The Hunter Games
Part 5
Xxx
A column of orbs appeared in the street and formed into Billie, Anne Maria and Kyle. After not being able to reach her kids on the phone, Billie had grown worried and had used an item of theirs to scry for their location. She had managed to track them here, a movie theatre in San Francisco. She wondered why they were here, but her question was soon answered when a black SUV raced through the street and hit the brakes. Several armed and armored hunters left the SUV and entered the theater. The fact that hunters were after her children seemed to conform her worst fear, that Makayla was after her family once again. She could not let it happen again, she had already lost enough to the hunters. She attempted to rush forward, but Kyle grabbed her arm to stop her.
"What are you doing?!" Billie snapped at him. "My kids are in there."
"I know." Kyle replied. "That's why you need to think like an agent and not a mother right now. If we rush in now, we lose our tactical advantage."
"Right." Billie said as she calmed down. "You're right, we need to be smart. The hunters would not let them escape, meaning that they must be covering every exit."
"What should we do?" Anne Maria asked.
"You and Kyle circle around the theater and take out any hunters there." Billie replied. "Being outside should give you the advantage power wise."
"I'll get them in my vines before they even know what hit them." Anne Maria said.
"What will you do?" Kyle asked.
"I'll go in through the front." Billie said determined. "I need to draw attention away from the kids. Once the hunters are attacking me, you guide the kids out through the backdoor."
"Understood." Kyle replied. "Be careful."
Billie nodded and walked toward the theater while Kyle orbed away with Anne Maria. Makayla was behind this, she was sure of it, this was personal to her. However, it didn't explain why she had gone after the other witch families first or how she was even able to find them. There was still a piece of the puzzle missing. Could she be working with someone else? As Billie entered the theater, she saw a hunter leaving the security office. She held out her hands and formed different patterns with each hand, disarming the hunter and slamming him into the wall at the same time.
As she went to check if he was unconscious, she heard a fight erupt and screaming from upstairs. She slammed the hunter against the wall a second time to make sure he was out cold and ran up the stairs. She entered the movie hall and saw the hunters were surrounding Lexie and a few other kids. Without hesitation, Billie unleashed a powerful wave of telekinetic energy that coursed through the theater, knocking back the hunters.
"Mom!" Lexie called out.
"Fight first, talk later." Billie replied.
Billie ran toward the first hunter and levitated up to kick him across the face. As she landed, she held out her hands and telekinetically pushed a second hunter against the wall. Several hunters fired tranquilizer darts at her, though she managed to deflect them by unleashing her telekinetic power in all directions at once. Meanwhile, Lexie threw another hunter across the theater, where he was pinned to the wall with darts of light. Other hunters were driven back by colorful sparks of energy. Surprised at this, Billie looked over her shoulder and only now realized that two of the other kids were Izzy and Liam. She hardly recognized them after all these years and wondered if her friends knew they were even there.
The emergency exit door swung open as large, green vines entered the theater, wrapping themselves around one of the hunters. Kyle and Anne Maria followed soon after and began helping the kids out the door. Billie sent two more hunters flying and slammed the remaining one against the wall. As she approached him, she saw he was wearing a body camera.
"I know it's you." Billie said into the camera. "You're not getting them. I will stop you."
Billie crushed the camera and knocked out the hunter, after which she followed the kids outside. Kyle was checking on the two unconscious kids, while Anne Maria was guarding several hunters that had been wrapped up in her vines. Lexie and her friends were standing a few feet away. As Billie walked over to her daughter, she saw the anger in her eyes. Somehow, she knew the truth.
"Lexie." Billie said. "Are you and the others hurt?"
"Maddison and Zev were shot with those darts." Lexie replied. "The rest of us are fine."
"That's a relief." Billie said. "Where is your brother?"
"Magic School." Lexie replied. "Something happened."
"Is he alright?" Billie asked concerned.
"No! He's not alright." Lexie snapped at her. "Neither of us are. You lied to us. You've been lying to us our entire lives!"
Billie was shocked. Lexie had never spoken to her like this. They had argued before, like any mother and daughter did, but this was different. It completely broke her heart to see the look of pain and disappointment in Lexie's eyes.
"We will talk about this." Billie said. "I owe you and your brother the truth, but not here and now. We need to get all of you to safety."
"Magic School." Liam said. "It's the safest place, plus Charlie and Margot are there."
"Kyle, can you take us there?" Billie asked.
"I'll have to do it in two turns." Kyle replied. "There are too many people to orb at once."
"Actually, we're good, we'll meet you there." Lexie said coldly. "Izzy?"
"Got it." Izzy replied. "Nice to see you again, though."
