And Mitchell, it's there in everything Mitchell says and does. Every time Jackie sees Mitchell, she's nine years old again, tucked away behind the couch while her parents are murdered. She hears that cold, gravelly voice saying, "It's a shame it has to be this way" before the gunshots. She had nightmares about that voice for years. She had recognized it when she heard it again, when Mitchell moved back to Cold Creek just after her twelfth birthday. But what could she say? The Donovans had already taken over. There was no way out. Not for any of them.
This isn't a way out, but it's a place she can go and forget all of that, even if it's only for a few minutes each week.
"How's the face?" Siobhan asks.
"Not too bad," she says. "Brought you guys some goodies."
They start to rifle through. Jackie smiles up at Gabby as she walks over. "You okay?"
"Yeah, all healed up." Gabby gives her a not-at-all hard punch to the shoulder. "Sorry about your face."
"It's okay, I was born with it," she says, and Gabby laughs. The werewolves are already splitting up the oranges, and Kyra has found the tampons and declares Jackie her new best friend.
"Seriously, you don't even know what it's like to go without," she says.
"Soap? You trying to tell us something, Jackie?" Spencer asks.
"Nothing you didn't already know," Jackie replies. She looks up as Maya walks over, her face set in its usual scowl. "Hey, Maya. Want an orange? There's one for everyone."
"Yeah. Thanks." Maya accepts the fruit and looks at it pensively. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," Jackie says, feeling her stomach churn. She's not even sure if it's a good churning or a bad one. She doubts Maya wants to talk about anything that should give her butterflies. Which means that whatever it is, it probably isn't good. But there's only one way to find out. She follows Maya outside, into the little alley behind the warehouse. "What's up?"
"I was just wondering…" Maya stares off into the darkness. "If we can trust you."
Jackie rubs a hand over the back of her head. "I'm sorry about Gabby, really, but if I hadn't shot her Mark would have, and—"
"It's not about what happened with Gabby." Maya finally looks at her. "I have to keep these people safe. That's my responsibility. So I need to know if I can trust you."
"Not one hundred percent, no," Jackie says, and Maya's eyebrows go up. "I can't promise I'll always get information to you in time. Or that the information I get will always be good. I'll be caught sooner or later, I guess." She turns away. "Don't rely on me, Maya. Don't trust me. Don't trust anybody. That's how we all have to live now."
Maya nods. They stand there in silence for a long minute. "Why are you helping us?" Maya finally asks.
"Because you helped me," Jackie says with a shrug. "It's really not more complicated than that. You had no reason to help me, but…you did."
"You've more than paid it back by now."
"I don't think that's how karma works," Jackie says, then shakes her head. "I guess I don't believe in karma anymore. I help you because it's the right thing to do. And because you helped me, and you would help me again if I needed it, and someday I probably will because Mitchell will eventually figure out what I'm doing, and his reaction won't be pretty."
Maya thinks it over, then gives a jerky nod. "Okay," she says, and heads inside without another word. Jackie sighs a little and follows her.
"Hey!" Jared is immediately jogging up to her. "We're getting a game of volleyball going, you in?"
She should go. She knows that. The longer she's gone, the worse the risk of being caught. But…
"Yeah, okay," she says. "For a little while."
*~*~*
As a general rule, Maya tries to stay out of sight during the day. They'll scrounge in some of the safer areas, but the best time to do that is dawn and dusk. Broad daylight, like the dead of night, is safer indoors. They find a place to hole up and waste time with stupid games and telling stories. They've all had vastly different life experiences. They all have stories to tell. Ryan has by far the most, as someone who actually lived outside Cold Creek and traveled the world. Sometimes he even unbends enough to tell them.
But staying hidden during the day doesn't always work out. On this particular day, an ogre and a witch get in a fight in the street just nearby the warehouse that they've been holed up in. It's loud enough to attract the attention of the militia, so when the brawl really gets started, Maya tells them to split up. They'll meet later at the abandoned bus station and decide whether or not it's safe to go back.
