My former feelings lost, I rushed to hide myself from sight and get into the building. It was a police station, so there should have been no reason for him to feel threatened enough to use his abilities. There were three other people in the building along with the Tracker. One was wearing a uniform that told me he was a cop, another was an EMS guy, and the third was in a holding cell. The one in the holding cell was covered head to toe in dirt, and was breathing shallowly. He was conscious, but barely.
The two officials were talking in an office off the main room, and it seemed like at least the EMS guy had no real clue as to what had happened to cause the injuries to the man in the cell. I took another look at the guy and felt a surge of surprise and anger when I recognized him. It was another of Mason’s lackeys. One with delusions of grandeur that made him believe he was the second in command of Mason’s gang. He had been helpful at times, so Mason never let me prove to him that he wasn’t. Brayden Mitchell. He’d disappeared after his last assignment, and I’d been unable to track him down. Looks like the Tracker had found him for me. He was out for now, but I’d be back for him later.
I found the Tracker by a different cell, staring at the window as if unsure what to do. The confidence I’d felt in him was wavering, but still there. “I know you’re there,” he said suddenly, startling me enough that the cover I’d given myself flickered. “I can feel your steps now. I’m always listening for them. There’s no need for you to have come. I’m going home as soon as Alice comes for me. And Brayden is no threat, so leave him. He thought he was stronger than me, and that was his mistake.”
“You’re injured. He’s a threat,” I spoke in a low voice, still hiding myself from his view.
He shook his head emphatically. “No. He caught me by surprise when I couldn’t get to the earth. He won’t make the same mistake again. He will be arrested, and he’ll go to jail. There’s no need for him to die,” he spoke strongly, but there was something in his tone…
“You almost killed him. Why shouldn’t I?”
He stepped back as though slapped. “I…”—he shook his head, clearing his mind—“No. I didn’t try to kill him, Kindred. I was making sure he was incapacitated. I wouldn’t have let him die.”
“Maybe so,” I conceded, although I wasn’t sure it was the truth. There was enough hesitation that I thought the Tracker may have stepped over a line in his own mind for even a few seconds. “I’ll leave him, for now.”
“You need to leave me alone, Kindred. I don’t need you protecting me. And I don’t want you taking over my mind. Do you realize how much damage you’ve done to my life? I was going to school, spending time with friends, and you took that away from me!” he was almost yelling, and I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone had heard.
The words hurt, but I still needed to protect him. I owed him. “We’re more than even. I accidentally killed someone, and for that you are killing many. You need to stop, or I will stop you.” His voice was hard as iron, and I realized he was not messing around.
“You can’t…”
He interrupted me. “You know that I can. If you didn’t know I could find you, then why the threats? I can feel you coming now. You won’t catch me by surprise again.”
“Why won’t you stop me now then? If you want me gone so badly, do something about it!” I allowed my own anger to show, but he didn’t give any ground. Points to him; he had me flustered, but I hadn’t been able to shake him. “I can be your friend, Tracker, but if you make me your enemy, I will fight with everything I have.”
He turned to face me, looking me right in the eye, and despite not being able to see me, I took a step back. “Bring it on,” he said.
THIRTY
Jason
The feelings rushing through me were unfamiliar. There was some confidence mixed with an eerie calm…an almost indifference to what was happening. Why I’d even acknowledged that I knew Kindred was there, I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to surprise him. Prove to him that he wasn’t as all-powerful as he seemed to believe. But I really hadn’t thought through the whole fight scene. I couldn’t destroy the police station to beat him, and yet, to win, it might be what I’d have to do.
Neither of us would want to back down, but for the safety of everyone in the building, I would have to get us out of here. I’d issued the challenge and stood with my hands clenched at my sides, waiting for his response. I faced him, knowing from the pressure in the ground and the feel of his heartbeat where he was located, and I relished the slight quickening of his pulse when I proved that I knew exactly where he was standing. “Detective Farrow is in town now,” I informed him. “It’s only a matter of time before she comes here.”
“How do you think I found you?” I could almost feel his smirk. “I forced circumstances where she’d have to find you, and then followed her.” His tone turned menacing as he continued. “You still need me. I will not give up my freedom, but you may have to.” He stopped speaking, and I lost track of where he was for a second. After a moment I lurched away from sudden pressure around my neck. He was trying to strangle me!
