by Lauren Algeo
Brewer glanced sideways at Trudy but she was busy putting food onto her plate. Thankfully it was a top that didn’t look too out of place on a young girl, and without the mini skirt, makeup and high heels, it didn’t give any hint of Georgie’s past. Satisfied, Brewer began to pile his plate high with food.
Marcus emerged moments later with the drinks. He gave Georgie a long look as he took a seat at the table but his face gave nothing away. Brewer would bet his friend had scanned over her bare arms to see if she had any tell tale needle marks.
The meal passed in a haze of chatter and drinks. Ella talked non-stop about school and swimming; she didn’t seem to be shy around new people at all. There was one awkward moment when Trudy asked Georgie what she did for a living but she thought fast.
‘I’ve been working in customer relations,’ she said. ‘But am thinking of going to college now. I’d like to go back into a learning environment, I just haven’t picked a subject yet.’
It was a vague answer that almost resembled the truth. Brewer was proud.
‘Well don’t go on to be a doctor’s receptionist,’ Trudy advised her. ‘You should see some of the patients I had to deal with this week!’
When it began to turn chilly and the light started to fade, Ella became tired and irritable.
‘I think it’s past someone’s bedtime.’ Trudy smiled, scooping Ella up from where she was slumped in her chair.
‘We better be going too,’ Brewer said, getting up from his seat. ‘We need to get the bus back.’
‘Thanks for having us.’ Georgie said as she got to her feet too. ‘The food was awesome.’
Trudy gave her a one handed hug around Ella, who was now draped over her shoulder.
‘It was lovely to meet you, Georgie. We’ll hopefully see you again soon. And you,’ Trudy turned her attention to Brewer. ‘I expect to see your face around here a lot more!’
Brewer gave her a kiss on the cheek then kissed Ella lightly on the head.
‘You will,’ he replied.
Trudy went upstairs to put Ella to bed and Marcus showed them to the door. He gave Georgie a brief peck on the cheek goodbye and she went out the front with a wave. Brewer looked at his friend.
‘Thank you,’ he said quietly.
Marcus nodded. They both knew he meant thank you for treating Georgie normally throughout the day.
‘We’ll catch up in the week,’ Marcus said and Brewer knew he’d call to quiz him in a couple of days.
‘Bye mate.’
Georgie was quiet as they walked to the bus stop.
‘I had a good day,’ she said finally as they took a seat on the bus. ‘They’re nice people. It’s a shame Marcus guessed about my past though.’
Brewer looked surprised – he thought Marcus had done a pretty good job of hiding the fact he knew there was a prostitute playing with his child.
‘I could tell straight away,’ she told Brewer. ‘He kept his face neutral but I could see in his eyes that he knew what I was.’
‘He guessed when he saw you at the flat, only he jumped to the wrong conclusions,’ Brewer admitted.
Georgie nodded slowly. ‘If we get time, I’ll win him over,’ she said assuredly.
That was the end of the conversation. By the time they got back to the flat, they were both tired. Brewer made them strong cups of tea and they watched the evening news.
‘Better get some rest,’ he told her a little while later. ‘Lessons begin early.’
Chapter 13
Over the next few days, Georgie devoured book after book, until she knew a lot more about the myths and theories Brewer had looked in to.
‘I think it’s evolution,’ she stated on Wednesday morning, as she put a science book back on the shelf.
‘Why so?’ Brewer asked, intrigued.
He was sitting in his armchair with the laptop open in front of him, looking for leads. They had been at the flat for a week now; it was the longest he’d stayed still in months and he was going stir crazy.
‘Survival,’ she said. ‘Don’t ask me how, but someone developed the power of mind control. Maybe a rogue gene or experiment or something? Hikers can breed so they pass it down from generation to generation. This super race, with awesome power.’
‘That’s my top theory too,’ Brewer agreed. ‘It just has a few holes that I haven’t filled yet.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like, if it’s getting passed down, the gene should be evolving and getting stronger but the Grand is still the most powerful hiker there is. And if he was the first one, how the hell did he get this power?’
‘Mutation?’ Georgie suggested. ‘A bit like the X-men?’
Brewer laughed. ‘This isn’t a fantasy with good and bad mutants, Georgie. Hikers are all evil.’
‘Yeah, and people can be evil too. Especially the ones paying for hikers to do their dirty work,’ Georgie replied. ‘How much do you think it costs?’
Brewer shrugged. ‘More than what I used to make in a year, I reckon. I know it costs a lot more if there’s more than one target. I heard the Grand tell a hiker once that someone was paying extremely handsomely to have three people killed.’
‘How do these people find out about hiring a hiker anyway?’
‘I don’t know,’ Brewer admitted. ‘Maybe hikers search the minds of people, looking for ones who are desperate to get certain situations sorted out. Or it could be some elite, private member’s club type of scenario. I haven’t figured it out yet.’
He let Georgie use his laptop while he made them both some sandwiches for lunch. He looked wistfully out of the window. The grey, drizzly day wasn’t the least bit inviting however he was getting bored of the four walls in the room. The only time they had been outside in the last few days was to get food, and get Georgie some more clothes.
