by Ryan Casey
It made sense. Aoife understood any sort of hesitation. Any sort of caution.
But at the same time, she just had a bad feeling about everything. A bad feeling that Harvey was one step ahead somehow.
“I hope you made some backup plans for this,” Kayleigh said. “Our old pals don’t exactly look the friendliest right now.”
Aoife wanted to tell Kayleigh to shut up. This situation was stressful and daunting enough as it was without her going on at her, giving a running commentary with her sarcastic comments. But she knew it was just Kayleigh’s way. Her way of cutting through her own nerves.
Besides. She was only here in this situation because Aoife had led her into it. If they’d turned away from Yuri’s camp, if they’d come back home, they would never have known the truth. And they would probably have gone on to live a happier life in the dark.
It was the old red pill, blue pill thing. They could have been happier not knowing the truth.
But it still wouldn’t have been right. It was better to know.
Even if that was the more painful option.
She looked back into the trees. For a moment, she thought about running. Just going back to Yuri’s camp and getting away from here. Or even just going it alone with Kayleigh. Away from all this. Because it felt like something big was brewing. It felt like something major was on the horizon. Something momentous.
But she looked back around. Saw those armed guards approaching, moving towards them both, rifles raised, and she knew it was already too late to do anything.
She took a deep breath, looked at Kayleigh, and she tried to smile, even though it was difficult.
“We’ll be okay. We’ve got this.”
Kayleigh looked back at her. Smiled. “I hope you’re right.”
Aoife turned around again then to face the oncoming guards.
She took a deep breath and really did hope this didn’t go as badly as her gut kept on telling her it might do.
And then she started walking, Kayleigh by her side.
“Not another move!”
A shout. A shout from one of the guards. The one in the middle, by the looks of things. Aoife recognised him. Stephen, he was called. Middle-aged bloke. One of Harvey’s loyal bodyguards. Always seemed pretty friendly.
And that was the bizarre thing about all this. These weren’t strangers. These weren’t enemies. They were people she knew.
And they were looking at her and barking at her like she was a stranger.
Like she was an enemy.
“We’re all clear,” Aoife shouted. “We’re… we’re alone.”
“Don’t make this difficult, Aoife,” Stephen said. A bit of desperation in his voice now. “Just do what we say, and this doesn’t have to get nasty.”
She stood there, torches lighting her and Kayleigh up, and she knew she’d seen the true state of affairs now. They were the enemy. Or at least, they’d been away long enough that Sanctuary didn’t trust them.
So as much as Aoife wanted to protest her innocence, she knew there was nothing else she could do but go along with what they were asking of her.
“Shit,” Kayleigh said, shaking her head. “Might have to put that reunion with Rex on hold a little while longer.”
Aoife really didn’t appreciate that one. Again, it just made things too real. She was trying to stay hopeful here. Trying to stay optimistic. Even though everything pointed towards this being the worst possible situation to be in right now.
“Hands up,” Stephen barked. “And don’t even think of trying anything.”
“Really?” Aoife shouted. “You really think we’d do anything?”
“You’ve been missing for three days. We have reason to believe you were with the insurgents. And then out you walk, out of nowhere. Trust me. Just try not to take this whole thing too personally, and we’ll all get by just fine.”
Aoife shook her head, but she knew she had no choice. She lifted her hands slowly. Saw Kayleigh do the same.
“Good,” Stephen said. “Now, on your knees. And stay on your knees until we come over there. One move, and we’ll be forced to act appropriately.”
Act appropriately. That’s what they called it? That’s what they called killing her and Kayleigh?
But again, there was nothing else she could do. She wanted to speak with Harvey. She wanted to look him in the eye and bring up Yuri and everything he’d accused him of.
A part of her thought of telling these guards everything right now. But she knew how it would look. Like they’d been intercepted. Compromised. Brainwashed in some way.
So she got down onto her knees. Onto the damp ground. Crouched right there, right beside Kayleigh. She held onto the grass before her tightly. Listened to those footsteps getting closer, squelching against the damp earth. She wanted to believe she was out of the crosshairs. She wanted to believe that things wouldn’t get worse from here. That they couldn’t possibly get worse from here.
But she didn’t know.
She just didn’t know.
She had no idea how long she knelt there when one of the guards searched her. Dragged her to her feet. Scanned her from head to toe.
Trent. One of the guards she got on with. Used to guard the south wall. Went on a few hunts with him.
Barely looking her in the eye now.
“She’s clean,” he said.
“Kayleigh too.”
“Of course, we’re clean,” Kayleigh said. “We’ve spent three fucking days in captivity, and this is how you greet us?”
“It’s just protocol,” Stephen said. “From the top.”
The way he looked at Aoife when he said that she knew she would have trouble with Harvey. More than she first imagined.
He was already onto her. He already knew what this was about.
Out of nowhere, Stephen dragged Aoife to her feet, and another of the guards lifted Kayleigh, too.
