Fury Rising (29 page)

              “Hey, got a minute?”

              She looked up to see Mason.

              “Yeah. Sit.” She moved aside some of the paperwork she’d thrown about the stage to give the illusion she was actually working on something. Realistically, she was trying very hard not to have a massive break down and start bawling on the spot.

              Everything was going wrong. Only one group remained out. The others had returned ages ago, along with their handfuls of humans willing to fight. It was only a matter of time before Leon discovered that Aries had no army. Nothing to negotiate with. And once that happened, all he had to do was give the word and they’d be finished. The Baggers had all the power and the numbers.

              What angered her most was that they’d allowed it to happen. Sure, they didn’t have much of a choice back at Lighthouse Park. Thanks to Colin, they’d been taken by surprise. Technically, no matter what anyone else said, that was Aries’ fault too. She should have listened to the others when they wanted Colin out. She’d had plenty of opportunity to work around his threats. Holding on to that small reminder of her past had cost her dearly.

              “Sorry. You look busy.”

              “No.” She gathered the last of the papers, most of them blank or full of scribbles. She pulled them close to her chest, ashamed to let Mason see her lame attempt at not being able to save them all.

              Mason.

              She hadn’t forgotten about the kiss. Obviously he hadn’t either, she could sense his uncertainty a mile away. It was almost sweet to see him this awkward. Normally he seemed so aloof and in control of his emotions. Even though she’d known it was mostly an act and that Mason was completely capable of caring for others, it was surprising to see how easily he could cast all that away and lay his feelings right out on the open like that.

              “Leon’s given us permission to go pick up Michael’s body,” Mason said. “I think it’s a bad idea, but I gave Clementine my word.” He leaned in closer until his lips were almost pressed up against her ear. “Listen to me and smile. Laugh if need be. For all everyone knows, I’m telling a great joke, okay?”

              “Sure,” she said, forcing herself to smile.

              “I don’t think Leon will do anything while I’m gone. I think he has this great plan that involves us all being together. He knows we’re bluffing. And I know him, Aries. He’s playing us. We are going to lose.”

              Her eyes scanned the area as she listened. When she spotted Daniel, he instantly looked up as if psychic. Even from a distance, she could see the curious look on his face. Did he know about them? Had he been hiding in the bushes?

              “I’d ask you to come with us, but I don’t think Leon would allow it,” Mason continued. “And I don’t want to force him to take action right now. I’d rather let him continue to think he’s got the upper hand. But if something happens while we’re gone, I want you to get out of here. Take Clementine. Casey. Jack. Joy. Whoever you think you can save. But run. And don’t look back. Do you understand me?”

              “Of course,” she said. “I understand. I’m not stupid. We’ve gotten ourselves into one hell of a mess. We’re still alive. That counts for something.”

              “We’re still alive because Leon doesn’t want us dead, just yet.”

              “I’ve been thinking it over,” she said. “I can’t stop. There’s nothing we can do, is there? Either we fight the Baggers and lose, or wait for the ferals to show up and lose. We have no plan, not one that works. The Baggers win no matter what. We’re not walking away from this, are we?”

              Mason reached out and took her hand. Once again, she could feel the heat pressing against her skin. How did he manage to stay so warm, even in the rain? She wished she could lead him away, out of the Plaza of Nations and somewhere they could be alone for a while. She imagined sleeping next to him, just sleeping, his body pressed against hers. How wonderful would it be to stay curled up with his arms wrapped around her. Together they could be safe from the world for a few hours.

              She looked back at Daniel again where he was passing over a box of ammo to Jordan as they packed the car. She almost felt guilty, but the feeling quickly disappeared. She owed Daniel nothing. He’d been the one to push away, not her. He couldn’t complain when he discovered she’d moved on.

              No, that wasn’t the right word. She hadn’t moved on. She’d simply moved.

             
If he came over and told me he couldn’t live without me. If he pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips against me, what would I do?

              Best not to think about that.

              This was complicating things in a bad way. She shouldn’t be wasting thoughts and energy on this. There were far more important things going on, like how they were going to get away without dying. She shouldn’t be thinking about Mason and Daniel that way, like a stupid lovesick girl. What the hell was wrong with her?

              Mason’s hand squeezed hers.

              “Don’t do that,” she said.

              He instantly let go. “I’m sorry.”

              “No, not that,” she said. “Everything else. Telling me to get out and save myself. This isn’t right. We can’t be doing this. We can’t put ourselves first because we care about each other.”

              “I didn’t mean it that way,” Mason said.
              “Did you tell Jack the same thing? Joy? Did you wake Clementine?” She paused. “You can’t just try and rescue me. Don’t you see? I’m doing the same thing. We can’t, Mason. I care for you, but there are others we have to think about too.”

              “Are you sure you’re not just saying that for yourself?” Mason asked. “Because you’re putting words in my mouth. Casey means everything to me. And you’re suggesting that I said to ‘only save her if you could?’”

              “I didn’t mean that…”

              Mason sighed. “We’re all on edge. It’s not surprising that we’re going to be angry at each other. That’s a bad idea. We’ll be lucky enough to get out alive. I’d rather not die hating you, Aries. Or anyone else for that matter.”

              She nodded. “Come back safe.”

              “I will.”

              And then he was gone.

             
Aries
.
Daniel.
Jack.
Clementine.
Colin.
Joy.
Nathan.
Eve.
Michael. Mason.

             
The names were a mantra and she spoke them over and over in her mind.

Four down.

              Six remained.

              She loved them all. She trusted them. Even Daniel.

              No, especially Daniel.

             
Come back to me.

Mason

              “Princess Fluffy. They’ve renamed the damn pooch, Princess Fluffy. What am I supposed to do about this?”