She had picked out some t-shirts, leggings and jumpers for herself, along with a warm, black jacket. She did choose one navy dress.
‘In case we go somewhere for dinner again,’ she’d said.
She also got a pair of flat, black ballet pumps and some converse trainers. Everything was now in her correct size and he’d never seen someone so happy to be taken clothes shopping before.
Brewer had decided Georgie was nearly ready to practice blocking her mind from hikers and the best way to do that would be to trail one. He’d been looking through numerous news websites but nothing looked promising. They may have to do it the old fashioned way and go searching for one.
Brewer handed Georgie a tuna sandwich and some crisps, and he watched the news while he ate.
‘I think there are hikers in America,’ she said suddenly, looking up from the screen and turning her attention to the sandwich.
‘There are probably hikers all over the world,’ he said. ‘Who knows how many there are and where they go.’
‘Well, I think they go to Philadelphia.’ She turned the laptop to face him. ‘Check this out.’
Brewer squinted at the screen. ‘What is it?’
‘Some American wacko site about conspiracies and strange goings on.’
Brewer got up from the armchair and went to join her on the sofa for a closer look.
‘Look, see here. This guy, Striker25, he’s made comments recently about weird happenings in his city. Some of his posts sound like stuff you’ve told me.’
Brewer scanned down some of the topics – alien sightings, haunted houses, crop circles – it looked like your average supernatural site, although halfway down one post was titled ‘Who’s messing with your mind?’. Brewer read through what Striker25 had to say and found that Georgie was right, some of it was familiar.
He described how one of his friends had started to act strangely for a couple of days, like he was out of it and listening to a voice no one else could hear. His friend was a taxi driver and that week he was involved in a head on collision, killing himself and two passengers.
‘I know my friend and he wasn’t in his right mind.’ Striker25 had written. �
�He’d never so much as scraped his taxi before, let alone crashed into an oncoming car! How does someone do that? Something’s not right here.’
There were some inarticulate, unimportant replies from other users and Brewer skipped over them. Striker25 had added to the thread a week later.
‘I was right – some weird shit is going down in this town! Been checking out all the local news and there was a suicide the day after my buddies crash. So what? I hear you ask. So I checked out the wider area news, the whole damn state! There have been tons of weird killings and suicides, way more than you would expect. I think someone is controlling people and making them do crazy shit. Like invasion of the body snatchers, only in your head!’
‘Hmm it does sound like hikers,’ Brewer agreed, handing the computer back to Georgie. ‘New ones, who have a lot of power but aren’t being very careful.’
Georgie scrolled back through the site eagerly. ‘You think they have an American Grand over there? Should I message this guy and warn him?’
‘Not yet,’ Brewer said. ‘Watch for a while and see if he posts anything else.’
‘Ok,’ Georgie huffed. She clicked at the keyboard a couple of times.
‘His user profile doesn’t say much. Just the name, and that he’s male and lives in Philadelphia, which we got from the posts anyway.’ She peered closely at the screen. ‘Says he’s only been a member for a month so his interest is new.’
An amateur, Brewer thought to himself. Posting comments on some paranormal, hysterical site wouldn’t get him many answers about what was really going on.
They spent the next hour researching. Georgie chose another book from the shelf however he could see she was getting as restless as him.
‘I think you’re ready for the next lesson,’ Brewer told her.
‘Really? Wicked!’ she exclaimed, looking instantly more animated. ‘What is it? Hunting?’
‘Listening.’
Georgie’s face fell.
‘Listening?’ she asked, crinkling her nose as if the word disgusted her. ‘That doesn’t sound like a step up from reading.’
‘Yes, listening,’ he said firmly. ‘I need to know if you can hear them too. I only really know from my experience that I could hear them after, so we need to make sure you can. It’s important that you learn how to listen out for them.’
‘Ok,’ Georgie sighed sounding like a stroppy teen for the second time that day. ‘Then is it time to hunt?’
‘No,’ Brewer said exasperated. ‘You have to take this seriously, Georgie. We have to train you to block your mind from them before you can even get close or you’ll end up dead.’
He could see her thinking of the train incident again.
‘I’m sorry, I will take it seriously,’ she replied, with a focussed look in her eyes. ‘So when does the listening begin?’
‘Right now.’
They took a train into Central London and began to walk around the City area. Georgie had asked not to go to the West End in case she bumped into Spence, or any of the girls she’d used to share a house with. He would be furious if he saw her; she’d never been gone for this long before. Brewer asked if there was anything she wanted to go back to the house to collect.
‘There’s nothing,’ she shook her head. ‘Just some slutty clothes I’d rather not wear again and shit memories.’
She had the only important item in her tiny bag, the creased photo of her and her parents on that happy day in the garden.
They began their search at Bank tube station.
‘What exactly are we listening for?’ Georgie asked as they walked along Cornhill Street.
‘You’ll know if you hear it,’ Brewer replied. ‘It’s a kind of scratching sound initially. The kind that scrapes in the back of your mind.’
They walked around silently for a while. Georgie kept cocking her head from side to side in an exaggerated gesture only there was nothing to hear.
