“And if those decisions are stupid, I have to step in.”
“Why?” Quinton asked, his brow furrowing. “Who are they to you anyway?”
“Jackson and those girls saved me. If it wasn’t for them, we never would have seen each other again. So they are important to me and they should be important to you.”
Quinton looked like he was ready to start arguing but then shook his head, as if he knew arguing was just a waste of time. “Fine, you want to convince them to stay, go nuts.”
The debate over, Veronica turned to go find Jackson but Quinton’s hand on her shoulder had her stopping in her tracks. “Before you go, we’ve got to talk about something.”
He was using his doctor voice, all calm and steady. Whatever he wanted to talk about was serious. It was the only time he would use that voice outside the hospital. He nodded to Claudia and she moved off towards the others, leaving them alone.
“You killed a man today.”
That’s what this was about, the dead sniper? Damn him!
A million horrible thoughts had flashed through her mind and this is what he wanted to talk about?
“We all killed men today.”
“I don’t care what everyone else did,” he said, taking her hand. “V, come on, it’s me, I know you. You aren’t callous. You can’t just brush this off.”
“I’m not going to cry for that man. He tried to kill you. I thought he
had
killed you.”
Her throat tightened as the terror that had swamped her in the woods returned. In her mind’s eye she saw Quinton fall as the shot rang out. “If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have shot someone else. I did the right thing.”
“I’m not going to argue that. You did the right thing but that doesn’t take away from what you did. Bad guy or not, you took a life. That affects a person.”
She wasn’t going to pretend that the gravity of what she had done was lost on her. She had taken a life. She knew what that meant but it didn’t weigh on her conscience the way Quinton presumed.
“It’s what Dad always told us. When the world falls apart, the rules change. We’re going to have to kill to protect ourselves. It’s just how things are now. I don’t like it but it is what it is.”
His eyes squeezed shut as he shook his head. “You can’t do that. You can’t let this world turn you cold like that. You can’t forget that every human life, no matter how shitty a person they are, is still worth something.”
“I know the worth of human life.” A wistful smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “You and Claudia, your lives are worth more to me than the lives of a hundred men. Given the chance to do it over again, I’d kill him every goddamn time.”
He took a breath, ready to argue but she put a finger to his mouth.
“Don’t. I don’t want to hear whatever morally superior bullshit you’ve got in reserves. You know you’d do the same in my shoes and so would Claudia. We were all raised the same. Family above everything.”
He shook his head, eyes darting away and she knew she had him. “I appreciate your concern, baby brother, but I’ve made my peace with it. You don’t have to worry about me.”
She smiled up at him, patting his cheek fondly and he huffed out a resigned sigh.
“Fine but you turn into some raving psychopath, I’m not going to help you hide the bodies.”
“Fine,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “Claudia will help me anyway.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and he flipped up his middle finger before smiling at her.
“Alright, go convince your boyfriend to stay.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said and felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment, which was stupid. She had no reason to feel embarrassed.
“Oh so that’s why you want him to stay so much, so you can make him your boyfriend.”
“Oh my god, shut up, you’re so stupid!”
She punched him in the shoulder for good measure, her face getting hotter which just made her more annoyed.
“And you sound like a tween with a crush,” he laughed and she punched him again. “
Veronica and Jackson, sitting in a tree
--”
“I’m leaving,” she said, turning on her heel and stalking away from Quinton, his laughter trailing after her. He was stupid. She didn’t have a crush on Jackson. Sure, she found him attractive but that was natural. It was like seeing a nice lamp. You say
Hey, this is a nice lamp!
but that doesn’t mean you’re going to take it home and put it in your living room.
She made her way through the camp, circling around to where Jackson had set up his tent. It was hard to distinguish the tents in the darkness, the moon the only source of light in the camp but she spotted a familiar figure sitting in front of one of the tents.
“Why are you sitting out here in the dark?” she asked when she sat down next to him.
“Easier to keep watch out here.”
“Malcolm’s got two people on watch at all times, we should be good.”
She saw his shoulders rise and fall when he shrugged. “‘Nother set of eyes never hurt.”
“You should be getting some sleep,” she told him. “Big day tomorrow.”
“Yeah?”
“The group is heading north in the morning. Malcolm knows about this island that’s supposed to be safe, some sort of rendezvous point for the CIA. My father would be spitting nails if he knew I was listening to a Fed but I think it’s the right move. We have to find somewhere we can be safe and the island sounds like the place.”
“Sounds like ya got things all figured out.”
His shoulders were hunched, his head down, hiding his face from her. He was a hard man to read. If he was anyone else, she’d think he was mad at her but she had seen him angry and this wasn’t it.
“And what about you?” He shrugged his shoulders again. “I know Malcolm asked you to stay.”
“Well, gossip mill’s runnin’ strong ‘round here, ain’t it? Yeah, he asked me to stay. Haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“What’s taking so long?”
“I ain’t exactly a fan of bein’ part of a group.”
“Being part of a group can mean the difference between life and death now,” she pointed out, “And if it makes any difference, I want you to stay.”
“Why?”
“Because, believe it or not, I’ve grown a bit attached to you and the girls. We’ve been through a lot in the short time we’ve known each other. Add to that, you guys wouldn’t leave me, even when it was best for you. I don’t want to leave you now.”
He looked at her as if she was speaking in a foreign language. His eyes were searching, as if he was trying to figure out what angle she was working. It pained her to see how unfamiliar he was with sincerity. He seemed to suspect everyone of some ulterior motive.
“Malcolm knows what I am.”
