20 Years Later

by Emma Newman

  Doug’s eyes widened as she held his gaze, other Boys now moving closer but keeping a distance between themselves and the Gardner.

  “Kill him!” Jay yelled from the barricade, thrilled by what he saw, and in moments all of the other Boys joined him with their steady chant. “Kill him, kill him!”

  “NO!” Zane yelled, clambering to his feet. He could see the Gardner’s punctured lung, how it was collapsing. “Erin! Stop, he can’t hurt you now, look, he can’t hurt you! Don’t do this!”

  Erin seemed oblivious to the chanting, the pleading, to the pain from her wounds. She simply stared at Doug, jaw clenched tight as she took one step, then another, then another, slowly moving towards the stricken man.

  “Erin!” Zane yelled again, watching with horror as her shaking hand reached up and pulled Doug’s knife from her own shoulder. “Don’t! Don’t!”

  Doug spluttered again, falling forward onto one hand, large drops of blood oozing down from his mouth onto the pavement. He shook violently as Erin approached him with his own knife held in front of her, his head dropped as he lost even the strength to hold it up.

  “Die,” she muttered grimly and plunged the knife into his back as she herself struggled to stay upright. Doug collapsed at her feet and all around her the Boys went wild, cheering and whooping with delight, Jay leaping down over the lower bits of wreckage, waving his knives above his head triumphantly.

  Zane turned away in disgust as the Boys closed in around Erin to pat her on the back and congratulate her. Titus looked on, unnoticed, captivated by the steady creep of the Gardner’s blood seeping into a nearby drain.

  Chapter 26

  CONSEQUENCES

  Early the next day, Titus sat silently in his living room, waiting for Erin to wake up. He replayed the fight in his mind, over and over, dissecting it carefully. He, like Erin, had been driven by instinct. He had distracted Doug, affected his aim at a distance, without even pausing to wonder how. It had just happened intuitively. He was certain no-one else could do that, otherwise they would talk about it and he’d have seen evidence of it. In all the books he had read, no-one had mentioned this ability. The same for Zane; Titus was convinced that his friend’s healing skills were unprecedented. What was it about Zane and him that made them different, able to do these strange things?

  He watched Erin stirring in her sleep. She was involved in this too; he was able to bring her into the dream room and no-one else. Not that he had tried with many other people, but the connection between the three of them was undeniable. He recalled the welt the three of them had the day they met her. He and Zane had dreamt her experience of training with Luthor, shared the same injury. Did this mean that Erin could do extraordinary things too?

  She woke and was immediately alert, briefly confused before she recognised where she was.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Just tired,” she said, pulling herself up to sit upright and look down at her shoulder. She still wore the slashed and bloody linen shirt. “Zane’s been here?”

  Titus nodded. “He said you’d be tired from the blood loss. He healed the wounds but it made him pass out. He’s sleeping it off now. There are Boys at Miri’s house so I brought you here.”

  Erin sighed. “I can’t believe I’m getting used to him being able to fix people like that. How is he? He … saw what I did, didn’t he?”

  “Yes. He didn’t say anything.”

  She frowned at him. “You look tired.”

  Titus rubbed his eyes and nodded. “I’m okay. You know you slept through? It all happened yesterday.”

  Erin quickly moved to get up but Titus stopped her. “Your father isn’t in the square.”

  Erin bit her lip, sinking back down into the sofa. “Does he know what happened?”

  Titus shrugged. “I didn’t tell him … I doubt anyone else would have. I know he’s angry though.”

  She sighed, resigned. “Yeah, well, I knew he would be.”

  Titus leant forward. “Jay’s agreed to help us.”

  Erin’s eyebrows shot up.

  “Because of what you did,” Titus continued. “He said that if you were prepared to do that for him, he was prepared to work with the Hunters.”

  “But I didn’t do it for him.”

  “He doesn’t know that.” Titus smirked. “He doesn’t know you used to live with the Gardners. He was still fighting when Doug mentioned your mother.”

