Fury Rising (28 page)

              “Please. Take your pick.”

              “Why? Didn’t you go back and get Olive? I told you where to go. I’m sure she’s willing to tell you everything.”

              “Sadly Olive never made it out of the house. In all the excitement, we forgot about her.” Leon took another sip of coffee. “And that’s the interesting thing. All these rumors and no real witnesses. You’re almost like the boogeyman to our kind. The one they tell stories about around the fire. I’d really like to experience this miracle with my own eyes.”

              “Don’t do it,” Daniel said. He turned towards Leon. “You just want to make sure the threat is real.”

              “Wouldn’t you?”

              “What’s to stop you from hurting Aries?”

              Leon chuckled. “What’s to stop me from trying to help the word return to normal? Hasn’t there been enough killing? Maybe this is the master plan. We’ve cleansed the world, but creatures like the ferals still remain. They’re a threat to everything we’ve fought for. This could be our chance to perfect things. Join together and rebuild society.”

              Daniel made a big show of rolling his eyes. “Come on, Leon. You and I both know you’re not that good of a liar.”

              “Very well.” Leon reached into his pocket and pulled out a handgun. He placed it on the table in front of them. “Either you give me a show, little lady, or I give you one. You’d be amazed at how much blood can drain from a knee cap.”

              “Fine.” Aries pushed back her chair, harder than she intended, sending it crashing to the floor. Mason started to get up beside her, but she shook her head and gently pushed him back down. “I’ll give you what you want, but you have to promise to let Daniel and Mason go when I’m done. No one dies today.”

              “Done,” Leon said.

              “Or any other day.”

              Lean leaned back in his chair. “Let’s see how impressive the show is first.”

              She approached the group of reluctant Baggers. They shuffled their feet and refused to meet her eyes. Apparently her reputation
had
preceded her. They were scared and it gave her more confidence. Carefully, she made her choice. A big Bagger in the middle with the bald head and tattoo sleeve on his right arm. She didn’t give a warning. Quickly, she reached out and wrapped her hand around his wrist. He instantly tried pulling back, nearly knocked her right off her feet, but she held on. The other Baggers backed away and shrunk against the wall to watch.

              The change overcame him instantly, faster than anything she’d done before.

              “No,” he whispered. “Oh god, no.”

              He began to cry, the whopping monster of a man who looked like he ate light bulbs for breakfast, followed by Jack Daniels chasers for lunch. But after ten seconds with her, he cried for his mother and curled up in a little ball.

              “I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to do it. I never would have done that.”

              She let go of him and spun around, giving a fake lunge at the other Baggers, who quickly fell over each other to stay out of her reach. She wondered if they actually understood the nature of what she could do. Having their conscience returned to them, allowing them to feel the guilt over all the things they’d done, did it even mean anything? Or did they simply fear her because Aries could bring them to their knees, even if they didn’t quite understand the significance behind it. Were Baggers even capable of emotion other than rage?

              When she turned to face Leon, he stood up in his seat and gave her a gentlemanly handclap.

              “I can do you next if you want more of a show,” she said. Beside her, Mason snorted.

              “That’s quite all right.” Leon leaned over the bald biker who was slowly picking himself up off the floor. His eyes were glazed over, as if he wasn’t sure what just happened. Already he was returning back to his murderous, unfeeling self. Swaying on his feet, he refused to look over at Leon, but instead moved towards the other group of Baggers. They shied away from him, as if worried that what he had, might be catching.

              “How long do the effects normally last?” Leon asked.

              “As long as I want them too,” she lied. Admitting she hadn’t yet mastered control wasn’t something Leon needed to know. Best to keep that secret.

              “Fascinating.” Leon returned over to his chair and sat back down. He waved at the Baggers to bring him more coffee. “No.” He pointed to the bald headed one. “You do it.” They waited while the Bagger, hands trembling, tried to fill Leon’s cup without spilling liquid everywhere. Aries noticed that Leon didn’t dare touch him. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide her victory smile.

              Daniel, meanwhile, had been working on his speech.

              “You’re not strong enough to take on the ferals yourself,” he said. “We can recruit enough people so that together, we’ll have a big enough army to drive them all away. We both win. I think we can agree that the ferals are something we can live without.”

              “And what do you want in exchange?”

              Aries didn’t hesitate. “Everyone inside the casino.”

              Leon laughed. “My dear, those people are worth more than anything you could offer me. My position hasn’t changed. It’s not up for negotiation. Your little parlor trick isn’t enough to sway me.”

              “Then you can give us some of them,” Aries said. “We don’t need them all.”

              “And you’ll just let me pick and choose the ones I want?”

              She didn’t like the way he said that, but there wasn’t much she could do to get around it. Leon wouldn’t give them all up. He was right, they were too valuable. Although many of the Baggers were capable, she doubted they were the ones responsible for getting the power on again in the downtown core. They weren’t the ones running the farm in Richmond that supplied the fresh goods. Everything the Baggers had was probably being contributed by good old-fashioned slavery.

              “I’m sure we can come to an arrangement,” she finally said. “You can give us at least one doctor. A few others. Fifty percent.”

              “How many people do you think I have in there?” Leon asked. “You make it sound like I’ve got a factory that’s producing top notch specimens. I assure you, it’s not the case. I might also remind you that although I’ve been humoring this transaction, I still don’t see how it favors me. Yes, the ferals may be coming, but I’m more than prepared to pull out my people if need be. There are other places that will host our needs.”

              “But that’s where you’re wrong,” Mason said. “You can’t just leave. How would you get everyone out? All those people inside the casino aren’t going to just go in whatever direction you point. You’d have to leave them behind.”

              Leon shrugged.

