Hikers - The Collection (Complete Box Set of 5 Books)

by Lauren Algeo

  He tried to get inside my head to find out who I was and I used my mental locked door to shut him out. Something weird happened then. The girl’s body stiffened and she glared up at me with eyes that had been brown a moment ago but were now black. I’d thought hikers could come forward to control people and bring some of their strength with them, although actually witnessing it was terrifying.

  The hiker could somehow see through her eyes and he recognised me immediately. The girl gave a roar and began to buck against me, trying to bring her hands up to claw at my face. I tried to restrain her but she was so strong with the hiker inside her. Some nosy man shouted down the platform to us. I realise now it would have looked as though I was attacking her, yet at the time I was just irritated. He had no clue what was really going on.

  I appealed to the girl herself; it was the only thing I could think to do. I told her that she could force the hiker out and take back control of her body. Thankfully she listened. The man was approaching us and other people were peering out from the train so I knew we had to hurry.

  The darkness in her eyes faded and she squeezed them closed with the effort. I felt her body go limp as she won her battle with the hiker and when she opened her eyes again, they were brown again. She spoke to me for the first time then. She said the hiker was still there. I didn’t hesitate and dragged her along the platform, past all the people who would promptly forget about us.

  We sprinted up the stairs and out into the fresh air. I knew the hiker was still close so I made a snap decision to travel back towards the flat. The girl followed me silently as I led her on a roundabout way back here. She didn’t ask me anything about what had just happened or where I was taking her.

  She’s told me that her name is Jewel but I refuse to call her that – it’s clearly a street name. I’ll have to find out who she really is when she wakes up. As soon as we got to the flat she announced that she was tired and shut herself in my bedroom.

  I thought she might have wanted to talk first, or have some food and drink. I’ve got so much to ask her only there’s nothing I can do until she wakes up. Who is she? Where does she live? Where did the hiker find her? What technique did she use to push him from her mind? My head is buzzing with all the unanswered questions.

  There’s another feeling that I’m trying not to acknowledge – pride. I saved somebody. If I hadn’t pulled her back, she would have jumped in front of that train and been killed. I saved her life. I want to feel elated about it but I can’t allow myself to indulge in things like that. I may have helped her however I didn’t kill the hiker. He is still out there somewhere – livid and free to hurt someone else now. Another innocent person could bear the brunt of his wrath. It’s all very well intervening to save people but it won’t help others if I can’t kill the hikers.

  This girl must be mentally strong to have forced the hiker from her mind, especially considering what he persuaded Rankin to do. Other people might not be able to do what she did and still end up getting killed, so it’s not a good method for saving them. I still need to make killing hikers my main priority.

  I’m not sure what to do with myself until the girl wakes up. There’s not much food in the kitchen so I should really go and get something. She’s bound to be hungry and who knows when she last ate something – she looks undernourished. I should go out and get some lunch for us.

  Does it seem strange that I feel comfortable enough to go out and leave her alone in my flat? My whole world is laid bare: the map on the wall, my research books and notes, but I feel like I can trust her with it all. The same way she trusted me by coming back here and going to sleep. I guess she could do a runner or steal from me while I’m out, although I have a gut feeling that she won’t. We share a connection now – we’ve both escaped death at the hands of that hiker.

  I think I’ll pick up some clothes for her while I’m at the shops too, just looking at her skimpy outfit made me feel cold. I’ll get her some warm jumpers and jeans maybe, to help her on her way. I better go now so I can be back before she wakes up.

  Her name is Georgie Duncan. She’s only eighteen years old and she’s been through a hell of a lot in her short life. More than I ever imagined for someone so young. I’m so angry right now, there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep yet despite how exhausted my body is.

  I’ve been looking at the photo of Karen and myself on our wedding day and trying not to cry. I’ve encountered some sick and twisted people in my career, and a lot of tales like Georgie’s, but hearing her speak about her life was gut wrenching. That poor kid.

  I was right in the fact that she is a prostitute, only I could never have imagined why. Usually it’s young girls who’ve been led astray and gotten into drugs and debt, or been sold into it. My encounters with vice have been girls who are hooked on some sort of substance. Georgie isn’t on drugs of any kind; she does it just to survive.

  Her father died when she was ten so it was just her and her mum. Georgie began to comfort eat and her mother started drinking to numb the pain. After a few years, her mum became a full alcoholic and barely knew her daughter existed. Georgie told me all this in an extremely detached way, as though she was talking about someone else.

  With no other strong adult figures around, she was forced to grow up and become the parent. When she was nearly fourteen, her mum found a new boyfriend, Nick. That horrible bastard began to abuse Georgie, coming into her room at night with threats. He even beat her mother when Georgie tried to resist him. That sick excuse for a man raped her – took her virginity. She was just a kid.

  My hands keep clenching into fists and the thought of it makes me want to throw up. I’m tempted to give his name to Marcus and have him arrested but I’m not convinced Georgie would testify against him, she’d likely bolt instead. It took every ounce of my strength to stay composed while she told me. God, she must have been so terrified and hurt. I wish I’d known her back then so I could have done something to stop it.

