by Ryan Casey
“I don’t have to listen to a word he has to say.”
Calvin chuckled. “You sure about that, Mike?”
Mike couldn’t hold back then.
He pulled back the rifle and cracked it across the side of Calvin’s head.
He threw himself down towards him. Grabbed him by the neck. Tight. Squeezed, and looked him deep in the eyes.
“I don’t want to hear what you have to say. I don’t want to hear any of your bullshit. I don’t want to hear any of your lies. I don’t want to hear a word of it. I just want to hear you apologise. I want to hear you apologise, sincerely, for what you did to my daughter. I want you to apologise for what you took from me. And then I want to see you beg for your life before I take it from you.”
Calvin struggled. He gasped. Like he was trying to say something. And Mike didn’t want to loosen his grip. He didn’t want to let go. Because Calvin didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve another moment. He didn’t deserve another breath.
But in the end, he did.
In the end, he let go.
Punched the ground by Calvin’s side, frustration building up, welling up.
“I’m sorry,” Calvin said.
Mike frowned. “What?”
“For—for Holly. For what happened. I’m sorry.”
Mike felt mixed emotions over what Calvin said. Because it sounded sincere. It sounded truthful.
But it wasn’t supposed to go like this.
He was supposed to work towards this point. He was supposed to fight Calvin’s resistances as hard as he could.
He was supposed to break him down.
He was supposed to torture him to the point of begging for his life.
But he’d done it. He’d said it. Right away.
“Mike, there’s things we need to think about here,” Gina said now, joining Alison in her resistance. Resistance that he couldn’t wrap his head around. Resistance that he couldn’t understand.
“There’s Ian,” Alison interrupted. “He’s in a bad way. And then… then there’s what Calvin told us.”
Mike shook his head. Just hearing Alison say Calvin’s name like that—almost humanising him—ground his gears. “I don’t give a hell what he told us—”
“You might change your mind,” Calvin said, “when you hear it.”
Mike gritted his teeth. He had a hand around Calvin’s neck still. He wanted to tighten his grip again. He wanted to squeeze. He wanted to end him, right here.
But at the same time… he couldn’t deny his intrigue. He couldn’t deny his curiosity.
He couldn’t deny wondering what was so important that it meant sparing this monster’s life.
He let out a groan. A groan as he thought of Holly. A groan as he thought of the pain this man had caused him; the pain that he had caused all of his people.
And then he took away his hand.
He backed away.
He stepped back.
Far enough away that he couldn’t snap and do something to Calvin at any moment.
But still close enough to act if he had to.
“Go on,” Mike said, barely able to look Calvin in the eye.
“Calvin saved Ian,” Gina said.
Mike frowned. “What?”
Calvin coughed, interrupting. “I was heading this way when I found him. He was hanging from a tree. I got here just in time. Looked like he’d just done it. Must be fate, right? Fate works in mysterious ways. Anyway. He’s unconscious, but he’s still alive. Can’t say what kind of condition he’ll be when he wakes up, but he’s alive.”
“Bullshit,” Mike said.
“Maybe so. But I killed his wife, didn’t I? It isn’t inconceivable that he might be a little… down in the dumps.”
Mike went to launch himself at Calvin again.
But Alison grabbed him around his waist. Held him back. Stopped him, just in the nick of time.
“So he claims he saved him,” Mike said. “So what? So what if he did? That doesn’t make up for the things he’s done. That doesn’t redeem the acts he’s committed.”
“Maybe not,” Alison said. “But… but he has something, Mike. He… he frigging has something.”
She said it with such a sense of regret that Mike felt something was coming. Something… something that wasn’t so straightforward after all.
He looked at Calvin as he lay there by the tree, looked right into his bloodshot, heavy eyes.
“I know where they’re taking people out of this country,” Calvin said. “I know where to go to if you want to start again. If you want a new home. If you want all this hell to end, once and for all.”
Chapter Eleven
“I was staying in a cabin,” Calvin said. “Laying low. Just surviving. Just getting by. Quite the contrary to what I used to have, I’m sure you’ll agree.”
Mike sat with his back against a tree. Alison was close to him. Gina was looking after Ian, who had woken up. He seemed okay. Just tired. Confused. Emotional.
And obviously, Alison had to do something to stop Ian launching himself at Calvin in this confused state. A vengeful, devastated state.
But not nearly as much as the will for vengeance running through Mike’s body right now.
Kelsie was sitting with Arya, well in sight of everyone else.
“I know it’s hard for you to believe,” Calvin said. “But I had a lot of time to reflect on past actions when I was in that cabin. A lot of time to get my head around what I did. And it’s haunting, you know? Looking back. Really looking at the things I’d done. It’s truly haunting.”
“Boo hoo,” Mike said. “I really feel for you.”
Calvin ignored him. “I heard someone approaching. I didn’t like the sound of it, so I got myself outside. Got myself behind the cabin. Laid low. Kind of thought it was coming to an end. Thought things were catching up with me, at last. And then I heard something.”
