The Participants - Chapter 15 – Hess – Iteration 144

His plan was to rent a room, clean himself up, buy clean clothes, sleep for a few hours, and make his way into Pittsburgh to catch a bus early in the morning. What happened was Zack lay on his bed and fell asleep before he dredged up the motivation to move.

He woke midmorning to the sound of talking in the room next to his. Zack checked the clock, saw it was after nine, and rolled out of the bed. In the bathroom mirror, he appeared normal enough save for his clothing, which was sliced and faded from repeatedly soaking in his blood. While the blood may have vanished from his shirt and pants, the damage it had caused remained.

Studying his appearance, Zack decided a change of clothes would be worth the delay. Anything that made him harder to spot could potentially save him. Which was why he needed to abandon the truck as soon as possible. Why didn’t I learn anything about the closest city that didn’t come from a television? I really am a terrible Observer.

Zack tore the wrapper from the tiny hotel soap and turned on the water. He thoroughly washed his face and hands. While he was toweling dry, Zack glanced at the wedding band perched on his ring finger. He imagined Lacey at home, clutching her phone, unsure if he lived or not. She deserves to know. Well, maybe not know the truth, but to have some sort of closure. If I tell her I know the baby isn’t mine, then she can move on with her life.

The hotel room phone felt heavy in his hands as he dialed Lacey’s number. He took a breath and prepared himself for the accusation that would be in her voice. The phone rang twice and picked up. “Hello?” The voice was Erik’s. “Is that you, Zack Vernon? Hess?”

What is she doing with Lacey’s phone? Shit, this is so wrong. “What do you want?” he said.

“Hiya Hess! Seems like just yesterday you were on the farm. So anyway, I was thinking you could stop over for another visit. Lacey’s here right now and we were just talking about how much happier she would be if you joined us.”

Zack had to clear his throat to speak. “Why take her? She doesn’t know anything.”

“Same reason I abduct anyone. Cause I wanna play. Now I want two things from you in exchange for the little darling’s life, Hess. First, come back to the farm. Second, tell me which one of these shitheads helped you escape.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. Am I supposed to just abandon her? There has to be another way. The solution struck him. “I’ll call back with my decision in an hour.”

“I don’t think so,” Erik said. “You call the authorities and things go very, very bad. Things look squeaky clean at the farm right now. Ingrid’s got the legal right to be here. Cops won’t find shit if they show. This ain’t my first rodeo.”

“I’m not coming back to the farm,” Zack said.

“That’s a shame. Well, you called to talk to Lacey. Here she is.”

“Zack?” Lacey’s voice climbed octaves as she spoke. “Why are they doing this? I’m afraid for the baby. Oh, God, Zack, I am so afraid. She smashed my fucking hand with a hammer. Please, Zack, please . . . I don’t know what I’m asking. Just, it’s the baby. I don’t want the baby to die.”

Erik’s voice returned. “I can do a lot worse than a hammer, Hess. I can cut her unborn child out of her and slice the thing into pieces while she watches. By the standard of these creatures, I’m pretty deranged, Hess. This woman would die a death more horrifying than you can imagine. Mutilation means something to a mortal that it never could to us. We see a mangled limb and wait for the thing to fix itself, but they see a piece of themselves irreversibly destroyed. You can’t imagine how easy it is to terrorize them.”

There was silence on the line as Zack thought. Finally, Erik spoke again. “How about a compromise?”

“You want to catch me. I don’t want caught. Not much room for compromise.”

“We’ve just got to be a little creative, Hess. Stop treating things all binary-like. Instead of caught and not-caught, let’s deal in degrees of risk. I’m willing to release Lacey to you in a time and location you choose. You can make it as public or as remote as your soft heart desires. The only stipulation is that you show alone.”

Zack sighed. “Deal. We’ll meet at the parking lot of buffalo plaza.”

“Less than a mile from a police station. Well played, Hess. Just make sure you show alone. The professionals haven’t been playing these games for nearly as long as I have. How long will it take you to get there from the . . . Tarentum Hyatt?”

Caller ID. He grabbed the room key. “I’ll be there at ten.” The moment he slammed the phone home, Zack was running through the door. They are always two steps ahead of me.