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."
Mattius lifted his hand, then. He stopped Marion and Simon from beating the prisoner, right in their tracks. "And what"s that supposed to mean?"
Kane"s eyes twinkled. "You know exactly what I"m referring to. Who I"m referring to. The girl."
The mention of "the girl"-Kesha-was enough to make Mattius" stomach turn. It felt like Kesha was his source of power. Like someone else just knowing about her weakened his stance, somewhat. And Mattius didn"t like that. "What do you know about the girl?"
Kane twitched, clearly leaning against a sore spot on his back. He grimaced, and then adjusted his sitting. He seemed far too at ease with all this. "I know a few things about her. Namely, that she"s powerful. Very powerful. And that she could save my life, if the rumours are true. Although I have to admit, I"m somewhat sceptical."
He paused for a few seconds. Like there was still something else on his chest.
"What else do you know?" Mattius asked.
A long smile stretched across this man"s face. And at that moment, Mattius swore he saw evil. Pure evil. "I know what she means to Riley. I know that Riley is tearing himself up with guilt that he lost her to you. And I know how much it would devastate him-ruin him-if something were to happen to her after so much effort to get Kesha back."
Just hearing the man say her name was enough to make Mattius nod, signalling another round of beating for his captive. He let him take it. Let him take punch after bruising punch, more cuts and bruises covering his face.
After a good thirty seconds of beating, he clicked his fingers and Marion and Simon halted their a.s.sault.
"Give us a minute," Mattius said.
"You sure?" Simon asked.
Mattius nodded. "Absolutely sure."
They left up the steps, leaving Mattius alone down here with the captive. His face was swelling up. His paleness was only broken up by the dark red blood dripping down his cheeks. He didn"t look like he could take much more.
Mattius crouched right opposite him. He lifted his swollen chin so they were looking right at one another.
"What do you want from me?" Mattius asked. "What are you suggesting?"
Kane smiled-somehow, in spite of everything he"d been through. "I"m just suggesting you follow your intuition."
"Enough of the bulls.h.i.t. Or I"ll bring Marion and Simon back in here."
"And what? You"ll get them to beat me some more? Don"t lie to me, "Mattius." I know you aren"t as comfortable leading a violent reign as you"d like everyone around you to think."
Mattius felt his chest tightening. He didn"t like that this man seemed to be able to see right through him. "You"re wrong."
Kane tilted his head and smiled. "Oh. Is that so?" He didn"t sound convinced.
They were silent a little longer. The candlelight grew weaker as it flickered beside them.
And as the thoughts played on Mattius" mind-as that l.u.s.t for revenge against Riley for what he"d done to Mattius" people built up all over again-he felt like he was the weaker man here. Like he wasn"t in charge of this conversation. Not anymore.
"What do you suggest?" Mattius asked.
Kane"s smile reached its peak. "I"m suggesting you think about the small picture rather than the big picture."
"Isn"t that counterproductive?"
"You saw the ma.s.s of undead outside your walls earlier. You saw them, didn"t you? If there is a cure, then that"s all fine and dandy for people who"ve been bitten once or twice. But what about everyone else? What about all the rot? There"s no saving those people. No chance at all. Deep down, I think you know it, too."
"Know what?"
"That holding on to the hope that Kesha"s going to save the d.a.m.ned world is nothing more than a fantasy."
Mattius" eyes started to twitch. He didn"t like where this conversation was going. "And what"s the "smaller picture"?"
Kane leaned forward a little. Blood dripped down his chin, dangling down in a phlegmy string. "I"m suggesting you think about Riley. About what he did to you. And how to hurt him most."
Mattius swallowed a lump in his throat.
"I"m suggesting you let him get close to victory when he attacks this place, which he will, very soon if my predictions are correct. I"m suggesting you make him think he"s going to succeed. And then I"m suggesting you take the last thing he cares about on this planet away from him, with me by your side."
Mattius took a moment. He took a moment to really absorb what this prisoner had just suggested to him.
Then he punched him in the face and knocked him out.
He stood up, holding on to his sore knuckles. He climbed the steps, torch in hand, and then walked into the darkness.
He walked right up to his floor, to his room, and then walked inside.
He looked down at Kesha"s cot. He looked at her staring up at him with adoration, with love, with trust.
He looked down at her and he remembered what the prisoner had said.
I"m suggesting you take the last thing he cares about on this planet away from him, with me by your side.
Mattius lifted Kesha out of her cot. He patted her back, held her warm body close.
Then he walked over to his window and looked out over the wall, into the trees, into the darkness.
I"m suggesting you take the last thing he cares about on this planet away from him, with me by your side.
He thought about all the death and destruction in this world. He thought about the fantasy he had of curing people. But the fact that he was even acknowledging it was a fantasy now was enough to scare him.
"I won"t hurt you," Mattius whispered, as if guilty of the mere thought of harming Kesha. "I won"t ever hurt you. I pr..."
He thought of Riley and how much more pain he could put that man through.
He didn"t finish his sentence.
Because as he stood there in the darkness, Mattius didn"t like making promises he wasn"t sure he was going to keep.