WnW 7.10

Seeing Sillwood as a hollow shell of what it once was never got any easier. It had been my home for my entire life, from a child to adulthood, and now it felt like I was staring at a body in a casket, so lifelike I believed it would spring to life at any moment. It was easy to imagine that it was early in the morning instead of midday and there weren’t any people out on the roads just yet but that soon the early risers would begin their daily commute.

The transport brought us around the perimeter of the city. 

Snowflakes melted on the roofs of abandoned cars and the balconies of vacant apartments. Places meant for people, now a place for ghosts.

Blue canvas tents had been erected at one of the main highways leading into the heart of the city. “QUARANTINE” written in big letters covered the fences that blocked access to Sillwood. Some people were lined up on the other side, approaching the barriers with arms raised as orders were shouted at them from the military. One woman in the line had a wild look in her eye, her social layers stripped away, leaving her to fall back on instinct and intuition. No doubt she’d seen her world crumble away like a bad dream, only to just recently find out that the rest of the world had not fallen like Sillwood had. Now that safety was in sight, she wasn’t sure if she could truly trust it.

I was one of the only passengers to get off of the bus, while a long line of refugees waited to board.

There were also those who wanted to get back into the city. This crowd was the most vocal, complaining about being denied access even when the reasons should have been obvious.

All it took was a flash of a badge from the agent that had accompanied me to get us through the security measures in place. 

As I was let through, a man standing in front of an officer spoke up, “Why are you letting them through and not us?” He gestured to his family standing behind him. “Our home is in there, we have a right to go back to it! All of our things are there. Not to mention that the house itself was perfectly fine when we left. Why can’t you let us go back and continue with our lives?”

The officer firmly explained, “We can’t let you in while the quarantine is still in place. It’s too dangerous. There is still the possibility that Sillwood is condemned as well. I’m sorry, but you will have to be patient.”

The father was fuming. “This is just typical! It’s the Old Town all over again. You would rather give up and bury your problems rather than try to fix things. Meanwhile there could be looters robbing our home! Those freaks are living large in there under your quarantine. Hell, they could even be making their own little city-state! All because you won’t take matters into your own hands and deal with them.”

I followed the H.E.S.P. agent into the tents before I heard any more.

Once we were through to the other side of the barrier, the agent settled against the fence and crossed her arms.

“I’ll be here when you return,” she said. “We’ll have to screen you and anyone you bring with you upon return for any diseases and contaminants. Our teams haven’t detected any viral or infectious Shapes in Sillwood, but the precaution remains.

I nodded and started off towards the meeting place I’d hashed out over text. The cloudy sky had turned the city a murky gray, the destruction and old bloodstains becoming muted, as if it had happened long ago. 

Being here without Nell made me uneasy. I had half-believed that her range would reach me, even here. In her absence, all the dark memories crept a little closer.

The further north I traveled the greater the evidence left behind of violence. Those in the suburbs hadn’t experienced much danger, only a few car wrecks and no doubt some familial resentments exacerbated to the point of physical fighting. But deeper into Sillwood’s business and entertainment districts there were entire buildings that had collapsed into blackened and ashen rubble. Every wrecked storefront, every pet slinking furtively around the trash bins made me remember how many lives were lost.

Across the street, I spotted the first human I’d seen since entering Sillwood. It was a stooped old man, dressed in a toque and blanket that dragged on the dusty street. He was tugging on the door to a bakery, despite the large broken window to his right indicating that this place had probably already been looted of any food.

I approached him openly, trying to make myself known before getting too close. He turned to view me with somber eyes. I noted the sharp quills sticking out of his toque and blanket, meaning that he didn’t have to hold the blanket to keep it wrapped around his shoulders. The wrinkled senior didn’t turn these quills towards me, rather he just turned back to his futile efforts.

“Why do you want to go in there?” I asked.

“I come here every morning,” he replied easily. “They have the best bagels in the city.”

“I don’t think there’s any left,” I said. “And no one to serve you.”

My words didn’t seem to sink in as he seemed content to keep trying the door.

So I stepped through the broken window and unlatched the door from the inside to let him in.

He came inside and dusted the broken glass off of a window seat before sitting down, his quills puncturing the cushions of the seat.

“Are you sure you want to be here?” I asked.

He spoke slowly as he gazed out at the falling snow. “I do. I’ve lived here, in Sillwood, my whole life. I don’t have that many more years left. There’s no point in starting over. Not now.”

“There’s always time to start over,” I said quietly.

“You didn’t come here for me, sonny. I appreciate the help. Now go and leave an old man to sit and sort through his memories.”

