Rage Within (31 page)

Clementine lit another bottle and hurled it behind her without looking. Hopefully that would be enough of a diversion.

All they had to do was keep the Baggers distracted long enough for them to find a way through the fence. Hopefully they’d track down Mason quickly. If they were super lucky they might come across Graham’s daughter, too. They hadn’t actually discussed what they’d do if Mason wasn’t in sight. In fact, the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind until now. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was better than nothing.

As for the other prisoners, they couldn’t exactly take them all back with them to the safe house. But if they made enough holes in the fence, hopefully those healthy enough to run would escape into the city, temporarily free from the Baggers’ reign. Even those who once listened to the white vans and came down voluntarily wouldn’t be fooled a second time.

Mason tonight. Michael tomorrow. She couldn’t wait to see him again. The memory of his kiss was still fresh on her lips. And she would find him. If she’d been determined enough to travel across the country to find Heath, she’d find Michael, too. God wasn’t about to be that cruel to her.

Heath, this is it. The Baggers started it when they declared war on the world. Now we’re declaring war on them. I guess that makes me a soldier. I used to be so against war, thinking that solutions could be found by negotiation and not killing. I’m beginning to understand now that the world just doesn’t work that way. I feel so grown up. Mom used to say I’d understand things better when I got older. I get it now. Bring it on. World War Three has been declared and I’m going to kick as much Bagger ass as I can find.

She tried to remain this positive in her thoughts. But the little realities weren’t easy to ignore.

There would be no funerals if they failed. Their bodies would be left behind. End of discussion.

From the other side of the compound, flames exploded as Joy and Raj started tossing their own cocktails.

Bullets whizzed past her ear and she dropped to the ground, landing hard, the wind knocked out of her. Refusing to give in to the burning in her chest, she turned over, rolled toward the fence, and then pulled herself up and rushed for cover. Aries had escaped in the other direction and she watched as her auburn hair disappeared behind an abandoned car.

A Bagger stepped out in front of her, leering down with a big grin on his face. She smiled back, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the Taser. As he brought his gun down toward her face, she quickly leaned in, jabbing the small weapon right into his foot. He screamed and flew back through the air a good five feet, hitting the fence and dropping to the ground. She jumped up and went in for the kill, stabbing him again with the Taser until he stopped moving.

When it was over, Aries came over and joined her. They grabbed what they needed.

Now they had a gun.

Of course, neither of them knew how to use it, but Clementine was pretty sure they’d both learn fast given the opportunity.

“You take it,” she said, and she held up the Taser. “I’m really beginning to love this thing.”

Aries smiled and picked up the machine gun. Her auburn hair had come loose from her ponytail, and long wisps trailed over her face. “Better hope you have extra batteries. We’ve got
more company and I’ll probably just end up shooting myself in the foot if I try using this.”

Another Bagger came running through the black smoke. He froze when he saw Aries with her gun; he didn’t seem to have a weapon of his own. He turned and dove behind a parked car. Clementine reached into her bag and pulled out another cocktail. She lit it and tossed it, right on target, sending the Bagger screaming down the pavement, arms flailing wildly as he tried to beat out the flames.

A small part inside of her felt sorry for him. What a terrible way to go. But it was only fair, right?

“Come on,” Aries said. She riffled through her backpack until she pulled out the wire cutters. “Let’s get this fence open.”

Clementine stood guard while Aries began snipping the fence. They were clear. The Baggers had headed off in the other direction, to where Raj and Joy had managed to take out another generator. Most of the prison camp had been reduced to darkness. She could make out the forms of people running about, but she could no longer tell who was who. Somewhere in the distance she could hear a child crying and a woman screaming for someone named Henry.

So much chaos. But the prisoners were beginning to get organized. Through the dim light she saw a Bagger brought down, bodies piling against him as he tried to fire on the crowd. Once the Bagger was subdued, another man took his weapon and raised it up into the air with a victory cry.

