After Titus left, the Colonist had simply walked up to them and sat down, looking like any other father at the park with his baseball cap and ASU t-shirt and jeans. He’d known Alaina by name, and had introduced himself to Macy.
At first, Macy had thought him to be a friend of Alaina’s from her ‘human’ life, but Alaina had immediately paled. It had only been when Macy pulled her hand away from the handshake he’d offered that she’d noticed the ash. It had taken everything in her not to scream and run from the scene, but Daniel brandishing a gun had helped her stay in place.
Alaina had glanced over at the kids on the playground, and Macy had immediately understood. She and Alaina may very well meet their deaths, but they wouldn’t do anything to put the children in danger. Bile had risen in her throat as she’d thought of this monster laying his hands on their innocent souls. She’d hoped they stayed entertained at the playground and didn't come over to meet their new companion. He apparently didn't know about them, because she felt certain that if he had, he'd have gone after them instead.
“Alaina, it’s so nice to see you again,” he had said, a reptilian smile on his completely average-looking face.
“I wish I could say the same, Daniel.”
Alaina had told her bits and pieces about her time with the Colonist, and she’d cringed. Daniel knew Alaina was half-Colonist and had wanted her to be his protégée. He’d tried to bring out the dark side in her by making her watch videos of people being murdered. Alaina said it had been close, but she’d been able to hold it off. This had infuriated Daniel to no end.
“It’s so nice to see people I know in the park,” he’d grinned. “But let’s take our conversation elsewhere, shall we?”
Alaina had stood, keeping her gaze on the children playing obliviously on the play structure. Macy had shuddered and hoped neither child would notice them being led away. Daniel could never know about them.
They’d walked over to Daniel’s car. “Get up front, Alaina. I don’t trust you behind me. You, get in back, and both of you hand me your phones.”
They’d done what he told them, and they slowly moved through the crowded parking lot. Daniel had taken out a gun and casually pointed it at Alaina, who’d stared ahead, unfazed.
“I love walking through the city during the day, especially where big events are happening,” Daniel had said.
Macy had turned to look out the window and had seen Titus running toward the playground. He’d grabbed both children and looked around the park, panic on his face.
“I wonder which people will be dead by tomorrow, and which ones will be killed by natural causes, or if my followers and I will be the killers. It’s all such a wonderful guessing game.”
Titus had run back to the SUV and thrown the kids inside. As Daniel drove by, she’d glared at Titus, willing him to look their way. She’d seen the recognition in his eyes, and she had quickly looked away from him, not wanting to draw Daniel’s attention to him.
“And then when I saw you, Alaina, just sitting there enjoying the day, I knew I had to catch up with my old friend.”
“I’m not your friend, Daniel.”
“Well, then, I had to reacquaint myself with my protégée who disappointed me like no other. But, I knew you had it in you, Alaina. You killed George, remember? You murdered him in cold blood, just like I knew you were capable of doing.”
Alaina remained quiet and stared out the side window. Macy had tried to figure out where they were going, but hadn’t spent much time exploring the city. She quickly became lost.
The city turned to suburbs, and then to desert, and a tear trickled down her cheek as she prepared to meet her death.
Daniel pulled under a bridge that seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere; however, Macy saw houses across the dirt wash about a half-mile away.
He parked, then exited the vehicle. Another car waited for them.
“Get out,” he ordered as he trained the gun on them.
Her knees trembled as she wondered if she would be meeting her maker in the next few minutes, and if he’d leave her body for the coyotes.
“Get in the other car.”
She followed Alaina there, who walked with confidence, each step sturdy and sure-footed. How did she do that when it seemed Macy might collapse at any moment?
Alaina opened the door and paused. Macy peeked around her shoulder, and she gasped in horror.
The tan seats had been stained dark brown, and the car reeked of the coppery smell of blood. The other vehicle had been pristine, but this one … this one brought even more terror into her heart.
Alaina slipped in the front seat, and Macy got in back with a shudder and swallowed a gag.
Daniel drove, his gun trained on Alaina.
As Macy stared at the barrel, how she wished she knew what to do. She didn’t even know how a gun worked, let alone how to disarm someone. If she grabbed it, she worried she’d kill Alaina with her uneducated attempt.
They drove another twenty minutes and then pulled into a desolate dirt lot. A lone house stood at the end of the driveway, and no matter which way she looked, she didn’t see another structure.
It reminded her of the silo. They were truly out in the middle of nowhere, and her fear increased, if that was even possible.
“Get out.”
She did as her captor told her.
The outside of the structure seemed old and outdated with its yellowing paint, and the land around it hadn’t been landscaped. Sagebrush, native cacti, and dirt surrounded it.
“Move inside.”
As she tried to keep her terror from collapsing her knees, she almost wondered if the blood-stained interior of the car would be better than what lay beyond those walls.
He handed Alaina the keys and told her to open the door. As it swung open, Macy’s eyes adjusted at the same time the smell assaulted her.
Death.
Yes, the house had looked normal on the outside, but the inside was nothing but a concrete room. Brown stains had been splattered all over, and Macy realized it was blood. Thick, metal bars covered all the windows, and as she glanced back, she noticed there wasn’t a doorknob on this side of the door, but a steel plate.
“Welcome to my playroom,” Daniel said from behind her.
She glanced over at Alaina, who showed no emotion, but looked around as if she were bored beyond words.
“Now, keep moving to what I like to call the ‘sitting room.’ That’s where I take my prey and let them think about their lives before I give them a chance to fight for it.”
She followed Alaina through another door and into another concrete room. The smell of death didn’t seem as strong in here, but blood stains riddled the floor.
“I’ll be back with you ladies shortly.”
The door closed, and again, there wasn’t a knob on their side, but a steel plate. Alaina moved to the door and tried to dig her fingernails between the panel and the frame, with no luck.
Macy wanted to scream; she wanted to pass out. She couldn’t deal with this. As a Healer, it sickened her to her very core, and she sank to her knees in a corner and buried her face in her hands, her head spinning.
The sobs wouldn’t stop, nor would the trembling throughout her body. She felt as though she would lose her mind at any moment.