“You heard something? Convenient.”
Again, Calvin ignored him. “I heard something interesting, so I followed them. This group. They were army. They were looking for people. Collecting people to take to a place… well. Far enough away.”
“What’re they doing with them there?”
Calvin smiled. “Like I say. I followed them, and I saw it for myself. It’s an extraction point.”
“An extraction point?”
“You know. Somewhere they’re getting people out of the country—”
“I know what an extraction point is.”
“Okay. No need to be ratty.”
“Don’t push your luck,” Mike said. “You’re literally a dead man talking right now.”
Calvin smirked. “This extraction point. I think… I think it seemed promising. Really promising. I mean, these people. They were armed. And they had comms devices. Radios. They had a whole damned community. That type of thing. And they had helicopters, too.”
“Then why didn’t you just follow them? Why didn’t you make your way to that cosy little extraction point? If you’re telling the truth, why didn’t you just worm your way out of here?”
Calvin smiled. “Let’s just say I felt like I owed you one. All of you.”
“Bullshit.”
Calvin raised his hands. “Believe it or not. The fact is, I’m here. Why else would I be sitting opposite the people who want to kill me?”
Mike didn’t want to ponder Calvin’s words too much. But he couldn’t deny there was some truth to what he was saying.
Mike gritted his teeth. “I don’t trust you.”
“You’d be foolish to trust me. Foolish to trust anyone. But at the end of the day, what do we have if we do not have faith?”
Mike looked away. He looked at Alison. Looked at Gina. And he saw something in their eyes. Hope.
“Do you really believe this guy? The guy who—who ran a place like the one he ran? That did what he did to people? People we care about? Really?”
“It’s all we’ve got, Mike,” Alison said.
“So,
every time we hear a whisper of an extraction point, we just blindly follow it? That’s what you’re really suggesting?”
“I’m saying I think we have a duty to investigate it. And … and like Calvin says. He saved Ian. He came to us. He didn’t have to do that.”
Mike shook his head. He looked at Calvin. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it one bit.”
“Like it or loathe it,” Calvin said. “It looks like you’re outvoted. How does it feel to lose your grip on your people?”
He thought about throwing himself at Calvin again. Thought about launching himself towards him. But he held back. He resisted. Because he sensed something else.
“So why don’t you tell us where this place is?” Mike said.
Calvin smiled then. His widest, most honest smile yet. “Ah,” he said. “That’s where things get interesting.”
Mike sensed something he didn’t like was coming.
“I know where these people are. I followed them. I know where this place is. And I can lead you there. But that’s how it happens. That’s how it works out. I lead you there.”
Mike shook his head. “Not a chance.”
“Then you don’t get out of this place. You don’t get extracted. You die in this world.”
“I’d rather die in this world without you around than go into a new world with you in it.”
Calvin chuckled. “Quite selfish then, aren’t you? That’s no way to talk when you’ve got a little girl around. A little girl with diabetes, I believe. A little girl who could use some help.”
Mike shook his head. He felt his heart racing. His desperation here was growing. He looked to Alison for support. Looked to Gina for support.
And then Ian. Maybe his greatest chance of support.
But Ian wasn’t in the position to be making decisions. Not now. Maybe not for a long time.
And Alison and Gina… they looked like they were buying this.
Remarkably, amazingly, they looked like they were buying this.
“So, what’s it going to be, Mike?” Calvin asked. “What’s your decision?”
Mike looked over at Calvin. He held the rifle. He wanted to go over there. He wanted to end him. To finish him, once and for all.
And then he looked at Kelsie. That little girl. The one who could benefit most from all this. The one whose life could change… if only Calvin was telling the truth.
He took a deep breath, then he said the words he’d never expected to say. The words he’d never imagined he would say.
“We go,” he said.
Calvin smiled. A glimmer of relief to his eyes. A glimmer of surprise, too.
“We follow him. We see where he takes us.”
Then he walked up to Calvin and pressed the rifle between his legs.
“But we cuff him. We make sure this worm can’t wriggle anywhere. And if he tries anything…”
He tightened his grip around the trigger.
“If he even breathes in slightly the wrong way…”
He saw the momentary fear in Calvin’s eyes.
Then he let go of the trigger, his time to smirk.
He turned around. Walked away. Walked in the direction of their camp so he could get something to tie Calvin up with.
And as much as Alison and Gina and everyone seemed on board with this… Mike was certain about one thing.
He was going to see where Calvin took him.
He was going to see where this journey led.
And then he was going to kill him.
Then, he was going to get his revenge.
That was non-negotiable.
“Righty then,” Calvin said, chirpily. “Looks like we’d better get trekking.”
Chapter Twelve
When they got back to camp, Mike was already having second thoughts about this entire journey.
The afternoon was rolling on. The clouds were even thicker now. In the distance, Mike could hear the rumbling of thunder. It felt like the skies were finally starting to break. Like the heavens were starting to open up.