The brunette reached into her pocket and tossed a potion on the ground, engulfing herself, Liam and Lexie in a cloud of smoke that teleported them to the school. Billie wiped away a tear. She had always known that she had to tell her children the truth about their father someday, though she had hoped the circumstances would be better. She had no choice now, she had to tell her children everything about their family history and how their father had really died. She just hoped that they would eventually be able to forgive her.
Xxx
"I know it's you. You're not getting them. I will stop you."
Makayla angrily slammed her fist on the desk as the footage was cut. It had been years since she had seen and heard the woman responsible for everything that had gone wrong in her family. Billie Jenkins was the reason her brother was gone and why their bloodline had been tainted.
"We can't reach the team." Garrett said. "None of them are responding. They failed."
"It doesn't matter." Makayla replied.
"What do you mean, ma'am?" Garrett asked. "The targets got away."
"No, they didn't." Makayla noted with a smirk. "Things went exactly as planned. Did you honestly think we could attack this many witches without them raising the alarm? It was only a matter of time before other witches got involved."
"Well, I guess you're right." Garret said hesitantly. "But now they've probably gone into hiding, which means we won't be able to find them."
"Actually, I know exactly where they went." Makayla said. "Bring the red witch here. It's time for phase two of the plan, meaning she has to do her part."
"I don't like this." Garrett replied. "I know the witch provided some valuable information, but I don't trust her."
"I don't care if you like it, Garrett." Makayla snapped at him. "I'm the one in charge here. When I give an order, you obey that order, remember?"
"Yes, ma'am." Garret said with a salute.
Garrett left the office and closed the door. Makayla knew he was loyal to the cause, but he would have never questioned an order given by her father. She needed this plan to work to prove herself. If she failed, her family reputation would be ruined and the hunters would never put her or any other woman in charge ever again. She composed herself and left the office, joining her men in the entrance hall. She ordered all of them to get ready for combat. As her men got to work, Garrett returned with the red witch in cuffs.
"I'll need my hands." Sonya said.
"Get the cuffs off." Makayla ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." Garrett replied.
"Ah, much better." Sonya noted after being released and rubbing her wrists. "Thank you, Garrett, you are a dear."
"Enough playing around." Makayla said. "The plan worked, we're ready for phase two."
"Of course, I knew this moment was coming." Sonya replied with a smile. "All the pieces have fallen into place. I told you a family reunion was imminent."
"Not in front of my men!" Makayla snapped at her. "We've come this far. We're ready, so do what I've brought you here for."
"Of course." Sonya said. "I'll need a knife."
"Garrett, give her your knife." Makayla ordered.
Her second-in-command hesitated, but then handed the knife from his belt to Sonya. The red witch accepted it and blew him a kiss. She walked down the stairs and headed to the far wall, passing rows of hunters that looked uneasy with her presence. Makayla followed her with her hand resting on her gun holster. She was confident that Sonya would play along for now, but you could never be too careful with a witch. As she got into position, Makayla turned to face her army of hunters.
"Alright men, the prisoner is going to open a gateway." Makayla said loudly. "You're about to enter a place of magic, so be careful. You all have your targets. We need them unharmed, but I don't care about collateral damage. We're dealing with witches, so in the end, they will all burn."
Her hunters cheered and raised their weapons. Makayla nodded proudly before turning her attention back to Sonya. The witch cut open her own hand and used her blood to paint a symbol on the wall. She took a step back and began chanting a spell.
"Through wiccan blood, I open the gate to the uninvited,
Break through the barrier, let them cross unsighted."
As the red witch finished the spell, the symbol of blood on the wall caught fire and turned into a swirling vortex of flames. A few of her men seemed nervous, but Makayla remained confident and walked closer as the flames expanded into a portal the size of a garage door. On the other side of the portal was an empty classroom. Makayla smiled, as Magic School was in session.
Xxx
After getting back to Magic School from the theater, Lexie quickly excused herself from the group and retreated to her dorm room. She needed a moment to herself before she could talk to her mom. She wanted to believe that there was a good reason that she had kept this secret, but it was hard getting past her anger at this point. There was a knock on the door and Lexie took a deep breath before opening it. Her mother was standing in front of her.
"Can I come in?" Billie asked.
"I guess." Lexie replied as she walked over to her bed and sat down.
"I know you're angry with me." Billie said as she closed the door. "You have every reason to, but you have to believe I was only trying to protect you and Charlie."
"By lying to us?" Lexie asked.
"Not everything I told you was a lie." Billie said. "What's most important is that your dad truly loved you."
"But he was a witch hunter." Lexie noted. "So did dad hate witches?"
