Rage Within (37 page)

“But you’re good,” she said, desperately clinging to whatever hope she could find. “I know you, Daniel. You’re not bad. That thing that happened, that change, you weren’t you. You’re not responsible. If we could find a way to get rid of it . . .”

“Then what?” Daniel said. “We’d ride off into the sunset? I’ve got news for you. There is no Happily Ever After. The Baggers’ new world order will continue to rule this earth long after all of us are gone. It’s not going to go away.”

“We can fight.”

“You can try.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So that’s it? You’re going to give up just like that?”

Daniel stood, smiling softly at her. “I wish I had your confidence,” he said. “I wish I had your faith in love and I wish I knew the answers to make this all go away. But this isn’t a fairy tale and there’s no way to kiss away the beast buried inside me. I’m sorry, Aries, but I can’t come back. I can’t live
in both worlds. I can’t be in love with you knowing that I might end up killing you.”

“Stay with me,” she begged. “We’ll find a way.”

“No,” he said, and she could actually see tears in his eyes, catching the light of the moon. “Stay away from me and I’ll stay away from you. That’s how things have to be from now on.”

She stood up and put her arms around him, ignoring the warning thoughts in the back of her mind. If he changed now, so be it. She’d rather die than not try and take away his pain.

He allowed the embrace. His body was warm, on fire, and she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life in that comfortable heat.

When she looked up at him, he leaned down and kissed her gently. Butterflies swished around in her stomach and she had to shift positions to keep on her feet. But when they finally drew apart, she could see that he hadn’t changed his mind about anything.

“I wish I could explain how important you are to me,” Daniel said, reaching out and taking her hand. “You make me feel like I’m really here.”

“Will I see you again?” she asked.

“No. Not if I can help it.”

“Well, I’m not giving up,” she said. “And I’m never going to quit fighting for you or any of us. I’m going to find a way to bring you back.”

He smiled but his hand slipped from hers. “I believe you. If anyone can do it, you can.”

Turning, he began to walk away, his shoulders heavy and slouched. He paused, about twenty feet away. “I’ve left you a present a ways down. Just a few benches over. Be sure to go get it before it gets cold. Merry Christmas.”

“I didn’t get you anything,” she called back.

“Yes, you did.”

She watched him fade away into the darkness, resisting the urge to chase after him. Finally she turned, heading along the water’s edge, to find the bench, curious to see what waited for her.

“Jack?”

The boy on the bench perked his head up. Wrapped in a blanket, he stared out at the sea, unable to see its beauty.

She ran, stumbling in the sand, falling to her knees but pulling herself up at once. Throwing her arms around her friend, she held him tightly.

“I can’t believe it,” she babbled. “I thought you were dead.”

“It’s good to hear your voice,” he said. “And you can blame your crazy friend for all that. He refused to listen to reason.”

“Let’s get you home,” she said. Helping him to his feet, she wrapped her arms around him and led him away from the water. “Someone’s got some good news for you.”

She would concentrate on getting him home. One step at a time. She’d worry about everything else later.

It would be a good Christmas after all.

MASON

It was New Year’s Eve. He knew this because one of the Baggers kept screaming it at the top of his lungs as if it actually meant something.

Mason grinned to himself. Too bad there wasn’t going to be anyone around to kiss when the clock reached midnight.

He stood off to the side of the Plaza of Nations in the corner spot he’d come to think of as his own personal space. He’d pitched his new tent here, and although it was a ways off from the others, the Baggers hadn’t made him move. He liked the little bit of privacy, although he didn’t really need it anymore. There was plenty of space these days. The Baggers had managed to round up a few of the escapees, but the numbers were down. Way down. And although the others were friendly toward him now, he still preferred to keep to the sidelines. As usual, he wanted to be solitary. It helped him think better.

It was a warm evening. No clouds in the sky, and the constant dampness seemed to have lessened a bit. His bones didn’t feel like they were going to snap from all the icy coldness anymore. Turning his head, he looked off into the
darkness of the water, straining his ears for a repeat of the sound he’d heard a few minutes ago.

A soft call. The sound of a bird’s forlorn cry.

But there were no loons in Vancouver.

A small movement in the darkness confirmed his beliefs. A quick wave. A flash of what might have been auburn hair.

His fingers automatically reached into his pocket, feeling the crumpled note he’d found by the fence yesterday.

We will get you out. I promise.

A

He didn’t know how they’d do it, but he had faith and that was all that mattered.

There had been several days of darkness after Leon told him about Daniel. At first he didn’t want to believe it, but it was impossible not to realize the signs had been there all along.

Daniel had told him that there was darkness inside him. He knew better than all of the others and now Mason didn’t have any reason to doubt him. It was probably true.

But Mason also knew for sure now that he wasn’t a Bagger. Not him. Daniel.

So maybe there was something different inside him, something darker than anything the Baggers could ever imagine. But Mason had control of it.

He would stay in control as long as he could. And he’d use it to survive.

There was some relief knowing that Daniel was the one who’d been spying on them, passing information about the
group on to the Baggers. It explained how Leon knew so much.

“Mason!”

Casey ran between the tents, and he kneeled down and opened his arms to catch her. Hauling her up above his shoulders, he tossed her gently into the air, enjoying the happy screams and giggles that escaped her mouth.

“Play with me!”

At first his heart nearly broke when he realized she hadn’t escaped. But in the past week she’d become invaluable to him, keeping him sane. He pulled her into him and gave her a big hug.

“We should go get some supper. Are you hungry?”

She nodded vigorously. “But no cabbage. Okay? You promise? I don’t like it. Yuck!”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said. Placing her gently on the ground, he took her hand in his and allowed her to drag him off to where the others waited for their evening meal.

He looked back and smiled before being pulled away into the light.

Knowing she was out there, alive, that was all that mattered.

They would meet again. That much he knew for certain.

PHOTO © CINDY MOLESKI

JEYN ROBERTS
is the author of
Dark Inside
. Her first short story was published in a middle-grade anthology called
Let Me Tell You
when she was sixteen. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in writing and psychology, and received her MFA from the prestigious creative writing graduate course at Bath Spa University in England. Jeyn is a former singer, songwriter, actress, bicycle courier, and tree planter. Most recently, Jeyn taught high school in South Korea. She lives in Vancouver, Canada. Visit her at
jeynroberts.com
.

Jacket design by Krista Vossen
Jacket photo-illustration copyright © 2012
by Aaron Goodman

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