by Ryan Casey
“You did some bad things. Some horrible things. And you’ll never be forgiven for them. But you don’t have to be that person, Logan. You can be better. You have been better. This world is a fresh start. A second chance. Don’t throw it away. Please.”
Logan felt sadness within. All she knew about him—the truth about him—and still she wanted to give him another chance. Still she wanted him to be better.
But then he looked at the farm, and he shook his head.
“Sometimes we have to do bad things,” he said.
He took a step towards the farm.
And then, out of nowhere, he saw them.
They appeared from the west. First, he saw the woman. The animals. Then the boy, Wayne.
And then he saw Jack.
He was holding Candice’s shoulders.
He was walking over towards Logan.
All of them were walking over towards Logan.
And as far as he could see, they weren’t armed.
No weapons on show.
They were here.
Right at the death, as the sun crept to the west, they were here.
Emma smiled. “I told you,” she said, excitement in her voice. “I told you they’d come.”
Logan couldn’t help feeling disappointed. He’d been so close to the farm, so close to taking it. Torn between two sides and close to being proactive.
But now that chance was gone.
He looked down at his rifle. He could take them out, all of them, right here.
But then he looked over at Emma.
He saw the trust in her eyes.
That desire for him to stay on the right track still glaring back at him.
He took a deep breath and he lowered his rifle.
Then, he walked back over to Bella.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Jack stood in the middle of his field and stared at Logan.
Logan stared back at him.
The sun beamed down from the sky. It was slightly past midday, but fortunately Jack and his people had made it here just in time for the exchange. He knew it was a gamble. They were slightly late. The farm had sat vacant for a time.
But now they were here. And Logan was here, too.
He had Bella.
That little girl, Emma, was with him.
“You’re not on neutral ground,” Jack said.
Logan smirked. “You’re late.”
“You’re armed.”
“You’re late,” Logan said.
Jack figured Logan had a point.
He looked at Candice, who had drifted back and was holding Wayne’s hand now. He looked at Hazel, clutching Mrs Fuzzles. Villain stood by her side.
Tension cut through the air. There were no sounds, just the brushing of a light breeze against the grass. Every now and then, Jack heard a call from one of his sheep.
He wanted to get this done with. He wanted to get it over with.
It was a risk, but now he was here, he wanted to believe a solution was within reach.
“Seems strange,” Logan said. “The last time we both stood in these fields looking at one another, you shot one of my people.”
“And I’m sorry for that,” Jack said.
Logan smiled. “No you’re not. You’d do it again if you knew it kept trouble off your doorstep..”
Hazel sighed. “Can we just end the dick-waving and get this done with, gents? Please?”
Logan looked at her. Then back at Jack.
Jack waited for Logan to say something; to make the first move.
But he didn’t say a word.
It was Jack who had to break the deadlock.
“We can end this, right here. My proposal… my proposal was an exchange. Candice for Bella. A simple switch.”
“It sounds like you’ve got another offer to make?”
Jack took a deep breath. Looked at Hazel. She half-smiled at him.
“Ideally… we want Candice to stay with us. And Bella. Because both of them are our people.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed. His grip on his rifle grew tighter. “That doesn’t sound like a deal that benefits me greatly.”
Jack felt weak without any weapons, especially with Logan pointing one towards him. As painful as it was, Jack forced himself to continue; forced himself to do what was right. “I can’t pretend I like you. Can’t pretend I’ll ever trust you. But the way I see it, we have a choice here. We resolve this, or we descend further into chaos—”
“You’re the only one manipulating the agreement here. Stop bullshitting. What do you want? What’s your offer? And I’m talking about a real offer. Not this best case scenario shit you’re peddling right now. What can you offer me?”
Jack looked at Hazel. He saw the way her smile widened, just a little, like she was urging him on.
And then he stared into Logan’s eyes and he forced himself to say the words that tore him in two. “You can live on the farm.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed. “I…”
“You can work with us rather than against us. You can help us. All of us. We can live there. We can create something better. Because the conflict we’ve had… it has to make us stronger. We can’t let it tear us apart. We’ll have differences. We’ll have disagreements. It might not work. But we have to try. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned… it’s that people have to band together. If they don’t, nobody will survive this world. Nobody. We have to learn to work with our enemies. We have to build bridges, not burn them. So that’s… that’s my offer. Not an exchange. An opportunity.”
Logan was silent. Everyone was silent. All of them stared on, clearly in disbelief at the olive branch Jack was offering.
Logan looked back at Bella. Then he looked at Jack. “That’s a nice offer.”
Jack’s stomach churned. He sensed a “but” coming right away.
“But I can’t trust you.”
“Logan—” Emma said.
“You killed one of my people. We’ve been in conflict ever since. And I’m supposed to just believe you’re going to let me walk on in to your farm and act like one happy family? What next? We going to light a fire and sing Kumbaya every night?”
