Storm Season (12 page)

“Just calm down and we’ll take care of it.”

Jasper turned his head to see the tall, heavy-set man who had been behind him at the post office now restrained his left arm with thick fingers. “Take care of what?” He tried to jerk his arm free again, but the man’s fingers only tightened, squeezing with enough force to leave a bruise.

“The boy,” the man growled. “He’s got you under some sort of spell, or somethin’. It’s not natural talkin’ like that.”

It took a moment to register that the man was referring to Tobias. Jasper had long since stopped thinking of him as a boy, though he remembered his initial impression as his mind made the connection. “There’s nothing to take care of! He didn’t do anything!”

“He’s got you out traveling in the storms.” The man looked Jasper straight in the eye, his expression steely. “We’ve seen this before. Only thing to do is run them out of town. We’ll put you up for a few days and see if someone can’t help you get back home.”

“I don’t
need
to get back home. I need to keep going. I brought him with me, not the other way around.”

“He’s got you under a strong spell, if you believe that.”

“There’s no spell!” Jasper twisted again, ignoring the pain as the man’s fingers dug deep into his flesh. He
needed
to get free, needed to see what the mob was doing to Tobias. He could hear them, yelling and taunting, making threats he was afraid they’d carry out. “He’s just a friend!” Desperate to do something, he grabbed the man’s shirt with his free hand and pulled him close, ready to start making threats of his own if something didn’t change… immediately.

“People like that ain’t friends to nobody.”

Let him go!

The words slammed into Jasper, snapping his mouth shut and sending him staggering back a step before he was jerked up short by the other man’s tight hold on his arm. Jasper let go of the man’s shirt, his fingers involuntarily relaxing, at the same moment the man let go. Jasper’s arm tingled as blood rushed back to the area. “Tobias?”

Come on!

The crowd parted in front of Tobias, sweeping Jasper with it in the people’s haste to keep away from the strange young man. He tore his shirt as he fought his way free of well-meaning, but misguided townsfolk, and struggled forward against the flow of people.

He was almost to Tobias when the man from the post office stepped into his path, his legs spread wide and hands balled in fists on his hips.

“I ain’t gonna let you go.”

“It’s not your decision.” Jasper dodged and shouldered his way through the crowd, trying to find the path of least resistance, but it opposed him even as it parted around the burly man, and Jasper once again found himself blocked by a flannel covered shoulder and a stern look. “Let me through.”

“No.” The man crossed massive arms crossed over a barrel thick chest as he widened his stance. “He’s just gonna hurt you.”

“No. He won’t.” Jasper craned his neck, peering over the man’s wide shoulder in an attempt to find Tobias in the crowd. “And it’s not your concern if he does.”

“It is if he does it in my town.”

I’m
not
going to hurt him!
The crowd stepped back, an angry murmur coursing through it as Tobias, his hands clenched into fists and his expression venomous, appeared at the man’s left elbow.
Let. Him. Go.

There was a tense moment, the air thick with anticipation, then the man stepped back, a dazed look on his face, and Tobias immediately grabbed Jasper’s arm and yanked him forward. Jasper stumbled as he tried to keep up with Tobias’s rapid pace, and to process what had just happened through his growing headache. “What…?” he started, only to be cut off as Tobias steered him around a corner.

Come on! We can’t… they’re not going to… we have to leave.

That was obvious, even through the haze in Jasper’s head, though how wasn’t quite as clear. They hadn’t picked up any of the things they’d planned to get, hadn’t even re-loaded the truck or returned the key to the innkeeper. “The truck… the inn….” He wasn’t sure what he was trying to say.

I know. This way.
It wasn’t the way they had come―that was blocked by the crowd―but Tobias showed incredible insight in navigating through the small town, pulling Jasper down back alleys that led to the inn in a remarkably short time.

“How did you…?” Jasper broke off, wincing and staggering to a stop as the pain in his head suddenly blossomed, nearly blinding him. “Sleet.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and sank down against the nearest wall. The world narrowed to the sharp staccato thud of his heartbeat echoing in his ears and to the pressure that spread from his sinus cavity and crept around his skull to the back of his neck.

I’m sorry.
Tobias slowly massaged Jasper’s tense muscles and the pressure in his head gradually vanished.

Carefully, Jasper looked up, ready to snap his eyes back closed if the light proved to be too much. It was bright but not unbearable, and he blinked at Tobias, trying to make sense of the last few minutes. “How… what…?” He didn’t know what to ask.

Tobias stood, pulled Jasper to his feet.
Everyone was wondering which way I’d run, thinking about how to get back here, and trying to decide if they should stop me. They wanted me to leave, but not with you. I picked up how to get here from their thoughts.

That answered one question. “Do you―” Jasper shook his head. He didn’t want to know how often Tobias picked things up out of his thoughts. “How did… how did you get that man to move?” And why was he so persistent… though that wasn’t a question Tobias would be able to answer.

I, um….
Tobias ducked his head as he led Jasper into their room. He tried to pull away, heading toward the bag on the chair, but Jasper tightened his fingers, refusing to let go until his question was answered.

“Tobias?”

I, uh, don’t know how exactly to explain it.

“Try. Please.” He needed to know, needed to understand what had happened out there.

Um, I…. Hail!
Tobias whipped around, his eyes locking on the door.
They’re coming here. They want… we need to leave. Now.
He grabbed the bag from the chair, stuffed the few clothes that were laying out into it, and fled.

Jasper tossed the room key onto the dresser as he followed.

T
HEY
encountered the roadblock two streets away from the hotel. Jasper cursed and slammed on the brakes. The truck skidded and squealed to a stop just yards away from the line of people stretched across the street. Several flinched, but they all held their ground.

