[Night Walkers 02] - Paranoia (2014) Page 16

  I drove through the intersection and pulled over, turning off the car. The radio cut off and everything went immediately silent. Even Darkness had stopped talking, though I could feel his fury fuming inside me. He looked over and I stared into my own eyes.

  Then everything faded away.

  When I regained awareness, I was still sitting behind the wheel of my car but it was much later in the day. The sun had set and the sky had faded to the hazy violet of twilight. Darkness seethed in the passenger seat, obviously unhappy to have lost control. I did a quick check of my clothes and looked in the mirror. No lipstick, no black eye. I took a deep breath … I didn’t feel like I’d been drinking. I dug my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through the recent history. No texts, pictures, or calls had occurred in the last couple of hours.

  I looked back at Darkness, who had a hard smirk on his face. “Yeah, yeah … don’t get sappy. You can repay me later.”

  “Why didn’t you make me watch this time?”

  He didn’t respond for a while and when he did, his voice was gruff. “No one deserves that … not even you.”

  I squinted over the steering wheel and out the front window at the house Darkness was watching. It was run down and in a rough neighborhood I’d never been in before. I tried to make out the last name on the mailbox. It was too dark and most of the letters were missing—but it started with a T. The bushes in the front of the house were so high and overgrown they probably blocked out any sun that tried to creep in through the windows. Gray paint that probably used to be a different color peeled on every surface. The house’s roof looked like it had been patched a few times, very ineffectively.

  “Where are we?”

  “You didn’t listen, so I decided to bring us here on my own.”

  A chill ran down my spine at the cold satisfaction in his voice, but before I could ask Darkness to clarify, I saw the front door open and Finn walked out. Through the open door I could have sworn I saw the hulking form of Thor before it quickly closed.

  T … for Thornton. I glanced at Darkness, but his jaw was hanging open wide. He may have come to check up on Thor, but it was clear he was just as surprised as I was to see Finn here.

  We watched Finn jump into his old crappy car, which was parked about a block away. After two attempts it started up and he pulled away from the curb. I started my car, too, and stayed back a few blocks. Darkness seemed at least curious because he didn’t argue—and as a general rule, he argued with everything I said, did, or thought.

  I followed Finn through a few cross streets and finally back to his house. He went inside, and I sat in my car trying to decide what to do next. Darkness disappeared again just when I’d considered asking his opinion. He was nothing if not absolutely useless.

  I gave up. Nothing that was going on made sense to me, so the only thing I could do was ask Finn.

  The moon was full, but it hid behind some clouds the instant I stepped out of the car. The wind kicked up and blew hard in my face. I blinked against the sudden force, which seemed to stop as soon as it started. Running my hand through my hair, I glanced through the window into the Patricks’ garage. All the other cars were gone—good. Less chance of running into Addie and Jack.

  After two knocks, Finn opened the door. He looked bored.

  Finn never looked bored. Something was definitely wrong, and it made my skin crawl. I could hear my own pulse in my ears and my lungs felt like they wanted to breathe much faster than usual.

  “Feel that?” Darkness spoke quietly and crystal clear inside my head. “Those are my instincts that you’re feeling. They’re primal. They’re sensitive … and they’re never wrong. Be careful.”

  I walked into the kitchen and Finn sauntered in behind me.

  “So what have you been up to?” I kept my voice low and casual.

  “Nothing. Just been here all night.” He gestured back toward the living room, where the TV was on.

  I nodded, trying to look calm while my brain was freaking out. “So, I was thinking, about our conversation the other day … I really think you should go for it.”

  “You do?” All his attention was focused on me now and every trace of boredom was gone.

  “Yeah. I think Stanford would be awesome. And so what if it’s halfway across the country?” I leaned back against the counter, feeling around for the wooden owl statue that was always kept in that spot. I knew Finn hated the idea of going to a West Coast university, for reasons that I’d yet to figure out—so any response other than his customary “Uh, no way in hell” would be a dead giveaway.

