Brian O'Grady - Hybrid

There was no sense trying to hide anymore, so Klaus unreeled his mind. Aside from his two friends, no one was within reach. No army laying in wait; no air force waiting to blow him apart with a smart missile; just the three of them. He focused on Phil, his most immediate threat. Rucker’s heart was racing almost as fast as his car, but his mind was frustratingly closed. He would need to close the distance before he could concentrate enough mental energy to break through Phil’s pathetic defenses. It really was offensive that they would send a neophyte to draw him out. Did anyone seriously believe that he would be threatened by Phillip Rucker? He was little more than a speed bump.

“Maybe it’s a suicide mission?” Pushkin offered.

“Could be, or maybe this is Amanda’s way of getting rid of Rucker. Given time, I could see him being a threat to her supremacy. I wish I had a little more time, I could use him.” Reisch began to calculate how much time he would need to convert Phil, and how fast Amanda was closing the distance. “Pity,” he said. Phil would have to die, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy himself.

* * *

Phil could feel the German’s attempt to control him, but the separation made the efforts weak and he easily resisted them. It was time to turn back; he had done his job; Reisch had shown himself. But he still drove on. Reisch drew him on, not the German himself, but his very existence. A little closer and he could reach into Reisch’s mind and destroy it.

A blood lust unlike anything he had ever felt overwhelmed reason. Power surged through him as he saw Reisch in his mind’s eye twisting in agony as his body was slowly torn apart. He could do it; all he needed was a few more minutes. Amanda would be proud.

No, she wouldn’t , the long-lost small voice had returned. She will think that you were a fool for getting yourself killed and undoing their best opportunity to stop this madman.

Phil tried to ignore the voice, but like the rest of him, it had grown as well. He slowed the cruiser and turned around.

Now she’ll be proud , the small voice said.

* * *

“Why?” Reisch asked himself and Pushkin.

“Curious,” was his only answer.

Phil had turned around and was racing away at twice Reisch’s speed. There was no way he could reach Phil now. “Cowardice? Second thoughts? A logical response to an overwhelming threat?” He reached back and found Amanda closing as fast as her car would go. It made no sense.

“Turn around, I don’t like this at all,” cautious Pushkin said, a note of panic in his voice. Reisch slowed the truck and let it coast down the long straight road. Amanda’s car began to coast as well.

“They expect me to turn around. She wants me to come to her.” Indecision crawled into Klaus’s mind. He could feel Amanda now; she was cool and confident, but still too far away to be a threat or an opportunity.

* * *

Phil continued to drive, but the farther he got from Reisch the worse he felt. Amanda didn’t understand what he had become. It was true that he was new to this, and she had seven years of experience, but by her own admission, she wasn’t an expert. All she had to draw on were her own experiences, which were clearly different from his. His mind had been much more powerful than hers before their infections, and it was only reasonable that after their infections he would be stronger still. She treated him like a fool, and he resented it greatly. His foot slipped off the accelerator, and he began to seethe. He didn’t care if she was proud of him or not.

Anger began to pulse inside him, and the car slowed to a stop. Reisch had stopped as well, and for the first time he picked up Amanda’s presence. She was west of Reisch and waiting for him to turn around. She wanted to kill him. It was all right for Phil to flush Reisch out, but not all right for him to kill the German. That pleasure belonged to Amanda. Resentment began to mix with anger, and he turned the cruiser around.

“To hell with that,” he said and hit the accelerator. The car leapt forward as all four hundred and forty horses started streaking back towards Reisch. The blood lust returned, and he could feel its energy in every cell of his body. For the first time in his life, he began to giggle with enthusiasm. He was getting closer to Reisch, and he began to tingle all over, and even that felt wonderful. He was more alive than he had ever been. Sparks began to snap loudly in the dashboard and Phil laughed. The radio shorted out in a haze of blue smoke and before Phil could react the car lurched and died.

* * *

Now all three of them had come to a stop. Reisch looked at a puzzled Pushkin. “It’s a trap,” Klaus said. “They want me to turn towards Amanda and Rucker will sneak up behind me.”

“Kill Rucker and get the hell out of here.” Pushkin’s voice was decisive, but Reisch caught the undercurrent of fear.

“I think you’re right. This is getting out of hand.” Reisch was losing control of the situation; the behavior of Amanda and Phil was strange and unpredictable. He scanned the area as he hit the gas, but there were still only the three of them.

Amanda started to follow again, but maintained her distance, which only confused Reisch even more. They drove quietly for fifteen more minutes until Reisch reached the point where he could direct Phil. He reached for the pathologist, but all he grabbed was metaphysical air. Rucker had deflected him.

“Turnabout is fair play,” Reisch said as Phil reached for him, and was repulsed.

The two fenced back and forth; each effort becoming stronger as the distance between them dwindled. Amanda had chosen to be a spectator and maintained her distance.

Maybe she does want me to rid her of Rucker , Klaus thought as he crested a small hill and finally saw him with his human eyes. He was sitting alone in an unmarked police car. Klaus put on the brakes of the pickup one hundred feet from the cruiser and stared at Phil. They had stopped their futile sparring and silently regarded each other.

Reisch could feel the anger and conflicted emotions radiating from Phil. Maybe he did have time to turn him. Reisch got out of the truck and walked towards the police car. The air began to thicken and buzz. Rucker climbed out as well, confidence and fear enveloped him.

“So you thought you could kill me,” Reisch taunted.

“A speed bump?” Phil said with mock indignation. They both did their best at closing their minds to the other, but the proximity limited their success.

Reisch felt the skin on the back of his neck begin to tingle, a reminder that Amanda was closing in on him. Facing both Amanda and a speed bump like Phil could prove to be challenging. “I’m going to give you a single opportunity to join me, but I’m afraid I’m going to need an answer immediately.” It wasn’t often that Klaus felt or acted mercifully.

A laughably weak wave of mental energy was his answer.

“They sent you to kill me, and that’s the best you can do?” Klaus laughed. Phil backed away as the German began to advance. “Go ahead, run; it will make this so much sweeter.”

Phil walked backwards down the road trying to keep his distance from Reisch.

“Do you think you can entertain me until Amanda gets here? You see, Phil, you have to concentrate your power if you want to hurt someone. Let me show you.” Reisch blasted Phil off his feet. He landed in a clump of sage weeds twenty feet from where he was standing. His left arm had crumpled beneath him and snapped on impact.

Phil’s pain filled Klaus’s mind, and he began to wonder if he could wait for Amanda. “You know a couple of weeks ago, I would have been satisfied in just driving you insane, but I think your arrogance needs to be punished.” Reisch tried to surround Phil’s mind, but he resisted. “So you do have some talent,” a straining Reisch said.