His chest tightened. Bile burned the base of his throat as the gravity of the words settled over him. They were innocent enough, and if he had no idea of the background behind those activities, Audas might have scratched his head, shrugged, and moved on with his day.

  But not here. Not him.

  It… it can’t be! It can’t be them all over again!

  It took all the former human had to fight the instinct to flinch or convulse in some sudden fit of shock or horror. But even then, he had to keep his lips pressed tightly together just to hold himself in check. This couldn’t have been the case, surely? No one else could have got off that plane…

  Kia’s own features screwed up into a mess, like she was now looking at some disgusting piece of trash. “You alright there?”

  Audas instinctively shot a glare over his shoulder and instantly regretted it. Way to make himself look more guilty or suspicious with that kind of move. He couldn’t just rewind the clock now, so he quickly scanned their surroundings for anyone he reckoned was in earshot. There were a few Nyúlfur hanging out across the street, but they didn’t seem close enough or interested enough to butt in.

  Shit, given how much my hearing’s improved since Birmingham, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them could listen in if they wanted too.

  He turned back to face her, leaning onto the counter in as casual a manner as he could, taking the chance to rest his arm on top. “Nyúlfur…” he started asked in a quiet tone, then quickly added, “and humans working together?” He figured he’d throw her off the scent with that addition. “Are you sure?”

  She narrowed her gaze, and Audas hoped she either didn’t see right through his facade, or wasn’t interested enough to care, “It’s just a rumour.” She replied, not bothering to bring her voice down as much as he did, “I wouldn’t put much stock on humans and Nyúlfur working together without shooting each other. With all the crap out in the Badlands, some idiot could have just been seeing things through a beer bottle.”

  He eased up a little bit at that, but not completely as he tapped his fingers along the countertop. It wouldn’t be the first time some drunkard’s tale spread like wildfire. He thought, fiddling with the idea, No! It sounds like them. Black armour, Nyúlfur with them - It has to be!

  “Still,” She continued with a shrug, “Better to be paranoid and alive than a careless corpse.”

  He resisted the urge to pump his free arm in elation. Shit, thank you for giving me an off ramp here! He mentally rejoiced. It gave him a chance to disentangle himself from this conversation. Now he just needed to initiate that…

  Swallowing his nerves, Audas flashed a relaxed smile, “Couldn’t agree more.” He said, managing to recover, “Thanks for the heads up.”

  That seemed to hit the spot, as the grey-gold wolf leaned back with a smirk, “Sure thing.” She replied as he started to back away from the counter, “If you get the chance, tell the twins that I wanted to thank them for the hammer they worked on.”

  “I’ll let them know.” Audas stressed, radiating warmth as he started to turn, “Thanks for the ammo!”

  He took his chance, spinning on his toes and marching his way back down the street, only to realise he might have been moving too quickly, and instead elected to shorten his stride, feigning a look of interest as he looked over a line of old ammo boxes. That soon turned into a stroll as he continued along his way.

  It was only when he felt like he was out of sight of the armoury did he let his tightened face melt away. Now, the din of trade town life barely registered to his senses. Without a conversation to distract him, he found himself delving back into those dark memories – of Birmingham. Of the train. Hagen and Travis, those two bastards who killed Jack, killed Liana, Jeb, Ed, Coop and every human in that city. The ones who turned him into this.

  He may have not found himself despising his status as a Nyúlfur now, but he would still put the blame for everything else squarely on them. And now, as he stuffed his fists into his pockets, resisting the urge to jump at the first sudden sign of movement, he thought back again now. How the hell are they here again? Why are they here? They couldn’t have found a second plane right?

  Certainly, whilst aircraft still roamed the skies, they were few and far between. He had no idea what plane he was transported to Cascadia on, but it’s size would have almost guaranteed that it would have ended up in the ranks of the military, or one of the surviving country or city governments. He shook his head at that one, No. Hagen made it sound like he was operating under the radar; a government wouldn’t just hand him a transport plane for the sake of destroying a city…

  His thoughts trailed off, as the memory of the Birmingham warehouse appeared within his mind. He could picture the scene like it was yesterday, himself hiding behind the shelving units whilst Hagen and Travis were talking at the centre of that dark room. ‘Operating near Victoria and Vancouver may seem easier based on location,’ Hagen had said, ‘However, the fact that Victoria is a stable city-state make the retrieval of subjects more complicated. We don’t need impromptu attention from the Guard.’.

  In his pockets, Audas’ fists clenched tighter. Damn it, how did I forget that?! They must have been operating here all this time. One plane crash couldn’t just stop them dead. They would still be doing work in Cascadia… Jesus… are they doing the same stunt worldwide? Another Birmingham in one of the other safe zones, on the border with the Ferals?

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  If this group, organisation, faction – whatever – had that kind of global reach, who knows what equipment or tech they possessed? A chill crept into his chest, Maybe that was why they were out in the Badlands. Finding some old tech or factory equipment that the city workshops can’t make anymore. Could explain how they got the plane. Plenty of old airfields and airbases in the Badland regions. If Cascadia is their base of operations, they could easily hop over the border to the old US states and snatch a few planes under everyone’s noses. All they’d need then is to find the people who know how to fly or maintain them.

  He looked up to find himself near the end of the street, back where they originally entered Ironhold. Eyeing a little hollow where two mismatched containers met, he stomped towards it and leaned against the wall. Sheltered by the hollow, Audas closed his eyes, letting out a long, sore breath. It wasn’t just the lack of knowledge that troubled Audas, it was the thought of humans being scooped up from their homes all over the world, only to become a lab rat for some mad scientist’s own personal experiments.