  Finn smiled and relaxed his stance, but there was something in his eyes that made every hair on my arm stand on end. “Yeah, so what? Stanford seems so cool.”

  My fingers finally brushed the wooden statue and I pulled it tight against my palm. Drawing in a deep, slow breath, I smiled back. Whoever this Taker was, they were using Finn’s body and I would not hurt him … not seriously, anyway.

  “It’s really too bad, though.” Fake-Finn turned his back on me and I took one silent step forward. Then his voice turned ice cold and he spun to face me with a knife in his hand and his lip curled back in an arrogant sneer. “I didn’t want to kill you yet.”

  I took a step back. “Who are you? Cooper—right?”

  “None of your business.” Finn looked a little surprised when I said the name, then lunged forward, swinging the knife toward my stomach. He missed by mere inches, narrowly avoiding slicing me open. The front of my shirt had a long gash across the middle. Fear and adrenaline made every detail around me crystal clear.

  I kicked the chair toward him and he stopped it with his foot. It hadn’t been intended to hurt him, more to put something else between myself and Finn’s very sharp knife.

  Now, with the chair between us, I threw the wooden owl at him. It thudded against his shoulder when he ducked. It was solid and pretty heavy; Finn winced when he tried to raise the knife again. Using his momentary distraction, I reached for the only things that were handy. Ripping spices off Mrs. Patrick’s spice shelf behind me, I popped off the tops and started throwing them as fast as I could at Finn. The first was some kind of Italian seasoning, and he just looked at me like I’d lost my mind, but the third was pepper and he was coughing and sneezing before I threw cinnamon and a dozen other spices into a cloud around him.

  He’d covered his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and sounded like he was hacking up a lung when I ran for him. I slammed my elbow down on his wrist and the knife clattered to the ground; then I jumped on him and pinned him face-down in the spices covering the floor. I grabbed the dishtowel and tied his wrists behind his back with it, then picked up the knife, jerked his head up by his hair, and put the blade against his neck.

  “Who are you?” Power surged through my veins and I felt pure strength. I was totally in control. He had to answer me. I would make him.

  Finn sputtered and coughed, but gave no response.

  “Tell me your name.” My voice was barely a growl. Finn looked scared for the first time. I pressed the knife closer and a single drop of blood crossed my blade. I could see my reflection in it. It was me, shining in silver and red blood—Finn’s blood. He still hadn’t answered me. I put a tiny bit more pressure on the blade and another drop fell.

  The back door opened and Addie and Mia walked in.

  “What the—?” Mia stopped and Addie ran into her back.

  Addie stepped around her and sneezed, then looked down at me. She froze and her eyes went from me to Finn. “Get off him! What’s wrong with you?”

  I looked up at her and back down at the blade and the few drops of my best friend’s blood. The knife fell from my fingers with a sudden clatter and I kicked it aside. Closing my eyes tight, I knelt back on Finn’s legs to keep him from moving and reached inside my head. Shutting out every word from Addie, Mia and Finn, I focused inside my mind and found Darkness.

  I’d seen enough. We’d done enough. Darkness had to be stopped before he killed
someone I loved. He wailed out in agony as I used every piece of my strength to push him into some dark corner, to wall him off, to cage him in. It took almost a full minute of pure pain. Every time he’d start to regain some ground, I would focus on the image of Finn’s blood on the blade and he would retreat.

  Then everything was silent.

  “He’s totally lost it. I don’t even know—” Finn’s words finally cut through. I was so relieved to hear his voice, even if it wasn’t Finn using it. I’d almost killed him. Just an ounce more pressure and I would have murdered my best friend. If I’d … if he’d been … I shoved the horrifying thought aside.

  “It wasn’t on purpose! This isn’t the way it looks.” My voice was full of panic. I tried to ease it by focusing on the blissful silence in my head, by strengthening the wall I’d built around Darkness. I hadn’t hurt Finn. That was the only thing that mattered right now.

  But also important was the fact that while Finn’s body was okay, this still wasn’t Finn, and so far I was the only one who knew that.

