by Shepp, Roman
“What are you doing?” Andrew asked when he noticed what she was doing.
“I'm letting him out. There's no sense keeping him in there anymore.”
“We can't--” Andrew began. Rosa cut him off.
“Either you trust me, or you don't. I trust Phil more than anyone else alive, and I'm letting him out. I don't know why Jane left. I'm guessing Frank was the one who escaped first, and he wanted her to go with him. I thought she'd stay, though...anyway, they're out there now. They're probably in danger.”
“They could be spies. They could be with Hugo right now, telling him everything they've learned about us.”
“Get out of your own head. The world doesn't revolve around you,” Rosa said bitterly, reaching in to help Phil up. Andrew stopped arguing.
“What's going on, Rosa?” Phil asked, looking beleaguered.
“It seems these people are the last line of defense against Hugo's little band of not-so-merry men. They've realized that fighting violence with peace is only going to end one way, and we're going to help them.”
“We have to,” Phil said, “it's the only thing to do. Hugo has to be stopped, if what Martha and Belinda said was right.”
“It was,” Andrew said. He still was staring absently at the empty cages. “I thought if we just held you, we could figure out what to do.”
“One of the things you'll learn is that the world doesn't wait for you.”
“Why would they leave?” Andrew said.
“Are you really questioning why people would want to escape from being held in cages? I think you should work on your public relations,” she teased, then she led Phil back to the middle of the camp. “I think you should get the others out here, so we can talk this out.”
Andrew nodded and began rousing everyone. Sleepily, they came outside and looked toward Andrew, but it was Rosa who stepped forward and began talking.
“Many of you don't know me. Maybe you're afraid of me, but I promise you I'm not going to hurt you. You're all afraid of Hugo. I don't know the man, but I've heard some of the things he's been capable of. I have to be honest with you, though, and tell you that there are more things to be afraid of. My friends escaped, and I don't blame them. If they had asked me before I knew what you people were about, I probably would have left too. But I know that you want to stop Hugo from getting to the city. We want the same thing. We're going to help you. I'm not going to leave.
“I know that a lot of you want to stay true to your pacifist ways, but I don't know if that's going to be possible. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, and if you're not prepared to do so, then it's better you say so sooner rather than later. I'm going to fight until the end. I'm not going to let this man walk through the world and take what he wants without consequence. The future of this country is in our hands. It's not going to happen by itself, only if we take it upon ourselves. You all were part of a community that was separate from the world. Tap into that passion, that determination, and we'll be able to defeat Hugo.”
When Rosa finished, she was left breathless. Never before had she spoken in front of so many with such zeal. Everyone was looking at her, rapt with attention, and her words were met with a strong round of applause. Even Phil was staring at her in awe.
“I never knew you had it in you,” he said.
Rosa smirked. She didn't know she had it in her either. It felt good, though, to be part of something, and she wondered if this is what Steve had felt all the time. Silently, in her own mind, she told herself that she was doing this for her fallen comrades. Not just for Steve and Don, but for all the other soldiers across the country who had fallen prey to people like the masked man. These were troubling times for them all, and only by sticking together and forming alliances could they continue and prosper. Rosa may have been able to stay out of danger on her own, but she wouldn't feel such a sense of pride at inspiring others. The people around her came up to her and thanked her for her words. Others made speeches about how they had to fight Hugo for the good of those who needed to be shown how evil he was.
She let them have their moment, slipping away with Phil.
“It sounds like you have a new home here,” he said.
“I don't know about that,” Rosa replied, “but I do believe in this cause. I just don't know how to go about it. They're not the most fearsome warriors.”
“I don't think any of us are at the beginning, but sometimes all you need is something to believe in and people can turn into warriors. Sometimes all they need is a good leader too.”
It took Rosa a couple of minutes to realize that he was talking about her. She shook her head. “No way, I'm no leader.”
“What you just said there sounded like a leader to me. It's not always what we choose, but sometimes people need you to be something you don't think you're capable of.”
Rosa nodded, contemplating his words.
“Why do you think they left me?” he asked.
“I know why Frank left you, because he doesn't care about anything other than himself. As for Jane...well, she's been different since she woke up. I guess what happened in the bunker hit her hard.”
“It hit all of us hard,” Phil said. “I didn't think she'd actually leave, though.”
“Me neither. Especially not with Frank.”
“Maybe he forced her.”
“Without waking you up? I don't think Jane would have left without causing a ruckus. The truth is, Phil, we might not have known her as well as we thought. What happened to us, it affected us all.”
“Jane was close to Tony. She must be grieving. I still hate thinking that he's gone. It doesn't seem like the world is right without him in it. Sometimes I still expect him to come and be a part of all this.”
“It was too much to ask, leaving him in there alone. We should have done more. I feel pretty useless myself, especially since the two people we rescued have run away.”
“Then all we can do is try making up for it in the future. We have to help these people stop Hugo. It's what Tony would have wanted.”
“It's what Steve and Don would have wanted as well.”
