Oblivion (4 page)

SEVEN

Sam

We were in Silvan
City. Neither Alice nor Mark required much convincing when I told them we
needed to go. Apparently, even with their distrust of Kindred…or
Jeremiah—whatever he was going by these days—they believed he wanted to help
Jason. And they definitely believed me when I told them I didn’t know anything
else.

Hannah, on the
other hand… well, she didn’t seem so sure. She kept giving me sideways glances,
and questioning whether Jeremiah said anything else. Every time I answered in
the negative, she gave me another look, as if she was almost done giving me the
chance to come clean. How she could read me so easily, I didn’t know.

“Jason is
terrified right now,” I said, kind of out of the blue. “But he’s hiding it
behind some determination. I think he wants to try escaping. But Jeremiah
hasn’t told me where they are yet, and we can’t help until he does.”

Hannah spoke up.
“Maybe you should try reading Jeremiah again. If you do, he may speak up again.
He doesn’t seem to like it when you go into his head.”

“Hypocrite,” Alice
hissed from the front seat. Apparently, she still held a grudge. Whatever
Jeremiah did in the past was not important anymore; for now at least. Of course
we couldn’t forget that the man had killed multiple people and terrorized my
brother, but for now? For now, we had to forget all that and trust him to watch
out for Jason.

“Alice, we have to
work with him. He doesn’t think like most people, but after everything he went
through, do you expect him to? Mason did horrible things to him. Most likely,
if he had been allowed to live his life without Mason’s interruption, Jeremiah
would have been a good person,” I urged the police officer.

I could tell she
was listening, but she still had a frown on her face. I huffed impatiently. Of
course it would be hard for a cop to ignore the crimes Jeremiah had committed.
Even if it would help us in the short-term.

Continuing my
argument, I said, “Whatever he’s done in the past, he’s trying to help now. I
don’t fully trust him either, but I can tell he genuinely wants to help Jason.
Don’t do anything that will scare him off.”

Both Alice and
Mark straightened in their seats. “I wouldn’t do anything to compromise Jason’s
safety. You should know that, Sam,” she informed me. She sounded hurt, and her
emotions mirrored the vocal clues.

I winced, staring
out the window for a second. The last thing I wanted was to alienate my
friends. Whatever was happening with Jason, I needed their help to find him—and
to help me keep myself together. Sometimes it was hard to keep my own feelings
separate from others. The cold detachment I’d felt while with Hunter, for
example. How I enjoyed manipulating my own brother. That wasn’t the real me,
but—for a time—it was.

Alice sighed,
apparently thinking I wouldn’t respond to her.

My mouth twitched
in a smile. She wouldn’t hurt my brother or me, so I assured her, “I know. You
are one of the few people Jason trusts completely. I know you wouldn’t
purposefully do anything to compromise his safety.”

She frowned. “Does
that imply that I would inadvertently put him in danger?”

I shrugged. In my
mind, past events spoke for themselves. Without her involving Jason in the
Trevor Mason case, Jason would never have appeared on Mason’s radar, and we
likely would never have left home.

Her hurt gave way
to reluctant acceptance, but the frown remained. Harping on the past wouldn’t
help, so I informed them that I was going to try contacting Jeremiah. “Don’t
talk for a few minutes, okay?”

My three
companions nodded, and my mind traveled the path to Jeremiah’s. Explaining how
the connection worked was nearly impossible. The closest I could come up with
is that because my mind could sense emotions, I could follow a specific
person’s emotions back to the source.

Anger seemed to be
one of the main emotions Jeremiah knew how to feel, and I followed that path. I
winced as I made the connection. Right now it went well beyond anger. Kindred,
because he was definitely in assassin mode right now, was absolutely furious.
Something was happening, and it had thrown him into a murderous rage. To gain
his attention I attempted to dial down the anger.

I definitely got a
reaction. Pain shot through my mind as his mental voice snapped back at me.
“Not
now, Oblivion! I am a little occupied at the moment.”

