The Participants 15 Chapter 14 – Zack – Iteration 144

The Observers placed him face down for the night, left hand cuffed behind his back to right ankle, right hand to left ankle. They had moved him to the house, where a cramped family room had been cleared to serve as a holding area. The room's single exit led directly into the kitchen area, where two of his captors drank tea.

The man called Ingrid spoke. "We should bury him immediately."

Another voice responded. "Erik wants her fun."

"This isn't about playing games. We serve the Creator," Ingrid said. "Hess needs to be removed from events quickly so we can return to our observations."

"Just give Erik a few days with him."

Zack had twisted around to face the light that shone from the kitchen. In the night, fear of his immanent burial lurked closer to the surface. He concentrated on the soreness his unnatural position caused his shoulders. Pain was a safe thought.

What does Lacey think happened to me? She probably assumes I abandoned her. Zack hoped that in time she found someone who could love her. It was such a simple thing for a person to want. He had thought he could fake the emotion for her, but Zack knew better now. He would make an even worse person than he did an Observer.

The shadows from the kitchen moved from time to time. Even if Zack could free himself, the windows were boarded up and two armed guards prevented his escape through the kitchen. Still, he watched. After a few hours, the shadows stopped moving. If he knew a way to escape, this would be the time to do so. The darkness rose within and Zack had to suppress it. The darkness had been active ever since the shooting, threatening him day and night.

One of the shadows from the kitchen shifted. Zack watched it move silently, growing larger. The form of the man called Ingrid appeared in the doorway. He placed a finger over his lips, bidding Zack to remain silent. Then Ingrid slipped over to kneel at his side. Ingrid seized Zack's restraints. "When I free you, leave the house silently. The keys to the truck that brought you here are on the counter. Move somewhere far from here and don't draw attention to yourself." In rapid motions, Ingrid freed Zack, feet first, then seized Zack's chin. "The woman downstairs is not who she claims to be. She's Kerzon, trying to wound you in the way she thinks worst. Elza is still out there somewhere."

Zack crouched silently, cradling his arms close while strained shoulders healed. "I don't know who Elza is. I am not Hess."

"I don't have time to argue. You can't go anywhere associated with your Zack identity. Drive to somewhere with public transportation and disappear. The truck has several thousand dollars stashed beneath the seat. Be quiet. Erik didn't drink any tea."

Zack followed Ingrid out to the kitchen, where Ingrid settled back into his seat and slouched forward onto the table as if asleep. With swift motions, Zack swiped the keys from the counter and went out the kitchen door. He ran to the truck, clawed the door open, leaped inside, jammed the key into the ignition, twisted hard, shifted into drive, and hit the gas.

The truck bounced the entire length of the dirt driveway, then shot into motion when it reached the road. Zack's heart raced faster than the truck as he split his attention between the road ahead and the rear-view mirror. He took route twenty-eight south towards Pittsburgh, slowing to five over the speed limit. Can't get pulled over now. I have to find a bus station or something. Zack punched the seat. He didn't know where to find a bus station in Pittsburgh or anywhere else. He didn't know where to find anything. In the past five years, he had rarely traveled more than ten miles from rural Sarver.

He tensed every time he saw headlights behind him, until he was hunched over the steering wheel. I don't know where I'm going. I am tired and confused and emotional. I need a map and some rest. One of the false memories that came with the identity of Zack Vernon recalled itself suddenly. It was of a road trip taken with his parents. They had stopped at a hotel. While his parents went through the process of checking in, Zack had perused a display on the local attractions, paying particular attention to a map of the area.

Now where is a hotel? The answer to that was easy. Along route 28, just south of Tarentum, was a shopping complex known as the Pittsburgh Mills Mall, a beautiful facility full of retail locations suffering from lack of business. A hotel sat behind the mall. Hopefully he could discover the location of a bus terminal there.

Chapter end