He waited for almost half an hour for the signal, then he made up his mind that waiting any longer would only shorten Samantha's life.
He walked slowly in order to prevent himself from starting the Flicker into doing something illogical. He had almost given up hope when suddenly he saw it. The flame burned in the air above the trees for roughly five seconds but he could tell where it was.
Using his enhanced speed, he rushed to the northwest of where he was standing.
In a split second he arrived at the location of the signal. About eight hundred yards from where he now stood was a pine tree and bound to the foot of that pine tree with ropes was Samantha. She was only wearing violet colored pajamas and her feet were bare which backed up Simon's story that she had called him the previous evening.
He walked forward to untie her but just as he did, the Flicker emerged from behind the tree and stood beside her.
Samantha looked unconscious but then she looked up slowly to face Brendan, her eyes weary with exhaustion. 'Brendan,' she panted, 'get away from here while you still can…Fred is acting really weird, he's…'
'Let's shut the tramp up, shall we?' Flicker said turning to Samantha. He bent towards her face.
'Fred, please…' she begged him, 'Brendan's a good person; you don't have to do this.'
'I don't care if his good or bad. What I want to do with him is none of your business, Sam.' He blew some green powder into her face. She dropped her head, closed her eyes and became still and silent.
'What did you do to her?!' Brendan asked him with both shock and anger in his tone.
'I've killed her…temporarily. That is what I call sleep; a temporary death.'
'She's your sister! How could you put her through all this when you both share the same blood?'
'Her blood is about to be sacrificed,' he answered with a sinister smile on his face.
'Oh, man..!' he gasped. 'Your deal involves the life of your sister?'
The Flicker nodded. 'I knew our parents left for their silly vacations once every two years so I faked my disappearance, waiting for the right moment to catch her alone and it's finally happened. Our parents arrive today and it's a shame that they'll never find her waiting for them. Even when the Finch gave me the negativity to my rhyme I knew that my sister would make the perfect sacrifice. I mean, look at her: she's got the looks, the height, the personality, the youth and everything the Finch both desires and deserves.'
'I already knew that you've been working with the Finch all along, all I want to know is; what do you want from me?'
'You have me mistaken, Eriksson. I do not work with the Finch…yet, but she promised me that if I gave her my sister's heart then she would not only make me a legendary Supreme but also, we would be partners. But she also told me that without you, the Dawn would be useless.'
' "The Dawn"?' Brendan asked. He was getting more and more mystified by the minute.
'You'll find out about it soon enough. All I want you to do is join us in this struggle because you are one of us.'
'No freaking thanks! I've been through this before. You're a selfish, self-centered, egocentric, schizophrenic psychopath and I am nothing like you.'
'You can deny it all you want, Eriksson but when destiny calls your name you have no choice but to answer.'
'You know nothing about me, nor my "destiny". I will not be party to murder, and an accomplice to a witch and her ginger-head minion. If killing you is what it takes to stop you then…'
'You can play hero all you want, my friend but this thing, the Dawn, is much bigger than you. The Finch just wants us to push history to where it's intended to go.'
'What in the world are you talking about?' Brendan said his face taking on a pained expression. 'Dawn…pushing history? Can't you see you and that witch are living in a fantasy?'
'A fantasy? A fantasy, Eriksson? A fantasy with a boy that can uproot trees, a man that can shoot fire from his mouth and hands and a hot broad in the woods that brews magic potions? And I've seen a lot more weird things in my absence. I've come to accept that it's a thin line between reality and fantasy.'
'Why do they call you the Flicker anyway?' Brendan asked, now tired of Flicker's nonsensical gibberish. 'Is it because your brain goes on and off sometimes?'
He chuckled for a short while in response. His pupils turned red and he spread his arms beside him.
Brendan could see blue electricity circling his arms.
'The reason why they call me the Flicker, kid…Is… Because I…can make your lights go out!' Without further hesitation, the Flicker charged the electricity from his hands at Brendan, like lightning.
Brendan thought he would see the electricity moving in slow-motion but this was a different story. The shock was circulating all around and through his body and the pain was piercing. He could not help but scream.
'I didn't want to have to resort to this, Eriksson!' The Flicker shouted over the buzz of the electricity shooting out of his hands like blue spider web. 'The Finch wants my sister, and she shall have her, and I will be damned if I let you get in my way!'
'Never!' Brendan yelled back but it hurt so much he could barely move. It felt like his heart had stopped beating. He opened one of his eyes, took one glance at Samantha and he knew that letting her die was not an option. He let out a roar of fury. He could feel strength rising from his body and his heart starting to beat again. He planted his feet into the ground and sunk his right hand fingers into a nearby tree and plucked it from the earth like a weed. He threw it with all his strength at the Flicker who jumped out of the way, breaking his electric current and jumping out of the range of the tree. This gave Brendan time to recuperate. He thought his flesh had been ripped apart by the electricity but to his surprise, his skin only felt a burning sensation which began to gradually cool down. He jumped behind another tree which was beside him and began to think of a plan.