The Way Home (14 page)

“We didn't come here to have fucking tea with them.” Houdini didn't believe in letting the what-ifs stop him from doing what he knew needed to be done. “They won't be expecting us. We can use that to our advantage. Take them by surprise.”

“Try to drive them towards the woods,” Mason tapped the map he had spread out on the hood of the truck. “Not all of them are going to know where each mine is. We can take a few out without using a single bullet.”

“Still risky,” Vera spoke up. It was the first she'd said since they'd left Center City. Deacon was standing next to her, his jaw set in a hard line. Houdini realized that of any fight the two had previously had, the one they were going to have when this was all over was going to be the biggest. “Why don't we try and grab one?”

“Grab one? Like stopping to pick up a six pack?” Deacon laughed without humor. “That's still too risky.”

“Everything is going to be risky,” Houdini pointed out. “It's actually not a bad idea, if we can find one of them alone. Give us a better idea of what kind of firepower they have, how many of them that there really are.”

“I highly doubt that anyone we grab is going to be talkative.” Deacon pointed out.

“So, we make them talk.” Vera snapped her head in his direction. “Or are you more of a fan of the thumb up your ass approach?”

“Enough,” Houdini spoke up before Deacon could react. “Right now, everyone needs to focus on this, not on their own shit.”

“Easy for you to say, since they're one and the same for you.” Vera said with a huff. Houdini's money was on her hormones being seriously out of whack. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if they were different and stronger in her because she'd been changed.

“Yeah, this is my shit. It's Susan in there. I'll do whatever it takes to get her back, with or without help. Fuck this standing around. I'm going to grab someone.”

“I'll come with you,” Shepard offered.

“I've got this.”

“I have no doubt, I simply cannot stand here waiting any longer.”

“Fine.” Houdini walked away from the cars where they'd gathered. It was a long walk through the woods to get to the edge of the camp. It was a long way to bring someone back, but there was really no clear alternative. “I'm not in the mood for conversation,” he said after a while.

“And here you were, chattering away. I'd have never guessed.” Shepard's serious expression matched his voice. “I hate to bring this up, but you do realize that there's a chance something has happened to Susan since the picture was taken.”

“No. No one is taking her from me again.” He'd lived through that hell once, thinking and accepting she was gone only to have it be untrue. “And Rick is dying. The rest of you worry about getting people out. He's mine.”

“Of course,” Shepard replied. “You will give him the death he deserves. He has reached the point where he's no longer a man. There's nothing human left, just an ego and a mean streak a mile long. He's more dangerous than you think he is, more driven and desperate.”

“I don't care how dangerous he is, tonight is his last night.” Houdini quickened his pace, he'd had enough talking. It was time, finally, to actually do something after so much standing around. It was time to find Susan; she'd spent long enough trapped in what must be a nightmare.

Chapter Thirteen.

Susan couldn't see anything, her eyes had been covered since Rick had caught her. She'd been bound since Rick had caught her. Memories flashed through her, Michael's overly thorough exam to be sure she had no contraband made her gag against the material tied over her mouth. Slow and steady breaths kept her from actually throwing up, not that there was much in her stomach to throw up.

From somewhere across the room, someone cried out. There was always someone crying out or simply just crying. There was always noise and never light. Susan wasn't sure just how long she'd been there and it didn't really matter. She'd had her shot, failed, and this was how it ended. All that was left to do was wait for the inevitable.

In some ways, she was surprised that she'd lasted this long. Her wrist was most certainly broken, her whole body was pretty much one big bruise inside and out. When you added on how rare food and water were, and the injections of what she assumed were a narcotic to keep them from causing too much of a fuss, it was pretty clear that she paying the price for the innocents who had died because what she was had pushed Rick over the edge.

This was all her fault. It didn't matter that she hadn't known, she should have considered it. She should have known Rick better, well enough to realize that her reveal was a mistake. Instead, she'd blindly thought that love meant acceptance. With Rick it hadn't. And now she realized what she'd felt hadn't even been love.

