“Noon.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Cool.” Martin paused to catch his breath and Aries waved.
Carefully, she slipped through the woods, making sure to sidestep the guards as she made her way along the path that led down towards the houses outside the park. No one noticed her, something that made her both happy and annoyed. If it were this easy to sneak out, it would be just as easy to come in. She made a mental note to bring the issue up for tomorrows meeting.
The Baggers wouldn’t be as discreet if they were going to attack. They wouldn’t just send one person in. No, they’d bring an army. But there was always the possibility that they had scouts, people roaming the areas searching for them.
Still, maybe it was time to heighten security. Tighten the perimeters and make sure no one slipped through the trees. As much as she knew it was the smarter choice, she still didn’t want to do it. Doing so would mean less freedom for her. Aries still liked to sneak out at night and go for walks. Every time she did, she swore she wasn’t looking for Daniel, but she still couldn’t ignore the disappointment when he didn’t appear.
Months. He’d been gone for months. She didn’t know if he was dead or alive, Bagger or Human, and no matter how much she tried to push him out of her thoughts, he kept squirming back in.
She wanted him back. Not just because of what they shared, but because of his usefulness. Right now, she’d give anything for some of his advice, no matter how infuriating. Daniel might have been playing both sides, but he never toyed with her. One of the things she both liked and hated about him. Daniel told her what she needed to hear, even if he knew it wasn’t something she wanted. He’d been mostly truthful, except for the one thing that possibly mattered most.
Daniel was a Bagger.
No point in thinking about that now. Aries slipped onto the road, looking both ways to make sure the coast was clear. Aside from a few geese sunning themselves on the asphalt, nothing else moved. Turning left, Aries headed up the hill.
It took about fifteen minutes until she arrived at the house. They’d particularly chosen this one because of two things. It was far enough away from the camping spot that no one would likely come across it by accident. Second, it was hidden way back in the trees and on the top of a monster hill. They had a dozen or so people who spent their days salvaging buildings for anything of value. With the house being a major inconvenience to get to, Aries and Michael agreed that they probably wouldn’t bother searching it. Not when there were far easier pickings.
What went on in that house was only known between a select few of them. It was important that they kept it secret. Not everyone would approve, or worse, everyone might want to get involved.
It took her about five minutes to climb the hill. Thanks to all the walking she did these days, Aries was probably in the best shape of her life. But the slope was still hellish and she had to pause at the top to catch her breath. The view was breathtaking; she could see the ocean spread out before her. Through the tree line, she spent a few minutes looking at Stanley Park and beyond, all those empty condos and skyscrapers that made up the downtown core. The Lionsgate Bridge stood empty of traffic. Aries had been surprised to see it standing after the earthquakes.
The Baggers didn’t come to this side of the bridge very often. They hadn’t even bothered to come clear out the dead bodies like they had for most of Vancouver. Everyone had an opinion to why they left the north shore alone. Jack and Michael assumed it was because the Baggers only wanted downtown. Clementine figured it was only a matter of time before they showed up and they should be prepared for when the white vans would show.
But Aries thought differently. The Baggers didn’t like North and West Vancouver. There was something there; a sort of presence lurking in the shadows and the Baggers wanted nothing to do with it.
She could feel it.
With her heart rate stable and breathing back to normal, Aries cut around to the side of the house. From the garden, she moved aside a planter and picked up the key beneath it. Letting herself in, she locked the door behind her, just in case. Once inside, she went over to the kitchen and looked in the cupboards. There was still a bit of food left. She picked up a box of saltines and a half empty jar of peanut butter and put it in a plastic bag. Adding two bottles of water, she grabbed the second key hidden behind the toaster oven and made her way over to the hallway.
She paused at the door. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She’d promised the others last night—Clementine, Michael, and even Raj, that she wouldn’t go alone. It was a chance they took, knowing that opening the door could lead to problems. They always came as a group. Picking up the baseball bat leaning against the wall, Aries took a deep breath and unlocked the deadbolt. Without giving herself a chance to talk herself out of it, Aries descended the steps down to the basement.
She was always amazed at how much light seeped through the tiny storm windows. The unfinished room was large and empty. Sturdy wooden supports suggested someone once planned on making the place into a small apartment, but had never gotten around to finishing. A washing machine and dryer waited in the corner, a small pile of dirty clothes piled beside it.
And in the middle, a woman lay on the cement.
Aries approached her carefully, unsure if she was sleeping or faking. A glint of silver confirmed that their captive still wasn’t going to get up and walk away. Michael had rigged the whole thing. He’d wrapped bicycle chains around the wooden support beams and attached handcuffs to the end. The skin around the woman’s wrists was rubbed raw, and even though she shouldn’t, the guilt always made Aries want to sit down and comfort her.
Not a good idea.
“You’re back.” The woman’s voice broke through the silence. Aries jumped, her fingers clenching the baseball bat.
“I am.”
The woman sat up and looked right at Aries. “All alone. Where are your friends? Have they grown tired of you too?”