“Where are
you?”
I wasn’t about to let him go without finding out where my brother
was.
“I need to know, or I can’t help you.”

“You can’t. Not
now. Believe me; I will let you know when you can be of service.”

Now I felt my own
anger rising, and I clenched my fist. It was a struggle to prevent myself from
tearing into Kindred’s mind.
“You and I are similar, Kindred. The name works
for me now. I will do whatever it takes to get my brother back, including
tearing through you if I have to.”

“I will contact
you again in a few moments. Just give me time to finish this,”
Kindred
said, cutting off contact without any consent from me.

He was still more
powerful than me. For now. But he was still sincere in his desire to help, and
I knew he would be in contact. “What did he say?” Hannah asked quietly,
brushing her hair back behind her ear.

“He’s busy with
something right now, but he promised to contact me again soon. We should find
somewhere to stop. A hotel or something,” I suggested.

“We don’t need
to,” Mark said. “I have a friend who has a house here, and the O.K. to use the
place whenever I’m in town.”

I felt a flash of
discomfort from Mark as he spoke, and saw him glance at Alice, but didn’t
question him. Nor did I mention the flash of—was it jealousy?—from Alice. Now
wasn’t the time.

“I think Kindred
is in trouble,” I finally said.

“What happened to
calling him ‘Jeremiah’? I thought he wasn’t going by his assassin name
anymore,” Alice asked, turning toward the back seat.

“He is absolutely
furious right now. I don’t think the name ‘Jeremiah’ works as well when he’s
ready to kill someone. If it helps, he didn’t argue when I called him Kindred.”

Oddly, she didn’t
seem all that reassured. Alice pursed her lips, and Hannah put a hand on my arm
and asked, “Do you have any idea what was happening?”

“No, but it was
definitely not good. And I did learn one thing: I can’t control his emotions—at
least not to the extent that I could with Hunter. I tried to dial down his
anger, and it just made him more furious.”

Nodding, Alice
said, “Well, we know Jeremiah’s ability does have a lot to do with the mind. He
probably has more control over his own mind than most people.”

“Not only his mind.
If he could only control his own mind, he would never have been able to
manipulate Jason,” Hannah said. “I’m not surprised he isn’t as easily influenced.
He would also be more sensitive to someone having power over him after what
Mason did to him.”

I watched out the
car window; buildings and stores passed by at a slow speed. People walked
around, going about their everyday lives with no idea that my world was tearing
apart. I blinked, tears filling my eyes. I did this. I destroyed Hunter’s mind.
I allowed Jason to be taken.

“It’s not your
fault, Sam. Don’t give up,” Hannah urged.

“You can’t say
that,” I told her. I turned to face her. “So much of what happened is on my
shoulders. I can’t deny it.”

“We’re here,” Mark
said. I looked out the window, glad of the interruption.

My mouth dropped
when I saw the house. It was huge! “Who is this ‘friend’ Mark?” I asked. We
drove through the open gate up to the front entrance. The front yard was
perfectly landscaped with bushes and flowers lining the driveway.

“She’s an heiress,
someone I helped a while back.”

I felt jealousy
flaring. Wait… there was no reason for me to be envious of this person. Many
people were more financially well-off than me. Why was I…? Ah. Not me. Pulling
back a little I realized the jealousy was coming from Alice.

“What did you help
her with?” I asked.

“It was actually a
case. I was trying to catch a con artist who was scamming people out of their
money. I was able to help Tessa with getting her money back once we caught the
guy. She was grateful. Now we’re good friends,” he finished, seemingly
oblivious to Alice glaring daggers at him.

Testing the waters
of Mark’s mind, I realized everything was as he said. He had no romantic
interest in this woman, whoever she was. Not romantic, but he definitely felt a
deep affection for her.

“How much property
does she have here?” I asked, glancing around the house. Mark parked, and we
got out of the car. From what I could see, the back was just as well-kept as
the front.