“Then we'll do it all for them,” Phil said.
With that, they went to sleep. Rosa didn't sleep well, though. Her mind was focused on the battle ahead. When the morning came she found that everyone was waiting for her, even Andrew, who seemed to have relinquished the role of leader to her. Rosa wasn't sure how she felt about that, but it wasn't as though she could turn away from it now.
“I've been thinking a lot about the assault last night. What strategies have you been employing so far? What was your plan to attack?” she asked.
“We just thought we'd go up there and ask him to stand down, and then if that didn't work, we'd have a fight.”
Rosa tried not to put her head in her hands. “This is what we're going to do. I want all the fastest runners together. You're going to gather up as many sticks as you can and make javelins. I want you running around the perimeter of the camp, flinging javelins inside. We've got to turn our weakness into an advantage. We have fewer people, which means we'll be better at hiding. Those of you who are good at hand-to-hand combat will train others. I'll give you some pointers as well. Do any of you have guns?”
They all shook their heads.
“Okay, well, I'm sure we can improvise. This isn't going to be as scary as you think. What we really need to do is take out Hugo and the others who are advising him. Your inside knowledge is going to be crucial. If we can take out their power base, then the other people should fold. They probably don't want to hurt people any more than you do, but Hugo has convinced them otherwise. Fighting people they know is going to be a much different proposition than approaching the city.”
They all looked impressed, and Rosa even surprised herself with how much she remembered from her training. After she had sent them all on different tasks, Phil came up to her.
“I want to be with you on the front line,” he said. “I know that I'm not the most
useful person to have in a war, but I've waited my whole life to be a hero and I've seen too many bad things to not stand up for what I believe in.”
Rosa put her hand on his shoulder. “Phil, I wouldn't have you anywhere else,” she said. Phil smiled, and for the first time Rosa knew what it was like truly to be a part of something bigger than herself, to be a part of an army.
“But are you sure we shouldn't go and look for Frank and Jane?”
“We have to choose our battles. They left us. I don't know why Jane went with him, but she must have had her reasons. I wish we could, but these people need us more. Hopefully we'll see them again, but we have a job to do.”
Chapter Nine
Tony led Quentin up the slope to the bunker door. Groot was growling continuously, not being as trusting as Tony was. Tony hoped Quentin had been broken like he had imagined. The huge man had to bend down as he walked up the slope. Tony's breath caught in his throat with every step, knowing that if Quentin wanted he easily could snap Tony's neck, even though his hands still were tied. Something told Tony that if Quentin really wanted him dead, nothing was going to stop him. So far, Quentin hadn't made any move to kill him, and trust had been established.
They had stepped over the dead bodies, which were starting to smell. Tony opened the door and breathed in lungful’s of fresh air. The sun was bright and warm. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. By his feet he saw Don's dead body. The man only had wanted to find his sweetheart, but it was a quest he never would fulfill. His son would have to go his entire life without ever knowing what happened to his father.
Tony stepped out, followed by Quentin and Groot. He'd half-expected the others to be waiting there for him, although that had been a forlorn hope. Tony had made the decision to lock himself in the bunker knowing full well that his friends would have left. That's why he had done that in the first place. It was the only chance he would have to get through to Quentin, and it had worked. But now he was alone. Saeed, Jane, and the others all were elsewhere in the forest. Hopefully, they had found each other and were safe. Hopefully, he would see them again.
“This is much better,” Tony said.
“I don't like outside. It smells funny.”
“That smell is freshness,” Tony said.
“Where are we going?”
“I don't know. Just for a walk,” Tony said, although he had a number of destinations in mind. He wanted Quentin to confront the things he had done. He'd managed to get Quentin to admit he was a bad man and to see the logical fallacies in his quest to balance the world, but there still was much work to be done if he was going to save the man.
It wasn't long before Quentin realized what Tony intended. They walked back along the river, retracing their path. They approached one of the campsites that Quentin had ravaged. He stopped and shook his head.
“I'm not going there,” he growled. His voice was so coarse, like chalk crackling in his mouth.
“You have to, Quentin. It's the only way.”
“No. They deserved what happened to them. They shouldn't have been happy.”
“We've talked about this, Quentin. That's not the way to think about things. You have to see what you've done so that you don't do it again.”
Every moment Tony spent with Quentin was a moment that could end in death. If he had any sense at all, Tony should have run away as fast as he could, but he felt something of a responsibility for the welfare of this man. When Tony looked at Quentin he no longer saw a monster. He saw a man who had been damaged by life, who had been forsaken and cast away. If everyone did that to him, then Quentin had no chance at getting better. But if someone showed him compassion and a little kindness, it could make all the difference in the world.
When Tony first had encountered Quentin, he'd thought the man was a villain, but now he saw that the world wasn't as black and white as he first had thought. The comic books he'd read hadn't prepared him for the shades of gray he encountered, and he hoped he would be able to bring Quentin fully back into the light, to enable him to have a fulfilling life, even after all the crimes he had committed.
