Authors: Brad Stevens

The Hunt (20 page)

Mara lay awake through the early hours of the morning, feeding her hatred by thinking about what was being done to Julie. It must have been around ten a.m. when Tyner returned, carrying a tray which he left on the floor by the bed. He walked out without even glancing in Mara's direction. Mara looked down and saw that the tray contained a mug of coffee and several pieces of toast. For the first time since her arrival at the Hunters' block, she felt hungry. Her anger required plenty of sustenance. She drank the coffee quickly, though the heat burned her mouth, then consumed the toast, one piece after another.

Mara had expected Tyner to treat her to one last session in the playroom, but as the hours passed, she thought back on his recent behaviour, and concluded he was as eager as her to see the end of the Hunt. In some obscure way, she'd emerged as victor in this struggle. But the nature of the prize eluded her. Eventually, the door opened again, and Tyner came in, carrying a pile of clothes which he dropped onto the bed. He addressed Mara without looking directly at her.

“
The Hunt will be over in an hour. You'd better put these on.”

He didn't wait for a response, and probably knew Mara had no intention of making one. Once he'd left, Mara got out of bed and looked at the clothes. Her entire uniform was there. Every item, including the jacket, had been washed, though not ironed. Even the shoes were clean. She was soon sitting on the bed fully dressed.

Mara didn't have to wait long before the alarm was heard. The noise seemed to be coming from all around her. It lasted ten seconds. Tyner appeared almost immediately. He held the door open, and Mara walked out. As she passed him, the alarm sounded a second time, and Tyner placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. Mara shuddered as she wondered what he had planned, but he simply took a key out of his pocket and used it to unlock her collar. She saw a suitcase sitting by the apartment's front door, and couldn't help noting that it was almost the same size as the box in which she'd been locked. Tyner opened the front door and allowed Mara to pass through it. She walked over to the elevator and waited for Tyner to press the button. They were soon standing side by side as the elevator descended, Tyner's suitcase on the floor between them. Tyner turned to Mara and mumbled, “Thank you for a memorable few days. I hope I didn't hurt you more than was necessary, but I want you to know...”

“
Shut up,” hissed Mara.

Once they were outside, Mara strode swiftly down the street, Tyner trailing behind her. The alarm could be heard even more clearly out here. The sun was shining, and Mara tried to take pleasure in its warmth. But she was incapable of taking pleasure from anything. Looking back, she could see other pairings of Hunter and prey emerging from the building. When she arrived at the street's end, Tyner told her to go left. The alarm sounded one last time, then fell silent. Mara soon came to a part of the arena she recognised, and began moving more quickly, hoping to put some distance between herself and Tyner. Turning into Kilburn High Road, she was surprised to see an unaccompanied woman strolling along ahead of her. Her spiky black hair looked familiar, and Mara ran to catch up. The woman proved to be Kate
Mackendrick, the Scottish draftee who had travelled from Glasgow to participate in the Hunt. Kate hugged Mara, and asked how she was.

“
I've been through hell,” replied Mara honestly. “How about you?”

“
I've just been bored. I found this old arts centre, and hid in an underground cinema there. I suppose it was out of range of the body heat detectors.”

“
How did you get food?”

“
There was a vending machine outside. I felt terrified every time I used it, but nobody came by. You're the first person I've seen since last Friday. I was with a woman called Diane, but we lost each other while we were searching these empty houses, and I've no idea what happened to her.”

Mara looked back at Tyner, who was standing further down the road, staring at her. She put an arm around Kate's shoulders, and the two of them marched towards the gate through which they'd entered the arena a week earlier. To their relief, it was open. Kate and Mara passed through the empty room where they'd been given their final instructions, and down the adjacent corridor. Tyner followed at a distance: he had the air of a naughty schoolboy on his way to the headmaster's office. Marching quickly through the meeting hall - for Mara, at least, it stirred some extremely unpleasant memories - they made their way to the reception room.

The two police officers who had accompanied Isabella were waiting by the main entrance. To Mara, it seemed as if they'd been standing in the same position all week. And there was Simon - the lip-licking slob who'd tagged her - slumped against the receptionist's desk and obviously in a foul mood. Mara and Kate looked at each other, and immediately grasped the situation. Kate winked at Mara, walked over to Simon, and held out her hand. The man shook it instinctively, and Kate smiled at him as she said, “Hi, I'm the girl you've spent the last few days trying to find. Sorry we didn't get to know each other. But I hope you had a good time jacking off.” She turned away with a big grin on her face. Simon just stood there, as if trying to process the information he'd received.

Mara couldn't resist rubbing it in. She went up to him and said,
“Sorry I removed the tag you put on me. I dropped it into the sewer because I thought you'd feel more at home there.” She walked back to Kate without waiting for a response, though Simon clearly didn't have the wit to formulate one. As Mara and Kate laughed, Tyner approached Simon and began talking sympathetically to him. Using a pen and paper borrowed from the receptionist, the two women exchanged email addresses, and after collecting her personal effects, Kate exited the stadium, giving Mara a friendly wave.

It wasn't long before the other Hunters showed up with their victims. The contrast between Kate and these tortured women was blatantly obvious. There were no mirrors in the reception area, but Mara could see the brutalisation that must be evident in her own eyes reflected in those of her fellow draftees. She recognised
Zong, who shrunk away from her escort as if fearing another blow, and Isabella, who seemed to be in a state of shock; as soon as she appeared, the police officers handcuffed her and led her out of the building.

