Abomination (18 page)

Derek parked nearly a mile away from her house. He
planned out his route days in advance. He walked along the most dimly lit roads
leading to the woods near the house. When there was an absence of vehicles on
the road, he would run. Derek wouldn’t hit his top speed of forty miles an
hour, but he would sprint fast enough to close the distance without drawing
attention from any possible witnesses. It was one o’clock in the morning and a
bad time to call attention. When he approached an occupied home or a car, he
would slow to a casual walk.

It only took him a few minutes to reach the woods
leading him to her back door. With only a quarter mile left and clear trails
lit by a full moon, his twenty mile an hour pace quickly brought him to the
creek bordering the back of her property. He concealed himself in the creek bed
and waited.

The hour was late, but he could see the back deck was
lit with Tiki torches and candles. He heard soft music coming from the house.
She usually went out with friends on Friday nights and afterwards would sit
alone for a few cocktails in the peaceful setting. Two thickets of woods
isolated her back yard from each neighbor. Derek thought about how dangerous it
was for such an attractive woman to be cut off from help if a stalker were to
make her his target. He chuckled at the irony as he crouched along the bank.
Only a few minutes passed before she appeared.

She walked by the large French doors while moving towards
the kitchen. In the summer heat of Atlanta, she only wore a thin robe barely
reaching the top of her thigh. Standing in front of the kitchen window, he
watched her pour a drink, and heard her turn up the music. He knew she’d be
going outside to the unprotected deck in a matter of seconds.

Derek scanned the area, trying not to let his excitement
bring down his guard. No movement or sound came from any direction. The still
air assisted his ability to hear a twig snap underneath a human foot for
hundreds of yards in any direction. Like Joshua, nothing would stop him from
taking his prize.

She walked out onto the deck and danced over to a chair.
She held her drink in the air as she continued the dance while sitting. She
swayed back and forth as her strawberry blonde hair brushed her shoulders. She
was oblivious to the monster crouched at the creek less than fifty feet away.

He could’ve easily shot out from the darkness to take
her while she was distracted by the music, but instead he waited. His
incredible speed and agility would have made even a short scream impossible. Derek
watched her swim in the moment, content and unaware of the danger. He took
pleasure watching her and didn’t want the serenity to end. But after a few
moments, the urge became too powerful to ignore.

He didn’t uncoil and strike towards her in a burst of
inhuman speed. He simply climbed up the bank and slowly walked across the
backyard. Her swaying stopped as she noticed the shadowy figure rise out of the
ground and move toward her. She didn’t scream or run into the house. She
strolled to the first step leading down from the deck and stood beautifully
defiant. Derek’s heart began to race as he stared at the breathtaking warrior.
He stopped his advance at the first step leading up to her.

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” asked Derek
in a slightly quivering voice.

“Do you have any idea how late you are?” returned the
warrior.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Things are beginning to heat up
in Dixie. All the players have arrived in town. It was killing me, but I had to
wait.”

“Well, you can stop being patient now. I kind of missed
you,” said Jennifer.

“I kind of missed you, too, baby,” said Derek, moving up
the last stair.

Jennifer Marlow wrapped her arms around Derek’s neck and
squeezed with all her strength. She knew she couldn’t hurt him. He wrapped his
arms around her and squeezed like he was holding a woman made of glass. He knew
how easily he could hurt her.

“Where’s Joshua?” she asked in a less inviting tone.

“Up north. I dropped him off day before yesterday.”

“Up north? Where exactly up north, Derek?”

“You know it’s not a good idea to tell you –”

“Derek,” she said, firing a warning shot by narrowing
her green eyes. “Where?”

“At one of our hideouts near Dahlonega.”

She turned around and walked back to her chair. Lifting
her glass, she motioned for him to sit beside her. He was very familiar with
the posture and tone as he stood motionless.

“We’re going to do this already?” asked Derek. “I was
hoping for a kiss or maybe a few more sweet things to be said.”

“How about this for sweet? I love you and I’m scared to
death the next time we’re supposed to meet you won’t come back to me out of
those woods. I’ll just sit here waiting for the news that the FBI, Colonel
Brown, the Marines, Joshua or any of the other countless people who want you
dead finally got their wish. So yes, we’re going to do this already because I’m
not going to let them get their wish over mine. Am I clear, Marine?”