Then the pair of them stood behind Aoife and Kayleigh, pointed rifles at their backs, nodded at them to walk.
“What the hell?” Kayleigh shouted.
“Just protocol. For our safety and yours. Now come on. The boss wants to see you.”
Aoife stood there and looked at the guards surrounding her. All of them with their rifles raised.
She looked at Kayleigh. Then back at the woods behind, back towards Yuri’s community.
She didn’t know the truth. But she knew what this looked like right now.
The actions of a paranoid man.
She gritted her teeth.
And then she took a deep breath, turned back towards the tall metal walls of Sanctuary, and walked.
It was time to face Harvey, once and for all.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Yuri watched Aoife and Kayleigh being dragged inside Sanctuary, and he held on to the rifle tightly.
It was still mesmerising, seeing all those torchlights. Those artificial lights. Those little beacons of hope. Signs that the power could return. Signs that life could return. He wished he’d been given an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of the labour of so many. He thought back to that day eighteen months ago when he’d arrived on the doorstep of the place with his two boys and how much optimism he’d had. How much hope he’d had.
And how quickly things went sour.
Or at least…
Well.
That was the story he told himself.
That was the story he told himself so, so convincingly.
He held on to his rifle. Stared down the scope. Kept it pointed up ahead at all times. More of his people were beside him. Hiding in the trees. Camouflaged. But closer to Sanctuary than they’d ever been.
More people than he ever thought he’d amass. And more people than Sanctuary ever thought he’d amass, too.
Holding on to their rifles before this so-called “truce” that Aoife had so desperately bargained for.
He snorted a bit at the thought of a truce. Because there was no way he was letting Harvey go. There was no way he was le
tting him get away with his crimes. There was no way he was going unpunished for robbing him of his life. Truce or no truce, Harvey was a dead man. And Aoife was an idiot if she thought there was anything she could do or say to change that.
But it didn’t matter. Because this was war.
It didn’t matter that Aoife and Kayleigh were almost certainly going to die at the hands of Harvey the second they let on to the knowledge of the monster he was. Because this wasn’t about them. They were just pawns in this game. Useful pawns.
They were just a way of getting to Harvey.
A way of hurting him and showing him how easy it was to muddy his poisonous waters with the truth and how easy it was to turn people against him.
He knew Harvey would care about Aoife. And he knew exactly why. She reminded him of Caroline, so she’d sure as hell remind Harvey of her too.
Seeing her confront him, seeing her look him in the eyes when he cared about her, seeing her judge him…
It would be salt in Harvey’s already paranoid wounds.
And it didn’t matter if he killed Aoife and Kayleigh or just locked them away.
It would be merely a reminder that Yuri was on his doorstep and that he would come knocking.
Very, very soon.
He lay there on his stomach and watched as Aoife and Kayleigh disappeared behind the Sanctuary gates.
He thought about the fireworks that were about to explode, and he smiled.
Everything had built to this moment.
Everything had led to this.
“It’s almost time,” he said.
He thought about the necklace he’d handed Aoife, and he really, really hoped she handed it to Harvey, just as he’d ordered.
They had no idea who—or what—they were messing with.
But they were about to find out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Aoife stepped inside the gates of Sanctuary and felt like the proverbial lamb being taken to slaughter.
It was night, but the streets were filled with people. Residents of Sanctuary, all of them staring at her and Kayleigh with torches and candles by their sides. All of them chattering amongst themselves. All of them watching and waiting for whatever events were about to unfold.
And as the guards walked her and Kayleigh through the streets, Aoife saw more faces of people she knew. Faces of people she was friends with. Of people she’d worked with. Looking at her with fear. Like she was some kind of traitor.
What had Harvey told them?
“Come on,” Stephen said, gently nudging her in the back. “Keep walking. Don’t want to make a spectacle out of this.”
She resisted the urge to tell him she was moving quickly enough and walked. She looked at the cracked road before her, the weeds shooting up between the cracks. She didn’t want to look the people of Sanctuary in the eyes anymore. Because she felt judged. For what? She didn’t know. Only that she felt judged for the knowledge she had.
The knowledge about Harvey.
The truth about Harvey?
Even that was unclear. For an entire community to be hoodwinked by him, that seemed impossible.
And yet here she was. And what reason did Yuri have to lie?
He was sincere. He’d broken down. He was a man in the throes of vengeance, sure. But there were few things in life more honest than vengeance.
She felt Stephen turning her and Kayleigh around the corner by the old mini-roundabout near the town square when she saw Harvey.
He was standing there, arms behind his back. At first, Aoife swore she saw him smile.
But then the smile soon dropped, and he walked up to her and Kayleigh. Wordless. Speechless.
But with a look in his eyes like he already knew what they knew.
“Aoife,” he said, cutting through the silence. A smile rose on his face. “Kayleigh. It’s good to see you both again.”
“Quite the welcome party,” Aoife said.
“We can’t be too careful. Not when you’ve been deep in insurgent territory for as long as you have been. You know how it is these days.”