              “That’s why you need us,” Mason said. “Because no matter how big you talk, you know that you’d be lost without your slaves. So much for that new world order. You’re nothing but a bunch of useless idiots without us.”

              “Might I remind you, Mr Dowell, that you’re well aware of the things I can do. If anyone should know.” Leon took a sip of his coffee. “Do not assume for a moment that I’m going to give everything up.”

              “What are you going to do? Load them on a bus and try and drive out? Most of the roads are destroyed. You burnt down the north shore. The Massey Tunnel is gone. The only direction you could drive would lead you straight towards them. The time to get out was a week ago. And you won’t cut your losses.” Mason reached over and grabbed a piece of banana bread off the table. “You don’t like to lose, Leon. You won’t give up Vancouver to the ferals. You’d rather die. And that is the one thing our sides have in common. We both have people worth fighting for.”

              “Three people,” Leon said. “One will be a doctor.”

              “You’ve got over a hundred in there,” Mason said. “Daniel and I have both seen it.”

              “Half,” Aries said.

              Leon gracefully folded his hands in his lap and crossed his legs. “Let’s wait and see, shall we. I’m curious to see how you make out first. Get me my army and we’ll talk about a higher percentage. I’ll allow you to send a few of your people out this afternoon. But until then, I think this meeting is adjourned.”

                                          *              *              *

              Aries knew things were steadily going downhill the minute the first group returned to the Plaza. Juan had gone out to talk to several groups they knew were hiding in East Vancouver. He was supposed to discuss the plans and bring back anyone who wanted to join in. There were at least forty people near Commercial Drive and they’d all expressed an interest in the past.

              But when Juan returned, he had two people with him.

              “They all refused,” he said. “I explained everything, but they’re scared. Many have already packed their bags and are heading south. They seem to think they’ll head across the border and life will be easier there. You know that all girl house? The one off Victoria Avenue? They’ve decided to try Mexico. Heard that it’s Bagger free. Wouldn’t listen to me at all.”

              “What?”

“Mexico. They’ll be lucky to make it to Portland.”

“What about the others?”

              “I had doors slammed in my face. I’m not kidding. Actual door slams. No one wants to fight. I hope the others have better luck because if Leon is expecting an army, he’s going to be disappointed. I don’t want to know what he’ll do if we can’t provide one.”

              It got worse. Betsy came back from Main Street shortly after Juan. She’d found Jack and Joy. Instead of staying where they could be safe, they insisted on turning themselves in to the Baggers.

              “There’s no way we’d leave you to deal with this alone,” Jack explained. “We’ll get through this together.”

              “I’m just thankful you didn’t get stuck in the fire.”

              “We almost didn’t. I never thought I’d ever say this, but I can’t believe West Van is gone,” Jack said. “It was crazy. Thankfully, we made it over the Second Narrows Bridge before dawn. We were at that safe house by the mall. I’d hate to think what might have happened if Joy hadn’t woken up in the middle of the night craving baked beans. She smelled the smoke and woke me.”

              “I’m glad you got out.”

              “Didn’t think we would. Joy and I couldn’t decide whether to go back or not. Didn’t know if you were alive or dead or if you needed help.” Jack looked down. “Both Betsy and I tried to convince her not to come. She won’t listen. She is going to fight. I don’t know what to do.”

              “We’ll think of something.”

              “I can’t lose her.”

              “Me neither.”

              They both turned their gaze north towards the mountains. The sky was grey and threatening. Some of the very tops of the highest buildings had disappeared into a cloudy haze.

              “Twenty people,” she said. “That’s all we’ve managed to recruit. With everyone else, we’re barely topping fifty. That’s a lot less than the army we promised Leon. What if he changes his mind and decides to just kill us all? We’ve walked right into it. I can’t believe how stupid this idea was.”

              “It’s not over yet,” Jack said. “There are still others out there. More might come.”

              “We’ve become nothing but a bunch of cowards.”

              They watched two Baggers walking across the yard. When they realized they were getting close to Aries, they sped up and changed direction. Aries fame, just like the ferals, was growing.

              “Not everyone is as strong as you,” Jack said.

              Aries turned back to him. “That’s not true. We’re all survivors. Fighters. How else could we last this long without getting caught or killed?”

              “Some fought. Others got lucky. I’ll bet a large amount is just good at hiding. Remember, we spent a lot of time keeping invisible.”

              “Not good enough. We learned to fight.”

              “And they might too, given enough time.”

              Aries wanted to scream in frustration, but she didn’t dare. A group of Baggers were studying her carefully from a distance. They spent an exceptional amount of time watching her. She felt eyes following her no matter where she went in the compound. They looked, but didn’t touch. None of them wanted to get too close. They all knew what happened if they accidently brushed against the girl with the magic fingers.

              “I heard there’s a group of people up at SFU,” Jack said. “We could send someone out to see.”

              “It won’t matter,” Aries said. “We’ve lost. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find out the ferals have decided to somewhere else.” She looked up at the grey sky.

              “Don’t say that,” Jack said. “There is always hope. Look at my eyes and tell me I’m wrong. Look at Joy’s belly. We will sort this out. You and I have been in a lot of tight spots. This one is no different.”

              Aries gave him a sad smile. They’d come a long way from the first night in the school auditorium. Jack had been with her from the beginning. Several times she didn’t know how she would have made it that far without him. He kept her steady. Focused. She trusted him completely. More than all of them combined.

              No. That wasn’t true.

              She glanced across the camp where she could see Mason talking with the new kid, Jordan. A bit further down, Raj and Joy sat with a group of kids, laughing as Cleopuptra licked Casey’s face. Daniel had the hood open on a car, checking over the engine and arguing with Juan about something or other. Clementine was back in her room, trying to sleep off an emotional pain that would possibly haunt her for the rest of her life.

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