by Bali Rai
I wondered which day he meant – there’d been so many recently – until his obvious embarrassment made it clear.
‘It’s no big deal, Aron,’ I said warmly. ‘What you said – it doesn’t change anything, honestly. I don’t hate you or think badly of you. It’s done with. We can go back to being friends, like we’ve always been.’
‘No,’ he snapped. ‘It’s not done with. You don’t understand what I meant. I love you, Martha. Not like some stupid little boy, but more than that. I want to be with you always. You and me have a bond.’
It was my turn to look away and consider my reply. I thought I’d explained the other day how I felt. How could I make my feelings any clearer without hurting him? What was I supposed to say? I didn’t want to upset him, but I couldn’t admit to a feeling I just didn’t have.
‘I really like you, Aron,’ I began. ‘But not like that, OK? You’re like Tyrell and Oscar – a brother. That’s how I think about you. I love you too, but just like I love the others. Nothing more, I’m sorry.’
Aron shook his head and, without thinking, I sighed.
‘I don’t believe you,’ he continued. ‘You and me – we’ve got more of a connection than the others. I’ve seen the way you look at me, how you talk to me. I see it in your eyes, Martha. It’s something special.’
I put my hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes, praying that he’d listen to me and understand.
‘No,’ I whispered. ‘Please, Aron – this is hard enough without you making it worse. I don’t love you – not in that way. You’re family . . .’
His expression changed; a pleading look appeared in his eyes. I felt sick inside. My words weren’t sinking in, no matter how much I tried to make it clear.
‘Why would it be hard, then?’ he asked. ‘If you didn’t love me, why would it be so hard to say what you are saying to me?’
I sighed again. ‘Because I don’t want to hurt you, Aron, that’s why.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ he repeated. ‘I never will.’
‘Aron!’ I said in exasperation, just as Oscar and Jonah walked through the door. Talk about timing . . .
‘What’s he done now?’ joked Oscar, clapping Aron on the back.
‘Nothing!’ Aron hurriedly replied. ‘We were talking. In private.’
Oscar and Jonah both looked at me and I nodded. A tiny part of me was pleased to see Jonah, excited that he’d come to see where I worked. But mostly I felt embarrassed, for both Aron and myself. The tension was thick enough to taste.
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘It was just private stuff. Nothing, really.’
Aron began to make his excuses and stood up.
‘Don’t go,’ I said to him. ‘I’m finishing soon and I was hoping to show Jonah some more of the city. Come with us.’
Aron looked at me and seemed to wince a little. I realized how stupid my comment had been – idiotic, even. Jonah was the last person Aron wanted to spend time with.
‘Can’t,’ he lied, obviously. ‘I’ve got stuff to do at my place. I want to make it warmer and . . . I’ll see you later.’
‘At the Hunt?’ I asked.
‘Er . . . yeah,’ he replied.
He scooted out of the door before Jonah and Oscar had a chance to say goodbye.
‘Weirdo,’ joked Oscar.
I ignored the comment, shrugged and asked them if they wanted a drink.
9
LATER THE THREE of us were about to leave for the Haven when my stepfather appeared at the top of the stairs and asked me to join him.
‘Busy,’ I replied, not looking at him. After my failed conversation with Aron, the last thing I wanted was another spat with my stepfather.
‘Now!’ he yelled, causing a scene. Customers in the bar stopped what they were doing to stare.
Oscar started in anger, but I put my hand on his arm. One day I’d work out why my stepfather put up with me, but I knew that his tolerance wouldn’t stretch to my friends too. There was no way I was letting Oscar put himself in danger, especially not when the Mayor had Stone around – that man was like the worst sort of predator, always on the lookout for his next victim.
‘I’ll be fine,’ I told Oscar. ‘Let me see what he wants and then we’ll leave, OK?’
Oscar nodded and Jonah gave me a funny look.
‘What?’ I asked him.
‘Nothing,’ Jonah replied, but I could sense his disapproval and I felt ashamed – traitorous, even. I found myself hoping that he wouldn’t be put off me, and then felt silly for thinking that way. I mean, how much did he really know me anyway? And why did I care so much?
