Chapter 36.

Will was just as sweet and nice as he had always been, he was concerned about my well-being and made sure I got enough sleep and ate and drank enough. But he was also suddenly concerned about my training, urging me to train more and longer.
I didn't take Daniel up on his offer off going for a run immediately, but after a few days I just had to. I felt immensely alone. Will, who had promised he'd stay with me forever and would be my support, had practically left me. Physically, he was with me, but emotionally, he was no longer the Will I knew and needed.
He had been my support, the one who'd listen to me as I'd need to vent. But now I no longer had anyone to vent to. The training hours Daniel made me keep really killed me, but he did give me the morning off every three days, so I went for a much needed run.

I felt like I had seen every part of this estate already. I had taken plenty of runs with Daniel or Will and I knew how to make the longest run without repeating pathways. The longest run from gate to gate could last 45 minutes. I was excited to get to go through those gates.
The guards didn't stop me. I didn't feel a shield stop me.
I felt freedom and entrapment at the same time. Freedom over the area I could see, knowing that I could go into whatever direction I'd like to. Entrapment over the fact that this was not freedom. I had no choice but to return.
Apparently after the gates, I still hadn't left the estate itself, from the gates I couldn't see the end of the driveway. Deciding to just see where it would lead, I kept on running, pushing myself a bit harder to go a little bit faster, curious to see what would be at the end, what would be around the bend of the road.

It took me 20 minutes to get to the end of the driveway. I saw just one road and again curious about where I would end up, I decided to follow it.
It led straight into town, which would be a nice change of scenery. I mean, I loved the view the estate had, the lake on the one side, the forest on the other. But actually seeing buildings and being around other people, even if they were strangers, was exciting to me. Cars started to pass me and in the distance I could see people walking on sidewalks.
Suddenly I had to stop. I was overwhelmed. I had clearly left the protective shields that surrounded the estate. And with the way my shield had developed, even though they were still in the distance, I could feel a lot of people around me. My shield was registering everything that happened around me. I briefly wondered how far my shield would reach by now. Just this street? A few streets? Further?

Overwhelmed by the lengths my shield went, I now walked on instead of running. I had gotten so used to feeling all the same people in my shield all the time. I knew where they were all the time. And now I was feeling so many different people. People I didn't know, couldn't make out. Everyone at the estate was no longer in my shield. The protective boundary worked both ways. When I was inside the borders of the shields around the estate, I could feel everyone. But now that I was out, I couldn't feel any of them.

A weird sense of loss joined the overwhelmed part of me. I had gotten used to sensing all of those people, not feeling them now made me feel almost empty, even though I sensed more than I ever did.

I had reached the first buildings of the town. Immediately I noticed that some buildings had security cameras positioned at the top of the buildings. I had no doubt that Daniel would be able to see the footage. A little sarcastic smile formed on my lips. Daniel had given me the freedom of going into town. But he'd be able to keep track of me at all times, even without having someone following me around. I didn't even feel annoyed, I should have expected something like this.

My heart skipped a beat and I almost missed a step. I forced myself to keep on walking as I felt Victor coming closer to me. A lot of thoughts went through my head as I went on. What was he doing here? How did he find us? He was coming straight at me, how did he sense me? I knew I couldn't go and stand still and talk to him, but I also knew he wouldn't just let me go. As he kept on closing in on me I debated just turning around and heading back to the estate. But what if I had to explain that? I couldn't very well tell Daniel I turned around because of meeting Victor.
He was right behind me, I felt a nudge on my shield as he tried to communicate with me. But I was too afraid to let him talk to me that way. I was too afraid to talk to him at all, really. And I still didn't know what direction to go in.
I noticed by my shallow breathing that I had gone faster again. And then the block ended. I had walked into a dead end. And my shield warned me Victor was right behind me. I didn't want to, but I had to turn around.
"You can't be here."
Panting, I looked around, checking for camera's. Quick as he was, he assured me.
"No camera's here."
"How did you get here?"
"Don't worry about that, you should come with me, we're all here."
"Stop!" I held out my hand in a rejecting manner, wanting him to stay away. "Stop talking and don't come near me. I can't go with you, I have to go back."
"No, you don't. Really Linda, Will would want you to come with me, so that we can come up with a plan. We need your inside information."
"I can't come with you! They're holding Will hostage! Who knows what they'll do if I don't return . . . And you can't tell me anything, because Daniel can sense whenever I'm lying. He can even sense when I'm keeping parts of truths from him. Even worse, he can make you believe in your truth. And he did that to Will. Will's on their side now, Will believes Daniel's truth. And he's the leverage they got. I got to go out, because Will stays there, they made sure I'd have a reason to return. I'm sure all of this is just a test, so please, Victor, let me go."
I was catching my breath again, slowly but steady getting back to a normal rhythm. Victor looked me over.
"Go shopping."
"What?" His comment caught me by surprise.
"There's a great mall here, go shopping."
"I don't. . ."
He didn't let me finish my sentence, he went into one of the houses, not even looking at me again. Confused by this turn of events, I took a few more deep breaths and then returned back to the estate the way I came.

During practice that afternoon, Daniel didn't even mention my run, but during dinner, he did. I expected it and was ready for it, but I knew that no half-truth could possibly get past Daniel, so I was really nervous.
"So, how was your run into town? Did you like it?"
The fact alone that he knew which direction I had taken proved to me that he had seen what was recorded by the security cameras.
"I loved it, thank you."
I cut a piece of my chicken, looking around the table. I'd have to stick to the truth but keep it vague as much as possible. Without Daniel catching on to my intent of keeping it vague. I felt like I had entered a minefield.

"It was overwhelming. As soon as I left the protective shields around the estate, I could sense so many different people around me. I have no idea how far my ability to sense people runs, but it must've been far, cause it was confusing. After a bit of adjusting I started running again, but didn't even notice running right into a block of buildings – dead end. So I caught my breath and then returned." I wondered if a chuckle about the dead end would give me away. Deciding that it would, I didn't even smile. "I'd love to go again in a few days," I continued, "I'm sure I haven't even seen half of it."
"It seems you didn't even get to the city center, such a shame. There's a nice park there."
"And the mall!" Amanda piped up, getting involved into the conversation for the first time in days, "You have to check out the mall!"
I smiled at her, shaking my head.
"I like shopping as much as any girl does, but I don't enjoy just going window shopping, so I might skip that."
"Do you want to go shopping?" Will touched my hand, "We're married now, so what's mine is yours, you can go shopping."
I felt a spark of hope, but it got immediately crushed by Daniel.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't allow that. If you were to use Will's funds, the Benedict's would know where you are located right away."
"I didn't even think about that! I'm sorry Daniel." Will looked as if he wanted to crawl under the table, so eager was he to please Daniel.
"But I can give you one of my cards," as he spoke, Daniel pulled out a black card and handed it to me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Daniel, she's got everything she needs!" Christina complained. "It's just a waste of money letting her go shopping."
"Sure she does, you took good care of her, sweetheart." Daniel diffused Christina's anger immediately, "But I'm sure she would like to pick out her own wardrobe, to fit her own taste.
I'll tell you what," he turned to me again, "You can take the car, the driver will take you there on your next morning off. You can take Amanda with you for advice if you'd like."
I didn't even have to lie about why I didn't want her to come with me.
"I think Amanda and I have very different tastes in clothes, I don't think neither her or I would really enjoy ourselves if we made it a girls trip. And the car won't be needed, I prefer to make it a run, really." I smiled to no one in particular.
Christina and Amanda both seemed annoyed by my refusal to take Amanda with me, but Daniel seemed perfectly fine with it, Will seemed to be beaming with happiness for me.