The Spider
Craig shot up in bed that morning. He knew it. At last he knew how to get that infernal collar off. It all made sense now.
This was fantastic. It was a wonder that no one had ever thought of it before. But then, he was more ingenious than most telepaths.
Ahh, but then there was the matter of Avery. She was certainly needed, but he couldn't afford to let her know what was happening. It would be disasterous if they found out just how he got it off. It would make them all a lot careful.
Time was of the essance too, he knew. There would have been people on their trail the moment that Avery and Taylor had gone missing. He should establish a new base elsewhere.
And then of course, there was the other dilemma. How to go about it. It was one thing to know what it involved, quite another to put it into practice.
He got dressed and hunted down Christian.
"Get the girl," he told him. "See that she has a good breakfast and then bring her to the workshop."
Then he turned without waiting for a reply to have his own breakfast.
Christian
Christian pouted slightly.
"Good morning to you too," he said, then chuckled.
With a yawn, he made his way to Avery's room. Telekinetically unlocking it, he opened the door to find her still asleep. With a sigh, he made his way over to the side of her bed.
Shaking her awake telekinetically, he waited until she was awake enough before trying to talk to her.
"Good morning Avery," he said finally, turning the overhead light on as well as the lamp, "we've got an important day ahead of us. What do you want for breakfast?"
The Spider
After breakfast, Craig started towards the workshop. Then he decided to make a quick detour to Taylor's room.
He unlocked the door and walked in. Taylor was curled up in the same position as he was when Craig saw him the day before. He knelt down and peered at his face.
"He looks just like him," he murmered. "Very interesting."
Taylor
Taylor's eyes, as much as they hurt, widened.
"Oh my God..." he stuttered, backing away against the wall.
"You're... you're him."
He froze, breathing heavily.
"Where's Avie?"
The Spider
"Relax kid," Craig said. "You more use to me alive. Yes, I am the Spider, if that's who you mean by 'him'."
Taylor
Taylor gulped, confused.
"Where's my sister and what have you done to her?" he tried again, trusting him just enough to convince himself he wasn't going to kill him... yet.
He glanced toward the door.
The Spider
"Your sister is having breakfast," Craig informed Taylor. "I'm very much inspired to keep her alive and well. So far the only thing I have done is teach her to make a Parith. What's a Parith? Probably something she would have learned to make at camp."
Taylor
Taylor scratched his eyebrow, annoyed to find himself shaking. He was purposely trying not to look Craig in the eyes, even though he knew he couldn't control his telepathy at the moment.
"Ah..." he began, cluelessly, "well umm... how, how long are you planning to keep us, here?"
He glanced at the door again, worried for his sister.
"And what are you gonna do once... once she helps you?"
The Spider
"I'm keep you here as long as it takes."
Craig was silent for a moment, regarding Taylor.
"And you'll probably be left somewhere where you'll be found by the appropriate people. I'm not interested in dead weight hanging around unneccesarily. Nor am I interested in any of the repercussions that would come of killing either of you. But be warned, Hanson, I will and have killed when the need was there."
Taylor
Taylor's eyes widened again, as he coughed and held his stomach.
With the death threat, his mind suddenly turned to Mouse's parents.
"I... I believe you," he said softly, his eyes narrowing.
Hesitating, he decided that if he didn't mention it now, he never would.
"You killed my girlfriend's parents. And she's an empath."
The Spider
Craig raised an eyebrows.
"And who, pray tell, is your girlfriend?"
A smirk crossed his face.
"I can hardly remember all the people I've had killed."
Taylor
"You did it yourself," Taylor began sternly.
"Thanks to you she has to go through the whole ordeal of their death as well. I'm not sure how you did it and I'm hell sure I don't want to know."
He hesitated, hoping he wasn't getting himself in more trouble.
"She's been hunting for you ever since. And her name's Jane. Jane Hall."
The Spider
Craig raised an eyebrow.
