Darkness Follows Read online

  “I can’t even think about that,” I said.

  Collie studied me, his face so familiar that it hurt. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “At least it’s not a ‘no’.”

  Storeroom 2-C had shelves with cleaning supplies, and a table that looked as if it was kept folded up against the wall during the day. “No windows, and enough space to spread out a little,” said Mac by way of explanation when he ushered Ingo and me in.

  The night-time factory was busier now. A few people had entered the break room while we were waiting for Mac; others were gathered in shadowy groups here and there – men and women, talking in low voices. Both Hal and Collie had left again, presumably to pick up someone else.

  Mac shut the door behind us. “Sorry you had to wait. There’s a hell of a lot going on. Did Collis fill you in?”

  “A little.” I sat down, clutching my cane. I was glad Collie was gone now – my emotions were too complicated. Ingo sat beside me, his long, angular face tense.

  “All right, what have you got for me?” asked Mac.

  Ingo and I exchanged a weighted glance. So much depended on this.

  “Photos first?” I said, and Ingo nodded. We brought them out.

  “There’s a factory that we found a few days south of Harmony Five,” said Ingo, handing them over. “Your Miss Pierce was visiting it. These were on a bulletin board.”

  Mac looked at the top photo and his face drained. He sank wordlessly onto the table’s edge. As the minutes passed, the slight rustle of paper was the only sound.

  At long last Mac put the photos aside. He rubbed his temples. “Holy shit,” he whispered. Suddenly he looked no older than me.

  No one spoke. Finally Mac let out a breath.

  “I knew there was something big being developed,” he said. “But I never thought even Gunnison would go this far. To unleash that on the world again…he’s crazier than I thought, and that’s saying something.” He seemed to collect himself. “Okay. Where exactly is this place?”

  We told him the best we could. Mac took no notes but I had a feeling he wouldn’t forget a word. He studied the photos again, all business now, tapping his teeth with a fingernail.

  “We’ve got to release these to the world, and fast,” he muttered. “The EA, Africa, everyone. This might be the one thing that’ll force other leaders into direct action.”

  “Not Appalachia?” I asked.

  Mac shook his head curtly. “Appalachia’s already fallen, pretty much. News of a bomb factory would just make his takeover there even easier.” He glanced at his watch. “Wait here.”

  Mac hurried to the door with the photos and stuck his head out. “Hey, is Grady still here?” he called. He vanished from the doorway. “Good, I caught you. Listen, buddy…”

  His urgent voice faded. Ingo and I looked at each other, both too on edge to speak.

  Mac returned with only three photos.

  “Okay, Grady’s one of our best. He’s heading out tonight; he’ll get those photos to the right people – we’re just lucky we got them in time.” Mac dropped into a chair and added bitterly, “But even if the world bands together, we won’t get military help anytime soon. No one else has spent the last twelve years building a goddamn army.”

  Ingo leaned forward. “You mentioned Gunnison’s takeover of Appalachia,” he said intently. “You’re talking about the Day of Three Suns, yes?”

  “It’s the Day of Fire now.”

  My heart clenched. “What?”

  “Day of Fire – in just four days,” said Mac. “That’s why we’re busting our asses, because once Gunnison closes off the eastern ports, we’re screwed. There are people we’ve got to get out.”

  I opened my mouth and closed it again. Collie hadn’t mentioned some of this. Clearly it was why he’d told us to talk to Mac.

  Ingo was pale, apart from the vivid, crinkled stretch of his scar. “Rodriguez’s message was about the Day of Three Suns,” he said. “I hope the information’s still good.”

  Mac had been looking at one of the remaining photos; he glanced up sharply. “Oh, buddy-boy, me too,” he muttered. He leaned forward. “Let’s have it.”

  “He had pneumonia; he knew he was dying,” said Ingo. “He was hoping I could escape. He told me to tell you that the caterers can smuggle in what you need. I have three names for you.” Ingo gave them.

  Mac sat without moving. I saw the hope die in his eyes.

  “They’ve all been killed,” he said. “It’s old info.”

  Ingo’s scar reddened further as his lips whitened. I sat frozen, gripping my cane.

  “It can’t be,” I whispered.