“I think it’s
about ten acres. She has to hire people to take care of most of it. There used
to be several horses back in the stable, but the last time I was here there
were only two.”

“Tessa!” exclaimed
Mark, raising a hand in greeting as the front door opened. A tall, gray-haired
woman stepped out, pulling Mark into a big hug.

“Mark! It’s been
too long. Who are your friends?” At first glance, the woman seemed frail, but
her blue eyes showed so much life that it was impossible to maintain that
impression.

Alice’s jealousy
quickly turned to embarrassment, and her lips turned upward as the older woman
hugged Mark.

Mark introduced
us. “We have something we need to do here in Silvan,” he explained. “A friend
of ours is missing, and we believe he is somewhere nearby. Would it be okay if
we stayed here while we look for him?”

Her eyes widened
when Mark mentioned our missing friend, and she looked at us with sympathy. “Of
course it is. And when you find him, your friend is welcome too. Stay as long
as you like. I’ll have Carina show you to your rooms. The kitchen is open to
you, just let me know if there’s anything you need.”

I felt pressure in
my head, and caught Tessa’s attention. “Is there somewhere I can be alone for a
while? I just… I need some time to myself.”

She began to
frown, but Mark shook his head. “The person we’re looking for is Sam’s
brother,” he said in a low voice. “He needs some time to process everything.”

“As I said, young
man, everywhere is open to you. But my favorite place to sit and think is on
the swinging bench by the horse pasture. Just go out the back door, through
this hallway, and follow the path straight down. You can’t miss it.” Her voice
showed sympathy, and her eyes were tearing.

Not able to deal
with another person’s emotions, I thanked her and rushed out the door.

“You were in a
hurry before,”
Kindred’s voice came into my head before I got to the swing,
and I almost fell.
“Now you make me wait?”

“One moment,
Kindred. I need to sit down. This mental conversation takes a lot of
concentration.”
As soon as I
spoke, I wished I could take it back. He didn’t need to know my limits.

Pushing forward, I
was able to settle on the swing.
“What’s going on?”
I asked.

“I’ve been
apprehended. They saw me on the security cameras. I can’t get to Jason right
now. We both need your help, but not as the sniveling little brother you’ve
been in the past.”

Trying not to take
offence to the less than complimentary remark, I responded.
“What is it you
need from me?”

“I need you to
be
Oblivion,”
he said urgently.
“We both need you to put aside your fears
and doubts, and use your powers to get us out!”

“I…I don’t know
if I can,”
I said honestly. My powers scared me. What I could do—what I
did
do—much of it was outside my control. Depending on the situation, I might not
even be able to help.

“You must!”
Kindred urged, almost sounding desperate.
“If you do not… If you cannot
control your power and help us, both Jason and I will be lost to you forever.”

EIGHT

Jason

He’s gone. The one
person in this place I was starting to trust is now nowhere to be found.
Jeremiah promised he wouldn’t leave me alone in this place, and now I am
strapped down to the bed. The new man, the one who seemed to be in charge, had turned
off the lights. Now I was left alone to contemplate what they might be planning
for me.

Staring at a dark
ceiling isn’t as interesting an activity as one might think. I could see tiny
hints of detail in the room due to the sliver of light from under the door. With
my arms restrained to the edges of the bed, I didn’t have much choice but to
stare at the ceiling. Of course, I could stare at the wall instead; although if
I did it for too long, I would likely get a cramp in my already sore neck.

What did these
people want from me? I mean, I know I have some sort of ability, but what do
they hope to gain by keeping me as a prisoner? They seem to expect cooperation,
but they are going about it in a strange way. My head doesn’t ache as much as
when I woke, so maybe they did me some good, but I’m holding off on feeling
grateful—especially since they may have been the cause of my ‘accident’ to
begin with.

With little else
to hold my attention, I wondered again where Jeremiah had gone. I wanted to
trust him, but he already broke his promise to stay with me. Could I really
trust that he was trying to help?