"No, sweetie, he didn't." Billie replied. "Although your dad was raised from an early age to hate witches, he quickly realized that we were not the enemy. So he decided to dedicate himself to hunting evil, which is how we met in the first place."
"Why did you lie about it?" Lexie asked. "We could have handled that."
"There is more to the story." Billie said. "You see, your dad comes from a long line of hunters and they were not happy when he abandoned their code. They became even more angry when they discovered that you had Charlie had been born, as they would not tolerate witches in their family lineage."
"So how did he die?" Lexie asked.
"Your father has a sister, her name is Makayla." Billie explained. "We ran into her years before you were born and we erased her memories to keep her from causing more harm. However, at some point, she regained her memories and learned that you two had been born."
"What happened?" Lexie asked.
"She… she broke into our home." Billie continued as tears formed in her eyes. "She tried to take you away, but your dad woke up and a fight broke out."
"She killed him." Lexie said angrily. "She killed her own brother just because he had us?"
"She… I'm sorry." Billie replied as she sat down next to her. "It's difficult to think about it and too painful to remember. I just wanted to shield you and myself from that pain."
As her mom buried her face in her hands to cry, Lexie felt tears welling up as well. She wanted to stay angry, as she deserved to know the truth about her dad, but she understood how painful those memories were.
"Why do they hate us so much?" Lexie asked. "Makayla and the other hunters?"
"I wish I knew." Billie replied. "Maybe they just fear what they cannot understand or maybe it is something deeper. However, I never wanted you and Charlie to find out about that side of your family, because it's not who your dad was, and it's not who you are."
"Dad is not his family." Lexie said determined. "I wish I had more memories of him, but I know that he loved us. Knowing the truth wouldn't have changed that."
"You're right." Billie admitted. "I convinced myself that you were too young to understand, but that excuse lost all credibility years ago. I should have known you would be able to handle it."
"I know you were just trying to protect us." Lexie replied. "I'm still angry about the lies, but I understand why you did it."
"Thank you, sweetie." Billie said. "I promise, no more lies from now on. Let's go find your brother and talk to him together. We both know he can be a little hotheaded."
"Well…" Lexie started awkwardly. "About that…"
A sudden explosion caused the school to tremble. Lexie and Billie jumped up and ran out into the hallway. They came face-to-face with two hunters. However, before the hunters could aim their weapons, Billie flung her arm upwards and sent them crashing into the ceiling. Lexie was shocked to see that hunters had managed to infiltrate the school, which meant that that everyone she cared about, including Charlie, was in grave danger.
Xxx
On the other side of the school, Charlie was sitting on one of the desks in the potions classroom, trying to remain calm and not start another fire. Professor Forbes was brewing a binding potion for him, which would hopefully end this nightmare. Charlie hated how his powers made him feel, as whenever he got angry or upset, something would combust. It was embarrassing, especially in front of someone like Margot. Seeing her again had reignited his crush on her, almost literally. He loved her fiery red hair and her sassy attitude, not to mention how she had matured.
"I'm just going to get the final ingredient from my private stash." Professor Forbes said. "Margot, keep stirring the potion, okay?"
"Sure thing." Margot replied.
As Professor Forbes left the classroom, Charlie got up and walked over to Margot. He wanted to ask her out on a date once all of this was over. He had grown up as well, so he wasn't the same shy kid as he used to be. Surely she would see that, right?
"Careful, hot stuff." Margot noted. "We don't want the potion to combust, right?"
"No, definitely not." Charlie said with a nervous chuckle.
"By the way, are you sure you want to do this?" Margot asked. "I know I was a little insensitive before, but I do think you should reconsider."
"How so?" Charlie asked.
"Well, personally I love magic." Margot said. "But I guess it's also a part of who you are. I don't think you should hide that part away."
"But it's dangerous." Charlie replied. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
"You can control it." Margot said. "You wouldn't have been given this power if you weren't meant to have it. It might take time, but in the end, it will be worth it."
"Like football practice." Charlie said with a smile. "I trained a lot for that as well and eventually, I made the team."
"Sure, I guess." Margot replied hesitantly.
Charlie realized he had just said something stupid and felt his face turn red. Margot wasn't like the girls at his school. If he wanted to have a shot with her, he needed to learn to control his powers. He needed to be a Firestarter. At that moment, the classroom door burst open and armed men entered. Charlie grabbed Margot and pulled her down behind the desk as they fired at them. Thinking fast, Charlie grabbed the cauldron and threw it at the hunters like a football, then channeled all his emotions toward it. The cauldron exploded in a giant ball of fire, causing the school to tremble. When they peeked over the desk, they saw the hunters had been taken out by the blast, along with a piece of the wall.
"That was amazing." Margot said. "I told you it would be worth it."
Xxx