The Strays
Chapter Twenty-Seven

I followed Azrael through the camp and as ever she lived up to her name, gunning down anyone that stood in our way indiscriminately, her old flame Ratchet included amongst the casualties. Normally I wouldn’t approve, but I wasn’t feeling quite like myself. I didn’t speak as we walked back to the city’s border and Azrael didn’t press me to. She simply put her arm around my shoulder and hugged me tightly as we walked.

Colt and Sean were just about to leave the sector when we found them, a look of surprise, followed by relief on their faces.

I tried to smile, but it was too hard. I felt hollow inside, completely numb, and just brushed past them, my arms wrapped around my chest.

“Az, what happened to her out there?” Colt asked, concern in his tone.

“That’s her story to tell, not mine, and when she’s ready she’ll tell it, but for now I wouldn’t push her.”

“I’m sorry. Who are you?” Sean asked the older girl, whose hood was still drawn.

“Azrael is the name you’re most likely to know. I’m the one who trained Colt and Caelyn at the E.A.D, hoping that whilst they were both in the city, their paths would cross and they’d help each other see the truth. I’m glad to see I was right, and even happier to know you’re alive, Sean. I know how much it hurt your sister when she thought she’d lost everyone.”

“Where have you been, Az? It’s been nearly two years. I was told you were dead.” Colt stated bluntly.

“When we get back to Wraith, I’ll explain everything. It saves me having to repeat it all.” I turned back briefly as she handed Colt back his knife. “You ought to take better care of this. It’s not exactly something you can replace.”

Colt took it gratefully, then ran to catch up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder, which I quickly shrugged off, bile rising in my throat at his touch, the thoughts of Raz flashing through my head. He tried to stop me, but I pulled away. “Cae? What’s wrong? You can talk to me.”

“LEAVE ME ALONE, COLT. DON’T TOUCH ME, DON’T SPEAK TO ME, JUST LEAVE ME BE!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I turned to him. Azrael raced to my side, getting in between us before I could lash out. “Colt, you and Sean should go on ahead. Caelyn and I need to have a chat. We’ll meet you and the others at the Sanctum. Just get that virus off the streets before somebody spots you.” They did as she asked without argument, and Azrael guided me to a nearby bench, gesturing for me to sit down.

I joined her, and we sat in silence for a few moments before she finally worked out what she wanted to say. “You’re not okay, I know you said you were but you’re not. How you’re feeling right now is perfectly normal and I get that there’s a part of you that just wants to lash out at everyone, but it’s not Colt’s fault.”

“I let my guard down, I thought with Delilah gone I could finally let myself be happy and look where that got me. This kinda thing never happened when I was on my own. I was stronger, less vulnerable. Delilah was right, I became too reliant on other people and look where it’s gotten me, my trust in others has caused me nothing but heartache. Falling in love will probably get me or somebody else killed. I have enough blood on my hands. It’s better for Sean and the others if I simply disappear. They can focus on rebuilding the city, while I can go back to doing what I do best.”

“Running really is your solution to everything, isn’t it?” Azrael sighed. “I get that this is hard, that facing the world is harder, but running away won’t solve your problems. Neither will isolating yourself. Sean and the others are your family. They rely on you far more than you rely on them. If you up and vanish, then all they do is worry and search, whether you want to be found or not. This city doesn’t stand a chance of surviving, of rebuilding without you and the others you guys brought down the E.A.D, the Elites and the Enforcers, without you all of this falls apart. Wraith can handle a lot, but this is too big for even him to do alone. Your people need you, so does the city, so if you won’t stick around for your own sake, do it for theirs.”

I jumped to my feet. “You’re lecturing me about the consequences of running away when people are relying on you. If you had just warned me about what was really going on, so much pain and suffering could’ve been avoided, all those people I hurt because I thought I was doing the right thing, and the moment when I needed my closest ally the most you were gone. When I came back to Cadence, I looked for you. I needed somebody I could trust, but you were gone. Ty, Leo, Linc, the Twins, Willow, Reach and countless more would still be alive if you had just warned me about Ratchet. Meeting you was the worst thing to ever happen to me, and meeting me was the worst thing to ever happen to the Strays. The city doesn’t need someone as broken as me to fix it when I can’t even fix myself. They call you Azrael because of the people you’ve killed, but cursed is the name given to someone like me who is doomed to a life of despair as they slowly watch everyone they care about die. Well, not this time. Tell the others I said goodbye. I need to get as far from here as I can and atone for my sins.”

I started to walk away, but Azrael shouted something after me that forced me to stop in my tracks. “Nobody died at Reach’s camp, there were a few casualties but nobody died, your friends are still alive. That’s why I came back to the city. I came to ask you, Colt and Wraith, for help. Your friends are alive, but they’re in trouble. Ratchet and Raz weren’t working alone, the E.A.D, Delilah. It’s just one part of a much larger conspiracy that all started when the virus was first unleashed. That’s what I’ve spent the last few years trying to unravel, and now I need your help. I got too close, and I led the people who were after me straight to Reach and your friends. After the bomb went off, we got separated and when I finally tracked them down again they’d been snatched by some very unsavoury characters, worse than any you’ve ever encountered.”

