The Volunteer

by J B Cantwell

Alex immediately held up the gun and pointed it at the man. I stood there, stupidly still holding onto the plate of chicken.

  “I told you,” the man said. “Put down that gun.” He held up his phone, and when Alex didn’t respond, he pressed the button.

  “Emergency Services,” a voice said. “What is your emergency?”

  The man raised his eyebrows at us, and slowly Alex lowered his weapon.

  “Oh, sorry,” the man said, holding out his hand toward Alex and beckoning to him to hand it over.

  Alex glanced at me, but then did as he was told. He didn’t really have much choice, not if we were going to stay under the radar as we fled the country.

  The only question was, what would this man do with us now that Alex was unarmed?

  “Yes, I apologize,” he went on. “I pressed the emergency button by accident. These stupid phones.” Then he pressed the button to hang up the call and stuffed the gun into the back of his pants. “You two hungry?”

  What?

  I stared at him like he was crazy.

  He shrugged. “I’m an old man, and I ain’t got nothin’ to lose. Except for maybe a chicken.” He nodded his head toward the plate I was still holding.

  “But why?” I asked.

  “Because you two look like you’re in a bad way. And you certainly don’t look like you belong around here. I recognized you as a Prime the moment I first laid eyes on you.” He looked at Alex, then back to me. “And you … well, let’s just say walking around in that getup doesn’t do much for your believability.”

  He turned his back and went out into the hallway, then started down the stairs, which creaked with each step he took.

  “I’m Paul, by the way,” he called from about halfway down.

  Alex and I stared at one another, both of us perplexed. This guy certainly didn’t seem to mean us any harm. He had hung up the phone, after all. I made to follow him, but Alex grabbed my hand protectively.

  “What choice do we have?” I whispered.

  In answer, he pulled my gun out from the back of my belt.

  “No. No way. If we need it, it’s there. But there’s something about this guy.”

  “You all might want to come downstairs,” Paul called. “I don’t expect you’ll be able to escape from the second story. At least not without breaking something. And I would appreciate it if you could leave my house intact on your way out.”

  I took the gun from his hand and put it back in my belt. I pulled on his hand and walked out into the hallway.

  “We should tie him up,” Alex whispered as I took the first step. “Just like Pierce. This can only mean trouble.”

  But I didn’t think about it that way. Something in my gut told me that this man wasn’t of the same sort as Pierce. He was alone, yes, but he was as sober as could be. And he had recognized Alex for what he was, then turned his back on him without care or worry.

  He had everything to lose.

  And so did we.

  “No way,” I said, continuing down the stairs. “I want to see what he’s all about first.”

  Maybe it was stupid, but I was so intrigued that I was purposely walking into what might be a trap. He might’ve called the police at any time. He hadn’t needed to come up the stairs at all to report suspicious activity. And yet he had come up first. He had chosen to treat us as fellow humans rather than dangerous intruders.

  Maybe it was he who was making the mistake.

  I tried to imagine what could be waiting for us downstairs, but all I could come up with was that big, furry cat. There hadn’t been a suspicious sound from downstairs the entire time we’d been in the house.

  “Riley,” Alex hissed. “We can’t. We should get out of here while we still can.” He motioned toward the front door.

  “And what … keep walking in broad daylight in our wetsuits? I don’t think he’s planning to hurt us.”

  Alex huffed in frustration, but he knew I was right. The minute we left this house, Paul would probably call the police. But for the time being, we were safe. At least, as safe as two Service soldiers could be in enemy territory.

  I turned at the bottom of the stairs and walked into the kitchen, where I found Paul at the sink. He was filling two large glasses with water, which he then put onto the dining table.

  “Ah, good,” he said upon seeing me. “I’m glad you didn’t choose to run away. You do look ridiculous. Now, what can I get you to eat?”

  “Why are you helping us?” I asked, the most obvious question, and the most important one.

  He looked at me and smiled a thin smile, a hint of sadness in his face.

  “Because I was you.”

  I frowned.

  “I came from Mississippi, stationed at Camp Shelley for two years before I made my escape. We had Primes as well.” Alex had entered the room, and Paul looked his way. “Though nothing quite as beefy as you, I must say.”

  “You mean you got out?” I asked. “How?”

  “On foot. I ripped out my chip and made a run for it. Oh, I’d seen battle.” He grimaced as he spoke. “But I knew enough to know I wouldn’t be missed. If they don’t care about saving their own soldiers in the field, why would they care about finding a runaway?”

  “I’ve never thought about it that way.”

  “Maybe you should.” He picked up a third glass and filled it, taking a long swig of it before setting it down on the table and taking a seat. “Sit down. And bring that chicken.”

  I brought over the food, but I didn’t sit.

  He shrugged. “Suit yourself. Anyway, that was almost forty years ago. Things were different back then.”

  It didn’t sound like it.

  I sat.

  “How did you do it? How did you make it here?”

  “It was pretty easy, actually. Once I was off their radar, I just ran. I knew I’d never be able to return, but that was fine by me. I didn’t have family to worry about; I was already on my own. I trekked north through the country. Mind you, I was hungry most of the way. I was skin and bones by the time I made it to the border, but I did make it.”