“Jason, I have
been captured.”
Speak of the
devil. Jeremiah’s voice rang through my mind, and I winced at the intrusion.
“They can’t prevent me from speaking to you, but I can’t get to you. Have
patience. I am attempting to coordinate a rescue.”

I could almost feel my mind struggling to
push out the intruder.

“What can I do
to help?”
I asked silently. Perhaps if I pushed to stay in contact, the
connection would remain. My only hope of escape had been captured, and I
remained trapped…helpless…

“I can’t… I
can’t just sit here and be helpless, Jeremiah. I need to get out of here!”
My
breathing sped up, and I felt like I was growing light-headed.

“Jason, you
need to calm yourself. Relax, and you will get through this. We will be
rescued, and you will be with your family soon.”
His voice was fading.
“You need to stop fighting me, or I won’t be
able to speak to you anymore.

“I don’t know
how to stop it. Somehow my mind is pushing you out, and I don’t know how to stop
it! What are they doing to you?”
I asked, still pushing through my body’s
natural attempt to block the intruder.
“They left me alone, but I’m strapped
to the bed.”

“They’re
working on confining me right now. I am locked in a room with a video camera
watching my every move. I don’t know that my ability to disappear will do any
good in this place. I may have to resort to my…other abilities. You just sit
tight. I need to go.”

“Jeremiah?”
I
attempted to sit up, groaning when the movement irritated my injuries. A sharp
pain shot through my ribs, and my head started throbbing again. Jeremiah seemed
so… capable. If he couldn’t get away from these people, who could? Who did he
have coming for us? Was it the kid he mentioned? Oblivion. If it was, could a
kid really manage to break us out of this place?

There were
vibrations coming down the hall, and I busied myself with memorizing the
different patterns I felt. Without fail, the vibrations that moved past my door
were accompanied by rhythmic thumping that seemed to quicken as they neared my
room.

By the time things
quieted, I had memorized five separate patterns. I also realized what the
vibrations were: Footsteps. The thumping was a little more difficult, but I
eventually realized they were heartbeats. Anyone who neared my room seemed to
get more and more nervous, which would explain the faster heartbeats.

So, I figured out
my ability, but I still had no way of knowing how to use it to get out of this
situation. The people here apparently know more about me. They seem to think I
was more dangerous than I currently feel. But being injured and confined to the
bed did not inspire confidence. Maybe there’s more to my powers than I’ve
figured out so far.

My main hope for
escape is a man who has crazy super powers, and a kid who can make people
forget. May have made me forget. Jeremiah may not have told me exactly what he
suspected, but his full distrust of the kid he called Oblivion proves to me
that he suspects the boy caused my amnesia.

What is even worse
than being stuck on a bed not knowing what’s going to happen, is reaching for
information I should know and not having it there. There were tiny fragments
floating around, but when I tried to grasp at them it was like trying to catch
a fish with my bare hands.

Bits and pieces
came through as I stared at the ceiling: A girl with blonde hair, but features
obscured. A young boy with dark brown hair and a shy smile. I remembered
feeling terrified, worried, hurt…all sorts of emotions, but there was no
context. It worried me that most of the emotions I felt even now were negative.

Before long, the
lack of activity lulled me into sleep. I only woke when I tried to move and the
restraints dug into my arms, but drifted back to sleep soon after.

Familiar steps
approached my room, and I woke immediately. My whole body tensed when I
recognized the steps as the man who strapped me down. Another man walked with
him. How much time had passed since he left? He’d said they would begin their
tests tomorrow…has it already been that long?

What kind of
testing would they do? My powers are almost a complete mystery to me, so I have
no idea what to expect.

Muted voices
approached confirming the boss-man wasn’t alone. Not unexpected, but still
unwelcome. It is becoming easier to trust what my abilities tell me.

I stared at my
bound wrists, wracking my brain for ways to get out of this. My memory may be
gone, but there was a sense of déjà vu about this situation. I couldn’t help
but wonder: Have I been through something similar before? I’d noticed scars
along my arms before. It only supported my theory now.

