by Gareth Otton
Thursday, 29th December 2016
9:00
Tad barely noticed the stares he received as he made his way through the corridors of Portcullis House, the large building adjacent to parliament that housed the majority of the offices for the Members of Parliament. Those stares ranged from shock at the sight of him, to outright hatred. He didn’t have many supporters in Parliament and therefore he wasn’t welcome here.
In fact, he was pushing his luck. He had not asked permission before dreamwalking inside and with the law as it currently stood, his trespassing could earn him a visit from armed police who were within their rights to shoot him dead. However, Tad couldn’t bring himself to care.
He had come straight from the hospital where Stella was recovering. The weight of seeing her so injured increased the gravity of that black hole in his mind, and his thoughts couldn’t escape the darkness. Coming so close to losing Stella and actually losing Freckles had almost pushed him over the edge. If he didn’t have to hold himself together for the sake of the people he loved right now, he didn’t know where those dark thoughts might take him.
Thankfully, Stella’s eidolon heritage meant her wounds were healing quickly and she would be almost as good as new, minus a few scars, in no time. Considering what happened to her old scars, he doubted they would last long. However, the wounds of losing the Dream Team, Trevors dying before her eyes, and Freckles giving his life to protect her, were doing more damage than her physical injuries. He worried about how she would recover from this.
Beyond that, he had to worry about Jen.
Norman told him how she dreamwalked away before he could stop her after learning the news about Freckles. Tad sought her out at the Burmans, but for the first time since he and Jen worked out their relationship in that hospital room after she broke her back, Jen refused to see him. Mrs Burman explained how Jen blamed herself for what happened and feared that Tad and Stella would hate her for not saving Freckles.
Tad wanted to see her to smooth things over, but had learnt the hard way that Jen’s stubbornness was a force of nature. Sometimes it was better to let her ride out her emotions than try to force her to do something. So he asked Mrs Burman to pass on the message that neither of them blamed her. In fact, the opposite was true as both were just grateful she could save Stella.
Tad spent the rest of the night feeling helpless as the women in his life were both hurt in ways he could do nothing about. That helplessness led to dark thoughts of this war and his role in it. They were less than a week into the thing and already he had lost so much… The people he loved had lost so much… Who knew how long this war could drag out and how much more could be lost? He needed to find a way to end it fast. He knew it was unreasonable to put that weight on his shoulders alone, but he couldn’t help feeling like it was his responsibility.
He couldn’t shake the notion that there was still a way, even after all this, that he could end this without further fighting. There was something in his mind, an opportunity not explored, that he was sure would end things. As no one else shared this idea, no one was looking for the solution, and therefore the weight rested on his shoulders.
It was that weight which led him here, once more seeking Ashley Evans. He was out of options in all other ways, and he needed to learn more about the one area of his life that he was still ignorant of. However, he was not in a charitable mood, which was why Tony insisted he not make this trip alone. Though the people in the corridors couldn’t see them right now, Tad was trailed by Tony and Amber.
However, even if they could see the ghosts, Tad doubted they would have cared with Growler prowling down the corridor alongside him. Mourning the loss of his brother, the dog was not as friendly as normal, and that somehow made him seem even larger than usual.
“Anyone would think you’re marching the halls with a machine gun looking at these people,” Tony pointed out, amazed at the reactions they were getting. “It’s like they don’t know whether to shout at you for being here or run away screaming at the sight of you.”
When no one answered, Tony continued talking.
“They’re idiots. It’s not like you’d ever hurt anyone. You’ve only ever been violent against nightmares and people who attacked you. Why the hell are they all so scared?”
“It’s because they believe their own lies. They’ve sold themselves on the story that dreamwalkers are evil people that need to be reined in at all costs to justify why they voted for that law. They’ve spent so long focusing on the worst-case scenarios of dreamwalkers that they’ve given themselves nightmares. Seeing Tad here is like one of those nightmares coming true.”
It was Amber who answered Tony, and the tone of her voice broke through Tad’s dark thoughts and piqued his curiosity. This was not the warm, friendly tones he was used to from the girl. Flashes of foreign memories stirred inside Tad’s mind, memories from Tony.
Amber had not been the same since the twins moved on, and Tony was as worried about her as Tad was about Stella and Jen. It had only been five days and Tad felt it was normal for her to be this upset, but hearing the vitriol in her answer was alarming to Tad.
In response he did something he tried not to do much, and searched a little more thoroughly through memories that weren’t his own. There had been hatred in Amber’s tone, and he wondered where that hatred came from. It didn’t take long to find the answer.
In all that the law focused on dreamwalkers, it wasn’t great for ghosts either. Parliament had continued the current culture of hating ghosts for simply existing, and in Amber’s mind it was such sentiments that had driven the actions of those who had bullied the twins and made them lose their grip on sanity too soon.
Suddenly it was Tad who worried about bringing Amber here rather than the other way around. Tony and Amber were supposed to be here to keep Tad from creating a scene that could make things worse, but seeing Amber’s expression made Tad wonder if maybe he might have to play peacemaker.
