“Why? What’s wrong?” Clementine tried to clutch the shopping cart, but Michael grabbed her hand.
“Leave it.”
Thankfully she didn’t question him. She didn’t argue. Instead, she abandoned the cart and helped Janey round up the others. Michael noticed that Janey had her knife out again. The girl wasn’t taking any chances.
They moved carefully towards the checkout stands with Michael leading the way. Clementine brought up the rear to make sure no one strayed off. The children were wary, but not overly concerned. How lucky to be so young and completely trusting. How could they do it? A few hours ago they’d been too terrified to come out of the SUV. Now they were following Michael with a blind faith he was positive he didn’t deserve.
But the calm organized walk quickly changed the moment they reached the end of the aisle and the screaming began. From outside the store, glass shattered. Footsteps echoed down the hallways.
It took Michael a moment to put together all the sounds and fully understand what they were dealing with. A large group of people was heading their way. Just how many he couldn’t tell. But from the amount of noise they were making, it appeared to be almost an army.
“Boogeymen,” Casey whispered.
And that’s when Andrew began to cry.
Aries
She sat with the Bagger in the basement for the better part of the afternoon. Eventually Olive stopped responding to any of Aries’ questions, so they waited in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Aries thought a lot about Eve and from the pained look in Olive’s eyes, it was obvious the woman was thinking about her dead daughter.
A world of the dead. Even the Baggers couldn’t escape all the pain they’d caused. At least not when she was around. Unfortunately, Aries couldn’t blame her guilt on anything except herself.
She looked at her watch, amazed to see how much time had gone by. “I guess I should go,” Aries said. Her feet had fallen asleep and when she flexed her toes, pins and needles shot up into her heels.
Olive didn’t say anything or gave any acknowledgement that she’d heard Aries. She lay with her head against the wall, her handcuffed arm spread out in an awkward position behind her. The crackers and water were long gone. Aries wondered if she should get the woman some more food before she left. After listening to Olive’s story about how she murdered her own daughter, Aries couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Aries finally said. It would start up all over again. By the next morning, whatever power she had over Olive would have dissolved. The woman would be back in full-blown Bagger mode. They’d have to go through it all again. The power struggle. The change. The memories. But Aries had to keep trying. She couldn’t give up, no matter how frustrating and dangerous.
“Leave me a knife,” Olive said.
“I can’t do that.”
“The don’t come back.”
“I can’t do that either.”
Aries turned and headed up the stairs. She paused at the top, wondering again if she should bring the woman some extra food, or even a blanket maybe. Although the spring days were warmer, the nights were still cold. And being stuck in an insulated basement could be considered a small form of torture. Michael said they didn’t deserve it. He said Baggers didn’t feel the cold the way humans did. They didn’t need luxuries.
“You’re being too soft on them,” he argued. “They’re not these people you think you keep talking to. They’re monsters. They kill because they want to. Just because you manage to make them human again for a few minutes each day doesn’t change that. One day you’re going to get too close and it’ll be the end for you.”
“Like I did with Daniel?”
Michael shrugged. “Daniel’s an exception, but I still wouldn’t trust him. Don’t let the others fool you.”
He was right of course. But it annoyed her that Michael kept trying to remind her, as if he thought Aries was a stupid girl, easily fooled by a charming smile. Daniel was different. He’d convinced all of them. He managed to maintain his humanity because he wasn’t exactly like the other monsters. Daniel was still human. At least part of him.
What was it like inside Daniel’s head? Unlike Olive, he didn’t need Aries to bring him back and forth between human and Bagger. He simply slipped in and out of his monstrosity; aware of everything he did while under control of the darkness inside. Aries found herself thinking about it a lot. Did Daniel kill anyone he loved? His mother? Family? Friends? She wished he was still around and she could ask, but at the same time, she knew she never would. That sort of thing wasn’t something she wanted to know. Besides, Daniel wouldn’t tell her anyway. He wasn’t one to let people in.
None of it mattered anyway. She hadn’t seen Daniel in ages, not since the night on the bench when he confessed that he was a Bagger. When he told her the best thing he could ever do was stay far away. He’d kept that promise.
Mason too.
It really sucked when the only two boys Aries cared about wanted nothing to do with her.
As she locked up, Olive suddenly let loose a string of curse words. Something loud banged against the floor and the woman screamed. The banging continued and Aries paused, wondering if she should go back. But what could she do? Even if the Bagger banged her head against the floor, Aries wasn’t stupid enough to try and forcibly stop her. The number one rule of the Bagger apocalypse was never get close enough for them to grab you, humanlike or not. Let her make all the noise in the world, no one was around to hear or care. The handcuffs would do the job and Olive would be there tomorrow, a little more worn, but ready for another round. Aries slipped the key back in its hiding spot. She tried not to think about how she’d gone from being a normal teenage girl to someone who tortured others for information. How had she allowed that to happen?
For the better good. That’s what Michael and Jack said. If they continued to kidnap Baggers, eventually Aries would be able to understand her power enough to help them. The experimentation physically hurt no one, it’s not like they were pulling fingernails or waterboarding anyone.
