Anomaly

By Michael S. Booker

It has been five years since Nathan Grayson has last encountered his very powerful, sociopathic, older brother, Caleb. Nathan has constantly feared the day when he and his brother would meet again, knowing that their reunion would result in violent chaos. His boyfriend, Blake, and good friend Justin, are aware of Caleb’s existence, but they are clueless to the sinister madness within Caleb that has driven Nathan to a state of constant paranoia from a very young age.

One night, Nathan receives a frightening premonition that Caleb has come to town, in pursuit of him. In an effort to protect himself and his friends, Nathan is forced to devise a plan that will stop his brother for good, but his efforts triggers suspicions within Blake and Justin, as to why Nathan is so terrified of his older brother. Furthermore, Blake and Justin discover that when it comes to his psychic abilities, Nathan is much more powerful than he has originally led them to believe, causing his friends to doubt if Nathan can fully be trusted, and if Nathan himself is the one they should fear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael S. Booker
• Release date: Jun 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476139630

Michael S. Booker

Fiction writer, photographer, blogger, living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Check out "Shadow", "Not Safe for Work" and "Freshman". Michael S. Booker can be contacted at [e-mail]

Book preview

A N O M A L Y

BOOK

2

OF THE

SHADOW SERIES

M I C H A E L

S.

B O O K E R

Copyright © 2011 by Michael S. Booker

1984 Press

E-Book Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, in any form or by any other means, without the written permission of the author.

Cover image by Michael S. Booker

O T H E R T I T L E S

B Y M I C H A E L S. B O O K E R

The Shadow Series

Shadow

Anomaly

Echo

Whisper

Lullaby

1

The Arrival

The primary purpose of the trip was to kill his brother. His second goal was to take back what had been taken from him.

Caleb Grayson opened his eyes, as the airplane touched down onto the runway. The aircraft bounced a little, as the wheels connected with the ground; the plane raced down the runway, at a startling speed, before slowing down. He glanced over at a middle-aged Asian woman sitting in the far seat next to the aisle. Throughout the entire five-hour flight, from New York City to Oakland, she had been curling and uncurling her hands, nervously, and holding her breath, every time turbulence hit the aircraft.

I’m so glad we made it here safely, Caleb heard the woman think. I hate flying.

Caleb smiled to himself. Truthfully, he did not like flying either, not because the thought of being in the air terrified him, but because it was one of the few times, where he could not completely be in control of his environment. If there were anything he loathed more, it was not being in control. Caleb waited, until every other passenger un-boarded the plane, before grabbing his luggage from the overheard compartment, and headed down the very narrow aisle, toward the front of the aircraft.

Thank you for flying with us today, Gabriella, the stewardess, said to Caleb. During the length of the flight, she had given Caleb special attention, always seeing if there was anything ‘extra’ that he needed. Caleb scanned her over. She was a few years younger than him, twenty-eight years old. Her black hair was cut short into a 1920s bob, her skin had the smooth texture and color of cream, and her firm, round breasts and ass fit perfectly in her navy blue-colored uniform.

Caleb could not remember the last time he had sex. It had to have been more than three years ago. Sex was such an irrelevant activity for him. Other than producing an heir, he did not see the value of it, and this woman, as cute as she was, was not powerful enough—important enough, to have his child, so there was no point in entertaining her flimsy infatuation.

"No, thank-you," Caleb said and smiled. Women loved it when he smiled. He could already feel her heart rate accelerate.

It was not unusual, for women to be drawn to Caleb. His physical presence, alone, was enough, to ensnare most people’s interest. But it was also the power that exuded from him that kept them captivated.

How long will you be staying in the Bay Area? Gabriella asked.

A few days.

For business? Family?

The girl was too curious, for her own good. Somehow it did not irritate Caleb as much as it should have…not yet anyhow. It was almost amusing to see this frivolous girl fall all over herself for him, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend named Eddie, back in her native home of Queens, New York. The more Caleb looked at her, the more her mind opened to him. Her thoughts were very easy to penetrate.

I’m sure that’s the not the only thing about her that’s easy to penetrate, Caleb thought.

You can say both, actually, Caleb answered. Family business. It was nice to meet you, Gabriella.

As straightforward as she was, Gabriella did not have the courage to give Caleb her phone number. Caleb felt glad about that. She had been hoping that he would ask her for her number, but that would not happen. Caleb smiled at her again and began to proceed down the brightly lit corridor to the airport. He felt her eyes watching him, as he walked away.

Many years had transpired, since Caleb had last seen the San Francisco Bay Area, in person. He had spent the last five years traveling the world: from London, Hong Kong, Montreal, and the last year and a half spent in New York City. When he had left Oakland, nearly five years to the date, in a state of despair and weakness, Caleb had not planned to return, until he had regained his physical and psychic strength, and until he had concocted a perfect plan to execute his revenge.