After an hour, they took the tube further east and repeated the process. Brewer could tell Georgie’s enthusiasm was waning.
‘How the hell do you ever find hikers like this?’ she huffed three hours into their expedition.
It was getting to the end of the working day and the streets were growing crowded. They had to weave in and out of commuters as they walked to the nearest station.
‘With patience,’ Brewer replied.
Georgie rolled her eyes. ‘And shoes that don’t give you blisters!’
‘I don’t always need to look for them like this,’ he said. ‘There’s just no hiker activity on any of the news sites today.’
He ducked past a man in a suit who was ploughing towards them, dragging a briefcase on wheels behind him. ‘Plus I don’t want to take you too far from London yet, not until you’re ready.’
They searched for another couple of hours, until the night began to close in, but no hikers came out to play.
‘Tomorrow we’ll look west,’ Brewer told her when they arrived back at the flat to have some dinner.
‘And take some food with us,’ Georgie grumbled. She was starving after all the walking and her legs ached.
They ate a big dinner of roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables, and Georgie watched TV while Brewer looked through some more websites.
‘Anything?’ she asked hopefully.
‘Nope.’ He didn’t lift his eyes to see her disappointed face. ‘Looks like more walking.’
He tiredly put the laptop down and watched a comedy programme with Georgie. It felt strange to have her laughter filling the flat – there hadn’t been much of that sound there before. He found himself chuckling at some of the jokes and for a little while, he allowed himself to escape in the childish humour.
Chapter 14
The next day was grey and drizzly, and there was a chill in the air. This time, Brewer took his rucksack and filled it with supplies. He packed an extra jumper for each of them, some food, and a couple of bottles of water. When Georgie wasn’t looking, he tucked his knife into the side pocket – he didn’t want her getting ahead of herself.
She wore her converse trainers and thick socks, instead of the pumps she’d had on yesterday.
‘They were definitely not made for walking long distances,’ she grumbled to Brewer.
‘We can get you some of these,’ he replied, gesturing to his sturdy Doc Martens.
‘Deal,’ she smiled. ‘But I want ones that are a little less manly!’
‘What, pink?’ he teased. ‘With pretty flowers on?’
Georgie glowered at him.
It was strange how used to having Georgie around he had already gotten. Her attitude still grated on him but she was a good kid underneath.
They took the train south to Surrey and Brewer hoped if they widened the net to Greater London, they would get lucky. The morning found nothing. They passed through a few towns, however there were no hikers. They stopped for lunch in a park near Epsom. Georgie was on the brink of a tantrum but luckily for now, she was hanging onto the sullen phase.
‘This isn’t what I expected,’ she sighed.
They were huddled on a bench and Georgie wrapped her damp jacket tighter around her tiny body. Her teeth were chattering lightly from hours in the cold and wet.
‘I told you my life wasn’t glamorous,’ Brewer shrugged. ‘It can be depressing and make you miserable. I can sometimes go for weeks without encountering any hikers.’
‘I know, I know. I was warned.’ She took a swig of water from one of the bottles they’d packed. ‘It’ll be worth it when we find one though.’
Brewer finished his sandwich quietly. God knows what the girl was expecting to happen when they did find a hiker. Did she think she would walk up to one and instantly find a way to kill it?
He glanced up at the moody sky. It had been drizzling all day, however the dark clouds overhead threatened heavier rain.
‘Do you want to try more towns this afternoon?’ he asked her. ‘Or do you want to go back to the flat and sift through the n
ews again?’
Georgie pressed her lips together and peered up at the sky. ‘We’ll try a couple more before it starts properly pissing down.’
They hopped on the train to Woking and carried on their search. They caught a couple of buses across town to save them the time on foot. An hour later, a few fatter drops of rain began to plop down on the pavement around them. Brewer buttoned his trench coat all the way to the top and stopped walking.
‘Come on, let’s head back before it really comes down,’ he said.
Georgie didn’t argue and they started back in the direction of the nearest train station.
Half a mile later, Georgie fell behind. She took a couple of faltering steps then stopped dead.
‘What’s that?’ she asked, her thin eyebrows creased down in a frown of concentration.
‘What?’ Brewer asked.
‘That noise?’
Brewer listened but all he could hear was the pattering of rain and the faint sound of traffic from a busy road up ahead.
‘I can’t hear anything,’ he told her, hunching his shoulders up against the downpour. ‘What does it sound like?’
‘Not like you told me,’ she insisted. ‘It’s a high-pitched noise. It sounds like someone’s shrieking but really far away.’
He shook his head. ‘It’s usually scratching.’
‘But that’s what I can hear!’
Brewer strained his ears, however he couldn’t pick up anything. Was she imagining it? He gave her the benefit of the doubt, as it was her first time.
‘Ok, lead the way until it gets louder.’
She focussed her eyes on the ground and began to walk randomly around Brewer in wide circles.
‘I think you need to walk a bit further in each direction,’ he suggested, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.
‘Yes I know that,’ she replied haughtily. ‘I’m just getting a sense for the noise.’
Brewer trailed behind as Georgie meandered north along the road. The rain was getting heavier and they were both soaked through. After five minutes, she stopped and shook her head.