  Maybe even with the Retrovirus…

  He growled, Something has to be done… I could hunt them down… stop them from doing the same thing they did to me… but where can I even start? He thumped his head against the metal wall, which sent a dull ring down his ears. They could be anywhere! Are they even still looking for me?

  That sent a spike of fear running through him. He saw what they did to Birmingham, to the scavenger train just to get filthy claws on him.

  I… I don’t want to see the same thing happen to the Hub… to everyone there…

  Maybe he sh-

  “Are you even listening!?”

  Something bashed into his shoulder. Audas’ eyes snapped open and he jerked upright, raising his fists almost on instinct.

  He almost brought them up all the way when he found the big, brown-grey furred Nyúlfur glaring at him.

  “Spirits!” Dorian hissed, “Don’t you pay attention?”

  Where the fuck did h-

  He shoved the thought aside, “I was lost in thought.” Audas growled back. With a shake of his head, he stepped away from the wall. He didn’t need Dorian having a go at him now. Not after this new discovery.

  “Thinking about what?” he questioned, a chill in his tone.

  Audas let his teeth slip into view, “Can you stop breathing down my neck?” he hissed.

  “I k-“

  “No.” Audas snapped, raising a finger straight into the wolf’s face. His blood was now boiling, all thoughts about Hagen and his goons lost from his mind, “Shut up for one minute. I promised Everest that I’d try and get along with you. Turn a new leaf like I have with Kaine. I’ve tried to do that, but I can’t bloody do it if you keep fighting me like this. I’ve done nothing to betray anyone’s trust so how about, for once, you trust me instead of just constantly reminding me you don’t like me!”

  Dorian slapped the finger away, baring his teeth, “You want to talk about trust Audas? Fine. I don’t trust you. Why? Let me list it off for you, first off, you come stumbling out of the forest that evening half dead. The blood loss at least? You should have been dead! Instead, you were up again after a few days!”

  “Maybe I got lucky.” Audas countered.

  “I lost a friend over the same shit!” Dorian roared.

  That made Audas step back, blinking at the tall Nyúlfur. He lost someone? Is that…

  “Dorian.” He started, unable to stop the words, “I’m s-“

  “No.”

  Dorian’s finger jabbed into his chest, just above the solar plex, almost shoving Audas back as he snarled at him. “You shut up for a minute. Secondly, you came here on a plane from Britain. You can’t have just flown over in one go, not without stopping somewhere along the way. And I checked in with our people in Nova Scotia and there weren’t any flights. So, you must have used a long-range jet, and only the humans have that kind of hardware! “

  “I don’t-“

  “Thirdly, to top it off, you show up just as the rumours start popping up about this human-Nyúlfur team in the country!”

  Audas stiffened, jaw clamped shut. He desperately tried not show any other reaction, any indicator that Dorian could use against him. But he must have caught something, and like a hunter, satisfied he had got the prey into his trap, he cracked a cold smile, “Funny reaction for a newcomer. You know something?”

  Growling, Audas slammed his hand against him, shoving the bigger Nyúlfur away and returning his own snarl. “Stay the fuck away from me Dorian.”

  The smile flickered for a moment, but only grew wider, “You can’t stop me.”

  “Okay ladies!”

  Grey furred arms shot between them and shunted the two apart. “I know you two are stabbing each other with word shivs again.” Kaine joked, “But can we please have the date at another time, m’kay?”

  Audas switched his eyes between the two, with Kaine’s cheesy grin and Dorian’s heavy frown. Kaine had a point, with the most difficult parts of the journey ahead they couldn’t afford to be fighting each other now. But how the hell do I get Dorian to back the fuck off?!

  But more importantly… Dorian is so close to the mark… if Kaine hadn’t stepped in, Dorian could have outted me there and then.

  “Fine.” Dorian replied, voice low as he shrugged. “I was done anyway.” He brushed by the two, Audas grunting as Dorian’s shoulder pushed him aside. He glowered at his back as he marched away, headed back towards the carts.

  “Geez…” Kaine uttered, “That guy really hates your ass.”

  “Tell me about it.” Audas replied after a moment. But his mind was elsewhere… focused on the problem of his past… and the problem posed by Dorian Kingsley.

  That was close. Far too close. And if Dorian got his way…

  He might not have Hagen’s own forces to worry about.

  *****

  He spent the remaining couple of hours in the local bar with Kaine and the freshly arrived Dray, discussing the road ahead and their newfound supplies over a couple of juices and a beer. It was a relief, Audas figured, just to be able to talk normally alongside his companions. But Kia’s rumour and Dorian’s hostile words still echoed in his skull, putting a damper on his mood. He tried his best to hide it, but it was like his shadow was trying to yank him back with a surprise jolt.

  He was relieved when they finally returned to the caravan and made their way out of Ironhold’s Northern Gate. Their next destination fresh on their minds as they continued onwards into Cascadia’s heartland.

  Audas found himself staring at the road ahead, gripping the side of the carriage as it trundled down it. He had to put his fears to one side for now, the path ahead was dangerous, and his mind now drifted towards this so-called Fort Stark.

  As much as he was worried about Hagen’s forces, he could still tell that the Hubbers seemed on edge. Unsettled at the prospect of their next destination.

  Just how bad was Fort Stark?