Fury Rising (22 page)

              “She survived.”

              “Is that what we’re calling this? Survival?”

              So much bitterness in his voice. Aries knew she was being hard on him, but he deserved it. She was angry and it wasn’t something she could push aside and forgive. Maybe Daniel thought she’d throw herself into his arms and be thankful he’d returned, but a lot had happened in the past few months. How could she explain that she’d spent most of that time trying to find a way to keep him? That the one thing she wanted more than anything else was to wake up next to him in the morning without fearing for her life.

              Daniel was wrong. He was just like Mason. And if he thought Aries would walk away from him, he was wrong.

              “I can help you,” she said. “All you have to do is trust me back. I’ve been practicing. I think I’ve found a way to beat this.”

              Daniel looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

              “We’ve been experimenting with a few Baggers. Seeing how long I can change them. It’s been good so far. We’ve also learned a lot of information too. Staying ahead of them. Spying and stuff.”

              “I know about it. You’re torturing Baggers.”

              She thought about Olive who was still currently handcuffed back at the house on the hill.  They’d have to go and set her free. No point in keeping her in chains anymore. There was no information that Colin probably hadn’t already shared.

             
When you’re around me, you make me remember. Over and over.
If you really want to help me. Kill me.

              “I wouldn’t call it torture. I’m trying to help you,” she finally said. “I’m trying to help all of you. You were right. They change when they’re around me. They become human again. If I can learn to control it, just think of what it would mean for you. All the Baggers. Humans. We could end this.”

              “You’re wasting your time.”

              “No, I’m not.” The urge to smack him was strong again. So typical of Daniel, always having to turn everything against her and make her feel useless. Not this time. What they were doing mattered. Being able to help the Baggers was becoming a possibility. A way to change the world and make it safe again.

              “Think about it,” Daniel said. “I’d be stuck to you like glue. Unable to leave your side because I’d still be a threat. Is that what you really want? That’s not a life for either of us.”

              “It doesn’t have to be that way,” she said. “What if I can change you back permanently? Give you a cure.”

              “Being a Bagger isn’t a disease. There is no magic spell. No antidote. It’s part of who I am. There’s something inside of me, Aries, and no matter how far you dig, you’re never going to get it out. I think it’s wonderful that you’re trying and I’m really happy to know how much you care, but you’re never going to fix me or any of them.”

              “I do care,” she said. “But you make it hard.”

              “Not because I want to,” Daniel said. He bent down and picked up a twig, turning it around in his fingers before snapping it in half. “I have no choice. You have no idea what it’s like walking in both worlds. I’m never going to belong to anything. I’m on my own. You’ve got something great here. Friends. People who love and care for you. It’s worth fighting for. But you need to stop wasting your time on me. I’m not broken. You can’t fix me.”

              “There’s always hope,” she said.

              “No, there isn’t.” Daniel stood up, casually wiping off his pants. “Leave tomorrow. Go with Mason. Take Michael and Clementine and whoever else wants to go. They’re the people you belong with. They’re your family now. This might be your one chance. You will go and I won’t follow. It’s time for us to lose each other and not look back. Promise me, Aries.”

              “I’ll think about it,” she said.

              “Trust me one last time.”

              How easy Daniel made it sound. Wouldn’t it be great if she could put all her faith into one person and let them make all her decisions? She’d done that with Daniel on the night of the earthquake. She’d followed him back to the school without question. But he’d betrayed her anyway; leaving her behind when she still needed him. Daniel might be asking Aries to believe in him again, but he was forgetting something very important. She wasn’t the same girl anymore.

              “Sometimes I feel that I like you way more than you like me,” she said.

              “You are very wrong about that,” Daniel said. “Completely one hundred percent wrong.”

              He turned and started walking off into the darkness. Aries almost called out for him to come back, to tell him she had no intention of ever leaving, but she’d already said too much. Best to leave that for another day.

                                                        *              *              *

              A short time later, she went looking for Mason.

              It was a little after midnight when she moved down the trail towards the parking lot. They had a guard post there and Jack had told her Mason insisted on taking the first watch. He wasn’t doing it to be heroic or brave, she knew that much. No, Mason wanted to be there when Clementine and Michael returned with Casey. And pulling guard duty would be better than lying in the dark and pretending to sleep.

              As she approached, she paused at the edge of the path so she could study him. Mason sat by himself on the hood of a car, staring thoughtfully into the trees. Drinking from a thermos of coffee, he had one of the rifles resting against his leg. He looked thinner, his clothing didn’t quite fit as good as it used to. That didn’t surprise her much. The Plaza didn’t exactly do buffet meals every night. Food had been scarce to come by. No one had enough to eat. And Mason, as tough as he pretended to be, would never let a child go hungry if he could help.

              “Hey,” she said.

              Mason looked up, not overly surprised to see her in the slightest. He must have known she’d come.

              “I brought you something,” she said, handing over the grocery bag. Inside was a Tupperware container of chili and a small bag of corn chips. “Joy’s specialty. I still don’t understand how she manages to make canned food taste this good. She says it’s all about the spices. I think it’s pure talent.”

              “Thanks.” Mason pulled out the container. The smell of stewed tomatoes filled the air. He opened the bag of corn chips and dipped one into the warm meal. Aries shook her head when he offered some to her.

              “You’re not mad at me, are you? For not telling you? I’m sorry for being selfish, for wanting you back.”

              “Are you kidding?” Mason gave her a grin. “No, I’m not mad. If anything, I’m feeling kinda loved. How could I be angry?”

              She sat down next to him on the car hood and he shoved the rifle over to the side to give her more room.

              “Casey isn’t back yet,” she said.

              “Night’s still early.”

              “I hope nothing goes wrong.”

