“I’m Karen. I’m friends with Mason. He made me promise I’d help if this happened. Come with me. I know the perfect place.”
“Mason thought this might happen?” Aries said. “Why didn’t he say anything to me?”
“I don’t know,” Karen said. “Maybe he thought you’d do something stupid.” She glanced down. “Like trying to hide a bunch of children in a tent.”
“Seriously?” Clementine snapped. “I’d like to see you do better.”
Karen sighed overdramatically. “Didn’t I just say I have the perfect place? So yeah, I can do better.”
The three girls stared each other down. Clementine noticed that the girl held a baseball bat in her hands and it had blood and bits of flesh stuck to the tip. Whoever this girl was, she was adept enough to hold her own. And time was running out. They’d have to take a chance on her.
“Where do we go?” Clementine asked, ignoring the glare Aries gave her.
“Over by the fence,” Karen said. “No. Not the gate. Too many of them. But your friend cut a hole. Big enough to get through. Look over there.” She pointed out towards False Creek. “No. Not there. The boat.”
It took Clementine a moment before her eyes found the gigantic Princess Yacht moored to the right of the Plaza. There were several ships stuck in the False Creek harbor, most of which had been there since the earthquakes hit. Others had simply floated their way in on the tide. But this one stuck out, not because it was probably worth millions at one point in time, but because of how shiny and clean it was.
“It’s Leon’s personal toy,” Karen said. “And I happen to know where he keeps the keys.”
“And I suppose you know how to drive it too?”
Karen shrugged. “Nope, but how hard can it be? Come on, millionaires buy this crap all the time. If they can steer them, so can I. Just like driving a car.”
Clementine didn’t think so, but there weren’t exactly a lot of options available to argue. It wasn’t overly a terrible idea; it would get the children out of sight. If worse came to worse, they could even allow the boat to float out into the middle of the harbor until the fighting was over.
Aries turned to Clementine. “Let’s get the kids on board. I’ll get the keys.”
“They’re inside the casino in his private room,” Karen said. “I’ll tell you how to get there, but I’m not going. I’m not that level of crazy. I’ll stay with the kids.”
“I said I’d do it.”
“You’re not going into the casino alone,” Clementine said. “I’m coming with you.”
“You can barely walk. Don’t look at me like that Clem. You’re injured. I’m not going to lead you in to die. I’m not making that mistake again.”
Clementine wanted to argue more, but she didn’t get the chance. Gunshots exploded in the distance and they weren’t coming from the commotion inside the Plaza of Nations. No, they were coming from down the street. A slow rumble shook through the early evening air. A war cry, mixed in with the sounds of a large amount of people tearing down the Vancouver streets.
The plaza exploded into confusion. Even the Baggers stopped fighting to pause and turn towards the sounds coming from outside the gates.
“Oh god,” Aries said. “They’re here.”
The ferals.
Mason
He spotted the guns the moment they opened the loading bay doors and tried getting back in the car. Two other cars had driven around to the back to block them in. It wasn’t ferals lined up to face them.
They’d been followed.
Mason’s first instinct was to go back inside the building, but when he turned, he saw flashlight beams heading towards them. They must have snuck around while Raj and Daniel argued, waiting for the perfect moment to launch their ambush.
“Hand over your weapons.” One of the Baggers stepped forward and away from his pack. He was the only one who wasn’t properly armed, and it gave Mason the impression that he was in charge. The rest carried a variety of handguns and rifles, all of which were pointed at Mason and the others. Beside him, he could feel Daniel hesitate, unsure whether to listen or start fighting. Daniel might be good, but Mason didn’t think he’d win. The odds were kinda crappy.
The other Baggers came through the loading door. In total, there were eight of them. Mason recognized a few from the Plaza, mostly lower end men who’d been in charge of guarding the gate. But the head one, he was one of Leon’s prized monsters and he went by the name of Shintz. Higher up on the pecking order, he’d spent a lot of time inside the Casino. Rumor had it he wasn’t beyond doing despicable things even Leon didn’t have the stomach for. Because of this, Shintz was also primarily in charge of deciding who lived or died when new prisoners came in. He had a reputation around the Plaza as being one of the Baggers not to mess with. Even his own kind went out of their way to avoid him.
