by M. L. Giles
Sneaking into the underground car park without anyone noticing turned out to be easier than expected. With everyone preoccupied with Aiden’s group, no one was paying much attention to their surroundings.
At one point, I had to find a way past Bethany in the lobby. By simply mingling in with other people as they walked around and breaking off at the right times, I easily bypassed her.
Once underground, I shouted for the gate to be lifted. The magical gate fairy complied from wherever they were. The gate rose slowly, giving me access to the outside.
Unsurprisingly, the gate began closing the second after I’d stepped out. I guess even magical gate fairies can get scared when under the threat of fire.
Located at the top of the ramp to the underground parking were two of Aiden’s goons.
One man, one women. Both of them had shaved heads and dressed in the usual yellow and orange clothing. Both also carried a weapon; a pitchfork for the woman, a fire axe for the man.
“Stop right there, dude!” the man immediately shouted upon seeing me. “Turn back right now or you’ll be in a world of hurt!”
I lifted my arms to show I wasn’t carrying a weapon. “I’m Grayson Ryder. Aiden gave me permission to leave for the purpose of delivering messages to him.”
The man looked over at the woman, who gave a confirming nod.
“All right. No tricks, though,” said the man as I approached.
I flashed my charming smile at them. “Given the situation, the last thing I want to do is risk pissing off the almighty Aiden.”
They let me pass. The moment I was out of their sight, I slipped around to the rear of the hotel, using whatever cover available to remain unseen.
I’d spent a good half an hour scouting out the rear of the hotel, looking for guards. To my pleasant surprise, there were very few of them.
“Aiden must be keeping the majority of his people on show at the front as an intimidation tactic. Clever girl,” I thought.
Each guard was equipped with a flare gun and stood separately on various streets, watching the hotel. All I had to do was pick them off one by one without letting any warning flares be fired.
Despite all the lectures from people regarding it being okay to take a life in this new world, I still took issue with it. I would need to try knocking these people out without killing them, then use duct tape on them before they woke up. A difficult task, not impossible, though. While scouting out their locations, I came across a thin, rusty pipe lying on the ground. My superb, well-calculated plan was to whack the guards over the head, hoping it just knocked them out.
Somehow not knowing if I’d done them in or not made me feel okay about going through with this.
Ignorance is bliss.
I’d opted to go for the easiest guard I could find first. The guy was sitting on the pavement, away from the others. He appeared to be whittling a piece of wood with a small carving knife, not paying much attention to his surroundings.
Dark gray clouds had appeared in the sky since earlier, blocking most of the sunlight; perfect for sneaking up on people without a shadow giving you away.
Using the side alley beside a small corner shop, I edged closer to him. Each step was very precise to avoid anything that could make a noise under my feet, from the bones of the dead, to random bits of trash.
“Don’t think about killing him… Don’t think about killing him…” I kept saying in my head as my fingers squeezed tightly on the pipe.
That’s when it all went wrong.
Just as I was about to exit the side alley, a loud, booming cheer came from far away in the distance, giving both myself and the guard a fright. It was the sound of many people cheering.
Given the direction of the sound, it was safe to assume it was Aiden’s people.
My target stood up, looking in the same direction the noise was coming from. Not wanting to take any chances, I quickly stepped behind a small, jutting out wall from the shop beside me, pressing my body flat against it to avoid detection.
The cheering got louder, gradually turning into a chant. It took some time for me to figure out what was being chanted, but when I did, a lump came to my throat.
“BURN THE BASTARDS! BURN THE BASTARDS! BURN THE BASTARDS!”
It was way too early for Aiden’s group to mobilize. Something must’ve happened.
I needed to get out of this tiny hiding spot and find out what the hell was going on, except if I moved now, I risked the guard seeing me.
As I weighed up my options, the man I was originally going to knock out called to someone whose footsteps I could hear approaching fast.
“Oi! What’s the deal, Oscar?” my original target yelled. “Thought the plan was to wait until night?”
The second man was close enough for me to hear his words.
“You know the red-head that brought Evan to us and told us where this place was?”
“Was it Willow? Or Wanda? Gah, something starting with a ‘W’, right?”
“Yeah, Wendy. Aiden sent her in to keep an eye on things. She just told us they aren’t going to give Colton up.”
“For real? Are they insane? Holy shit, man… We can’t seriously burn all those people alive, can we?”
“Now’s not the time to get cold feet, mate. Tell the others that we got the go ahead to torch the place. Oh, and be on the lookout for this guy wearing dark clothing. Wendy said he was heading this way to take you lot out.”
Both guards parted ways, leaving me to scrape my back against the brick wall of the corner shop as I fell on my butt in sheer shock.
Group One was never captured. Evan was handed over to Aiden, probably as some sort of present. Not only did I know this was Wendy’s idea, but it was a safe guess that Thomas went along with it fully, since he would do anything she told him to do.
All of Wendy’s protests, her trying to convince us to give up Colton, even her last words to me, it all made sense now.
The anger inside me grew to a boiling point.