Tell that to the woman downstairs who keeps reliving her own daughter’s murder. You do that to her. If that’s not torture, than what is?
Best not to think about it. Aries would be back tomorrow and the next day and as many days as it took. And when Olive was no longer useful, they would find another Bagger to take her place. And Aries would continue to suck it up because this might be the only way to return everything to normal. How could she not try?
Aries headed out the back door and into the garden to walk down the big hill and back to Lighthouse Park.
She paused at the edge of the garden to take in the view once more. Every time she looked across the harbor, she wondered if that might be the last time. What if she was killed in the middle of the night? Would she regret not stopping to take in that last sunset? Maybe.
It wouldn’t be dark for at least a few more hours. The sun was working its way west towards the coastline. Her eyes scanned the water and sky, looking for signs of rain. Nothing. Not a cloud in the sky.
But there was something on the Lion’s Gate Bridge.
Vans. Several white vans and they were heading towards West Vancouver.
Aries counted six vehicles, all in a straight line. It had to be the Baggers. Who else could it be? Why were they driving over the bridge? A sinking feeling dropped into her chest. She knew the answer.
Turning, she headed straight down the hill, not bothering to see exactly which direction the Baggers were heading. She knew the answer. Lighthouse Park. Leon had figured out their hiding spot. They were still far enough away that Aries should be able to make it back to camp and warn the others. If they worked together, they’d have enough time to evacuate before the Baggers reached them. They’d planned for this. Everyone knew exactly what to do.
She made it halfway down the hill when the body slammed into her from behind. Aries flew forward, crashing into the ground, her hands scrap
ing against tree roots and rocks. Someone grabbed a handful of her hair, painfully yanking her neck back and then sending Aries headfirst into the ground.
She lost consciousness for a second, but the pain brought her back. Her forehead burned, sending waves of sharp explosions across her skull. Her vision threatened to go dark again, but Aries fought against it. If she blacked out, she’d die for certain. She’d left the baseball bat back at the house. How could she be so stupid? She tried turning over on her side, but her attacker wasn’t letting go. They’d grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her harder into the dirt. Rocks grated across her face and grass and weeds burned her eyes. She opened her lips to scream and ended up with a mouthful of dirt.
“Where is she?” A voice growled above her ear. A male.
Aries didn’t answer. She wanted to turn her head to the side and spit a bunch of brown goop, but she couldn’t move an inch. She bit down instead, crunching pebbles between her teeth. The texture made her choke and she had to swallow all that nastiness before she could breathe. Her entire body heaved and for a horrifying moment, blinding panic threatened to overwhelm her. She didn’t want to die this way. Suffocated beneath a Bagger like a pile of garbage. She had to find a way to get free. To get to the baseball bat. Aries tried to think about how far the house was from where she lay. It couldn’t be more than fifty feet. If she could just find a way to get free, she could possibly make it. The back door was open. The bat leaned against the counter. All she had to do was reach it.
But if she suffocated first, then that would end things quickly.
“I said, where is she?” The hands pressing against her shoulders relaxed slightly, enough for her to stop gagging.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” she finally managed to mutter.
The hands swatted at the back of her skull, slamming her forehead against the ground. Pain tore through her and something tore. Wetness began to drip from the corner of her hairline. She watched a drop of blood fall onto the grass.
Slow motion. The entire world continued to spin, but somewhere she’d gotten off the ride. She watched another red drop fall and splatter on a brown leaf. How much blood could she lose before it became game over? Aries was tired. She hadn’t really noticed it until this moment. How easy would it be to just close her eyes and let the Bagger tear her apart? She wouldn’t even have to do anything except lie there.
Get up.
The voice flashed across her mind. She thought she recognized it, but she couldn’t say for certain.
Get up. Don’t do this. Don’t let them win. You are better than this.
Her own voice. Screaming inside her brain.
A knife. It was in her back pocket. But there was a Bagger on her back and she couldn’t reach around to get it.
Bagger on her back.
Now that made her giggle.
The laughter only made her tormenter angrier. He grabbed a pile of her hair and yanked, pulling her shoulders up. Aries twisted her body around until she was facing her attacker, her hand reaching into her back pocket. Fingers reached metal and she almost had it, but the Bagger shoved her back again. Aries hit the ground hard and she looked up at him, into his normal looking brown eyes.
“You’re not a Bagger,” she said.
A boy, a few years younger than her, looked down at her. Immediately his grip loosened, and he scrambled back, tripping over his own legs in his haste to get away. They both landed on their bums, just a few feet away from each other, breathing heavily, trying to figure out what to do next.
“You’re not one either.” The boy’s eyes trailed over her face, an expression of both disbelief and horror across his face.
“Why were you attacking me?” Aries rubbed her mouth with her sleeve. She could still taste dirt and grass. And blood. Wincing, she tenderly touched the spot on her forehead where she’d been cut.
