The One You Shouldn't Let In [8/9]
Jay has a #1 suspect for hypnotising the children, and formulates a plan to stop them
Continues from here. Series list here.
Being a gamer, Alex was familiar with Perseus’ quest and immediately followed Jay’s line of thinking. He agreed a reflective object to look into could provide an excellent defence if Danny used his eyes, or a swinging/ spinning object, to induce a hypnotic state in his victims.
“We should carry a hand mirror at all times, then we’re ready to duel with Danny.”
J’s suggestion of using the ‘camera’ function on their phones seemed more practical. Its electronic ‘eye’ would be in no danger from hypnosis and they had them to hand — although the use of phones was banned during the school day.
“Danny might be using auto-suggestion.” J frowned. “It’ll be much harder to prevent ourselves from hearing his words — using the phone wouldn’t help there.”
Alex had a suggestion. “We could wear our earbuds, and block him out with music.” He bit his lip thoughtfully, then added. “Harder to do in a hurry — wait a sec with your hypnotic trance, dude, I’ve gotta get my playlist up.”
They agreed to wear their Airpods around school, making it easier to quickly start playing music. But they’d have to keep under the radar of the teachers, or risk getting them confiscated.
”My mum would not be amused.” Alex shook his head, and pulled a face.
With those practicalities sorted, their next step was planning where, when and, of course, how to tackle Danny. Alex had team practice after school the next day.
“Do not confront Danny alone, that is a code red. I should be there to provide back-up.”
J resisted. “That’s not a code red. I don’t want to waste any more time!” He was heart-sick about his Lulu, who remained unresponsive —pale and frail.
“My sister hasn’t woken properly since she was zombie-fied, and she’s not eating. My parents are taking her to a specialist.” They were waiting on a letter of referral from the doctor.
J was eager to confront Danny with their suspicions, maybe threaten him with exposure. He hoped they could appeal to the older boy’s better nature.
“You think words alone will persuade Danny to cease his serial-hypnotism of kids, and release his current victims from their zombie-like state?” Alex looked sceptical.
“I’ve gotta try.” J shrugged.
Deep down, he worried that Danny might become enraged, and when cornered might use hypnotism on Alex, or him, in retaliation. Was it naive to trust their phone cameras to act as a filter, and offer them protection?
“How’s this for an idea—?” Alex almost bounced with excitement. “If he tries his mind control stuff on us, we’ll play the footage back— hypnotise Danny with his own technique !”
“That would be a neat way to put an end to his wicked behaviour.” J laughed, without any conviction. “Look, every option is risky, and my preference is having you there as wingman.”
With their plans set, but deferred for one more day, and having consumed a tube of sour cream potato chips washed down with a large bottle of Pepsi, J set off home, with his heart racing. He was keyed up about everything he needed to do. He would charge his phone overnight; best to have a full battery to use the camera or play music to drown out Danny’s hypnotic words.
Letting himself in, J found his parents huddled together, talking softly. His mother’s eyes were red rimmed from crying, but she tried to act normally, and Dad wished him goodnight. This made him more determined to tackle Danny.
J jolted awake at 2:58 am, swamped by the familiar feeling of dread, and a chill so intense that he might have been surrounded by blocks of ice.
He trod silently, but with purpose, down the staircase, letting himself out of the front door. This time he wouldn’t be too late— he was determined to get there before any hypnotism could occur. He hustled along as fast as his bare feet could withstand, over loose gravel and tarmac.
Bushes scraped at him as he passed, but he didn’t slow. He trusted his instincts were leading him to the right location, as they had done previously. Ahead was a house with green up-lighters that created a feature of the spiky plants in its garden. Near the corner of the house he saw a tall, dark form hunching against the wall.
The cold, clammy sensation ramped-up several notches. J experienced an underlying buzz, the closer he drew to the threat.
Despite having no plan of what he might do, J darted forward, reaching the side door ahead of the broad-shouldered figure in black. Too late he realised he hadn’t brought his phone, or his earbuds with him. This was a dream for goodness sake! But how was he supposed to protect himself from being compelled by Danny?
J held his ground, spreading his arms to block the looming figure’s progress.
“What d’you think you’re doing?” J asked in a low, but aggressive, voice.
The person halted abruptly. For a moment the porch light illuminated his face. The hood of a black sweatshirt was pulled over his head, still —J recognised Danny.
“Who the hell are you?” Danny’s expression was both shocked and angry. He seemed puzzled, and J pressed his advantage.
“This ends now.” J didn’t budge: His heart was beating fast.
Adrenaline was pumping, making his legs feel as if they were primed to leap the hedge — gazelle-like. He was hyper-aware of everything; and a plan began forming in his mind.
“Not one more kid will fall under your influence, Danny!”
Danny’s face, half in shadow, looked briefly startled, before twisting in a sneer. “How exactly do you intend to stop me?”
“I think the headmaster would be interested to hear how you’ve been abusing rehearsal time and school resources. I’m surprised you can keep up with your studies, the number of kids' parties you’ve performed at recently.”
Even as he was speaking, J realised this was nothing like the threatening talk used in the action movies. He was winging it — badly.
Danny’s laugh was dismissive, and disgust squeezed J’s heart. How could that monster treat what he did so lightly? Children were fading away for his personal gain? Another puzzle piece fell into place, that Danny was draining power and strength from his young victims. J would bet his grades had improved; his victims’ losses were Danny’s gain.
White hot fury ran through J’s veins. The thought that Lulu -- his beloved sister— might waste away simply for Danny to improve his grades, maybe earn a place at a decent university.
“You don’t know what you're talking about!” Danny blustered. “Plus you’ve got no proof. You’ll sound like a nut job if you blab to the Head.”
As he protested, Danny’s face became harder, his expression ugly, projecting a menacing sensation. J swallowed— it’s unwise to pull a tiger by the tail.
He took a step back, putting some space between them in case Danny used his mind manipulation. His proximity made J’s skin crawl; he wanted lots of distance between their bodies. He considered drawing Danny away from this house and his next victim, taking their argument somewhere more private. Suddenly J was struck with an idea, he thought of a place that would give him an advantage.
“I’ve got proof alright!” He blurted. “You were caught on camera. A little girl called Lulu snapped out of her trance today, and she’s singing like a canary. She’s told her parents some disturbing facts about the clown at her party. ” J improvised wildly. ” I expect the police will be calling at your house any minute.”
He began to back up as he spoke. Impulsively, he turned and broke into a run, fervently hoping that his ‘baiting’ plan worked, and that Danny would follow him.
[To be continued — the finale]