“Do you know another way?” They weren’t taking the route Jasper knew, nor would the truck fit through the back alleys Tobias had used to get them back to the room.

Tobias stared out at the blockade of people, his mouth drawn in a thin line and his eyes focused.
Turn around, then go left.

The turn was tricky on the narrow street, and the townsfolk pressed closer, a few brave souls grabbing at the door handles and banging on the windows with heavy objects. Tobias slid to the middle of the seat, his hand tight on Jasper’s arm, his whole body shaking.
Hurry!

“I’m trying.” He just had to get… there. The engine roared as the truck shot forward, tires squealing as it careened around the corner into a narrow road with cars lined along one side.

Faster!

Two cars stopped at the far end of the lane, blocking the exit. A glance in the rearview mirror showed two more pulling in behind them, the man from the post office behind one of the wheels. They were at the mercy of the town, and none of the people looked happy.

“Sleet!” Jasper banged his hand on the wheel, let off the gas.

No! Keep going!

Pressure built inside Jasper’s head. His foot twitched once, twice, he opened his mouth to argue… then he slammed on the gas, barely keeping the truck under control as it barreled down the alley. He nicked a mirror, then a bumper. The crunch of metal echoed through the cab, and yet he couldn’t stop. He pushed his foot down harder as they got closer to the end of the road.

The cars weren’t moving. They were going to crash, die, never make it to Shaleton, never find Tobias’s sister or figure out who the men who wanted him were. It was all going to be over in just a moment and still Jasper couldn’t take his foot off the gas, didn’t
want
to take his foot off the gas.

As they got closer, Jasper could hear screaming, see the townsfolk losing their resolve and scattering away, fleeing into the relative safety of buildings and alleys. The cars stayed where they were, the drivers’ expressions resolute as the truck got within two hundred yards, a hundred, fifty… and then the cars backed up. Metal scratched against brick and wood as they took the sharp turn at high speed, careened backward down the cross street, and knocked into mailboxes and potted plants as they pulled into gravel drives.

Jasper whirled the steering wheel, his foot never leaving the gas. As the truck turned, everything inside went flying from one side to the other. Tobias slammed into Jasper, then the window. Still, Jasper didn’t let up, barreling down on people who scattered and screamed as they dove out of the truck’s path.

Turn there!
Tobias pulled himself up on the doorframe, pointed to the wide cross street ahead.

“Which way?” He didn’t have time to wonder at Tobias’s voice in his head without touch, at Tobias’s presence on the other side of the truck, at how Tobias knew where they needed to go even though he’d never been to Durrysville before. They needed to go, to keep moving, or surely Jasper wouldn’t be able to leave for quite some time, and not with Tobias. The thought terrified him even more than the way his foot wouldn’t leave the gas pedal and the way he’d stopped caring about who or what he hurt in his haste to get out of town.

Right. Go right.
Tobias grabbed the panic handle and twisted in his seat, looking with wide eyes out the windows.
Hurry. They’re trying to get a solid roadblock up at the edge of town. We need to beat them.

The truck wouldn’t go any faster, not on the winding route through narrow alleys. Jasper knew it and yet his foot pressed harder, urging the truck to greater speeds, racing past the people lining the street. The whole town had turned out, even small children huddled at the edge of properties and threw rocks and sticks at the rapidly moving vehicle.

The clatter of stone on metal and glass was distracting, frightening, but Jasper didn’t dare take his eyes off the road ahead as he whipped the truck around curves at speeds far too dangerous according to the voice of reason in the back of his head. Tobias’s silent directions overrode reason and they careened through the town, taking six more turns to end up on the straight road out, heading toward Folsom’s Hollow.

The last two buildings on the edge of town proper were houses, and it looked as though everything the people who lived in them owned had been dragged out onto the road, creating an ever-growing pile of rubble. Chairs, tables, even a bed, were piled in a haphazard pile that kept growing as people pulled out doors, furniture, even a large mirror.

Jasper didn’t hesitate, aiming the truck toward what looked to be the weakest spot and letting his foot push as hard as it could. The townsfolk ran, barely getting away before the truck hit, sending wood flying into the air, scattering off the truck, and crunching beneath the tires.

Tobias peered out the back window, watching the townsfolk as they gathered in the center of the road. Jasper glimpsed it in the mirror, but didn’t stop, didn’t think about the property he’d just destroyed or the people he’d almost hurt. He just kept going, pushing the truck as fast as he could and leaving the angry town in the dust.

T
HE
road on the east side of Durrysville was in decent condition, at least close to town, and Jasper took full advantage of the smooth pavement for as long as possible, quickly putting distance between them and the town even after the urgent need to get out had faded. Tobias stayed on his knees, peering out the back window until long after the town could no longer be seen behind them. When he finally settled, he leaned against the passenger door, his hands twisting in his lap and his eyes looking everywhere but at Jasper.

They rode in silence for several miles, Jasper concentrating on the road ahead and on keeping the truck moving as fast as possible so he wouldn’t have to focus on the distance separating him from his passenger, wouldn’t have to think about what had happened in the town. They couldn’t talk like this, not in a way Jasper was willing to risk, not with Tobias’s hands firmly in his lap and the entire bench seat between them. The length of the seat seemed to increase with each question Jasper wanted to ask, with each mile that passed without conversation.

It was past midday before he could let himself ease off the gas and pull the truck to the side of the road. He had long since slowed in deference to the worsening pavement, his foot twitching and his mouth opening with a question every time he hit the brakes, but after glancing at the silent figure on the other side of the cab, he always snapped it closed and forced himself to drive on.