But not here. They were only getting a glimpse of the impending storm.
He had no idea how bad it was. Only that it seemed… fitting. It seemed representative of everything that was happening.
Mike looked around at his camp. He looked around at the converted vans. The one he usually stayed in. The one he’d stayed in last night, with Kelsie. He thought about how close he’d felt to her. How much of a bond he’d felt with her that night. How normal everything felt. How positive, how optimistic he’d felt about the future, even in the midst of the surrounding chaos.
He thought about all of these things, and he felt selfish, in a way. Because the future Calvin claimed he was aware of would be more promising. It would offer more hope for Kelsie. More security for her, especially with her health problem.
But he couldn’t deny what he felt, deep down.
He couldn’t deny his emotions.
He didn’t want things to change. He wanted stasis. Because change brought the possibility of loss. And he’d lost too much already.
He didn’t want problems like this coming into his life and changing everything.
He took a deep breath of the humid summer air. There was a slight coolness to it now, as the clouds threatened to break. He could feel it coming. Feel it closing in.
And it was all because of one person.
He turned around, and he saw Calvin.
He was tied up, now. Tight bands around his wrists. He was being watched by Alison and Arya. But Mike still didn’t feel secure. He still felt like he posed a threat. Posed a danger. A danger that they all had to watch out for.
“We’ve got your back, Mike.”
Mike looked around. Saw Gina beside him.
He looked away, then. Out of reaction more than anything. “Sounds like it.”
“I know he’s an evil bastard. I know he’s done some unforgivable things. And you’ll get a chance. A chance to get your revenge. A chance to make things right. But at the moment, we have to hear him out. We have to see where he takes us. And if he does…”
She stopped. And Mike wondered why. He wondered how much further Gina might be going with this.
“If he does?”
“If he does, well. We have to think about why he’d do that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Maybe he’s trying to make things right.”
Mike turned. Faced Gina. “He killed Holly.”
“And you killed Kelsie’s father.”
Mike felt stumped. Knocked back. “That was—that was different.”
“It was? Really? Because at the end of the day, we’re all humans. We’re all people pulling towards the same goal. And even if Calvin’s nasty. Even if he did some unforgivable things that he’ll rot in hell for… he’s still just human. He’s still trying to find his way in this world. Like all of us.”
Mike looked at Calvin. Saw him attempting to make small talk with Alison. And it sickened him. Sickened him to the core. He felt betrayed. Betrayed by his own people.
And yet… he knew his people were right.
The logical thing to do was to follow him. To see where he led them.
Then to see where they ended up, when all was said and done.
“We don’t know what the future might hold. But all we can do right now is see. He’s tied up. He isn’t going anywhere. We’ve got him, Mike. He’s right where we want him. And before you do whatever you have to do with him… maybe he can lead us to somewhere better than anything we ever imagined.”
Mike nodded. He looked over at Calvin again. Went to agree with Gina. Went to tell her she had a point.
Then he noticed something.
Kelsie.
Talking with Calvin.
Calvin smiling at her.
He felt his blood boiling. Felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.
Because that was a non-negotiable. That was a line that couldn’t be crossed.
He stormed over towards Calvin. Stormed into the middle of them.
And then he wrapped his hands around his neck.
“Mike!” Alison said.
He ignored her. Looked right into Calvin’s eyes. “You don’t speak to her.”
Calvin spluttered.
“You don’t even look at her. Or I’ll take your eyes out. You understand? I’ll take your damned eyes out.”
“That’d be foolish,” Calvin spluttered. “Seeing as—as we need those eyes to know where we’re going.”
“Only one eye,” Mike said, putting a finger to his left eye, then prodding it, hard. “Don’t push me. Don’t test me.”
They stayed there for a while. Stared at one another. Time stretched on. And then Mike felt his tension slipping. He felt his frustration falling. He felt his resistance, his resolve, growing once again.
But make no mistake about it. If he’d had the hunting rifle in hand, he would’ve ended him. Right then.
He stepped away. Took Kelsie’s hand. “Come on,” he said. “You shouldn’t talk to him. He’s not someone you want to hang around with.”
“I was just telling him,” Kelsie said. “If he hurts any of us… I’ll do what I did to that deer. And he’s worse than Barney the Purple Dinosaur. Way worse.”
Mike smiled, then. He smiled with pride.
It finally felt like he had an ally.
Finally felt like someone was on side.
When they packed up their supplies, they stood together at the brink of the woods. Looked back at their home. Then looked at the woods ahead. Calvin in front. Eyes on him at all times.
“Remember the rules,” Mike said, rifle to his back. “One wrong move, and you’re finished.”
Calvin looked back at him. Smiled. “I have a feeling we’re going to get along just fine.”
He resisted the urge to punch the shit out of him, then he prodded the gun right against his spine.
“Walk,” he said.
The thunder rumbled right overhead.
The rain began to fall.
The sky got greyer, and the clouds got thicker.
Lightning began to strike…
