Kindred (13 page)

THIRTY-TWO

Kindred

The confrontation with the Tracker had been unexpected. That he sent me packing was also something I had not foreseen. His power was obvious, but I had not been expecting him to know I was there, or to become so aggressive with the use of the destructive aspect of his ability. I knew it was the destruction he feared, and I never pictured him using it against me when there were other people around. He’d always been so careful before, never using the ability unless absolutely necessary for the protection of someone he loved.

I’d watched him carefully once he was on Mason’s radar, at least when I had time to myself. He protected the kids in his care, leading them away from the dangers of the streets with skill. Any criminal who approached one of the children was dealt with quickly. They would move away from that particular area, and the Tracker would tell his cop friends where to find the drug dealer or pimp. He had never used his destructive ability against any of them, and most ended up in jail for their various criminal activities.

The one person that I was aware of him using his abilities on was Trevor Mason. And he hadn’t ended up in jail. He ended up dead. I didn’t like the implications. And I didn’t like the subtle threat to my life.

I glanced around for the first time, realizing I was almost back to my apartment, and I hadn’t noticed most of the drive. After my escape from the police station in Torsten, I had driven in circles for a while, wanting to make sure no one had seen the car, and that no one was following. And it was an escape. He almost had me, almost saw me. And it would have been the real me, no false face for me to hide behind. Once my control faltered, it was definitely time to leave.

I would regain my control. Would finish the job I was hired to do. And then, I would be back to face the Tracker. The Earthshaker. The name, for once, felt appropriate to me, since he was employing those tactics with purpose, not losing control, not in a life or death situation. I hadn’t intended to make him feel afraid, or angry. I had intended for him to feel safe. But my safety has to come first.

The Tracker had forced my hand. To protect myself I would have to eliminate the threat.

THIRTY-THREE

Jason

Exhaustion was something I had become familiar with over the last six months. I had been exhausted after my rescue from Mason. The pain caused exhaustion on a daily basis for the next couple months. The emotional upheaval after what I’d gone through, and what had happened to my father, was exhausting. And I was exhausted now.

I knew using my powers was tiring, but for some reason, I never clearly remembered the muscle fatigue, the breathlessness, and the overall weakness after controlling the earth. Carrying Sam was easy. He was all long arms and legs; there was no meat to him yet. But once I set him on his bed, the fatigue hit. I sat for a moment, and he woke with a smile on his face. “You’re home!” he said; his voice quiet but excited. His face fell, “I didn’t want to tell them where you were. I told them I promised not to tell, but Hannah was scared.”

“It’s okay,” I assured him, holding up a hand to stop the flow of words. Tremors shook my hand, and I put it down quickly, hoping he wouldn’t notice in the dimly lit room.

“Are you okay?” he asked cautiously, peering up at me tiredly. “You look tired.”

“I’m okay for now. Kindred showed up, and before that one of Mason’s former employees. So I had to use my abilities. I’ll be better tomorrow. Don’t worry about telling them. Kindred threatened Hannah. I would have come back willingly for that alone. I won’t leave you again, Sammy. You have my word on that.”

I couldn’t. He was my little brother, and I couldn’t run the risk that Kindred or anyone else would use him against me. I could protect him here, but only if I was with him. “I’m going to go get some sleep. I’ll probably see you when you get home from school tomorrow, okay?”

He blinked up at me sleepily, and I wondered how much of this conversation he’d remember in the morning. “Sure,” he sat up and gave me a hug, holding me fiercely, and I realized he would remember. “I’m glad you’re okay, Jase. See you tomorrow.”

When I left his room, the others were still talking, but the exhaustion had almost won, so I hurried down to my room before I collapsed. I hardly made it, falling face first onto the soft mattress. My shoes were still on, and I was uncovered, but it didn’t matter anymore, because I was out as soon as I hit the mattress.

