They sat at the small dining room table like they were at the Yalta Conference instead of just trading what we all looted. I sat next to them because what the fuck did I know about bartering stolen goods during the apocalypse? I didn’t want to ruin this. I was just going to watch and keep my mouth shut.
Steven slid the box across the table.
“It’s unopened. We lost some men getting this.”
Aeron steepled his fingers, and his gray eyes glittered like he was enjoying every minute of this.
“From what Cougar said, you found enough to go around. And I took out Scooter.”
“Don’t be nasty, Aeron. Fair is fair. You know Cougar won’t like it if you shaft her on a trade.”
“Oh, I have no intention of shafting her. But I know she sends you in when she wants to get greedy, and I have no intention of being the one getting shafted.”
Steven fell out laughing.
“Welcome back, Aeron. Still, you know she will want something good for this.”
“How does Doritos and chocolate sound?”
Wait, Aeron had chocolate and was holding out on me? Whatever was in that box had better be worth it. Were we giving up all the chocolate? I had questions.
“How the fuck did you manage to find that?”
“How did you manage to find enough of what’s in that box for the entire community?”
“Found a Rage Head barricaded in his basement with a whole supply and massive amounts of MREs. If he had stuck to the liquor instead of the bottled water he had stockpiled, he might not have turned. He had some brands you warned us about.”
“Doomsdayer? Did you get a lot of ammo?”
“Oh, yeah. We got guns, ammo, MREs, canned goods, and some nudie mags for the men. It took several trips, but that Rage Head was fairly fresh, and it was a cramped space. He got his teeth in three of us before we could kill him, and there’s no cure for a bite.”
“Supply runs can turn shitty in an instant. Do you want to stay and pour one out for them?”
Steven just gave him this crooked grin.
“No. I got my own. I got some MREs and girly mags out of the haul. Cougar has been fiending for some chocolate. She’s had us looking on our runs. The most we’ve found is that nasty baker’s chocolate you can’t eat. Samantha tried to make brownies with it on the fire since we have flour, but sugar is one thing we don’t have.”
“Well, tell Cougar she’s got her chocolate. I swiped an entire box of Snickers.”
And he was just trading them? There had better be something delicious in that box. If there was a shitty surprise in that box, I would be upset. I was already questioning Aeron’s sanity with this whole killing the president, but if he was just handing out Snickers for mystery boxes, then he was definitely totally insane.
Steven held out his hand.
“You’ve got yourself a trade.”
Aeron went to one of the saddlebags and took out the chocolate and Doritos he was hiding from me. If I knew there was chocolate hidden in there, I probably already would have torn into it and ruined this trade. There’d better be something outstanding in that box.
Steven gathered all that beautiful chocolate and disappeared. I was left with Aeron and his mystery box. He was stroking the damned thing like it was his favorite pet.
“What’s so special that you gave away chocolate during the end of the world?”
Aeron ripped off the top of the box and triumphantly held up a bottle of Wild Turkey. I cocked an eyebrow at him.
“All that for booze?”
“We’re in a safe place to get drunk. Think of it as a way to forget the apocalypse and feel good for a night.”
“I’ve forgotten everything, remember?” I reminded him.
Aeron waved the bottle at me.
“Then let’s forget forgetting.”
I just shrugged.
“I’ll drink to that.”
Aeron got two glasses down, but we didn’t have many options for mixing. We were basically doing straight shots. Aeron was a big guy. He was bigger than I was in every way. I didn’t know much about my past, but I apparently had the tolerance of a linebacker. Aeron was getting pretty sloppy, and I was barely buzzed. We had drunk half the bottle, and I was putting a lid on this. We didn’t need to drink the entire thing just because we had it, and I had no desire to hold Aeron’s hair back while he puked in the dark.
I helped Aeron to bed and tried to tuck him in. He straight up grabbed me and pulled me into bed. He yanked me to his chest and threw his leg over me. I could feel him nuzzling my neck with his nose.
“You’re so pretty,” he sighed.
“You’re so drunk, Aeron.”
“Shut up. Tonight, we forget everything. I’m forgetting you remember nothing. I just want to hold you, Speedy. Let me have this.”
I went totally still. Did Aeron and I know each other before? He wanted me to remember for way more reasons than just going to kill the president with him. Was I supposed to be remembering him? Why was he such a dick to me if he was so affectionate when he was drunk?
He had me crushed to his chest, and he was snoring in an instant. Why didn’t he do this the night I had a nightmare?
Was I supposed to be remembering Aeron this entire time?
Chapter 14
I
didn’t have any memory nightmares that night. When I woke up, Aeron was nowhere to be found. I looked out the front door, and I didn’t see him or his horse. I found him outside in the backyard cooking over a makeshift stove. He didn’t seem hungover at all. He must have super drunk powers because I didn’t get as drunk as he did, and he wasn’t paying for it today.
He was back to being a cold fish.
“Hey, Ariel. One of the best things about Gabriel’s Haven is that they have chickens. Someone left eggs on the front porch. It’s not much, but I scrambled them with some rosemary that grows in the yard.”