  Addie was still trying valiantly to push me off what she thought was her brother. I opened my eyes and turned to face her.

  “Where’s Jack?” I grabbed her hands and held her wrists in place.

  “I don’t know. Why, did you want to attack him, too?”

  This was getting me nowhere, and Finn was starting to sputter below me. I only had one true ally in the room right now. She was my only hope.

  “Mia—this isn’t Finn. I can explain everything, but first, do you know where Jack is?”

  She looked from me to Finn and back again. “We—we just dropped him off at your house.”

  “Call him.” I kept my voice low and calm. I didn’t need them to freak out more. “Ask him to come over here now.”

  “Okay.” Mia dialed a number and I heard her speaking low into the receiver. “Jack—I don’t know what’s happening, but get over here right away.” Then she lowered the phone and I could see that she hadn’t hung it up. Good—that could work in my favor.

  “Addie, I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” Finn turned his head to the side and looked up at his sister. “Please help me. Get him off of me.”

  Addie pushed all her weight against my shoulder and tried to push me against the cabinets. I withstood her full weight by clamping my knees around Finn’s sides. Then I grabbed another dishtowel and stuffed it in his mouth.

  Addie growled and looked ready to fight me again, so I stared straight into her eyes. “Listen to me and I’ll explain. I’m not hurting him … I promise you, Addie.”

  “He’s bleeding! You had a knife to his throat! To Finn!” Her voice choked off in a sob. “How could you do this, Parker?”

  I’d never thought I was capable of something like this either. I nodded toward where the knife lay on the floor. “I don’t have the knife anymore,” I said, my voice ragged. “But I’ll sit right here. I won’t move until you let me explain.”

  Addie picked up the knife with shaking fingers, and when she saw at Finn’s blood on it, her grasp on it tightened. She held it up. Her eyes were a sea of confusion and mistrust, but she was listening.

  “This”—I looked down at Finn and then back up—“is not your brother. He attacked me.”

  Her brow furrowed and she shook her head.

  “You remember what Jack told us about the Takers?”

  Addie’s eyes widened and she looked from me to Finn.

  Mia, who stood behind her, spoke up first. “How do we know it’s not you who isn’t … yourself?”

  “Watchers bodies can’t be taken over.” I kept speaking low and steady in spite of the turmoil inside me. The knife Addie was holding made me feel sick and kept my adrenaline pumping. Mia still held the phone in her hand, so I nodded toward it. “Ask Jack.”

  Mia looked a little sheepish as she lifted the phone to her ear. “Did you hea—”

  I heard Jack talking rapidly in the background, then Mia said, “Okay, hurry.” And hung up.

  “He says we should move Finn to his room, gag him, and tie him up. He’s on his way over.”

  “I don’t—I don’t know … ” Addie’s hands were shaking and it looked like she might drop the knife at any moment. Her eyes were still glued to Finn.

  “Think of any question that no one but Finn could answer. And it needs to be something that happened before … ” I calculated in my head. Tuesday was the last day Finn had been normal, but I’d go further back just to be safe. “Think of something that happened before your vacation and ask him about it. I promise he won’t be able to answer you.”

  Addie reached down with her free hand and pulled the dishtowel from Finn’s mouth. He immediately started talking.

  “He’s going crazy, Addie. I don’t even know what he’s talking about. Don’t believe him!”

  “Answer my question and I’ll help you.” She bent down until she could see his face, but she had to cover her mouth against the cloud of spices that kicked up every time Finn squirmed. “What did Grandpa Patrick call me before he died?”

  Finn wiggled again and coughed for a while, but there was definitely a more forced sound to it this time.

  “Answer her.” I twisted his arm a little further and he stopped faking.

  “Okay—I just don’t remember. It feels like he’s been gone a long time … ”

  Addie’s face paled three shades before she stood up and dropped the knife into the sink. “I don’t know who this is, but Finn would know our grandpa is alive and well in Florida. Let’s take him in the other room.”

