Samuel

Chapter 33

"We need to abandon this vehicle. It poses too much of a risk. We will be spotted quickly."

Cringing slightly, discomfort radiated throughout the boy. His vision doubled slightly as torrents of agony inundated his spine. A metallic tasted ripped along his tongue as Samuel shifted uncomfortably. The release of his energy within Alm proved too much for Samuel's limited focus and control.

"I trust that you can make the necessary arrangements to acquire additional transport?" Samuel said, finally resting in the back seat.

"My thoughts exactly, "Alm grumbled while exiting the freeway. Continuing while looking at the boy's visage in the rearview mirror, "We should discuss what just happened."

"Yes," Samuel responded lazily. "There's much to go over." He said while sitting up in the backseat, wincing slightly. "What was in your mind is definitely something we need to revisit."

The former glint of supplication, now gone, Samuel's glower toward Alm expressed his feelings of equality. Alm met the boy's gaze as he caught the true face of the boy. The guise of powerlessness, present in woods of the Midwest, the representation of meekness, now replaced with the intensity like Jonathan's.

"He is different than before." Alm thought to himself as he glanced back at the road. A chill ran down his spine, while continuing to contemplate, "He saw everything in there. He knows what happened to me." Shifting uncomfortably in the driver's seat, the vehicle rocked slightly as it careened down the freeway while his massive frame adjusted.

"Of course, he knows." The figure said in the front seat. "I told him everything along the way." Taking a puff of their pipe with a deep held inhale, the figure continued, "No need hiding anything now."

Waiting for the figure to finish, Samuel broke in, "That doesn't matter much now. We need to focus on what he said." Alm grunted in acknowledgment before the boy continued. "He wants me for my capabilities." Samuel glanced deep in contemplation out the passing countryside for a few moments before continuing, "What he said about the man named Chandral." Turning toward Alm, once more, the boy asked, "Who is he to you? It seemed you grew irritated when his name was mentioned."

Silence hung on the air like dust particles gliding within invisible currents. His eyes darted back toward the boy in the rear-view mirror. Breathing deeply, Alm thought how to respond while a cascade of discomfort seethed through him.

Breaking through the silence, the figure stated, "He reminds him of the fucks who tormented him when we were young." Samuel cocked his head at the mention of Alm's vulnerability. Continuing, the figure said, "He is arrogant and powerful. When we first met him, he showed me images of each of the fucks who hurt us. Bubbles containing their images flooded the helicopter we all rode upon."

Alm's meaty hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as the figure continued speaking.

"The bastard knew our pain and lauded it over us with his illusions. That is when he realized he's in the same situation he was as a child. Unable to free myself from stronger men." The figure said accelerating slightly. "A victim. A slave."

Accelerating further, as he heard the figure continue narrating his agony, his pain, Alm felt a tiny hand plant upon his shoulder. Glancing back, Samuel's impassive face met his gaze.

"We can find a way to free both of us. They won't stop coming. We need to prep. Chandral is definitely coming and he must have a weakness. It's only the next logical step, don't you agree?" Samuel said calculatingly. Turning toward the figure, Samuel replied as a stitch in his side bloomed, "Now, talk me through healing the damage I've done. I went a bit too far."