“It’s a hot meal, and I’m grateful for whatever you can cook. I know it’s not always going to be like this. What did you do for this town that they like you so much? I know you didn’t bribe them with chocolate.”
“I came through here looking to map a safe route from Washington State to Mexico. When I got to the gate, Scooter and his gang were here, causing trouble. I caused them a little trouble. I guess you could say I made them dead.”
I just nodded and took the plate from him.
“Because your specialty is death, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Are you ever going to explain what that means?”
“Not any time soon, Speedy.”
“Why do you sometimes call me Speedy and sometimes Ariel?
Aeron just shrugged and wouldn’t look at me.
“Sometimes, I slip up.”
If he would not mention last night, should I? Would it make shit weird? Shit was already pretty weird. I already had him talking a little, and he let his hair down and got drunk with me last night. I decided not to let shit get any weirder and just enjoy my eggs.
“What’s the plan for today?”
“Cougar wants to meet with us, and then we are headed out.”
“We aren’t leaving as early as before.”
“No, because we aren’t in dangerous territory, and we aren’t going through it. Most of the way to the next stop is abandoned except for Rage Heads, and they aren’t bad. They are mostly half-starved and weak out that way. The closer we get to Los Angeles, the worse it will get.”
“How is Los Angeles?”
“California isn’t doing so bad. We will have to be careful about getting to your apartment.”
“Um, what is your horse going to do in Los Angeles?”
Aeron smirked at me.
“Why are you so concerned with Meremoth?”
“That’s not a normal horse!”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Asshole,” I muttered.
“You know you love me.”
“Excuse me?”
/> Aeron waved his fork at me.
“You just wait.”
Wait for what? My memories to come back? He certainly wasn’t helping with that. Could he help with that? If my mind would break if my memories were triggered wrong, this was all up to me. Maybe I could make a game of it. Perhaps I could find a way to trick Aeron into answering my questions that I could find out about him without triggering memories.
“Did we know each other before?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Because you wouldn’t have had my blue bat if you weren’t looking for me. You knew where I lived, and you went to my apartment to get things for me. Why would you do all that, and how do you know all this shit about me if we didn’t know each other before?”
“That’s a story for another day. We need to talk to Cougar and get on the road. It’s a long way to Los Angeles, and I’m hoping your apartment triggers some memories for you.”
That was a story for right now. How was answering me if we knew each other in the past going to hurt me? I was getting sick of Aeron’s shit. I stomped out the front door after him. We argued all the way through the town. Aeron kept snapping at me to keep my voice down and drop it. I wasn’t having any of that. It was frustrating not remembering your entire life. Aeron had all the answers, and he wouldn’t even give me hints.
We were still arguing when Aeron knocked on a house with a large door. Cougar opened the door and cocked an eyebrow at us.
“If you need this one, you might want to keep her happy because she looks like she wants to rip your balls off.”
“She does,” I growled.
“Get in here and let’s talk this out like adults.”
I followed her to a beautiful living room and sat on the couch as far away from Aeron as I could. He refused to look at me and scowled at the wall. It was like the way he was when he was drunk never happened.
“Now, what are you fighting about?”
Aeron and I both started talking at once.
“He’s keeping secrets from me.”
“She’s being ridiculous. I’m trying to keep her safe, and she fights me at every turn.”
Cougar held up her hand.
“Ariel, why do you think he’s keeping secrets?”
I couldn’t help it. I fell out laughing. Why did I think he was keeping secrets? He even lied about not having a last name.
“I woke up in a hospital with no memories. I didn’t even know my own name. The only living person in the hospital was this asshole, and he hands me a Smurf blue baseball bat and expects me to remember something. He was at that hospital for a reason, or he wouldn’t have had my old bat and my clothes from my apartment. He even lied about not having a last name!”
“I get why you’re upset, Ariel. I do. But it’s the end of the world. Does it really matter if you know his last name? Cougar is not my real name. It’s what I prefer to be called now.”
“What if he’s keeping his last name from me because he knows it’ll make me remember him?”
Cougar sighed.
“Ariel, I met Aeron before the war broke out. He warned us about the water then, and he let us know that they were about to drop bombs. Even back then, Aeron was working with a team trying to end this. He was trying to put all the pieces together, and there were things he needed to find. How do you know his entire team didn’t spend years gathering a file on you, and you are a piece to this puzzle?”
I threw up my hands and wanted to shriek in frustration.
“Try asking him that! He won’t answer either way.”
“Aeron? Care to chime in?”
“You know I hate it when you mediate me, right? Neither of you understands. The way Ariel’s memories were taken from her wasn’t natural. The person who took them didn’t want her to ever remember. They didn’t want her ever to be found either. That research facility was like Fort Knox with security. I suspect one of the doctors or nurses got a bite outside and said nothing. They came to work like everything was normal and turned on their shift.