              “It will. It always does.” Mason paused; a chili filled chip almost to his lips. “I don’t mean it like that. I’m just saying that plans never go perfect. Something always happens. Like how Raj managed to get caught trying to feed a dog.”

              “What?”

              “It’s a long story. Won’t bore you with it. I’m here, that’s all that matters. Maybe they got a flat tire or stopped to take a break. I don’t worry about Michael and Clementine. They always come through.”

              “You’re right,” she said.

              How odd that sitting next to Mason could be so different than being beside Daniel. How was it that one could make her feel completely relaxed while the other tied her up in knots? She knew it wasn’t fair to try and compare them. They were both vastly distinctive people. She loved them both and that was the major problem. What would happen when the day finally came and she had to choose? Even she didn’t know the answer.

              “You don’t have to decide right away,” Mason said.

              “What?”

              “Leaving. We don’t have to go. I know you said you want to, but I don’t believe you. There’s no rush. Today. Tomorrow. We can stay here and defend this place. Or we can find a new one. But we don’t have to run away. We both know that’s not your style anyway.”

              If only he’d known what she’d been thinking. Or had he? Sometimes she thought Mason was almost a mind reader. He always knew exactly what to say and often it was something she needed to hear. But that last comment almost tore a hole right through her heart.

              “It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” she asked. “Finding a small cottage near a lake. We could have a garden with fresh vegetables and you could go out and hunt deer.”

              “I can’t kill Bambi.”

              “Okay then. You can be the farmer. I’ll bring home the bacon.”

              Mason chuckled. “Sounds good.”

“It would be. We could get a generator going and dig a well. Hot water and electricity. Everyone will come join us and we’ll build more houses. A Bagger free community. A place we could call home. Oh god, I sound like my mother, minus the psychotic killer part.”

              “My mother used to say the same thing too,” Mason said. “Always saying we had a home and not a house. Grass is greener. All those clichés. So today you officially sound like everyone’s Mom. Be proud. You’ve grown old.”

              She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Don’t you dare say that.”

              “I believe I just did.”

              They paused as someone appeared at the tree line. Mason’s hand reached out for his rifle, but paused. The figure stepped forward and they both recognized him. Jordan grinned and waved before stepping back into the woods.

              “That kid’s one hell of a shot,” Mason said. “He said he never misses and I believe him. His brother’s a Bagger. He told me. Bad luck.”

              “Not just a Bagger,” Aries said. “A feral.”

              She could feel Mason’s eyes on her. She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t.

              “I know about the ferals,” she said. “Jordan told me. I know they’re heading towards downtown and they’ll probably go after the Plaza of Nations. And I’m mad that everyone seems to know this and no one wants to tell me. Why?”

              “What?”

              “Why the secret?” Aries said.

              Mason was quiet for so long that Aries had to poke him in the side with her finger. Daniel might be close lipped on everything, but Mason wasn’t. He’d be honest with her, even if it meant putting her in harms way. But why hadn’t he already told her about it? Why was she being forced to pull it out of him?

              “You said you wanted to go. If you knew about the ferals, you’d change your mind. Daniel said…”

              “Of course,” she snapped. “Daniel said do this and everyone agreed. You know what, screw you, Mason. I’m not a fragile flower. Do you really think I’m going to sit back and let you all go into battle without me? I thought you of all people would know better.”

              “I wanted to tell you,” Mason said.

              “But you didn’t.”

              “Let me finish. I was going to tell you. Tonight actually. I was waiting for you to show up. But you brought chili and I wanted to eat it first.” He tossed the empty container on the ground. “Do you realize this is the first real meal I’ve had in months? I’ve been living on cabbage soup. And stop trying to make me feel guilty about not filling you in on everything. I still don’t know the whole story. In case you don’t remember, I was in prison until a few hours ago. Daniel hasn’t told me much either. Hell, you probably know more than me.”

              Even through the darkness, Aries could see the red blooming on Mason’s face and the hollowness in his cheeks. If she looked into his eyes, she wondered how much light would still be present or if they’d be empty. Mason had a lot of anger, more than anyone else she knew. He took everything personal, every death and attack. He wouldn’t forget the people he couldn’t save, especially Chickadee, the girl he’d lost on the road to Vancouver. She’d been diabetic and there had been nothing Mason could have done to save her. But it didn’t haunt Mason any less than if he’d allowed someone to walk up with a gun and shoot her. And it didn’t help that he always found a way to bottle his emotions deep inside where he refused to let people enter. Aries knew he wasn’t always like that. Every now and then he’d do something, or say something, to suggest he’d once been a very different person. He must have been happy once. Daniel was wrong about saying there was no more hope left in the world. One day, Aries would make Mason laugh again. She’d find a way to bring back the happiness he’d lost. That was something worth fighting for.

              “I’m sorry for not telling you right away,” Mason said. He took a drink out of his thermos and offered it towards her, but she shook her head.

              “Let’s just forget about it,” she said. “And be thankful that we’re sitting here, right now, instead.”

              Mason reached out and squeezed her hand. She was surprised by the amount of warmth in his fingers. Heat seemed to radiate from his touch, drawing her in. Aries looked at his eyes. They were shimmering, almost glowing in the moonlight. Not empty at all. Mason watched her back, as if she were the only important thing left in the world to look at.

              “You’re cold.” His hand tightened around hers, engulfing her fingers.

              “No,” she whispered.

              And then she lunged forward, her lips finding his. She could feel him hesitate before returning her kiss with the same hunger. Aries pressed herself tightly against him, hands reaching beneath his shirt, feeling the muscular curve of his back. She wanted to experience every moment of every second. His body heat engulfing her. The taste of coffee on his lips. The way his touch made her stomach tremble in the best possible way. Mason wrapped his arms around her and they fell against the hood of the car, tangled into each other.