Human Blend (25 page)

“Don't listen to him, Julie. Shoot him,”
Austin said, reaching for the gun in Julie's hand.

Julie's mind was still seeing the terrible
visions of the day when Luke forced her to hold and fire a gun. He
had held the gun with her, wrapping her fingers around the trigger.
The gun fired and killed a woman who had been trying to help her.
When Austin spoke to her, it was Luke's voice she heard. It was
Luke's hand she saw reaching for the gun. “No!” she shouted and
threw the gun.

“Get him,” Luke ordered Vinnie.

Vinnie grabbed Austin and moved him away from
Julie.

Julie pulled her knees up and buried her head
in an attempt to stop the vision. Luke grabbed her arm and pulled
her up. “You can't stay out of trouble.” Luke's voice was bridled
with anger. Julie's head was swimming as she was now free of the
vision. Luke wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled her head
back. “You are going to pay for pointing that gun at me,” Luke
growled.

“Boss... c'mon man... I'm in pain,” Joey
cried out.

“You should be. How the hell did she get your
gun?” Luke asked.

“They... jumped me,” Joey stammered.

“Make the boy heal him,” Luke ordered.

Vinnie pushed Austin down on his knees next
to Joey.

“How? I don't....” Austin said. He was
confused.

Luke looked at Julie with a crooked smile.
“So, you're the teacher. I thought it was the other way around,” he
said. He pushed her towards Austin. “Show your boyfriend how it's
done,” he ordered.

Julie knelt down beside Austin and Joey.
Austin looked lost and confused. She ached to take him in her
arms.

“He needs his hands,” Julie said.

Vinnie looked at Luke, who nodded. Vinnie
untied Austin's hands.

Julie rubbed Austin's wrists that were slowly
repairing the stress marks caused by the cord that had bound
them.

“Hurry it up. I'm in pain here,” Joey
complained.

“Shut up, Joey. I need to concentrate,” Julie
scolded. Joey scowled at her while Luke and Vinnie chuckled.

Julie refocused on Austin. “I'm going into
you first, then you will follow me into him,” Julie instructed,
remembering what Marcus had done.

“How?” Austin asked.

“You'll feel me,” Julie replied softly.
“Close your eyes,” she instructed.

Austin followed her direction and closed his
eyes. Julie followed suit and grabbed his hands. She entered
Austin.

Luke and Vinnie moved closer.

Upon entering Austin, Julie was immediately
encompassed by the brightness of him. She had scanned him when they
first met in the marketplace; he had not been like this. It felt
warm and safe inside of him. She had seen this brightness when she
scanned Marcus the first time and it had scared her. Now that she
understood what it was, it was very comforting.

Austin had released an audible gasp when he
felt Julie enter him. It was like nothing he had ever experienced
before. His initial shock gave way to a warm, almost erotic
sensation. His breathing became hitched as he dealt with the new
feelings coursing through him.

Julie felt herself caught up in the
sensations as well. She tried to remember what she was supposed to
be doing. A whisper in her ear bought her back to her senses.

Luke had felt the room get heavy as the two
were joined together. He was watching them closely and knew it was
time to intervene. “Laney,” Luke whispered in her ear.

Julie gasped and pulled back into her own
body. She released Austin's hands and turned to see Luke right next
to her.

Luke grabbed her chin and held it. “What did
I tell you about your mind games?” he asked.

Austin was just coming out of his disoriented
state and tried to help her. “Get your hands off of her,” he
ordered, grabbing Luke's arm.

Luke grabbed Austin by his shirt and pushed
him against the wall. “You need to learn some rules,” he said, his
face close to Austin's. “Rule number one: you never put your hands
on me. Rule number two: you do what I say, when I say,” Luke
said.

“What's rule number three?” Austin asked with
attitude.

Luke pulled Austin up and pushed him towards
Vinnie. “Rule number three,” Luke said, pulling Julie up. “She
belongs to me,” he finished, pulling her against him and kissing
her. Julie struggled in vain while Vinnie held Austin back.
Releasing her, Luke grinned at Austin. “Want me to tell you any
more rules?” Luke asked him. Austin kept quiet this time. Luke
pushed Julie back toward Joey. “You do it,” he ordered.

