“See you later,” Shannon said, little hands waving back at him until the door closed. He didn't know why he'd gone to see the kids first thing. After all, Finn was waiting on him but instead of rushing to appointments, he’d wandered to the lower houses to check in on them.
Assurances abounded; we're doing fine, food is nice, the nightmares are getting better. Cally and Shane seemed the gladdest to see him even if their eyes still glistened from fresh tears. I could have stayed longer. But the morning he spent with Tish had run late and putting off Finn any longer wouldn't be in his best interest.
It was at least noon, according to the sun, normally a pretty chill time of day. But people scurried about and tension seemed to spark the air. Shannon stopped briefly to ask a familiar face where he could find Finn, receiving no more than a nod towards the building in the centre of the quad.
The doors to Old Vic groaned as he opened them and strode inside. It smelled less stale than some of the other buildings of the college, probably due to the increased traffic. With Helena’s office, up the wide double bannister stairs of aged and stained wood, nearly everyone at some point visited. But today it seemed sparse. Though Old Vic lay in the middle of the college, surrounded by thick dormitory walls on all sides, the bottom level of windows remained boarded. Perhaps a holdover from the first outbreak. Perhaps precaution, but Shannon had never bothered to ask. Only as he walked through the dark of the building’s centre foyer did he notice the light that pooled in from the taller windows.
Dead ahead lay his destination. The old campus bookstore had long ago been ransacked and reorganized into a study of sorts. The bookshelves remained but were pushed to the side, and in their place, a bunch of comfy armchairs filled the room. It had the look of one of those…. Salons? Shannon wondered where he’d heard the term as he stepped inside.
Sure enough, in the large green leather chair likely older than anyone alive in the college sat Finn. A book dangled from his one hand, lazily, something about architecture from the cover.
“Reading anything good?” Shannon asked, announcing his presence.
It didn't call Finn’s eyes up from the book. Instead, he casually turned a page. “Brushing up on my history of western technology.” He thumbed a few more, far faster than Shannon imagined Finn could read, before finally peering above the cover. “Knowledge is power, my friend. I now know how a... capstan works and why. Whatever good that does me.” Closing the book and sitting up a bit Finn looked ready for a distraction. He motioning to another armchair not far in front of him. “But sit, talk. Haven’t had much of a chance between Reid and Monte causing a ruckus.”
“No shit,” Shannon said with a sigh, flopping in the chair.
“I wanted to catch up. See where you’re at. Hear about the road. At least before the council starts getting all riled up.”
“I thought you might.” Leaning back, Shannon tried to relax but her fingers itched. “So shoot.”
“Laurence.” The casual tone remained but Finn's eyes locked on Shannon. “I heard he died.”
“You'd have to talk to Tish about that.” Shannon squirmed in the chair, the leather groaning, but made a point to try and stop himself. He knew how things worked around the college; power was in supplies and information. And information was Finn’s blood. Before leaving Shannon used to meet with him. Different place, same green chair. And the same damn conversation.
“You saw nuthin?” Finn pressed.
Shannon shook his head. “We got split up. I was with Reid and the kids. Tish took off with Laurence and a few others. From what I know, he turned.”
“So I've heard.” Finn seemed to gauge Shannon response carefully while dangling the book on his knee. But, as he sat back in his chair, Shannon assumed it had been accepted as an acceptable enough response.
With a smile, Finn shrugged. “I'll ask her then. To be honest it was more for my own curiosity than anything else. I liked the man. Owed him a favour or two but wendigo's don't pay debts, do they son?”
“No, they do not.” The fabricated image of Laurence’s ravenous and howling shape clawed into his mind. If only for a fleeting second. “I could ask her for you,” Shannon blurted.
Rubbing his bald head, Finn smirked. “Oh yeah? You two nice and chummy, are ya?” Finn fiddled around in his pocket for something he didn't have, the telltale habit of a habitual smoker that hadn't remembered the world fell to shit. “Tell me, did she finish you or bring you back to life?”
A blushing heat swelled in Shannon’s cheeks and he gripped the cracked leather arms of his chair. “Fuck off man,” he half-laughed out, trying to hide his discomfort. “What's between us is-”
“The business of every fucker that can hear you two.” Finn picked at his fingers watching Shannon squirm. He made no attempt to hide his glee. “Calm down boy, I could care less. A fuck's a fuck, always has been. Just watch your shit.”
“The fuck does that mean?”
“It means she's fiery, a pain in the ass, and from the sounds of it your new problem.” Fumbling again in his pockets Finn produced a pencil and immediately placed it between his lips. “Fuck it, I don't care. I didn't want you here to talk about you fuckin’ Tish.”
A quick nod ended the topic and Shannon relaxed. A little. But in the back of his mind, he couldn't shake that itch to pop Finn in the mouth. Getting defensive already? She's right, not the same as you fuckin’ were.
“I need a good pair of eyes,” Finn began, the pencil moving from mouth to fingers as he spoke, dangling like a thin yellow cigar. It’s side sported teeth marks, little dimples to suggest it wasn’t really used to write with any more. “The people 'round here are soft and I’ve a feeling there's few who can handle what's coming now that we have something priceless.”
“You mean Ashley,” Shannon said her name and Finn flinched.
“Don't fucking call her by name. Jesus,” Finn spat. “Last thing we need is someone else sympathizing with her.” Shifting Finn ripped the pencil from his lips and held it between his fingers so tight Shannon thought it might snap. “Reid's already head over god-damn heels, and as far as you or I are concerned that thing is property. Nothin’ more.”