They split into pairs. Ryan agrees to go with Gabby, since he doesn't like the idea of her being out by herself during the day after what happened last time. Maya takes Marcus and Siobhan with her, and they head into the alleys.
Of course, the warehouse wasn't in a particularly good part of town, and they can't all take the same route. Maya, as always, takes the most dangerous for her own team. It goes close to the school, cutting through the woods that border the campus, and the school always has a heavy militia presence. It had once just been an elementary school; now it served as a school for all ages. The regional high school that the children of Cold Creek had once gone to is on the outside.
The woods are nice, at least. Maya keeps her head up, cautious of any patrols, but there are none. They patrol in town and on the very perimeter, but the majority of the woods between those two places are empty. Maya knows that some of the werewolves tried to settle there, but they were always found. The cover wasn't good enough.
Maya remembers playing in these woods when she was younger, running around them without a care in the world. The forest hasn't changed. The forest doesn't care about the petty squabbles of the people who live nearby. But Maya can't manage to pretend things are the same. Not even for the briefest minute, the smallest respite. The fear never lets go.
They're almost on the other side, by the river, when Maya hears the crackle of a man's voice. It startles her because they're not that close to the school. Then she realizes it's someone on a megaphone. "This is a drill. Find your team leader and go to your assigned location."
"Fucking freaks," Siobhan mutters. Marcus takes her pale hand in his dark one and gives it a squeeze. Maya just shakes her head and keeps walking.
Then she hears footsteps. Heavy, loud, fast. Somebody running. She tenses, but there's none of the scent of gunpowder and silver that she associates with the militia. Whoever this is smells of pure, raw fear. Adrenaline. Shock.
A tall blonde boy bursts through the trees, stumbling, and catches himself against a log. He sees the three of them standing there and gasps out, "Help me. Please."
Maya glances in the direction of the school. The intercom has gone quiet. But now she can hear more footsteps. Cautious, quiet. Someone without werewolf senses would never hear them. Donovan trained his patrols well.
There's no time to question. Whoever this is, he's an ally, not an enemy. Maya pivots and kneels next to him. "Grab hold and don't let go," she says, and the young man practically throws himself onto her back. He wraps his legs around her waist just before she takes off like a shot. Siobhan and Marcus are close behind.
Maya isn't about to take a stranger to one of their dens, so she can't go to the bus station. She heads for high ground. That's generally the safest place to be, as long as you don't stay long. Cold Creek's original settlers hadn't had a lot of extra room. They built up, not out. There's an office building on the north end of town that's four stories tall, one of a small cluster. Maya grabs the fire escape and climbs up to the roof.
Once she's got both feet touched down, she kneels down and lets the boy off her back. He's gasping for breath and even paler than he would normally be. "Thanks," he gasps out. "I thought I was a dead man."
Marcus and Siobhan climb up onto the roof. The boy darts a look at them, then away.
"What's your name?" Maya asks.
"Oh, uh, Dominic. Westphalen. Nice to meet you, I guess?" He swallows hard. "You're Maya Callaghan, right?"
"Yeah." Maya doesn't have to ask how he knows. Everyone in town is familiar with her description, as well as a few other supernaturals, so they can report sightings to the militia. She jerks her head and continues, "That's Marcus and Siobhan."
"Are you guys werewolves too?" Dominic asks.
"I am. Siobhan's a succubus."
"Oh." Dominic flushes vaguely pink. "That explains why, uh…"
"Why you get a boner just from looking at me?" Siobhan asks cheerfully. "Yeah, sorry about that. Not really something I can help. Just ignore my gorgeousness and it'll go away after a few minutes since I'm not actively trying anything on you."
"Okay. I mean, I wouldn't. I have a girlfriend. Had a girlfriend. Oh God." Dominic moans and drops his head into his hands.
"So what happened?" Marcus asks. "Does it have anything to do with that drill they were running at school?"
"Those drills aren't drills." Dominic's tone is bitter. "Everyone who pays attention knows that. They'll pull a kid aside while everyone's on their way out, and you never see that kid again."
