good eye, sniper [spenser]

Elias sighed, leaning over the railing on the ferry to Nadar that he had been forced to board by his dad. Normally Elias would have just ignored his father's call or refused to come home -- especially on Neewollah, of all days! -- but this call was different. His dad had expressed a sense of urgency and unsettling depth in his voice that Elias wasn't sure he'd ever heard from him before. Elias had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because, even though his father didn't express this, Elias knew that this had to be about his mother.

She's dead, Elias thought, staring out at the seemingly-endless water all around the ferry. He wished the ferry would just get lost at sea so he never had to face his father, or his old house, or the thought of his mother again. Things were finally starting to look up -- Elias was planning on trying to reconnect with Poppy soon, and maybe little Henri too. He was going to attempt some form of dating, if Senna would set him up with someone.

But everything felt like it crashed around him when he got this vague phone call to come back to Nadar. Elias imagined all of the different ways that his father could have finally confirmed the death of his mom.

You don't know that she's dead, Rhiannon offered, though it did little to comfort Elias. Maybe they found her somewhere.

Yeah. Dead, Elias thought with another heavy sigh. He knew this would derail the positive attitude he'd gathered over the past few months. He wanted to change, to be a nicer and better clio...but maybe the universe didn't want him to be. Maybe he was destined to watch himself treat others like crap because of the shitty feelings he had about himself and his close relationships.

In the middle of his moody self deprecation session, a gust of wind blew all of his hair into his eyes.

"Dammit!" he yelped, completely irritated and frustrated. "Fucking hell." He brushed the hair, which somehow felt like tiny little ultra-sharp DAGGERS, back out of his eyes and frowned at the sea. Rhiannon couldn't help but giggle a little. "Shut up," Elias said, turning his head to face away from the daemon next to him. He needed a haircut, apparently.

Elias Kappo-Selway. Spenser's newest target. He had been watching the kid for days. Tracking his every move, memorizing his class schedule, when he ate lunch, when he slept. Like a hunter tracking his prey, Spenser had figured out his every move.

It didn't come to a surprise when Elias had boarded a ferry, heading to Nadar. Estela, the woman that he and his father were hired to torment, had made her escape, and now it was the Reyes' job to take care of the rest. If Spenser had had it his way, he would have just taken the money for himself, without actually completing the task. He figured it was safe to assume that the clio who had held this broad captive were dead now, so it wasn't as if they would have found out, but his father enjoyed games like this, where Spenser enjoyed not wasting energy. Alas.

At the moment, Spenser was leaning on the railing of the ferry, not far from where Elias stood. The sleeves of his black hoodie had been pulled down to his wrists, and his hood was up. He was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, although his mere size and looks intimidated the ones that happened to look his way.

When the ferry finally made its way to port, and the clio started to leave, Spenser made sure he didn't lose sight of Elias. He stayed a few clio back, keeping a sharp eye on the back of his head. He really hoped that the boys father wouldn't be there waiting for him. That would only give Spenser more trouble.

Elias and Rhiannon made their way off the ferry once it reached land, walking at the slow pace of the large crowd of clio exiting. Elias tried to look through all of the clio so he could make eye contact with his father, maybe try to figure out what was going on from his expression or the look in his eye. Unfortunately, his dad always waited at a particular spot further down, after the road opened up and the crowd could disperse a bit. This always made it easier for them to find one another.

Elias got a weird and unexplainable feeling, like he was being followed, but when he looked over his shoulder he only saw an ocean of strangers behind him.

What's wrong? Rhiannon asked, looking through the legs of the crowd all around them.

I just feel weird, Elias offered, sighing. It's probably just all this stuff with my dad. I just want to know why he wanted me to come here. Though he knew better, he hoped his mother might be there with his father, waiting for him. What a wonderful and unrealistic idea.

It must be important, Rhiannon said. We'll find out soon.

Elias nodded, looking ahead for sight of his dad again.

Spenser still had his eyes on the back of Elias' head as they made their way through the crowd. It didn't look like the kid's father was anywhere to be seen, yet. Spenser decided now was the time to make his move. He pushed through the throng of clio, moving smooth like liquid, while unbeknownst to the others around him, dirt and rocks from the ground began to float up, forming a sharp knife-like mitten around his fist.

Spenser was taller than Elias, so he had to lean down a little to mumble into his ear, "Scream and I will pierce this through your spinal cord." As he simultaneously poked the sharp mitten into Elias' back. "Run and I will shoot it through the back of your fucking head."

For a moment, Elias thought someone was playing a trick on him, or maybe he was going crazy. It wasn't until he felt the heat on his ear from the man's breath behind him and a poke in his back that fear ran through him like electricity. His stomach immediately tensed, he felt like he needed to vomit, and it took everything in him to keep walking.

Was this really happening? Who was this man? What did he want with Elias?

He wanted to ask this man a million questions, but he felt like there was a brick lodged in his throat. His breath was quick and shallow, and he wondered if this was how he'd die. This guy had to have the wrong clio, right? What did Elias ever do to anybody?

All Elias could do was follow his directions and continue walking forward. He couldn't even formulate a thought to communicate with Rhiannon. He felt like this was some sort of dream or nightmare that he might wake up from, but the pain in his back definitely felt...real.

“Good boy,” Spenser mumbled, when Elias didn’t yell or run. “Just do as I️ say, and I️ won’t kill you.”