“Crystal, ma’am,” responded Derek, taking the seat next
to her. “Seriously, do you have any idea how beautiful you are, especially when
you’re irritated with me?”

“I’m not sure how, but someday you and I may look back
on this and laugh. That’s not going to be tonight, so I want you to pay
attention. I really am scared.”

“Okay, baby,” said Derek, focusing on her. “What’s going
on?”

“Two college kids went missing the night before last
from the military school in Dahlonega. One was a petite blond with blue eyes.
The other was a male friend of hers. They’re still missing.”

Derek leaned back in his chair and looked up into the
clear night sky. He knew what she was going to say next. Unlike the many times
before, he wasn’t going to argue with her. He couldn’t argue with her.

“The first time I agreed it could’ve been a coincidence,”
she continued. “The second time raised my suspicion. The third time confirmed
it for me. And now the fourth, how could you possibly not see that it’s him?
All of them petite blonds with blue eyes and all close to where he’s been
hiding out.”

“I do see, Jenny,” said Derek, leaning closer to her.
“The things he’s been saying to me. The two days he disappeared in Syracuse. I know it’s him,” he said, standing up and walking to the rail. “Fuck!”

Jennifer quickly went to his side and grabbed his hand. “Look
at me.” Her touch and voice immediately calmed him. “I know you didn’t want to
believe. I know you thought he wanted to help you end this, but he’s not the
one that’s going to help you. Joshua has an agenda for Joshua and no one else.
He needs you to achieve his goals, not ours.”

“His goal is my goal, his agenda is my agenda,” said Derek
angrily. “We both want to kill everyone that did this to us. We both want to
kill the ones that tried, and are still trying, to kill us because of what
they
did.”

“Derek, you’re wrong,” said Jennifer, holding her
ground. “Joshua doesn’t want to kill the people that made him that way. He
wants to kill the people that are trying to stop him. You said it yourself a
month ago. You knew back then that he truly wants to be what he is now. But all
you could think about was getting your revenge. And I can’t really argue with
you. I’d want it, too. But your revenge is going to save him and end us.”

“What choice do I have? If I go at it alone, I’m going
to end up dead like Peter and Richard.”

“They killed Richard?” asked Jennifer, causing Derek to
pause.

“I’m sorry, baby. Yes, they did. But Alex pulled the
trigger, not the Feds. That’s why I told you it’s going to start heating up
around here. We’re next on the list.”

“Is the FBI here? Is Ryan here?”

“Yes, he is. The same Ryan that put a bullet in Peter’s
head, hunted Richard in New Orleans, and is here to kill me. Yeah, that guy’s
here.”

“Derek, you know he has no idea what happened to you. If
he did, he wouldn’t be coming after you.”

“How can you say that about him? You haven’t spoken to
him in years. It’s not like you two are close friends.”

“Oh, okay. I forgot you were the one with the flawless
perception about people,” she said, firing another warning shot. “No, we’re not
close friends now, but we were good friends in school and several years after
we graduated. We’re good enough friends for me to know he has a good heart. We
lost touch after he went to work for the FBI, but before that I’d see him
several times a year when he’d visit on leave. And you know him well enough,
too. Isn’t he the reason you decided to join the Marines?”

“There were other reasons, but yes. Everyone looked up
to him as a leader in school. We’d hear the stories all the time about where he
was and what he was doing. He inspired more than a few guys to join, but I
can’t say I trust him. Can you?”

“I can’t overlook the fact he’s the one assigned to your
case,” said Jennifer. “You look at it as a curse and want to kill him, I look
at it as a blessing of someone who can help us. Do you trust me?”

“Of course, I do. You’re the only one I do trust.”

“Then trust me now,” she said, reaching up and pulling
his face close to hers. “Unhitch your wagon from Joshua and hitch it to me.
Stop trying to protect me from what’s happening and let me help you. Stop
thinking about your revenge and start thinking about our future.”

“Our future? What future? A future on the run? A future
of always looking over our shoulders? That’s not what I want for you.”