  After a few months of the rape she found out she was pregnant. She told her mum to try and get some help but she didn’t believe her. Georgie’s own mother thought she was trying to steal her disgusting boyfriend away, and that she’d seduced him, rather than the repeated rape that had been going on right under her nose. It shows what addiction can do to you. It completely warps your grasp on reality and destroys your ability to see when your vulnerable loved ones are in trouble.

  The hurt in Georgie’s voice brought a lump to my throat. How could her mum behave like that? She told Georgie to get out of the house so she packed a suitcase and left – a petrified, pregnant teenage girl with nowhere to turn. She told me that she had an abortion that week then travelled into Central London to live on the streets and try to earn some money busking.

  The inevitable had happened and she’d been conned by a young man, Spence, who clearly preyed on vulnerable girls. She ended up owing him money and the only way for her to pay it back was by selling her body. He pimped out several other girls too and tried to get Georgie hooked on drugs so she’d comply more readily, only she was strong enough to resist. She’s been trapped in that life for the last few years though. Taken advantage of by this horrible bloke. I’ve got a mind to tip Marcus off about him too when I get more information.

  At least I know she’s away from all that as long as she’s here. She wants me to train her to hunt hikers too, to learn how to block them and help me find a successful method to kill them. I flat out refused at first however she wore me down. She may be headstrong but she just wants to claw back some of her dignity and make her dad proud. I’m going to let her stay here for a few days and see how it goes.

  I told her all about my experiences with hikers, over a fair few glasses of Jack Daniels. It felt strange going through everything that’s happened to me with a relative stranger. I kept looking for signs of disbelief or ridicule in her eyes but there was none. She knows first-hand what a hiker is capable of and she listened intently to my tales. It’s a comforting feeling to
know that you’re not completely insane.

  Georgie’s asleep in my room again and I’m on the sofa with a spare duvet. She showered earlier and seemed pleased with the new clothes and boots I picked up for her. My guessing at sizes wasn’t too far out. I suppose we should go shopping tomorrow to get more food and supplies if we’re going to be here for a few days.

  This has been such a strange turn of events. I’ve got no idea how I’m even going to begin training her. Maybe just research first, until she’s ready to get close to one again. The second encounter is not pleasant. I guess I should try and get some sleep myself, if I can wedge my body comfortably on this sofa that is. Goodnight.

  17th September 2011

  Marcus turned up at the flat unexpectedly this morning and got the complete wrong end of the stick about Georgie. We were planning to go to the supermarket and I’d just got out of the shower when he rang the doorbell. He was about to come in when he saw Georgie poke her head out from the living room. He immediately backed away and apologised that he didn’t know I had ‘company’.

  I can see how he would have jumped to that conclusion – me with only a towel round my waist from the shower and an unfamiliar girl in the flat. I didn’t know how to explain Georgie so I tried to fob her off as one of my cousin’s daughters, who I said was staying for a couple of days. I don’t think he was convinced by that lie in the slightest.

  He’s invited us to a BBQ at his place tomorrow afternoon and I accepted. It’ll be good to spend some time with him, and see Trudy and Ella again, but I’m not looking forward to all the questions. I’ll have to think up some better cover stories by then and hope that Georgie doesn’t give anything away. It’ll probably do her good to be around a functional family for the day.

  We’ve stocked up the flat with food from the supermarket and she’s spent most of today with her nose in books. She grumbled a bit about researching theories on hikers at first although she seemed pretty interested by this afternoon. She’s reading up on mythology and science experiments. I’ve tried to keep on top of the news and have seen that Rankin has been charged with the murders at Waterloo. I feel guilty but there’s nothing I could have done to help him.

  Georgie seems comfortable around me and looks healthier already. I was worried she would be nervous of me after all of her damaging encounters with men but she’s acted fine – apart from the teenage sullenness and smart mouth, of course. I still can’t get over what she’s been through. How a man could do that to a young girl… it’s nauseating. She most certainly doesn’t have anything to be wary of with me.

  Even if she were much, much older I still wouldn’t be interested. Since Karen died I’ve had no feelings of attraction towards anyone. It’s as if those responses have been numbed by her loss. I register that women are good-looking on the TV yet I barely notice anyone out on the street. Aside from the odd, ahem, relief by my own hand, I have no sexual desire at all.

  I could never imagine myself with anyone else. Sharing intimate moments with someone other than Karen. Even thinking about it feels like a betrayal. Is that how you’re supposed to feel as a widower? I know it’s been a couple of years since she died, and people say time heals, but I just don’t see myself moving on. Not for a while anyway, and not while hikers are still roaming the earth. I wouldn’t exactly be the best person for someone to start a relationship with while all this is going on. Maybe one day.

  I’m a bit nervous about the BBQ tomorrow. I’ve told Georgie briefly about Karen but she didn’t know her. Tomorrow will likely bring up a lot of old feelings if Trudy speaks to me about her. Good and bad ones. My nightmares have been less frequent lately and I’m hoping to keep it that way. I’ve locked the memories of Karen’s final days in a deep part of my mind. Tomorrow will only release the happier ones… I hope.

