Part 18 (1/2)

He was about to turn around and give up when he heard something just to his left.

Sobbing.

When he looked around, he saw Amy crouched up against a tree, hands covering her face.

He didn't know how to approach Amy. He'd never seen her like this before. It was alien. Completely abnormal seeing her with her defences entirely down.

”Amy?”

She didn't say anything as Riley approached. His footsteps crunched through fallen leaves, through snapped branches.

He crouched beside her. ”Amy? I-”

”I just want to kill them all,” she sobbed.

Riley understood what she was saying then. It spoke to him on a deep level. She wanted to kill the creatures for what they'd done to her people. She wanted to get her revenge. ”I understand how that feels,” he said.

”No,” she said. ”You don't.”

”Trust me,” Riley said. He put a hand on Amy's shoulder. ”I do. Better than you know.”

Amy looked up into Riley's eyes. He couldn't see her face properly anymore, not with the rapidly approaching darkness. But the pair of them just crouched and sat there for a while, just living in one another's silence.

”Melissa,” Amy said. ”She... she was-”

”She's still here.”

Amy narrowed her eyes.

Riley jumped.

He'd heard the voice too.

The voice, right behind him.

He looked over his shoulder.

What he saw made his jaw drop.

”It's time to talk,” Melissa said. She was covered in blood. ”About Kane. About Mattius. About Kesha. And about what we're going to do about them.”

Chapter Twelve.

Mattius walked down the steps, right down to the cellar.

He'd had some good news.

It was going dark, so he held on to his torch. Even though he was safe within the confines of his camp, he still felt uneasy walking around at night. He'd much prefer to be upstairs, in bed, tucked up with a good book. He was finally making his way through War and Peace. It'd been years since he started it. Picked it up hundreds of times and struggled to make any progress.

But this time, he really was getting through it. He would finish it before he died, at least. Of that, he was determined.

He heard the rain blowing against the windows as he made his way towards the steps of the cellar. He could hear muttering down there in the cellar, too. Chatter. He hoped the news he'd found out was true. He hoped it wasn't just a false flag. He'd experienced enough false flags since the fall of society, and more than his fair share since moving to this place.

He thought back to Riley. He thought about the day he'd taken those he cared about most away from him. In a way, he felt an immense guilt about what he'd done. That's part of why he carried a torch with him when he walked these corridors. Sometimes, late at night, Mattius saw those heads on those stakes all over again, and it reminded him of the monster he'd become to avenge his people. He remembered the depths he'd sunk to in order to make Riley pay.

He swore at that moment he'd never be as violent again. That he'd never, ever let himself tumble over the edge again.

But he wasn't sure he could keep that promise.

He walked down the echoey steps into the cellar.

When he got there, he saw the cellar was lit by candlelight.

There were two of his people down here. Marion and Simon. Both of them were standing by the captive's side.

Mattius didn't recognise the captive. But apparently he was called Kane, and he'd blurted something out about Riley. He'd confessed he was from the camp where Riley was, and that he'd been a prisoner there too before he reached this place.

His beaming eyes, flickering in the candlelight, connected with Mattius' the second he walked through the door.

”You're the man in charge here, are you?” he said.

Mattius didn't respond to him. He just walked over to him, slowly, and stood over him. And eventually, when enough time had pa.s.sed, he broke the silence. ”You look awful.”

Kane shrugged. Seemed like he was in some pain. ”That'd be the bites on my back.”

”You're bitten? Shame. Something tells me we could've got on. Never mind. Take him outside. Sharpen his teeth. He'll make a good guard dog when he's dead.”

”I can help you,” Kane said.

Mattius stopped and turned around. Really, he had no intention of killing this prisoner. Not while he might be useful. Not while he knew Riley.

Because that was a regret of Mattius'. Not killing Riley while he'd had the chance. Or, at least, bringing him in and keeping him prisoner.

He wasn't going to fail to take up that opportunity the next time it came around. That was for certain.

The draw of revenge was too strong.

”You say you know Riley.”

Kane smiled. There was blood between his teeth, presumably from where Mattius' people had given him a beating. ”I can't speak.”

Mattius looked up at Marion and Simon. He nodded. ”You sure about that?”

Marion and Simon pulled their fists back and came in to beat Kane some more.

”Beating me isn't going to do a thing of good for any of us,” Kane said, raising his voice. ”But maybe healing me will.”