The Legend of Dark City

Chapter 29

Cassie had watched the routine that the soldiers went through each evening when they set up camp. She knew who took the first watch and where they would be posted. She knew who was the weakest link and how she would tackle them when the time came. She also knew where Bree and Napier slept cuddled together towards the edge of the camp.

She estimated that it was about two in the morning and she moved within her sleeping bag scanning the camp as she did so. Everybody seemed to be in the place she had expected them to be. She had left the side of her sleeping bag unzipped and she now rolled out of it. With her arms and legs free of encumbrance she would be able to move quickly. The sentries were about to change and would provide a distraction which she would exploit.

One of the older soldiers was, as usual, snoring loudly. As the guard was changing Cassie rolled away from her sleeping bag and when she was close enough to the snorer she reached for his gun. His clamour didn't let up as his weapon was removed from under his nose. Now that she was armed she felt better. Even if she couldn't get away she could go out in a blaze of glory taking a few of the enemy with her.

Seeing where Napier and Bree were sleeping, she plotted her route through the slumbering camp. She felt her way through the soldiers with her mind trying to ascertain who was stirring and who was sleeping. Her route took her in a zigzag course which avoided the alert and exploited the inert. Cassie wanted to tell her fellow immune what she had done to her friend Esther. She would also use Bree as a hostage until she had got away from the camp. It was a shame that she couldn't just kill her but that would bring the full force of the soldiers down on her.

She clutched the rifle close to her and moved in a crouched brisk walk towards her victims. Cassie felt the smile spreading across her face as she grew nearer to her target. She had to pause a couple of times when people stirred but she was nearly there. She manoeuvred the rifle ready to prod Bree and then she sensed danger and as she looked back up from the gun there was a most unwelcome sight.

Captain Armitage stared at Cassie and then asked in a loud voice "Where do you think you are going?"

Others began to stir and Bree and Napier sat up and stared at her as if they were not in the least surprised. Cassie had swung her gun to point at the Captain and she now adjusted her stance so that she was aiming at Bree. The soldiers nearest to them had now grabbed their weapons and all of them were pointing at the prisoner.

Things had not worked out how she had planned. Cassie's hubris had led her to believe that she could make her escape, but she was mistaken. The Captain must have been watching her. Not just that night as she crept through the camp but for the days leading up to this moment. As she looked at Bree she knew that the strange link between them had alerted her to the danger. Now they were at a momentary impasse as the threat to Bree was assessed.

This was not going to end well for her Cassie realised. She felt the need to enlighten those around her about exactly who they were dealing with. She changed her stooped stance and stood tall. "I will not hesitate to shoot your precious Bree if anybody moves. She will not be the first person I have killed. She will not be the first woman I have killed. Along with all those bitches at the farm I also had the pleasure of dispatching that woman from the village. I believe her name was Esther".

The smile on Cassie's face was the most genuine that anyone had seen. Once again her inner alarm bell was clanging but she did not know where the threat was coming from. If only she had just left the camp when she had the chance? Her need to cause pain and torment had driven her on a reckless detour. The Captain gave a barely perceptible nod and a second later a shot rang out. Cassie's head snapped back as the bullet ripped into her forehead and she crumpled to the floor. No one moved for a few moments as the events that had just played out were absorbed. The Captain moved first as he issued instructions to check the perimeter. The sound of a gunshot would indicate where they were to anybody abroad that night.

Bree was sat on the ground looking at Cassie's dead body. She couldn't seem to move or avert her gaze. The Captain instructed two of the nearby soldiers to remove Cassie's corpse.

"Take that thing away and bury it" were his words. The whole camp had been disturbed and it was clear that they would not sleep again that night.

The fires were stoked and water was put on to boil. Proper tea was no longer available but herbal and floral versions had taken its place. It was still the go to beverage in times of crisis. There would be time for an inquest into how she had got a weapon and got so far later. Bree had felt Cassie's anxiety and had been sure that whatever she had planned would be happening soon. The Captain had put precautions in place. For now the inhabitants of the camp sat around the fire and talked in low voices about what Cassie had said before she had been killed.

Bree had sensed what Cassie was like but she was shocked at the extent of her depravity. It seemed that she had killed the other raider women and presumably their children too. Different theories were put forward as to why she had murdered them. The best guess was that the women would tell the soldiers what Cassie had really been like if they were left alive. Napier and Bree had been shocked to hear that she was the one who had murdered Esther.

It had felt like a loss when Cassie's presence had disappeared from Bree's consciousness. She had hoped that once they were at Dark City she could talk to her and discuss the way their minds seemed to connect. She reminded herself that at times Cassie's anger had felt like a bombardment of negativity and felt some relief that she wouldn't feel that again. She could not however mourn for the girl's death. She had been responsible for so much misery and pain and Bree was glad that her mind would not trouble any other immunes.

The death of Cassie meant that they had lost an immune. Sam was disappointed but it would have been nearly impossible to incorporate her into their new community. It was clear from her actions that she had some sort of psychopathic personality. What if she had gone on a rampage once she was amongst the new group of immunes? She could have done irreparable damage. Sam went and sat with Napier and Bree who were close to the fire. They needed to be near to the others in the camp after the trauma of what they had witnessed.

Everyone was saying how strange they had found Cassie's behaviour. Hindsight was informing their recollections and every one of her actions was being analysed. Bree listened to some of the stories and then spoke to Sam and Napier. She told them about the people she had killed, the gang members who had attacked her and her aunt, the boy, whose name she never knew, who had captured and raped her and Frankie who had thrown her to the ground and attempted to rape her.

Bree felt remorse for every life she had taken but she had been fighting to survive. She hoped that she would never again have to defend herself or those around her in such a way. It was a strange time and place for her confession but it felt right somehow. It was a burden she had carried alone and now Napier and Sam, who represented the new establishment, knew everything.

"You are not like her" Napier said and Sam nodded in agreement.

As dawn was breaking they were already on the road. They had broken camp early and were eager to get back to the safety of Dark City. The excitement that Napier and Bree had been feeling about seeing their new home had been dulled by the events of the night before. As they grew nearer to their destination an infectious optimism spread through the platoon and their anticipation returned.

Bree was eager to meet any other immunes that had arrived at the bunker to see if she could connect with them the way she had with Cassie. Napier had heard about the vast stores of equipment in the depths of the bunker and he couldn't wait to rifle through the rooms to see what they held. This was going to be easy compared to the struggles endured when the village had been established.