by Lauren Algeo
She clenched her jaw and focussed on the female hiker who was now standing in the doorway. It was the same one who’d hit her. She glowered as menacingly as she could. They weren’t going to get her out of the van without a struggle.
The hiker regarded her with no expression on her face. She had long, dark hair, ivory skin and high cheekbones. She was strangely beautiful, in a haunting way, if you ignored the evil black eyes and mind games.
‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ the hiker purred in her silky-smooth voice.
‘Hard,’ Ellen spat.
Anger was building inside her to replace the fear and she clung onto the new, stronger emotion. The female stepped aside without a word to allow two males access to the van. One was from the motel room as well but the other was unfamiliar. He looked a lot older than the other two yet Ellen quickly found that was deceptive. They yanked her out of the van with ease; her attempts at fending them off no match for sheer, brute strength.
She stood on the gravel between them and shivered in the cold air. She got her first look at their surroundings and icy fear began to creep through her veins again. There was a large, solitary house behind the van, and other than that, it was the middle of nowhere. No hope in hell of finding anyone to help her and no place to flee to.
She looked up at the huge house. It was white and glowed in the moonlight. There was a large porch at the front with steps leading up to it. At least eight windows twinkled with light, like an evil jack-o’-lantern. The front door itself was standing wide open, inviting her in.
Ellen felt her knees weaken, only they didn’t buckle with the two males supporting her arms. They were dressed as equally sinister, in black shirts and trousers. They would have looked like twins if it weren’t for the fact one appeared older than the other. Monster clones instead. They marched Ellen swiftly towards the house, leaving the female by the van.
Ellen wanted to scream. She could feel the strangling sensation building in her throat, but it would do her no good. There was no one to hear her out there and it would probably result in her being struck again, or worse, gagged. She fought down the noise until it passed her lips as a faint, whimpered sigh.
She was forced up the creaky porch steps and through the front door. The house was unexpectedly warm and bright. There was a large foyer with a grand staircase on the left. The floor was tiled and the hikers’ heavy footsteps echoed ominously as they led her down the hallway on the right.
The corridor was sparsely furnished with the odd painting and a small table holding an empty vase at the end. They came to a halt outside a closed door towards the back of the house. The male from the motel rapped on it once, firmly
‘Enter,’ a voice rasped from within.
The hiker opened the door and they escorted her inside then let go of her arms. Ellen took in the room in one quick glance. It was some sort of study, with a large desk near some patio doors, a big fireplace, and one armchair in front. There was an overstuffed bookcase to the right of the room. It was decorated in neutral beige shades apart from a red patterned rug in front of the black, leather armchair. The desk and bookcase were solid oak. The only immediate way out was through the door she had just entered by, or the closed patio doors. The world beyond them was dark and she couldn’t tell what was out there.
Her gaze came to rest on the owner of the voice who’d beckoned them in and she couldn’t contain her surprise. She felt her jaw slacken and she gaped at the man standing in front of the desk.
‘Welcome to my home,’ he wheezed. ‘Won’t you… sit down?’
Ellen felt her body respond through her shock and she eased onto the armchair before her legs gave way completely. The leather was cool and moulded into the shape of its usual sitter. The two male hikers stood back, next to the door, with their hands clasped behind them. Like soldiers waiting for their next command.
The Master shuffled forward a few steps to the edge of the rug and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She didn’t know quite what she’d been expecting but it wasn’t this. The man in front of her was old, ancient in fact. He had deep wrinkles set in leathery skin and snow-white tufts of hair at the sides of his head. His cheeks were hollow and his black eyes sunken. He moved slowly, as if it pained his frail body. He was still fairly tall, at least her height, only he hunched forward, which made him appear smaller. He was on the thin side and wearing clothes that were baggy on his frame – an off-white shirt, dark trousers and black shoes. He had a walking stick clasped firmly in his right hand.