"I did it myself? Now, there's a rare occurance. Hall huh? Oh yes... I remember now," a smirk grew on his face. "Oho! Yes, Robert and Sammy Hall."
He laughed.
"They were two of my best operatives at the time. But then they got this idea that just because they had a daughter now they couldn't continue our little partnership. They escaped me. It took me a couple of years, but I found them again. No one stops working for me without my sayso. The punishment - as they all know - is death when they're found. Yes, I killed them. I was sorry to lose them, but hey, that's... life."
Craig stretched his arms.
"So, the little girl is hunting me now, is she? How fun. I haven't had sport like that in years."
Taylor
Taylor felt his heart skip a bit and he stopped breathing for a second.
Mouse's parents worked with the Spider? She'd never accept the idea. Never.
"That's no excuse for making her go through that," Taylor shook his head, "you just can't do that to someone, you've completely scarred her for life. She doesn't trust hardly anyone and she's basically blocked herself off from anyone but me or animals. That's only because she's empathic with them."
The Spider
"My dear boy, whoever said I was looking for your pardon? I do what I do for one reason only - it suits me. If I cared what other people thought of me, I'd hardly be the outlaw I've become now would I?"
Craig stood.
"I'll arrange for you to have something to eat. Good day Taylor."
And Craig turned to leave.
Avery
Avery rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Toast. With cheese. And tomatoes. No butter thanks."
She sat up reluctantly massaging her head.
"What happened last night? Where's Tay? I want to see Tay."
Christian
"All in good time my dear, all in good time," he grinned, saying it like the witch fro the Wizard of Oz.
He helped her out of bed, took her hand, and led her down the hallway to their kitchen area.
"Hey Jones!"
"Yeah Chris?"
"Tomato and cheese on toast. No butter. Pronto."
"Get screwed."
"It's not for me, for the Hanson girl."
"Ok. Coming up."
Christian bent down to Avie's level, and looked toward a table in the eating area.
"Just go and sit over there to wait. We have the heaters going so it's not too cold. I'll keep an eye out for anyone from the door."
He flinched at a loud clutter from the kitchen.
"Jones - our chef - will bring it out to you, ok?"
With that, he winked, and went to stand by the only door into the room.
Avery
Avery shivered but not from cold, from fear. She had hoped that when she had woken up, it would all be over, like the last few days had just been a bad dream, something that did not happen, and we she woke up, she'd be at home and Taylor would be there to take her to camp.
Scratch that fantasy. She was beginning to think maybe going to camp was a bad idea. She wondered if they had been waiting at the bus long, then she thought about her family again and she wanted to cry and scream.
"I want to see Taylor. Please, just for a few minutes, let me talk to him, let me hug him, I need my big brother. Then I'll do what you want, I just can't go on without seeing him."
Avery looked away from Christian, unwilling to let him see her cry. If they wouldn't let her see Taylor, she'd have to telepathically talk to him. Right now she didn't care if he hated it, she had to talk to him and she wanted him to talk back.
*Taylor, it's me. They're cooking me breakfast. They made me make a Parith last night and now my head hurts and The Spider is being so... well not nice, but he's not hurting me, but I miss mom and dad and all I want to do is get out of here. Taylor, please tell me you're ok. I love you.*
Christian and Taylor
"Sorry Avery, but it's not up to me," Christian replied from the doorway as he watched down the hall for Craig.
Meanwhile, Taylor was holding his head in pain. Something had happened, and he wasn't sure what. Whenever Avery talked to him telepathically it gave him such a headache...
"I'm ok Avie, honestly," he said both in mind and in whisper, "whatever you do, don't trust him for a minute. He was just in here."
He opened his eyes for a moment and looked around. The sun was rising, and he could now see the room alot better than the night before.
"We'll get out of here, I promise," he insisted.