The door opened
quietly, and two men entered. I felt as taut as a bowstring, and I felt myself
start to shake. Both men wore medical masks and scrubs. It was difficult to
tell them apart, since they were also similarly built.

“We’re ready to
begin the testing, Jason,” the head tormentor informed me. Despite their
similar appearance, the vibrations and the patterns of their steps were
completely different.

I’m beginning to
see how this ability could potentially be useful. If I managed to get out of
here and felt the footsteps of any of the people here, I would definitely head
in the other direction.

Instead of
responding to the man, I continued staring at the ceiling. My arms lay limply
at my sides as my mind wandered away—or tried to anyway. Honestly, I was just
figuring blanking out might be better than facing whatever they had planned for
me.

My plan failed
when I felt them grab my arm and shove what felt like a harpoon through the
skin. I yelped and tried to grab at the spot with my other hand, wincing when
the restraint pinched my wrist. “What was that?” I asked, staring up at them
intently.

“Just something to
make sure you aren’t able to disappear on us. It isn’t something that will hurt
you, but it will tell us your location in case you manage to get away during
our initial testing,” the second man said.

The man in charge
spoke while his friend stuck a little bandage over the injection site. “Getting
away is not likely, and if you try you will be punished.”

I wanted to ask
about Jeremiah, but I wasn’t sure if they were aware that I knew about him.
Bringing him up now could be a mistake.
“Good choice, Jason,”
Jeremiah’s
voice sounded in my head, and I flinched a little.

“Just do what I
say and nothing outside of our testing will happen to you,” my captor said
smugly, apparently believing my flinch had been a reaction to what he said, and
not to the sudden voice in my head.

Not that I wasn’t terrified
of what these people could do to me, but having another person speaking
directly into my mind was a bit more nerve wracking than threats of potential
violence. And didn’t that say a lot? Maybe a part of me could remember, because
I had thought I should be more scared of the people holding me than the person
trying to help me.

“
Jason, you
need to cooperate. At least for now. Don’t give them an excuse to hurt you,”
Jeremiah suggested.

It was hard to
admit, but he was right. I forced my tense muscles to relax, and took a deep
breath before responding.

“What do you need
me to do?” I asked woodenly, not meeting their eyes.

“We’re going to
take you to one of our testing rooms. You’ll be monitored, and you will show us
your powers.”

Frowning, I asked,
“How do I show you?”

“The details will
be given to you once the testing begins. For now we will simply be testing the
range of what you can do. From what I understand from our mutual friend, you
are quite powerful. Know that we have ways to control you. If you fight us, we
will bring in your brother. You wouldn’t want to bring him into this, would
you?”

Brother? The
surprise made me swing my gaze up to the man. Once again misunderstanding my
reaction, he continued, “Just do what we say, and baby brother can remain safe
with your friends. Fight us, and whatever happens to him is on you.”

“I’ll do what you
say,” I gritted through clenched teeth. If I do have a brother, I definitely
don’t want him anywhere near these men.

“Good choice, young
man. You may call me the Doctor, and you can call him Boss or Sir. It’s not his
name, but he does like the feeling of being in charge. You will do whatever
either of us tells you to do. I will not always be available to monitor your
testing sessions, so he will be in charge of you on those days. Both of us are
permitted to test you as we see fit. Punishments are the same. If one of us
punishes you, do not try to play us against each other.”

Whatever had been
pushing Jeremiah away from my mind before had stopped acting up; now his comments
came through loud and clear—perhaps because I was straining to hear anything
from someone who was on my side. These people wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me.

Apparently
Jeremiah had continued to monitor my situation, because he said,
“These
people are dangerous. As I said, play along for now. I am still working out how
we can get out of here. I will tell you about your brother later.”
He
seemed angry, and practically spat the word brother, but it confirmed that what
the Doctor said was true.

I have a brother,
and because of me, he could be in danger.