Ellen couldn’t accept that this was the powerful Master. How could someone so old be in charge of all the other hikers? Surely he belonged in a retirement home. Scott had told her that the Grand was very old but she’d been thinking along the lines of the Master being one of his rogue sons, now she wasn’t so sure.
‘Ellen.’
Her brown eyes snapped up to his dark ones.
‘That is your name… yes?’ he asked.
She didn’t respond. He was going to get nothing from her.
‘Now, now,’ he croaked. ‘Can’t we be… civil?’
He had a strange accent. A southern drawl mixed with something else, as though he wasn’t originally from there. She kept her mouth firmly closed. She would not be civil with this monster. The Master gave a loud sigh, as if he were dealing with a petulant child.
‘Very well.’ He spoke out loud first then she felt his gnarled fingers prodding at her mind, trying to find a way in.
Ellen’s heart quickened and she attempted to bolt the door shut against him however he pushed it open with ease.
‘You brought this upon yourself,’ he rasped in her mind. His voice was stronger in her head somehow, less rusty and strained. ‘If you won’t speak to me, I’ll have to find my own answers.’
She tried again to force him out but he batted away her feeble attack. His black eyes were still locked on hers. He was looking into her very soul now. She could feel him rooting through her memories, trying to find what he needed.
He located the box in her head marked ‘Lucy.’ The one she’d attempted to bury at the bottom of the pile and padlocked firmly closed. He began to prise open the lid and her resolve shattered. She wasn’t ready to be tormented by her daughter’s cruel death again; she couldn’t take it.
‘Ok, I’ll talk!’ she cried out loud.
The Master paused in his searching and she felt him slide out of her mind, temporarily leaving Lucy’s memory alone.
‘That’s better,’ he nodded. ‘Firstly though…’
He shuffled closer to her chair and held out a withered hand. She flinched back in repellence, thinking he was going to touch her, but he kept his arm extended with his hand palm-up and waited.
Ellen stared at it blankly. Did he want her to get up? Was she expected to take his hand? How could she when hers were tied? She glanced back up at his face with an expression of confusion.
‘I don’t… understand?’ she stuttered.
‘The nail,’ he said firmly. ‘Give it to me.’
Oh god. Her stomach sank. She’d temporarily forgotten about the nail but he’d clearly seen it in her mind, and her intention to try and use it as a weapon.
‘Now.’
She fumbled clumsily behind her back to free the nail from her watchstrap. She couldn’t bring her hands round the front to pass it to him so she had to make do with turning sideways on the chair and lifting her arms as high as she could. He plucked the nail swiftly from her quivering fingers without a sound. He walked slowly back to the desk and put it down on the top with a barely audible clink. Ellen watched in dismay; she had nothing now.
‘That’s better.’ The Master turned to face her again. ‘Let’s start at the beginning. When did you first meet… Scott Brewer?’
The question threw her – she’d been anticipating him asking about her painful past first. She couldn’t betray Scott by telling the Master all about him. If the roles were reversed, she knew he would never give up an
y information on her. She looked down at her lap in an obvious attempt to ignore his question.
‘Loyalty… will do you no favours.’
She glanced back up at him defiantly and his eyes narrowed in anger.
‘Very well.’
He slammed into her mind with such force that she was thrown back in the chair. She was completely powerless to stop him snatching the box with Lucy’s memory in and breaking it open.
‘No!’ she shouted desperately but it was too late.
Lucy’s beautiful face materialised at the front of her thoughts, accompanied by the Master’s soul-destroying chuckle.
‘So, that’s who you were trying to protect,’ he goaded her. ‘Who is this pretty young thing?’
Ellen felt tears prick the back of her eyes. He would make her relive it all again. Memories of her daughter began to play in her mind like a movie. A young Lucy running around the garden, a pre-teen Lucy smiling at her as they shopped for a new dress, a nervous hug before her first day of high school. Each image was like a stab to her heart and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Her blurred vision settled on the man who was doing this all. Her evil, haggard tormentor. Rage boiled inside her and she sprang to her feet without knowing what she was doing. How dare he abuse Lucy like this. She flew at the Master with her head down and struck him hard with her shoulder, before the two male hikers seized her roughly and dragged her backwards.