“How do I know you aren’t just saying this to convince me to stay?”

“I knew about the bomb ahead of time, I’d seen Delilah’s mole plant it, so I was able to take Reach directly to it. We couldn’t defuse it because it was a bit too complex, but we were able to hitch it to that hoverboard you gave Linc, so it wasn’t anywhere near the camp by the time Delilah detonated it.”

“I still don’t believe you.”

“You told Linc that the next time your paths crossed, you would build another board so the two of you could race and see who was the best. Do you believe me now?”

I took a moment to process what I was being told. “Swear to me you aren’t lying.”

“I swear on my mother’s grave, I am telling you the truth.” Azrael calmly replied, and I turned on my heels.

“I guess we should go tell the others we have a rescue mission to plan.”

Together we walked silently to the Sanctum where everyone was gathered in Delilah’s old office, Hatter, Mac and the other faction leaders included.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in, nice of you to join us, Caelyn and Azrael. I see you can raise the dead.” Mac sneered.

“Jer, Ace, Sean, Colt and Tali, can we have a word in private?” Azrael asked, completely glossing over Mac’s remark.

“If this is about the stuff that’s happened in the city, Mac ought to be there as well. She’s as much a part of all of this now as we are.” Jer replied quite seriously.

“Fine, let’s not waste time arguing about this. Just be on the stage in five minutes so we can all talk.”

Colt chased after me as I walked away, trying to get my attention so we could talk. “What part of leave me alone, don’t you understand?”

“The part where it came out of the mouth of the gorgeous girl who finally started to reciprocate my feelings.” He retorted. “What happened? Why are you suddenly shutting me out?”

“I don’t want to talk about this, not with you or anyone. Just leave me alone, okay? It’s better for everyone if I keep to myself.”

“What happened to finally trusting other people?”

“I had an idiotic lapse in judgement and now I’m finally seeing sense again.”

“So I was just a part of an idiotic lapse of justice?”

“You said it yourself, I’m me, I’m not really a girl, not like that anyway, and the only reason you’ve ever been interested is because you like the challenge of trying to get the broken girl to fall in love. You don’t actually care about me, you just think you do because of your limited options. As soon as another girl comes along and catches your eye, you’ll be all over her. I’ll become a thing of the past that you’ll quickly forget all about.”

“Is that really what you think about me?”

“Am I wrong?”

I watched as Colt’s usual confident demeanour shifted and he awkwardly rubbed his arm, going quiet.

“That’s what I thought. Whatever we had was fun whilst it lasted, but it would’ve never lasted. Now can we get going? There are more important things going on at the moment that need my attention.”

I brushed past him and he paused for a moment, as though he still had something to say. But it remained unsaid as Azrael arrived.

“Caelyn, can we have a word before the others arrive?” She sighed as she pulled me aside. “Was that really necessary?”

“Don’t lecture me again. You wouldn’t get it.”

“You’re pushing him away because you’re hurting, but if you just told him about what happened, I’m sure he’d understand.”

“I was damaged long before Raz. What me and Colt had would’ve never lasted, it would’ve never worked out. I simply spared us both the pain of heartache later down the line.”

“Keep lying to yourself like that, Cae, and one day you’ll wake up to realise everyone you care about is gone; that you’re completely alone.”

“Better that than being exploited and manipulated by people you believed you could trust.”

“That was a low blow.”

“It’s the most valuable lesson I learned from you. Trust nobody and then you can’t be disappointed when they inevitably hurt or betray you. It’s easier to see the knife when it’s not aimed at your back.”

Azrael looked like she had more to say, but the appearance of the others quickly changed the topic of discussion.

Ace looked me up and down, sensing something was wrong given the residual tension that hung in the air from my argument with Azrael as well as Colt. “You good Cae?” He asked, concerned as my brother and I locked eyes.

“Honestly, I’m great. We just had a bit of a disagreement about some old history we share from our time working with Raz and Mac. It’s no big deal.”

Ace didn’t seem convinced as he looked at my clothes. “You sure about that?”

“Positive. Now let’s get back on track. Azrael says the Strays are alive, that they were able to find the bomb and get it out of the camp before it went off.”

Tali’s face lit up. “That’s amazing. Where are they?”

“That’s the bad news, I’m afraid. I don’t actually know.” Azrael explained.

“Well, that’s useful.” Mac chimed in unenthusiastically.

“I tracked them as far as Ashbourne and that’s when the guys who took them realised they’d picked up a tail. They gave me the slip. I have no clue how they did it so fast, or with such ease, but they did and that terrifies me, whoever these people are, they know what they’re doing, more so than Raz or Delilah, which means they ought to frighten you as well.”

“How can a faction like that be operating without anyone like us picking up on it, and how’d they have enough people to take the entire camp when you got separated?” Colt asked.

Azrael rolled her eyes.

“They didn’t grab everyone at the camp, just Reach and the Strays.”

