Survivor Part 2 (5/8)

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***

None of us bothered to look out the window. We knew
Duncan was "dead." But we were sure he'd come back to
life and escape before anyone could get down there.

The only question was how hard Jacob would be on
Carlos for what looked like a dumb mistake.

Carlos said casually, "Guess I'm not much of a swords
guy."

In a voice that sent a chill through my veins, Jacob
said, "I...thought...I... told...you...to...*stop*."

Jin gave a slight shake of his head, as if he saw
something coming and didn't want to believe it.

Carlos dumped the spent casings out of his gun and
replied sullenly, "Yeah, well, I stopped."

Then everything went haywire.

Next thing I knew, Jacob was all over Carlos.

Carlos made the mistake of saying, "You're crazy."

And then Jacob had his sword at his own throat, daring
Carlos to "stop the madness" by killing him. Saying he
surely wouldn't do it, because he was too weak--we all
were--to face life without him.

Carlos didn't touch the sword, but I suspect he was less
afraid of life without Jacob than of taking his
Quickening. He probably wouldn't have been allowed
to, anyway.

If that had been some sort of loyalty test, Carlos's
passing it didn't do him any good. In the blink of an eye,
Jacob whipped the sword around and had it at *Carlos's*
throat.

And while the rest of us stood frozen in horror, he lopped
our friend's head off.

The Quickening damn near destroyed what was left of
the building.

***

Thanks to its being Sunday, we were able to get away
before emergency vehicles arrived. But back at our
hideout, Jacob's followers were still reeling.

Only two days before, he'd given us the worst shock of
our lives by killing on holy ground. The worst even of
Jin's life--and he was two thousand years old.

Now he'd come close to topping it.

We'd seen him kill one of his own students in a fit of
pique. For the first time, I began to wonder about the
half-dozen others who'd wandered off and fallen to
unknown foes during my years with him.

If he had killed them, he'd had sufficient self-restraint
to keep the rest of us in the dark. No more.

As if killing Carlos--and doing it in front of us--weren't
bad enough, he'd taken the Quickening in a semi-public
place in broad daylight. In New York City.

The word "crazy" didn't seem too strong.

I knew Carlos had acted deliberately to save Duncan
MacLeod. But none of my friends seemed to suspect that,
even now. So no one would have guessed without some
prior knowledge.

I wracked my brain, and couldn't recall any sign Jacob
had been suspicious before the fact. Besides, if that had
been the case, he would have dealt with Carlos sooner.

No, he'd meted out death as punishment for what he
thought was a simple mistake.

But *now*...now he had the Quickening, and knew
what Carlos had really done! That would make an
already paranoid man even more so.

Was he aware *I'd* known?

If I'd been willing to help Carlos, maybe we could have
rebelled openly and defeated Jacob. But now Carlos was
dead. He'd died a hero, even if all he'd accomplished was
to keep Duncan alive a few more days.

As for me, I broke out in a sweat every time I felt Jacob's
eyes on me.

***

I had nightmares that night.

Oddly enough, they weren't about Carlos. Or the
killings in the Sanctuary. Or even about Jacob.

In my dreams I was back in 'Nam. Turning away from
the wounded, high-tailing it into the jungle to save my
own skin and avoid awkward questions.

But this time, I heard the men I abandoned cursing me.

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