We Are Monsters 🌕 Book 1 || gxg

The Plan

Winter returned for a moment in fat fluffy flakes that coated everything in sight, but would be gone by noon the next day. The streets were full of slush the ploughs just couldn't quite scrape away. This was Sam's least favourite time of year, despite it signalling the arrival of spring.

She stood before the bathroom mirror slipping pin after pin into her hair to secure every last strand. Her hands trembled. Once or twice she dropped one into the sink and had to fumble to retrieve it before it went down the drain. Her pale face was ghostly, eyes wide in her reflection.

In an hour or so, she would be out in the cold with Aidan on a mission to retrieve supplies they needed to apprehend Noah. There had been a lot of planning in the days prior. Chasing him wasn't working, nor was tracking to get ahead of him. No matter what, Noah was just out of reach. They needed a new tactic, something different to try. It was Sam who came up with the idea. That said, it hinged on another, who was not there with them. Could they pull it off without her help?

If Sam listened carefully she could just catch Aidan's deep, measured breathing from the living room as he meditated. Sam hadn't tried it yet, but he swore it helped speed healing, among other things. Though the wounds had all healed over, he was still sore from the beating he'd taken protecting Sam all those weeks ago.

Three firm raps at the front door made Sam freeze, and Aidan's breathing faltered. The couch creaked under his weight. Sam started for the door, but paused.

"I've got it."

Sam waited in the doorway at the top of the stairs with bated breath. She barely dared hope that it was Ada. It could just be her neighbour with a question or a request. Ada had made it perfectly clear she wasn't interested in helping, even though she didn't know what they were about to do.

She couldn't quite make out the voices from downstairs over the wind through the open door. A few seconds later, Aidan called for Sam with a note of trepidation. She took a deep breath, pocketed the last of her pins, and made for the stairs.

Aidan glanced over his shoulder and stepped back to let Sam by. Ada was bundled up against the weather with her fists deep in her pockets and tension pinching her eyes. Snow had built up in her loose hair and speckled her pale lashes.

"Ada, I thought you weren't coming."

Ada's hands balled in her coat pockets. "I wasn't, but I can't sit back while you do something so colossally stupid. You'll get busted."

"I wou-" Her protest stuck to her tongue. "Okay, maybe, but I'm glad you're here."

Sam tried not to take it personally and stepped back to let her out of the cold. It rolled off Ada's body, and her nose and ears were bright pink. She probably walked over. Sam wanted to hug her, but Ada probably wasn't in the mood. Instead she simply gazed down the bridge of her nose at Sam, a critical pinch to her lips. The couch squeaked in the other room as Aidan settled back into it. Whatever he was thinking he kept to himself.

"Can we talk?" she asked after discarding her jacket and boots. She gave her hair a shake to loosen the snow.

"Sure, come on."

The two climbed the stairs and rounded the banister for Sam's bedroom. Her tension mounted. She was relived, sure, to know that Ada was there, but the same thought made her just as nervous. All this time and she still hadn't reconciled her guilt.

Right away, Sam went to turn on her speaker and selected a random playlist at a moderate volume. Ada frowned between it and Sam. Sam sighed.

"I don't want to be overheard."

"By who, the SCRS*?" Ada perched on the edge of the bed, and Sam stepped a few paces away.

"No, by Aidan."