  Erin scowled. “I don’t want him to think that I did it for him.”

  “It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” Titus replied matter-of-factly. “What matters is that he’ll help us to get Lyssa.”

  Erin picked at the dried blood on her shirt, brooding. Titus watched her silently. “I just wanted to make sure you and Zane were okay,” she finally said. “I didn’t know that Doug was there or that I’d … end up doing that.” She looked up at him, studied his face for a moment. “What do you think about what I did?”

  “About you killing the Gardner?” He watched her nod, his face remaining unemotional. “You hated him. He was trying to kill you. It was self-defence.” He was lying. He knew that Doug had been incapacitated and that she could have left him. “That’s all any of the Red Lady’s gang needs to know,” he added. “You defended yourself.”

  She nodded slowly, taking in the veiled advice. “You don’t think I’m a bad person?” she asked in a small voice. “I saw the way Zane looked at me. He thinks I am.”

  Titus gave this some thought and then shook his head. “I don’t think you are. If Doug had been from the Unders and was talking like that about Lyssa, I would’ve done the same. Don’t worry about Zane. He doesn’t know what it’s like to have bad things happen to anyone he loves … he’s never felt what we have.”

  She reached across and took his hand, unable to look into his eyes as she squeezed it tight briefly and then let it go.

  “Besides,” Titus added, “Lyssa told me once that there’s no such thing as good people or bad people, only people trying to survive.”

  By the next day, Titus had arranged another attempt in the corner of Miri’s square to have the two gangs and his friends discuss what to do about the Giant. Erin was nervous, not having had a chance to speak to Luthor beforehand, but Titus stayed close to her as he and David approached.

  Luthor barely acknowledged her as they arrived, yet David gave her a nod and a warm smile that seemed to reassure her.

  Jay soon arrived, walking as tall as he could and making a special effort to look straight into Luthor’s eyes as he did so. The Hunter stared back until Jay gave a nod to David and a wink to Erin, which did not please her father at all. From the way he reacted, Titus suspected that he didn’t know just how involved Erin had been in the fight.

  Luckily, that was the moment that Zane arrived with Callum beside him. It surprised Titus to see the man, but it didn’t upset him. With his detailed knowledge of the area, Callum was a good person to have on board.

  Erin smiled at Zane uneasily, searching his face for a hint of forgiveness. Zane smiled back, but without his usual ease.

  “Thanks for coming, everyone,” Titus began, before any animosity between Jay and the Hunters had a chance to be expressed. “I need to tell you all what we’ve discovered about the Unders, and then I want to make a plan to rescue my sister from them. Jay, do you have the picture?”

  Jay nodded, fished the newspaper scrap from his jacket pocket, and handed it over.

  “This was found a while ago by one of the Bloomsbury Boys who first saw the Giant with Zane,” Titus said as he carefully unfolded the yellowed paper. “He was seen in the hospital. We know that he comes from the Unders.”

  He held it out into the centre of the circle, allowing the adults to peer over at it.

  “That’s not a Giant!” Callum commented, sounding slightly amused. “That’s just a person in a HAZMAT suit.”

  Jay and the three children gawped at Callum.

  “You know the Giant?!” Zane ask
ed incredulously.

  “You don’t understand,” David spoke up. “This Giant of yours could be anyone. They look like that because they’re wearing special clothes that are designed to protect them from the environment, from the air. What’s the date on the page?”

  Luthor peered at the corner. “About twenty years ago.”

  All three men said in unison, “When It happened.” They nodded to each other.

  “When what exactly happened?” Erin asked, confused. “No-one ever says what ‘It’ is.”

  “That’s because we don’t know,” Callum explained gently. “Lots of people died, all at the same time, but not everyone. Some people just seemed to be alright … some people, like the person in this picture, had ways to protect themselves and survived that way.”

  David scratched his ear. “What I don’t understand,” he began, “is how someone could still be using one of those suits this long after. I mean, how are they replenishing the oxygen in the tank?”