"And this time it was you?"
"It was probably going to be. I didn't stick around to find out." Dominic heaves a shuddering sigh. "A couple weeks ago, I was walking home from school and I saw—something. I'm not even sure what it was. It was more animal than human. I saw the militia gun it down. It was trying to get back up and it made this, this horrible crying noise. One of the militia guys walked over and shot it twice in the head. It was—awful." He swallows again, his Adam's apple moving up and down. "After that, I started having—I thought they were nightmares at first, but then I realized the stuff I saw really happened. And they just got worse and worse. I had a couple at school. I would zone out and nearly have a panic attack when it was over. When the militia came today, I figured it had to be for me. That someone had figured out something weird was going on and reported me."
Maya shakes her head, her lip curling. She knows she can't blame the citizens of Cold Creek. She knows they're just scared. But she hates them all the same. "So you ran."
"Yeah, and promptly twisted my fucking ankle jumping down from the fence." Dominic sighs. "Usain Bolt, I'm not."
"Hey, you got away," Siobhan says. "That's what counts."
"Thanks to you guys." Dominic looks up and hastily wipes his eyes. "What's happening to me?"
"You're a witch," Maya says.
Dominic shakes his head automatically. "Nobody in my family is a witch."
"It doesn't always happen in bloodlines. Sometimes it happens spontaneously." Maya shakes her head. "I wish I had a better answer for you, but what you're describing is called the Sight, and it's something only witches have. It's usually triggered by trauma, especially emotional trauma."
"Th-They're just dreams—"
"No, they aren't, and you know it."
Marcus glances over at Maya as if questioning her bedside manner. "Hey, you'll be all right," he says to Dominic. "Being a witch is actually pretty cool. I mean, it's way better than being a werewolf. All we can do is jump high and run fast."
"But it isn't - it isn't fair," Dominic chokes out. "I didn't ask to be a witch. Now they're going to try to kill me."
"Of course it's not fair," Maya says impatiently, but then manages to gentle her tone. "None of us asked to be what we are. And none of us ever hurt anybody. That's what makes the militia what we colloquially term the 'bad guys.'"
This gets a weak smile out of Dominic. "I don't know what to do now. I can't go home. They'll probably—they're going to interrogate my mother. What if they hurt her? What if I never see her again?"
Siobhan reaches over and squeezes his shoulder. "Your mom is gonna be just fine," she says, in a firm, soothing tone. "The militia will know you never went home after they came for you because they would have put surveillance on your house first, in case you slipped through their fingers. So yeah, they'll question her, but they won't hurt her. You stick with us, you'll be fine."
Dominic swallows and then looks askance at Maya, knowing she's in charge. "Is that—okay?"
"Yeah," Maya says.
"Most of the pack came around in the same sort of way," Marcus tells Dominic. "Siobhan and I hooked up with Maya after I got turned by some lunatic. I knew I couldn't go home as a werewolf. Our pal Spencer, his whole pack was killed. Kyra's family too. Jared's mom went underground after he joined us. We look out for each other."
"Oh…okay." Dominic breathes a little easier. He tries to stand, then grits his teeth.
"Let's go get you some medical attention," Marcus says. "If that's broken, we don't want you walking on it." To Maya, he adds, "Think the others are at the station yet?"
"Yeah. We can have Jared take a look at it. If he thinks it's serious, we'll have to find his mom."
"My mom?" Dominic asks, alarmed.
"No, Jared's mom. She's a doctor." Maya looks around and scents the air. "Come on. Follow me, stay close."
*~*~*
On her off days, Jackie reads a lot, and reviews her materials on the militia and keeps them up to date. She always needs to stay on her toes. The smallest change in routine could get her killed if she's not paying attention. She also does chores, because Helen always manages to find work around the house for her to do. She scrubs the toilet and cleans the gutters and does a lot of things that Helen could undoubtedly do herself but doesn't want to.
What free time she does get, she guards jealously, so she's annoyed when Valerie comes into her room without knocking and says, "Dominic wasn't at the cafe today."