“Some would say you’re worried about something,” Aoife said.
Harvey narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I think we need to talk. I think you know… I think you know exactly what I mean.”
He stared at her for a few seconds longer than was comfortable. And then he smiled, nodded. “I’m sincere when I say I’m happy to see you back—”
“Then why don’t you start being sincere about everything else?” Kayleigh spat.
Aoife glared at her. She wanted her to keep her cool. But she got it. It was hard to contain the anger she felt. Hard for anyone to contain that degree of anger.
Harvey looked over at her. Any form of warmth had fallen from his face. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means exactly what it sounds like,” Kayleigh said. “Or do you need reminding?”
“Kayleigh,” Aoife said.
“Ross,” Kayleigh said. “Ben. Those names not mean anything to you?”
Harvey’s eyes widened. For a moment, his face went a completely new shade of pale. He looked like he was going to vomit, right on the spot.
“Yeah,” Kayleigh said. “I thought that might be the case.”
“How do you… how do you know their names?”
Harvey looked at Aoife now. And as much as she felt in the spotlight, as much as she felt the eyes of this entire community—a community she once called home—burning into her, it was very much just her, Kayleigh, and Harvey right now.
“How do you know the names of my children?”
Aoife opened her mouth to speak. Because… no. that wasn’t right. That wasn’t what she’d been told. “Your children? Or Yuri’s children?”
“Yuri?” Harvey said. “I don’t… What are you talking about?”
Aoife heard the whispers picking up. There was an eerie sense of quiet about the place. The sort of quiet that felt falsely safe.
Like something wasn’t about to happen. Like things were comfortable in here.
But like something could crawl out of the shadows and strike at any moment.
“What are you talking about, Aoife?” Harvey asked.
Aoife’s mouth was dry. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Looked at Kayleigh, who frowned, clearly similarly confused. “We met the insurgent leader. A man called Yuri. He… he claimed you killed his children. A revenge act for an affair with his wife, Caroline. And that you’ve… that we’ve been hunting him down ever since. Hunting his people down ever since.”
Harvey stared at her. He seemed to be getting paler and paler by the moment.
“He wanted… he wanted me to kill you. But obviously… He wants a truce. He said his people’s survival depends on it. There’s—there’s children. And they’re weak. They’re weak, and they’re hungry and…”
“My children died in a car accident fifteen years ago,” Harvey said. “Ben and Ross. The man driving the car who killed them was called Yuri. He was drink driving. He begged me not to report him. Begged me to let him go. But I couldn’t. Of course, I couldn’t. He went to prison. He lost everything. He spent his life afterwards terrorising my wife and me. My wife, Caroline, who died while I was… while I was on deployment years ago. And you’re saying he’s… he’s the leader? Of these people?”
Aoife shook her head. Her mouth was completely dry. She didn’t know what to say or think. She didn’t understand.
Only that something was wrong.
Something was desperately wrong.
“What did he… what did he say to you?” Harvey asked. Everyone so confused. The crowd looking on, talking amongst themselves. Whispering. Some of them leaving, clearly being spooked by the weird shift in atmosphere.
But most of them staying. Watching. Closely.
“Aoife,” Harvey said, stepping forward. “What… what did this Yuri send you here for?”
She reached into her pocket. Pulled
out the necklace Yuri handed her. The one with the blood on.
And she put it into his hand.
“He said… he told me to give you this. That you’d understand.”
Harvey looked down at the necklace.
Then he looked back up at Aoife, fear on his face. “What—”
She didn’t hear him finish.
Because right in front of her, an explosion ripped through the air, tossed her back, and sent her hurtling into the darkness.
CHAPTER FORTY
Aoife felt the back of her head slam against the concrete, tasted blood in her mouth and wondered what the fuck had just happened.
Her ears were ringing. Ringing worse than ever before. A blinding, screeching sound splitting through her skull. Her eyes ached. Her palms were sore, she realised from digging her nails into them. What had happened? What the fuck had just happened?
She opened her eyes, but all she could see was a blurry haze. The metallic taste of blood was getting stronger in her mouth, clinging to the back of her throat. Her heart raced. Her chest felt tight. She could smell smoke and taste something else rusty and damp on her lips.
She didn’t know what it was, but she could harbour a guess.
She could harbour a very good guess.
Because she’d been plunged into a situation like this all too recently, and she knew the sound of panic. Of pain. Of confusion.
An explosion.
She sat up. Her back ached like mad. A splitting pain shot down the base of her skull, right towards her stomach. But more than anything, that sense of confusion. That sense of not wanting to look. Of not wanting to see. Of not wanting to know what had happened because the thought of it was almost too much to entertain.
The confusion on Harvey’s face when she’d said the names of Yuri’s children.
The children Harvey supposedly killed.
Supposedly.
And then handing him the necklace Yuri had given to her, Harvey pushing her back and telling her to get away, and…
She looked up and saw the scene before her, and she felt her stomach sink.
There was a pile of bodies right before her. Or rather, body parts.