“That’s the only reason I was able to get in that facility. It was safer to fight my way through a bunch of Rage Heads than get through the security they had in place. Do you get that? You weren’t supposed to wake up, Speedy. And if you did, they put precautions in place in case anyone tried to help you remember. I can’t tell you a fucking thing because of what they did to you at that facility. Cut me some slack. I want you to remember just as much as you do.”
I just sat there with my mouth gaping open. Who the fuck did that to me, and were they still alive? Smurfette would like to meet them. Why would anyone do that to me? I didn’t remember much, but what I knew of myself was that I was an artist who played on a recreational softball team and liked to attend concerts. And I was totally fucked because he couldn’t tell me why.
“I don’t remember much, but I remember a little. Why would anyone bother?”
“Now, Ariel,” Cougar said, resting her elbows on her knees. “I know how frustrating this is for you, but can you understand that it’s frustrating for Aeron too? You are clearly crucial if someone went to such lengths to take you out of the equation, and it would help all of us if Aeron could just tell you everything.
“None of this is fair. If it were up to me, I’d be living in a house with electricity and access to a grocery store teaching kindergarten again. I don’t know why you are important either, just that you are. I don’t want Aeron to tell you anything either because we need you functioning for whatever his plan is. Can you be patient?”
Did I have a choice? I didn’t ask for this, but if the end of the world was happening and I was somehow important, then I just needed to nut up and deal with it. I’d have to stop giving Aeron a hard time.
“I guess.”
I’d be patient, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Good. And you, Aeron. You have a bad temper, and you can be rough around the edges. I know you are frustrated she can’t remember, but imagine how she feels. She’s desperate for anything to hold on to.”
Aeron crossed his arms and grumped.
“I guess.”
“Good. Now, both of you be nicer to each other, and you might just complete your mission. Do you need anything for the road? We found a huge stash of MREs when we found your booze. I can send you with a few.”
“Anything you can spare would be great. We found a supply closet, and that was where I found your chocolate, but I’d like to ride straight on with as minimal stops as possible. We will be sleeping rough along the way. Some cities along our route are overrun with Rage Heads, and our options for sleeping are as safe as I could make them.”
Cougar narrowed her eyes at Aeron.
“If you went through so much trouble to find this girl and you keep pissing her off, then make them safer. If she’s a piece of your puzzle, then you do better at making things safe.”
“Yes, ma’am. We do need to be headed out soon.”
“Then, come pick out some MREs and get on your way. I mean it, Aeron. If harm comes to this girl, you will have all of Gabriel’s Haven after your ass.”
Chapter 15
A
eron refused to talk to me for the rest of the day. It was pretty fucking miserable, considering we were sharing a horse. It made the lengthy ride even longer. Sometimes, he rode Meremoth hard and fast, and sometimes, we just walked. I honestly had no idea where we were. Most of the street signs were either totally obliterated by one of the bombs, or someone had spray-painted over it.
It wasn’t chaos and anarchy with the vandalism. Someone tried to warn people before they left that city. There were dire warnings on most of the street signs about zombies and Rage Heads. I guess I took comfort that at least one person in those towns got out to spray paint those warnings. I wondered if they were still alive. Did they find a city like Gabriel’s Haven to call home, or did they meet up with someone like Scooter’s gang?
Aeron shushed me like a noisy toddler when I tried to ask. I g
uess he was mad Cougar had to give him a spanking, and now he was pouting about it. I was pissed about what she said to us too, but for different reasons than Aeron probably was. I knew something had been done to me now, and I was somehow important, but I had no way of asking because of what they had done to make me forget. It was infuriating.
Aeron’s hand tensed on my waist, and he finally decided I was worthy of talking to.
“We have to stop for the night. We are about to enter a Rage Head infested city. No living soul exists here except them, so they will be starving. Do exactly what I say when we pass the motel sign that just says Dead Inside. We are sleeping in an abandoned train car. I know it’s not the Ritz Carlton, and there’s no running water, but it’s the safest place for us.”
“I’m not complaining about roughing it, Aeron.”
Aeron let out this little growl.
“I am. You deserve a bed and running water, Ariel. This is the best I can do tonight.”
Sometimes, Aeron said the littlest things and were so sweet. The other times, he was shushing me, and I wanted to punch him in the nuts.
“Aeron, it’s not your fault we are sleeping in a train car tonight. It’s not like there are any other options.”
“Get your bat ready and be on alert. The Rage Heads here usually congregate towards the downtown area. We’ll cut through the woods to get to the train, but there could be a stray Rage Head who has gotten a taste for wildlife. I will have to bring Meremoth close so we can kill it. We don’t want it to signal the others. If we wake up in that train car surrounded by Rage Heads, it will be next to impossible to get away. Believe me, that happened to me the last time I was on my way up here.”
“Got it.”
“Teamwork, Speedy. I drive Meremoth. You kill the Rage Heads with Smurfette.”
Aeron had a lot of faith in my zombie killing abilities, which just opened up a million questions I would never get the answer to. I gave Smurfette a twirl as Meremoth broke through the trees. I could do this. I was on a huge, demonic horse that ran faster than anything I’d seen before, and they were rotting corpses. I could bash a bitch’s head in from up here.
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