  Alex had moved into the room behind me, and he towered over the two of us.

  “And they just let you in?” he asked.

  “I asked for asylum. And yes, they let me in. Are you going to sit down or what?”

  Alex didn’t speak, and his gaze remained steely, angry, threatening.

  “Tell you what. I’ll put this here.” He pulled out the gun from the back of his pants and put it onto the table between us. “Now, let’s get you something to eat. I’m starving, myself.”

  He stood up from the table again and opened the refrigerator door, staring inside.

  “Noodles?” he asked. “That’ll go well with the chicken.”

  He brought out a container and put it into the microwave that was mounted over the stove.

  “So, what’s your story?” he asked, turning around to lean against the counter.

  I glanced at Alex, but he seemed perplexed as he stared back and forth between the gun and the man.

  “We got caught in a mission,” I said.

  “In the lake, I presume?”

  “Yeah. Nobody else made it.”

  “And they wouldn’t come get you, I’m wagering.”

  I stayed silent. Of course no one had come for us.

  “Yep. Well then, have you given any thought to staying here?”

  As he spoke, Alex had carefully moved around me and toward the table. Suddenly, he sprang for the weapon and held it out in front of him.

  Paul smiled, clearly not bothered by this change of upper hand.

  “There are no bullets in there, son. Why don’t you just sit down?”

  Alex looked at the gun, his eyes wide, then lowered it and put it back on the table.

  “It doesn’t need to be that way,” Paul said. The microwave buzzer sounded, and he pulled out the noodles. He grabbed three plates and forks from a cabinet by the sink and set them on the table. “I’m no
t going to turn you in. Why would I?”

  He took a seat at the table beside me and began filling the plates with noodles and chunks of chicken. I picked up a fork and began eating greedily. The noodles were drenched in butter, a rarity in the States, and I looked up at Alex, eyebrows raised.

  “You should sit down,” I said. He looked perplexed, torn between two ideas of safety. Finally, the smell of the food, or maybe the hopelessness of our situation, got him to pull up a chair beside me and grab a fork for himself.

  “That’s better,” Paul said. “You don’t have to worry about anything here. If I was going to call the cops on you, I would’ve done it already.”

  “So, you left the Service?” I asked between mouthfuls of chicken. He nodded. I swallowed. “It was very dangerous, what you did.”

  “No, not really. You must know that it would have been far more dangerous for me to stay. Back then, there were no rules about soldiers settling their disputes with their fists. I may be tall, but I was lean back then, seen as a liability by many. And I was young, only seventeen. I lacked strength and speed, and the other soldiers picked up on it pretty quick. I became a favorite punching bag in no time. It would have been much more dangerous for me to stay than to leave when I did.” His face had turned from an easy comfort to a grimace as he told us his story.

  “I can’t believe that,” I said, setting down my fork.

  “Believe it,” he said, digging into the food on his own plate. “I would’ve ended up dead, one way or another. I chose to get out.”

  The table went quiet for a minute as we all ate. It was good, way better than anything we might’ve gotten back at the barracks.

  “So,” Paul said a couple minutes later as he set down his fork onto his nearly-empty plate. “Tell me about yourselves. How did you end up in the Service?”

  I paused, suddenly unsure about how much we should tell him. Alex picked up on it and put his hand over mine where it rested under the table, giving it a warning squeeze.

  “Can you get us out?” I asked, skipping ahead in the conversation.

  “Why would you want to return to that life?” he asked, surprised. “Have they gotten to you, then?” His eyes fell onto Alex, who bristled at the attention. Maybe he saw it as an attack on his person.

  “They did,” I said, intervening. “At least, at first. But we have to go back. Things are … important back home. We have unfinished business. Or, at least, I do.”

  “Ah, I see. So how were you planning to escape? If the authorities pick you up, you’ll end up in jail, not back in the States.”

  “We figured we would try to disguise ourselves here and then hide out for a bit, but as you can see, your clothes don’t exactly fit.” I motioned to Alex, who looked foolish in the sweatshirt he had forced over his torso.

  “So, then what? There’s nothing but water between us and Detroit. And they’ll never let you over that bridge. It’s guarded on both sides. They have a tentative peace at the border, but it really is only tentative.”

  “We were going to swim,” I blurted out. Alex removed his hand from mine and elbowed me sharply in the ribs.

  “What?” I argued. “We’re in trouble no matter what we tell him.”

  “So they’re not coming to get you, I presume,” he went on.

  “No way.”

  “Hmm. Well, I suppose I could take you to the docks riverside. But are you both strong swimmers? Swimming across a river like that is no joke, especially at this time of year.”

  I looked down at my empty plate at this question. Strong wasn’t exactly the way I would describe our swimming ability. All the muscle in the world wouldn’t get us to the other side of that river if we were unable to keep our heads above water in the first place.

  Paul picked up on my hesitation.

  “Well, I’m guessing you know I can’t bring you to the border. That would be stupid, not to mention impossible. They would never let you out, and probably arrest me for good measure. I’d wager the other side would never let you back in anyway. So, I guess you’re right. You should plan on a long swim. But I think we should wait for nightfall.”

