Chapter Twenty One - Reunion

Ciarán had tracked him down to a simple coffee shop in city centre. He could see Daniel in his seat from the window – the girl was gone, presumably at the counter. And the other man was missing too. Steeling himself, Ciarán entered the building, cursing the small bell over the door. Thankfully only the employee behind the till looked up, with a startling look of relief on his face.
He sat down opposite Daniel; Ciarán stared fiercely at him as he clenched his fists. “What have you done with yourself Daniel?” he asked quietly. “The guy I knew would never have lowered himself to being some madman’s lackey.”

“That madman gave me my ability,” Daniel hissed. “He made us equals, you and me!”

“Except I don’t work for somebody the way you do,” Ciarán retorted. “I’m a free man. A little different than everyone else, yes, but I’m not some slave to freak who would risk another human’s life for his own goal.”

Daniel lowered his gaze behind his sunglasses. They darted about, as if looking for some response etched onto the table. “You’re right,” he muttered, catching Ciarán off guard. “He did risk my life. He knew I might not survive. I did too. And guess what, Ciarán? I survived! I’m one of the stronger ones! You just can’t accept it, can you? That an old friend is a little different too?” He let out a low chuckle. “You always were jealous of me.”

I had been jealous, hadn’t I? He always had everything. But I’m not jealous anymore.

“It’s called pity,” Ciarán told him menacingly.

When Daniel leapt across the table Ciarán was ready.

***

Lisa sensed them coming before she saw them. She wasn’t quite sure how she had done it. Somehow she just knew they were there. It was like they were waiting for her to prod their minds. It frightened her that she might be able to get in. She pulled herself back as they approached, side by side, but not so close that Lisa would have thought they were actually walking together.

She didn’t recognise the man, but when she saw Edel, her dark red hair magnificently lit up in the sun, she knew she could trust him. Something about Edel was oddly calming. Despite what she could do, she was one of the gentlest people Lisa had ever met. She told herself she would be like that when she was older.

“Lisa,” Edel sighed, taking her by the shoulders and pulling her into an embrace. “We’ll get him back. We’ll free them all.”

The man stepped up to Lisa when Edel let go. “Carl,” he said to her quietly, his hand extended.
She took it lightly, uncertainly. Carl looked a mess. Baggy eyes, unshaven face, an odd tiredness in his movements. “It’s a pleasure,” she replied, trying her best to sound optimistic. “I’m Lisa.” A light smile came to his face. It seemed to give him some life.

“Why don’t you tell us what you know, Lisa,” Edel suggested.

Lisa took a deep breath before she began, trying her best to get what she needed to say sorted in her head before she started talking. “We set them up, Will and I. He let them take him, and we kept a link so that I could track him. It was all going fine, until it started getting weaker. We couldn’t hold it together so weakly... I think I knew something was wrong. He warned me to stay away...” She rubbed a tear from her eye. “I don’t even know if he’s alive!” she cried.

“If they’re anything like Horizon, then he will be,” Edel said firmly.

“That’s where he is!” Lisa exclaimed, much to the surprise of Edel and Carl. “An old warehouse building in a burnt down district. It was abandoned years ago because of the health hazard. It’s beyond the dessert. It’s the only thing out there that they could possibly go to!”

“Do you think... there are others?” Carl asked her.

“His friends have gone missing,” Edel explained to the confused Lisa. “One was taken right under his nose. The other... well he hasn’t heard from him in a while. We think he may have been taken too.”

Carl nodded slowly. “He had a few run-ins with them before. And with a... train driver? He was taken too. I think I remember Brock telling me about it... right from under his nose...” He shook his head. “We have to get them free. All of them.”

“Thank you,” Lisa muttered, dabbing her eyes before the tears started rolling down her cheeks.

She so desperately wanted to see Will again, she barely realised what she was feeling for him was more than what she had thought. It really was love. The word shaped into a new meaning. She would get him back. She had to.

***

Following another one of Jimmy’s gut feelings, Anne had him clutching to his seat as she sped into the city centre. Ciarán was in trouble. He sensed it. She believed him. She had to. And she knew where he would be. She knew she would have to do all the work – Jimmy couldn’t go anywhere near the place.

“Jimmy, how much further?” she asked him.

“Not too far...” His phone began vibrating beside him. “Hello?”