  18th September 2011

  The day was a success and I’m so glad we went. Georgie came alive today and had a great time. I could see the weight of her past lifting with every second she played with Ella, laughed with Trudy, and ate decent food. It was sunny and relatively warm so we sat out in the garden.

  Trudy looked well. She’s cut her brown hair into a bob and still has the same infectious smile. Ella has doubled in size since I last saw her. She’s a real little girl now, with big brown eyes and so much energy. I have to admit it was refreshing to put hikers on the back burner for once. I had a few beers and felt the usual pressure in my temples easing. Being with old friends made me feel normal again.

  Marcus was wary at the start. He took me aside for a little ‘chat’, as I’d known he would. He knew none of my cousins had daughters of Georgie’s age. He guessed from his days in vice that she was a prostitute but mistakenly thought I was sleeping with her. I put him straight, although he still didn’t seem best pleased that I was trying to help a prostitute get her life back on track. He thought she was out to rob me but he hid his feelings throughout the afternoon. I was sure he’d done a good job however Georgie could tell that he knew. She wants to win him over if she gets time.

  She’s full of surprises. This morning she upgraded the software on my laptop so it’s all up-to-date. She told me that Spence had wanted to earn more money and try credit card fraud, so she’d been tasked with teaching herself how to hack accounts online. She said she didn’t get that far; it could still come in handy one day though. I’m fine for money right now but you never know.

  I suppose I should get some rest, tomorrow will be another long day of Georgie’s training.

  21st September 2011

  There are hikers in America. I suspected they were all over the world but today we confirmed that they are in the states – Philadelphia in particular. After days of reading and researching with books, I let Georgie have some time on my laptop. She was looking at some conspiracy websites and found an interesting post.

  It was from a boy calling himself ‘Striker25’ and he claimed one of his friends had been killed by a hiker. Well, he referred to it as a ‘mind snatcher’. He said his friend acted strangely for a couple of days before crashing the cab he drove head-on into another car, killing himself and two passengers. This boy had done some research and found lots of weird killings and suicides in the state.

  Georgie wanted to get in touch but I’ve told her to wait and see if he posts anything else first. It’s not exactly a website for sane people and he could have just posted some coincidental ramblings that we’ve connected with hikers.

  We went out this afternoon to see if we could pick up the sound of any hikers nearby. I wanted to see if Georgie has the same ability to hear them as I do, only we found nothing. She got a bit stroppy by the end and I’ve told her that she has to be more patient – not exactly a common trait in teenagers. We’re going to try again tomorrow. Tonight I’m going to make us a roast dinner and try to switch off for a couple of hours. Maybe having her here is good for my mental state.

  22nd September 2011

  Georgie can hear them too. In fact, she’s even stronger than me. We’ve unwittingly stumbled onto a hiker’s job, and it’s not a pleasant one. I hadn’t intended on Georgie being exposed to them like this so soon but she’s extremely stubborn and headstrong. She wants to hunt them.

  We took the train to Surrey this morning and the weather was pretty bad – wet and windy. We were going to head back to the flat before the rain really came down but Georgie picked up the sound of a hiker. Somehow she heard it before I did. I’m not sure if that’s because she’s younger than me so her mind is sharper, or that she’s very recently had one of them in her head so is more susceptible. Either way, she did. It wasn’t just a normal hiker; it was one who was receiving instructions on its new target from the Grand.

  The sound was louder in her mind, and she was clearly scared, but she wouldn’t let that stop her tracking it. I have to say I was relieved, as I was intrigued to find out how good she would be at blocking it when we got closer.

  There’s something else too. As well as her exceptional menta
l power, Georgie can feel hikers. I don’t know how to explain it, and even she can’t really describe it properly, just that it’s a pressure in her stomach and she knew one was close. The only plausible thing I can attribute it to is that she’s a girl. Maybe women are more sensitive to hikers than men? I know full well that sounds crazy but I’m clutching at straws to try and make sense of it.

  We used Georgie’s newfound gift to locate the hiker. It’s a male and he was somewhere on the grounds of an industrial estate. He had a male victim in his clutches and he was convincing him that his wife is having an affair with a member of the golf club she works in. I tried to teach Georgie how to block her mind and she was starting to get the hang of it, then the hiker moved.

  We trailed them to the man’s house and set up watch. The hiker continued his whispering until the man’s wife came home then he gave them a bit of peace. As soon as she went to bed he started up again; instructing the man to check her coat pockets for signs of infidelity. Of course he didn’t find anything but that didn’t stop the hiker’s incessant ranting. I had to drag Georgie away from the house in order to travel back to the flat to sleep for the night.

  I know nothing will happen overnight – it’s too soon. Georgie went straight to bed when we got back but I’ve been mapping out the areas we travelled to today. There’s a golf club in the vicinity of the house and industrial estate so that must be the one the wife works at. I’ve looked it up online and it’s an exclusive place – there could be plenty of hiker targets there. We’ll have to travel back tomorrow to see how it plays out.