The clio around them didn’t seem to notice the two young boys standing a little too close together. They didn’t seem to notice that the taller one was holding a weapon to the others back, piercing the skin a little. They were all in their little worlds, probably worried about getting home on time to their children for Neewollah, or maybe they worked second shift and were trying to get to work. Nobody was concerned about poor little Elias.

“Go left,” Spenser instructed, sticking the weapon a little deeper into Elias’ back, most likely drawing blood. The boy presumably did as he was told, and began to veer left as the crowd began to disperse.

Spenser’s plan was to knock Elias out once they reached the thicker parts of the jungle on Nadar. Then he would carry Elias to a boat that would take the both of them to Annerb. Once there he’d take him to an abandoned farm, where his father and a few useless cronies would be waiting with their own prey. It should be an easy one. It didn’t seem like Elias had much fight in him. It would be a piece of cake.

Elias thought, maybe for a split second, that he could scream for help and his dad might hear him and be able to help. His dad had so much experience fighting off clio like this, and he knew his dad could take whoever was behind him. His dad could take anybody.

He felt more fear and regret drip into his stomach. Maybe if he hadn't pushed his dad away, he could have learned some more moves or techniques or safety precautions for situations like this. His dad had taught him so much as a kid, but it'd been years since they'd sparred or done anything. His dad had tried so many times, but Elias hadn't been interested. All his dad was doing was try to help him if something like this ever happened, and now Elias was helpless.

He veered left as the man instructed, looking around for his dad. But as they veered left, they moved further and further away from where he knew his dad would be. What if he never saw his dad again? He'd never be able to find out what his dad had called him so urgently about...and he'd never be able to say sorry.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but before they could fall, he heard Rhiannon in his head.

Keep it together, Elias, she coached. You have to try and keep a cool head, okay? Listen to what he says, deal with it as it comes, and think about solutions -- this isn't the time to think about your family. That will just make you more upset.

Okay, Elias mustered. He took a slow, deep breath, remembering something his dad had told him a long time ago about controlling your breaths so that your body gets the oxygen it needs. His dad had said that even in times of stress, fight/flight/freeze situations, that you can help regulate your body so you can have better control and reactions to what's going on.

Good, Rhiannon said, that's useful. Try to remember other things your father taught you.

Right, Elias agreed, searching his brain for any clues that might help him, at the very least, stay alive.

Spenser glanced down at Elias, noticing the bright tears in his eyes. Was this kid actually going to start crying? Spenser grinned, and allowed himself to let out a small chuckle. He wondered what was going through Elias' mind. He was probably plotting a method of escape, or maybe he was going to try fighting back.

To the untrained eye, the two boys just looked like two friends, or maybe even lovers, walking too closely together toward the jungle. Nobody noticed them as they slipped away. When they were safely hidden inside of the trees and bushes, Spenser pushed the hood off of his head with his free hand, then wiped the sweat away from his forehead. Fuck it was hot! Why would anybody want to actually live here?

The weapon that Spenser had shaped over his hand, morphed and made its way toward Elias' wrists. The dirt, rocks, and bits of concrete that had been used as a weapon, were now strong handcuffs, that had pulled Elias' hands behind his back. Now that Elias' hands were safely tied behind him, Spenser allowed him to finally look at him head on.

"I suppose you're wondering what's going on," Spenser told him, sounding bored and uninterested. Spenser reached out with a tattooed hand, grabbing Elias' face between his thumb and fingers, squeezing and shaking it while taunting with his own lips puckered, "Poor baby, you're probably so scared."

Elias felt so embarrassed, exposed, and helpless as this man taunted him. He didn't want to seem weak, but he was. He wanted to beg this guy not to kill him, but he didn't think that would help -- it would probably just encourage him to do so. He had no idea what this man's intentions were.

This had to be someone from his father's past, right? Clio like this didn't just roam around kidnapping and killing random young kids...right?? Elias tried to think of a logical explanation but couldn't, maybe because he was so scared and maybe because this was just so random and terrifying.

Elias couldn't even bring himself to come up with a response to the man, mostly because he could only imagine horrible reactions from him. If he begged, he'd probably hurt him more. If he spat in his face, he'd definitely hurt him more. If he asked who he was, he likely wouldn't tell him anyway.

But Elias couldn't help but realize that just staring back at him probably wouldn't help either...yet that's all he could bring himself to do. He felt frozen and trapped.

What would your father do, Elias? Rhiannon said, trying to get Elias back into a survival mode mindset.

I don't know... Elias responded honestly as tears welled in his eyes again. I don't know, I'm not my dad...he'd know what to do...

Spenser clicked his tongue in disgust when Elias became misty eyed again. Gods this kid was a pussy. He was getting sick of looking at him. Spenser wanted to keep messing with him, but it was getting boring and really annoying.

"Damn," he said. "What a little fucking bitch."

Spenser started to laugh, while holding his fist up threateningly to Elias. Dirt, rocks, and other various assortments of gravel floated up and circled his hand, attaching to, and forming a club around it. "Say goodnight, Little Bitch," Spenser said, and slammed the club into the side of Elias' head.

He made sure that Elias was unconscious and lifted him up from the ground and threw his limp body over his shoulder. He carried him through the woods and back toward the water, where a boat would be waiting to take them to Annerb.