“Stay away from there!” the hoarse voice roared. “We warned you already!”

“We have to save Ciarán!” he bellowed into the phone. “There’s nothing you can do to stop us.”

“You are right...” There was silence for a time, as the person on the other end of the line thought of a response. Jimmy waited anxiously, seeing the cafe speed into view. “Get Jenkins out.”

“Anne... shoot at the coffee house,” Jimmy ordered. Her face twisted into one of disbelief. “Just do it! We have to get Jenkins out!” She let out a sigh as she made to lean out the window. Jimmy held tightly onto the wheel, trying his best to keep the car going straight. “Anne hurry up! We’re almost there!”

***

The table had been upturned in a flash. Daniel cared very little about anything but hurting Ciarán. When he reached him he was catapulted away by his old friend’s legs. Ciarán climbed uneasily to his feet, readying himself for a fight. The crowd had already parted. The owner had a frightened, overwhelmed look on his face.

“Come on Daniel! I can take you!” Ciarán taunted.

With a grunt Daniel fixed his suit, then clenched his fists. He began throwing wild punches. Ciarán made little work of dodging them, but was distracted by the sound of a speeding car approaching from outside. The brakes were squealing uncomfortably against the road. Before Ciarán could see who was driving, the front door shattered inwards with a spark of electricity.

The owner let out a wild scream, rivers of different coloured smokes rising from his flesh. He made to push his way out the side door when a red tendril seemed to solidify, the smoky form smashing through the thin wood on the door, sending splinters everywhere. The man was gone in an instant, not even pausing to wonder at what had happened.

This moment of distraction for Ciarán left him on the floor, nursing a throbbing head. To make matters worse, the way out was sealed by an invisible wall. Ciarán was trapped between it and Daniel. The latter’s accomplices stood at opposite ends of the counter.

As Anne and Jimmy rushed into the cafe, their attention was redirected. Jimmy wasted no time in focusing upon the man, following his instincts, reaching into the man’s soul. He placed a hatred in there, anger and fear. The uncertainty threw the man off balance as his threw a punch from across the room. A transparent ball spot from his arm, causing everything around it to shift slightly on the tables. In the end it spun into his female partner, launching her into the wall.
With a curse he made to move to her. Anne wasn’t about ready to let him near her. The lights flickered as an electrical current ran from them through her. It wasn’t necessary, she knew, but it would help her in the long run. Shooting from the car had drained her of her own energy. She felt it. And now she could feel the storm launch from her finger tips.

It spanned out in every direction, bouncing off the tables, scorching them as the sparks centred towards the man in the black suit. As they met, the man was dragged into the air. He crashed into the ceiling, falling painfully onto the counter.

This intrusion had distracted Daniel long enough for Ciarán to reach into his pocket. Focusing hard, he filled the handful of coins with energy, feeling them vibrate against each other, eager to release their hold. He threw them into the air as he leapt to his feet. Dozens of tiny explosion filled the cafe, knocking Daniel onto a chair, toppling it in the process.

By the time he got to his feet, Anne had already driven off with Ciarán and Jimmy. Daniel let out a curse as he inspected his partners. Both were struggling to their feet. They would have some explaining to do when they got back.

***

Where are my answers? Where do I belong?

Naomi was walking uncertainly down another unfamiliar road. She appreciated how it fit in with her situation. But even still, there were no answers here.

“There never will be answers,” a soft voice said to her from behind.

“And there never will be anywhere for you.”

It echoed around inside her head. It dug deep. Tore at her like a talon. Ripped out everything she held dear. “Who are you?” she whimpered. She turned to face the woman. She had the look of a woman in control, a look Naomi had lost after attacking Emily. She held her hips comfortably, a tight black suit gripping her slim figure. “What do you want with me?” she screamed.

“That’s precisely it,” a man said from behind the woman. Naomi noticed the van only then. White and haunting. A man in a long white coat stepped out from behind its open back door. “We want you.”

Naomi stared at those cold, unseeing silver goggles. “No!” she screamed. “Leave me alone!” She turned on her heel to run, but only got a few steps when a dart hit her neck. She collapsed to her knees as her legs went numb. She fell to the ground, lying flat out on her stomach.

Emily Quigley... I’m sorry!

“She’s gone. Just like you.”

[End of Part Three]