Samuel

Chapter 30

Smiling, Jonathan said, "Great show of strength and wit. You managed to skillfully retrieve information from me without saying much."

Samuel eyed Jonathan carefully as he continued to stand next to Alm, his small hand draped over Alm's meaty forearm.

Continuing, Jonathan said with a dark tone, "If you think you are free, you are mistaken, boy," Cruelly, sharply seething, the man continued, "I have spent two lifetimes amassing energy for this single moment." Jonathan smiled before drinking the rest of his wine in one large gulp. "I don't think it is a matter of if you will follow me, it is a matter of how." Placing his wine glass down on the table, he stood with outstretched hands. "You see, I didn't just amass heaps of bioenergy simply to meet one as insolent as yourself. No, my machinations, in their complexity will confound, you. As you'll soon see, I have been building my intellect just as you have in your short life. Fortunately, I have had a head start."

Ambient power flowed from him. Deep currents of dense energy, heavy yet maliciously invigorated the area. Their motive, clear as a storm building in the horizon. Samuel's breathing tightened, nearly labored, he inhaled in the energy, unafraid, unmolested.

"That's mighty wordy and theatrical. How do you expect me to respond to that?" Samuel asked stoically.

"Think carefully boy." Jonathan said with obscene savagery.

As the man grew ever more threatening, Samuel glanced intently toward the immobile Alm. Noticing a blank stare with cold sweat beading on his forehead, Samuel's eyes remained measured, unwilling to betray his interests. Alm's body sat stiffly except for his hands. His knuckles whitened as they twitched violently. Samuel gazed upon Jonathan stoically as he continued to threaten the boy.

A dilemma raged in his mind as Samuel's heart thundered. "Where should I go with this?" Samuel thought, quickly to himself.

Looking back at Alm before returning his gaze to Jonathan, the man who lauded over his strength, the person who smirked confidently at his position of power, the individual who could destroy him with ease, Samuel's mind remained upon Alm.

"Alm has done so much for me already. Shall I leave him and flee? No, where would I flee to?" His eyes flickered to the edge of the penthouse balcony. "Impossible, I would not survive that. I do not have the skills, nor the potential to keep myself from certain doom from the impact. Ugh! Think!"

Breathing in deeply, he maintained eye contact with Jonathan. Forcefully, allowing his mind to calm as his body concealed his inward angst.

"Please give me more time." Samuel asked feigning a sheepish quality as he asked for a continuation, once more.

Feeling a tingle in his mind, Samuel redoubled his mental barriers. Jonathan's pressure mounted further before his eyes closed in on the boy.

"I'll leave you to it then," Jonathan pressed, annoyed.

"Hmm, he is weaker in mind than I expected but I'm still powerless before him." Samuel ruminated surprised. "If I consider the current bioenergy the two of us have, we may be able to achieve some levels of escape. That is our only option. Jonathan will kill us both soon if I do nothing."

Going over drills in his mind repeatedly, attempting to find any flaw in the plan, Samuel's heart pounded in his ears as his hair began to mat. Sweat pooled, dripping down his neck. Gazing back to Alm, he thought about his need for the man. His attachment, undeniable along with a heavy debt owed to him due to his teachings and salvation from the other entity that threatened to abscond with him. "Ugh, I need him. Without him, I perish here. Now, I need to free him of this bind." Samuel took a deep breath to ready himself for his intrusion as he grasped Alm's arm.