Stepbrother Bear - Complete (16 page)

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Atmosphere. It’s the sum of parts put
together. The stimulation of senses. Sights, sounds, smells. Even the invisible
breeze can be felt against one’s cheeks. All of it adds up and gives us the
belief that we are here. But are we really? Who is to say that this isn’t a
dream?

I’m not
dreaming now. Neither is Aiden.

Both of us
know exactly where we are.

He walked
across the field towards the centre, with me trailing behind him. I tried
walking fast to catch up. I tried jogging. I even broke into a sprint.

But for some
reason, it didn’t matter. Aiden and I were always the same distance apart.

When I did
reach him, he barely looked at me. He had a cigarette in one hand, and his eyes
were on the sky. As far as I could tell, there was nothing up there. I turned
myself around in a circle, trying to see which way they were coming from. I
knew they’d be here soon. They had to be.

“You
understand what I did, right?” I asked him. “You know that I had no choice.”

“You haven’t
done anything, ugly,” he replied.

“What does
that mean?”

He glanced
down at me. “It means there was never any trust in place for you to break it.”

“I’m getting
the feeling you’re angry at me.”

“We have
bigger things to worry about now.”

I saw it before
he did. The giant black bird gliding down from the sky.

I grabbed his
arm. “Look.”

Aiden’s eyes
were pointed in another direction. As he looked where I pointed, I looked where
his eyes had been.

Another black
bird.

They crossed
paths in the sky over us, and then began to circle.

“Do you know
who they are?” Aiden asked.

“Yes.”

“Who?”

Before I
could answer him, they abruptly dropped down and landed in front of us.

Then Ryan and
Lara shifted into their human forms.

“Lara,” Aiden
gasped. “What happened to you?”

She stared
back at him in silence, her eyes glazed and sad.

Ryan took a
step forward. “The same thing that happened to you. The same thing that
happened to me. The same thing that … happened to all of us.”

“What about
the others?” Aiden demanded.

“You’ll see
them soon enough,” Ryan replied.

Aiden brushed
past him and made his way to Lara. He attempted to reach out to her,

“Stop it!”
Lara cried shrilly. “Just stop it!”

Aiden lowered
his hand and looked back to Ryan, his eyes glowing with rage.

“There’s two
ways we can do this,” Ryan said. “You can either come in peacefully and the
exchange will be made – or –”

Aiden shoved
Ryan violently, causing him to trip over.

“No!” I
shouted. “Don’t fight him!”

Aiden glanced
at me and I held his gaze. He was momentarily restrained.

“I’m okay,
I’m okay,” Ryan mumbled getting back to his feet.

Aiden grabbed
a hold of Ryan by the throat. “Where is she? Where is that bitch? Is she here?”

Ryan stared
up at him nervously. “Why? What does that matter?”

“Just
frickin’ tell me,” Aiden hissed. “Is she here or isn’t she?”

Ryan clenched
his teeth together.

I grabbed a
hold of Aiden’s shoulder. “Please,” I said. “It doesn’t matter if she’s here or
not. We have to save the others.”

He looked
back to me. “Stay away from me, Bianca. I mean it.”

My face fell.
“Please, Aiden. Just stop. Stop for me.”

Aiden growled
violently, and pushed me to the ground. Ryan managed to get free from his
clutches and regain his feet.

He stepped
back from Aiden as Aiden moved forward.

“This is it,”
Ryan said. “Think about what you’re doing. Do you want to fight? Or do you want
your family?”

Suddenly
Aiden stopped. He lowered his head.

Sighed.

“Aiden,” I
whispered. “Do the right thing.”

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

There wasn’t a whole lot of time for
it, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was still trying to figure out why
Aiden would allow me to lead him into this trap. Was it because he wanted to
put a stop to these guys coming after him? Was he hoping to get the General on
her own so he could … convince her of something?

I wiped the
tears from my eyes as Aiden stood frozen. In the back of my mind, I wondered …
what if … what if he wanted to get the family back again? Even if it had been
years since their capture.

What if he
knew…

…this was the
only way?

