Persona

by Amy Lunderman

  “That’s not an option. That is exactly why this is all happening the way it is. To get you back. If you leave now, you’ll just being going along with their plan.”

  Moira still her hands that are petting the dog, and just stares at Liam open mouthed. Her father never said thing like this to her, or made her feel the way she does right now. She feels like she would agree to anything he’d ask of her, even if it’s not exactly logical. The dog gets agitated that she stopped paying attention, and she picks up the petting after it nudges her.

  Taking her eyes off of Liam and back to the dog, she feels him move closer to her. Ignoring the fact that he has never been this close to her before, she stays still and tries not to seem nervous.

  “Moira, listen to me. You need to stay here, with us, me. We can keep you safe. I know it’s hard, I’m afraid of what will happen next too, but I swear there is more we can do if we can just get to my dad. Trust me.”

  Moira takes in a deep breath and holds it for a second, before letting it slowly ease out of her shaking lungs. She can feel tears pooling into her eyes, and when she turns to face him, they fall down her cheeks is a slow gentle flow.

  “I’m not worth all this trouble Liam, I’m really not. I just don’t understand anything anymore.”

  He moves closer to her then, and wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her to him.

  Hesitantly, she leans into him and lays her head on his shoulder and lets the tears fall out faster in a shaky breath.

  “You are worth it, and Fletcher knows it too, or he wouldn’t be trying so hard to get you back.” He places an unsteady hand onto the top of her head and holds her tight to him.

  His cinnamon scent wraps around her like his arms, and it makes her feel safe and warm. For the first time since being around him, her persona is asleep inside her. With feeling so safe, she knows she needs to tell him the truth, about why Fletcher really wants her back.

  “It’s more than me being worth it or not Liam. I think Fletcher believes that I’m him his, ever since I was at the facility when I was younger.”

  “It doesn’t matter why he wants you. The point is he isn’t getting you back. I’d rather die, than see you go back there.”

  “Why?” She asks, truly curious to the way he cares so deeply all of a sudden.

  “When I saw you at the facility that night, I’ve never seen anyone more hurt and mistreated than the way you were. And I come from a very violent upbringing.”

  Moira turns he head up, so that she can look at him, and he is staring down at her. His eyes flash violet, before returning back to their natural grey color.

  “He won’t stop. Fletcher will never stop until I’m back. You don’t know him like I do. Growing up, he had this way about him, which made me believe that if he ever found out about me, my life would be over.”

  Cinnamon swirls around her senses like a storm, and she can feel his persona rising before he changes. His hair and nails are changed when she feels her persona tingle beneath her skin.

  It tries to rush out of her like before, and she can feel it dancing in response to his. Then she can almost see him calming down one second at a time, and his persona fades, taking hers along with it.

  “As long as we make it to my dad, we will find a way to get through this. You can’t let Fletcher scare you into letting him be in control. Swear to me, you won’t do anything crazy. Please Moira?”

  She prays that he’s right, but has the feeling that she can expect more threats from Fletcher. None the less, she agrees not to do anything rash at the moment, but she can’t say anything for later on.

  If things get too bad, she will do what she has to, no matter what it costs herself.

  Liam eventually gets her to go back inside with the others, and for the first time since she met him, she is only thinking nice things about him. All the anger she felt for him just days ago, is gone.

  ***

  By the time Liam hears anything from Charles again, it’s already late afternoon. He was just about to go off to help Jonathon with the other boys, to fix one of the many fences around the property. When he gets the call, all thoughts of fixing anything but their problem, flees from his thoughts.

  He waves the others on ahead without him as he reaches into his pocket for the phone, but Marty and Ray both pause to wait just in case. As he flips the phone open, he doesn’t bother to tell them to go or stay.

  “Charles, talk to me. What do you got?”

  “Good news. I have a friend on patrol duty that I was able to convince to let you slip through.”

  Liam actually laughs outright, causing the other boys to jump and look around all alarmed. Seeing their shocked faces just makes him laugh even harder, to the point that he’s short of breath. Not so much so, that he can’t give Charles the credit he deserves.

  “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. How long do we got?”

  “You’ll have to leave soon I’m afraid, Parker is only on his shift for the next couple of hours. Can you swing that?”

  Liam looks to Ray and Marty, who are looking at him like they wish they knew what was being said on the other end of the conversation. He wouldn’t put past them to eaves drop, he would do it to.

  Just seeing them so astute, he knows they won’t have a problem getting the minimal stuff they have together.

  “Not a problem, Charles. Keep in touch my friend.”

  When they hang up, Liam no offense, but really hopes he won’t need assistance on another problem. He relays what Charles told him to the boys, and together they rush back to the house to round up the girls.

  They have no problem it turns out leaving so quickly, if anything they are relieved. Saying a quick goodbye to Ronny, Julie, Anna and Jon, they all pack themselves back into now his truck.

  ***

  Being back in the driver’s seat is like almost coming home, and Marty is the one surprisingly to take the seat next to him. Raven, Daisy and Ray are in the middle seat, with Moira alone in the back. She doesn’t seem to mind though, even if he can still pick up on her apple scent, she just leans back and closes her eyes.