But where was Julie?

After being given the plastic bags containing their belongings, most of the women walked out without a backward glance. A certain amount of camaraderie existed between them at the start, but they obviously had no wish to spend a second more than necessary amongst people associated with the horrors they'd experienced. Curiously, the Hunters appeared to have left in much the same way. Mara hadn't even seen Tyner depart. As she approached the receptionist's counter, she noticed two men having an intense conversation in a room behind it. One of them seemed to be the escort who had welcomed them to the Hunt, but the other was concealed behind the doorway. As Mara tried to make out what they were saying, the second man moved into view. It was Let's-Make-a-Deal. And the bastard looked almost sheepish.

“
Hey!” shouted Mara as loudly as possible, banging her fist on the counter. The two men stared at her. “Where's Julie?” she screamed. “Where is she?” The escort frowned and closed the door. Mara turned to the receptionist.

“
Do you know what happened to Julie Weisz?”

The woman looked down at the counter, shaking her head.
“I don't know. I...Can I get your things?”

Mara was far from satisfied, but she said,
“My name's Mara Gorki.” The receptionist fetched the bag containing Mara's belongings. As she handed them to her, Mara grasped the woman's hand and said, “Please. Julie's a friend of mine. I have to know if she's alright.”

The receptionist glanced around nervously, checking to see if anyone was observing them, then leaned towards Mara and whispered,
“I'm not supposed to discuss this yet, but everybody will know about it soon enough. One of the girls has died.” She looked towards the cubbyholes and said, “Julie Weisz is the only one who hasn't collected her things, so it must be her. I...I'm sorry.” Mara felt faint. She held onto the edge of the counter, using it to support her weight. As soon as she could move without collapsing, she shuffled towards the entrance.

Mara thought she'd had her fill of horror, but as she emerged from the stadium, she saw something that made her long for the oblivion of non-existence. For there, parked in front of the building, was a car containing a middle-aged couple who were looking around anxiously. Mara recognised them immediately. They were Julie's parents, and they'd come to collect their beloved daughter. Mara understood what she had to do now, and realised it would take more courage than she'd ever known. As she approached the car, she remembered Catherine commenting on her bravery. She wasn't brave. Not at all. She desperately wanted to let those responsible for Julie's death break the news themselves. She could easily walk away. Nobody would even know. But that would be an act of cowardice for which she'd never forgive herself. Hand trembling, she knocked on the driver's side of the car. Julie's father lowered the window and smiled at her.
“Yes?” he asked.

Mara had no idea what she was going to say. She opened her mouth, and her voice was choked with tears.
“Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Julie...Julie didn't make it. I'm so sorry. She's dead...dead.”

She tried to touch the man, whose expression had changed to one of anger and fear.
“We'll see about that!” he barked, brushing away her hand and opening the car door.

As he strode towards the stadium, Mara glanced at the mother, and was met with a look of sheer hatred.
“Why are you saying this?” shouted the woman, tears rolling down her face. “Why would you lie to us like this. Why? What kind of person are you?”

Mara's voice had almost gone. She could only whisper,
“I'm sorry.”

“
Sorry? Sorry? You...you try to...you tell us a disgusting story about...about our daughter being dead and say you're sorry! Why do you hate us? Why do you want us to think...to think that...?”

She climbed out of the car and stood there shrieking at Mara.
“You evil woman. Evil! Evil! Get away from me! Tell your filthy, disgusting lies to somebody else! Get away!” She crumpled into a ball, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed, “Please, get away from me. Oh, please!”

Mara wanted to comfort her, but at that moment the father ran out of the stadium, knelt down, and embraced his wife.
“Please,” he said, looking up at Mara. “Leave us alone. I beg you.” He seemed almost calm. Without saying another word, Mara fled down the street, barely aware where she was going.

Once she'd put enough distance between herself and the bereaved couple, Mara slumped against a wall and screamed. She sat in this position for almost five minutes, sobbing uncontrollably. Several pedestrians stared at her, but nobody stopped to offer help. When she again felt capable of movement, she stood up and walked towards Hunt station, opening the plastic bag in her hand as she did so. She removed her mobile phone and the railcard, using the latter to pass through the turnstile. A train was pulling in when she arrived on the platform. As its doors closed behind her, she took a seat and switched on the mobile. There were several messages, but she couldn't deal with them now. Her first priority had to be letting
Yuke know she was okay. No, she thought. Not okay. But alive. This part of the tube was still above ground, so she'd have no trouble making a connection. She entered her lover's number, and Yuke answered halfway through the first ring.

“
Mara,” she gasped. “Is that you?”

Mara tried to steady her voice.
“I've survived,” she said simply. “I'm on my way home. I need you.”

“
I'll head out now. I'll be at your place in an hour.”

“
Make it two hours. And Yuke. It's better I say this now. It was bad. Maybe some day I'll tell you about it, but for now, please don't ask me.”

“
I love you,” was the only thing Yuke said, and the only thing Mara needed to know. After ending the call, she sat back and tried to let the sound of the train moving away from the stadium soothe her. But as she closed her eyes, all she could hear was Julie singing.

“There is a house on the edge of town.

It's been there forever, so they say.

I've never once been inside it,

Though I pass it every single day.

My friends all believe it's haunted

By ghosts and spirits of the past.

But the only ghosts I'm afraid of

Are those of a life that will not last.

I know some day I must enter this house,

And leave behind everything that's me.

But until then I think I'll keep passing by,

Trying to pretend that I am free.
”