She twisted and bucked against their grasp, spitting at the Master with anger. He had left her mind as soon as she’d charged at him but the acute heartache of what he’d made her see was still fresh. She wanted to kill him for what he’d done.
One of the hikers grabbed her hair and pulled her head back sharply, drawing a cry of pain from her lips. She quit struggling and stood, panting heavily. A prisoner in their strong hold.
The Master remained where he was. He hadn’t withdrawn from her attack or instigated his own. Instead, he looked disgusted with her actions. His top lip curled up into a sneer.
‘Take her away,’ he growled. ‘Until she has learnt some manners.’
Chapter 30
The drive to Tennessee was the longest of Brewer’s life. It took over 12 hours to travel across the states and he was on edge the entire time. Endless questions looped in his mind: was Ellen ok? Had she been hurt? Where was she now? Was she with him yet?
The worry made him feel sick and it was hard to concentrate on forming a plan. They only stopped twice, for petrol, food and to use the bathroom. It was nearly midnight when they pulled into a motel car park near Lexington and Brewer turned off the engine. Neither of them made a move to get out of the car.
Mitch had been extremely quiet for most of the journey, consumed with guilt that Ellen had been taken on his watch. He didn’t want to admit it to Brewer, but after having that hiker try to drown him he was more petrified of them than he ever had been. He’d never fully understood their power before, he’d been ignorant of it, and being on the receiving end was the worst thing in the world. All he wanted to do was run home and forget about this whole nightmare. The only thing stopping him was Ellen. If they could do that to him in a few minutes, who knew what they could do to her over the hours she’d been gone. He refused to accept they might have killed her. He had to help get her back; he’d never be able to live with himself otherwise.
‘Should we get a room?’ he asked Brewer after five long minutes of nothing.
‘There’s no point.’ Brewer kept on staring straight ahead through the windscreen. ‘Unless you feel like you could sleep?’
It was a barbed challenge and Mitch shook his head vigorously. ‘Definitely not.’
The quiet grew again and Mitch shifted uncomfortably in his seat. ‘What are we going to do then?’
‘We need to make a deal,’ Brewer said slowly. ‘My life for Ellen’s. I need to go there and offer myself in exchange for her freedom, and your future safety.’
It was the only thing he could think of right then, and the option where the least number of people got hurt. If he sacrificed himself, then Ellen and Mitch could return home and try to carry on with their lives as normal.
‘What?’ Mitch screeched loudly in the confined car. ‘That’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard!’
‘Why? It means Ellen would be ok.’
‘You’re not thinking clearly,’ Mitch shook his head. ‘You think this Master guy is seriously going to accept that proposition and just let Ellen walk free? He’s never going to let us all get away with what we’ve done. He’ll kill you, then if he even lets Ellen leave, he’ll track us down and kill us too!’
Brewer had to admit the kid had a point. The Master wasn’t likely to be very trustworthy, and if he knew about everything they’d done to his children, he’d want revenge. Ellen and Mitch may never be safe while he was alive.
‘Why don’t we do what you did at the Grand’s house?’ Mitch asked. ‘Break in and attack them? We’ve got drugs now so we can take Ellen back with force!’
‘We can’t do that,’ Brewer said. ‘They already know we’re coming. They left us the address for fucks-sake; they’re expecting us to attack. There’s no point if we haven’t got the element of surprise, they’ll be too prepared. Who knows how many hikers the Master’s got in there, or what traps they’ve set for us. He knew we’d come for Ellen…’
Brewer’s voice trailed off as he realised why they’d taken her. ‘He knew I’d come for her.’ He shook his head in disbelief; it was so obvious now. ‘That hiker was in my head and it would have seen how I feel about Ellen. He knew I would try and rescue her no matter what. The easiest way for the Master to kill us all quickly was to take her first. He knew it would lead us right to him. He wants us to come to him. He knows I can’t do anything to jeopardise her safety. He wants me to come quietly.’
