by Gareth Otton
“I’m coming too,” Amber said when Tad was about to ask where she wanted to go. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to fight. I’ll just wait wherever your new base is so I know you’re okay,” she said to Tony when he was going to argue. She shot him a look that told him he better not even think of saying anything about this, and Tony wisely shut his mouth.
Tad studied the look on Amber’s face and wondered if maybe he could learn that trick. But when he noticed Tony was still holding Amber’s hand, and they were standing awfully close together, he had to fight to keep from smiling and accepted that in this Amber would always have the upper hand.
As was common recently, his desire to smile didn’t last. Ryan was waiting on him, and after the attacks that Kuruk had been leading, Tad couldn’t wait to get some payback on the man. He had come here to learn how to stop this war early and had come up short. But maybe this thing with Kuruk was a second chance for that.
This time his smile had no humour in it, and the pleasure he felt at the thought of what was coming was a feeling that would have been alien to him even a few months ago. Now, after losing so much, he couldn’t wait to return the favour to the monster responsible.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Tad said, reaching for Tony’s shoulder. He couldn’t resist glancing back at the raging Ashley who was still being ignored, and he shook his head in disgust as he wondered who the bigger arsehole was, the man who refused to help him save people’s lives, or the one he was heading towards who was trying to take those lives.
Deciding it didn’t matter as this world would be better off without both of them, he turned his back on Ashley and changed the channel.
23
Thursday, 29th December 2016
09:32
“Give me a second,” Tony said to Tad, his attention on Amber who was sitting next to Miles at his hastily assembled technical lair. Tad told him to hurry as they had wasted enough time already, though Tony wouldn’t call it wasted. They had made a few stops to collect Thomas and Rodney, and then at Tony’s insistence had called at the Phoenix to collect the ghosts who helped with the Cardiff Castle nightmare and a few other incidents since.
As Tony hoped, their presence at these events had been noted, and while Kimberly wasn’t happy that they were put in dangerous situations that could exacerbate their conditions, she could not deny the good press they were receiving. Tony hoped that if the ghosts could take a big role in helping with this conflict, it might go some small way toward turning public opinion.
He pushed such thoughts from his mind and approached the corner of the room that Miles had laid claim to. The man looked jumpy, which Tony suspected was because this was not the controlled environment he was used to. Their temporary headquarters was on a military base just outside Cardiff, and it was more utilitarian than what they had been blessed with at the DTHQ. Rather than a series of offices and purposely kitted out rooms, they had just a few large spaces to set themselves up.
“The internet speed here is ridiculous,” Miles complained to Amber as he hammered away on the keyboard in front of him. “You’d think that with this being a military installation they’d have better access than—”
“Amber, you got a sec?” Tony interrupted.
Miles jumped, flinching from the new noise like he was under attack. Any other day Tony might mock the man for his reaction, but yesterday Miles was in not just one, but two attacks where people died and he’d been severely injured himself. The fact that he was even here, despite his leg being wrapped in plaster and looking like he needed a well deserved break, was a testament to the man’s dedication.
Amber looked up in surprise as though Tony being here was the last thing she expected… No, on second thought, it looked like she was surprised to even find herself here. It sparked a moment of worry in Tony, and he wondered when she last merged with Jen. That spaced out look was the first sign of approaching madness, and if she didn’t have a Proxy, he might panic. However, soon her eyes cleared, and she nodded, though she didn’t smile as she might have before the twins moved on.
Tony led her away from Miles to a quiet corner of the room before he asked, “Are you okay?”
“What? Yes, why?”
“Well, you snapped at Arsehole Evans back there and that’s not like you.”
“Oh, that,” Amber replied, blushing and looking at the floor. “I was just frustrated at him being so stubborn when people are dying.”
“No, it’s more than that,” Tony argued. “Look, I know it was hard making the twins move on like that, but I genuinely believe everything I told them. They’re in a better place, I promise. You’ve experienced that warmth from the next place. You know that they’re well looked after and happy right now.”
“I don’t know that,” she argued, heat rising in her voice. “I know that there might have been warmth, but you’re just assuming that’s a good thing. Who knows what’s actually waiting.”
“It’s more than warmth,” Tony argued, struggling to put the feeling into words. “It’s acceptance, and happiness, and… It’s hard to describe. It just feels right. I promise you, it’s not something to be afraid of.”
“I’m not afraid of it,” Amber argued. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be upset, Tony.”
“I never said it was. I just don’t like seeing you this way. Mourning them is one thing, but you’re letting it consume you and that’s something else, especially to a ghost. Look, I’m not saying this is something you’re supposed to get over at the snap of a finger. I know it takes time. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay and there’s not something more to this.”
“More like what?” Amber asked, looking up with an expression that said he better tread carefully.
Throwing caution to the wind, Tony spoke plainly.
“More like you’re thinking about your family and whatever reason it is you never talk about them.”