I stomped upstairs and followed my stepfather into Stone’s office. The mercenary was standing at the window, a broad smirk on his face, his eyes undressing me. I knew that men found me attractive but most of them knew how to disguise it. Stone was like a lizard watching flies swarming – tongue flicking in anticipation. It was disgusting.
‘What do you want?’ I asked, tying my hair up on my head, and watching out for any sudden moves from Stone. The mercenary set me on edge whenever he was around.
‘Has there been any talk?’ the Mayor asked me.
‘There’s been lots of talk,’ I told him, wondering what the hell he was on about. ‘It’s a bar.’
He shook his head and asked again. I looked at his crumpled grey suit and badly knotted red tie. At the way he had tried to cover his balding pate with the few straggly ends of hair he had left. His eyes were red and I could smell the booze on his breath from where I stood.
‘Well?’ he pushed.
Stone left his position and walked towards me. I felt momentarily wary, like a tiger was stalking me. My hands grew clammy and I felt my pulse begin to quicken.
‘He’s asking if anyone has mentioned the Resistance recently,’ the mercenary explained, stopping less than a metre away. ‘Anyone who’s looked shifty or odd.’
I pretended to think about it for a while as my mind started racing. Did they know something? Was this how my mother had been discovered? And then I realized that it might be Jonah they were interested in.
‘Well?’ asked my stepdad again.
‘No,’ I told them, trying to remain calm. ‘But then why would anyone mention the Resistance in the bar? That would be stupid.’
My stepfather guffawed like a suited pig. The folds of flab under his stubbly chin wobbled and his eyes narrowed into puffy slits.
‘The entire Resistance is stupid,’ he eventually replied. ‘Otherwise they’d just get on with life and stop acting like morons.’
I shrugged, knowing that our Resistance group, small as it was, was far from being insignificant. Otherwise they wouldn’t be asking me about it.
‘Nothing to do with me,’ I told him. ‘Have you finished? Only I’ve got things to do.’
‘Like what?’ he asked.
‘None of your business, old man,’ I replied, still wary of Stone’s presence but unwilling to let my stepfather have his own way.
‘If it involves letting your unwashed friends sleep in my hotel, then it does concern me,’ he countered.
‘Like I told you before – I’ve told them they can stay and that’s that. You don’t like it, you can lump it. You kick them out and I’ll go too.’
‘Now there’s a thought – I could just turn my back on you,’ he threatened. ‘See how you like your life when the creature comforts have been removed.’
I glared at him now, fighting the urge to gouge out his eyeballs. ‘What creature comforts?’ I snapped. ‘Other than the stinking rooms upstairs, what else is there? Why do you think I live here and not in that stupid mansion with you? I haven’t needed your help for years! You make me sick!’
‘Of course you don’t need me,’ he said smarmily. ‘Just like your mother didn’t need me.’
‘Don’t talk about her!’ I screamed. ‘Don’t ever talk about her.’
‘The truth always hurts, Martha.’
‘You wouldn’t know the truth if
it stabbed you in the heart. Don’t you get it by now? You mean nothing to me, and if you want me and my friends to leave the hotel – just say the word.’
‘I promised your mother that I’d watch out for you,’ he replied, looking almost genuinely sad. Almost.
‘Well, she’s dead so you can forget your promise.’
He shook his head and looked into my eyes. ‘What happened to you?’ he asked. ‘Where did that sweet little girl go?’
‘She died with her mother,’ I spat back. ‘And so did any relationship I had with you. Go to Hell!’
Before he could react I walked out, slamming the door shut behind me. It rocked in its casing and a fist-sized piece of plaster fell from the wall above it.
‘Martha!’ I heard the old bastard yell after me.
I ignored him, rejoined my friends, and we left the bar.
The walk to the Haven began with a stroll through the protected zone of Fire City. I explained more about our daily lives to Jonah, who seemed to be paying close attention to everything he saw and heard. I wanted to ask what was so fascinating about the alleyways and derelict buildings, but I didn’t. Instead, I pointed to a couple of greasy-haired young men who were tramping past us.