Avery
*I won't. I know you don't like this. So I'll leave now. I love you big brother.*
Avery let her presence leave Taylor's mind and she watched as her breakfast was brought over to her. It looked unappetising, but she hadn't eaten in awhile, so she figured she might as well start now.
"Could I have some orange juice, sorry, but my head really hurts." Avery grabbed her head again in pain. Something wasn't right, she tried to work out why she was in so much pain, and she realised it must've been when she was distracted while creating her Parith.
Christian
Jones returned with an orange juice soon afterward, and noticed Christian watching him. He nodded, and left Avery alone.
Christian sighed and let his gaze wander down the hallway again. This whole situation was pretty unnerving. Being only morning no one had had a lot of sleep. Not that they needed it. Most of the people at the base were still asleep and probably wouldn't be awake again until that evening. Everyone seemed to love working under cover of darkness.
And he couldn't shrug the feeling that someone was right on their trail and getting closer. Probably looking for Craig. Well if they had any magick users, he knew they'd be blocked by their own.
Aver
Avery began to eat her breakfast and she stole a glance at Christian.
"Why are you working for him? You know, if you disobey him, you're gonna get hurt."
Christian
"I don't work for him, I just like doing him favours," Christian rolled his eyes.
"He brought me up after my mother went missing and my father was killed. He's more of a father to me than anyone else on this stinking planet."
He glanced at her, but looked away.
"And I'd never disobey him. I'm not afraid of him, because I know I'm valuable to him. But it wouldn't ever come to that. I trust him with my life."
Avery
Avery nodded, not completely understanding but pretending she did.
"Can I have a shower? I feel so yuck. And my head still hurts, is there anything I can take?"
Avery almost felt bad for asking for all of these things, but then she remembered that she was doing them a favour, so the least they could do was give her the things she wanted.
Christian
"You probably strained yourself too much last night," Christian rolled his eyes.
"Jones!"
"What?!"
"Give her something for her headache."
Jones mumbled something incoherently, before fumbling around in the kitchen and finally coming out with a headache tablet and putting it on the table beside her juice. Then he disappeared again.
"You can have a shower when you're done," Christian said.
Avery
Avery stared at the tablet for a few seconds, then put it in her mouth and washed it down her throat with her juice.
"Bleugh. Thanks."
Avery stood and looked around. "Where's the shower?"
Christian
Having there been no sign of Craig so far, Christian took her hand and led her back down the hallway. There was a small bathroom near her bedroom, and he showed her in.
"I'll have to keep watch for you. We have alot of sickos that live here," he told her, "towels in the cupboard there. Soap or whatever is all in there."
With that, he closed the door, and stood by to watch out for Craig.
"Where the heck are you?"
Avery
Avery undressed slowly, still worried about her head. She turned the water on and started to wash herself but then her headache and her thoughts of her family became too much and she burst into tears and slid down the shower wall, sobbing her eyes out on the floor.
After about ten minutes, she managed to compose herself enough to stand up and finish her shower. She stepped out, dried herself off and got dressed again. Her head was feeling a bit better now, the tablet was dulling the pain to a smaller ache in the back of her head.
She opened the door to see Christian waiting for her.
Christian
"Ok," he began, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm - although steam coming through the door helped alot.
"There's been no sign of Craig so far, so... I guess we'd better head back to the workshop."
He put a hand on her shoulder, and began to lead her back to the room they were in the night before.
Avery
Avery felt her stomach turn over in dread.
"O...k." She said slowly, following Christian, or rather, being pulled along by Christian. She could feel herself involuntarily wincing at the thought of more telepathic work. She never thought she'd ever want to give up her power, but now she was quite willing to throw them to anyone, just so she could be home again.
The Spider
Craig walked into the workshop and saw Christian and Avery waiting for him. He glanced at Avery curiously.
"No ill effects from yesterday?" he checked. "You must tell me if there are. I must know, else what we do today might be disasterous."
The final prepreations were in place. This was it. Today he would get rid of this infernal collar!