  “Believe me, I wish it wasn’t,” said Mac shortly. “That was from when the Day was originally planned. It was due to take place in Philly then. It’s happening somewhere in Washington now. We just got the word a few hours ago – too late to locate the new venue and do anything about it.”

  “There’s no way?” said Ingo.

  “No. You wouldn’t believe the security measures they’ve got in place. Those of us in the Zodiac can’t even take them out – we’re searched every goddamn day.”

  Despair filled me. Appalachia was still going to fall. Gunnison would continue. All the things my father had set in motion would continue too.

  I looked down at my suitcase and felt cold, thinking of what I’d secretly packed.

  Mac rubbed his forehead. “Anyway, that’s part of what we’re doing now,” he said finally. “Setting up a network in Appalachia – they’re going to need it.” He looked up. “What about you two? Are you joining us?”

  With an effort, I shoved it all away. Ingo and I glanced at each other. To my surprise, he hesitated. For a moment I actually thought he was going to say that he’d join the Resistance.

  No, I thought, suddenly angry. His brother and sister – his parents – I knew just how much going home to his village near the Med meant to him.

  Before Ingo could speak, I said to Mac, “Your man told Ingo that if he delivered the message to you, the Resistance could help him get home. Can you still do it?”

  “Is that what you want?” Mac asked Ingo.

  Ingo’s gaze stayed on me for a moment; after a beat he glanced at Mac. He swallowed. “Yes. It is.”

  “Shame, pal; we’d have liked to have you. Where’s home?”

  Ingo’s hand was resting on his thigh. It clenched and unclenched, his long fingers flexing. “The European Alliance. Germanic counties, down near the Med.”

  Mac sat up with a jerk. “The EA? That’s where Grady’s going. He just had to speak to someone before he – quick, come with me!” Mac scrambled up. When Ingo didn’t move, he clapped his arm. “Come on, buddy! Those ports could be closed by Gunnison any time – the Day of Fire’s just a technicality!”

  “Wait,” Ingo said hurriedly to me. “I won’t go without—”

  He didn’t finish. He and Mac left the room in a rush.

  So soon. All at once I felt shaky. I got to my feet and went to the door. I peered down the shadowy corridor. I could just see Ingo’s tall, running form, with Mac’s shorter one ahead of him.

  “Grady!” shouted Mac, his voice echoing. “Grady!”

  A third man appeared in the outer doorway; he wore a fedora and overcoat. Mac and Ingo jogged to a stop. Mac spoke to Grady for a few moments. Grady and Ingo shook hands.

  My chest tightened. I started quickly towards them, ignoring the pain in my leg. I stopped as Ingo came jogging back to me. He drew me into the dimly-lit break room. No one else was in it now.

  Ingo looked dazed. “Grady’s waiting for me, just for a few minutes. Mac’s getting my bag.”

  “Ingo, I’m so glad.” My voice caught. “You deserve this.”

  “I…” He pushed a hand over his hair. “This is all so fast…what will you do now? Are you staying with the Resistance?”

  “Yes, I think so.” With all the confidences we’d shared, all the time we’d spent together, I’d never told Ingo about my
Madeline plan. I had no intention of doing so now. I wanted him on that boat when it left, heading home to his family.

  “What about Collis?” he said. “Will you be all right?”

  I nodded. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  We were standing so close. We could have touched if either of us had lifted our hands.

  Neither of us did.

  Silence fell as we gazed at each other. My lips were dry. From the corridor I heard Mac talking.

  When Ingo spoke again, his voice was husky. “I don’t know how to say goodbye to you.”

  “Then don’t say it. I hate saying it anyway.” I managed a smile. “Go on, get out of here, Manfred. Don’t come back to this place – promise me.”

  “I never make promises I may not keep. Who knows what might happen?” Ingo paused, looking uncertain. Then he held out his hand.

  I took it. Our fingers gripped each other.

  “Take care of yourself,” he said softly.

  “And you.”

  “Write to me if you can. Please. Calliposa – just like it sounds.”

  I nodded, barely trusting myself to speak. “If I can.”

  “Ingo! Sorry, pal, you’ve gotta go,” called Mac.

