by Ryan Casey
“I told you it was time for your judgement,” Yuri said. “I told you the decision that has to be made is not my decision alone, but the decision of my people. And they have decided.”
Aoife felt her stomach sink. They were going to hang her. They were going to execute her, right here. Just because of her association with Harvey.
She thought about pleading. Thought about begging. But she knew that would only be giving them what they wanted.
She knew there was nothing she could say to win these people round. Not after all they’d been through. Not after all they’d suffered.
“Step forward,” Yuri said. “Step forward into the noose. Do what has to be done.”
Aoife shook her head. Gritted her teeth. “You could have been better than you say Harvey is. But you’re no different.”
Yuri lowered his head. “The decision of my people, just like I said.”
Aoife held her ground. But then she felt the hands on her back, pushing her closer to that noose. “You could have let me try speaking with him. You could have worked through this. We could have found a way to figure something out. The one person who could help you, and this is how you treat us?”
“Neck in the noose,” Yuri said. “Now.”
Aoife felt tears rolling down her cheeks. But not tears of self-pity or even fear anymore. Tears of anger.
She looked around at the crowd. “Is this what you want?” she shouted. “Our people are no different to yours. We didn’t know about this war. We only knew what we were being told. You’ll see us all die too? You’ll keep on being pawns in this war? Well, shame on you. Shame on fucking you.”
She spat off the platform, down onto the ground below.
And she felt the rope stroking her neck. The noose, so close.
The man behind her, pushing her right towards it. Nowhere to go now. Nowhere to run.
“I could speak to him,” Aoife said. “I could speak to him and hold him accountable for what he’s done. But instead… instead you’re going to lead your people to extinction. All of them.”
Yuri didn’t say a word. Just looked on, as stoic as ever.
“I’m sorry for what Harvey has done. I’m sorry for believing his lies. But how is this better? How?”
“Neck in the noose, Aoife.”
She tried to push back. Tried to resist.
But it was already too late.
Her neck was in the noose.
“Hang me then,” Aoife shouted. “Fucking hang me. I’m the only one who can help you. I’m the only one who can get to Harvey. I’m the only one who’ll let him close enough to kill him. But hang me. You’re no different. You’re no better. You’re savages. I can help you get to him, but you’re savages. Just like him.”
The crowd stared up at her.
Yuri looked away.
“I could help,” Aoife gasped. “I could help. But…”
She didn’t finish what she was saying.
She heard a bang.
The floor underneath her gave way.
And she fell into the abyss.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It all happened so fast.
Aoife felt herself falling. Felt the floor beneath her feet giving way. Felt the noose around her neck tightening its grip as she descended through the air.
And in that split second, it was exactly as she’d imagined, the whole life flashing before her eyes thing. Time slowing down. Seeing herself as a child, holding an ice cream. Or getting her GCSE results and feeling so proud.
And there were the bad memories, too. The memories of Mum. Of Dad. Of Seth. The memories of Max. And of Kayleigh. Of making friends and losing friends.
She saw it all, and she felt both happiness and sadness rising within her simultaneously.
And that realisation that life, for all its ups and downs, was the most precious thing.
Experience was the most precious thing of all.
And all of that was going to end.
All of that was going to—
The rope tightened around her neck.
She braced herself for the final moments. For the suffocating pain.
And for the lights to go out, once and for all.
And then she heard a snap.
For a second, just a split second, she thought it was her windpipe. Or maybe even her spine.
But then she slammed against the stony ground and coughed and spluttered everywhere.
She lay there on her knees, hands on the ground. Coughing. Shaking. All her surroundings felt like they’d faded into the background. None of it seemed to matter, not anymore.
All that mattered was that she was still here. She was still alive.
For how long? She had no idea. But she was here, and that was something.
That was everything.
She pushed herself up. Saw the crowd of people staring over at her. Some of them had hands over their mouths. Some were chatting amongst themselves, baffled, confused. Others were shouting things. Swearing at her. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, that was for sure.
She went to stand when she felt hands on her shoulders and then under her arms, lifting her to her feet.
She stood there. Supported by someone right behind her. She wanted to make a break for it. Wanted to fight. But she was completely out of energy. Completely exhausted. Probably the trauma of what had happened, mostly. The trauma of almost fucking dying. Yeah, that could have an impact.
She felt that person holding on to her. And she half-expected them to drag her back up to the top of the platform. ’Cause it was a freak accident. The rope didn’t usually snap like that. She wasn’t going to get lucky twice.
“Well,” Yuri said. So it was him holding on to her. “It looks like someone’s looking down on you today.”
Aoife opened her mouth. Tried to gasp something. Something stubborn and defiant. But she couldn’t say a word.
He turned her around, then. Turned her, so she was looking right into his eyes. And she could tell from the way he was looking at her that there was a different character to his experience now. That he looked at her differently.
“I can… I can help you,” Aoife gasped. “I can… Harvey. He’s… I can help you.”
