by Logan Jacobs
The road passed through an old stone wall and an iron gate that had been built in the pre-magic days. The gate was closed, but Darwin eased it open without a sound, and we slipped through. We found ourselves on a wider road, also dirt, but crisscrossed with hoofprints and wheel ruts. It was clearly a busy road during the day, and as we drew closer to the town, we started to encounter more people, most of whom looked like they were heading home after a long day at work, but a few were drifting into town in search of entertainment. We’d timed it perfectly, and no one paid us any mind as we walked past the horse dealer and the old church, and ventured down Main Street. We stuck to the shadows as much as possible and kept our faces hidden beneath our hats.
As we neared the far end of the town near the jail, I could see a small crowd milling around nearby. A deputy stood outside the door to the police station and kept an eye on the townspeople, but he didn’t make any effort to break up their gathering.
“We should just go in there and get her,” I heard a man who smelled like stale beer declare. “I don’t know why we have to wait for some fool mage from the Magesterium to come. It’s all the same in the end. She’s dead and we’re safe.”
“As long as she’s alive, there’s always a chance that more mutants will come,” an elderly woman whined.
“Don’t forget that grandfather of hers,” a younger woman with a smirk added. “We all know he has guns.”
“That’s all the mages really care about,” a young man with a red birthmark on his cheek snorted. “If it weren’t for the guns, we could have been rid of the mutant already.”
The rest of the people rumbled their agreement with that assessment as we slipped along the edge of the crowd in the shadows cast by the old church. I saw Darwin flex his hand and knew he was fighting the urge to pull out the Glock. I was, too, and I’d only met Freya a few times.
“We need to figure out which cell she’s in,” Darwin whispered when we were far enough away from the crowd that we wouldn’t be noticed. “And we need to know if they have any other extra security besides the guard in front.”
“Too bad that crowd is here,” I replied. “It makes it a little more difficult to get a look inside.”
“I’m hoping they’ve decided to keep all the deputies on duty in the front,” Darwin noted as he crept further down the street. “If they have, we might be able to get a better look at the other door.”
We sidled down the street until we were at the back of the building. There were no windows along the wall, so we checked to make sure no one else was walking along Main Street, then darted across to the backside of the jail. We waited a moment, then peeked around the corner of the building. I could see a small stable, a practice ring for the deputies to work on their fighting skills, and more importantly, the door that Darwin had mentioned.
We edged around the corner and approached the door slowly, but there was no sign of any other humans around. The only noise from the stables was that of the horses settling in for the night, and the shed just behind the ring was locked and shut for the night.
“Oops,” Darwin muttered.
The locked door opened a hair, and light spilled around the crack. We looked frantically around the yard, then ran toward the shed and ducked behind it just as the door opened further. A moment later, a small figure in a dark dress peered around the edge of the door, then stepped quietly into the night. I heard the door close gently behind her, and then the woman started to tiptoe across the yard.
“I think that’s Mary Wright,” Darwin whispered.
The woman had reached the back of the building, and she peered cautiously around the corner. I couldn’t see much other than dark, shoulder length hair that curled at the tips, and a slender figure that looked more girlish than womanly.
“How did she get inside?” Sorcha asked.
But Darwin had already stepped out from the darkness and sprinted across the yard. He grabbed Mary from behind before she could even register he was there and wrapped a hand over her mouth while her brain tried to understand what was going on. He ran back to the shed with the young woman in his arms and deposited her in front of me and Sorcha. Her eyes were enormous, and I thought she might topple over just from the fright.
“Mary, it’s me,” Darwin said quietly, though he still had his hand over her mouth. “Freya’s grandfather.”
Mary blinked, then slowly nodded.
“Please don’t shout,” Darwin begged. “I just wanted to talk to you. Were you able to see Freya? How is she doing?”
“You have to remove your hand,” Sorcha said quietly.
Darwin finally dropped his hand, then stepped around the stunned woman to stand in front of her. He grasped one of the woman’s hands in his own and gave her a pleading look.
“Is she okay?” he reiterated.
“She’s okay, I guess,” Mary answered in a breathy voice that I had to lean in to hear.
“Where is she?” Darwin pressed. “Is she in one of the cells in the new section?”
“They put her in the last cell so people couldn’t see her,” Mary replied with a shake of her head. “But it means she doesn’t have a window, which makes her very sad.”
Because losing your life wouldn’t make you sad already, I thought to myself.
“But why are you here?” Darwin continued. “And how did you get in?”
Mary looked furtively toward the edge of the building, and for a moment, I thought she might make a run for it. Truthfully, I was fine with letting her go, as long as she didn’t alert anyone else to our presence. She reached a decision though, and I saw her straighten her shoulders and turn to face Darwin with a glimmer of tears in her eyes.
“I asked my brother to get me in,” she admitted.
“Joe?” Darwin asked as he thought for a moment. “The lawyer?”
“His boss was appointed to represent her,” Mary explained. “But there really isn’t anything for them to do. Joe said it’s just for appearances. The Magesterium has already made a decision.”