  I swallowed. I looked down at our two hands, then squeezed his fingers hard and released them.

  “Be safe,” I whispered. “Now just go, can’t you?”

  Ingo’s dark eyes were still fixed on mine. Almost black – you would never mistake them for any other colour.

  He hesitated, then touched my face, his thumb stroking over my cheek. He let out a breath and nodded.

  He left.

  I sank down onto the sofa. I heard Ingo say, “I’m ready,” and then rapid footsteps, and the fading murmur of Mac’s response: “All right, take care, buddy. Grady, listen, don’t forget…”

  The building fell silent, despite the other people…a silence as grey and thorough as snow muffling a windowpane.

  A few hours later, I sat on a small flight of steps outside a door at the rear of the factory. It looked like the employees came out here for breaks sometimes: there were stubbedout cigarette tips and a lonely-looking picnic table.

  The stars still shone above, though to the east the sky had lightened to a deep, soft blue. There were trees in the distance. I gazed at them, taking in the way they laced against the stars. In the Central States – I could think of where we were in no other way – there was so much beauty. Strange. The land where Gunnison ruled should be a barren desert.

  Of course, he ruled the Western Seaboard too now. Soon he’d rule Appalachia. Soon he’d rule the whole world, if no one moved quickly enough to stop him.

  Hal’s face when we’d talked about Dad. The despair on it, far too much for someone so young.

  And everything Collie had told me… I closed my eyes as my leg throbbed. Part of me felt sorry for him and I hated it. I hated him, but I still cared about him. How could I not? Collie was my childhood. My first love. I’d thought once he’d be my only love. Why did he have to be here?

  Yet he’d rescued my family.

  Commander Hendrix had once hinted that Dad had crashed his plane on purpose. Madeline had been at the World for Peace meeting that he’d gone to earlier that day – the one, according to Hendrix, where they’d told my father that they expected him to throw another fight.

  I looked at the trees but instead saw heads on a fence, glistening, grey with frost.

  Dad, I thought.

  The thing that I’d never wanted to face about my father’s thrown fight wasn’t a thunderclap when it came. It mixed with the night as if it had always been there, deep and hollow and inevitable. I sat motionless, lost in Harmony Five, my fingers rigid on the cane.

  I started as the door opened. Mac Jones came out and sat beside me, dropping onto the top step with a weary sigh.

  “Cigarette?” he said, offering me a pack.

  After a pause, I shook my head. “I don’t smoke.”

  “No, me neither.” Mac tapped one out and lit it with a quick scratch from a lighter. He tucked the pack back into his jacket pocket. “Don’t tell my girlfriend, okay?”

  We sat in silence for a few moments. The sky to the east was lighter now. Mac’s cigarette was a glowing red ember.

  “Will Ingo be safe?” I said finally.

  Mac blew out a stream of smoke. “Hope so,” he said. “Grady’s got Class A papers; they shouldn’t be stopped getting out of the country. And the Harmony Treaty hasn’t been announced yet – the ship in Baltimore should still have spaces. With luck he’ll be home in about a week and a half.”

  Something in me eased a little. All right, I thought, still gazing at the trees. That’s it – he’s gone for ever but he’s safe. Close the door.

  The cool night air prickled at my skin. From somewhere far away, an owl called. From somewhere further, a train rattled past. It slowly faded.

  I glanced at Mac. “Do you usually keep my brother working all night?”

  “No, not usually,” said Mac. “Desperate times, and all that.”

  “You’re aware that he’s not even fifteen.”

  “I’m aware.”

  “Mac, he doesn’t really have any concept of what might happen to him if he gets caught.”

  Mac propped his elbows on his knees and took a deep drag of the cigarette. Finally he said, “No one can, unless they’ve been in one of those places. Hell, I probably don’t – not really. Seeing pictures isn’t the same. But if the only people who work for us are the ones who know the consequences first-hand…” He shrugged. “Well, you see the problem.”

  I did. The stars were high, icy pinpricks, dying one by one. I crossed my arms tightly. “Collie said that you saved his life.”

  Mac’s tone was neutral. “Did he?”

  “What did he mean?”