  Between the three of us, a rope from the garage for his hands and feet, and a new, more reliable, gag, we managed to get Finn into his room just before Jack showed up. Addie and Mia straightened up the kitchen while Jack and I pushed Finn into his closet and force-fed him one of Mrs. Patrick’s sleeping pills. Harder than you might think when the prisoner is trying extremely hard to bite fingers off.

  Finn was nodding off when we left him. We gathered around the kitchen table and tried to come up with a plan.

  “We should take him to my house,” I said. “My mom is working all weekend, and it will seem weird if your parents come home and don’t see him.”

  “Or find him tied up in his own closet.” Mia was biting her lip so hard I was afraid she’d start bleeding. I reached out and squeezed her hand.

  “He’s going to be okay.” I glanced over at Jack, but was surprised to find Addie staring at my hand. Mia quickly pulled her hand away with an apologetic glance in my direction. I focused my attention on Jack again. “Finn wasn’t asleep when I got here, and it’s already dinnertime. If a Taker took him over last night, why didn’t Finn wake up today back as himself again?”

  Jack rubbed his thumb back and forth across the stubble on his chin. “The Taker must still be sleeping. Remember, it’s about the Taker. When he wakes up, Finn will be free.”

  “So the sleeping pill we gave him will wear off, the Taker will wake up, and Finn will wake up back as himself again, right?”

  Jack nodded, but it was slower than I liked and there was definitely some hesitation to it.

  “What?”

  “No, nothing.” Jack frowned, but gave me a firm nod this time. “That’s what should happen.”

  “Okay, so we need to get him back to my house. Since it was definitely one of us that Finn last made eye contact with, by morning everything will return to normal.” The girls agreed and I stood up, but Jack frowned so I sat back down.

  “Dude—just say it.” I was trying very hard to be patient, but Jack was driving me mad lately just by existing. Even calling him for help felt superhuman. It was something I would only do when desperate—only to save Finn. I took a slow, deep breath before continuing with considerably less growl. “What are we missing?”

  “I told you. It isn’t about Finn’s eye contact,” Jack said. “It’s just like with a Watcher. If you make eye contact with Mia at the end of a day, does it matter who she, the Dreamer, make
s eye contact with after that? No. It isn’t Finn that matters, it’s the Night Walker. The Taker has to wake up and look into someone else’s eyes to break his connection with Finn.” Jack rubbed his hands across his face before finishing. “Someone has to go find the Taker, who I assume must be that Cooper guy. We need to wake him up and force him to make eye contact with someone.”

  Addie’s hands were shaking, but she responded first. “Well, I thi—”

  Jack and I interrupted her at the same time: “I’ll do it.”

  “So Mia and I will be left alone in your house with an unconscious Finn in your closet?” All emotion had left Addie’s face. All I saw left was determination … and sarcasm. “Yeah, that won’t be suspicious at all when your mom comes home.” She stood up and pushed out her chair. “We’ll stay here. Once we’re sure he’s out, we’ll get him comfortable in his closet—still tied up, of course—and then I’ll lie and tell my parents he’s spending the night at your house. You guys keep your phones on. We’ll call you if there are any problems, and then you come back here when you’re done and we’ll decide what to do from there.”

  Jack was the only one still seated. “I think Parker should stay here too.”

  “Why?” Addie got the words out before I did.

  “Because we don’t know where this search for Cooper is going to lead us. If we end up at the Takers’ base or they get an easy chance to take Parker, they’ll do it.” Jack frowned and slowly got to his feet. “I don’t want to give them an opportunity like that when I can do this alone.”

  “First—you don’t even know what Cooper looks like. Second—Finn has been my best friend my entire life and I’m coming.” I started backing toward the door. “Third—if you try to stop me, I’ll go find Cooper on my own.”

  Addie turned to Jack. I thought I saw a tiny smile curving up one corner of her mouth before she tilted her head to one side and I couldn’t see her whole face anymore. “Looks like he’s coming—and it will be safer with two of you there, anyway.”