‘Factory workers,’ I told him. ‘They’ve just finished so it must be a little after eight in the evening.’
‘How do you know that?’ Jonah asked, staring at me.
‘That’s easy,’ I said teasingly. ‘There’re three shifts during each day, and they’re all the same length. The evening shift always finishes at eight.’
‘Basic maths, Jonah,’ added Oscar, before grinning at me. ‘Isn’t it the same in the northern cities?’
Jonah didn’t reply as more people passed us – most of them tired and hungry, probably looking forward to a night spent forgetting that they were alive. We were all paid in credits – cheaply minted tin coins which could be exchanged for the bare essentials of life. The basic diet of the Unwanted was potatoes, cabbage, dried coffee grounds and water, with the occasional turnip or beetroot thrown in. Anything else came from scavenging – rodent meat, wild herbs, the occasional cat or dog. It was no wonder that so many squandered the little they earned on the cheap, strong alcohol sold at the bar. I knew that it helped them to forget the drudgery and, according to Mace, it kept them compliant too – stopped them from rebelling.
I pointed at a hole in the wall of another building. ‘State-owned shop,’ I explained. ‘Where we buy some of the foodstuffs – when they have them.’
‘They had these up north but they were bigger,’ replied Jonah.
‘More people up there,’ said Oscar. ‘Least, that’s what I’ve been told.’
We walked in and Oscar and I said hello to a tall, slim man with bright-green eyes and sepia-tinted skin. His name was Corey Williams and he was the father of the boy that Jonah and I had rescued – Luca.
‘I hear you saved my son,’ Corey said to us.
I shook my head and looked at Jonah, touched his arm and felt that buzzing, tingling sensation again.
‘Jonah did,’ I said without looking away. ‘If it hadn’t been for him . . .’
Corey stepped forward and stuck out his hand. When Jonah failed to react, I nudged him.
‘It was nothing,’ said Jonah without moving.
‘No way!’ said Corey with a beaming smile. ‘You save my son and it was nothing? Forget that!’ He grabbed Jonah and gave him a hug, and I could see that Jonah was a little uncomfortable with the contact. Again, I found myself with questions about the newcomer. There was a layer of mystery around him and I wanted to penetrate it.
‘We’d better get on,’ said Oscar, looking up and down the street from the doorway.
‘Is Luca OK?’ I asked.
Corey nodded and smiled again. His eyes sparkled. ‘He’s with his mum at the Haven,’ he replied. ‘Your Aunt May said they would both be safest there. Just in case . . .’
‘How did he end up in the Hunt though?’ asked Oscar. ‘He’s too young.’
Corey shook his head, looking ashamed. ‘We were walking past some soldiers and one of them said something to my wife. I ignored them but Luca got mad and kicked the soldier on the knee. He’s like that about his mum – one fiery little boy. They grabbed him and took him away and we couldn’t stop them.’
I nodded, remembering that Aunt May had asked me to watch out for the little boy.
‘We found him, Corey,’ I replied. ‘That’s all that matters. If you had tried to stop the soldiers, they would have killed you.’
‘I know, Martha, and I’m deeply grateful that you found him. If I could, I’d let you have some free supplies, but they’d kill me if they found out.’
As we walked away from the shop I explained what Corey had meant to Jonah. ‘They’re all conscripts – the shop workers,’ I told him. ‘They don’t have any choice. If they did, Corey would be with us, I’m sure.’
‘He’s always there, then?’ asked Jonah.
‘All the time,’ I replied. ‘His family lives in a room behind the store. At least, they did.’
Jonah nodded and went back to studying our surroundings carefully. Here and there were human army patrols, three men in each. I pointed to one and asked Jonah if it was the same in the north.
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘But there are more of them. The Northern Citadel has several satellite towns all round it – most of them like this place. Factories, workers, everything.’
‘More rebels too, then?’ added Oscar.
‘Yes,’ replied Jonah. ‘Which is why I think the Resistance should be better organized.’
