WARNING. This is a sequel to a story I wrote, but the first part is only on Instagram. If you follow spobystories on Instagram, you can read the first part called Heart Catcher. If you're not on Instagram, but still would like to read the story, you are welcome to. I will give a summary at the beginning.
Let's see. Where did we leave off?...
Two years ago, Toby Cavanaugh got recruited to a top-secret academy that would train Officers to be Witch Hunters. Toby knew it was a mistake from the start as he comes from a long line of double agents who help innocent witches from being captured and killed. The truth is witches are nothing more than a bad cancer trial drug gone wrong. They are people. Innocent. Spencer Hastings was his assigned target, but you know the story. The story ends with her dying leaving Toby with a bitter taste for revenge. He vows to get back at everyone that played a hand in her death. Toby's friends try to reason with him, but he's out for blood. Only one person can bring Toby back to his senses, but she's gone, or is she? What if I told you there's more to the story?
Chapter 1: Let's Jump to a Year Later
A gangly young man dressed in a loose t-shirt and dark jeans sat in an uncomfortable chair with his hands bound behind his back. His head pounded with a sharp shouting pain. He tried to think hard about what happened and how he ended up tied to this chair. His hair was a mess of black curls and dried blood. He ran his tongue across his cracked lips and tasted metal. That's when his memory came back. He was walking out of a fast-food restaurant with his brown bagged dinner ready to get in his car when he was struck by something hard against his temple. He looked around a dark dusty room with no windows. The only source of light was coming from a sliver from a locked door. The man twisted his arms trying to free his hands. No use. The rope was bound tight around his wrists. Tight! Cutting off circulation.
"Ugh!" The Man grunted. The chair squeaked against the hard floor as he wiggled around attempting to free himself.
"What the hell!" He shouted. "What is going on?"
"Shut up," a voice from the shadows answered.
He looked towards the corner of the room where he had heard the voice come from. He strained his eyes to see, but all he could make out was an outline of a man.
"Who are you?" His voice trembled as he spoke and failed at trying to act tough.
"Doesn't matter who I am," the voice answered. The voice belonged to a man. An insane man who must've completely lost their mind. "What matters is that I know who you are and what you do."
The man took a beat to check his surroundings again. There was no escape. He's sure his capture has a weapon. He probably used a gun to knock him out. He turned his attention back to the shadowed figure.
"What are you talking about? I'm a telephone operator."
"Oh, no," the man chuckled followed by the click of a gun's safety. "You're way more valuable than that. The problem is, I don't think your company even realizes how valuable you truly are, Lucas."
His eyes spread wide with shock, "How do you know my name?"
"I told you." Lucas heard a chair slide against the floor as the figure rose to their feet. "I know who you are. You keep records of all the hunters and all the witches that ever lived."
Lucas began to panic, "so what do you want? You want the name of a witch? You can have it. I'll tell you anything you want to know about them."
"I don't want the name of a witch." The man stated.
Lucas squinted, hoping to get a glimpse of the shadow man's face.
"Then what do you want?"
Lucas flinched at the sound of a click thinking this guy was getting ready to pull the trigger. Instead, the man lit up a lighter. Its small flame illuminated the dusty room. At last, the shadow man's face was revealed. It was a man about the same age as Lucas, but he's tall, strong built, and his icy blue eyes matched the stone-cold look on his face. Lucas does know this man.
"What do you want!" Lucas shouted it this time.
"Revenge," said Toby Cavanaugh.
Lucas sat back feeling confused and helpless. Toby stepped closer with the lighter still lit in his hand. Was he going to torture the man?
"Revenge for what?" Lucas asked. "I didn't do anything."
"You're part of that stupid hunting program. You may not be a hunter yourself, but you work for them collecting data on those suspected witches and tracking them down so the hunters can find them. Even if the witch is innocent."
"None of those witches are innocent!" Lucas sneered. "They're sick! They carry a disease! If we don't take them out, they'll spread it to everyone!"
Toby got right up in his face and practically growled the words, "she was innocent."