“How did he get you inside?” Sorcha asked.
Mary blinked at me and Sorcha, and I could see her frown as she tried to figure out if she knew us.
“These are friends of mine from Brook Island,” Darwin finally explained. “They came here to drop off some… equipment, but they stayed to try and help Freya.”
“Oh,” Mary said as her lip quivered. “That’s nice, but I don’t think anyone can help her.”
“Just tell us how you got inside,” Sorcha suggested in a soothing voice.
“Joe went to talk to her again, to try to convince her to cooperate with the Magesterium,” Mary sighed. “He told her that if she told them about the guns you have on the property, they might exile her instead of executing her.”
“I doubt they’d keep that deal,” I muttered as I tried to sort through all the pronouns in her statement.
Mary let out a pitiful mewl when I said that, and both Sorcha and Darwin gave me a warning look.
“Please, keep talking,” Sorcha urged.
“Joe said I was there as his assistant,” Mary replied after a sob. “Everyone knows I sometimes help him around the office.”
“And they say you do a good job of it,” Darwin replied, though I thought what he really wanted to do was grab the girl by the shoulders and shake her.
“So when are the mages from the Magesterium expected to arrive?” Sorcha continued.
“Two days,” Mary sighed. “I don’t know why it’s taking so long. Medrick said they’re very busy for some reason.”
“Are they still looking for a black mage?” Sorcha pressed.
“I’m not sure,” Mary admitted. “Medrick made it sound like that part was just made up and they think Freya and her grandfather are really to blame for everything.”
“They’ve been looking for an excuse to come after me,” Darwin hissed. “I can’t believe they’d use my granddaughter just to get to me.”
“It’s the guns,” I noted. �
�That’s what they really fear.”
“Oh, that’s so true,” Mary exclaimed in a voice that became even quieter as she got more excited. “You should hear Medrick talk about guns. He’s terrified of them.”
“Well, I’m glad you were able to see her,” Darwin declared. “I didn’t realize you two even knew each other.”
“Oh, well,” Mary stammered and she again glanced toward her escape route.
“You two were friends,” Sorcha stated, “and I would guess it started not long after she moved here.”
Darwin squinted at Sorcha, and then at Mary, who looked like she’d just been told the world would end in the next five minutes.
“How… did you know?” Mary asked so quietly that I had to hover over her just to hear her voice.
“Freya doesn’t like to be around a lot of people, but she does like having friends,” Sorcha replied. “And as much as she loves her grandfather, she would want someone closer to her own age that she could talk to about… certain things.”
Darwin started to protest, but Sorcha shot him a warning glance, and he fell silent.
“That’s so true,” Mary agreed. “I met her by accident, really. I mean, I’d heard that Mr. Darwin’s granddaughter was here, but I didn’t really think I would meet her. I just went to the pond to think, and then I saw the little road that led to the house, and I just started to walk down the road because… well, I just did.”
“And Freya met you at the old house?” Sorcha guessed.
“Well, she told me she had been following me the whole way, but she didn’t show herself until I was at that old shack,” Mary explained. “She wasn’t very nice at first, but I told her I could come back and visit. We’d always meet at the pond after that, away from the dock so nobody would see us if they came along.”
“That was very nice of you,” Sorcha said in a kind voice.
“I’m glad you decided to be her friend,” Darwin conceded. “And that you’re still her friend, despite what people are saying about her.”
Tears started to pour down Mary’s cheeks then, and her whole body started to shake. Sorcha wrapped an arm around Mary’s shoulders, and Mary only just managed to stifle a sob by placing her fist against her mouth.
“I had no idea she had such a good friend here,” Darwin said quickly. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”
“But… you don’t… understand,” Mary stammered. “This is… my fault.”
“Whatever are you talking about?” Darwin asked in surprise. “How could any of this be your fault?”
Mary gulped, then turned her frightened eyes on Sorcha.
“Go on and tell him,” Sorcha urged.
“I knew Freya was a mutant,” Mary began. “She told me about two months after we met. She even let me touch her ears and her tail. I just thought it was the coolest thing ever, and I didn’t understand how she could be this evil creature.”
“Oh, no,” Darwin muttered as he lowered his head.
Mary looked at the ex-trooper with a mix of uncertainty and fear, but Sorcha gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, and Mary drew a deep breath.
“I asked Medrick about mutants,” Mary continued in a shaky voice. “I asked him how he could be so certain that all mutants are bad. He told me that it was because eventually they all turn into animals, but they can remember what it was like to be human, so then they get angry and attack.”
“That’s not true,” I assured her.
“I didn’t think it was true,” Mary sighed. “It just didn’t make any sense, but I said okay, and then Medrick asked if I knew any mutants.”
“Is that when you told him about Freya?” Darwin demanded. His voice had shot up and I had to place a hand on his arm to remind him where we were. He drew a calming breath, but I could still feel the tension in his bicep.
“No, no,” Mary said quickly. “But see, Freya snuck into town to see me this morning. She only does that when she has really big news.”
“And what did she tell you?” Sorcha asked quietly.