And she meant it. She wasn’t just saying these words because she was in deep shit and wanted to get out. She was saying them because she saw the trauma that Yuri’s people had suffered. She’d seen the pain they’d been through, and she had no reason to doubt them. So many people couldn’t be lying about one thing.
She didn’t know the extent of what Harvey was responsible for. She didn’t know to what degree Yuri was exaggerating. And she still couldn’t quite accept that Harvey was personally responsible for the explosion at Sanctuary. The one that killed so many of their people.
But she needed to confront him. And that’s all she could promise.
“If you let me get to him,” she said. “If… if you let me talk to him… I can make him answer to what he’s done.”
“He’ll never answer to what he’s done.”
“But the people there. The people back home. They… they’re good people.”
“They’re killers.”
“They’re blind. Just like I was. But if they see. If they understand… then they won’t let Harvey get away with it. We… we have a system of justice at Sanctuary. And if Harvey’s done what you’ve said he’s done… he isn’t immune to that.”
Yuri shook his head. But Aoife could see he was in turmoil. She could see he was conflicted. She could see he wanted to punish her because she was one of the ones who’d stood with Sanctuary against his people. But at the same time, she could see that he saw her as useful. She could see his problem was with Harvey and not with his people.
But Aoife knew far too well that it was sometimes difficult to separate the crimes from the group even when just an individual was responsible.
“Let me help you,” Aoife said. “Let… let me help your people. I might be… I might be the only one he�
��ll listen to. The only one who can.”
Yuri looked into her eyes.
Then he looked up at his people.
He sighed.
“You can help,” he said. “But there’s only one way you can.”
Aoife frowned. Still in disbelief that he’d actually granted her something of respite.
“How?”
“You kill him,” Yuri said. “You get to him, and you kill him. By sunset. Or your friend Kayleigh dies.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Aoife stood at the edge of Yuri’s community and had no fucking clue what would happen next.
The sun was rising. It was bright now. Crisp morning. Birds singing. In normal circumstances, it might actually seem quite peaceful. Quite calm.
But Aoife’s stomach wouldn’t stop turning. Her heart wouldn’t stop racing.
Because she knew exactly what was expected of her.
Yuri stood by her side. Looked at her with a calm, firm gaze.
“Sunset,” he said. “When it goes dark. That’s when you’ve got ’til.”
Her stomach turned some more. For as much as she didn’t like the sound of Harvey as had been described… she had serious reservations about killing him. Because she’d trusted in him. She’d believed in him for so, so long.
And now the second the leader of the insurgents claimed he was responsible for all the goddamned ills of the world, she was supposed to just drop her faith in him and kill him without even giving him a chance to speak? A chance to give his version of events?
It just didn’t feel right. She didn’t believe in not giving people a chance to give their side. A chance to speak.
Especially Harvey.
“I can’t express myself any clearer,” Yuri said. “If you don’t do this, your friend’s blood will be on your hands.”
“Sounds awfully diplomatic. You’re really making an endearing image of yourself.”
“I wish there were a better way. And I’m not trying to make myself the hero. The protagonist. I’m thinking about my people. The very survival of my people. Taking Harvey out is the start of that.”
“And you really expect the people of Sanctuary to just stop coming for you because Harvey dies?”
“What?”
“Think about it. I go in and take him out. What do you think they’ll say? They’ll just think you’ve got to me. They’ll pin me up as a defector, something like that. You really think it’ll change anything?”
“I don’t see what other option we have.”
“You let me speak to the people. You let me explain exactly what Harvey’s responsible for. You make him answer to his crimes. This violence has to end.”
Yuri shook his head. Sighed. “Look. I see your point. I understand where you’re coming from completely. You do whatever you have to do to help our people. But Harvey surviving is a non-negotiable. And the time you’ve got to do it is non-negotiable, too. So, you’d better get moving, and you’d better get thinking how you’re going to do this. Time’s ticking.”
Aoife shook her head as she stared into his eyes. There were so many better ways they could go about this, surely. There were so many other options. There were better ways of going about this.
But then she stepped into Yuri’s shoes. And she wondered if she’d play this any differently if she were him. Because if Harvey was how he said he was, then he didn’t sound like one for diplomacy. And besides. She knew just how strong the feelings were towards the insurgents from Sanctuary. She knew just how trigger-happy they would be, especially so soon after the attack the other day.
“If you had some kind of evidence,” Aoife said. “Some kind of tangible evidence what you’re saying’s true… that might help me.”
Yuri looked back at his people. Then ahead, back at Aoife. “You tell them about the children here. You tell them about the women and the men who’ve been left without family. You tell them about how we’re living. And you tell them the truth about Harvey. About his wife and what happened between us. About his grudge. You tell them whatever you need to tell them. If they want to see the truth, they’ll see the truth.”
Aoife wished she had more to go on. But she just nodded. It was all she could do.