“And Ava.” Azrael corrected me.

“What happened to everyone else? What happened to my nephew?” Tali murmured anxiously, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

“They’re safe. Some friends of mine and Jer’s are helping them out in a more secure city. We can drop you off on the way to Ashbourne if you’d like.” Azrael suggested.

Tali looked over at Jer, who nodded his head, confirming Azrael’s story. I immediately glared at him. “Did you know Ty, and the others survived?”

He didn’t reply.

“Did. You. Know?” I said slower, my anger rising.

“I knew about Tali’s brother and the others, but I hadn’t heard anything about Reach or the others, so I didn’t want to get your hopes up.” He finally explained.

“You mean you didn’t want to distract us? I can’t believe it. You’re as bad as Azrael, you manipulated me into staying in the city, when I could’ve helped my friends that I believed I’d gotten killed. You saw how much it tore me apart thinking they were dead because of me and this whole time you knew better.”

“I’m sorry.” Jeremiah sighed.

“No, that doesn’t cut it.”

Ace quickly came to my defence. “I’m with Caelyn on this one. You should’ve told us the truth. We still would’ve stayed to handle Delilah, but we would’ve also had time to figure out a plan to find the others.”

“He didn’t tell you because it’s obviously a trap and he doesn’t want you to get yourselves killed, something Azrael should’ve realised on her own.” Mac argued.

“I get that it’s a trap, that’s obvious, and we still don’t know who set it or why, but none of that matters. I’m going to find my friends.” I snapped.

“Chances are these guys were my sister’s silent partners, so it makes sense she’s headed to them for protection since we brought down her little operation, which means I’m coming with you.” Ace concurred.

“You’re my baby sister and I only just got you back. I’m not losing you again.” Sean interjected.

“And like you said, we have no clue who we’re up against, so I’m going to. You might need the extra muscle.” Colt offered.

“You can’t all go. Too many of us and we’ll attract unwanted attention, besides someone also needs to stay in the city to keep an eye on things.” Azrael raised a valid point.

“Someone also needs to find the other samples of the virus so we can safely dispose of them. We can’t risk someone like Delilah getting their hands on that stuff again.” Jeremiah explained.

“Like we should trust you with something like that.”

“She’s got a point. You lied to us about Ty and the others. Why should we trust you now?” Colt agreed.

I thought about it for a moment and a solution started to form in my mind. “I will go with Azrael and Ace to track down the Strays, once we know more about who we’re up against we’ll reach out to those of you still in the city, then we can work out a plan and if anyone needs to join us, they can. Mac, Jeremiah, and Sean will stay in the city to help rebuild with the other factions. I suggest maybe forming a council composed of the different faction leaders. Everyone gets a say and when the time comes, we’ll hold a more formal election where faction members can vote for who they want to represent them on the council. That just leaves Colt, who will go with Jeremiah’s guy, Eddie, to track down the samples of the virus that are left. When you have them, bring them back to the city so Sean and Jeremiah can find a way to safely dispose of them.”

“What about me?” Tali meekly interrupted.

“What you do next is up to you. If you want to find your nephew, we’ll understand and, like Azrael said, we can drop you off in Ashbourne.”

“I want to stay. I need to finish what Stitch started. I owe her that much and there are a lot of kids in this city that will need help. With you away, Jeremiah and this council are going to need all hands on deck, which means my medical skills can be of use. If you do see my nephew and the others, tell him I love him.” She stated resolutely, and I nodded my head.

“I will.”

Sean and Colt both looked unhappy about the plan.

“Take your emotions out of the equation and you know my plan makes perfect sense. This is the most logical division of our resources based solely on our personal aims, strengths, and weaknesses. Jeremiah has influence in the city, which means they’ll listen to him and I trust Sean to diplomatically mediate the situation here. Mac cares about the city and the kids here, which means she’ll help keep the peace with the other factions. Azrael knows where to find the Strays and I need to save them, while also settling the score with Delilah, same as Ace. As for you Colt, somebody needs to make sure Jeremiah doesn’t stab us in the back by taking the virus for himself; with Sean staying in the city, you’re the only one left aside from Tali, but her medical knowledge is needed here.”

“Sounds like we have a plan, then.” Jeremiah smiled.

“You don’t have to do this, Cae.” My brother pleaded. “I’ve only just found you. I’m not going to lose you, not again.”

“You don’t have a say in this matter. I’m not that little girl who needed to hide behind her big brother. I’m a woman now, believe it or not, and I’ve got responsibilities. You might not want me to go, however, it’s my choice. I love you, I do, but I swore I’d protect Leo and the others. I have to see this thing through.”

Ace smiled at Sean. “I’ll take good care of her. I promise. This isn’t the last time we all see each other.”

I loitered in the corner as everyone said their goodbyes, and I briefly hugged Sean, promising to stay safe.

Colt looked like he wanted to come over and say something to me but he decided against it, just watching as I walked away into the night with Azrael and Ace, a million things between us left hanging in the air, quietly unsaid, waiting for the time to come when our paths would cross again.

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