“She said she’d had a big fight with her gramps,” Mary replied. “She said she was leaving and going west with some new friends. Oh, is that…?”
“She did ask to come with us,” Sorcha admitted.
“She was so angry, but I begged her to stay any way,” Mary sighed. “She’s the only real friend I’ve ever had. I didn’t want to lose her.”
“Then how did Medrick find out about her?” I pressed.
“She kept talking about how she could finally be her real self when she made it to the west coast,” Mary explained, “and how it would be nice to be finally free of all the horrible people around here. I tried to tell her she should stay, but she wouldn’t listen. Then when I said I would go with her, she laughed and said I would probably be killed before we even reached the old Penn border. I was so angry with her then. She just laughed again and said she had to go find her new friends.”
“So she started to walk toward the town,” I surmised.
“But she avoids the roads and she always uses a circle route so she can check to see if she’s being followed,” Mary continued. “So I ran ahead and found Medrick and told him I knew a mutant and I knew she was heading to town and where she was coming from. I thought they would just send her away. I didn’t think they would kill her.”
“God Almighty,” Darwin swore beneath his breath.
“Where did you think they would send her?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Mary admitted. “Joe said they have reservations where they keep mutants once they finish turning into animals. I guess I thought they’d send her off to one of those.”
“But you said you don’t believe that’s what happens to mutants,” I pointed out.
“But they send them somewhere,” she huffed. “I mean, they must. Right?”
“They do,” Sorcha replied. “But they’re not very nice places.”
Mary looked like she was about to start sobbing again, so Sorcha pulled her into a tight hug that left Mary’s face pressed against the Irishwoman’s shoulder.
“Charles?” I murmured when I saw the look of rage that crossed his face.
“I’m fine,” he snapped as he forced his eyes away from Freya’s one-time friend and toward the cell block that held his granddaughter.
“I can help you if you’ve come to get her out,” Mary declared as she pulled away from Sorcha.
“We just came to look at the building,” I replied. “Maybe peek in the window and see how she was doing. We were also hoping for news on her case, and you’ve already given us that.”
“I tried to get Joe to do more,” she sighed. “And I do think he wants to help her. He doesn’t think she’s going to turn into a vicious animal either. But it doesn’t matter how good an argument he puts forward, they’ve already made up their minds. All they really want are the guns, and then Joe says they’ll have to kill her, because that’s the penalty for owning a gun.”
“But no one’s been executed for gun possession in a very long time, at least not officially,” Sorcha mused. “I wonder why Medrick is so determined to carry through with this.”
“You should hear him talk about guns,” Mary gulped. “They sound so scary and terrible. And he says that the only reason anyone would have a gun is to shoot mages, and where would we be if all the mages were gone?”
“In a normal world,” Darwin snorted.
“Oh,” Mary murmured as she really looked at Darwin for the first time. She had probably never thought about the thousands of years that humans had existed without magic, and I could almost see the idea start to churn slowly in her brain.
“What can you tell us about the police?” I asked before Mary lost herself in the possibilities of a magic-free world.
“They’re very nice,” Mary replied with a puzzled expression.
“I mean, where are they in the building?” I explained. “Is someone always in the back, near Freya’s cell, or do they stay near their desks?�
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“No one’s back there all the time,” Mary said. “But someone goes back every hour or so just to check on her. Mostly, they stay near the front. The Chief is very concerned about someone trying to break in and hurt her.”
“At least that gives us time,” Darwin groused
“I really would like to help,” Mary added. “I could keep the police busy. I could tell the police I saw another mutant and send them away from here.”
“That’s very nice, Mary,” I replied. “But we wouldn’t want you to get in any trouble. We’ll take it from here.”
“But--” Mary started to protest.
“You should go home, now,” Sorcha suggested in her hypnotic voice. “We wouldn’t want your family to worry about you and wonder why you haven’t made it home yet.”
“I should go home,” Mary said after a moment. “Before my parents start to worry.”
“You’ll tell them you walked slowly and tried to avoid the crowds,” Sorcha continued, “because you didn’t want them to see you crying. That’s why it took you so long to get home.”
“I don’t want the crowds to see me crying,” Mary agreed as she kept her teary eyes on the Irish mage.
“You won’t tell anyone you saw us,” Sorcha added.
“Oh, I’d never tell anyone I saw you,” Mary declared in the loudest voice she’d used yet.
“Go home, Mary,” Sorcha commanded.
Mary smiled at the three of us, then skipped across the yard and peered around the edge of the jail. A moment later, she slipped off into the shadows and was gone.
“I should have known she’d go looking for friends,” Darwin sighed.
“Well, we know which cell she’s in now, and we also know how much time we have,” I pointed out. “And all because of that friend.”
“Who also happens to be the one who put her there,” Darwin sniped.
“I don’t think she really considered the consequences,” Sorcha replied. “She’s still very immature in a lot of ways.”
“You wouldn’t know it to look at her, but she’s almost the same age as Freya,” Darwin conceded. “In the old days, she probably would have been diagnosed with autism or some such.”