“I thought there were four of them.”
It was only then that Mason realized Jordan wasn’t there. Without trying to be overly obvious, he glanced between Raj and Daniel. Raj looked shocked and wide-eyed, but Daniel was keeping his poker face. Somehow Jordan had managed to give everyone the slip. Mason decided to play it dumb and not answer.
“One of the little birdies has tried to escape its cage,” Shintz said. “No matter. We’ll find the runt. I can’t say I’m particularly concerned. No, I’m more interested in both of you.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a tin of mints and popped one into his mouth. “I’m not going to tell you again. Hand over your weapons.”
“We don’t have any,” Mason growled. “You should know that. We had one gun. As you can see, it’s not here.” He held up his empty hands.
“You wouldn’t be lying to me now, would you? For all I knows, you might have picked something up along the road.”
“Search me for all I care.”
One of the Baggers stepped forward, but Shintz casually waved him back. “No need. Let’s have ourselves a talk before we get down to business. I’ve got a few things to discuss. Things you ought to be knowing.”
“Business?” Daniel smiled. “Is that what this is?”
“Sure is,” Shintz said. He walked back and forth between Mason and Raj, looking them up and down. “See. You made yourself a deal with Leon. Said you was going to fight with him against the ferals. Said you needed to come back here to check things out and get your dead friend. Leon, being a man of the people, agreed to let you go. See, he’s thinking you’re honest. Figures you both be boys of your word.”
“Yeah. We sat down and had tea and muffins like real civilized beings,” Daniel said. “Made friends. It’s not like he never tortured and tried to kill us. But hey, it’s all good. We’ve forgiven him and moved on.”
Shintz snorted. “Leon doesn’t like being played for a fool.”
“Then he shouldn’t try playing with us in the first place.”
“There are no ferals here.”
Mason felt Daniel press up against his side. Something hard touched his hand. A knife. Opening his fingers, he allowed Daniel to secretly pass over the weapon. Carefully, never taking his eyes off of the Baggers, he slipped the knife into his back pocket. It wasn’t very large and it wouldn’t give him any advantage if they started shooting, but it was better than nothing. He casually glanced up and searched the parking lot. Where was Jordan? Had the kid decided to jump ship? Or was he out there somewhere with that miraculous aim?
Now’s a good time to start shooting, kid. Like right now. Don’t hesitate on our behalf.
“We saw two of them earlier,” Raj said. “Ferals. Over by the front of the mall. Snacking on some crisps. Come on, you chavs, have you not seen what it’s like in there? They trashed the entire mall. We certainly didn’t do that.”
“Are you that stupid, Brit?” Shintz asked. “This whole damn world is trashed. That proves nothing. The fact remains; there ain’t no ferals here. They weren’t ever here, were they?”
“They’re heading towards the Plaza. They’
re probably already there.”
“There ain’t no ferals,” Shintz repeated. “We would have seen them.”
“Yeah, ‘cause there’s only one road leading downtown,” Mason said. “Is that how you came to that conclusion?”
Shintz ignored him. “That’s why Leon sent us. He wanted to make sure you two weren’t trying to fool him. He thought you might be fibbing, trying to buy more time. Keep your little friends alive. But he also had hope. He liked the idea of everyone working together. A chance for us to share a problem. See. Leon agreed with you that the ferals had to go. Sure, they were useful in the beginning. Helped us get things under control, but now they’re a nuisance. They can’t think about things, you see. Can’t see the big picture. Only want to kill. Keeps new blood from visiting the city. It’s true what they said, about them killing people on the highways.”
“So he interviewed us and gave us the job?” Daniel said.
Shintz opened his tin of mints and popped another in his mouth. “You knows, you’re a real mystery to me, kid. I’ll never understand why you’ve done what you do. You’ve picked the wrong side. And you’ve been shown the light. You understand everything. So why choose humanity?”