Her cheeks heated up again, but this time it was with anger.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know, I don’t,” Tony agreed, refusing to let his emotions control his response as he didn’t want this to turn into a fight. “Because you never talk about it. I know it bothers you though. I’m not stupid, Amber, I know there’s a reason you won’t see them and I know it’s not because you don’t love them.”
“Oh, really? So if you know so much, then why are we even talking about this?” Amber snapped, her voice growing loud enough to earn stares from other people in the room. Tony ignored them.
“Because I think what happened with the twins is making you miss your family all the more, and it’s upsetting you. I don’t like seeing you this way. Maybe if you tell me what happened, I can help.”
“You think you can help?” she scoffed. “Alright, you want to know so bad, let’s see if you can help with this. I died in a car crash. I already told you that much, right?” Tony nodded, again ignoring her tone. “What I didn’t tell you was that I was the one who was driving, and that it was my fault that we crashed. I was reading a text on my phone. I thought I only glanced away for a second, but it was long enough to clip an oncoming car. I killed the driver of that car, Tony.”
“That’s awful,” Tony agreed. “But you didn’t do it on purpose. You didn’t mean to—”
“I wasn’t the only one in my car,” Amber said through gritted teeth as tears filled her eyes and she started to shake. “My little brother was in the car with me. He was only nine, and he had been begging me for weeks to have a ride in my new car, but I was always too busy to let him come. I never wanted him tagging along with me and my friends and only took him this time because I was fed up with him begging me to go for a ride.”
She tried to say something else, but her voice broke and she took a second to wipe away her tears and clear her throat.
“He didn’t die, thank God. But he’ll never walk again because of me. He spent months in hospital and it was touch and go for a long time. Becau
se of me, my brother will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. It’s not like Jen who can use Dream instead of his legs. He’s never going to walk again, Tony. All because I wanted to read what was in a stupid text message. How can my family ever forgive me for that? I know they hate me. How could they not? So there, you finally have your answers. You happy now? Can you leave me alone and go do—”
“They won’t hate you.”
“You don’t even know them. Of course they hate me.”
“They won’t,” Tony argued, pushing his luck and ignoring her fury. “I don’t need to know them because I know you. You wouldn’t be taking this so hard if you weren’t close and you wouldn’t be the person you are if your parents weren’t good people too. They’ll understand—”
“Weren’t you listening? Christopher can’t walk. I killed people in the other car. I’m a monster.”
“You never did it on purpose,” Tony disagreed. “They’ll understand. Besides, you also died. I guarantee they’re more concerned about that than whose fault it is. You should go see them. They’d want that, I promise.”
Amber’s rage vanished in a second, and a look of terror flashed across her face.
“No… I couldn’t… It’s too much and—”
“Take it from someone who didn’t see his parents for fifteen years and then was too stubborn to see them when they came looking. Whatever problems you think you have are being magnified in your head. You don’t know how your parents will react to seeing you. Chances are they’ve just been missing you all this time and would do anything to see you again.”
“You don’t know that,” Amber argued, her voice shaking. However, even though he could hear the terror in that voice, he could recognise the longing as well. She wanted nothing more than for what he was saying to be true, but she refused to believe him.
“What if it had been someone else driving the car that day? What if it had been your brother driving and you in the passenger seat? Or your mother or father who had been driving and died? Would you hold it against them and want them to stay away?”
“What? But… No… They weren’t driving though, Tony. I was. They wouldn’t be so—”
“If it was them,” Tony argued, pushing his point. “Would you want them to stay away and never see you again?”
“I… I mean… It would…”
Amber’s words trailed off as her eyes widened and her lip trembled. It wasn’t long before that trembling overtook her whole body and new tears filled her eyes. Tony recognised what was coming and acting on instincts he didn’t think he had, he pulled her into a hug just in time to catch the first of her sobs. Amber’s anger had long since vanished, and she clung to him. Part of him felt bad about causing this, never enjoying being the reason for someone crying. However, it was a realisation she needed if she wanted to move on from this.
Tony could only ignore his own nature for so long though, and soon he couldn’t help but feel awkward at Amber’s tears. He recognised it wasn’t the time or place for this, and he felt the weight of eyes on him. Though he tried to shrug off the feeling, his own insecurities ran away with him, wondering if those eyes were judging him, and feeling even more awkward. As always, when awkwardness struck, Tony fell back on an old habit; he made an inappropriate joke.
“You know, maybe I should go meet your parents first and feel them out. I can picture it now. Hi Mr and Mrs Matthews, I met your daughter in a strip club a few months ago, and after her stalking me for a few weeks, she moved in with my parents and we started raising some kids together. Oh, and in six months I’ll probably be her boyfriend. It’s good to meet you.”
Despite her tears, Amber snorted a laugh. She pushed herself away from Tony and wiped her eyes before punching him in the arm.
“Don’t you dare. Though, my dad would probably laugh. He’d think that was hilarious.”
“Finally someone with a sense of humour,” Tony said, as though it was something he had been searching for years to find. “I was starting to think there was something wrong with me when no one laughed at my jokes, but it turns out I was right all along, you all just don’t get it.”
