The Aberrants Box Set (Books 1-5)

by Sarah J. Stone

“Do they?” she asked. “Do they really?”

  “What are you implying, child?”

  “I’m implying nothing that isn’t already documented by our people. Do Aberrants go mad? Of course. It’s a complication of our condition. But do all Aberrants go mad? Both you and I know that’s simply untrue. It’s just been decided that killing us, instead of treating us, is the most convenient of the options.”

  The room grew silent for a moment, and Jaelle could feel the Hunters’ eyes all on her, no doubt wondering what she was trying to pull.

  “Aberrants are an abomination again—”

  “Yeah, yeah, spare me your faux outrage. I literally could not care less.”

  “Watch it,” Bradley hissed, still trying to clean up after the mess she was making.

  But let it be messy! Her entire life had been a mess, why should she be polite and diplomatic now?

  “No, I’m not gonna ‘watch it’. You guys have an actually mad Aberrant who’s on the loose, murdering people left and right and plotting to kill each and every Elder he can get his hands on. So far, I’m the only one who’s survived him and your Clan now owes me a blood debt. Let me go with your men to help them and I’ll probably die in the fight to bring the Aberrant down. Then you’ll be killing two birds with one stone and you won’t have to explain to the other Elders how a nearly thirty-year-old ‘abomination’ has gone without a single hint of the madness in all her years.”

  “Is this true, Simon?” the armless Clan Leader asked, her voice also raspy from smoke inhalation. Or at least that was what Jaelle was assuming it was, considering the blackened burns along part of the woman’s face. “Is the Aberrant madness and absolute, or just a probability?”

  “So, a single stranger comes in and you doubt everything you know!?”

  “Answer my question, Simon. I’ve lost an arm, and similarly my patience. I looked in the eyes of that murderer as he intended to slit my throat. This woman is nothing like that, but she’s obviously older than him. Reality is pointing toward one thing, whereas you are pointing toward the other.”

  “This is ridiculous! Neither of us are medical—”

  “Answer the question.”

  The man, Simon, sighed and almost seemed to crumple inwards on himself. “It is currently unknown if the madness is an absolute in all Aberrants. There was a study being conducted on captures and surrendered Aberrants, but there were no subjects that lived to be old enough to give them solid data.”

  “Until us,” Jaelle answered. “One boy, one girl, both over the threshold of twenty. One of us has the madness, one does not. So right now, you’re looking at a fifty-fifty shot. If that holds out, half of the children you killed would have grown up to never hurt a fly. And that’s not even taking into account if you actually tried to treat the madness, instead of decreeing it as an instant death sentence.”

  The woman shuddered, taking in several deep breaths. Jaelle could see several emotions flit across her burned face, and the young woman supposed they were the same ones she herself had had that night in Canada with the Aberrant.

  “Let her go, Simon.”

  “What? That would be utterly irre—”

  The woman stood suddenly, her rounded, soft frame stalwart even with all the damage it had taken. “That was not a request. I know we are on the outskirts of most Clan communication, but you knew of this. You had a responsibility to tell the rest of us. You have failed you people, but I will not.

  “Maybe this woman will fall into madness, but the Spirits have chosen to spare her thus far for a reason. Let. Her. Go.”

  Another tense moment of silent before the eldest Clan Leader straightened and nodded. “Take all the supplies you need and catch this madman.”

  “What about your own people?”

  “We’ve already sent for a convoy and relief team. These tents and medics were from the first aid, the second will be here in a day or two at most. We will be fine, but not if this wild Aberrant returns. So go. Find him, and kill him. Then after, you can return to our Clan and we will determine what to do with this woman. If she survives.”

  “Wait, seriously? I’m going to risk my life to find this killer but then if we win I might be executed, anyways?”

  “Take it or leave it. That is all I can offer you for now.”

  “Fine,” she spat, crossing her arms. “We’re all probably going to die, anyways.”

  Bradley clapped her back, letting out a short laugh. “That’s the spirit.” He said before gripping her shoulder and leading them out.

  The rest of the Hunters fell in line behind them and as much as Jaelle wanted to yank away and storm off, she knew better than to do so.

  Somehow, she had pulled off the impossible and gotten a Clan Leader to let her go.

  “That was pretty amazing, you know,” Bradley said, flashing her an amiable grin once they were far enough away.

  “Yeah, well, it didn’t feel very amazing.”

  “That’s a shame. Too bad you couldn’t see it from my perspective. I couldn’t tell if ol’ Simon there was irritated by you, or just outright frightened. To be honest, I never thought we were going to be able to convince him.”

  “That lack of faith is probably why the Aberrant has been able to wipe the floor with your collective asses for half a year.”

  Some of the Hunters grumbled behind her, but she ignored it. It was because of these men that she was in this mess in the first place and that the entire village had been massacred. She could be wrong, but she was almost certain that her murder-happy acquaintance had destroyed the outpost because he wanted her to live.

  She couldn’t blame him. It was lonely being the only one of your kind, and probably even worse since he had the illness. But he was going to come to regret his decision. Although Jaelle was just beginning to hope that maybe there was something more for an Aberrant, he had made it very clear that there was only one option for him.