“Gee,” Daniel said. “I think you’re right. Can I change now? Give me a gun and I’ll help you out.”
“Heck, I’ll change sides too,” Mason said. “I’ve always wondered how the other half lived.”
Shintz gave them a minty fresh grin. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out a transistor radio. “You’re laughing now, but it’s gonna stop. See, I contacted Leon and told him everything.” He tossed the walkie-talkie up in the air and caught it. “As we speak, Leon’s rounding up everyone in the Plaza and they’re all gonna die. He wanted me to tell you personally, so you know. It shouldn’t take long. Hells, they might be dead already.”
Was it true? Or was it just another one of Leon’s games? If he thought the ferals didn’t exist, why would he kill off all the humans? It didn’t make sense.
“You’re bluffing,” Daniel said.
“He’s got nothing to gain by killing everyone,” Mason said. “He needs them alive.”
“No, actually he doesn’t,” Shintz said. “There are always humans. You filthy little things are like bunnies. You put one down, but there’s always more. And when you get too big for your britches, you get exterminated. Just like cockroaches. No matter how many we’ve killed, dozens hide in the dirty cracks. As for your little friends, and especially that other freak of nature, well, there are always pretty girls to round up. Leon plans on expanding his business. He’s heard there’s a whole group down in Seattle. Figures it’s worth checking out.”
“I’ve heard this whole ‘humanity is a disease’ speech before,” Mason said. “I’m a little tired of it.”
“Fair enough,” Shintz said. “Let’s move on then.” He approached Mason and stopped less than a foot away. He was shorter by at least half a foot and it was obvious that he didn’t like that very much. Shintz went up on his toes to try and match Mason’s height, but still managed to fail.
“Now where shall we do this? Against the wall probably works best. Less splatter and it’ll be good background for the camera.”
One of the Baggers pulled a handheld video recorder from a bag around his shoulder. He turned it on and pointed it at Mason. A small red light on the side flashed several times. Another Bagger stepped forward and shoved the gun in Mason’s face, pushing him back and towards the shopping center. A second one went after Raj and Daniel.
When they were properly lined up, the remaining Baggers drew their guns.
Time for an execution.
“For Leon,” Shintz said. “He apologizes that he can’t be here to witness you die. But he’ll watch it later tonight. Smile suckers. You’re gonna be on the eleven o’clock news. I’d ask y’all if you had any last words, but honestly, I don’t really care.”
As the Bagger furthest from the right began to raise his rifle, his knees suddenly buckled and he dropped to the ground. Mason might have found it comical if it wasn’t for the fact there were still plenty of other guns pointed at him. A second Bagger turned quizzically, his mouth opening in slow motion, as a second bullet fired straight into his cheek.
It was almost as if someone with a silencer was hiding out at the edge of the parking lot and taking them down one by one.
Damn, that kid really could shoot.
“What the hell?” Shintz turned, narrowly missing the bullet intended for his brain. “Kill them now!”
Mason ducked the moment he felt the first bullet whiz past his face. It struck the wall, exploding bits of debris into the air. Daniel tackled the closest Bagger, bringing the man down before he could fire off another round.
“Get in the car,” Daniel yelled.
The three of them dropped down low and raced towards the waiting car. Jordan continued to fire off shots, but he wasn’t hitting his targets. The Baggers had pulled together and were retreating to their own vehicles. The video camera had been abandoned and lay on the ground, still recording. Daniel reached the car first. He opened the passenger door and crawled in with Mason and Raj close behind.
A bullet shattered the driver side window as Raj jammed the keys into the ignition. As the engine roared to life, Jordan took aim once more, stopping the Bagger trying to force his way into the backseat. Raj hit the gas and they sped off, leaving the Baggers scrambling to catch up. Mason looked back to see Shintz screaming at them to fight back.
Jordan appeared at the edge of the parking lot. He’d somehow managed to sneak all the way around and take cover behind some trees. Raj detoured to the left and slowed down enough for Jordan to jump in. With his rifle still tucked into his hands, he landed next to Mason with a big grin on his face.