              Raj hadn’t stopped ranting since they got into the car.

              “How difficult is Cleopuptra?”

              “I don’t know. I think Princess Fluffy has a nice ring to it,” Daniel said. He put down the binoculars and handed them over to Mason. “Over by the main doors. Two of them. Rest must be inside.”

              They’d parked the car back at the last Skytrain Station and walked along the rails until reaching Lougheed Mall. The empty building gave them a good view of the area.

              “It’s horrible,” Raj said. “I don’t want to go through life telling people my dog’s name is Princess Fluffy.”

              “You’re just going to have to deal with it,” Mason said. “Are you really going to tell a bunch of little kids that they can’t name the only pet dog in the city?”

              “Yes,” Raj said. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Bloody kids can get their own dog. When my mate, Sally, got herself a cat, I didn’t go off telling her to name it Puffball or Mittens or whatever stupid name I could come up with. And she picked a really shite name too. Lucyfur. But did I say anything? No. Why? Because it was her cat. Not mine.”

              “Good luck with that.”

              Mason put the binoculars to his face and searched the area Daniel pointed at. Sure enough, he could see the two ferals by the doors. They didn’t appear to be doing much. One of them had a pile of food spread out at his feet and was steadily working his way through a bag of chips. Another had pulled a mattress out and dumped it in front of the glass doors. He’d wrapped himself in a plaid duvet and appeared to be out cold. Nothing like a little relaxation time after a hard night of pillaging.

              “Want me to take them out?” Jordan peered through his rifle scope. It was the one weapon that the Baggers had allowed them to take out of the Plaza. Since Jordan was unarguably the most advanced gunman of the group, he got to hold onto it.

              “There’s no way you can get them from here,” Mason said. “That’s straight across the parking lot. No one is that good of a shot.”

              “I am.”

              “I’ll put money on that, Tourist Boy. Our kid here has one hell of an eye.”

              “You’re both insane. And yeah, I’ll take that bet. Million bucks? Two? I’m good for it. Just let me hit up the nearest bank. I’ll withdrawal my savings.”             

              “Piece of cake,” Jordan said.

              “It’ll draw too much attention,” Daniel said. “And pointless anyway. Even Jordan’s mad skills will be useless if there’s not enough bullets for all of them. We need the element of surprise if we’re going to make this work. Looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”

              “Can’t imagine doing it any other way.”

              Mason glanced through the binoculars again. The potato chip eating feral had gone back inside. With the sun reflecting off the glass doors, it was too dark to see how many of them might be hanging around the entrance. They’d be taking a big chance. Even with the safety of the car, they’d be in trouble if enough of the ferals managed to surround them. All it would take is a broken windshield and they’d be dragged to their deaths. That was the difference between Baggers and them. There was no reasoning. You couldn’t barter for your life. For a feral, the kill was the only thing. 

“Let’s wait until we get Michael before we start shooting up the place. We might not get a second chance.”

              “We’ll have to go back and get the car first,” Mason said. “No way we can carry a body that far. Especially if we have to get out in a hurry.”

              “Engine will attract them,” Daniel said.

              “Then we have to be ready. We won’t get a second chance.”

              “Let’s do it then.”

                                                        *              *              *

              They came in through the back and around to the loading doors exactly the way Clementine explained to them. Thankfully both Daniel and Raj knew their way around Coquitlam. Although he’d now technically lived in Vancouver for several months, Mason still had no idea where he was half the time. The lower mainland was just too big. With all the suburbs included, Mason wondered how anyone managed to travel anywhere without getting hopelessly lost.

              “There,” Daniel said.

              Raj pulled the car over and they all hopped out. The clock was ticking now and they had to move fast. Once the ferals heard the engine, they’d come.

              Michael lay on his back with his eyes closed. If it hadn’t been for the puddle of congealed blood beneath his back, someone might mistake him for taking a nap in an unusual place. Thankfully the wildlife hadn’t found him during the night. Daniel reached him first, bending down and grabbing Michael’s feet. Mason took the front and together they loaded the body into the car. It seemed like a horrible thing to do, tossing their deceased friend unceremoniously in the trunk, but they didn’t have a lot of options. They stood around the back of the car staring down at the body inside.

              “Should we say something?” Raj asked.

              “We’re not burying him,” Daniel said. “You don’t have to give an eulogy just yet.”

              “That’s not what I meant,” Raj said. “I don’t know. I just…”

              “I could say something,” Jordan offered. He wasn’t looking down at Michael, but up at the sky instead.

              “You didn’t know him, mate.”

              “Doesn’t matter. I can still talk about it. We’ve all lost someone we love and isn’t that the same? He’s in God’s hands now. And God will take care of him.”

              “Don’t go there,” Daniel warned.

              “I can go anywhere I want.”

              Mason could feel Daniel rolling his eyes. Now that was a subject that didn’t have everyone on the same side. Mason honestly didn’t know how he felt about God. He’d never been one to give it a lot of thought to begin with. But he imagined Daniel, being a Bagger and all, probably didn’t have a lot of faith these days. How could he? How could you believe in a God that allowed you to turn into a killer against your will?

Mason put his hand on Raj’s shoulder. He wished he could come up with the right words—any words that would make everyone feel slightly better. But nothing came to mind.

              “He was a good man,” Raj finally said.

              That was enough for everyone. Mason gently closed the trunk, enclosing Michael into the darkness.

              “Let’s go,” Daniel said.

              “Hold on.”

              The loading bay door was slightly ajar. Mason looked around, but the area was still deserted. Their luck appeared to be holding out. They might have a minute or two. Mason climbed up the steps.

              “Oi, mate,” Raj said. “Exit is this way. Over here. Nice car. Still got some gas. Only one dead body. We should try and leave that number where it’s at.”