  Kill or be killed.

  Chapter Five: Cross Over Episode

  Jaelle watched the trees whip by, trying to ignore the tension thick in the air behind her. For all her worrying of how she would feel riding around with Hunters, she forgot to think of how the rest of Bradley’s crew might take the decision.

  Thankfully, she was in Bradley’s rig, so she didn’t have to worry about anyone trying to rip out her throat while they were on the road. However, the leader of the group didn’t drive alone, especially considering how many of their cars had been destroyed in their hunt for their prey, meaning she was sitting in the backseat of his hummer with another Hunter who had yet to say a single word to her.

  She was tempted on multiple occasions to say something, but every time the words died in her throat.

  It wasn’t like anyone else around her was talkative, either. All of them just sat in silence, reading, regarding maps or just staring in silence as the road passed by.

  Hell, she didn’t even know their names. She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like they had picked up a new member since she had seen them last, which still put them at less they had in their number when she had first met her in the mechanic’s shop.

  Geeze, how long ago had that been? It seemed like an entire lifetime but in reality, it had to be somewhere around a month or so. How much had changed in just thirty short days? It was mind boggling when she thought about it.

  And all she had was time to think.

  The entire day passed with only one bathroom break, and then they drove through much of the night. Jaelle drifted in and out of consciousness in the back seat, but it was difficult to get comfortable when she was in a vehicle otherwise occupied by people who hated her.

  Not to mention, she felt her period growing ever closer. She couldn’t imagine asking the Hunters to stop and buy her some pads, so she needed to wrap this up before she started needed tampons and pads to get her through.

  And there was the added complication of… well, being goddamned horny. When she wasn’t cramping or craving large quantitie
s of greasy food, her period made her want to go for a roll in the hay more than any other time. Thankfully, she didn’t get it every month due to her birth control, but even having it every three to four months was inconvenient.

  They drove for another full day before stopping, pulling into an over-night rest stop just past one a.m. The vehicles all parked next to each other before the men began to pull out packs, air mattresses and blankets not too dissimilar from what David and her had found in their stolen truck.

  “You can stay in the Jeep,” Bradley said, sliding out himself. “I’d advise against stealing the keys and trying to make a run for it. That really wouldn’t work out well for you.”

  Before she could even think it through, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. He paused, giving her a patient look, but with raised eyebrows that clearly said she needed to explain herself ASAP.

  “Please,” she heard herself whisper, her own gaze darting furtively about. “Sleep in here tonight. I’ll stay in the back, if you take the front.”

  “Why would I do that? You could slit my throat in my sleep.”

  “I won’t.” She closed her eyes, trying to screw up the courage to say what she needed to say. “I just… really don’t want to be alone.”

  A look of understanding passed across his face and he stopped pulling against her hold. “You’re… you’re scared, aren’t you?”

  All she could do was swallow. But, of course, she was scared! She was surrounded by men who had pledged their lives to kill her. Men who had fed themselves on a steady diet of Aberrant hate since they had been sworn into their duties. Men who hadn’t had the idea for her to tag along and play consultant to their merry little band.

  “Fine. I’ll stay. But I promise you, if you try to do anything, my men will descend on you before you can even make it out of the car and make what that Aberrant did to the village look like child’s play. You got it?”

  She nodded and finally let go.

  “All right, well I’m gonna head to the bathroom to piss and clean myself up. I assume you’re going to want to, as well?”

  She nodded again, still not trusting herself to speak.

  “Then come on. We want to try to get a solid four hours in before we head out.”

  He closed the driver’s side door then walked around the car, opening her door and gesturing for her to step out. She complied, the whole time her heart was beating a thousand times per minute.

  “How do you guys know which way to go, anyways?”

  “Dannon is tracking his scent.”

  “Dannon?”

  “Tall, black guy in the back of the convoy with the box-braids and green eyes. He’s a bear Shifter, like me.”

  “Why haven’t I seen him before, like when you guys were chasing me down?”

  “He’s blind, so he prefers not to leave the car. Sure, he may not be an action hero, but his sense of smell is twice what mine is.”

  “Interesting that they let him be a Hunter.”

  “Why not? He passed the tests as well as any of us. He’s not half-bad in hand to hand, he just prefers not to unless he has to, and honestly enough of us are brawlers as it is. Here’s your exit.”

  “Huh?” She realized that they had reached the restrooms. Blushing slightly, she shuffled toward the women’s room and went in.

  She made quick work of relieving herself then washing her face, but she was tempted to linger. Being out with the rest of the Hunters made her feel too much like the hunted. She could feel their stares on her, watching everything she did. Waiting for her to screw up so they could descend on her like a pack of wolves.

  But she couldn’t hide in the toilets forever, so she wiped her hands on her filthy pants and headed out.

  Bradley was waiting for her when she exited, hands in his pockets and devilish smile on his face.

  “Took you long enough,” he said, his bright eyes twinkling at her like they had no right to.

  “Just had to powder my face. You know how it is.”