My dreams that night were strange, dancing from one worst-case scenario to another without allowing me to escape, or have a reprieve. In one scene, Kindred held Hannah, killing her as I tried futilely to save her. In another, everyone I cared about was trapped in a cave, looking to me for help, but I grinned evilly and extended a hand toward the mouth of the cave, sealing all of us in to die. In every scene Kindred won. He controlled every aspect of every meeting, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Which, when I woke up the next day, made me all the more eager to win.

It was only a matter of time before he tried to take me over again, and who knew what he could accomplish with the access to my powers. And it would look to everyone else like I was doing it. The worst part of the dreams was the look of betrayal on the faces of those I cared about when I’d sealed the entrance to the cave. I could not allow that to happen.

“Jason? Are you awake?” Dustin’s voice came from next to me. I opened my eyes and looked over at him. He was fully clothed, but rumpled, as if he’d slept in his clothes.

“What are you doing here?” I asked; my voice thick with the vestiges of sleep.

“I was waiting for you last night, only when you came in you didn’t notice me and you collapsed on the bed. I’d hoped it was just the events of the day catching up to you, so I took off your shoes and moved you to a more comfortable position. But you didn’t seem comfortable last night. Were you having nightmares?”

I nodded. “But they won’t happen. None of them will happen.”

“What were they about?” he asked. I met his eye and realized he was going for the session I was supposed to have given him last night. I snorted. “What?” he asked.

“You’re going to play therapist now? Before I can wake up? Isn’t that cheating?”

He shrugged, “That depends.”
              “On what?”

“On whether or not you’ll be more honest with me if you’re tired,” he answered seriously. “I’m trying to help, and when you’re fully awake, you’re guarded. I was hoping you’d be more open if I caught you just waking up.” He grinned at me. “Apparently my hope was in vain. You caught me before you gave anything away.”

“The dreams were all about Kindred. He was hurting the most important people in my life. And he was controlling me in a few, making me hurt Hannah, Alice, Sam…I won’t let that happen, Dustin. He won’t turn me against my friends or my brother.”

“I believe you,” he said. “You started sensing when he was trying to take control. The next step is going to have to be somehow protecting your mind from his attacks.”

“I almost saw him, you know. In Torsten. He lost control and was flickering. I almost saw his true self, but he ran before he showed up completely.”

Dustin seemed confused, “What do you mean, 'he flickered'?”

“I guess that’s part of his ability,” I answered with a shrug. “He was able to hide himself from view. It could be how he managed to keep Mason from being seen at so many crime scenes.” He nodded his agreement. “Either way, that ability makes it more difficult for me to know when he’s there. Somehow, I think it’s linked to how softly he walks. It’s hard to feel him coming, even now that I know what the steps feel like.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Jason. You’re doing well against a formidable opponent. There aren’t many who could do better against him. And you aren’t alone,” he assured me, apparently noticing my lack of confidence. “Alice and Dan are with you, so is Agent Jones. Hannah and I are here for you when you need to talk. You can’t beat up on yourself for anything that’s happened.”

I hung my head, realizing I hadn’t told him what I did to Brayden. “I almost killed someone last night,” I admitted softly. “I wanted to, and probably would have if that cop hadn’t stopped me.”

His eyes widened in surprise, but only briefly. He would make a good therapist once he graduated. “Again, that’s normal for what you’ve been through, Jason,” he said, no sign of shock or disgust in his voice. “The important thing is that you didn’t kill him. You held back enough to save yourself and the cop, and then let him go, right?”

After hesitating momentarily, I nodded. “I trapped him with no air. I could feel his heartbeat slowing, and…I liked it.” My heartbeat sped up as I spoke, and my breaths came in short pants. “I liked it, Dustin! Why would I like it?” My eyes met his, hoping for an answer to my question.

He put his hand on my shoulder, offering support. “You’ve been through so much, Jason. You finally had some control over something. That’s what you liked. You didn’t like the thought of hurting someone, but of being in control,” he said confidently. “But,” he added cautiously, “You need to stay in control of yourself. I understand that you need to feel safe, but make sure you don’t take it too far. You have abilities beyond those of most people, and—as cliché as it may sound—with that comes the responsibility to use them the right way. No killing.”

