Chapter One

Prey

That was close. Too fucking close.

Theodore's heart was just slowing down as he walked along the highway. Squinting against the sun, he was just trying to get as far away from the gas station as fast as he could, without appearing suspicious.

Fuck.

That car was supposed to get him to Utah. Five million dollars. Well, he wasn't likely to beat the other seven convicts going for it now, was he? Not unless they were having worse luck then he was.

Speaking of luck…

The sound of a car rolling up behind him caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up, his stomach to tighten. He glanced back briefly, before continuing as if he wasn't worried about anything at all. Nope. Nothing at all.

The car stopped, and he heard one of the doors open.

"Hey!"

Theodore froze. He turned slightly, looking quizzical. A young, dark-haired man walked over to him from the driver's side. Skeptically, he looked the man over. The man smiled uncertainly at him.

"Uh, hi. I'm the guy from the gas station," he introduced himself.

Theodore nodded, but didn't say anything. The guy from the gas station seemed a little uncomfortable.

"I, uh…I was wondering if you needed a ride or something?"

Thin surprise washed over his face. The younger man hastily added, "I just, well…I heard you talking about your hand… I don't know that much about fighting in a war, but…I know that it takes a lot of courage."

He felt awkward, not quite sure what to say. So he turned the rest of the way and gave a little nod. Softly, he spoke, with a vague smile, "I'm just serving my country."

The man smiled, seeming relieved. He nodded, putting his hand out.

"I'm Adam Faulkner."

Theodore's smile widened as he shook Adam's hand. "Clyde. Clyde May."

They stepped back towards the car. Adam was grinning, seeming rather pleased with himself. Theodore was smiling with gratitude for stumbling onto such luck.

"I hope you don't mind riding in the back. My g…mn…f…" Adam faltered, stopping. He pointed to the passenger side of the car. "Lynnie's riding shotgun."

He smiled, then walked over to the driver's side. Theodore looked down at Lynnie, who was scribbling in a notebook, sitting Indian-style in the passenger seat. Her hair was dark red and slightly wavy, flowing off of her shoulders. She looked about 15. After a moment, she looked up, studied him for a moment, then smiled.

"Hi, I'm Aaralyn."

A warmth of excitement rushed through Theodore as inevitable thoughts swarmed his head. He soon grinned at her. "Hi, yourself."

He still didn't understand why they had to stop. The sun was still bright, and it wasn't as though they'd been on the road all that long anyways. Scowling slightly, he made his way to the pool area of the motel.

At least this would give him some time alone with Lynnie.

He pulled the gate open and stepped in, spotting the teenager sitting at the edge of the pool. Once again, her legs were crossed, and she had her notebook and pencil in hand. For a moment, he watched her as she paused in her writing, looking at the water. Her hand reached forward and dipped into the pool. Slender fingers drifted through the water, smooth, like caressing silk. It was slow, just feeling, curious. Theodore was mesmerized, his lips parted slightly. When she moved her tongue out to wet her lips, he mirrored her action without realizing it.

And then she pulled her hand back and dragged it back along her pants, before picking up her pencil again. Theodore shook himself out of his trance, sniffing once, quickly. When he closed the gate, she turned her head quickly to look at him. Their eyes met for a moment, before she looked away and began writing frantically. Theodore strode over to her leisurely and sat down beside her.

"Hey there, Lynnie."

Lynnie's pencil paused on the paper, and he saw her glance at him out of the corner of her eye. But then she acted as though she were completely uninterested, continuing to scribble.

"Hey." Her voice was flat.

"Sure is nice of Adam to pay for my room for the night," he said, trying to make conversation.

"He's a nice guy."

"Hm. But I really wish we could have kept goin' on towards Utah—lots of light left in the day, lots of road to go…" He tried to mask his annoyance, looking skyward.

Lynnie shrugged, scratching something out in her notebook.

"Yeah, well, there's not really much I can do for you there."

Lynnie's disinterest was a bit frustrating, but Theodore had been here before. This was part of it all. There was something thrilling, arousing, about getting the girls (or sometimes boys) to trust him. Pulling them in and twisting them into thinking he was safe, he was good, it was just as exciting as the sex itself. Theodore was definitely not of the grab and stab variety. He played the game, and he loved it. He eyed her notebook, reading a few lines. It was poetry.