Susan knew that she hadn't known what love was until Houdini. From the first time she'd seen him, she'd felt something. It made her mad now, how long she'd wasted pretending that they would just play parts, when she wanted him as bad as he wanted her. She'd been so scared of the idea of being with someone, and it felt ridiculous. Because of her, they'd lost months. Her instinct had told her to trust Rick with her heart but not Houdini. How fucked up was she?

There wasn't any time to think about that as footsteps approached. “It's time. The moon is rising and all of you are going to get to die the animals that you are. Going to be a lot of handsome trophies.” Rick spoke with a confidence that made Susan feel sick. “I know that I'm going home with a bear.”

Susan was flooded with fear as the blindfold was removed from her eyes. Rick was kneeling in front of her, a sadistic smile on his face. “Look at that,” he reached out, touched the side of her face. “Look how scared you are.” He let out a laugh. “Don't worry, there's still a few hours for you. You're the main event, Susan, and you're going to watch all these other things die before we get started.”

<#<#<#<#

There was so much blood. Puddles of it, piles of what had been people only minutes before tossed on the ground like garbage. It hadn't been hunting, or anything close to a sport, it had been a slaughter. Large cages held the people, fear forced them into the change, and then the cowards just let loose. Susan had kept her eyes open only because Rick threatened to cut her eyelids off if she didn't.

It was somehow worse to watch the second wave, to know what it felt like to run with such fear on your mind and the desperate thought of actually escaping offering a sliver of impossible hope. But it was a lie; there was no hope. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. There would just be pain, so much pain, and then nothing. Blackness.

Susan didn't want to die. When it all came down to it, she wanted to live. She wanted to go back to Center City and be happy, but once again happy wasn't in her cards. All she could do was sit there and wait, so that's what she did. She waited, watched her brethren run into the woods, and heard the cries as they were taken down one by one. There was the sound of several shots, but it seemed many hunters were choosing to use a bow and arrow.

Rick would choose a bow and arrow, or a knife, as he thought that guns were too impersonal. He'd said so several times as they watched the events. He'd also stroked her hair, petting her like one would an obedient pet. Susan knew he was taking pleasure in her reactions, feeding off her fear, but she couldn't be strong. The fact that she wasn't crying was something, one last small comfort.

After the last hunter had returned, dragging the body of a panda behind him, Rick rose to his feet, dragged her to her feet by the hair. “And now it's time, finally time, for the final hunt of the night. The hunt that has been years in the making. Most of you know who Susan is, about the chain reaction that she started when she opened my eyes to the world right beneath the surface. After tonight you can visit her any time you'd like. I think I'll keep her in my living room, one hell of a conversation piece.”

In that moment Susan knew there was one thing that she could do, she would not change. She would not end up mounted in Rick's living room. Rick released her hair, grabbed her wrists and used his knife to slice through the heavy rope. He expected her to run once she was freed, it was clear on his face, but she didn't run; it was the hardest thing that she'd ever done.

“Look, she's so scared that she can't move.” Rick laughed and so did the crowd. Someone threw a drink at her. People cursed at her. Children taunted her but she remained where she was. “Perhaps I need to give her a little incentive.” Pain tore through her like fire as the knife slashed across her back. She felt blood pour down her skin, but still, she remained where she was. “What are you doing, you stupid fucking bitch?” The knife bit down again. “Move. Run. NOW!”

“No.” Susan shouted the word, her voice more powerful than she could have imagined or hoped for. “No.”

“Yes.” Rick grabbed her by the back of the neck. “Michael, bring it out.” It was a kid, a toddler, who couldn't have been more than two years old. “That's Chase. Found him when we grabbed the mother, a whiny little fox. Father's human, though, so he's got like a fifty fifty chance he won't turn furry, right?”

“Something like that,” Susan looked over at the boy. He seemed comfortable with Michael and to be nicely dressed and cleaned.

“I was going to keep him. See how he turns out. I'm thinking now, since you're not going to run maybe I should start out with him. He walks pretty well even if I doubt he'll be a satisfying chase.” Rick let out a loud laugh. “No pun intended. Like I was saying, if you don't run, he'll do.”