My gaze dropped to the floor as I asked softly, “Will you help me?”

THIRTY-FOUR

Hannah

It took me a long time to get to sleep after Alice told me what happened in Torsten. Another building nearly demolished by Jason’s frightening power, and another person who found out his secret. At this rate, everyone would know about Jason, and that would make him even more of a target than he already was. And the worst part of the story was his confrontation with Kindred. He almost lost. When Alice arrived at the little police station, he was slumped against the wall, almost unconscious.

Jason was still sleeping when I got up to get ready for school, at least that’s what I thought until I heard low voices coming from the basement. I was confused until I figured out Dustin didn’t come up after going to Jason’s room to meet with him. He must have spent the night, waiting for Jason to wake up so they could talk. Sam was in the kitchen eating some cereal; he had dark circles under his eyes, but seemed happy enough. “You sleep well?” I asked when he glanced at me.

The boy nodded, still crunching his cereal. I ruffled his curly hair and told him, “Jason’s awake, but he’s talking to Dustin.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “He’s talking again?”

“Yeah. He went through some stuff yesterday, and he needs to talk it out. Don’t worry, he’s not leaving again.”

“I know. He promised me last night.” He finished his cereal. “I’m gonna go say good bye. Are you taking me to Dan’s this morning?”

“No, I’m able to take you directly to school today. The others will meet you there. Unless you’d rather I drop you at Dan’s first,” I offered, not sure if he would be comfortable with the idea of being alone at school even for a few minutes.

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Just take me to school. I’ll be back up in a minute, Hannah.”

“All right,” I agreed as I watched him run down the stairs, eager to see his brother before he had to go to school. With Dustin’s help, hopefully Jason would be able to get through everything he needed to, so he could be the brother that Sam needed.

Sam came back upstairs, more slowly and with less enthusiasm. “You ready, kiddo?” I asked cheerfully.

“Sure,” he said.

I caught him by the arm while he walked to the door and held his shoulder gently. “You okay?”

He nodded and smiled widely. “Yeah, I’m good. I just,” he hesitated, the fake smile dropping. “I didn’t see the bruises yesterday. My room was too dark. I didn’t know he was hurt again.”

I hugged him to my side and kissed the top of his head. “He’ll be all right. You’ll see. Your brother is strong; he’ll bounce back from this and be your big brother again.”

“We should go. We’re gonna be late,” the boy said eagerly, once again bouncing back from negative emotions without missing a beat. Sam extracted himself from my grasp and rushed outside. He waved urgently to me from his place beside my car and I laughed and ran out to join him.

I dropped him off at school, watching until he was in the building before I drove away to get to my own classes. As I was pulling away I saw Dan dropping off the other kids, so I waved. He was scanning the area. His face was relaxed, but his eyes were vigilant, watching for any threats. I knew how he felt. It was hard to leave the kids, even for school, knowing that Kindred could choose to go after them to get to Jason. But we couldn’t keep living in fear.

I told myself to concentrate on school, and not worry about what was happening with Jason. For the most part I was successful, and classes went well. My group gave a presentation in our psychology class, and I saw that Dustin wasn’t there. It threw me off a little, but I knew he must be helping Jason through his experiences, so I shook it off and concentrated on the presentation. It was my last class of the day, so I started to head off campus, but one of my friends stopped me. “Hey, Hannah! You wanna get some coffee with us?”

My first instinct was to say no. I wanted to get home to see how Jason was. But I thought about it for a moment and realized I hadn’t done anything relaxing or fun for quite a while. “Sure. That sounds fun.” And it could get my mind off things, even if only for an hour or so. I did wonder how Jason and Dustin were doing, but if they were still talking, then I wouldn’t see or hear from them until they were done anyway.