Luke was in a good mood. He realized he could
use each of them against each other to do whatever he wanted.
Neither one of them wanted the other to get hurt.

All eyes were now on Julie as she knelt back
down to heal Joey. “'Bout time,” Joey grumbled. As Julie placed her
hands on Joey's stomach he grabbed one of her hands. “I look
forward to finishing what we started,” he teased. She yanked her
hand from him and he yelled in pain. Julie looked up to see Luke
watching her. She lowered her eyes and set about healing Joey.

She entered Joey and healed the area around
both bullet wounds. The bullets would stay inside of him but pose
no threat to him. Julie held in the moan that wanted to escape as
her body worked to heal the injuries she had taken from Joey. Joey
sat up and flexed his arms. His anger at Julie returned and he put
his arms around her neck and attempted to choke her. “You shoot me
again and I swear I'll find a way to kill you,” he seethed.

Luke pulled his gun and put it to Joey's
head. “You touch her again without my permission and I'll be the
one to put a bullet in you,” Luke said. Joey removed his hands and
moved away from Julie. Julie began coughing as the air returned to
her lungs.

“Get him fed, then we are out of here,” Luke
said to Vinnie. Luke knelt down next to Julie as her coughing
quieted down. She felt herself blacking out once again. Luke pulled
her up into a sitting position before that happened. “Look at me,”
he ordered. Julie forced open her eyes but had trouble keeping them
open. “Laney, look at me,” Luke said more forcefully. She opened
her eyes wide at the tone of his voice. “You are gonna eat
something now,” Luke told her. Julie nodded and he helped her stand
up. She held onto him as he walked her over to the table and placed
her in a seat. Austin sat with a sandwich in front of him but had
not started eating. He was too concerned over Julie. “Eat, both of
you,” Luke ordered. Julie was starving; she lifted her sandwich and
took a bite. She looked at Austin and nodded to him that he should
do the same. Austin reached for her hand under the table and
squeezed it. She took a deep breath and squeezed his back.

Although Julie was thankful for the food, she
could have eaten more than just one sandwich and the bottled water
they gave them. It was enough, though; she didn't feel like she was
going to pass out again any time soon.

Julie turned her head sharply when she heard
Luke curse.

“Why the hell doesn't he answer?” Luke said
angrily.

“Neither one of them does,” Vinnie said, “How
should I know?”

Luke looked over at Julie. “Get over here,”
he ordered her.

Austin grabbed her hand. “It's okay,” she
whispered. She walked over to Luke.

“Tell me about this Doctor Elsworth,” he
ordered her.

“He's just a doctor,” Julie said.

Luke looked hard at Julie; she was a terrible
liar. “Is this someone I need to go back and take care of?” Luke
asked her.

“No,” Julie answered a little too
quickly.

“We're going back,” Luke said.

“Luke, wait... please,” Julie said, grabbing
his arm. “He is not like us, I swear,” she promised.

Luke pulled Julie against him. “You swear?”
he asked putting his face close to hers.

“He's not,” Julie said.

“I... don't... believe you,” Luke whispered
in her ear and pushed her away. “Let's go!” he shouted and headed
for the door.

Julie hung her head. Austin was right beside
her. She looked up at him as he rubbed her arms. “C'mon, you two,”
Vinnie said, waiting at the door. Luke and Joey were already in the
parking lot. Julie swayed as she walked, and Austin had to help
support her.
Guess it wasn't enough food
, she thought.

Outside, Luke was smoking a cigarette.

The night was dark; clouds concealed whatever
moonlight there would have been. A strange-sounding bird's call
could be heard, perhaps warning of the impending storm. A gust of
wind blew suddenly, kicking up dirt and debris, forming a dust
cloud.

A lightening bolt lit up the sky and Luke
pulled out his gun. “What the hell was that?” he asked, looking at
the roof of the building. Everyone's eyes were on the roof as the
next bolt criss-crossed across the sky. Whatever Luke had seen was
not there now. “Get in the car,” Luke ordered. Austin helped Julie
into the back seat and then got in next to her. Joey resumed his
seat behind the wheel with Luke as the passenger. Vinnie sat in the
back with Austin and Julie.

“We still going back?” Joey asked Luke. Luke
didn't answer, he was still staring up at the roof. “Boss?” Joey
questioned.