“It’s not a trick,” Jack said. “It is what it is. If you don’t like it…”
“What?” Logan said. “If I don’t like it, what? You’ll kill Candice? I’d like to see how your boy reacts to that—”
“Bella’s one of our people,” Jack said. “We want her back. Candice is… Candice and Wayne are close. They don’t deserve to be torn apart. Either you join us, or you and Emma go your own way. Just don’t let this destroy both of us. Please.”
Logan’s eyes twitched. He scanned Jack’s face, like he was searching for some kind of crack in his composure.
“It sounds to me like you’re begging.”
“Maybe I am,” Jack said. “I don’t want any more death. None of these people deserve it.”
“You should have thought about that before you pulled that trigger.”
“You’re right. I should. But I didn’t. I did what I did in the moment. I regret it. I’d take it back if I could, whether you believe that or not. Just don’t let this destroy us, Logan. Don’t let this be the moment everything falls apart.”
He saw Logan look at the ground. Saw him look at Emma. Like he was weighing things up. Figuring out the best option.
“He’s right, Logan,” Emma said. “We have a chance. Let’s take it.”
Logan looked at her. Then at Bella. Then at everyone, one by one.
Jack could see the battle raging in Logan’s mind, because it was raging in his, too.
“Let’s make this the moment we change things,” Jack said. “Let’s make this the moment we do things differently. Let not make this the last fight. Because that’s what it’ll be, Logan. That’s what it’ll be if we don’t come to an agreement.”
Logan stood there holding on to that rifle. It was lowe
red, now.
His eyes were watery.
He looked stunned.
“Your offer,” he said, his throat choking. “Your speech. It’s… It’s good. But you don’t know me. And you don’t know what I’m capable of. What I’ll do to keep this girl safe.”
He lifted his rifle and pointed it at Jack.
“And I can’t trust you.”
“Logan—”
“Candice,” Logan said. “Agree to hand her over.”
Emma shook her head. “Logan don’t do this—”
“Agree, Jack. Agree.”
But Jack couldn’t.
He just couldn’t.
What happened next all unfolded so quickly.
Jack looked over to the trees, lifted his hand, gave the signal.
Then he looked at Bella and Emma. “Get down. Now.”
Logan frowned. “What—”
Then out of nowhere, gunfire cracked towards them.
Gunfire from Yuri and his people.
Jack dropped to the ground, right away, as did the rest of his people.
Bullets and gunfire erupted all around them.
He heard shouting. He heard deafening cries.
He had no idea what was happening, and no idea how this was playing out.
In a moment of hope, as the bullets fired, as Logan and the others battled through the grass, Jack felt a sense of grief.
This was the moment where hope should’ve won.
This was the moment where hope died.
Chapter Forty
Wayne heard the blast from Yuri and his people’s rifles and he dropped down to the ground, Candice’s hand in his.
Fear filled his body. He tasted blood in his mouth from where his teeth had smacked against the dry earth. He lay there, frozen.
But he knew what he had to do.
He knew he just had to wait, and soon it would all be over.
The plan was simple—on paper. Jack had offered Yuri and his people an opportunity. They watched over the exchange. Any sign of trouble, a signal from Jack, and they attacked.
They targeted Logan specifically.
Jack made it clear he understood there were risks trusting Yuri, especially after what’d happened.
But they’d pulled through.
Right when it seemed like they were on the cusp of a peaceful resolution, Logan had lifted his rifle, and Jack had been forced to give the nod.
Bullets flew over Wayne’s head. He knew he had to stand up. Bella. He had to get to her. He had to save her. He was hoping she’d drop down, but he hadn’t seen her. He hadn’t seen a thing.
She didn’t deserve to be caught up in this.
She was one of their people.
And they were getting her back, no matter what it took.
He looked around. Candice was holding his hand.
“It’s okay,” Wayne said. “We’re okay. It’s—it’s over.”
“Where are you going?”
He paused for a few seconds. He had everything he cared about right beside him, her hand in his.
And yet… no.
That wasn’t true.
He was kidding himself if he told himself Candice was the only thing in the world he cared about.
“There’s someone I need to find,” he said.
“Wayne, it’s—”
“I can’t leave Bella. I can’t just leave her out there. She doesn’t deserve it. She’s one of us. And I’ve got to look out for people I care about. Or else, what’s left?”
Candice’s face turned. She looked fearful.
Wayne leaned towards her. He kissed her, right on the lips, without even thinking about it.
“I’ll come back,” he said. “I’ll find you again. I found you before and I’ll find you again. Don’t you forget that.”
She looked into his eyes, tears building as the chaos unfolded, and she smiled. “I love you, Wayne. I always will.”
She kissed him.
Wayne felt an explosion of warmth in his chest.
He wanted to savour this moment; to bottle it and bask in it forever.
But he knew time was of the essence.
He pulled away. Stroked Candice’s hair. “I’ll be back. I promise. And we’ll make things better this time. We’ll make things right.”