“And you give him this,” Yuri said.
Aoife saw Yuri holding something. A necklace, by the looks of things. “What is it?”
“He’ll understand,” Yuri said. “It belonged to Caroline. Ross, my son, he took it from her when she died. I want you to give this to him and I want you to look into his eyes when you do.”
Aoife felt a shiver run down her spine.
“Now you’d better get going,” Yuri said. “You don’t have much time.”
“Can I ask one thing of you?”
“You’re asking a lot by being alive still.”
“Kayleigh,” Aoife said. “My friend. Can I at least speak to her? Before I leave?”
Yuri shook his head. “You want to see her again; you do what I’m asking of you.”
“Please,” Aoife said. “It’s all I ask. I just want to reassure her. I just want to reassure her of what I’m doing. That I’m going to get her out. Please.”
Yuri opened his mouth and looked like he was going to protest. Then he shook his head. Sighed. “A minute. That’s all I’m giving you. But don’t think I’ll be adding it on to your time.”
Aoife nodded. “Thank you.”
He turned. “Now come on. Better get a move on if you want to get everything done in time.”
Aoife followed Yuri through the community. Followed him past the tents, which had fires lit outside. She followed him past the staring eyes of so many people, peering up at her like she was some kind of phantom. Some kind of monster.
She followed him until, eventually, she reached a garage right at the back of the community— a different one to before—overgrown, covered with foliage, and she stopped.
Yuri looked at her. Narrowed his eyes. “One minute. And then out of here.”
Aoife nodded.
“And if you try anything stupid, I’ll know. I promise I’ll know.”
“Trust me. It’s the last thing I’d do.”
“Good,” he said.
He opened the door to the dark, damp garage.
Then he held out a hand.
Aoife walked to the door, and she took a deep breath.
Kayleigh sat in the middle of the garage.
Hands tied behind her back.
Ankles tied.
Staring back at her with wide, bloodshot eyes.
“Kayleigh,” she said.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Kayleigh,” Aoife said.
Kayleigh stared back at her. She was gagged. Hands tied behind her back. Ankles tied, too. Bound to that chair. And Aoife’s mind was in override. She wanted to help Kayleigh. She wanted to be able to do something for her now. Something that would make things easier for her.
But Yuri was staring over at her. And she only had a minute.
There was nothing she could do in that amount of time. Absolutely nothing at all.
So she had to think.
She walked over to Kayleigh. All the time, she scanned the room for some sort of crack in the foundations. Some fault in the brickwork. She looked for some way she could get in here and get Kayleigh out of here before midnight tonight.
Because that’s absolutely what she had to do.
She couldn’t just throw Harvey out without at least giving him a chance to explain himself.
She couldn’t just kill him.
Because, sure. He didn’t exactly sound like the nicest of guys, according to Yuri’s accusations. According to the picture he’d painted of him.
But she also didn’t think Yuri’s approach was the most practical or pragmatic.
So she was taking matters into her own hands.
Getting Kayleigh out of this mess.
And then she’d decide what she was going to do about Yuri and Harvey and how she was going to do it.
> “Thirty seconds,” Yuri said.
Fuck. Half a minute gone already? Shit. Thirty seconds gone, and already she’d not even had the chance to speak to Kayleigh properly.
She walked up to her. Crouched opposite her. Put her hands on her legs, looked into her eyes, and got as close as she could so she could speak without being listened to.
“I don’t know how to say this,” Aoife said. “But they’re making me kill Harvey. They’re making me go back and kill him by sunset. And if I don’t… they’re going to kill you.”
Kayleigh just stared at her blankly. No reaction from her at all.
“Twenty seconds,” Yuri said.
“I’m going to get you out of here. So be ready. Be ready because I’m not going to let you down. I’m not going to let you die. One way or another… I’m not going to leave you behind.”
“Ten seconds,” Yuri said.
She saw Kayleigh looking away from her now. Staring into the corner of the garage. Into space. And Aoife just wanted her to look into her eyes. She just wanted Kayleigh to show her some sign that she forgave her. That she didn’t despise her.
As much as Aoife knew she deserved it for getting them both embroiled in this mess in the first place.
“I won’t let you down,” Aoife said. “But I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you, and I’ll end this mess. I’ll sort it. One way or another.”
Kayleigh glanced at her, just for a split second.
Then she looked away again. Right into that corner again.
“Time’s up,” Yuri said. “Out of here, right this second. And get a move on with what you’ve got to do. You know exactly what that is.”
Aoife lowered her head.
Kayleigh still staring off into the right, off into space.
“I won’t let you down,” Aoife said.
She turned and started to walk back towards Yuri, who stood at the door. Staring at her. The light behind him.
She wished she’d been able to do more for Kayleigh. She wished she’d been able to help her somehow. Or at least given her a shot of getting out of here.
But it looked like she was up shit creek without a paddle.