“Aiden,” Lara
said in a quiet voice. “Fucking hell, Aiden…”

Aiden coughed
into his hand.

“Which way
are they?” he asked.

Ryan put his
hand in his shirt and pulled out what appeared to be a purple glowstick. He
turned its light on and then held it over his head, waving it in the air.

Ryan’s eyes
searched the circumference of the plains around us, and we all followed
likewise.

Far away in
the distance, we could now see another purple glowstick being waved back.

Ryan put his
away.

“I’ll walk
half the distance,” Aiden said in a low voice. “I want to see the rest of them
coming at the same time.”

“Hold on a
second,” Ryan said. “We have to send word.”

He nodded to
Lara, and then she crouched on the ground as though she was about to shift.

“No,” Aiden
said quickly. “Lara stays here. You go. You send word yourself.”

Ryan placed
his hand on Lara’s shoulder. “Very well.”

He bowed down
and then shifted into his bird. Moments later he was just another black dot in
the sky.

“They have
brought them, haven’t they?” Aiden asked, turning to Lara.

She nodded.
“The General has been kind to us. She means us no harm.”

Aiden spat on
the ground. “Yeah right.” He briefly glanced back me a moment. “So I guess this
is goodbye then.”

My lips
trembled. “But … but … Won’t you try to escape again?”

“What’s the
point?” Aiden replied. “She’ll just come after you and the others again.”

“Surely she
doesn’t need you forever. There must be some –”

“You know
what I am now,” Aiden said in a dark tone. “I can’t escape from it. Half man,
half beast. The product of a scientific experiment. It’s like Ryan said. It’s
happened to all of us.”

I turned to
Lara. “What’s going to happen to you?”

“I think you
know, Bianca,” she replied.

My whole body
shook. “No. Just – no. This isn’t happening.”

And then each
of them turned away from me.

Aiden to set
off on his journey across the field.

Lara walking
right beside him.

I was left
alone, standing here in the cold, the dark. The endless combination of the
senses.

Sights and
smells.

The full
blown atmosphere.

And it
occurred to me, that this was how it was going to play out. Aiden and Lara were
going to walk back into the arms of that madwoman, to live in a life of horror
and war.

Even though
this was the price for making the others safe, it still wasn’t right.

It wasn’t
fair.

And the only
person who seemed to know and care about the difference was leaving me right
here.

Then again.

Maybe Aiden
wasn’t the only person…

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

Do you want to come along for a ride
in my emotions with me? Shall we start by going down the river? Or shall we go
straight into the bottom of the lake?

It’s water,
and it’s feeling. It splashes everywhere.

I fell to my
knees before they did. Just seeing them all. Walking side by side in a wide
reaching line. Their eyes were blindfolded and their mouths were gagged. When
they did fall to the ground, they all seemed to fall at the same time.

There were no
tricks up the General’s sleeve. No double-crossing from Ryan.

Everyone who
had been at the wedding and was taken was now free and alive. They were thin,
malnourished, and a little beat up. But no one remembered anything that had
happened to them.

It was as
though an invisible hand had wiped their memories clean.

Once I’d
located Mom and Dad, I brought them back to the car and we quickly sped away so
I could call the police and tell them what happened. We returned to the site
and everyone was still there – everyone but Aiden and Lara. They’d kept on
going, towards that purple light. After all this time of turning his back on
everyone, Aiden finally had made the ultimate sacrifice for them.

I wondered…
Was it just seeing me?

Did I somehow
make him remember the good that was inside of him?

The sad truth
was that perhaps I’d never know.

I just had to
be grateful for what I had now.

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

There was no short cut to Mom and
Dad’s recovery. They didn’t want to believe what I told the police. No one did.
Many of the surviving captors wound up in and out of the hospital for a good
many months. Eventually they decided that it was better for them to just forget
about what happened. Or at least what I had said happened. A few months later I
was called into the living room one evening and explained to that they were
going holidaying in France indefinitely. They needed a change of scenery. A way
to restart their lives in the best possible direction.

“And maybe
when we return Lara will have come back,” my Stepmom said casually.