I left him and stepped outside of the bakery.

Had I spoke the truth? Did I really believe we could all start fresh in a new place? That was something I had quietly daydreamed about in my time before meeting Chase. But back then I’d known that it wouldn’t make a difference. The past came with me. I just couldn’t break free.

“Nick.”

AJ’s disembodied voice startled me. I looked around until I spotted a patch of air where the snow was stopping before it hit the ground.

I smiled. “Hey, Ajna. I can actually see you.”

AJ made an annoyed sound. “I know, it sucks! It almost got me seen by some looters a few hours ago. Speaking of which, they’re the reason I came to find you. We had to relocate. You see that school library down the road with all the posters on it?”

I squinted. “Yeah.”

“Meet us there. Use a second-floor window to get in.”

“Gotcha,” I said and headed that way. AJ’s Shape snaked backwards through the air ahead of me, the motion and snow helping me see it.

When I got to the library, I spotted an open window. AJ waved at me from inside. I decided to emulate Daria and use the ample footholds of the architecture to scale up to the window. The wet windowsill made one of my hands slip and I dangled for a moment, admiring a poster advertising a gaming tournament being held at the library.

AJ grabbed my sleeve and lent his body weight to help get me inside. It was a cozy study area, with couches and tables. There were some unexpected faces in the room. Squatting on one of the tables was a young man with wavy blond hair. A fluffy tail flicked back and forth behind him, evoking in my mind a nature documentary I’d watched once about lemurs.

“Ah, caballero blanco!” he exclaimed with a carefree smile. “I was hoping this guy hadn’t lied about you making it out alive.”

“I’m as surprised as you are, Deft. Can’t say I’m happy about it,” another voice spoke up. It came from the person lounging on a couch at the back of the room and the strange tattoos on her cheeks triggered my memory instantly.

“Flux, was it?” I asked.

She did an exaggerated bow without rising from the couch. “Nick,” she replied mockingly. She was part of Louis’ Ring that I had fought back when Spike and I were protecting the Outcasts. The outlet plug tattoos were a reference to her Shape which allowed her to deliver painful shocks. I believed the tailed fellow was from the same Ring, which made me wary.

“Where’s your friend, Flux?” I asked, trying to gauge where they stood. AJ seemed comfortable with them. “The one with you when we met before.”

“Feint didn’t make it,” she replied flatly. “Killed fighting the other Rings.”

“Sorry to hear that,” I said.

She sneered. “Doesn’t mean much coming from you. Last I heard, you worked with the cops and took down Louis. Got him locked up ‘til his hairs turn gray. The Red Ring is over, thanks to you.”

“Have you seen the city?” Deft asked. “The Rings were finished anyway. Who is gonna run a crime organization in this shithole?”

“The Vultures,” AJ said.

“Ah yes,” Deft said, touching his nose. “Not the kind of illegal activity I’m keen on partaking in. Human trafficking, es un asco, even by my standards.”

“Vultures?”

“Should be pretty clear by the name,” Flux said. “Corpse eaters. Grave robbers. The grave being Sillwood and the stolen goods being vulnerable people still living here. They’re trafficking people who have nowhere else to go. I would imagine it’s quite the opportunity, because the government is scrambling to deal with all this. There’s plenty of cracks for people to slip through.”

I nodded, holding her piercing stare. 

“So are we good?” I asked.

Flux snorted. “Sure, Nick. We’re good. Don’t get your panties in a twist about a little fighting. That’s how I know you ain’t a real Ring. Besides the Outcasts brought me to a hospital after the Goblin knocked the soul outta me. They didn’t have to do that. Could’ve ruined their whole thing if someone spotted their Shapes. Made me feel just a bit guilty of how much fun I was having at their expense.”

AJ pulled his arms out of his sleeves and whacked me with one of the floppy ends by twisting his torso. “But anyway. Didja just come back to visit?”

“I’d hoped to tell you that privately,” I said, eyeing the ex-Ring members.

“They’ve been helping me keep my mom safe while she detoxes,” AJ explained.

“Not for free of course,” Deft said, waving his hands in front of his face. “I’m not that suspicious. It just turned out to be, eh… what’s the phrase?”

“Mutually beneficial,” Flux said. “Keeping us away from danger, pointing out the places to scavenge for food… the kid’s useful. In exchange we keep an eye on the mom, fight off any hopeful looters.” Flux’s face turned pensive. “I’ve been in your mom’s position before. It’s not easy. You’re a good man for sticking with her, kid.”