  “They must have electricity,” Luthor muttered. He looked at Titus. “The Red Lady told me that when your sister was taken by the Unders, there was lightning used as a weapon.”

  Titus and Jay nodded. “But it weren’t like normal lightning,” Jay added. “It was blue, and it didn’t come from the sky, but from people I couldn’t see very well.”

  “This picture is in black and white, but I know that HAZMAT suits were yellow. If they’d been wearing a bright yellow suit that night Lyssa was taken, you’d surely have been able to see them,” Callum said and Jay nodded.

  “I reckon. But they weren’t wearing yellow. I think they must’ve been wearing black, or just hidin’ really well.”

  Luthor’s brow folded above his eyes. “Then there may be others involved, either helping the HAZMAT wearer or being exploited by them. You’re sure this person is in the Unders,” he pointed at the picture whilst looking at Titus, “and that your sister is there?”

  “Positive,” Titus replied firmly.

  “This Giant of yours won’t be any problem,” David stated confidently. “All we have to do is pierce the suit they’re wearing and they’ll either run away or die pretty quick, assuming that they can’t survive out here without it. We won’t even have to get close.” He patted his bow.

  “But what about if they have lightning?” Jay raised, “Or if they have friends that do?”

  “And if we just kill them, we won’t be able to find Lyssa,” Titus added, eliciting a number of murmurs of agreement from the assembled.

  “We need more information,” Luthor replied. “What do you know about their movements?”

  This time Titus searched a pocket and pulled out another piece of paper. “From what Jay has found out, I’ve marked on this map where the Giant has been seen several times over the last few weeks.”

  He gave the newspaper scrap back to Jay and held the map out in the centre of the group instead. It was from an old A to Z of the Bloomsbury area, with several crosses pencilled onto it, clustered around the far side of Jay’s territory with a couple on the route to the hospital in Miri’s square.

  “I got Boys posted to look out for him, now we know where he goes,” Jay said. “An’ I been told that he only walks about at night, dunno why though.”

  Luthor peered at Jay. “Any idea why someone from the Unders likes to be so close to your territory?”

  Jay frowned, leaning in towards Luthor. “You’d better not be thinkin’ that we got somethin’ goin’ on with them,” he said, his voice lowering. “Else I might take real offence at that.”

  “What matters here,” Titus said quickly, hoping to deflect the flare up, “is that we can better predict where the Giant will be.”

  Callum rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “Let’s say that we watch and we see where this person walks. What do we do then?”

  “We could follow them to where Lyssa is,” Zane suggested.

  Callum shook his head. “There’s a reason for my friends calling them the Unders, it seems. From what Jay and Titus have told me, Lyssa is being kept underground. It wouldn’t be like sneaking into a normal building. And even if we found her, we’d have to get her, and us, out again.” He shook his head. “Not easy.”

  “Who are these friends of yours?” Luthor asked suspiciously.

  Callum met his gaze. “Very private people,” he replied. “And not in a position to help with this.”

  “Callum’s right,” Titus said quietly. “We need to get Lyssa to us, rather than going to where she is.”

  “That’s easy,” David said casually. “Capture your Giant, and exchange him for Lyssa. We just have to work out the details.”

  Zane frowned and exchanged a concerned look with Callum, but both remained silent.

  Titus nodded slowly as he considered the idea. “Yes … that could work,” he muttered to himself.

  “So I guess we just wait until the Giant decides to go out walkin’ again,” Jay said. “When he’s sighted, I’ll get one of my Boys over ’ere straight away.”

  Luthor turned to David. “Stay here in the square with us until we have a sighting, then we can go and watch what this person does.”

  Zane’s back straightened. “You should ask my mum first,” he said firmly, making Callum smile. “It’s only polite.”

  Luthor agreed after the briefest pause and strode off towards Miri’s house, gesturing to David to go with him.

  “I guess that’s that then,” Jay muttered. He looked at Erin. “Er, can I speak with you for a minute?”

  Surprised, she agreed and moved a few paces away from the others, Jay doing the same to give them some privacy.