Dad smiled,
but I could see there wasn’t much behind it. Even though he was in denial, some
of what I’d said must have gotten through.

“I wish you
all the best,” I said, trying to stay positive. “I’ll call you if I hear from
either of them.”

“Yes, dear,”
my Stepmother beamed. “Good idea.”

I went with
them to the airport and watched them leave. It was a bittersweet victory.
Knowing that they’d be out of harm’s way, but also knowing that they didn’t
believe me and pushed me away.

Maybe it was
for the best.

A few days
later a package arrived for me in the mail. I unwrapped it, opened the box and
took out the instructions to read through them carefully. The following weekend
I took a drive out to an isolated area and brought a bunch of glass bottles
with me.

I was careful
to look around in all directions. Make sure no one could see what I was doing.
Make sure no one was going to get hurt.

Then I took
out the gun from holster and aimed it at one of the bottles.

I wasn’t sure
if she’d forgotten about it, but I knew where the General lived.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

The lights are out. The curtains
drawn. The sky is dark.

It’s me
standing there, at the edge of the pavement. A shadow moving across the ground.

I didn’t want
it to be like this. I wanted to move away and forget it all like the rest of
them, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I can’t go on until this is resolved.

And what a
way to resolve it.

My feet carry
me up the driveway and I walk underneath the porch’s sensor-light. I stand
still. My breathing calm. My heart rapid. What am I going to do now?

Am I really
going to hurt someone?

Ding-dong.

My finger leaves
the doorbell and put a hand to my waist to make sure the holster hasn’t
slipped. Just in case.

The door
opened slowly. The General is standing behind it, by herself and dressed in
uniform.

“I had a
feeling you’d turn up one day,” she murmured through the security frame.

She stepped
forward and opened it up for me. I stared at her, unsure for a moment.

Then I
entered the house.

CHAPTER
TWENTY

“Where is your husband? Where’s your
… baby?” I asked stepping inside.

The General
looked at me slyly as she closed the door. “Why don’t you take a seat in the
lounge room, Bianca.”

I glared at
her a moment, but then submitted to her request.

I sat down
nervously as the General sat opposite me.

“I moved them
away after Aiden came back to us,” she said answering my question. “I was
pretty sure you’d turn up here and I didn’t want them in any kind of danger.”

“Why didn’t
you just – why didn’t you have me killed if you thought I was such a threat to
you?”

“Your brother
and sister would’ve become a problem if I handled it that way. It’s better that
we can just talk this out.”

I reached
down and pulled the gun from my holster. I pointed it in her direction.

But the
General’s face didn’t change.

“Where are
they?” I demanded. “I want them returned to safety.”

“That’s out
of the question,” the General said quickly. “And even though I’m sure that’s a
loaded weapon, I don’t think you’ve come here to kill me.”

I gritted my
teeth, frustrated.

I stood up
and extended my arms further.

“I’m warning
you, General –”

“And I’m warning
you, Bianca,” the General cut over me. “If you shoot me, your whole life will
change forever. The police will eventually catch you. They’ll put you in
prison. Your father’s heart will break. As will Aiden’s and Lara’s, whom you of
course will never see again.”

“You can’t do
this,” I said. “You can’t get away with holding them captive.”

The General
stood up slowly. “Bianca. They’re not in captivity. They’re being put to work.”

“I don’t want
to hear about that. I just want them back.”

She moved
towards me. The gun was directly pointed at her head.

Another step
and she’d be touching it.

“Let them
go,” she said.

“No,” I
cursed. “
You
let them go.”

“Let them
go,” the General repeated. “Live your life. While you still can.”

My face
screwed up. Tears filled my eyes.

What was I
thinking about?

Which
thoughts were I allowing to enter my head?

Could I
really do this? Could I kill her? Could I live with that?

Or could I
live with her getting away with it?

“Your life
starts now,” the General whispered. “Whether you choose to begin or end it, is
up to you.”

“Why?” I said
finally. “Why … why would you let me kill you?”

“Because this
country is worth dying for.”