“That was amazing,” he said. “Did you see that? Of course you did. Man, they had no idea what hit them. I gotta admit, I was worried. Thought I hesitated too long. Wanted to make sure I could get more than one clear shot. Hoped to take them all out, but did the best I could.”
“That was brilliant,” Raj agreed. “How’d you sneak away like that?”
Jordan shrugged. “I’m quiet when I want to be.”
“Glad you’re on our team, mate,” Raj said. “Just gonna say it. Bloody, bloody brilliant.”
“We’re not clear yet,” Daniel said. “Maybe save all that talk until later. Just get us out of here.”
As they drove off, Mason thought about how Leon must have set the whole thing up. It made perfect sense to why he’d easily allowed them to leave the Plaza of Nations in the first place. Mason had been suspicious, he’d known Leon had an ulterior plan all along, but he didn’t think the Bagger would have sent others after them. Mason had been under the stupid assumption that Leon valued the information they would be bringing back about the ferals. It also meant that Mason had been wrong in thinking Leon had something planned that included them all together. And Daniel and him had driven off, leaving Aries, Clementine and all the others alone.
Now that Leon believed there were no ferals and that Daniel and Mason had made up the entire thing, there was nothing to stop him from hurting the others. He was going to kill them all and then get the hell out of dodge. Daniel must have been thinking the same thing. White knuckled, he looked Mason straight in the eyes.
“We have to get there now,” Daniel said.
Another bullet slammed into the back of the car. The Baggers were giving chase behind them. And they had more weapons and ammo. And a faster car. As Raj sped down Lougheed Highway, they were steadily catching up.
“How’s that?” Raj shouted.
“Head back downtown.”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that?” Raj jerked the steering wheel to avoid a pile of cars that must have collided during the initial earthquake.
“Lose them,” Daniel suggested.
“Oi. Very funny.”
Raj swerved again, the car’s tires squealing as he tried to take a co
rner much faster than he should. Mason was shoved up against Jordan who had half his body hanging out the window to try and fire off another round. But his shot went wild as Mason crashed against him, nearly sending the poor boy out the window. Wrapping his arms around the kid’s legs, he pulled him back inside just as one of the Baggers took aim and sent a bullet that went straight through Mason’s arm.
The pain tore through his bicep, sending fireworks of pain throughout his entire body. More bullets followed, taking out the back window. Daniel ducked down behind the passenger seat as the rear view mirror shattered into fragments of glass and plastic.
The front tire blew out and the car twisted sharply to the right. Raj lost control and they hit the sidewalk at full speed. Suddenly they were upside down, crashing against each other, spiraling out of control. Mason’s head smashed against the metal frame and blood splattered everywhere. Daniel shouted something nonsensical and Jordan let go of his rifle. Mason watched it disappear out the window in slow motion.
They were upside down. Then right side up. The entire earth spun around and around until finally coming to a stop.
He could smell gasoline. It assaulted his nose, made his eyes all blurry, or maybe that was the effects of being shot and then spun around like they were trapped inside a hamster wheel. The metal groaned as Daniel was the first to try and open the passenger side door. He had to throw his entire weight against it to get it to budge.
Jordan lay on top of him. The younger boy wasn’t moving, but when Daniel yanked open the door, he briefly stirred. Blood poured out of his nose as blindly reached around with his hand. Maybe he was looking for his gun, Mason couldn’t tell for sure. Either way, he moved enough that Mason was able to squeeze out from beneath Jordan’s body, leaving the poor kid to slump against the front seat where Raj lay quietly, his head pressed against the steering wheel.
“Come on, Tourist Boy,” Daniel said. Grabbing Mason by the shoulders, he dragged him out. Daniel didn’t look so good himself, bleeding from a gash in the side of his head. Mason dropped to the ground and a whole new wave of pain nearly swallowed him up alive. Biting down on his tongue, he fought through it, refusing to give in to the darkness that pushed its way through the edge of his vision.