  “I’m sure he’ll tell you someday, if he wants you to know.” After a pause, Mac added, “You know, when Collis asked me if he could join the Resistance…he was taking a hell of a chance. If he’d been wrong about me, he’d have been shot.”

  My head was throbbing. I studied Mac’s profile tensely. “Do you trust him?”

  “Yeah. Funnily enough, I do.”

  “Why ‘funnily enough’?”

  “Well, I’m sure my boy’s told you about his colourful past.” Mac glanced at me. “Sephy and I think a lot of him,” he said quietly. “The guy’s got guts. He told me things that not many men would ever admit to.”

  “I thought a lot of the Collie I was in love with,” I said at last. “I don’t know who this new one is.”

  “I think he’s still figuring that out himself.”

  No. Close the door on this too. Close the door on all of it, for ever, except for the one thing I could never push aside again.

  Sing, no, louder, SING! I stared blindly at the trees and saw hair matted with blood on the snow – Melody dropping from the platform – myself scrambling to wrest boots from her still-warm body. This was the abyss that I’d tried so hard to avoid and now I’d fallen into it.

  Harmony Five wouldn’t have been possible without my father.

  I felt strangely calm though my heart was racketing. The shard of glass still lay in my pocket. I rubbed my thumb over its curved edge. I had something better in my bag now, but the hard, glinting shape felt like a friend.

  I talked him into…I mean, I talked to Truce about it…

  I took my hand from my pocket and cleared my throat. “Tell…tell Collie to look after Hal, all right?”

  Mac gave me a keen look as he stubbed out his cigarette. “All right,” he said. “But I don’t think I really need to. He’s pretty attached to the kid.”

  I nodded.

  “Can I ask where you’re going to be? I kinda thought you were joining us, Miss Vancour.”

  My voice sounded as if I were listening to someone else. “No,” I said. “I’m not joining you.” I looked at him. “Could you get me into Appalachia? And maybe a little money?”r />
  CHAPTER THIRTY

  February, 1942

  Kay Pierce stuck her head around Mac’s office door and winked. “Any cookies today?”

  With less than two days left before Appalachia would be taken over by a pen-stroke, Mac had never felt less like playing the game. He looked up from some paperwork and smiled anyway. “Sorry, kiddo. Mac’s Bakery has been too busy working overtime.”

  “Aw, is Johnny working you too hard?” Kay came in, closing the door behind her. “And here I’m just going to add to it. I feel guilty now.”

  She held a file in one arm. She came around to where Mac sat and perched herself on the edge of the desk. As always, she was perfectly turned out, today in a stylish blue suit. A golden Scorpio brooch glittered on her lapel. Kay’s gaze lingered on Mac’s own lapel and for an apprehensive moment Mac thought he’d forgotten his pin. Then Kay reached out and touched it.

  “Taurus,” she said. “I admire Taureans; I always have. So strong and single-minded.” She let her hand fall and smiled sadly. “You know…I really like you, Mac. There are so few people I can trust.”

  Mac’s adrenalin kicked in. What was going on? “The feeling’s mutual. Are you all right, kid?”

  He drew Kay to the soft chairs in front of his desk and sat her down, thinking, You knew all about the “atomic Harmony devices” in those photos and you never breathed a word, you viper.

  Weeks before, Kay had shown Mac photos though: from Harmony Five, of lifeless bodies with bloody features that were supposedly Vancour and Manfred. Mac, now with the image of the real Vancour and Manfred fresh in his head, wondered how much Kay had paid the camp director to fake them. Why though? It was a hell of a gamble for her to take, if she knew that Vancour was still at large.

  Maybe she thought the risk was worth it. Gunnison no longer seemed tormented by the “dark mirror”. Just yesterday, Mac had met him in a Zodiac corridor and Gunnison had stopped to chat – smiling, triumphant, though with a too-fixed gaze that had made Mac’s skin crawl.

  “You see?” he’d said intently. “It’s all on the upswing now, Mac! I knew I was right to let the karmic link play out on its own.” His voice lowered as if sharing a secret. “Of course, I tried my best to stay on the up so that I could push Vancour down. But I never interfered with fate, Mac. Not once. Like I said, Lady Harmony would have known.”