Aer II

35

  Eilish showed them where they could stay. It's a tiny apartment with two mattresses on the floor and a torn sofa. It has an old kitchen, everything's rusted and covered in mould. But it's somewhere for them to rest their heads and trying formulate a plan.

  They're sitting around the kitchen table when there's a knock on the door. Daisy answers the door to James, she tells him to come inside.
'I was hoping we could talk,' he says as he walks in, he spots Nix and Rob at the table, both staring at him as if he also wanted to speak to them.
Daisy throws them a look, Nix looks around him 'where can we be excused to?'.

'Just go for a walk,' Daisy says.
The two get up and leave, sighing as they walk past her.

  Daisy and James take a seat at the table. An awkwardness passes through the both of them.
'Ethan?' Daisy frown.
James shrugs 'it's just a thing between me and Mikey, he thought I looked like an Ethan so he just called me that and people just presumed that was my name, but I've began telling people that's not my name. There's no secrecy behind it, it was a joke and people just went with it'.
'Right'.

  'Why are you here?' He asks.
'Nix had been saying to go here for a long time, it was our plan to come here and hopefully settle but we ran into some trouble,' she says 'a group took something from us so we're here to take it back'.

He looks at her, his eyes scanning her up and down 'you've changed'.
'A lot has happened'.
'Yeah,' he nods slowly 'I never thought my sister could murder people in cold blood'.

'Is that what you think I done?' Daisy scoffs.
'You shot an innocent man'.
'Nix shot him,' she says 'I wanted Sam to suffer'.
'And that he did, so did Mikey'.
'James I don't know what you're getting at, I've spoken to Eilish about it, I made a mistake and I carry the guilt of that, as does Nix'.

'You know I helped Mikey build this place into what it is today. It was set up by the military for government officials, before they knew the virus was airborne and killed them all anyway. The whole town was quarantined for them. We killed every single Freak that was stuck in here and we brought people in. Now we live a normal life, well we did until you showed up'.
'I was only after Sam,' she says 'I just wanted revenge'.
'Your revenge cost us our leader,' he says 'groups are afraid to leave the walls now'.
'Well ye should be'.
'What's that supposed to mean?'.

'We are nothing compared to what's outside that wall,' she says 'we've done some horrible things but it doesn't come close to what people have done out there and will continue to do unless we stop them'.
'We?' He frowns 'we are happy here'.
'In this world happiness can be taken in the blink of an eye'.

'Why are you really here?' He asks again.
'Our friend was taken by a group,' she says 'we're resting until we have a solid plan to get him back'.
'Now ye know what it's like to loose a friend'.
'He's just a boy'.

  James looks at her 'a boy?'.
'Aoife told me she'd speak to you all about this, but I can tell you, you just have to promise not to say a word,' Daisy says.
'I swear'.

'Okay,' Daisy nods 'there's a cult out there, call themselves Saviours, they worship the Freaks. James' group, the ones you and Eilish attacked, we stormed their island. I found a boy, me and Nix took him under our care and now the cult have him back'.
'What's so important about him?' He asks.

  For a few moments Daisy debates telling her brother the truth, she loved him so much and would tell him anything before all of this but now she can feel the coldness between them, as if that past relationship never existed. She doesn't want to push him further away.

'He's immune,' Daisy watches as his reaction changes 'so is Eilish and so am I'.
  'To a bite?'.
  'Yeah, I don't know how but you cannot mention a word to anyone, especially not Eilish. The cult saw Arawn as their God and they've taken him back'.

'Do you think they could be working on a cure?' He asks.
'No way, they love the Freaks, they probably think by sacrificing him they'll get rewarded somehow'.

James sits back in his chair and sighs 'so your plan is to get him back?'.
Daisy nods 'we've taken him before and we can do it again'.
'Aoife knows about this?'.
'Yes,' Daisy says 'she doesn't care as long as we don't involve ye'.
'She didn't offer to help?' He frowns.
'No, why would she?' She says 'sacrifice everything here?'.
'I just don't think it's going to be that easy for ye,' he says 'the help would be good'.
'Look we're fine, as I said just don't repeat this to anyone, and that will be all the help we need'.
'You have my word'.