“I don't need to see them.”
“You do, Quentin. I know it's difficult, but you have to do it. It's the only way I can think of to get you to face what you've done. These people aren't alive anymore because of you. In your mind you thought they were taunting you, that they had committed some great sin, but that's simply not true. There's only one reason why these people aren't alive today, and that's because of you.”
“If you're trying to make me feel better, it's not working,” he said, his head hanging toward the ground.
“We all have to accept what we've done, and who we are if we're going to continue in this life.”
“And what if I don't want to continue in this life? I know what I am and what I can be. I'm a killer.”
“You don't have to define yourself by what you've done. But if you really want to go down that route, then try adjusting your outlook. Try only going after the people who really deserve it, not the ones who are happy. I know of a few bad people who are taking advantage of others. If you put your efforts into stopping them--”
“Everyone I killed has deserved it,” Quentin said bluntly.
Tony looked down at the bodies, torn and twisted. Many of them had been torn apart by wild animals looking to get a free meal.
“Did they?” he said. “Did Don and the other soldiers? None of these people have done anything to harm you, Quentin.”
“Just seeing them happy was enough. What right do they have to be happy when I've had everything taken from me?”
Tony shook his head in disbelief and then made his way back to the river. He sat down on the riverbank, feeling the soft grass under him. He rolled up his pants, took off his boots and socks, and dangled his feet in the water. It was warm and foamy, and deep under the surface he could see a few fish swimming by. Groot sat beside him, although the dog wasn't looking at the water at all. He was fixated on Quentin.
Tony gazed out at the water, wondering what he was going to do with this man.
“I don't know what to do with you, Quentin. I thought we'd made a real breakthrough down in the bunker. I thought I was starting to get through to you, but if you're so locked in this mindset, I don't know how much hope there is for you. I know that you've been damaged by life, but that doesn't mean we have to be beaten down by it. I know a man like you, one of the others who was in the bunker. He lost his family on the night this all began. There wasn't any sense to the crime. People had a grudge against him and used that night as an excuse to attack him. They ended up killing his wife and child. He lost himself. He had a death wish. There were days when I don't think he wanted to wake up, but I didn't give up on him and I'm not going to give up on you. I helped him get through it, and now he's out there somewhere, hopefully taking care of Tara and the others I helped to escape.
“The thing is, Quentin, I can't in good conscience let you go. You've done some terrible things, and if you don't even show the slightest amount of remorse, what am I supposed to do? There aren't any cops around I can take you to, and I'm not just going to lock you up in that bunker. It's not very humane. If I let you go, you might just start killing people again, but how can I live with that on my conscience?”
“You could kill me, put me out of my misery,” he said.
Tony shook his head. “You just don't get it, do you? Can't you understand that there are people like me who don't want to kill? I've seen how dark the world can be. I don't want to add more darkness to it. I want to believe there is another way, a better way. But how can I let you off the leash?”
The question was rhetorical. Quentin didn't have an answer for him. How Tony wished that Jane and Saeed were there by his side to give him additional guidance. He missed them, truly, and had given up a life with them for this man. Tony's bat lay beside him. It was a weapon, but Tony didn't want to use it. There was only one way for Tony and Quentin to continue, one way to resolv
e their problems, but it didn't sit well with Tony.
“I could kill myself,” Quentin said softly, as though the thought had been in his head for a long time but as yet had remained unspoken.
“No,” Tony said tersely, “that's not the way out of this, Quentin. The answer doesn't always have to be death. There are other ways. I know what I have to do. I have to stay with you for the rest of your life, walking beside you, reminding you that you're not just a killer. There's more to you than that. I'll be your own personal guard to ensure that nobody else gets hurt by you.”
Tony felt Quentin move behind him. He closed his eyes, hoping that Quentin wouldn't betray the bond they had formed by killing him outright. Tony didn't want to die, and he had put all his faith in the restraints that were keeping Quentin's hands behind his back.
“Why would you do this? Why would you sacrifice your own life just to stay with me?” Quentin asked. The closer he got to Tony, the more Groot growled. Tony reached out a hand and petted Groot softly on the head, trying to get him to calm down. The dog found it more difficult than Tony to be at ease around the big man. He had good reason to be scared, after all.
Tony sighed. “My life hasn't exactly been a full one. Maybe it's hard for you to understand, but for most of my life I've been waiting for it to begin. I always thought that one day I would do something that really mattered. So, when this new world began I thought it was going to be my chance to be a hero. But I quickly realized that being a hero wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I had to say goodbye to my friends to make sure you didn't hurt them. I don't think I could live with myself if I let you go and you hurt more people.
“I want to make a difference to people, and if that means I'm going to have to sacrifice my life to be by your side, then so be it. It's not as though I have much to sacrifice anyway. I've never been in love. I don't have any family. My friends are scattered about this forest. The only thing I have left is Groot. So I say, bring it on. Let's walk through this world together. At least we'll have each other for companions.”