The Chosen Ones

CHAPTER THIRTY

They came into the clearing to the sight of what they feared most. Matt's knees became instantly weak at the sight before him. Jonah stood by the cliff, holding Tyler roughly by his shirt collar. Shannon was next to him on her knees, duct tape over her mouth, hands tied with rope. Tears were streaming down her face, her left eye was badly bruised and her lip was split. Jonah had the nose of a gun pressed against her temple.

"Drop the guns now, or I put a bullet in her head." Jonah demanded.
"You think one of us can't put one in yours before you do that?" Matt asked.
"You really want to take that chance?" He replied.

They were good shots, especially Matt and Casey, but they weren't sure they could make THAT shot. Their chosen ones abilities were not fully there yet. The only one that could make that shot was Phil, and that wasn't going to happen.

"I don't think you could do much of anything with the shape you're in." Jonah remarked to Matt.
"You don't look so good yourself." Matt fired back.
Jonah's face was a distorted mess. Matt had broken his nose and probably a cheek bone or two during their fight. Not to mention one of his eyes was almost swollen shut.

Matt dropped his shotgun and ordered Casey and Shaun to do so as well. There was nothing else they could do.
"Kick them over." Jonah ordered.

He was favoring his knee that Matt had kicked during their fight also, it must have been a rough hike up the mountain for him too. There was no way Jonah could have known about Tyler's ability to heal. He most definitely would have made the little boy heal his wounds before the trek.

Shannon mouthed the words "I'm sorry" to Matt. The sight of her angered him more than he's ever been. The fact that Jonah laid his hands on her had him seething. The scene unfolding before him gave him a rush of adrenaline where he was able to forget about his own pain for the time being.

Matt kicked all the guns in Jonah's direction. They made it only about halfway to him, which satisfied him enough. Matt thought it could be to their advantage if he could make something happen. He looked at Tyler and nodded.

"It's okay Ty. Everything is gonna be fine." He said to his son. He couldn't imagine the fear the Tyler was experiencing.
"You shouldn't lie to him." Jonah said with a smile.
"Fuck you." Matt swore.
"What was it you said to me at the house? I'll never get my hands on your son?" Jonah taunted.

"What do you want?" Casey asked him. "We'll give you anything, just let Tyler go."
"I have what I want." He replied, tightening his grip on the boy. "I'm going to leave this mountain with the child, and there's nothing you can do about it. You three following me here just assures I'll never be found...... after you're dead of course."

Shannon's text. It didn't come from her at all. Jonah sent it with her phone, luring them here.
That's why he didn't take Tyler and run. He wanted them to follow him so he could kill them. So once he had Tyler and killed the four of them, there would be nobody left to look for him.

"He's just a boy." Matt said. "He doesn't have any powers. He doesn't understand any of this. You're just kidnapping a child!" Matt yelled.
"Oh, he has powers. It is written. And the book doesn't lie." Jonah said.

"So that's it?" Shaun asked. "You'll never kill all four of us before we can grab a gun and kill you."
Jonah pondered it. "That might be true. But none of you will risk a stray bullet hitting the child."
Just then Casey pulled out another handgun she had concealed. She aimed it at her Jonah's head.

"I thought the cult didn't use guns." Casey said.
"Yeah well, adapt or die." Jonah replied. He pressed the gun harder against Shannon's head.

"You shoot any of us now and you die. Is that a risk YOU want to take? Then you lose Tyler. You know what we can do. You know I won't miss. Leave now and we won't kill you." Casey said to him. Of course she was bluffing. If he went for the deal he was a dead man.

He laughed. Jonah wasn't stupid. He knew they had nothing to bargain with.
"You underestimate me." He said.

In a flash Casey was unarmed. A young woman took her gun and it was now pointed at her head. She had appeared out of nowhere. Was it another member of the cult that had survived?

Jonah laughed again. "This is Gloria." He said. "She also has, let's just say, unique abilities."
Gloria had long, straight dark hair. She wore tight blue jeans and a black leather jacket. Her red lipstick looked like it was just applied and her eyes looked like empty black holes.

Casey looked around, still confused as to what happened. She had heard nothing to alert her to someone approaching, and Matt and Shaun never called out. She felt the cold tip of the gun against the back of her head. Matt and Shaun looked equally perplexed as to where this girl came from.
Gloria smiled across at Jonah.

"Gloria is a shifter." He explained. "Not a shapeshifter, per se, she can't shift into different people or animals. She can simply teleport to different places in the blink of an eye. How else do you think I knew you were coming up the mountain?"

It was almost too unrealistic. It's one thing that Matt and the others had developed skills over the last few days, but to be able to shift from
place to place was super hero type stuff. It was something they couldn't fight. He had thought only Tyler, along with he and his friends, were the only ones who were supposed to have abilities.

Matt looked at Shannon who was still on her knees next to Jonah. He was really going to watch his best friend die any moment now, and the girl he loved had a gun to her head. He needed time. They were seconds away from losing everything.

"What do you think Tyler can do?" Matt asked, stalling for time.
"Pity you don't know your own son. But since you are going to be dead in a minute I'll tell you." He looked down at the top of Tyler's head. "It's in his blood."

It was something Matt wished he didn't hear. It just told him that Jonah wasn't just going to see what Tyler could do and use the powers for his own gain. He wanted his blood. That meant he was going to kill him to get it.

Matt needed a miracle. He needed Shannon to reach for her knife belt again, or Tyler to make one of the guns that were on the ground float through the air and into his hand. It was wishful thinking, that wasn't going to happen tonight.
Casey knew what Matt was doing and tried to stall as well.

"You were born with this ability?" She asked Gloria.
"Let's just say I was man made." She replied, with an evil grin. She pulled down on Casey's blonde hair and gave a menacing laugh.
MAN made? What could she possibly mean by that?
"You ready to die bitch?" Gloria asked through gritted teeth.

Casey closed her eyes. She was going to see her family again, after being so close to doing what she set out to do. She always knew this moment was a possibility, and now, as she prepared to die, she felt a calmness wash over her. She was at peace.

A shot rang out.