However, there was at least one member of their little party who was keeping his head straight and knew how to handle the situation. Growler nudged his head against the girl’s leg until she instinctively reached down to scratch him behind the ear. Then, when he leaned against her hand, she turned her attention to the dog and there was a flicker of tension at the corner of her mouth as though she might smile.
Tad tried to hide the look of relief that washed over his face as he shared a worried look with Tony. Neither of them said anything, and neither did they have a chance to as a nearby door was thrown open and Ashley Evans stepped out, his face like thunder.
“Here we go,” Tony muttered, and Tad would never find out if his ghost meant to say more because Ashely shouted over him.
“No. I told you before. I am done with you. You have no right to barge in here like this. Get out of here now before I call the police.”
“Call them,” Tad said, enjoying this outlet for his frustration. “I’m not going anywhere, and I think we both know that they won’t make me. Not with everything going on.” That was Tad’s hope anyway, and judging by the flicker of annoyance that crossed the politician’s face, Tad suspected he was right. “You want me gone, then that’s simple to do. I’m here to learn what I need to know from you so that I can use that knowledge to save lives. I don’t care what your problems are with that, I’m done waiting for you to grow a conscience. Just tell me what I need to know and I can get on with my life and leave you to get on with yours.”
“A conscience?” Ashley asked. “It’s a conscience that’s keeping me from telling you any of this. I...” His words trailed off as he noticed the other people in the hallway, all of them watching the conversation with open curiosity. “Get in here,” he snarled, stepping away from the door and ushering them into his large office. He stood impatiently by the door, waving them inside, and then he slammed the door closed behind them.
For the first time since Tad met the man, he looked flustered. His face was red, and he was clearly uncomfortable
with them being here. The tone of his voice when he spoke again showed that his patience had long since vanished.
“In your ignorance you think you’re asking something simple of me, but if I give you what you came here for, I would trigger negative consequences that I couldn’t live with.”
Tad opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. That was not the response he expected, and it took him a second to process the words.
“Wait, you’re refusing to tell me what I need to know because you are afraid of what I might do with that knowledge?” Tad asked, simultaneously shocked at the man’s reasoning and elated that this proved there was more to Animancy than Ashley was willing to admit. “You understand that there’s a war going on, right? I know you hate Norman for admitting that he’s a Dreamwalker and you’re part of the opposition fighting to remove him from power, but surely you people aren’t so stupid as to keep denying what is right in front of your face. These aren’t random terrorist attacks, they are the opening skirmishes of a war and if we don’t stop it soon, then it might be a war like the world has never seen. Unless you want to lose this war, you should tell me what you know.”
Ashley flinched when Tad brought up the opposition to the Prime Minister, because they had all been made to look stupid for denying what was in front of their face. They had been denying everything Norman said for no other reason than it was Norman who said it. However, with everything that happened recently, especially the destruction of the DTHQ by soldiers and men with dreamcatcher working together, it was hard to deny the truth any longer.
“I agree that there is war, but I do not agree with your other conclusions,” Ashely admitted, giving ground only slightly. “This war is happening because this country has been under poor management since the start of the Dream Crisis and it’s not more fighting that will stop it, but diplomacy. If the Prime Minister had been more accommodating in the first place then—”
“People are dying, arsehole,” Amber snapped, surprising everyone. “That may not affect you in your fancy mansion surrounded by all your money and power, but it’s affecting the people we know who are losing their lives. While you sit in your comfy chair pointing fingers at everyone else while wanting to talk your way out of your problems, Tad has lost his home, we’ve lost people we love and you can take that smug face of yours and—”
Her words cut off as Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her back, only then making the teenager realise she had been stalking towards the politician like she might punch him. Blushing even though she was a ghost, Amber nonetheless shot a hateful glare at Ashley before she stepped back in line.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Ashley said when he got control of himself. “And I wish these attacks weren’t happening. But I will not escalate that by turning this man into a nuclear weapon. The negative consequences of you learning animancy outweighs the negative consequences of this war. I will not bear that weight on my shoulders.”
“You already have that weight on your shoulders,” Amber spat, once again surprising Tad. It was like the young woman was a volcano that had been building for an explosion for a long time and had finally found the right moment. “You not teaching Tad what he needs to know to end this war means you have decided to let everyone he could save with the knowledge die instead. That’s on you, arsehole. So instead of pointing fingers at other people, why don’t you look in the mirror and take some blame for yourself.”
Again Tony was pulling Amber back, making this one of the rare times where he was a calming force on a situation rather than an accelerant. Amber grudgingly backed off, and even then Tad thought it was more because her words had struck the politician hard enough to shock him rather than Tony’s influence.
“People are dying, Ashley,” Tad said, trying to augment Amber’s argument. “Innocent people. Even you can see that after the Todmoryn and Cardiff Castle incidents. You say that this is Norman’s fault for handling it wrong, but even you know there is nothing Norman has ever done that warrants the death of innocents. This isn’t a war you can win with words. These people are coming to take everything, and don’t think they’re just going to settle because the dreamwalkers are dead and gone. They want the Borderlands, and they have come too far to stop at just that. The UK won’t exist any longer if they get their way. You need to teach me what I need to know. Let me stop this thing before it’s too late, then you can try talking it out.”