Aries sighed. She could see the black veins in the woman’s eyes from five feet away. “Does it matter?”
The lady grinned and ran her fingers through her hair. Aries remembered she’d said her name was Olive. The handcuff rattled against her wrist. She pointed up towards her face, making an effort to show Aries that the swelling on her cheek hadn’t gone away. “I’m having trouble seeing you. I think your friend messed up my eye the other night. Can you come a little closer?”
“Nice try, Olive,” Aries said. “You did that to yourself and you know it.”
“I’m bored of you. Why do you keep coming back? Just kill me and get it over with. I’m tired of all of this. This…” She paused as if searching for the right word. “These memories. I don’t want them.”
“It’s called humanity.”
“It’s cruel. I don’t want to remember. You keep making me remember.”
“I’m sorry.”
Olive suddenly jerked forward, moving to the end of the chain, but still out of Aries’ reach.
Aries didn’t flinch.
The woman sighed and leaned back against the support beam. “If you’re not going to kill me, than what are you going to do? Stare at me some more? You could at least give me something to eat.”
“Catch,” Aries said and she tossed the plastic bag. Olive tore into the crackers, stuffing a bunch in her mouth before even bothering to opening the jar of peanut butter. She washed everything down with half the water while Aries waited.
Afterwards, she grinned through a mouthful of cracker mush. “Thanks. But I don’t have anything else to say. I’ve given you everything.”
Aries sat down crossed legged on the floor, still keeping a five-foot radius from the Bagger. “I know,” she said.
The woman paused, a half chewed cracker between her lips. “Then why are you here?”
Aries sighed. She didn’t know. How was it possible that something inside Aries calmed the Baggers? She’d discovered this months ago, back when she had her back to the wall and a Bagger
ready to kill her. The murderer changed before Aries’ eyes, turning back to human, albeit the whole thing being temporary. Daniel had confirmed everything, admitting to Aries that being around her kept him human. As if something inside of Aries, some sort of power, somehow, trumped the darkness inside.
She was a freak in a world of killers. And she still had no idea how to control it.
Why had she come back? Maybe because she kept hoping to find a clue to how Daniel’s mind worked. If she could understand the Baggers, if she kept working on whatever strange power she possessed, maybe she could find a cure for him. For all of them.
“I want to help you,” Aries said.
Olive dropped her package of crackers and her fingers wrapped around Aries’ wrist. The Bagger screeched, pulling Aries forward.
This was always the hardest thing to do, the moment when Aries didn’t know what was going to happen. Around her, there was no guarantee that the Bagger would stay normal. They tended to go back and forth. The lack of control was the hardest part. If only Aries could figure out how she did it.
Because if she couldn’t control it, there was no guarantee it would always work.
Olive’s fingers tightened, yanking Aries hard. She brought the baseball bat around, ready to use it before the Bagger managed to get her nails into Aries’ eyes.
At the last second, Olive’s grip loosened. Aries didn’t pull herself free. Instead, she took the woman’s hands and held tightly.
“I used to have a daughter. A pretty girl. So pretty. Five years old. Had bright blonde hair like her father.”
The eyes that looked up at Aries were blue and clear.
Aries waited.
“I killed her. Right after the earthquakes. I took her tiny skull and crushed it.”
“You didn’t mean to do it,” Aries said. “It’s not your fault.”
“When you’re around me, you make me remember. Over and over. I can’t turn off my mind.” The woman leaned back against the wooden beam. “If you really want to help me. Kill me. Leaving me like this, this is crueler than anything I could ever do to you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not. If you were, you’d let me die. You’d kill all of us.”
Clementine
“Who’s bright idea was this again?”
“Yours.”
“Right. Next time just smack me over the head and knock some sense into me.”
“With a head that thick, I wouldn’t even make a dent.”
“So use a drill.”
“You want me to drill you?”
“Well, yeah. Duh.”
Clementine turned and grinned at the boy beside her. Michael’s hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She couldn’t get over how long it had grown over the past six months. Halfway down his back, she liked it best when he let her run her fingers through it. Her own personal rock star.
Dear Heath. I know I don’t talk to you as much as I used to. I’m sorry, but it’s not like you’re really listening. At least I hope not because that suggests something a lot worse than I want to consider. But I think you’d like Michael. He’s not like the guys I used to date. We won’t talk about them either. But Michael is different. I hope you get to meet him one day. Just don’t threaten to beat him up like you did with Mark Westerberg back in fourth grade. I’ve never forgiven you for that one.
“Speaking of knocks to the head, I could really go for a nap right about now,” Michael said as he stifled a yawn. “We might as well find a place to curl up. Can’t do anything until it gets dark anyway.”
“Let’s go check our target first,” she suggested. “Make sure everything’s in order.”
“Really?” Michael yawned again. “It’s going to be the same as the last time and the time before that. We know this place inside and out. All systems go. Operative status is first class, soldier.”
“I love it when you talk nonsense to me.”