“What? Yeah, yeah,” Luke finally replied.

Joey drove back onto the highway on his way
back to Marion.

Austin was grateful that Luke was so
distracted. He put his arm around Julie in the backseat. She rested
her head against him. Vinnie seemed to not notice or care. Austin
kissed the top of her head and she snuggled closer to him. He had
lots of questions, but what mattered most now was finding a way out
of the situation they were in.

Eli still had an open line of communication
with Orel.

Orel: Found. Heading east. Three armed men
with a boy and a girl.

Eli: East?

Orel: Yes. Black BMW X5, tinted windows.

Eli: What was their condition?

Orel: The girl was being supported by the
boy, other than that, unknown. Continuing to manipulate
surroundings and slow them down.

Eli: Thank you, keep me posted.

“Marcus, call your uncle again,” Eli
instructed.

“O... kay,” Marcus replied and dialed his
uncle. “Hey, Uncle Gregg, Eli wishes to speak to you again,” He
handed it to Eli.

“We have some information,” Eli told him.

“We do?” Marcus asked but Eli ignored
him.

“They are heading east in a black BMW X5 with
tinted windows. Three armed men are with them,” Eli told.

“
East. Does that mean they are heading
back to your way
?” Uncle Gregg asked.

“It appears so,” Eli said.

“
I have people already out in that
direction. I will pass along the information. Thank you,
” Uncle
Gregg said, before hanging up.

“How the hell did you get that information?”
Marcus asked. Again, Eli remained silent.

Fred was sitting quietly in the back seat
trying to absorb all that he had heard. “You guys are weird,” he
said scratching his head. “I need a smoke,” he huffed as he felt in
his pants pockets for his cigarettes. Instead of his smokes, he
found his phone. He had forgotten he had it. Checking it, he saw
eight missed calls, all from Luke. He hit the button and dialed
Luke as he leaned forward to talk to Eli and Marcus.

Luke nearly jumped out of his seat when his
cell phone rang. He had been jumpy since leaving the motel. He
looked at the caller I.D. “Where the hell have you been?” he
shouted into the phone. He heard voices but had trouble making them
out. He clicked on the speaker phone and listened more. He heard
Fred's voice.

“So, tell me. How did you guys find out they
were in a black BMW X5 with tinted windows heading east?” Fred
asked, being sure to let Luke know they knew what type of vehicle
they were in. When they didn't answer, Fred kept talking. “You
realize you're kidnapping me, in this fancy sport car that Eli is
driving. Keeping me injured when Marcus here can heal me with a
touch of his hands, I mean it's just not right,” Fred rambled.

Marcus could keep quiet no longer. “What do
you know about what is right? You killed the guy you were working
with and planned on double crossing this Luke fellow and who knows
what else,” Marcus answered.

Julie lifted her head up and both she and
Austin looked at each other. “Marcus can do this too?” he whispered
to her. Julie nodded slightly before looking away. Luke turned
around and looked at them.

“Who is this Marcus guy?” Luke asked
them.

“He's my cousin,” Austin revealed. Julie
closed her eyes. She knew better than to be so forth coming with
Luke.

Chapter Twelve-- Confrontation

“So what's the plan?” Fred asked. Marcus
turned and looked at him.

“Enough with the questions!” Marcus scolded.
Fred's voice was getting on his nerves.

“So, Eli... I'm curious. Just how did you get
the information on where they were going? You got some special
powers?” Fred questioned.

Marcus was about to answer Fred when Eli
spoke. “Ignore him,” Eli instructed.

“Pull over!” Luke growled. He intended to get
some answers once and for all from his two captives.

“Might not be a good idea,” Joey said. “We
picked up a couple of tails,” Joey informed him.

Luke looked out the back window and saw two
sets of headlights.

“I saw them speeding up fast but they both
slowed down behind us and seem to be keeping pace,” Joey added.

“Speed up to that traffic ahead,” Luke
instructed.

Joey followed Luke's orders and sped up.
Immediately, the two other vehicles accelerated to keep up. Joey
proceeded to weave in and out of traffic.

“Try and lose them,” Luke ordered as he
pulled out his gun. Vinnie mimicked Luke's action and pulled out
his gun as well. Austin hugged Julie tighter.