“Here.” The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue. He thrust it into her hands and then backed away quickly. “I hurt you. Oh man. You might have a concussion. Does it hurt? I thought you were a Bagger. I heard the screaming. A woman. And then you came out of the house. I thought you were killing someone in there. Who was screaming? Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
She couldn’t help it. All the questions coming out of the kid’s mouth at a time, the whole thing struck her as hilarious. Almost as good as thinking about a Bagger on her back. Aries giggled. Then she went into full-blown laughter. After a few seconds, the boy joined her. They both sat there, shaking uncontrollably for at least a minute before calming down.
“What’s so funny?” the boy said between bursts.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
Whatever it was, it felt good. She hadn’t laughed like that in a million years. A trillion.
When she finally managed to compose herself again, Aries slowly checked over her body for signs of damage. Aside from the dirty mouth and cut forehead, she was fine. No concussion, she hadn’t been hit hard enough. All she needed was a bandage and the whole thing should be fine in a few days.
She stood up, brushed the dirt from her jeans and turned to face the boy. He stood a ways off from her, studying her carefully.
“Are you Aries?” When he noticed her shocked expression his voice grew more certain. “You are. Holy crap. I almost killed you. I almost killed Aries. Oh thank god I didn’t shoot you. I was going to. Shoot you. I never miss. When you came out of the house. After the screaming. I thought you were a Bagger.”
Crap. She needed to work on her poker face. She thought about denying it, but it seemed pointless. She took a few steps backwards, prepared to run if necessary. Human or not, she still had no idea who this kid was and why he was looking for her.
“No, it’s cool. I’m cool. I’m not here to hurt you,” the boy stepped towards her and then froze. “I can’t believe how badly I just screwed this up. I should have known better. You were exactly where he said you’d be. I have a map.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Aries took it and opened it. On the page were detailed directions to the very house they were at. She turned it over to find more instructions to Lighthouse Park.
“Who are you?” she asked. “And who gave this to you?”
“I’m Jordan,” the boy said. “The map came from Daniel. He told me to come find you. I can’t believe how easy it was. I’ve never even been to this city before. My first time. But Daniel’s good. He told me exactly where to go. I only got turned around once, but that wasn’t so bad. I had the moped. Just went back and retraced my steps. Easy as pie. Holy crap, I can’t believe I almost shot you.”
“Daniel?”
“You know him, right? He told me you’re friends and that I needed to find you. We split up when we got downtown. He had stuff to do. Said he’d come join us later. Told me it was super important to get to you first. Before the others.”
“Okay, hold on,” Aries said. The kid talked a mile a minute and she couldn’t keep up. His face was drunk in excitement. Even his messy hair seemed to be overwhelmed by the way it stood out in all directions. “Slow down a bit. You need to tell me everything. Where is Daniel?”
It had been so long since she’d heard Daniel’s name spoken out loud. She’d stopped trying to talk about him ages ago since no one seemed to like him very much anymore. Michael would only grow angry, complaining about Daniel’s betrayal, but Aries often thought that Michael was angrier with himself. He felt duped by Daniel, upset that he’d been fooled into thinking Daniel was one of them. Clementine wasn’t much better, she chose to skirt around the topic. Aries knew that of all her friends, Mason would be the only one willing to listen, but talking about Daniel to him never felt right.
Jordan grinned at her. “Sorry. I talk a lot when I’m nervous. And when I’m excited. And when…well, all the time. Daniel’s downtown. He said he had to get someone out of prison.”
“Mason?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t say. He just told m
e that I’m supposed to come here and find you. Said you’d be at this house. If not, to check the park. But go here first.”
So he’d been keeping tabs on her. The guy who swore he never wanted to know where she lived in case he turned Bagger and tried to hunt her down. How long had he been watching her? How could he do that?
How many nights had Aries spent lying awake, wondering if Daniel was alive or dead? And apparently he was right around the corner, paying attention to all the things she did, without bothering to talk to her or even let her know he was okay. The thought angered her. What an arrogant piece of—how dare he! He had no right to make the decisions like that. He’d been the one to constantly tell her it was better if he lived elsewhere. Safer for Aries if Daniel didn’t know where she lived. He’d been only concerned about protecting her, right? And now for her to find out the whole thing had been a lie?
Apparently Daniel didn’t care for Aries the way she thought he did. Had any of it been real? The kisses? The late night talks? Had he been playing her around for the fun of it? Trying to see how far he could take things? Was she some sort of game?
“I still can’t believe I found you,” Jordan said. “I kinda thought maybe Daniel was trying to get rid of me. But he went to a lot of trouble to make me the map. I think a simple ‘get lost’ would have worked better.”
“What did he say to do next?” Aries asked. “Once you found me.”
“He said to stay with you and that he’d come find us.”
“But why? Why is he doing this now? What’s going on?”
Jordan shrugged. He’d spotted the garden hose by the side of the house. He went over and turned it on, giving a small shout of joy when water poured freely onto the grass. Bending over, he doused his entire head of messy hair under the spray. Aries waited patiently while he finished hosing himself off. The kid looked like he hadn’t taken a shower in a long time. He even took his shirt off and tried rinsing it out. When he put it back on, the cloth stuck to his skinny chest.
So Daniel was coming back. Good. She had a million questions for him, if she was still talking to him. After everything she’d just heard, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to see him.