“No,” Ashley said. “You don’t know what you’re asking. If you did, you might side with me and your attack dog here would know to mind her tone when she’s talking about things she doesn’t understand.”
“Maybe it’s you who should mind his tone when insulting people who could easily kill you right now,” Tony snapped, losing his temper when the politician insulted Amber. So much for his calming influence.
“You couldn’t do anything to me, ghost. I might not be a dreamwalker, but I have more than enough strength to deal with the likes of you.”
A low, ominous growl rumbled from the last member of their party to make himself heard. Ashely gulped and stepped back.
“You might deal with me and Amber,” Tony pointed out. “But how do you think you’d manage against a giant dreamwalking dog who is pissed off right now because his brother died in the war you are so keen to let happen? If you shared your knowledge yesterday, then Tad might have been able to help and he might be alive today. Yeah, just as I thought, you’re not so tough now, are you?”
Tony kept taunting the man as Ashley looked at Growler like he was death itself. Tad didn’t think it was possible for the man to grow any paler than he was normally, but as the blood rushed out of Ashley’s face he was proved wrong.
“Tony, enough. This is getting out of hand, but it doesn’t need to. Just tell me what I need to know and—”
“No, never,” Ashley interrupted, refusing to budge even though his voice shook from fear at the giant dog that was still growling at him. “Even though you threaten to kill me, I will not give in on this, it’s too important.”
“No one is threatening to kill you,” Tad said, sighing in defeat as he realised it would take more than a threat to get this information out of the man. It would require actions that would make Tad cross a line he was not prepared to cross. He didn’t have it in him to make this man talk, and he knew now that he was wasting his time. He was about to say as much to Tony and Amber, but Tony spoke up first.
“Well, if you won’t share that information, then maybe you can help with something else and prove that you’re not completely useless. Do you know a way to keep ghosts from the madness of not moving on without a Proxy to help them?”
Tad was surprised at the question, but shouldn’t have been. Since he met Amber, Tony had started championing the rights of ghosts, but that had been pushed into overdrive with the loss of the twins.
“What?” Ashley asked. “Keep them here… No, of course not. Ghosts aren’t supposed to be here, that’s why they go mad from the pull of the next life. Staying here is unnatural. The only reason they can stay here with the help of a dreamwalker is that dreamwalkers are about as unnatural as something gets. My advice to your ghosts is to just move on and stop fighting nature.”
“Then what fucking good are you?” Tony raged, and suddenly it was Amber holding him back as he lunged at Ashley like he wanted to kill the man. “You won’t help Tad save lives before they’re dead, you won’t help me save lives after they’re dead, and all the while you stand there like you’re somehow better than us. Growler, I think you should tear this guy to shreds.”
In response, Growler pulled over a touch of Dream to augment his growl, but Tad told him to stop that as he felt this was getting out of hand. The lack of growling allowed Ashley to regrow his backbone, and he stood up straight, his expression outraged.
“You all have a lot of nerve speaking to me in this way. I have a mind to—”
“Shush,” Tad said, raising a finger in the man’s direction as he pulled his buzzing phone
out of his pocket.
Refusing to be interrupted and talked to in such a way, Ashley started shouting, but Tad had a simple answer for that. He used Dream to direct the sound waves around himself and his friends in much the same way as he had protected himself and Tony from the sonic wailing of the dragons in the Millennium Stadium. Instantly Ashley’s voice fell silent, and Tad could concentrate on the phone in his hand.
“What is it?” Tony asked, his voice calm like he had never lost his temper.
“It’s a message from Ryan. They’re ready to spring a trap on Kuruk and he’s asking if we can help.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Tony asked, a touch of a sadistic delight in his voice. “Let’s go get that bastard. We’re obviously not going to learn anything from this arsehole.”
Tad glanced up as Tony said that, and almost burst out laughing at the look on Ashley’s face. If he was angry at being shushed, he was apoplectic at being ignored. He was screaming at them, not yet realising that his sound wasn’t reaching Tad’s ears.
“You’re right, he is an arsehole. Let’s get out of here. There’s nothing more that we can do with this guy. I need those answers, but I’m not willing to pay the price for them yet.”
“Yet?” Tony asked.
Tad frowned, as he didn’t know what he meant by that either.
“I won’t cross that line, Tony. No matter what.”
“Even if Jen’s life hung in the balance, or Stella’s, or—”
“Enough,” Tad said, not wanting to think of that right now. “I need to get going. Where do you two want dropping off?”
“Dropping off?” Tony asked. “I’m coming with you. If you’re going after Kuruk then you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
Tad didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a wave of relief wash over him at the thought of Tony coming with him. He would go pick up Thomas and Rodney as well, but he had known Tony the longest and would feel much more comfortable with Tony watching his back.