“How could I have not seen the signs?!” I thought. “They were right in front of me! Fuck! FUCK!”
There was no time to let my anger fester. Everyone in the hotel was now in danger, and my plan was ruined by Wendy’s warning putting these guards on alert. I had to act fast. With what strength I could muster, I jumped up and made a run back down the alleyway, taking the most secluded path back to the entrance.
I prayed it wasn’t too late to do something.
Do you know what’s scarier than a mass of fire-obsessed maniacs chanting loudly as they march forward, ready to burn everyone in their path?
When those same fire-obsessed maniacs suddenly fall silent.
Upon reaching the ramp that led down to the underground parking of the hotel, the chanting faded, leaving only a disturbing silence.
It was unsettling, like the calm before a storm. This left me with a difficult decision to make.
Option one was to go back into the hotel and try to find a way to get everyone out safely.
Option two was to sneak around to the front of the hotel to see if I could find out why everything suddenly went quiet, risking being seen by the fire starters.
My head was telling me to go with option one, yet my instincts told me to choose option two.
Always trust your instincts.
I’d found a good spot to view almost all of Aiden’s people by climbing the ladder of an old brick building. The flat roof had no walls along the edges, forcing me to crawl on my belly if I wanted to remain out of sight.
Aiden’s people seemed to be crowded around one spot in a circle, all facing the middle. A flame-decorated ambulance reversed into the centre of the group, driving slowly to give people time to move out of its way. I could hear voices talking but was too far away to make out what was being said.
When the ambulance had almost reached the middle of the group where everyone was looking, it stopped. Two of Aiden’s followers swung open its rear doors from within.
Th
at’s when I saw Colton and Evan.
Both were tied up and being pushed by the crowd into the back of the ambulance, slamming the doors shut before I had a chance to yell anything.
It was too late. Colton had handed himself in, making Aiden the winner. The ambulance drove away, with the only person I wanted to be with right now.
Once again I felt alone on this hellish planet.
When Wendy betrayed me – betrayed us all – it must’ve given Aiden all the incentive he needed to attack early, which probably made Colton surrender to try and save the rest of us. It was the only conclusion I could draw.
With the ambulance driving out of sight, Aiden emerged from the crowd. He raised his arms in glorious triumph at capturing Colton. Everyone nearby yelled out in joy.
Everyone, except me… All I could do was whisper an apology for failing to protect the man who made me feel alive again.
Colton was gone. Evan was gone. Wendy and Thomas were practically dead to me. It was over. This war that had gone on between these two groups was now concluded, thanks to the sacrifice of a man who put the lives of everyone else before himself.
My emotional state was in a strange place as I kept watching Aiden basking in the attention from his followers. Deep within me, I was screaming in agony from losing a man that no one would ever compare to again. Yet those agonized screams were drowned out by a comforting thought.
“He did this to protect us.”
Colton had done the only act that could stop the fires of Aiden from burning us all. I’ll never understand how anyone can go through with sacrificing themselves for the sake of others. But then I wouldn’t, would I? All I could do was accept what he had done.
I made my way back down the ladder and emerged from the alleyway, heading straight for Aiden. Speaking with that “man” was all I wanted to do now. There were a few things I wanted to say to him before he disappeared back to the hospital.
As I walked out into the open, a few of Aiden’s followers pointed at me, causing the bathrobe wearing dick himself to turn towards me. He and two of his guards approached me in the middle of the street, farther away from the large crowd of his followers.
“Do you see now, my friend?” Aiden asked when he stopped several yards away from me, wearing the smuggest of smiles. “Good always wins. The monster will get what is coming to him.”
It took all my willpower to keep a straight face. There wasn’t a chance this asshole was going to see how much I was hurting. I would never give him the satisfaction.
“There’s only one monster here, and it’s not Colton,” I said weakly, still reeling from watching the man I loved being hauled away. “You’re just a psychopath who controls people under the threat of being burnt alive. If the world hadn’t gone to shit, you’d be locked firmly behind bars by now.”
The female guard at Aiden’s side took a step forward, pointing a long knife at me. I recognized her as the ebony-skinned woman that had stood beside Aiden the first time we met.
“That won’t be necessary, Ivy,” Aiden told her, raising an arm to stop her from approaching me. “Despite our friend’s insincerity back at our home, I’d like to give Grayson a chance to join us. If what Wendy says is true – which I believe it is – then he would be a remarkable addition to our family.”
A thin thread of hope revealed itself to me. It was a long shot, but I had to ask. “If— If I joined you, right here, right now, would you still kill Colton?”
Aiden’s smile faded, giving way to a more serious expression. “If it were only that simple… Colton betrayed me, murdered my people, stole from me, and is responsible for the death of my sweetheart. What sort of leader would I be if I simply set him free? No. He must be made an example of.”
I had to try one more time, Colton meant too much to me. “Aiden, let him go and you get me. It’s that simple. I promise you, I will stay by your side if he is set free. I just— All I need is to know he is alive.”
“Oh, my friend, I have already set the wheel in motion to prepare Colton’s pyre, so I can end this upon my return home. My loyal people expect his death! I cannot back down now, my reputation is on the line.”