She sits in her room

Where they've locked her away

Put up bars on the windows

Her very own cage

"She's you," he stated with realization, leaning towards her. "Beautiful…"

Immediately, the notebook was snatched out of his view, and he lifted his gaze to meet Lynnie's wide-eyed, embarrassed expression. A small smile formed his mouth. After a moment of looking at him, Lynnie nodded.

"Yeah."

"You feel trapped…" he acknowledged. The thrill grew and changed from the usual twisting of trust. He could identify with her. He was crawling into her soul, seeing her. He inhaled slowly. "I'll bet it has something to do with that Adam fellow."

Looking utterly confused, Lynnie held her notebook close, frowning at him. "What?"

"Well, I just mean…it seems like he's pushin' you around a lot. He seemed to boss you around in the car on the way here. Doesn't give you much…independency."

Relaxing a bit, Lynnie smiled, and gave a small laugh. "Yeah…I know…he acts like I'm a little kid or something."

"Exactly. But you're a grown woman, y'see. Nothin' kiddish about you at all. But adults are always tryin' to infantilize girls your age, treat you like children."

"Yeah, I know!" Lynnie was suddenly very interested, setting her notebook and pencil aside. "Adam won't even let me wear a mini-skirt. Then again, he's encouraged by ssssss…William."

Theodore, noticing his progress (and ignoring her hissing), shifted closer to Lynnie.

"See, that's what I'm sayin'. You're perfectly capable of makin' your own decisions—"

"Tell Adam that—"

"—well, he won't want to hear it."

Theodore leaned closer, looking Lynnie in the eyes, trying his best not to let his true desires be detected. The faint smell of her natural scent drifted over him. Her eyes were dark, full of expression. Curiosity, confusion, anxiety, and something else he couldn't quite read…

"He wants to keep you a baby, even though you're more than old enough to choose how you want to dress…or who you want to be with."

The expression in Lynnie's eyes flashed to fear for a second, then to incredibly discerning and coy. Slowly, she leaned in, nearly closed the distance between them. Her lips hovered inches from his own, her soft breath falling gently upon his mouth.

"And who do you suppose I want to be with?"

No one had ever reacted like that before, and Theodore was shocked. All thoughts of clever manipulation flew out of his head as he gaped at her. His arm was still hovering behind her, frozen in its journey to trap her. If anything, now, she was trapping him. Her left hand pushed his arm away, while her right hand reached up to his face. Instinctively, he flinched. She looked as though she was going to say something.

"Lynnniiieeee." An unfamiliar voice called from the gate.

Lynnie and 'Clyde' immediately pulled away from one another. A spark of hope lit up Lynnie's face as she turned to look at their visitor. Theodore looked up at him as well. Another young man, perhaps around the same age as Adam, was grinning at them. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses, and his hair was brown, face a bit scruffy with a lack of shave.

"Didn't you ever learn not to talk to strangers?" he called towards them.

Lynnie squealed with excitement, "Mason!", before leaping up and running over to him.

They met with a hug. Theodore stood, grabbing Lynnie's notebook and pencil as he went, and strode over to them.

"Oh my god, is this why we stopped?" Lynnie asked cheerfully. "Adam wouldn't tell me. This was why, huh? Oh my GOD!"

Mason laughed as their hug broke, and he looked at Theodore.

"Who's this?" he wondered, gesturing to him.

Theodore glanced at him, handing the notebook and pencil to Lynnie. She took it quickly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, this is…Clyde. May," she said, smiling awkwardly. "Adam picked him up a ways from the gas station, 'cause he was trying to go all the way to Utah on foot."

The two exchanged a look, at which point Theodore felt it would be best to step in with something.

"Well, I suppose I might've caught a bus 'er two," he admitted, smiling as best he could.

"Oh, right, well, in that case—"

Mason's hand snapped out, lightning fast. The syringe in his hand shot into Theodore's neck, piercing his vein. Even before he had a chance to shout, the drug was forced into his system, exploding into his blood stream. Mason removed the needle just as quickly, pocketed it.

Theodore's head began to swim as dizziness washed over him. His eyes had trouble focusing as he stumbled slightly. Lynnie and Mason were eerily still, despite the spinning of the area around them. Theodore swayed slightly.

"Wh…wha…" he stuttered groggily, trying to keep his balance.

"Naptime," Lynnie said, before poking him in the shoulder and causing him to lose his balance. He fell back clumsily. Lynnie and Mason stepped around him. Their faces hovered over him as he sank into unconsciousness. "Sweet dreams."