A hollow core in Toby's chest filled with bitterness, loneliness, and sadness. The man could see pain in Toby's eyes. Even behind all his layers of furry and vengeance. This man was hurting. Lucas was a smart guy. He knew what this was about without having any other information given to him. Lucas softened. His body sunk down into his chair, but he tried to look Toby in the eye.
"You fell in love with one." Toby's silence gave him confirmation. "Did she die?" Lucas asked softly.
Toby felt a surge of sadness ready to emerge. He choked it down and quickly replaced that feeling with more anger. Toby stood up right and folded his arms across his chest.
"She didn't just die, they killed her."
Referring to the academy that was responsible for this witch hunt program. Tanner and several of her colleagues worked overtime on their sick quest to kill innocent witches. All because of some false information spread that these "people" who they tried to call "witches" were somehow evil. There was never any factual information to suggest that a failed cancer treatment drug somehow led those people to be contaminated. However, this is what happens when a group of people fail to listen to science and come up with their own wild conclusion. Their conclusion has led to the murders of several innocent people. No one has been able to stop them. But Toby plans to. He plans to put an end to these hunts and murders once and for all.
"It's probably best she's dead," Lucas said. "Think of it this way, they can't hurt her anymore. She's free. No longer having to hide. No more feeling like an outcast."
"Is that what you want to call it?" Toby stared down the man. "A blessing? You think it's a blessing that someone innocent is dead while the real criminals are alive breathing and roaming the streets? You think that is far!" Toby was shouting now.
Toby bawled up his fist and struck Lucas on the side of his head. Not hard enough to knock him unconscious, but enough to make his whole head pound with pain. Toby flew another punch that connected with his jaw.
Lucas spat fresh blood from his mouth and said, "okay, what do you want me to do about it? I can't bring her back. I'm just the guy who keeps the records!"
"I want you to stop!" Toby hissed. "Stop feeding them information! Stop leading them to innocent people! Stop helping them."
"And let me guess?" Lucas spat. "Help you instead?"
"Well," Toby tilted his head, almost chuckling as he said, "it beats the alternative, doesn't it?"
Lucas sat up straight, "how do you expect me to help you?"
"I want you to start tracking hunters. You have the ability to stay one step ahead of them. I want you to keep me informed. Let me know where they're staying, where they're heading, and who their targets are."
"You're going to hunt them down the way they hunt witches."
"Well, like I said," Toby leaned down to meet Lucas's eye. "They're the criminals. My job is to get rid of the bad guys."
"Okay," Lucas nodded. "Okay, but there's something you should know about me before we work together."
"What's that?"
Lucas looked him in the eye and said, "I was a nerd in high school. I spent three years at magic camp."
Just then, Lucas pulled his hands free from the rope. Toby stood back stunned, ready to react quickly. He tried, but Lucas swept his feet out kicking Toby's ankles causing him to fall over. Toby wished he hadn't drunk those beers earlier, because he would've reacted quicker to this little man's attack. He had underestimated Lucas. Toby, still lying on the floor trying to get up, watched Lucas spring from his chair, and shove Toby down to the floor. The lighter that was in Toby's hand slid out of his grasps causing the rug on the floor to go up in flames. Lucas scrambled towards the stars to the door. As expected, the door was locked, but it was a cheap lock. Easy to pick. Toby finally stood up ready to tackle Lucas, but Lucas butted Toby in the head with his shoe, causing him to tumble down the stairs, laying him out cold. This was not a good moment for Toby, and if he were awake and sober, he'd be embarrassed that he got knocked out by a scrawny boy half his size. Lucas finally picked the lock, flung the door open, and ran out of the room just before the flames from the rug spread to other parts of the basement. Lucas looked back down towards the basement almost feeling guilty for leaving the man behind, but he did kidnap him. Plus, there was no way he could drag Toby out of the house without killing them both. So, Lucas made the decision to flee without saving him.
End of chapter one. Chapter two will be up shortly. Let me know if you like where the story is going so far and want to read more.