Susan shut her eyes, inhaled a deep breath. “I'll run if you let him go. Take him to town and drop him in a public place. Give him a chance.”

“Even if I agreed to that, how do you know that I'll actually do it?”

“Swear on your mother,” Susan replied. Some things never changed; Rick had always been a momma's boy. There was no way that had changed, even if he hadn't seen her in years.

“Mom? Come on out here, Mom. Let me swear on you. In fact, Michael, give the boy to my mother.”

When Minnie Redmond stepped forward, Susan realized that she'd been the only one who'd truly believed that Rick was gone, and it pissed her off. “They knew?”

“You were the only one who didn't, Susan. I was in their house when you were there, several times, it was quite an experience to hear you grieve for me. You were so passionate, so distraught. Really, it would have been sweet if you weren't what you are.”

“You're really a sick fucker, aren't you?” The only thing that Susan could manage to feel was disgust. “Guess you came about it honestly.” The insult to Minnie got her a sharp slap to the face from Rick. When her head snapped to the side, she saw a face she recognized. Fire was supposed to be dead, just Michael was supposed to be dead. When would the surprises stop? He met her eyes and Susan was almost sure he winked.

“Get out of here,” Rick snapped to his mother. “Drop the kid and come back. You can help us prepare her for stuffing.”

No, she wouldn't. Susan would run but she wouldn't change. She'd made up her mind, even with the moon high in the sky there were some things more important than giving in to what you wanted. She'd run until her legs wouldn't carry her another step, then she'd hide. She'd die eventually, but she was going to die anyway, and at least this way she got to save one life in the process. It would in no way make up for all the lives lost, but it wasn't nothing.

Minnie started to walk away with the boy, with Chase, who seemed to be just about to fall asleep. Susan hoped that he did amazing things in his life, and that if he was different, like her, The Hunters would just be a whispered story when he was old enough to turn and run. While Rick was distracted, of course he'd have to watch his mother go, she gave him what she promised and ran.

She made for the trees, reached them just as someone cried out that she was moving. Susan didn't look back, instead she relied on her instincts, dashing and darting through the forest to get as far away as fast as she could.

The desire to change pulsed through her, it was like arousal building up slowly and making blood pump hard and fast. It was a distraction she couldn't afford. With effort, she forced it down, locked the beast deep inside. There was no way she'd risk giving Rick what he wanted. No way.

Susan changed direction, moved towards the sound of running water. She found a small stream and stayed hidden in the woods as she followed it along. She stayed still, eyes shut and ears trained to pick up even the slightest sound. When she heard nothing, she leaned against a tree and tried to catch her breath and to think.

Rick wouldn't be far behind her, he couldn't be. He was a skilled tracker and there was never a time when he'd be more motivated. It would be foolish to stay here much longer, he'd most likely follow the stream as she had. A twig snapped somewhere behind her and once again she was on high alert. She needed to move, to stay low enough that she could use the underbrush for cover and hopefully get eyes on whoever had shown up.

It wasn't Rick. She could be sure of that. He wasn't the type for stealth, not when he was so pissed off. She'd hear him before she'd see him; it wouldn't be like this. Several minutes passed without another sound. Either she hadn't heard anything, and was losing her mind, or it had been an animal or someone simply moving past.

Susan let herself relax, tried to figure out her next move. Maybe it was running or maybe it was the fresh air, but her head suddenly felt clearer than it had earlier. Though she'd come into the woods fully expecting to die, suddenly she realized that she could live. If she was smart, if she managed to avoid Rick, she could find her way either out of the woods or so deep in that he wouldn't be able to follow.

Hope flooded though her mind and body, drowned all the fear and all the pain. For one glorious moment, the future was a possibility and then it wasn't. There was a whoosh of air and then a stabbing pain through her shoulder. Susan's only thought as she fell forward was how foolish she'd been to believe that she could have a chance. No, there were no second chances, not with the events which she'd set in motion, the lives lost because of her.