  The others basically follow suit, and he has the feeling no one really thinks they will just be let through the tolls. If he were to be honest, it kind of worries him too, but he would never admit it out loud. In an uncomfortable silence, they head for the Wisconsin border, and all the while he prays that this will work out.

  It takes two hours to get to the border tolls, and no one makes the first move to pick up a conversation. Liam doesn’t really care though; it’s all he can do to just focus on getting them there in one piece. He just wishes he could talk to Moira privately. They might be quiet, but her scent and persona vibrations are not.

  He can feel it like it’s his inside trying to break free from its tightly locked prison. His senses are filled with freshly baked apple pie, and all he wants to do is pull over to make sure she is alright. He doesn’t though, if she wasn’t alright, he hopes that she would say something.

  Besides, it’s not his place to meddle, even though he kind of has before. He’s putting his trust in her now, to make the right choice, whatever that may be.

  By the time they reach the extremely long lines leading to the tolls, Liam can almost taste the tension in the air. The wait to the booth, is excruciatingly long, and he grips the steering wheel so tight his knuckles whiten.

  One thing he notices while they wait though is the large amount of guards everywhere. Especially since, most tolls don’t even have guards on duty. He heard once that it was a funding waste to even hire guards, so it makes his nervous seeing them here now.

  Fortunately, they are typical guards, and don’t really do anything besides sitting in their armored vehicles.

  When it’s his turn to pull up to the booth, he feels like he is driving in slow motion and terrified to make it to the finish line. Bringing the truck to a stop, everyone inside literally holds their breaths, except for Liam of course who has to address th
e man in the booth.

  He rolls down his window, and grabs for the envelope of their passports beside him in the middle of the seats.

  The man in the booth is an older gentleman with already greying hair, and Liam worries that he might not be the friend of Charles’s. He tries to remember how long Parker was supposed to be on shift and how long it took them to get here.

  For all intent on purposes, he should be Parker, Liam hands shake though while he passes the paperwork to the man.

  But then the man smiles at Liam, and scans the forged passports with a light eye. Liam relaxes a great deal, and thinks that one of these days he really needs to buy something cherry for Charles. Maybe a new car or college money for his boys, because this is way too much help to not return the favor.

  Parker looks back up at him blankly, and waves him to drive ahead. Liam grins and doesn’t wait for him to change his mind, and pulls the truck out of there with a restrained slowness. Joining the numerous other cars back on the interstate and crossing into Wisconsin, the others let out a collective sigh.

  Moira’s scent that was wrapped tightly around his senses only moments ago eases away like a fading dream. Now all they have to do is to make it to Menomonie. As everyone begins to pick up a random conversation, he distractedly wonders what the girl Katie Mathews will be like.

  He can only image, and thinks maybe he shouldn’t allow himself to relax so much. Gripping the steering wheel tightly again, he steps on the gas pedal and pushes the truck on. Best to face what’s next, as fast as he can, without pause.

  ***

  Sitting in yet another unfamiliar house with new unfamiliar company, Liam ponders on the saying about the road paved with good intentions. They were only just settled in for less than twenty four hours at Katie Mathew’s small condo in an even smaller town in Wisconsin, when another news broadcast leaked out to the media.

  Not that he minded the distraction of another problem though. With all of their faces out to the public, minus yours truly, no one could go anywhere while they waited for brand new paperwork. To say that they were getting slightly cabin feverish, is an understatement. Of course, it didn’t really help that their host, was gone most of the time too.

  They couldn’t blame her though, as a young woman living on her own and going to college, she has bills to pay. She is already working on getting them passports as soon as they can, so they can’t really complain that she isn’t there to make the poor kids feel better or hold their hands.

  Honestly though, Liam could do with some hand holding, if only to have some guidance on what route to take next. And by route, he does mean driving directions, but rather help on what to do.

  Since the condo was so small, with only one bedroom with one bed, they all had to camp out together in the living room. A plus, there was a pullout couch with a thin mattress still on it. This was deemed the property of the girls, and he and the other boys got stuck with the floor. Liam didn’t care really; he doesn’t even know the last time he actually slept. He rested sure, or he’d probably pass out while driving, but not enough to even dream.

  After all the stress and excitement over the last couple of days, it was kind of refreshing to just chill in one location. No that he told anyone this, he might seem weak. As de facto leader, he can’t let that happen.

  He had talked to Charles when they first got to Wisconsin, but hasn’t heard back from him in the last couple hours. He would be lying if he didn’t say it bothered him, which it does. Charles warned him that they might have to stay there for a while than what was originally planned, which was news to Liam.

  He hadn’t a clue that they were staying for a while, but he figures he should have known anyway. Besides, hasn’t that been how things are going anyway? This is why he thinks he shouldn’t have been so bothered by the current news report.

  However, like all the other times he’s heard the latest ramblings of an old man so off his rocker, that he needs a new one; he is still shocked. As are the rest of them, and mostly Moira unfortunately.