I didn’t let the humour of that last sentence show on my face. “She’s here?” I asked.

“Downstairs. We’ve had to move a couple times,” AJ said, expression darkening. “It wasn’t easy.”

“Do you know where Zola is? I was hoping he would be here.”

AJ nodded, doubt showing on his face. “His apartment’s not far from here, but… he hasn’t been reading my messages. He told me a few days ago that he had some personal matters to deal with. I haven’t talked to him since.”

“Hm. We should go check it out, see if he’s home. That is, if you trust these guys to watch your mom?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, lead the way then.”

I watched AJ climb out and down the building with ease. It felt like he had gotten taller in the few days since I’d seen him last. He did seem a bit distant, probably worried about his mom. He walked briskly, keeping his hood pulled low. It wasn’t as if he needed his eyes to navigate anyway, he’d grown up on these streets and likely knew them by heart.

We did chat lightly as we walked. AJ was keen on embellishing my actions during the final confrontation with Organ. I brought up his vital contribution. This made his chest puff up in pride, although he deflated a little as he said, “It’s too bad that the Goblin died.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked, surprised.

“Well, he was cool. Even if he was a jerk. I grew up hearing legends about him. Everyone on the street knew a story about the half-man half-beast that roamed the Old Town.”

AJ stopped in front of a small apartment building. “This is it,” he said, pointing upwards. “That’s his suite, on the third floor.”

I blinked back snowflakes as I looked up at where he was pointing. Then I realized that he was looking at me expectantly.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to, y’know…” he gestured at his legs, eyes sparkling.

“Uh, let’s take the stairs for now. I’d rather not scare Zola if he is in there.”

“Okay,” AJ said, obviously a little dejected.

“I’ll do it later, I promise.”

The building was unlocked and so we went up the stairs and arrived at Zola’s front door. I knocked.

Something thumped to the floor inside. I stood in front of the peephole and waved. After a few moments, Zola opened the door.

He looked haggard. It wasn’t his clothes or his hair, he was perfectly clean shaven as always. But his shoulders were slumped and he had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. His withered arm looked like it was healing slowly and was in serious need of clean dressings. He looked furtively down the hallway before letting us in.

His apartment was dark, the blinds drawn shut. The smell of weed was potent. We followed Zola into his living room where he sank back down into a reclining chair. AJ and I sat on the couch and I immediately laid eyes on the thing that sat on the coffee table.

It was the living blade, with its wings tucked neatly beneath it, looking like a fancy but mundane cooking knife in the dark. The blade was clean of any blood, but stare at it long enough and you would see it twitching as it lay there, like a nesting bird. I half-expected it to take flight on its own.

Zola gestured sullenly at it. “I used it.”

I paused. “Zola, it’s-”

“Dangerous. I know. You used it in a moment of desperation. So did I,” he gave me a fake thin-lipped smile, hiding his teeth. “You fought your demons, Nick. But then you left and I still had some demons of my own to deal with. Sullivan’s name had been enough to keep my creditors off of my back before, but now he is nowhere to be found and the debt-collectors seem more interested in acquiring my pain than payment. I brought the Heartseeker as insurance. Now I am wondering if I used it just because I had the option. Maybe I could have ran, I do not know…”

He held his head in his hands. “The Heartseeker will only work if you know their names. The ones I did not know are looking for me.”

“That explains the hiding,” I said slowly.

“It was me or them,” Zola said, as if trying to convince himself. “So why do I feel this way? I need to know, Nick. When your head gets heavy with guilt, how do you keep looking forward?”

I reached over the dagger to put my fingernails in his field of vision. They still imitated his own, a stark white lustre. “I don’t have a good answer for you. But I do know that staying here, stuck in your own head, it won’t do you any good. The answer is out there, where you can try new things, meet new people. I don’t think anything will be the cure, but I know that the burden is a little lighter when I’m with others.”

Zola remained silent.

“Can I ask you to come with us?”

He finally looked up, cheeks wet with tears. “Yes. Wherever it is, yes. I need to leave. I thought that facing my fears would help but now things are just playing on repeat in my head.”

“Then let’s keep moving. It’s a sentiment I can relate to. Let’s get you out of here, friend. That’s why I came back.”

I turned to AJ. “If we could get your mother out of Sillwood, I think you and her could stay with H.E.S.P. They have accommodations and I’m working with them for the time being. If you wanted to, only if you actually want to, you and Zola can join the team we’re making.”

“Absolutely,” Zola said, smiling genuinely now.

“A team!?” AJ bounced to his feet. “A SUPERHERO TEAM!?” he shout-asked.