“All we need to do is pop in the back for a bit. Lots of blankets. Some romantic music. Might even be a candle or two.”
Clementine shifted in the passenger seat. Part of her wanted to agree with Michael. They’d been up the entire night plotting with Aries and Raj and she was beyond tired. They had nothing but time on their hands until the plan went into action. Technically, a few hours sleep would be perfect. A necessity too, considering they wanted to be alert for what came next. They couldn’t have picked a safer place either. No one would bother them. Baggers almost never went into the suburbs. Aside from the one house a few blocks away, the world could very well be devoid of all human life.
“I could use a few hours,” she said. “But not in the van. Too risky.”
“How about there?” Michael pointed at the row of townhouses lining the street. “Shouldn’t be too hard to jimmy the patio doors and sneak in. No one will be the wiser. Still gives us a good view of the street and there’s a front and back exit. I can take first watch.”
“Works for me,” she said.
They’d snuck out of camp last night around two and hadn’t stopped moving since. The journey back to downtown Vancouver had taken forever, they’d had to go the old fashioned way by foot. Although they kept kayaks down by the rocks for transportation, they’d all agreed that walking was better. Too many people kept count and a missing boat would be noticed. Being that the whole mission was top secret, they couldn’t take the chance in anyone discovering they were gone.
Not that people wouldn’t notice. But Aries planned on telling anyone who asked that Clementine and Michael had gone to do some gardening.
“I’ll keep it simple,” Aries said last night. “And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just tell them you’re off having sex.”
The plan wasn’t a good one, but it was the best they could come up with. They’d kept it quiet for several reasons. With the ever-growing group of survivors, it was harder and harder keeping Aries in charge. In the beginning, Aries had suggested a democracy. Instead of one leader, they’d form a committee so that everyone could have a say. Teams would be formed to share responsibilities. Safety would be a top priority. Regular meetings would be held once a week and all the camp members could come together and discuss what they wanted to do. For the most part, things worked. Three adults: Marvin and Betsy, a husband and wife team from the Plaza of Nations, and a former police officer named Juan joined the leadership. Clementine liked them all, especially Juan who offered self-defense lessons a few times a week.
In the beginning, everyone worked well together. They were all assigned tasks and jobs to do. Some people were on gardening duty, others on cooking and security. Almost everyone took their role seriously and worked hard. Thanks to a guy who used to work with BC Hydro, they even had water in the bathrooms.
Even though they’d built their safe haven, things still found a way to fall apart. Aries found it more difficult to keep things under control as time went on. People were scared and unable to deal with the slightest problems. Everyone had different opinions and ideas of what they should be doing. As of late, the group had split down the middle, half the people wanting to make a mad dash into the mountains, the other half wanting to stay and fight. Many of the adults felt that Aries, Clementine, Michael and the others were far too young to have a say in anything, even though they’d proven themselves over and over again. Having Martin, Betsy and Juan helped. No one dared criticize Juan when he spoke. They didn’t talk over him the way they did with Aries when she tried bringing up the problems with the lookout crew the other night.
But no matter what they did, or how often they tried to protect everyone, it was never enough. Safety was still the number one issue. It wasn’t easy living with the reality in which the Baggers could show up any moment and destroy everything they’d built. Although it hadn’t been spoken out loud yet, Clementine could see resentment and doubt in the eyes of plenty of people.
And it wasn’t going to go away. Not until the Baggers were defeated.
Like that was going to happen a
ny time soon.
They’d kept this mission secret, mostly because it was risky and selfish. But also because Marvin, Betsy and Juan would be against it.
Aries tried bringing it up a month ago, but was shot down immediately.
“We can’t go charging back into the Plaza until we’ve found a way to rescue all those people, with the least amount of causalities,” Juan said. “It’s a tricky situation. Every time we go in, the Baggers get better at defending. I know Mason’s your friend, but that’s not enough reason. We can’t take the chance.”
They took a vote that night and were outranked. Even Colin voted for the other side, not that anyone was really surprised about that. But Aries refused to give up. Through secret meetings, they kept working on their plan.
And now they were ready.
Juan was right and they all knew it. But it didn’t make Aries any less determined to save Mason. He was one of them. And that was the one thing that Michael and Clementine completely understood. They were a family and they wouldn’t be complete until they were all together again. And if Mason came back home, maybe Aries would stop spending her days moping over Daniel.
“You don’t have to do this,” Aries kept saying while they’d planned everything out. Last night she’d been a wreck, completely unable to focus. She kept staring out the window as if she expected someone to show.
“We have to do this,” Michael said. “It’s only right. We have to be a group again. We can’t leave Mason out there to die.”
“He’s one of us,” Clementine said. “He would do the same for you.”
“We’re risking everything to save him,” Aries said. “Juan’s right. What if Leon retaliates and starts killing people.”
“He’s not going to kill anyone. He needs them as much as we do,” Clementine said. “And I’m okay with the risk. Stop trying to feel guilty. We all need this and I’m not letting anyone try and tell us otherwise.”