"That's nice," Jackie says, without looking up from her ciphered notes.
"Jackie!" Valerie's voice is impatient, but there's a hint of fear to it, and that gets Jackie's attention. "He never misses our dates. Something could be wrong!"
Jackie sighs. It's not that she dislikes Valerie's boyfriend, at least no more than she dislikes any of the spoiled human teenagers that are Valerie's friends. He's nice to her, for the most part, which is more than she can say of a lot of the girls. "Did you swing by his house to check on him?"
"I wanted to, but Mom wouldn't let me, she said she had things to do. Besides, the girls said he wasn't in school today, either. He disappeared after one of the drills."
"Oh, geez." Jackie knows what the drills are for better than most. But a lot of things could have happened, and there's no need to jump to any conclusions. "What do you want me to do about it?"
Valerie fiddles with the hem of her shirt. "Take me into town?"
"Come on, Val. You're seventeen. You can't walk a mile and a half to Dominic's house by yourself?"
"I was going to," Valerie moans, "but the guard at the gate wouldn't let me out. He said that Dad's told him I'm not allowed to go out by myself."
"For fuck's sake." Jackie shuts her journal and tucks it in the vent in the wall. Valerie's always known where she keeps it. While Nick and Helen might invade her privacy, Valerie never would. "Okay, fine. Let me get my boots on." She fumes to herself while she laces up her boots. It's not that Valerie's helpless, but it's close, and the fact that Nick treats her like she's made of glass only makes things worse. If something has happened to Dominic, it's going to destroy her sister. They've been friends since before the war, and were planning to get married as soon as Dominic was out of school.
They have to walk, because Jackie isn't authorized to take a militia vehicle. She has a bicycle that she uses to get around town, which she keeps hidden near the fence, but it won't seat two. They can't talk much on the way there, because of the cold. Jackie can't help but marvel at how different they look, her in the olive green militia coat and a black winter hat, next to Valerie with her woman's coat, purple knit beret, and matching scarf. She shakes her head and keeps walking, hands tucked in her pockets.
Nobody answers the door at Dominic's house. Valerie knocks insistently, even after it's obvious that nobody is home. "Should we try the back?"
"Sure," Jackie says. There's no fence around the house. It's ea
sy enough to circle around to the back door that opens into the kitchen. It's locked, however, and nobody answers when they knock there, either.
"What do we do?" Valerie asks.
"Hang on." Jackie is looking away from the house, through the neighbor's yard and to the next street over. There's a militia vehicle there, with two men in it. It's not a normal place for them to be stationed, and it confirms what Jackie had been afraid of when Valerie had told her about the drill. "Val, we should go."
"What? Why?" Valerie sputters as Jackie takes her sleeve and tows her back to the front of the house. As she expected, there's another militia vehicle on the corner down the street. They're watching both the front and back of the house. Waiting, hoping, for Dominic to show his face there. "Jackie, what's going on?"
"Was anything unusual going on with Dominic lately?" Jackie asks. "I know you two tell each other everything."
Valerie chews on her lower lip. "He'd had—he saw someone get killed a couple weeks ago. It was giving him bad dreams. Sometimes even during the day. What does that matter?"
"It might not, but…why did he disappear during the drill? That's a weird time to vanish." Jackie is trying to think of how to phrase this without her sister getting upset. "I mean, it's not like anyone could have kidnapped him. The place would have been crawling with militia. Which means that he must have left of his free will."
Valerie looks blank. "Why would he do that?"
Jackie sighs. Being subtle isn't working, so she goes for blunt. "Because they were there for him, and he knew it."
"What?" Valerie just looks confused.
"He's a witch. He wasn't having nightmares; he was having visions. One of the other kids must have reported him."
"What? No. Dominic's not a witch."
"See that car there? That's a militia car. There isn't a patrol stationed here, so the only reason they could be here is because they're watching one of these houses. And this house just happens to be home to a kid who disappeared during a drill. I know the militia didn't bring him in, because I would have heard about it. So…put two and two together…"
The More Things Change Page 5