He stared into Candice’s beautiful eyes.
And then he turned around and headed towards the woods.
The gunfire had stopped. He didn’t know where his mum or Jack was, only they had to be back there with Candice.
He knew this was dangerous. He knew Jack told him not to make a move until he was absolutely sure Logan was down.
But he’d seen Bella standing when the bullets started to fire.
He didn’t want to leave her, abandon her.
He wanted to make sure she was okay.
He clambered further through the grass and he saw someone.
Yuri stood there, rifle in hand.
“You okay?” he asked.
Wayne nodded. “There’s someone I need to find.”
Yuri held out a hand. “We got him. The others, they disappeared into the woods, the lot of them.”
Wayne shook his head. “I need to see for myself—”
“I saw them,” he said, a little more sternly. “Saw that Logan fall with my own eyes. The rest of them… they disappeared, too. Now where’s your pops? We need to talk business—”
Wayne pushed Yuri’s hand aside and broke past him. He raced into the grass, further to the woods. Everything else faded into irrelevance behind him.
He reached the outskirts of the woods. There was no sign of Logan or Bella. No sign of any of them.
He kept on moving. Kept on going into the trees. He thought he saw movement around him. Thought he heard voices. Cries.
He kept on pushing, feeling vulnerable, exposed.
And then he saw her.
Bella was lying on the ground.
Her hands were covering her body.
As Wayne got closer to her, he dreaded what he was about to find. He dreaded looking at her, seeing the wound. The blood. He couldn’t face it.
But he had it.
He had to be strong.
He reached her side and he froze.
There was no blood.
There were no wounds.
“Bella?” he said.
She stared up at him, fearful.
He crouched beside her. “It’s okay now. It’s safe. We’re going to be okay. You can go back. Back to the farm. Logan. He’s… he’s gone.”
Bella lay there. She shook her head. She didn’t look convinced.
Wayne held out a hand to her. “You know, you asked me something when we first met. You asked me if you could trust me. And you could, couldn’t you?”
She nodded. Still shaking.
“Then take my hand. We’re going back home. Everything’s going to be good from now on, okay? Everything’s going to be better.”
Bella didn’t move, not at first.
Then she reached out a reluctant hand and put it in Wayne’s.
He smiled. She smiled back at him.
“I care about you. You’re my friend. I’d never leave you behind. I’d never leave anyone I care about behind. I’m sorry for walking away. I’m sorry for thinking there was nothing more to the world than Candice. Because there is. There’s so much more. So come on. Let’s…”
He saw him in his peripheral vision.
Saw him emerging in slow motion, as if out of nowhere.
He let go of Bella’s hand.
Pushed her back to the ground.
“Go,” he said.
“What—”
“Just go.”
He watched Bella crawl beside him.
All he could do was stand there and stare.
Logan was opposite him, standing in the trees, rifle in hand.
He looked at Wayne with regret and defeat in his pained eyes.
There was a wound in his chest, where he had been shot.
>
And as much as Wayne wanted to tell him it was over, as much as he wanted to fight, he knew what was coming.
“Don’t—” he started.
He heard the blast.
Chapter Forty-One
Jack waited for the guns to stop firing before he finally raised his head.
The silence that followed was painful. There were no birds singing anymore. The sound of the breeze was shadowed by the echoing of gunfire in his ears.
And Jack couldn’t see anyone in the distance. Nobody on Logan’s side at least.
No sign of Bella.
No sign of Emma.
And no sign of Logan.
He took a deep breath and looked ahead at Yuri’s people. Yuri walked towards him, rifle in hand. Jack didn’t trust him. But he’d come good. He’d delivered.
He wished it hadn’t had to come to that. He was hoping they’d be able to reach some kind of resolution that didn’t involve such massacre.
And they’d been close. That was the most painful thing at all. It felt like he’d been on the cusp of an agreement with Logan.
But now he had to just put all those abstract hopes and dreams to one side. He wasn’t going to get what he wanted. There was no coming back from this.
“Good enough for you?” Yuri asked.
Jack nodded. “I’m sorry it had to come to that. But you did what I asked.”
“Your people,” Yuri said. “They’re all fine. Nobody shot in the crossfire.”
“And Logan’s?” Jack asked.
Yuri sighed. “We took him out. His people… We did what we could not to shoot them. I don’t think we did. But hey. Business is business. Right?”
Jack looked away. Tasted bitterness. Emma was innocent. Bella was innocent. If they’d got caught in the crossfire, it was tragic.
And Jack was expecting a weight to lift from his shoulders as soon as the threat of Logan was eliminated.
But there was no feeling of weight lifting. Only of… emptiness.
The depths he’d had to sink to didn’t sit comfortably with him.
He heard footsteps over his shoulder.
When he looked around, he saw Hazel and Candice walking towards him. Villain and Mrs Fuzzles were by their side.
Jack walked over to them. He went to hug Hazel.
Then he realised something.
Someone was missing.