More shots were fired, sending the man to his knees. Someone else took his weapon and scurried off into the darkness.

“Done,” Aries said. She’d clipped the last wire, stood up, and revealed a hole about three feet wide.

“Let’s do this,” Clementine said. “You rock, by the way. Have I told you that lately?”

Aries grinned sheepishly.

No matter what words had been spoken, Clementine knew she’d been wrong. Aries was a fighter, it was clear to her now.

There was no one else she’d rather have had on her side.

Clementine dropped to her knees and crawled under the fence.

MASON

Frenzy.

He left Daniel the minute the guns started to fire. After a quick discussion, they agreed to split up and try and help Aries and the others.

“We need to get as many people out as possible,” Mason said. Funny, this was almost like when they did their sweeps of the Bagger hideouts, only this time they were trying to save lives instead of take them away.

“Okay, you hit up the day care and I’ll take the casino,” Daniel said. “They’re gonna need the most help.”

“Meet me back in the middle?” Mason asked. “And if you find Aries before I do . . .”

“I’m going to give her one hell of a lecture,” Daniel said with a grin. “Seriously? All this for us? Girl needs to sort out her priorities. I’m starting to feel like a movie star.”

“Get over it,” Mason said. “And be careful.”

Outside, there seemed to be a lot of indecision and confusion. Some people were running around, trying to get others to follow them toward the gates and out of the line of fire. Others stood there stupidly, looking up in the air as
if they thought the fire had come down from the heavens. Mason ducked as another Molotov cocktail hit one of the tents a few feet away from him.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing the arm of a bewildered onlooker and dragging him toward the middle of the camp. “People need help. Do what you can.”

The man looked at him and finally nodded. When Mason let go of his arm, he headed off in the right direction, only to be gunned down seconds later.

One of the generators had caught fire and several Baggers had managed to round up a few people, forcing them to beat at the flames with sleeping bags. When one of the people caught fire, a Bagger simply shot him.

There was another explosion to his left and Mason looked just in time to see a Bagger raising his gun toward him. Diving behind a tent, he rolled along the ground, ignoring the blinding pain in his back from where they’d tortured him. Stars popped into his vision, and for a second, he thought he might either faint or throw up. But it passed. When he finally scrambled to his knees, he discovered that a few others had managed to attack the Bagger, stealing his gun and rendering him unconscious.

A man wearing a John Deere baseball cap jogged over to him. “Chaplin says I can trust you,” he said.

Mason nodded.

“Good to know. We need to organize better,” he said. “They’re tearing down a hole in the south fence. Try to send as many people as you can in that direction. They can’t kill us all if we fight back!”

“I will,” Mason said. “And thanks.”

The man just looked Mason up and down before nodding and taking off in the opposite direction.

The day care tent was on fire. Mason stopped, repelled by the intense heat as fire ate through the canvas. It was like getting punched in the chest. Ignoring the lack of oxygen, he tried to move in to get a better look, but the heat blistered his skin, forcing him back.

If anyone was inside, they were no longer alive.

“They’re okay,” a woman shouted at him. She was holding a package of diapers under her arm. “We got them out. They’re over at the casino.”

Gunshots brought the woman down the second the words escaped her mouth. She hit the ground with a thud; her body sprawled out, the bag of Pampers bouncing off her arm.

He froze, standing in the middle of the nightmare, watching people stumble and fall as the Baggers exacted their revenge. It was like being in a movie, with him sitting in the front row, watching but unable to participate. His legs no longer listened. He wanted to move, find cover at least, but he couldn’t. Everything grew silent; his ears throbbed and sound became diluted, as if he were underwater. Someone fell at his feet, another woman, her eyes wide and staring up at him. She had a nose ring. The gleam of silver caught his attention and he couldn’t look away.

A Bagger came up from behind, grabbing him by the hair and yanking him backward. The pain in his back exploded and the edge of his vision went all blurry. Struggling, he twisted his body around. Ignoring the blinding pain, he managed to throw a punch, forcing the Bagger to let go. Mason hit him again.