  “Sure, sure, a lady always has to keep a guy waiting, otherwise she’ll lose the mystery.” He gestured back toward the car. “Ready to tuck in? It’s been a long couple of days and we’ve got several more before we catch up.”

  “How can you be sure that you’ll catch up?”

  “Because we always do. It seems that the Aberrant either doesn’t know how to drive, or hates it, because he’s only used vehicles to get away from us twice. That means he’s on foot, and even the fastest animal can only go so far without needing to rest.”

  “That seems like a pretty big oversight on his part. He’s got to know that you’re always going to be faster than him in a car.”

  “Of course, he knows.” Bradley opened the door of the Jeep for her before rounding back to the driver’s side and clambering in. “That’s why he sets so many lovely traps for us.”

  “Ah, right. He said you had a knack for surviving them.”

  “Yeah. But they make us lose time and resources without fail. The closest we’ve actually ever gotten to him was that night in your town. I still can’t tell if he knew you were there and led us to you on purpose, or if that was just the biggest coincidence known to man.”

  “He didn’t know,” Jaelle answered softly, grabbing a pillow from the floor and putting it against the far door, laying across the backseat. “He found out when we ran into each other at the shop.”

  “Really? That’s pretty hard to believe.”

  “I know. It’s pretty shit luck.”

  “I would say so” He looked at her through the rearview mirror, a smile evident on his face even though she couldn’t see the bottom half of his visage. “Or maybe it was fate.”

  “Come on, you don’t believe in that, do you?”

  “Are you telling me you don’t?”

  She thought back to all the things that had happened so quickly. Her running into the Aberrant. Her being found by John, John betraying her then being saved by David. The Aberrant showing up on the day of her execution to save her from death. The Elders giving in and letting her go with the Hunters. It was hard to believe that another power wasn’t at play.

  “I don’t know what I believe,” she answered, pulling a thin blanket over herself.

  “I can understand that. I’m going to crack the windows, if that’s okay with you. It’ll let a couple of bugs in, but it keeps it from getting disgustingly stale and stuffy in here.”

  “Sure, whatever you want.”

  She settled in and she could feel her body grow heavy with sleep. It still amazed her that after so much stress and fear, she could still sleep relatively easily. But a single thought popped into her mind before she could drift off.

  “Hey, did you guys run into anyone else after you captured me?”

  “You mean that human who was with you?”

  She winced guiltily. “Yeah.”

  “No, we didn’t look for him. If he’s smart, he went back home and forgot all about you. Would you say he was smart?”

  “Well, he still loved me after finding out what I was.”

  Bradley jerked back then whirled, giving her an incredulous look. “You told him about us?”

  “Of course, I told him about us! He rescued me from a group of Hunters. What was I supposed to do, pretend I was in witness protection or something? He saw them all half-shifted. I don’t know what you want from me.”

  “Somehow, you’ve managed to break two of the most important tenants of our kind. What’s next? Are you planning on eating anyone?”

  “Nah, but I’m flexible.”

  Bradley groaned and sank down in his seat. “I know you’re joking, but it doesn’t feel funny at all.”

  Jaelle shrugged. “This was all your idea.”

  “True. I just hope it wasn’t a bad one.”

  “I guess we’ll find out if any of us survive.”

  He was back to his usual, charming self as he reclined his seat. “Somehow, I think that out of all of us, you are the most likely t
o come out of this alive.”

  “That’s a nice thought.”

  The conversation stilled and Jaelle let herself drift off. At least she could rest happy knowing that David was safe and unharmed by her world. He deserved so much more. And hopefully now that he was free of her, he would find someone worthy of him.

  …that didn’t stop her from missing him, though.

  *

  Bradley was right, morning came too soon and she just wanted to stay sprawled out across the back forever. She couldn’t, however, and quickly scrambled out of the way as another Hunter slid into the back seat, handing her a breakfast bar.

  “You need to keep your energy up,” he said before returning to the exact same map he had been regarding the day before.

  “Everybody ready?” Bradley asked over a walky-talky.

  She heard a chorus of affirmatives and then they were off again.

  She never knew that hunting a mad killer could be so boring. And yet, as they sped across narrow roads without another car in sight, she found herself incredibly bored.

  Then again, maybe she needed to be grateful for that boredom. For once she wasn’t being chased or hunted down. Instead she was the one doing the chasing. It should have been quite refreshing, but instead… it just wasn’t all she thought it would crack up to be.

  It was just after noon when the walky-talky crackled again, and an unfamiliar voice came through. “Hey, Bossarino, Dannon says there’s something ahead.”

  “That’s pretty vague. Wanna clue me in on why I should care?”

  “He says he’s not sure what it is, but the natural airflow of the road cutting between the trees is being blocked off by something.”

  “Dammit. That bastard must have felled a tree or something. Keep your eyes open for traps.”

  “Great,” the voice crackled through the mouthpiece. ‘What’dya think it’ll be this time? Another explosion, or a pitfall?”

  “Probably something new. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about our friend, it’s that he loved thinking of new surprises for us. Keep your wits up.”

  “Will do. Over and out.”

  The line went dead and Jaelle felt the tension ramp up a couple notches. At least thing time it wasn’t directed at her.