It had been a short argument, but Cadence had won, and when they loaded the plane to head to Philly the next morning, her sister was on it. Aaron had been a bit easier to convince than their parents, but Cassidy handled most of that, and as she sat next to Aaron toward the front of the plane, Cadence felt relieved that her sister was sitting in the back next to Brandon. At least this time there could be no surprises; Cassidy couldn’t sneak up on them if she was already with the rest of the team.
Along with the other team members who had participated in the meeting, they had also called in several others, including Rusty, Sonia, Mickey, and to Cadence’s chagrin, Ashley. While Cadence logically knew that it made sense to bring the blonde along, she was still annoyed at her presence; she knew she needed to let it go.
The Philadelphia team would also be joining them, as would some other all-stars from other areas of the country, including Cale and a few members of his team, and Morgan, who had been called in to help with Giovani in Philly before. They had thought about bringing in Stormy and Eliza, both of whom had been helpful last time, but ultimately decided against it because of personality conflicts. Aaron also felt that the new members they were bringing along would make up for anything they might lack in the missing members.
Christian had provided each of them with maps of the various buildings at the location, as well as the surrounding area. The main structure was massive, and knowing that there were thousands of places where Gibbon could hide made it extremely important to make sure that everyone was up to speed and familiar with the layout as much as possible.
As Cadence sat looking out the window, Aaron nudged her and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she assured him as she turned back to face him. “Just thinking about the last time I saw Gibbon. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun.”
Aaron nodded. “Maybe he’s matured a bit these last few months and doesn’t act so much like a wild animal.”
“I doubt it. As far as we know, he’s been on his own. I think the only thing that’s kept him from just walking around out in the open killing anyone and everyone is that he seems to be afraid of the light.”
“I’ll give you that. I remember how he looked at that helicopter spotlight when he came out of the tunnel, like it was the sun about to burn him to smithereens, like in the old Vampire movies.”
Cadence hadn’t seen that because she didn’t get a chance to chase him. She was still lying in Giovani’s underground cell with a broken knee. Thoughts of the pain she’d gone through that night made her reach for her leg. Jamie had replaced her ACL a few days afterward and it had healed by the next day, thanks to his talents, but she’d been in a lot of pain by the end of that hunt. “I just want to keep everyone safe this time.”
“We will,” Aaron said with a smile. “As soon as we get there, we’ll meet with Andrew and make sure we have everything we might need available to use. Then, hopefully, we’ll be able to go check out the location tonight.”
“It would be great to get it over with that quickly. I only hope that Gibbon is still there.”
“If he’s not, hopefully your sister will be able to get a location on him again. But something tells me he will be.”
Gibbon heard voices above him and knew that the people were still there. Without a window, it was difficult to tell if it was night or day. He tried not to go out of the room in the daytime anymore since the boy had seen him, but the burning in his throat was getting almost unbearable, and he was afraid he might have to go out and check to see if the darkness had fallen yet.
The bodies in the corner were beginning to pile up, but they didn’t really bother him. He’d always been fascinated with death and dead bodies, especially since the first time he held a lifeless figure in his hands, blood still squirting from the slash in her neck. The feeling of watching the light fade from a person’s eyes as they transitioned from one world to the next made him feel completely omnificent, and even though he knew he was not the same as he was before meeting that man who claimed to be his father, the effects were the same.
Unfortunately, the thirst in his throat kept him from enjoying the experience as much now as he used to. Now, the overwhelming sensation of the blood pouring down his throat was all encompassing, and he often looked up to find his victim had expired before he even had the chance to enjoy it.
Likewise, he could no longer choose the same sort of victims. Here, he had to take whatever he could get without being caught. So far, he was fairly certain the only one who had seen him was the boy—and the other one like Gibbon himself, but that one was not a threat; surely she would not reveal his location to anyone else. As long as he continued to be careful, to choose his victims under the cloak of night, he should be able to stay here for as long as he liked.
It was not ideal, however. A cell designed to house the worst criminals in all of Pennsylvania, and he now lived there by choice. At least the doors were unlocked, and he could come and go as he pleased, both out of the hole itself and the passageway that led down here beneath the prison.
When the pain in his throat became completely intolerable, he decided to have a peek outside. It had been nearly three days since he fed, and he knew if he didn’t get some blood soon, he would begin to lose the tiny scraps of sanity he’d manage to hold onto this long. If only he knew how his father had managed to keep the nurse and detective alive for so long without killing them. It would’ve been nice to have some sort of guidance, but fear of the woman with the long brown hair had caused him to flee, and he didn’t even know if his father had made it out of the tunnel alive, not that he honestly cared either way. Who chained their son to a wall in a prison cell?
Since he’d been keeping the door closed, no one ventured down here. Sometimes he heard them outside, but they rarely even tried to see if the door would open. Today, he was hoping someone might come along and test it. That would make it much easier to feed.
It was nearly pitch black in the hole with the door closed, but when it was open, he would be able to see if it was daylight. He stepped to the door and waited, listening to see if anyone was nearby. He didn’t hear anything so he cautiously pulled open the door. No longer pressed to the back of the cell in the shadows, he would be much more visible should anyone come by, and if it was a large group of people, he’d have to run—leaving his fortress of solitude behind.
Once the door was cracked, he stepped outside. The sun was up; he could see light coming in at the end of the passageway by the stairwell. Cursing beneath his breath, he stepped back in and closed the door. He’d wait and bide his time. Maybe someone would venture by soon. Otherwise, he’d be forced to return to what was left over from his other victims, which couldn’t be much. He took pride on being thorough. One thing was sure, as soon as night fell, he would be scrounging for something to soothe the burn in his throat.