Amber snorted again, which turned into an actual giggle before she nodded in the direction of the entrance to the room.
“Alright, mission accomplished, you’ve cheered me up. I will think about going to see my family. Now you better go, I don’t think those people are waiting for you.”
Tony glanced over his shoulder to see people filing out of the room, Tad included.
“You going to be okay?” Tony asked.
“Yeah, I’m going to hang out with Miles and watch everything from here. After that, I might go see Jen. I don’t think she’s been doing well since what happened yesterday.”
Tony agreed that was a good idea as he was also worried about Jen’s state of mind. He almost wanted to go with her to make sure Jen was alright, but he didn’t have time. If he didn’t rush off now, he might miss out on what was going to happen next and who knew what kind of trouble Tad would get into without him.
Before Tony could go though, Amber surprised him with a sudden kiss. It was only quick, but it shocked Tony into a stunned silence.
“Be safe,” Amber said. “Now go.”
A little wide eyed, Tony allowed himself to be turned around and pushed out the door.
24
Thursday, 29th December 2016
19:01
Mitena stood and stretched, wincing as a series of pops ran up her spine, a response to straightening out after being hunched over for so long. With those pops came relief from the building pressure, and she sighed before stepping back to analyse her handiwork.
The dreamcatcher wasn’t that large, and she had painted it onto the kitchen door that led outside. This didn’t compare to the designs she crafted out of tougher materials, but it was better than no dreamcatcher at all. It also completed the array of new dreamcatchers surrounding the house and sealed off this place. When active, they would share their load amongst each other, making the strain on any one dreamcatcher more bearable. Hopefully that would help them last a little longer.
“You done?”
Mitena yelped and spun toward the voice, hand covering her chest as her heart pounded, then laughing to cover up her embarrassment.
“Sorry,” Tad said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean to make you jump.”
“It’s alright, I have a tendency of getting too caught up in my work,” she admitted. “In answer to your question though, yes, I am done. I wish I had longer as these painted wards aren’t going to hold anywhere near as long as properly crafted dreamcatchers.”
“I know, but we don’t have any extra time. The dreamcatchers were overlooked when Ryan planned this and it was a last-minute decision to ask for your help as Kuruk could be here any minute. Considering what this was for, I wasn’t sure whether to even ask for your help or not. I’m glad you agreed to come... Actually, I’m glad for all of your help over the last six months. I shudder to think where we’d be without dreamcatchers right now.”
Mitena tried to maintain her smile at his compliment, but it was a hard thing as it set off some inner thoughts that weren’t so complimentary. If she hadn’t created the first dreamcatchers, then they might not even be in this mess. Tad seemed to have forgotten that she created the monster that her brother had become and if it weren’t for her, they wouldn’t need to be laying this trap.
“Please don’t hesitate to ask for my help again. I owe you this much and more for everything I’ve done.”
“I just thought that with this being a trap for your brother—”
“That thing isn’t my brother,” she snapped, much more harshly than she intended. She’d had half a year to come to terms with the fact that her brother was dead and gone, consumed by the monster she created. While she mourned for his loss, she didn’t have it in her to sympathise with the creature that remained. The atrocities he’d committed while she’d been at his side were
bad enough, but everything that happened since... Todmoryn... Cardiff Castle… The Attack on the DTHQ… No, her brother was long gone and she would do anything to capture this monster she unleashed on the word.
“I want to help. I need to make up for everything I have done, and while he’s still out there killing people, I can’t do that.”
“Your dreamcatchers have saved countless lives,” Tad pointed out. “You’re further along that path of redemption than you think.”
“No. Every death from his hands is on my tally.”
“No, they’re on his,” Tad said, and Mitena had to bite her tongue to keep from replying. Tad was too nice to let her shoulder the blame that was rightfully hers, but she didn’t need to convince him of the truth to understand that truth herself.
“When do you expect him to attack?” she asked, hoping to change the topic.
“We thought they’d have already been here,” Tad admitted. “It’s another reason we were anxious to bring you here, as we didn’t know if you’d be here in time to make a difference. However, after seeing the dreamcatchers they had on the place, I thought it was worth the risk.”
“You were right,” Mitena agreed. “Those old wards wouldn’t have lasted five minutes against my brother.”
She looked back at her work and was glad that she’d been able to finish in time. This house was the centre of a trap laid for her brother and his people. It was the safe house that Tad and Stella had been staying in since Kuruk burned down Tad’s home. Its location had been leaked through certain channels that should lead back to Kuruk. Ryan surmised, and Mitena had to agree, that Kuruk wouldn’t be able to resist trying to kill Tad again.
Mitena remembered how much her brother hated this man, especially after their first attack on him failed. Mitena always thought Tad was a good man and never liked the idea of hurting him. Now that she knew him better, she had never been more happy that her attacks had failed. The world would be a much worse place without people like Tad Holcroft.
