would be upset, but I needed to help Alice get another monster off the streets.

"Jason, what did he leave?" Dustin asked from the bottom of the steps.

I walked down the stairs and handed him the note and picture. I didn't want to have to show it to him, but if he was going to be around me, he had to know the score. Now that Kindred surely knew about him, he was as much at risk as the rest of us. "Watch yourself whenever you're out," I warned. "I don't know what kind of crazy ideas this guy is going to get, but I don't want any of my friends to get hurt by him."

He nodded and replied sincerely, "I will be careful. You do the same. He can sneak up on you, so don't get too overconfident that you'll see him coming."

I gave a short chuckle. "That's not going to be a problem. The high I was on a few minutes ago flew away as soon as I realized Kindred had been here under my nose." I looked at him, not wanting to show too much vulnerability. "We may have to put off therapy until this is over. I can't be dealing with the past and this current problem at the same time."

"What about your blackouts?" he protested. "You need to figure out the cause, and work to get them to go away."

He was sincere in his desire to help, but there was no way I could keep myself together enough to deal with this and talk over the issues of my past at the same time. "They'll have to wait. Hopefully they won't strike at times that will get me killed," I said with a lightness I didn't feel.

"You need to take care of yourself more, Jason." Dustin sounded angry now. His eyes were narrowed and mouth turned down. "You have people who count on you to be here, and you won't be if you don't deal with your problems. Call me when you're ready to talk again," he said as he rushed up the stairs. I heard him talking to Hannah and Sam, and overheard Hannah reminding him that he couldn't leave until he'd talked to Alice and Dan. He didn't come back down, but he went into the living room and sat down. He was angry, and I regretted that my actions had made him mad, but saw no way I could have changed them. Putting it out of my mind, I checked on the prisoner again, strengthening the bonds that kept him in place. He'd stopped yelling, but was glaring at me through the basement window.

When I felt Alice and Dan's footsteps approaching the house, I went upstairs and outside to join them. "He's over here," I said, leading them to the side of the house. "I'll let him loose once you have handcuffs on him."

"Sure," Alice said. Dan grabbed the guy, pulling his hands behind his back and cuffing him. I knelt and the earth dropped away from his legs, allowing him to move. "What are you doing here?" Alice asked, leading him to the car. "Who are you?"

The man was still glaring at me, but it was more like he was angry he had to be there than that he was angry with me. "I need his help," he said tossing his head my direction. "After you took Mason out, his pet assassin went crazy… crazier anyway. He's been killing people who worked with Mason whether they deserve to die or not."

"Like this guy?" I asked, pulling the picture I'd just received and showing it to him.

"Geez, that's Mattie. He was a hothead; had a temper and hit his wife, but does he deserve death for that? I think not. Jail, maybe, but not death. Mason's assassin is out of control. We need you to stop him, like you stopped Mason."

I could feel my temper rise too, and narrowed my eyes at him angrily. "Why should I help? You all knew what Mason was going to do to me, and none of you stepped up. Kindred dragged me out of a collapsed building and probably saved my life, so why should I help you?" I thought about what he’d said,
like I’d stopped Mason
. He wanted me to… “You don’t want me to stop him; you want me to kill him! I’m not a killer!”

Alice looked at me and shook her head slightly; probably not wanting me to even interact with this guy. “Jason, settle,” Dan said calmly, still holding the man. “He’s not worth it.”

"Look," the unknown man said urgently, sensing that I was in no mood to deal with him. He was very astute this one. "We may have known what Mason was up to, but none of us had any power to stop him. Why do you think he kept a personal assassin? He'd send this guy at anyone who stood against him, and no one escaped once he was after them. We are criminals, but we were also scared for our lives. A lot of us were happy once you took out Mason, until we realized his pet killer would still come after us."

"He went through what I did," I said angrily. "Whatever he may be now, is what Mason made him… what Mason tried to make me. If I go after Kindred it will be on my terms, not yours. But," I said with less heat in my voice, "if you know anything about Kindred that could help me find him, it could go faster. I will go after him, but only because he is a killer. Keep in mind," I warned. "I'm also after any of Mason's men that I can get. You all belong in jail, and I've made it my personal goal to put you there."

The man smirked at that. "Good luck, kid. Some of Mason's guys are real hardcore. You won't get them all."

I shrugged as if it didn't matter. "It will probably take a while to find Kindred. He'll probably take care of some of them for me," I spoke callously with a calm I didn't feel, not wanting to air my agony to a common thug, but recognizing that I had just given a few things away to Alice and Dan. "Anyway, I believe the officer asked for your name. They'll find it out anyway, so you might as well come clean."

He nodded once, studying my face for a moment before he answered. "My name is Paul Daken. I worked in a warehouse that was owned by Mason, but it was one of his legit businesses. Until he sent word out about the freak—that's his word, not mine—that he wanted off the streets, I had no part in his criminal activity. I knew some who were involved, but I was not. I hope you keep that in mind before you allow this killer to stay on the streets."

"That was never the plan," I said coldly. "I just wanted to make it clear that I'm not doing it to help Mason's people. I'm helping the cops get a murderer off the street, and then I'll worry about the other criminals involved with Mason. Have a fun time in lockup while they confirm your story," without another word I stalked back into the house. Dustin, Hannah and Sam were watching from the living room window, and they turned to me when I entered.

"Who is that?" Hannah asked.

I shrugged. "He claims to be someone who worked for one of Mason's legit businesses, but I'm not convinced. He knew too much about Kindred to have not been involved more deeply," I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I'll be downstairs. I just need to think. Tell Alice to come down when she needs to talk to me, but I need a little time to myself."

"All right," Hannah agreed softly. I wanted to say so much more, but I couldn't get the words out. She wanted more from me than I could give, and she deserved better. I was a mess, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon, so I turned and went down the stairs to figure out my next step.