Avery
"I just had a bit of a headache." Avery said softly, unsure if this was important or not. After all, if The Spider was worried about anything that happened, then she might as well tell him she was feeling icky. She wanted to survive this ordeal after all.
Christian
"She took something for it, so she should be right to go," Christian insisted, letting go of her shoulder.
He made his way over to a chair by the wall, and sat ready to watch. He could sense Craig had an idea or something - it wasn't often he looked this happy.
Avery
Avery stepped over to The Spider, still wary, but not wanting to... well, die. So she decided to do the smart thing in this situation and at least listen to what was going to happen.
"I still want to see Tay."
The Spider
"A bit of a headache huh?"
Craig was not happy to hear this, even if she did take something. He tapped his fingers on his leg for a moment, and then picked up a phone.
"Tom? Get down here now."
Then he turned to Avery.
"Tom does a good mental massage. He should be able to siphon off this headache of yours. You should never, never go into intense telepathic activity with a headache. Never forget that. As for Taylor, as soon as we've done something I want to do this morning, you will get to see your brother."
Avery
Avery visibly brightened at the thought of seeing Taylor again.
"I'll try. But I don't know what I can do."
Avery sat down on the ground, rubbing her head again. The pain was slowly subsiding, but it was still a dull thudding in the back of her head.
The Spider
"Oh good you're here," Craig said as Tom entered the room. "Give the girl a massage please. I'm afraid yesterday's efforts have hurt her."
Tom nodded and Craig gave him a pointed look. Tom understood and began his mental massgae of Avery's mind.
"That should help. Now, it's very simple, my dear. I would like you to send your mind out to this collar and... explore it. I would like you to get a feel for this collar. Prod it and poke it. Whatever you want."
Avery
Avery felt relaxed after the massage and was tempted to go to sleep, but the threat they had made about Taylor kept her soberly awake. She closed her eyes and let her mind out around the collar. She touched it. It was warm. And it felt weird. She was unsure if she could get through to it. It also felt deceptively soft. Well not soft, but tingly. But Avery guessed that was from the energy.
"How... how does it work?"
The Spider
"You would know better than me," Craig told her. "Only Masters can make collars. I am a lot of things, but a Ga'Revali Master is not one of them. I never even finished my training, so what I truly am is anyone's guess."
He paused, looking at Tom who gave the merest look.
"Explore it my dear, you never know what you might find out."
Avery
Avery reached out for the collar, and watched as she touched it, her fingers became part of the energy. She gasped and pulled away suddenly. She saw a tiny spherical hole in the collar, and she guessed that was the place to unlock it.
The Spider
Tom's eyes met Craig's.
"IF you find a way of unlocking it. By all means, do so," Craig said pleasantly.
But everyone knew it was merely a diguise for a threat.
Avery
Avery took a deep breath. "I guess there's a hole here for it. And my only guess is that the Parith has something to do with it."
Avery looked around and spotted her Parith sitting on the shelf. She called it over to her and guided it to the collar. Something else inside her took over, and she instinctively knew what to do. She flattened the Parith and sent it swirling into the hole. She heard a click and guessed that stage one was complete.
The Spider
Craig was nearly delirious with the anticipation.
"If you think the Parith is required, then turn it on..." his eyes blazing. "Start a telepathic laser!"
Avery
Avery concentrated intently on the now flat still swiling Parith. She felt a strong wind coming from the hole, and her hair flew back suddenly. Her eyes lit up so they were bright white and she could feel herself shaking as she let the Parith turn on and begin to burn the sides of the hole it was in. Avery let the collar's hole close around the Parith, manipulating the energy slowly.
The Spider
Craig felt the collar loosen until at last...
"Ahh..." he gasped out and put his hand to his neck.
His eyes glittered as he looked at them. At Avery. At Tom. At Christian. He was now rid of that cursed collar! So, that sample of Tanya's telepathic DNA had been the key after all. And having Tom infuse Avery's work had done the trick. He was free!