I was able to get away, scrambling frantically down the hall outside the cells, but I got stuck when I was backed into a corner. Panic threatened to overwhelm me once more, the self-assurance I’d felt a moment ago gone again. If I had more time, I’d contemplate the reason behind all my sudden shifts in mood. But Kindred was advancing, and I was out of options. I would not… could not become a prisoner again. Even if I couldn’t catch him, maybe I could cause enough chaos that he would have to leave without trying to take me with him.
Under the guise of trying to regain my balance, I reached both hands to the ground, sending commands into the earth under the tiny police station for the second time that day. A wave of dizziness passed over me, and I knew I was reaching my limits. Either that or I had a concussion, despite what the medic said. To cover the ground noise I tried to come up with something to say. “Kindred, you know me. You know I won’t just allow you to keep me prisoner.”
“Who says you’ll even know you are one?” the man asked ominously. “I can make anyone see anything. Even with your newfound ability to feel me coming, I don’t think you can be on guard constantly.”
“I have limits,” I said conversationally. “You’re a human being, even with what Mason did to you and the powers you possess. So it stands to reason that you also have limits.” I’d never imagined that Kindred would be so chatty once we finally met, but it was handy that he was allowing me to distract him. The earth beneath us was already loosened from the earlier fight, and it only took a few moments for the immense surge to come through the already broken window. I jumped to my feet and directed the tidal wave of dark soil in a more controlled attack than I’d launched against Brayden.
The dirt swirled around the room, blocking anyone from entering or leaving the room, leaving only the center of the hall, where Kindred and I stood, clear. The senses that allowed me to feel the location of others was heightened by the use of my stronger ability, and I knew once again where my enemy stood.
Armed with that knowledge, I allowed some of the swirling dirt to separate from the larger mass and harden into a solid wave, speeding it forward to ram Kindred into a wall with a loud thud. I left the mass surrounding him, trapping him where he stood. Another bout of dizziness had me almost falling to the floor. The connection between my mind and the earth was severed and the whirlwind of dirt dropped to the floor, and no matter how hard I strained to keep it up, the dirt wave crumbled, freeing my opponent who was now flickering in and out of sight.
In spite of my weakness, I grinned. I’d shaken him. My once seemingly invincible adversary had limitations, and I’d managed to get to him a couple times already. “I see you.” My voice came out kind of sing-song-y, and my vision was darkening.
“This encounter has gone far enough. Watch your back, Tracker. Be assured, I will be doing the same.” He vanished once again, and this time, I suspected he had left the bui
lding. I couldn’t feel anything from him, so I allowed myself to sink to the ground and rest against a wall.
I tried to remain vigilant, but the police officer—who’d apparently been unaware of what was going on while sitting in the next room—managed to sneak up on me while I was rubbing my eyes and taking deep breaths in an attempt to get my strength back up. “What happened? I thought you were cleaning up, and now the window…” He gestured at a gaping hole in the wall. “Well, I think it will be a little harder to fix it now. Are you okay?”
I groaned. This was going to be hard to explain. “You didn’t see or hear anything?” I asked, already sure of the answer. He shook his head. “I was attacked. A killer-for-hire that used to work for Trevor Mason got in, and I tried to stop him.”
The cop shook his head. “I’m going to wake up tomorrow and find out that this was all just a bizarre dream conjured up because of the knock to the head I took earlier, right? Stuff like this,” he gestured at the mounds of soil littering the cell room, “isn’t supposed to be real. I honestly don’t want to know anymore. This is beyond my pay grade. Your detective friend will be here soon. We managed to contact her and she was here in town already.”
“Yeah,” I nodded wearily, rubbing my hand over my face again. “I guess it’s time for me to go back home. My time away wasn’t exactly peaceful anyway.”
“You are okay, right?” His voice showed more concern now than it had before.
“I’m fine. Just exhausted. Nothing a little sleep won’t cure.” I left unsaid that the sleep I needed would likely not come.
With an ever more vengeful Kindred still on the loose, I’d be lucky to get any rest.
THIRTY-ONE
Hannah
Dustin refused to go home. It was nearly midnight when we got the call that Alice had found Jason and was on the way home, and Dan drove the three of us back to my house in anticipation of their homecoming. I’d like to think Dustin wanted to stay to protect me, not that I needed it, and that was certainly part of it. The larger reason I suspected was that he wanted to talk to Jason. To figure out everything that was going on in our friend’s mind, and help him clear the space so he could think clearly.