‘How?’ I asked.
‘By joining up and establishing bases in the wastelands.’
‘But what about the dangers?’
Jonah gave me a piercing look and told me that I wasn’t thinking properly. ‘What’s more dangerous than living like this?’ he asked, and I realized that he might have a point. It didn’t stop me from feeling a bit silly though.
‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘Sorry.’
‘Don’t say sorry,’ he replied. ‘You can’t be expected to know these things if you’ve never left Fire City.’
‘Sssh!’ whispered Oscar. ‘More soldiers.’
The army in Fire City is made up of two types of soldier. The first types are regular recruits, picked from the Wanted and trained to keep order. The second lot are mercenaries – people like Stone – and work for whoever can pay. I don’t know for sure, but it seems as though Stone is in charge of the army in Fire City, through his position with the old bastard. I’ve often seen him ordering the soldiers around.
‘How many soldiers in total?’ Jonah asked.
‘No idea,’ I told him. ‘I try not to pay them any attention – it’s too dangerous.’
We crossed a four-road junction, just past what had once been the centre of the city, and our going got tougher. We were about fifteen hundred metres from the edge of the protected zone and needed to be careful.
‘If we get caught approaching the border, we’re dead,’ I explained.
Jonah nodded and told me that Mace had explained as much. ‘Secret routes,’ he added.
‘Do you know much about the demons?’ I asked as we ducked down a dark side street, one that was barricaded at the end.
Jonah shrugged. ‘A little,’ he replied. ‘Enough to know what kills them.’
‘Even the powerful ones?’
This time he shook his head and a thought passed across his face. He kept it to himself and I found myself wishing that he’d tell me.
‘There are so many types of demon,’ he explained. ‘The smaller ones that possess animals aren’t powerful at all. Then you have the patrollers who rely on brute strength, then the underlords . . .’
‘You’re patronizing me now,’ I told him, feeling slightly annoyed. ‘The elders taught us all about the demons.’
‘Really?’ he asked. ‘Did you know that there are other demons, ones which you’ve never seen here in
Fire City?’
‘Describe them,’ I challenged. I’ve had a competitive streak since I was little and it was kicking in.
‘Have you heard of succubi and incubi?’
I looked away, shook my head. I had no idea what he was talking about but I wasn’t about to admit to it. My plan about not seeming stupid in front of him was failing though. Badly.
‘A different part of the species,’ he continued. ‘They’re like Valefor and the other ancients – able to possess humans or take their souls. They’re just as powerful. Only they don’t sit on any ruling council – at least, not on any that I know of.’
‘How do you know so much?’ asked Oscar.
Jonah stopped and considered us for a moment. He looked from Oscar to me, and back again.
‘Because I have to,’ he said at last. ‘The best way to destroy your enemy is to understand them. It’s something I learned in the north.’
‘Man, they taught you a lot up there,’ said Oscar. ‘Maybe that’s where I should go.’
Jonah nodded. ‘You should,’ he said to both us. ‘Your skills would be sharpened and you’d be even more effective.’
‘Sounds great,’ I said, pointing to a hole in the wall ahead of us. ‘Through there,’ I added, looking around us. When I was sure that we weren’t being watched, I ducked into an abandoned shop, its shelves long since stripped bare. ‘Quick!’ I whispered to my friends.
Once inside, Oscar led us to the rear, where a doorway opened into the cellar and a secret tunnel. We headed down into the darkness as I tried to imagine what life outside Fire City might be like.
10
ARON SAT ALONE, on a wall by the old railway station. He looked up into the night sky as an electrical storm flashed and burned, and giant amethyst-tinged clouds threatened to release the torrential rain that they held. Instead of worrying that he was about to get drenched, Aron went over and over his last conversation with Martha, playing it out in his head. He searched his memory for an inkling of hope, something in her words that proved that he was right about how she really felt. Finding nothing, he put his head in his hands and groaned. How could it be that she didn’t want him? They understood each other; the pain of losing their mothers, the darkness that those deaths created inside them, the hatred that became the sole purpose for living. Surely she could see that?