Two other men jumped in. One of them was Chaplin. They pinned the Bagger down, bringing him to his knees, and then they kicked him until he stopped moving.

“Your kid is safe,” Chaplin said. “They’ve ripped the fence
down. Some of the others are getting them out. Now give us a hand and let’s get everyone out.”

Mason nodded, ignoring the tight feeling of the bracelet on his ankle. He’d worry about that later.

He couldn’t run, but at least he could walk again. He moved through the crowd, which was beginning to thin. The smoke assaulted his eyes, forcing them to water, and he wiped at his face several times to try and clear his vision.

Then he saw her.

She was holding a gun but not properly. No, she had it up in the air like a baseball bat, which almost made him laugh out loud. Her auburn hair blew around her face, covering her eyes, and she tucked it back behind her ears as she ducked behind one of the tents. His legs instantly began to move in her direction.

“Aries!”

She came to him, throwing her arms around him, pinching the nerves in his back, but none of that mattered. He held her tight, breathing in the scent of her hair, feeling the softness of her skin.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” she said.

There was something new in her eyes. Darkness. He knew instantly that something had happened.

Anger.

At herself?

At him?

“We have to get you out of here,” he said, taking her arm and pulling her away from the fire. “Come with me.”

“The others,” Aries said. “They’re here somewhere. I can’t find them. Have you seen Graham’s daughter? They killed everyone off, but we think she might be here.”

“She is. But she’s with the others. They’ve broken down
the fence on the south side. I hear they’ve taken the children there and are getting them out.”

“Good.”

They fled to the edge of the compound where the fighting was less intense. There were big gaping holes in the fence now, and people were crawling through them, heading off in all directions. He saw a man wearing nothing but boxer shorts trip over the body of someone lying facedown on the pavement.

“Listen to me,” he said. “You have to find Daniel. He’s over at the casino. You can go get him. We’ll meet back here in a bit.”

“What about you?”

Mason paused and looked back into the middle of the camp, where people were fighting for their lives. More than anything else in the world, he wanted to grab Aries by the arm and lead her to safety. They’d leave it all behind, find their island, and spend the rest of their lives in hidden peace.

Mason wanted to be left alone. That was all he’d wanted since this whole thing happened. But he was beginning to admit it just wasn’t in the cards.

He smiled to himself. The darkness wasn’t going to win tonight. Mason Dowell wasn’t a monster yet.

“I have to help the others,” he said.

ARIES

She didn’t want to leave Mason, but he waved at her to go. Already he was running into the crowd where a group of men and woman were fighting to try and keep the Baggers from opening fire on them.

“Just get Daniel and meet me back here,” Mason yelled over his shoulder. “Be quick.”

She turned and the doors of the casino beckoned. It took her a while to get there; people kept pushing into her as they raced past. She stopped to check the pulse of a woman lying on the ground by the stage, but she was gone. After that, she stepped over the bodies of both Baggers and normal people, ignoring the urge to try and help them.

Anyone on the ground was pretty much beyond help.

The casino doors were closed. In the windows, she could see the reflections of the fires that ravaged the compound. She looked up at the darkened neon sign above her head and tried to ignore the cold creeping sensation that ran up her spine.

She didn’t want to go inside.

There was something awful inside there. She couldn’t
explain it, but she could feel it. Something dark. Horrible.

But Daniel was in there too.

She walked up to the doors and pushed one open. Keeping the gun raised, she stepped inside. The smell hit her face: sweat and fear. She gasped and bit down on her lip at the same time.

The place was brightly lit and she blinked several times to try and adjust to the sudden change. Moving across the foyer, she entered the main room. Inside were cages, row after row of custom-made prisons. The majority of them had people inside.

She heard a noise coming from the back and she raised the gun higher, wondering if she could even fire it. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward, moving along the sides of the cages closest to her.