Caleb carried his luggage with him, walking in quick strides toward the ground transportation area. He had not been inside of the Oakland International Airport in years, but he remembered the layout as if he had just been there the day before. In fact, as he briskly headed toward the exit, a flurry of memories intruded Caleb’s mind, a majority of them which he successfully managed to suppress for a long time, until now.

Stepping out of the airport’s sliding doors, into a balmy Saturday evening, Caleb gripped the handle of his luggage tightly, exhaled deeply, and made sure, to keep his nerves intact. It was highly unusual for him to feel any form of anxiety. He was the one used to making others frightened. The only person in the world that Caleb genuinely feared and revered—his father, William Grayson—was dead and had been, for close to five years. Now, Caleb had journeyed from coast to coast, in an attempt to find and annihilate one of the last remaining, but most powerful members of his family: his younger brother, Nathan Grayson.

As he waited for a cab, Caleb contemplated on how he would find Nathan. It would not be easy. Nathan had strong psychic defenses that would make it highly difficult, for Caleb to uncover him and his whereabouts. Still, as capable and resourceful as Nathan was, Caleb considered himself to be even more resourceful and stronger. Caleb caught the attention of a taxi and entered the back of the vehicle. The driver, a Pakistani man in his late thirties, got out of the cab, took Caleb’s luggage, and put it into the trunk.

Where are you going, Sir? the man asked, in heavily accented English.

Good question, Caleb thought. He had traveled across the country, knowing that Nathan was somewhere in the vicinity, but not sure exactly where; he thought about the old house, he, Nathan, and their parents used to live in years ago, and wondered if Nathan still lived there. Probably not, Caleb thought. But he figured it would not hurt to still go by there and check for himself, but not tonight.

Caleb entered the cab through the back. Take me downtown, to the Marriott, Caleb instructed the driver.

Yes, sir.

Instead of starting the search for his brother immediately, Caleb concluded that it would be best if he checked into a hotel, and got a full night of nice, restful sleep. It would be the first time that he really would have the opportunity to sleep in nearly a week. Tomorrow morning, Caleb intended to wake up early, shortly after dawn, fully rejuvenated and ready to put his plan into action.

There would be no way that Caleb would fail.

2

The Mirror

You scared? Blake Coleman whispered.

Nathan Grayson shook his head, even though that response had been a partial lie. He gripped the armrest on his seat, silently anticipating the moment, when the killer would materialize out of nowhere and slash his victim across the throat. Blake put his hand on Nathan’s knee caressing it gingerly, as Nathan’s breathing shortened, waiting for the inevitable.

The audience shrieked loudly. Nathan nearly popped out of his chair, as a masked murderer emerged from a closet door and ensued to mercilessly stab a teenage girl with a long hunting knife, over and over. After a while, Nathan had to turn his head away from the massive movie screen, almost sick of the explicit violence being portrayed. Nathan looked over at Blake, whose big smile on his handsome face, specified to Nathan that he was thoroughly enjoying this film. From what he could detect from the crowd’s mental energy, everybody else also seemed completely engaged with the movie.

I really don’t see how anyone could like this shit, Nathan thought.

Nathan wondered if Blake had heard that thought. If so, he did not have a reaction to it. Yet, Blake already knew about Nathan’s aversion to horror films, and Slash 2 was no exception. He had reluctantly agreed to see the film, only because Blake insisted that they watch it. Furthermore, since Blake had gone through so much trouble to switch his usual Saturday bartending shift to Sunday evening, so that he and Nathan could have a Saturday night to themselves. Nathan figured the most he could do was sit through a stupid, two-hour, blood and guts movie, if he could spend time with Blake.

Blake let go of Nathan’s knee and took hold of his hand. The security of Blake’s hand made Nathan feel warm and comfortable. He did not want Blake to let go of him.

It’s already been three months to the date, that we’ve been together, Nathan thought.

This time, Blake must have heard Nathan’s thoughts. He glanced over at Nathan and smiled. Even in the darkness of the theater, Nathan could see the brightness of Blake’s smile.

I love you, Blake projected with his thoughts.

I love you, too, Nathan said.

Nathan looked at the movie screen, just as the masked killer rammed his knife through a man’s eyeball. Nathan grimaced while members of the audience screamed and went Ooooh!

Next time, I’m picking the movie, Nathan thought to Blake.

Blake just chuckled and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bucket next to him.

Nathan observed Blake, and briefly questioned why Blake would love him. Tall, with the hard, muscular body of a professional athlete, and the heart of a romantic hero, Blake could attract anyone he wanted. Nathan sometimes pondered why he had been so fortunate, to be the object of Blake’s affection. Not that Nathan exactly considered himself inferior to Blake, but where Blake was tall, at six feet, Nathan considered himself short, at five foot-eight; where Blake had the body of a football player, Nathan had a leaner, runner’s physique. Still, Blake was genuinely attracted to Nathan, and not only just physically. They shared an unbreakable mental connection. They finished each other’s sentences and read each other’s minds—literally. The last three months with