“Our future is one day soon you and I sitting in our
beach chairs on Bora Bora trying very hard every day to forget this nightmare.
Do you remember that future?”

“It’s what keeps me going, baby. But I just don’t see
how it can ever happen. I thought Joshua was the only way I could end this. I
thought if we took them out before they got to us, we might have a chance.”

“Listen to me,” said Jennifer, putting her arms around
him. “If you kill FBI agents, they’ll never stop hunting you. Up until now,
it’s not your fault you killed those women.”

“Don’t talk about that, please,” begged Derek. “I can’t
take hearing you say that. I can barely take thinking you know what I’ve done.”

“It’s not your fault, but murdering outside of what
they’re responsible for planting in your head will be. Killing federal agents
or anyone associated with the lab
will
be your fault. That’s what Joshua
wants you to do. He wants you to get in so deep that you’ll never find your way
out. And when it happens, he’ll own you. And I’m the only one that owns you,
sweetie” she said with a smile.

“You really are an amazing woman,” said Derek. “You know
everything I’ve done, but you still stand beside me. You still love me. I don’t
know how that’s possible, but you do.”

“Because you always tell me the truth in spite of the consequences.
Because I understand, Derek,” said Jennifer, quickly. “And others will, too. We
just have to push them in the right direction. And that pushing starts with
Ryan. I believe he’s the only one out there who’ll at least listen. And if we
can get him to listen, then there’s hope we can get you help.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” exhaled Derek. “What’s the plan?”

“It’s simple, really. You follow Ryan until he’s alone
and then you call me. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“That’s it? That’s the plan you’ve been working on for
months?”

“Brilliant, isn’t it?”

“You want me to hunt the guys that are trying to hunt
me? And you’re asking me if that’s brilliant?”

“A man as smart as you, I wonder sometimes why you can’t
see the elegance of finding simplicity in chaos.”

“Well, your simple plan needs to happen fairly quickly,”
said Derek. “I’m supposed to meet Joshua at the mountain hideout to go over our
not-so-simple plan to lure them into our trap. If I don’t show, he’s going to
know something is wrong. We both know what he’s capable of doing. It won’t be
safe for you here anymore.”

“It’s not safe for anyone as long as he’s out there, Derek.
How long can you stay with me?”

“Just a few hours, sweetheart.”

“Then let’s make them count.”

Derek and Jennifer sat on the deck talking about
subjects any couple in love would find familiar. For Derek, they were
absolutely necessary to fill his mind with thoughts other than revenge. They
talked about the house they would buy and the make of cars in their garage.
Jennifer poured ideas about decorating and furnishing the home that would
always be open for friends and family. They dwelled on the magical vacation Derek
promised to the Southern Pacific. They’d lounge in their chairs in a cove cut
off from the world which had recently turned upside down on top of them. Derek
held back the anger and rage he felt for the ones responsible for crushing
those dreams and giving him a reality he never wanted.

He was angrier when Jennifer’s eyes became heavy after a
few hours and she needed to sleep. He wasn’t upset she was tired. He was upset
he couldn’t enjoy the simple peace of drifting away lying beside her. Instead,
he carried her inside and placed her gently in the soft inviting bed. He
stroked her hair and rubbed her back until he was sure she was a million miles
away. Derek kissed her cheek and whispered that he loved her.

He double-checked every lock in the house and set the
alarm behind him. He walked down the stairs from the deck and into the
backyard. He stopped on the edge of the creek bank and turned around to look at
the house. There was a slight unseasonable chill in the air as dew started to
form on the leaves and grass. He closed his eyes and imagined himself curled up
beside Jennifer’s warm body in those soft sheets. With a smile, he crossed the
creek and reentered the shadows of the woods behind her house.

Twenty yards into the darkness, he found his foxhole. He
pulled back the camouflaged tarp and crawled into the dampness. He covered
himself, trying to get as comfortable as possible. He had a clear view of her
bedroom window and the entire backyard. He would sit motionless constantly
scanning back and forth for any signs of danger. Derek would stay hidden until
Jennifer safely left for work in the morning. He’d only leave his post to eat
and grab a few hours of sleep at his hideout. He’d return as soon as the sun
went down the next night.