He feels it too, Shannon thought as he watched Finn spit on the floor. He couldn’t meet Shannon’s eyes and he guessed a similar knot of guilt congealed in his gut. Easier if she’s a thing…
Finn looked up, watching Shannon, waiting for acceptance. Reluctantly, Shannon felt himself nod.
“Good.” Finn placed the pencil back between his lips. “I need you to keep things quiet over there. In the houses.”
“You want me to watch her?”
“No. Not her. The others. Keep an eye out for Monte and any of his fuckin' limp dick friends. I'll point out the new ones to you. You don't know them but they'll show their true colours, I'm sure. I don't want them anywhere near that house. You see them near, you see them lookin', you see them fucking breathing heavy in your direction and you let me know.” Fin’s eyes narrowed off in the distance. “I’ll sort it right quick.”
“Alright.”
“Helena too.” Finn’s gaze flashed up to the ceiling, to the second floor where they both knew Helena should be. “I want to know how much time she's spending with the cargo.”
Why? He wanted to ask but only frowned before nodding as Finn expected.
“She's acting funny. I'd like to know if things are gonna get shitty before I'm knee-deep in it.”
“Anyone else?” Half worried he would name the entire camp, Shannon considered a joke. But as Finn’s eyes darkened, his face scrunched in concentration, Shannon didn’t press it.
“Eric. He spends most his time with Helena or his mother.” Finn scratched his head in thought. “Anyone who doesn't have a reason to be there, I'd like to know about. ”
“So like me, walking around the new… cargo without much reason to be?”
Finn let out a restrained chuckle. “I've arranged for you to watch her all 'official' like. So you'll not be sneaking about.”
“That's a relief. Last thing I want is one of them Jekyll's circling.” Few things made Finn smile more than cracks at the council members, but even that barely brought out a stiff grin.
“Reid.”
“Watch him too?”
Finn nodded .“I like Reid, owe him more than I’d care to admit but he's too fuckin’ close to it. Afraid he might do something stupid.” Relaxing a bit Finn looked to have finished his mental list.
“Got it.”
Finn stepped up from the chair and offered his hand. “I can count on you, Shan.” The words weren’t delivered as a question but a statement. Shannon stood and their hands met. Finn's grasp was firmer than normal and his eyes meet Shannon's with unwavering focus.
He doubts? Shannon thought briefly. Look him in the eye. Never shrink away. He repeated the words in his mind as he stared back. “Always, Finn. Always.”
Shannon couldn’t get out of Finn’s office fast enough. He could still fell the council member following him with his eyes, all the way out into the hall, right up to the big double doors of Old Vic. And a weight lay there, in his hand. The promise. He's cautious by nature, that's nothing new. But the doubt in Shannon’s gut was. He’d never felt like he’d lied to Finn before.
Shrugging it off, he made his way to the dorm where Ashley was squirrelled away. And in the quad, it looked like everyone knew where she was. Each person that passed by gave the building a wide birth, walking onto the grass to avoid the arched doorway. The closer he came, the more eyes glued to his back, watching Shannon like wee little hawks with nothing better to do.
A thought gripped him. How many are doing what I am? Watching for someone else, wondering who's working for who? Keeping track. Taking names. It wasn't a newfound paranoia; the people in the community always had a way of making his skin itch. Someone working for someone else, backs to be scratched, favours owed, promises to keep or you were out with the wendigos. That's not to say the council members were bad people but self-preservation had a strange way of making people crazy.
At least that hasn't changed.
Inside, he was met by two men he didn't recognize and a familiar face he didn't mind seeing again.
“Carol Sinclair.”
At the sound of her name, she peered up from fussing with her nails. “Shannon Coombs. I heard you were back. Glad to see you didn’t die.” Her now loose but still clearly spiralled coffee coloured curls sprung out from the tight bun she had pulling them back. She still wore the suit jacket after all this time, the sleeves mended repeatedly. It couldn’t have been comfortable, but he guessed that it was the adult version of a security blanket.
“Didn't expect to see your face around here though.” She paused for a moment, that familiar stare looking over him. Everyone's so damn paranoid these days.
As though she could read his mind, Carol smiled. “Still spying for Finn? Let me guess, he arranged for you to get put on her detail?”
“Come on Carol, you know how it goes ‘round here.” Shannon smiled right back. “It’s like I never left!” He had thought the meet would be jovial but Carol's smile faded. Her eyes cast a quick glance to her left and right where she was flanked by the two goons. A subtle warning, if Shannon had to guess.
“Some people like to grow over time. Some not.” She straightened herself out. “In any case, these two will stay down here by the stairs. They know not to go up,” she said pointedly, and not to Shannon. “Eric is up there now. He'll be getting some food while you watch her and after he drops it off, she's yours for a few hours.”
“Aren't I lucky.” Shannon tried to feign annoyance but, to him, it looked like Carol could see right through it.
“Finn knows how to take care of his own, I suppose.” She acted his senior by at least ten years but could boast no more than two or three at best. She wasn’t anything special, just another set of eyes for another council member. But she liked the power, he guessed. Or at least the little bit of it that rolled off who she answered to.
“Call for help if you need it.” She ended the conversation as quickly as it had started, moving herself to the door with one last look at the guards by the stairwell. “Don't fucking move from this spot or you know who you'll be answering to.”
She left and Shannon mounted the steps. A part of him couldn’t blame her for being such a pill. Not after all he knew. Not when he knew who she answered to.
[MAD Wendigo - Prologue Narration]
Thank you for reading! As always, I love being able to share this story and I love having readers. If you have any comments, feedback, hype, etc, I'd love to hear from you.
