I really don’t like that guy sometimes. He can talk in riddles all he wants. Why should I feel bad because I don’t want to give up my lunch?”
Mason shrugged. “Food is all we’ve got to give. They’ve taken everything else.”
“What about love and hope and all that crap?” Karen gave him a grin. Chaplin was fond of preaching about turning the other cheek and loving one’s neighbor. The speech might work for the few people lucky enough to still have family members at their side, but the majority of survivors were alone.
“Love is the one thing likely to get you killed these days,” Mason said.
Sadly, those words were true. Mason didn’t doubt for a second that his days were numbered. And if he didn’t die first, it was only a matter of time before the people he loved did.
* * *
Mason stood over by the washing area, pretending to try and remove a particularly stubborn stain from his hands. After about ten minutes, he was positive the women peeling potatoes at the end of the table probably thought he had some sort of obsessive-compulsive problem. Mason grinned at her and she frowned back. Looking down at his hands, he grabbed the soap again and went for another round. Casually, he glanced up every few minutes, trying to appear as if he was merely daydreaming and not looking for anyone in particular. His fingers were red from scrubbing by the time Raj finally noticed him. Mason gave him a small nod as he dried off. Tossing the towel beside the bucket, he casually wandered off towards the fence behind the stage.
It didn’t take long for Raj to appear. Hopefully he’d been smart enough to make sure no one was watching.
“What the hell?” Mason asked.
“Well, cheers, to you too, mate.”
Mason peered out across False Creek, searching for signs of people. Were they across the water, tucked into the condos or hiding in the once manicured bushes? Was Aries there? Was she waiting for some sort of signal? If so, she’d be going home disappointed. He’d told her repeatedly to forget about him. Why couldn’t she do him that favor?
But if she ever did give up, would he be okay with that? No, it would probably destroy him.
“She’s not out there,” Raj said. “Just me. They’re not coming either. I’m all by my lonesome.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Seriously?” Mason waited but Raj didn’t elaborate. The chemistry major looked down at the ground and spent far too long studying his shoes. He almost appeared to be blushing. Raj was in full-blown ‘sheepish’ mode.
“Look, it’s stupid,” Raj finally said. “I made a mistake. I’m not supposed to be here. Right now, I’m supposed to be on the other side of the wall, preparing to break you out. I had tools and everything. But I screwed up.”
“What do you mean?”
Raj went back to studying his shoes. “Really dumb. There was this dog. I couldn’t help myself. Real friendly like. Poor pooch came right up to me and licked my hand. These big brown eyes. Looking at me like I was her bloody savior and knew I was the only one willing to help. There was a pet shop a few blocks back. I went to go get her a bit of food. She followed me without any fear. And that’s where they found me. Knee deep in kibble. At least they didn’t catch her. That would have been even more depressing.”
“You got caught because of a dog?”
Raj nodded. “Like I said, stupid. But come on, anyone would have done the same thing. She was a really friendly dog. If we get out of here, I need to go back and get her.”
Mason couldn’t say a word. You simply couldn’t fault someone for wanting to help an animal. On the other side of camp, they’d found a mother cat with kittens. Pretty much everyone, including Mason, had given up bits of their food over the past several weeks to make sure that the mother didn’t
Mason shrugged. “Food is all we’ve got to give. They’ve taken everything else.”
“What about love and hope and all that crap?” Karen gave him a grin. Chaplin was fond of preaching about turning the other cheek and loving one’s neighbor. The speech might work for the few people lucky enough to still have family members at their side, but the majority of survivors were alone.
“Love is the one thing likely to get you killed these days,” Mason said.
Sadly, those words were true. Mason didn’t doubt for a second that his days were numbered. And if he didn’t die first, it was only a matter of time before the people he loved did.
* * *
Mason stood over by the washing area, pretending to try and remove a particularly stubborn stain from his hands. After about ten minutes, he was positive the women peeling potatoes at the end of the table probably thought he had some sort of obsessive-compulsive problem. Mason grinned at her and she frowned back. Looking down at his hands, he grabbed the soap again and went for another round. Casually, he glanced up every few minutes, trying to appear as if he was merely daydreaming and not looking for anyone in particular. His fingers were red from scrubbing by the time Raj finally noticed him. Mason gave him a small nod as he dried off. Tossing the towel beside the bucket, he casually wandered off towards the fence behind the stage.
It didn’t take long for Raj to appear. Hopefully he’d been smart enough to make sure no one was watching.
“What the hell?” Mason asked.
“Well, cheers, to you too, mate.”
Mason peered out across False Creek, searching for signs of people. Were they across the water, tucked into the condos or hiding in the once manicured bushes? Was Aries there? Was she waiting for some sort of signal? If so, she’d be going home disappointed. He’d told her repeatedly to forget about him. Why couldn’t she do him that favor?
But if she ever did give up, would he be okay with that? No, it would probably destroy him.
“She’s not out there,” Raj said. “Just me. They’re not coming either. I’m all by my lonesome.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Seriously?” Mason waited but Raj didn’t elaborate. The chemistry major looked down at the ground and spent far too long studying his shoes. He almost appeared to be blushing. Raj was in full-blown ‘sheepish’ mode.
“Look, it’s stupid,” Raj finally said. “I made a mistake. I’m not supposed to be here. Right now, I’m supposed to be on the other side of the wall, preparing to break you out. I had tools and everything. But I screwed up.”
“What do you mean?”
Raj went back to studying his shoes. “Really dumb. There was this dog. I couldn’t help myself. Real friendly like. Poor pooch came right up to me and licked my hand. These big brown eyes. Looking at me like I was her bloody savior and knew I was the only one willing to help. There was a pet shop a few blocks back. I went to go get her a bit of food. She followed me without any fear. And that’s where they found me. Knee deep in kibble. At least they didn’t catch her. That would have been even more depressing.”
“You got caught because of a dog?”
Raj nodded. “Like I said, stupid. But come on, anyone would have done the same thing. She was a really friendly dog. If we get out of here, I need to go back and get her.”
Mason couldn’t say a word. You simply couldn’t fault someone for wanting to help an animal. On the other side of camp, they’d found a mother cat with kittens. Pretty much everyone, including Mason, had given up bits of their food over the past several weeks to make sure that the mother didn’t
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