Aer II

2

TWO WEEKS BEFORE - Daisy

   'So you're just leaving?' Zoe frowns.
'It's the only lead I have, Zoe,' Daisy says 'I can't just let it go'.
'We're going to war and you're leaving us,' she shakes her head.

'I've been fighting this fight against the cult kids for the past four years,' she says 'I've done everything I can for you and Aaron'.
'I want you to be at the frontline when we attack their base,' she says 'I was counting on you'.
'I told you from the start I would put Charlie first and now I have a lead on the people that killed him'.

'Daisy they were burning cult huts, they didn't know he was inside,' she says.
Daisy stands back, visibly offended 'you don't know that'.
'I can't do this without you'.

'What if this was Evan?' Daisy says.
'Evan's dead'.
'And you're going to war against the people that killed him, you're getting that revenge, I have nothing'.
'Just think about it,' Zoe says 'you can go after we storm Achill'.
'I don't know,' Daisy shakes her head 'I don't know'.

A lot has happened in the past four years. Zoe took over as leader after Lily's death. Aoife hung herself the day after the horde was taken out and she found out about Lily. Cian died of pneumonia last Christmas. Conor's the only one left, but he returned to the safety of the bunker after Cian died. Daisy hasn't seen him since.

  She stays away from the bunker, although Aaron's guys constantly do patrols with the camp kids here, trying to push back the advances the cult kids made on the land.

It took them months to attack after the horde was destroyed. They ambushed the runners in the town, killing Jack and Paul, the only main runners left. None of the group made it back that day. Ever since it's been the group attacking the cult and vice versa.

The group still know nothing about the cult, they don't know their leader, but through torture and interrogation they found out they're main base is on Achill island, only a boat ride away from the camp. Zoe and Aaron have been planning to storm the island for the past three months.

  Daisy doesn't really care, she stopped caring a long time ago, war only got people killed. There numbers have dropped drastically and supplies are running out. The bunkers the same way, kids are dying of fevers, with no medical supplies to save them.

  Daisy returns to her tent, there's nothing but workout equipment in there. Everyday she makes herself stronger and stronger to hunt down the people that took Charlie from her. She wants to become invincible and kill every last one of them.

  She got word from a few of the new kids in the camp that there's a military like group just south from the camp that burned camps the cult lived in. She remembers the cult girl crying over the men in black burning their homes and burning the hut Charlie was in. That's the only lead she's had in four years.

   She sits on her bed and takes out a small box from under her pillow. A card with 'Ollie' written on it is placed in the box, she puts the card on the bed and takes out the silicone baby she made, measuring 9 weeks, that's all her baby made it to.

  It's been four years and her eyes still water everytime she thinks about leaving her baby down and not being strong enough to carry it. It's all she had left of Charlie. She looks at a white teddy bear she has on her bed, she picked it up in a store, she often holds it as if it's her baby, as if it's Ollie. That's all she can do.

  She doesn't talk to anyone anymore. She rarely speaks to Zoe. She goes out, kills the cult's patrols and returns to her tent. She never goes out in a group. She doesn't really know anyone's names, she doesn't care to know either. Everyone she's cared for has either died or left her. She's often thought about killing herself, like Aoife did, but she can't let Charlie's killers live. The only thing keeping her going is watching every single one of them die a painful and slow death.

   She slowly gets up, picking up her bag and putting it on the bed. She puts the teddy and box into it and throws some clothes in, along with her white journal she uses to write to Ollie, telling the baby about her day and writing down her feelings. Not that she really knows how she feels.

  She catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She hardly recognises herself anymore. Her muscles are big and defined, she's lost her womanly figure and now looks masculine. Her hair is tied half up half down, she cut it all off a few months back.

'Fuck Zoe,' she throws her bag on her shoulders and leaves the tent.

   She ignores the people staring at her, she keeps her head down and walks towards the gates. They all know she's leaving them but she doesn't care, she's made it clear from the start that she isn't here to fight their war.

   The gates open and she leaves the camp, she doesn't look back, she just keeps walking. She doesn't know how far this camp is, she doesn't know how many Freaks are along this route but she doesn't care, she just keeps going.
For Charlie. For Ollie.

It's nearly the beginning of December and the days are much shorter and colder. Travelling during the heat of the summer would've been hard but the longer days would've allowed her to travel longer in a day. Even though there was no perfect time to head into a war-zone and try and find the unknown.

'Fuck,' she says as she hears voices. She dunks behind a car for cover.
'Spread out and search the area, sinners are sure to be passing through,' a cult kid says.

  She's not sure how many are on patrol, she puts a silencer on her pistol and slowly makes her way to another car, eyeing a cult kid by himself. She creeps behind him, wrapping her arm around his neck, choking him to death, his body becomes limp and she tosses him to the side.

She eyes two more, she aims her pistol and shoots the both of them within seconds of each other. Their bodies crumple to the floor. She can't see anymore. She stands up and something comes crashing into her, knocking her onto the floor. She scrambles to her feet, in front of her stands a stocky boy of six foot, a whole foot above her.

  He runs at her, holding his axe close to him. She dodges him and manages to climb onto his back, clawing at his eyes. He bends forward knocking her to the ground, she rolls out of the way as his axe slams into the ground. Daisy grabs him by the throat and slams him onto the road, she picks up his axe and drives it into his head. She takes a step back, out of breath, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
'We're clear this time,' she says to herself.

  She picks up her bag and weapons, pulling the axe out of his head and keeping it for herself, she continues her journey down the road.