"Friends," he said. "The Spider is back!"
Avery
Avery shrunk back in terror. She buried her head in her hands. What had she done?
Christian
Christian's eyes lit up at the sight of him free.
"Finally!" he exclaimed, getting up to give Craig a high-five.
He grinned as his eyes sparkled.
"We have to celebrate somehow. What are you gonna do first?"
The Spider
The Spider smiled.
"Why, I'm going to give our little friend her what she asked for. A visit to her brother. Let's go."
Avery
Avery felt herself being pushed to Taylor's room. The door opened and she was shoved inside.
"TAY!"
The Spider
The Spider put his refound skills to work. He entered Taylor's mind and started copying it.
*Christian! I am creating an echo of Taylor's mind into yours. You shall be able to switch places and infiltrate the Hanson househole, and perhaps finally get your revenge on Isaac. It will give you recent and prominnant memories, limited use of his power and limited knowledge of his skills, etc.*
And he inserted the echo.
Taylor
"AVIE!" Taylor exclaimed, holding his arms out before she fell into them.
"Oh my God I was so worried," Taylor admitted, hugging onto her, "What happened? Why are they letting us see each other?"
Christian
Christian moaned, grabbing onto his head as he was suddenly flooded with images and sounds as the echo fell into place.
He waited until it stopped, then looked up again.
"Woah. What a life."
He shook himself, licking his lips. Alot of bad memories... a lot of good ones. From way back and from just the last few days. It all fell into place, and almost made Christian feel schizophrenic. Almost.
After he regained control of himself, he found the echo was easily manipulated. He grinned.
"Thanks Craig."
Avery
Avery wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.
"I... I got the collar off. I'm sorry Taylor, but he was going to hurt you and once I'd started, something happened and I just had to do it. I can't describe it. But now it's off and we're in trouble now he doesn't need me for anything. Taylor, I was so scared."
Taylor
"Don't worry, don't worry," Taylor cringed at the thought of Spider at his usual power level.
"You've done him a big favour, so... I'd say he'd want to keep you around for a while, ok? He told me once he's finished with us he'll leave us somewhere for the others to find us. Now as far as I know, he doesn't go back on his word. We'll be ok."
Taylor knew he was partly trying to convince himself of this, and was hoping Avie wouldn't pick up on it.
Avery
"I know what you're doing Tay. But I'm choosing to believe you." Avery hugged Taylor, careful not to hurt him.
"People will be looking for us, right, Tay?"
Taylor
"Of course," Taylor insisted, sniffling a little.
"And knowing Mouse, she'll have... Priss and the other cats on the job too. They'd find us for sure, ok? Just hold on until they get here, alright?"
Avery
"I hope so. I wish I could see mom and dad and Ike and Zac and everyone else. But I'm glad I was allowed to see you."
Avery looked at her brother properly. "Tay, don't get mad at me for saying this, but you look terrible."
Taylor
Taylor chuckled a little, playing with her hair.
"I'm not mad," he insisted, just glad to be holding her again, "I think I know. I haven't felt right since I've been here."
He sighed and looked around the room.
"And I want to see them too. I want to see Ike and Zac too."
Avery
Avery sighed. "Won't be long now, I guess. I mean... like his collar is off. So... we should be leaving soon. I hope. Tay... I want to stay here with you."
The Spider
"I think we can leave them be for the time being," The Spider said. "Have someone take Avery back to her room in an hour."
He turned and left.
Avery
Avery let herself collapse into Taylor's arms and she closed her eyes, imagining they were back home and one of this had happened.
"Taylor, I'm sorry you got wrapped up in this."
Taylor
Taylor leant his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.
"I'm not."
Owen
Owen smirked. From the way Craig was treating Avery he either wanted to adopt her, as he had himself & Christian, or he was planning on killing her. Either way, it was faring to be an interesting day.