Because no matter what he said, if he felt he had to run in order to clear his head, Jason was obviously not able to think clearly. To distract myself from thoughts of him, I sat on the couch and did homework while we waited for their arrival. Dustin and Sam were watching a movie, and Dan was wandering the house, probably keeping an eye out for trouble. If I didn’t think about what Dan was doing and why, it was a very relaxing and normal night.
I glanced over to Sam, who was sitting on the rocking chair. He had been struggling to stay awake to see his brother, but had lost the battle. The chair rocked slowly as the boy dozed, and I almost asked Dustin to take him to his room, but Jason would probably want to see him when he came in, so the question died unasked.
Dustin stared at the television, seemingly entranced by the cartoon characters on the screen, but I could almost see him thinking. “What are you going to do?” I asked gently. I knew he still didn’t want to be playing therapist to Jason, but I couldn’t see much other choice.
“I can’t not help him,” he answered, keeping his voice soft to avoid waking Sam. “He’s my friend. Right now I’d like to give him a piece of my mind for running, but I understand why he did it. If I couldn’t understand, I’d have no business trying to help him.”
“I appreciate it, man,” Jason’s voice broke in from behind us. I heard the door close as Alice joined us.
“Jason! Are you okay?” My excitement turned to concern when I saw the large bruise marring the side of his face. Why was he always getting hurt?
He shrugged off my worry wearily. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, Hannah. Nothing happened that I wasn’t able to take care of.” He glanced away, brown eyes darting nervously to the floor. I wasn’t an expert at reading people, but I could tell when he was lying.
“What happened?” I asked more forcefully, aiming the question at my sister.
She shrugged. “I missed most of it. I got to the police station and saw that the side yard had been torn up and most of the side of the building had broken in. Jason was…”
“Look,” Jason cut in, eyes flashing angrily. “I lived it. I’m not going to keep talking about it. I’m back, and Kindred is still a threat. That’s the only thing of importance right now. Give me enough time, and I’ll take care of him.”
I glanced at Dustin, whose expression showed his concern. His eyes were narrowed and he was frowning, obviously unhappy about Jason’s attitude right now. “Jason, I’d like to talk for a bit, if you wouldn’t mind.”
He looked like he was going to refuse, but reconsidered. “Fine. Just for a few minutes. I need to get some sleep.”
After the surprise of seeing his injury, I realized that he was pale and exhausted. What happened? It was apparent that he had needed to use his power, but why? And why wouldn’t he talk about it? I dropped the questions for now, and chose to nod over to Sam. “Sam tried to stay awake to see you. He’d probably want you to wake him.”
The hard look on Jason’s face softened as he looked at his little brother who was sleeping peacefully on the recliner. “I’ll get him to bed,” he said gently. “If you want to talk, meet me in my room. I’ll be there soon.” His voice was soft, but abrupt, showing his displeasure at the situation. Dustin nodded his agreement and immediately headed down the stairs.
“I’m sorry you were threatened because of me, Hannah.” Alice must have told him what Kindred did while they drove home. “I don’t plan to run off again, and I plan on becoming enough of a threat to Kindred that he won’t dare hurt anyone I care about.”
“It’s not your fault,” I assured him cautiously, feeling a need to comfort him. “I'm fine. He didn’t touch me, or really do anything besides threaten me.”
I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes; intent on discovering what had led up to his desire to go on the offensive. “What are you planning?”
Alice shot me a look that said, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him,” but I had a hard time believing it. After everything that had happened, it was hard to trust anyone with his safety: including Jason himself.
“Hey partner, Jason, welcome back. Did everything go okay?” Dan emerged from the office where he’d been watching for threats. He looked between the two, but seemed to expect little from Jason.
“Fine,” Alice answered, Dan didn’t seem surprised at Jason’s lack of response. “Jason’s home and he said he doesn’t plan on leaving again. At least not anytime soon, right Jason?”
“Yeah. Now if you’ll excuse me, Sam needs to go to bed so he can go to school in the morning. I’ll see you all later.” Jason picked up his brother gently and carried him into his room. The boy was getting taller, and his long limbs dangled awkwardly as Jason carefully maneuvered the doorway. He closed the door behind him, and we heard low voices coming from the room for a few minutes before he emerged again and went downstairs without another word to us.
“Okay, I’ve had enough of his secrecy,” I stated, knowing that my sister had more information than she’d shared so far. “What happened?”
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 w
as 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.
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