It wounded me deeply to hear Aiden confirming that Colton would be burnt alive, not that I was surprised by the news. Aiden’s words also gave me one more hint: he intended to kill Colton soon after returning to the hospital, leaving me no time to run, find a working car, and try saving him myself.
This was over.
“Then I’ll pass on joining you,” I told him defiantly.
“Always so hasty, Grayson. At least hear me out first! You got into my home relatively undetected, saved Wendy and Thomas multiple times, rescued that foul-smelling creature, Carl, from my people, and were even planning on rescuing Evan from me solo. You are… unique. Under my golden wing, you could be so much more; do so much more! Let me re-unite you with your friends. They want you with us. Do you not want that too?”
I looked past Aiden. Wendy turned her head away from me. Thomas stood beside her, also unable to look at me. One man placed a hand on Wendy’s shoulder, reassuring her that she’d done the right thing.
Utter pricks, both of them.
“The people in the hotel are more friends to me than those two will ever be,” I said.
Aiden turned his head momentarily to look at Wendy, then back at me. “Do you hate her?”
“Just a tiny bit,” I replied. Aiden easily noticed the sarcasm behind my voice.
“You shouldn’t. Wendy and Thomas gave Evan to me as a way to gain entry to my group. All she wishes is to have children again. Do you truly blame her for coming to me, instead of siding with a rule-enforcing tyrant that forces her to act against the natural urge to be a mother?”
“I hope she becomes infertile and dies of sadness,” I spat out viciously. My bravado was more of a cover up for how upset I felt. “Colton’s rules might’ve seemed tough, but they were only temporary until we found a safer place. Wendy should’ve known better.”
“How unfortunate that you see it that way,” Aiden frowned. “Does this mean you won’t be joining me?”
“No. Now piss off, like you promised.”
Aiden grew that disturbingly eerie smile, sending a cold, hair-raising shiver over me.
“That is not going to happen,” he stated quite happily.
I knew where this was going. It was stupid of everyone to think otherwise. Even I had fooled myself into thinking Aiden would let us go so easily.
“WHY?!” I shouted desperately. “You said this was between you and Colton. Honour your word and get lost!”
“On reflection, if I let you all go, what’s stopping any of you from coming up with a nasty, revenge-fuelled scheme, hmm?” Aiden closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. “Yes… Yes. This is the right choice. I must protect my followers.”
This was insanity! There was only one way to stop this pyromaniac.
“Don’t do this, Aiden!” I called out to him, getting him to look at me once again. “Pearl is alive in that hotel. Colton lied to you!”
There was no reaction on his pristine face, only the same smile. “Really, Grayson? Is that the best lie a smart individual like yourself could come up with? You would say anything to stall for time! Such tricks won’t work on me, I am far too intelligent for that. In any case, it is time to tie up these loose ends.”
A light breeze blew over us, noticeable only because of the intense silence between us all. Seconds went by, feeling more like minutes.
We all knew what was about to happen. I tensed my body up. Both of the guards that stood beside Aiden seemed to do the same. The three of us were all runners in a race, standing at the starting line.
All we were waiting on was for Aiden to pull the trigger of his starting gun.
“Ivy, Lucas, kill him.”
The trigger was pulled, signalling the start of the race; one where only coming in first place meant I got to live.
Chapter 19
Dreamer.
<
br /> Demon of Fire.
There were plenty of times in the past where I’d found myself running away from the law, or from some angry person who’d caught me pinching their stuff. If I was caught (which happened rarely), I would’ve been in trouble, but never had my life been at stake.
Aiden had given the kill command to his two guards, sending them charging after me. Instincts from my past kicked in, causing me to make a mad dash back down the same alleyway I’d emerged from earlier.
Sight was the key when it came to chases on foot, with speed a close second.
If someone wants you badly enough and you stay in their view, the chances were they would never stop running until you were either caught or they ran out of stamina. But if you break the line of sight, leaving them wondering which path you took, suddenly they don’t know which direction to go.
Confusion is a valuable tool.
I ran full speed down the alleyway, leading out to a road on the other side. My lungs strained to keep up with the need for oxygen in this life or death sprint. There wasn’t any reason to look back and see if I was being followed, since I could easily hear their footsteps thumping away behind me.
Across the road was a small charity shop with another long alleyway beside it for me to run down. There were no turns or hiding spots on my path, making me worried if I would ever be able to lose these two. When I emerged on to the next road, however, I saw a row of residential houses ahead. Beside one of the houses was an open gate that must’ve led to its back garden. Feeling confident that I’d be better at scaling fences than my pursuers, I made straight for the gate.
The sound of footsteps behind me had changed during this time. One pair sounded closer than the other, I guessed one of the guards was slower.
“Keep up! He’s getting away!” the woman yelled, as if to prove my point.
This might sound crazy— No, it WILL sound crazy, but the thrill-seeker side of me had kicked in, allowing me to lose myself in the moment. This was a welcome diversion from the pain that came with losing Colton.