“And what’s that?”
“A junkie con.”
“Isn’t that what you used to be?” she said. “You’re talking like you are still a junkie and a con. You’re an
ex
-junkie and an
ex
-con. You need to stop defining yourself by what you used to be and start being who you are.”
He turned away from her, hunching his shoulders more and she knew she was making him uncomfortable but that wasn’t going to stop her. She owed him, and her first step in paying him back was going to be making him see himself the way she did.
“You’re the man who saved those two girls from certain death. You’re the man who helped me when there was nothing in it for you. That’s what Malcolm sees when he looks at you. That’s what I see when I look at you.”
“Fine, if yer gonna beg, I’ll stay,” he groused. “Nothin’ more pathetic than a grown woman beggin’.”
“Thank you,” she said, leaning over to press a kiss to his stubbled cheek but he turned at the last moment and her lips landed square on his. He inhaled sharply at the contact, his body going rigid next to her and she pulled back quickly. “Sorry.”
“S’fine,” he mumbled, pulling his knees up to rest his arms on, head ducking down so his shaggy hair fell across his face.
She wondered if he felt the same jolt of electricity she had. Probably not, considering he had practically cringed away from her. He was a man after all. If he was feeling her, he wouldn’t pull away. He probably thought she had been making a play for him and was embarrassed for her.
“Look, it was an accident, I wasn’t coming on to you, I wouldn’t do that.”
His head jerked up at her explanation. “Said it was fine. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”
He hunched back in on himself, staring straight ahead into the darkness. His demeanour clearly said it wasn’t fine. Problem was it also said he didn’t want to talk about it. So she was left to sit there in silence, the awkwardness between them growing.
To hell with this.
“Right, I should get some sleep,” she said and stood, brushing her hands nervously over her jeans. “Like I said, big day tomorrow.”
He nodded, not looking up at her and she figured it was easier to just leave it at that.
She climbed into the tent, laying down next to Audrey, looking over at the empty sleeping bag next to Hannah. She hoped that they could forget the kiss and start fresh in the morning. Jackson’s agreement to stay was tenuous at best and she didn’t want to drive him away.
It wasn’t too long before the zipper sounded and Jackson ducked into the tent. She watched, silent, as he closed the flap and lay out on his sleeping bag, staring up at the canvas roof. They lay there for a while, the soft breathing of the girls filling the tent before he finally turned his head in her direction.
“What?”
“You aren’t going to leave, are you?” she asked, surprised at the sadness in her voice.
His frustrated huff seemed to echo in the tent. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere. Now stop worryin’ and get to sleep.”
The tension in her belly eased and she found her eyes growing heavy. Knowing that he would still be there in the morning was the perfect sleeping pill.
Subject File # 742
Administrator - You’ve done something amazing here.
Subject - Surviving isn’t so amazing. I’m trained to do it.
Administrator - No, I mean what you’ve created here with your group. You were strangers not too long ago and now you’re a family. I don’t think it’s the island that’s a symbol of hope for you. It’s your group, that’s the symbol of hope.
By the time the sun started to peek over the mountain ridge, the camp had been dismantled and packed up. Everyone was eager to get on the road and leave the park behind. There had been too much death and loss here.
Since the news of Travis’ death, Alan had been quiet and withdrawn. Malcolm had expected a confrontation where Alan would place his brother’s death at Malcolm’s feet but it never came. Instead Alan had taken orders, offering nothing to the group discussions, nodding in agreement with whatever the others said. Whatever fight had been in him seemed to have died with his brother. Though Malcolm preferred the quieter version of Alan, he would tolerate him in a constant state of rage if it meant Travis was still with them.
Jenny was doing her best to stay strong and she had been gracious when he had gone to her to offer his condolences. She had thanked him through her tears and told him that he wasn’t to blame. Though he felt that was still up for debate, he appreciated her attempt to reassure him.
She now stood by cube van, staring off at the mountains, an arm curled protectively over her pregnant belly. He wondered how much she worried about the baby that would be here in a few short months. Stupid to wonder, worrying was probably all she did. With no hospitals left, she’d be giving birth the old fashioned way but at least she’d have a doctor around for it.
Quinton was helping Janet load the last of the cooking supplies into the minivan. The twins and Ruthie were running around nearby under the watchful eye of Claudia. The kids had taken a shine to the young woman, especially Ruthie. It was a warm sight to watch them playing and laughing. At least for them, the world hadn’t become a scary place yet. They’d been lucky, the group had shielded them from as much of the horror of the past weeks as they could.
His attention turned to the other children that had become part of their group last night. Audrey and Hannah were sitting side by side at the back of their van, sharing a bowl of oatmeal. They were solemn girls and with what history he’d gotten from Veronica, they had every reason to be. Their innocence had been tarnished and their childhoods destroyed. They were the unlucky ones.
And yet when Jackson and Veronica approached the van to load up their bags, the girls’ demeanour changed. Hannah broke out in a wide smile, saying something that made Veronica laugh and Jackson crack a smile. Jackson reached out to tussle Hannah’s hair, saying something that had her giggling while Veronica slung an affectionate arm around Audrey’s shoulders as they watched the other two.
Maybe the girls weren’t as unlucky as he thought. The sight of them, this makeshift little family, gave him confidence in asking Jackson to join them. He might have a past but he cared about those girls. A man who cared about something was someone he could trust.
With the last of their things loaded up, Malcolm headed to join Kim and Trey by the station wagon. Craig, who was still under doctor’s orders to remain flat on his back, was already laying in the back, Lorraine at his side as always.