  He reached into his pocket. “I ’ad to fight the Boys off. They all wanted this, but I thought it should be yours. You earnt it.” He pulled out a black tie. “Was off that biggun you killed for us.” Erin stared at it, crumpled in his outstretched hand. “Take it then, it’s yours an’ all. ’Ent that many of us that get to say that.” He patted his belt, made of several black ties plaited together and smiled wickedly at her.

  She couldn’t help but smile back, such was the glint in his eye. She took the strip of fabric and held it tight. “Thanks, Jay,” she said quietly. “Just don’t tell my father.”

  Jay smirked. “No problem, wouldn’t wanna say more than I need to him anyway. Laters.”

  She watched him swagger off back to his territory and looked down at the tie briefly before stuffing it deep into a pocket and wiping her hands on her trousers.

  That evening, Titus and Callum were seated in Miri’s front room, enjoying bowls of fresh rabbit stew along with her and Zane. All were quiet, each contained within their own private contemplation of their discussion that afternoon about the loose plan regarding Lyssa. When the loud knock on the door broke the near silence, Miri jumped and went to answer it.

  “Miri, is Titus with you?” It was Jay, panting and holding his side where the old burn was.

  Titus was there in moments. “Is it the Giant?”

  Jay nodded. “Tell them ’unters. I’ll meet ya at the edge of my patch this side.”

  Titus bolted out of the room after grabbing a rucksack he’d brought with him, Zane running out behind him as Jay took off.

  “Zane!” Miri called. “Come back inside!”

  Callum put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll make sure they’re alright,” he said quietly and calmly.

  “Don’t let him go with them!” she begged as he moved past her into the doorway.

  He simply smiled sadly and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll keep him safe, whatever he chooses to do. Lock the door.”

  Zane and Titus first went to Luthor’s house. Within moments of the news he, David, and Erin were strapping on an extra layer of armour, plated with dull metal scales that lay flat and flexible over the leather. The three of them spilled out of the house, grabbing their weapons and quivers as they left. Titus and Zane fell into step beside them.

  “What are you doing?” Luthor asked, not letting the dis
traction slow him down.

  “Coming with you!” Titus replied as if it were a ridiculous question.

  “No,” Luthor said firmly. “You and Zane go home, leave this to us. It may be dangerous.”

  Titus ignored him and Zane stayed by his side as they all ran. But when the Bloomsbury Boys’ territory came into view with Jay pacing at its edge, Luthor stopped and pulled Titus back.

  “Go home,” he insisted, his voice growing louder. “Both of you. I don’t want to have to think about you and him when there are others to watch.”

  “But you might need me,” Zane said and David laughed.

  “He’s right!” Erin yelled, making both Luthor and David look at her in surprise.

  Titus fought to keep the flash of fear her words caused hidden from his face. His thoughts rapidly played through an imagined conversation where Erin would reveal that Zane could heal, how that information could reach the Red Lady if Luthor believed his daughter. Then a variety of imagined scenarios played out, ranging from Zane being taken into the Red Lady’s gang through to the Gardners targeting him for death or forced service. All this happened in but moments, forcing him to re-evaluate his position. Before Erin could take a breath to explain herself, Titus had already run through several possibilities before settling on the only one that could achieve all of his goals.

  “No, Luthor’s right,” he said quickly, eliciting incredulous looks from Zane and Erin. “You’re all much better trained–we’ll wait here.”

  “Good,” Luthor muttered and then took off again towards Jay, glancing back to make sure that Erin was following him and David.

  “I’ll … I’ll tell you everything I see,” Erin called as she left them, sprinting to catch up with her father.

  Zane rounded on Titus. “Why did you say that!” he exclaimed. “I need to go with them–someone might get hurt!”

  “Shush,” Titus whispered, pulling him into the shadows at the edge of the street as he watched the Hunters reach Jay and exchange a few words. “We are going … they just don’t need to know that. Come on, we can’t lose sight of them.”