‘But we can’t do that!’ Mitch sounded desperate. ‘He’ll kill us all!’
‘Unless we kill him first,’ Brewer said gravely.
He reached behind to the backseat and picked up his rucksack. The numerous drug packets and boxes were still stuffed in the top.
‘On second thoughts, go and get us a room,’ he said. ‘We need to find out exactly what we’ve got here.’
Mitch hopped out of the car obediently and went straight to the reception building. Brewer sat and tried to think. The mist of worry in his head seemed to be lifting a little. There would be a way for them all to get out of this alive, there had to be. He just couldn’t see it yet.
He got out of the driver’s side and waited for Mitch to return with a room key. Lucky number seven this time. They took all the bags from the car into the generic room and Brewer began to tip the drugs out onto the small table by the TV.
‘Plug in the laptop,’ he instructed. ‘I have a feeling we’re going to need it.’
Mitch dug it out of Brewer’s rucksack and plugged it into the socket by the tatty beige sofa. ‘I already got the Wi-Fi password from the guy at the desk,’ Mitch said.
Brewer nodded distractedly; at least the kid was getting more useful over time. He got his notepad and pen out of his pack. His pad was completely battered now after his constant moving around. The black leather cover was worn and creased. He opened it to a blank page near the back to write down anything useful.
Brewer stacked the Warfarin and insulin to one side; they already knew what they were capable of. He began to line up the drugs he’d never heard of.
‘I presume the Master is like the Grand,’ Brewer said. ‘And if we kill him then all of the other hikers will die too. So, for Ellen’s safety, we need to kill him first so the other hikers can’t hurt her.’
‘Can we get close to the house and shoot him from a distance?’ Mitch asked.
‘I doubt it.’ Brewer pointed to the laptop. ‘Put the address into Google maps and check, but I’m betting he lives somewhere fairly secluded, on a lot of land.’
Mitch tapped at the keyboard for a minute. ‘You’re
right,’ he sighed. ‘There isn’t another house close. I still think we could try and sneak up on it from the gardens. Shoot the Master with the tranquiliser gun?’
He turned the laptop to Brewer, who gave the screen a cursory glance. The aerial shot confirmed what he’d thought – the Master liked his privacy. It was a large house, set on several acres of land, more like a ranch really. There was a long driveway up from the nearest road and open fields all around.
‘We tried that with the Grand’s place,’ Brewer said. ‘They knew we were there and these guys will too. They’re expecting us. Besides, there’s no way I could make a shot like that anyway. Only Ellen is good over distance. Would you be willing to risk her life on being able to hit the Master from far away?’
Mitch shook his head. He didn’t have a clue what his accuracy and range was. He couldn’t be confident in shooting from the garden.
‘We need to think of something else,’ Brewer said, picking up the box closest to him. ‘Atropine,’ he read out loud. ‘What is that?’
Mitch typed it into Google. ‘It’s an accelerant,’ he said. ‘Apparently they use it during surgery to make the heart beat faster.’
‘Ok.’ Brewer made a note in his pad. ‘How about potassium chloride?’ This one was a small vial.
‘Hang on.’ Mitch did some more searching. ‘It’s an electrolyte that’s used to correct the electrolyte imbalance within the human body. High doses of it can cause cardiac arrest and death by something called… hyperkalemia.’ He paused a moment to read on. ‘Yeah, it increases the potassium levels in the blood until you have abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmias. Guess that could be useful?’
Brewer wrote it all down vigorously. ‘There’s some adrenaline but I know that can be used to treat cardiac arrests.’ He picked up the next vial. ‘Calcium chloride. Something containing calcium I guess, bones?’
‘No.’ Mitch found a new webpage. ‘This one can be used to treat magnesium intoxication. Something to do with balancing out high potassium levels and stopping that hyperkalemia thing I mentioned.’
