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feel like walking, and my br- uh, family doesn’t want
me out after dark.”
                “All
right. See you on Monday.”
                After
thanking Mr. Kendal for picking me up that morning, I started the long walk
home. The evening air was cool and felt nice after spending most of the
afternoon in front of a TV screen. The slight headache I’d gotten while playing
the game dissipated as I walked toward the wooded area near my house.
                One
of the trails through the woods had served as a shortcut home in the past, so I
turned onto the path, prepared to enjoy a scenic walk instead of seeing the
little stores along the road. This path took me over a small creek, where I
stopped and watched as some fish swam around and a hawk soared nearby. I was
sitting there when I felt like someone was watching me. Glancing around
self-consciously, I caught a glimpse of someone’s arm behind a tree several
yards away.
                I
stared into the creek, wondering if I was just being paranoid, when my
brother’s words came back to me: Paranoia is your body’s way of telling you
something isn’t right. If you’re feeling paranoid, listen to the feeling and get
away. It could end up saving your life. That had been shortly before we
moved out here when I’d asked him why we had to move. He’d obviously been
feeling a bit suspicious of everything at the time, and had been trying to make
me understand.
                Tossing
a rock into the creek, I made the decision to pretend I hadn’t seen the man
behind the tree and walk normally until I got out of sight. There was a bend in
the path up ahead that was mostly blocked by bushes and vines, so I’d be able
to gain a lead there. If he wasn’t following me, then all I needed to worry
about was feeling a little silly about my reaction.
                My
heart was pounding when I started walking again, and I was moving stiffly, not
giving the carefree impression I was trying for as I headed in the opposite
direction of the man by the tree. Once I reached the bend, I risked a glance
behind me and I saw a man kneeling by the edge of the creek where I’d been
standing. The woods were shaded enough that I couldn’t see him clearly, just
the shadow of him, but it seemed like he was looking right at me.
                I
turned again and started sprinting, my breaths coming quickly as I ran to the
edge of the woods. Even when the dirt path turned to cement sidewalk I kept
running. I still couldn’t be sure the man had been following me, but I couldn’t
shake the feeling that he was. I reached the next wooded area and rushed up the
nearly hidden driveway to my house, almost dropping my key in my hurry to get
indoors. Jason wasn’t home yet, so I locked the door behind me and called him.
                “Jason,
can you come home?” I asked, tears running down my face, either from fear or
exertion as I struggled to get my breathing back under control.
                He
didn’t ask questions. “I’m already on my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
                “Thanks,”
I said, hanging up and running a shaky hand over my eyes, wiping the tears off.
                I
might have been over reacting, but I was sure I’d felt some kind of malice from
the man. But that was impossible. I’ve never felt anything from anyone but my
brother, which meant Jason was the only one whose emotions I could feel.
                Wasn’t
he?       

NINE
    Hunter

 
 
                Nothing beats the thrill of hunting
prey that knows it’s being hunted, and has a way to fight back. I always had an
advantage, but they never knew unless they were talented enough at evasion and
fighting for me to use it. Guns were forbidden in this particular game. Mostly
my victims got a hunting knife, and I took the same for myself. It wouldn’t do
to have too many