  “You mean, you’ll really take us?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Sure, if that’s what you really want to do. I’m curious about this unfinished business, though. Do you really need to keep it from me?”

  I stared down at my hands, trying to figure out what I could tell him without compromising myself. I fought to find a vague description of our plans.

  “They killed people. A lot of them. In the city. People who were … important to me.”

  “And you plan to retaliate …”

  “Yes. Well, sort of.”

  “She wants to take the system down,” Alex chimed in. I looked at him, surprised by his sudden willingness to tell the truth. He shrugged. “You’re right. May as well. Maybe he can help.”

  “And how do you plan to do that?” Paul asked.

  At this question, we both paused.

  Tentatively, I spoke. “What do you know about the Volunteers?”

  His brow furrowed. “I thought they were just a rumor. At least they were in my day. They were one of those associations that was impossible to join, much less even find. So they’re real, then? And you know them somehow?”

  “I did. Most of them are dead now.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess that’s a motive if you ever needed one. Exactly how do you plan to ‘take down’ the system?”

  I glanced at Alex, suddenly unsure. Maybe we were telling him too much. If we were to disclose all of our plans to this man, this stranger, then he would have no trouble turning us in and exposing our true mission.

  “I think we should probably keep that to ourselves,” I said. Alex nodded, satisfied with my answer.

  We had told him enough.

  “Fair point. Well, I commend you on your goals, however impossible they may sound.”

  “What about you?” I asked, turning the conversation around. “What do you even do here? Do you have a job or something?”

  He laughed. “Of course I have a job. Just because Canada granted me asylum doesn’t mean I get a free ride. I did get some free education, though. I’m a school teacher at the local high school. History.”

  “Wow. That must be an interesting class.”

  “It is, if I may be so bold. Hearing the stories of the past from someone who has lived on both sides offers my students a unique perspective. Or, at least that’s what I tell myself.”

  “So, all you needed to do was ask for asylum?” I asked. “How does that even work?”

  “Well, like I told you, I was skin and bones when I finally got to the border. Mind you, I came up through Minnesota. I was captured not long after I crossed into Canada. I remember being down on my knees, begging them to take me. Winter was coming, and I was a shivering mess. They took pity on me and brought me back to their camp. After a couple days of feeding me up, they had one of their soldiers drop me off at the immigration center. I met with a couple of employees, told them my story. They didn’t doubt me. Instead, they helped me find housing and a job, and a few years later I became an official citizen.”

  “Wow,” I said. I couldn’t imagine a life like his. I tried to picture myself, free from all ties, begging for asylum in one of the richest countries in the world.

  I would have done it, myself, if it weren’t for the Volunteers.

  “You sure you two don’t want to stay?” he asked.

  I took a deep breath and let it go, slumping a little as my lungs deflated.

  I had thought about it before, of course. Planned on it. About running, about leaving the States for good. Here was an opportunity, as easy as could be. This man would vouch for us, I was sure of it. All we had to do was ask.

  But I still hadn’t been able to banish the images of the Stilts falling into the river, almost graceful in their slow descent, fire and water meeting at the bottom. Everyone who had been inside those buildings had been fighting against t
he system. They hadn’t run.

  “I can’t,” I said, turning to Alex. “But you could.”

  He raised his eyebrows, his face turning from unbelieving to alarmed in a heartbeat.

  “No way. Are you nuts? I’m not leaving you to go back there on your own. What would you even tell them? You already let them know that I was with you. They’ll never believe any other story.”

  “The only story I would need to tell them is the truth. That you decided to stay behind. Just think about it. You could get started here, make a life for yourself. Then, after I—” I glanced at Paul for a moment, then continued. “After I do the thing that I intend to do, I can come up and join you.”

  “Riley, you won’t survive it. And then what will become of me?” His eyes were growing glassy as he spoke, but his words angered me.

  “Oh, I’ll survive it. I’ll do it on my own if I have to. I—”

  “There’s no way, and you know it. Even together, our chances are minimal at best. We’re going to need allies. Allies with power. And that’s where I can help the most.” He turned back to Paul. “Do you know anyone back in the States? Someone who could help us? Someone high up?”

  He laughed. “No, of course not. Like I said, I didn’t have any attachments, which is why it was so easy for me to leave when I did. I never tried to play for the Volunteers, but I honestly didn’t know that they were real at all. Maybe if I had, I might’ve tried to help their cause. But I didn’t. Sorry, kid. I don’t know a soul down south.”

  I wasn’t surprised. Not by his story. Not by Alex’s unwillingness to stay. I could try to order him to, but he would laugh in my face, and the truth was, I needed him. I needed anybody I could get onto my side.

  Paul pushed back his chair and rose from the table, collecting our empty plates as he did so.

  “I’ll take you tonight, after the activity dies down. Though, maybe Saturday night will be even better for you. The cops will be out after midnight, searching around for vandals and drunks. Maybe we should split the difference. What do you say? Ten?”

  I looked up at Alex, then took a little fold in the fabric of his sweatshirt and flicked it against his bicep. We locked eyes, and after a moment, he nodded.

  “Ten.”