  He couldn’t help but to notice her a lot lately. He doesn’t know if it’s being trapped in such close quarters with her and her scent. But it’s been driving him crazy and in a good way kind of. Not that she seems to notice though, much to his displeasure. While the rest of them relished in the fact that they have downtime to kick back and relax, Moira took the time to become even tenser.

  He could sense it raising with her every breath, and if he wasn’t so in control of his persona, he’d choke on it. She kept to herself, and stayed out of conversation, and he’d be lying, if he didn’t say it bothered him. It definitely did, especially since what they talked about back on Ronny’s farm.

  She had sworn to not do anything rash and let him get her to Montana so they could figure things out. Based on her antisocial behavior, he’s beginning to think she might back out on their agreement. He knows it must be killing her to be stuck inside, and all these other elements are out of their control. He feels it too, the pressure to run and escape from it all. Or even to run right into the fray and start kicking and screaming until you can’t do neither anymore.

  He made sure to keep an eye on her at all times, and while doing so, he noticed someone not keeping an eye on her anymore; Marty. Who knows what happened there, and Liam sure isn’t going to ask anyone, least of all Marty. Raven has been giving him ‘the eye’ the last day, so maybe that should tell him something. What though, he hasn’t a clue, though he would really like one.

  They are all cramped into Katie’s small living room, minus Katie, and are jumbled together on the lumpy sofa. All of their eyes are for the television that he has just cranked up on high volume. No way was he going to miss a word, not with Peter Fletcher himself on the screen. Joining the man were to other’s that Moira herself pointed out and named for them. One was an older bulky man, she called General Dixon Hetch.

  The other was a dark haired man he recognized, and after she named him as Agent Brendon House, Liam knows where he remembered him from. He was the man that escorted Moira out of the school a couple weeks ago and brought her handcuffed into the police station. Where of course she was given to Peter Fletchers custody, and if looks could kill, every one of those men would be dead right now.

  After pointing out the men, Moira goes back to being silently tense. She is no longer sitting on the couch with them, but is standing at the back of it ringing her hands. Liam’s senses are filled with the strong overwhelming scent of apples and her persona is pressing against his skin making him feel his own.

  He tries to keep one eye on her and one for the TV, because they are getting ready for a press release. As their voices carry over the TV set, they all eagerly sit to the edge of the sofa to hear better.

  “Good afternoon citizens of Upstate New York. We are here to disclose new information regarding the girl that escaped from our care and is consorting with known terrorists.” Fletcher says in a confident tone.

  The unseen audience is roaring with questions that are so blurred, Liam has no idea what any of them said. Clearly the men behind the mikes don’t have this problem, because they begin pointing to members of the audience and letting them continue.

  “We are here to inform those that are traveling with her. We want them to know, that we know, that she is very manipulative. Even so, we find those with her innocent of any crime.”

  They all gasp at this, and most of all Moira, who now feels like a live wire behind his back. The apple pie scent of her filled the room, and makes it hard for him to concentrate on anything else but her. It doesn’t matter though, since the sounds of the TV dim as they all become enraged and begin arguing amongst themselves.

  “This is crazy; they can’t really think we’ll just hand her over.” Raven says while still staring at the TV.

  “Of course we’re not handing her over Rave. I doubt they just want to have tea together.” Daisy tells the other girl.

  “What are we going to do though; we can’t just sit here and
wait for more crap they plan to shovel.” Ray directs at Liam, who is glaring at the TV now.

  He is having a hard time concentrating; it feels like Moira is in his head, or more importantly, in control of his persona. He pretty much guesses what she is going to say before she says it. Marty must to, because the other boy has been quietly watching her in alarmed anticipation.

  “I think I should turn myself in.” She says so softly, Liam wishes he heard incorrectly.

  Every head in the room turns to her with wide eyes, Liam too, as she backs out of the room into the small kitchen nook. She is facing them head on, and her eyes are changed from hazel to a startling emerald green. Her face is serious though, and he knows she is determined, but it’s definitely not a good idea.

  “Are you out of your freaking mind?” Raven yells at her as she gets to her feet.

  “I’m with Raven here Moira; you can’t just walk back to them.” Ray says also getting to his feet with a worried looking Daisy.

  “What else am I supposed to do you guys? Huh? I’d really like to know, because what else are they going to throw our way.” Moira demands, as she continues to back away from her friends.

  The three of them slowly pace to Moira, but she literally keeps backing up like an animal in a trap. Liam can feel it in her, the need to run, to get away and then there is her persona. For the first time, the feeling of it changed.

  Rather than feeling like a hum and vibrations, now it feels like churning water that is charging for a sealed dam and will break free at all costs. He is on his feet, when her persona rushes through her with a speed he’s never seen.

  In the blink of the eye, her hair has deepen and rose, her nails are sharpen points in her clenched hands, and her teeth become sharp as she glares at them all.

  When she lets out a soft but fierce growl, her friends back away from her. Her persona is like a living thing, and Liam can feel the pull to use his own and so do the others. They stare at her like they have never seen her before, or like they had no idea what she was capable of. He kind of didn’t either.