Free Hunter by Adrianne Lemke Page A

normally at least tried to hide it from me, always striving
to spare my emotions. My thought was that if he actually shared with someone,
his emotions wouldn’t overwhelm me as much. If they weren’t repressed, and left
to stew over time, it would be easier to handle. But I could be wrong. It’s
hard to say, since I haven’t had any opportunity to test the theory.
                “So
what are you two up to this evening?” Jason asked after eating some of the grilled
cheese sandwich and tomato soup we made for him.
                Jake
shrugged. “Just studying,” he said. “Sam’s better with dates than me, so I
wanted his help with the history test.”
                He
smiled slightly, “Yeah, Sammy’s pretty good at remembering important information.”
I shrugged. In order to catch up with my peers after living on the streets for
two years, I needed to work hard, and learn memory tricks to allow information
to linger. At least long enough to pass the tests.
                Of
course that didn’t mean I was completely caught up, but I was pretty close.
Close enough that the students I now went to school with had no idea I spent
two years out of school, or that I once lived on the streets. Even Jake didn’t
know, and he was my closest friend at school.
                “Will
you need a ride home, or are your parents picking you up later?” Jason asked
Jake, while he finished his supper.
                Jake
met my eyes, waiting for my encouraging nod before answering. “If it’s not too
much trouble, I could use a ride.”
                “No
problem,” Jason answered, rising from the table to put his dirty dishes into
the sink. “Let me know when you need to leave. I’ll be upstairs.”
    We nodded and Jason walked up the
stairs. He had a pretty good lid on his feelings at the moment, so I
consciously stretched my mind toward his to gauge how he was doing. It was not
something I did often, since his emotional state was so easily read most of the
time, but I was able to sense his anger about the day’s events.
                Of
course there was some sadness for the loss of life, but anger was his primary
emotion. Shawn’s death dredged up the same sense of anger and loss I felt from
him when Erin died, and when he went with our friend, Alice, to the morgue to
identify our father. Although, his feelings for our father’s death were overlaid
with relief, so it wasn’t exactly the same.
                There
was the steel edge of determination growing, strengthening with the power of
his anger, and I knew he wouldn’t give up this case until the killer was
stopped. All I could do was hope nothing would happen to him.

FIFTEEN
    Hunter

 
 
                The
boredom was overwhelming. Even after a successful hunting trip, and knowing my
next victim was waiting for me to grab him. Being stuck in the office, making
stupid phone calls to idiot people, was feeling like a complete waste of time.
My wife was angry, because I never called to tell her I wouldn’t be home until
late on Monday night. I also didn’t bother to tell her I took an extra day off
work to stay at the cabin.
                Of
course her anger was shared by not speaking to me, so I had more time to dwell
on my complete disgust for the dullness that was everyday life. Was it only
yesterday that I was in the woods, watching the police find my most recent
prey? Where I discovered the identity of the detectives haunting my path, but
failed to discover the identity of the mystery man who came so close to my
hunting ground, and acted so oddly? I’d left shortly after the detective’s
arrival, since I needed to get home. As much as I wanted to watch more, there
simply wasn’t time. One day at work was enough to detract from the thrill of
the chase, and the excitement of the unknown.
                Even
the idea of meeting with one of my