Chapter 30

Damien was being an idiot. It was a sentiment Gunner seemed to agree on, but wouldn't outright say in front of their daughter. The pair had decided to put a pin in the argument and turn in, using a guest bedroom the Brothers of Fervor had handy. It made sense that they had supplies and plenty of places to sleep given the place was clearly a safe house for the gang.

I can't believe he wants to be a Spark, Freyja thought.

Who wouldn't want to be consumed by the Hive? Sprinkles asked, cheerfully.

As Freyja stepped out onto the front porch, she could tell the little cat was pouncing on unfortunate grasshoppers in Kait's yard. It would have been cute were he not unhinging his jaw and eating them whole. She still couldn't feel Odin across the Link and worried he was depressed again but didn't want to force the issue.

The night air was nearly as hot as it had been in the daytime, but an intermittent breeze helped a little. She leaned on the wooden railing for the porch and looked out at her brother's car. Kira-217 had impersonated her to lure her family here. Damien's mother, thankfully, decided to go visit her sister. It wasn't the remote cabin Freyja had in mind but it would be safer to be with relatives.

She had expected to fight the Hive, but it was looking more and more like they'd have to contend with merely surviving the chaos that was likely already starting just outside their perception. The cable and internet had both gone out when the phones went down. Cutting off communications was a no-brainer when it came to launching some sort of war. She didn't need Odin's lingering memories to tell her that. President Butcher had done the same thing temporarily four years ago not long after the shoot out with the Brothers of Fervor. It had only lasted a day and been blamed on a massive DDoS attack on servers, but everyone knew the government was behind it to prevent word of what really happened to Page's biker club from getting out. The more she thought about it the more surprised she was that Page was not only alive but walking free. Freyja had been able to keep her head down at the time but she could remember piecing together what had happened. First was the incident involving the Brothers of Fervor. Then Butcher used it as an excuse to crack down on queer people. The Children of Loki Motorcycle Club wasn't a real gang. They were a collection of queer friends in a small town that liked bikes and happened to have a reasonably popular Chitter account operated by a non-binary home contractor and woodworker.

They were convenient targets.

The children that died that day were collateral, not victims of the gang's supposed violence as every news article claimed. The few undoctored photos of the scene that she'd come across clearly showed the Children of Loki were holding a Christmas event, complete with someone dressed as Santa, and presents.

"You think hard a lot?" Page asked as they entered the porch.

"You should be inside staying cool," Freyja countered.

"I'm feeling better, thanks," they replied before leaning their bare forearms on the railing next to her. Whatever they'd been doing since being shot in the face involved a lot of working out. They weren't armed but certainly had guns. "Any sign of 217?"

"No but I'm sure she's watching."

"Probably is. I'm sure she's scared right now," Page said.

Freyja raised an eyebrow and turned to face them. Moths thumped against the porch's yellowed light bulb. A few had long since been caught by a nearby spider web. Not a bad set up for the arachnid.

"I think that's why she picked me and busted me out. I reminded her of herself," Page explained while looking into the darkness beyond the cars. "Used up, betrayed, thrown away. Everyone she loved taken from her. Over and over."

"Prison explains the 'unofficial chess grandmaster' thing," Freyja noted.

Page sucked air in between their teeth. "I'm really not that good at chess. 217 was overselling that."

"This isn't going to be a chess match. It won't even be a war. We're looking at survival. Complicated and messy. This place isn't defensible and can't sustain ten people, let alone one hundred plus the cats. We need to move somewhere else, as soon as possible, or we're fucked," Freyja said.

"Yup."

She looked back into the darkness. A few bats flitted through the air here and there above the road. There wasn't even a serviceable street light nearby, however, so it was impossible to get a good view of the animals unless she modified her eyes.

"You know, they say we die twice. Once when our heart stops and then a second time when no one remembers our name," Page said.

"Ernest Hemingway. 'Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways men can be immortal,'" Freyja quoted.

Page chuckled. "Depends on who you ask. Some people say it's way older than him and goes back to ancient Egypt. Pretty sure it's not restricted to just men, either." They shut their eyes and tilted their head back. "Every night I say their names to keep their memories alive. Aaron White, Samar Al-Zein, Skye Roberts, and Arty Christopher. I keep them with me."

Freyja didn't know what to say, so she let silence fall between them like a curtain as Page resumed staring out into the darkness. No amount of condolences would be enough to compensate them for what they'd gone through.

"217 busted me out of prison in January."

"Butcher covered it up," Freyja noted.

Page nodded. "Can't admit to a ghost being loose."

"And the pride flag helmet?"

"Open taunt. Not sure if they spread the word around to law enforcement that it's me or not, but no one's pulled me over," Page explained with a laugh. "Also not sure where 217 found a helmet so close to my old one. The paint was custom."

"She probably made it," Freyja replied. "Local Probes can make things, like, big ass warships, for instance."

"I missed seeing her ship? Damn. I figured she had something like that. How big was it?"

Freyja thought a moment, searching for Earth objects or vehicles she could cite as reference. "About the size of eight city busses stuck together to make one giant brick. Not shaped like that, but by volume. Looked more like a stealth fighter that ate too much."

Page laughed. "You realize you're one of the first people to see an alien ship, right? That's amazing."

"I'm not one of the first people to be bitten by an alien to get super powers, though," Freyja noted. "Kira-217 wouldn't know the failure rate is 2% without a sizable test pool. I'm guessing, two hundred people at minimum. If she was thinking of fighting a war against the Hive with a force of only six hundred, then she's out of her mind."

They turned to face her and asked flatly, "Where'd you get that number? Six hundred?"

"The hundred cats here, plus one hundred Humans. Assuming she had two hundred Hive members to test with, that adds another two hundred Humans. Giving her a force of at least six hundred to work with," Freyja said.

"That's assuming a lot. Like her keeping the Hive members alive. She hates them," Page countered.

"Yeah, but if they're like Odin, then they're abandoned too. It's not impossible to sway them to her side, or identify with them the way she did with you," Freyja explained.

They sighed. "Revenge is a cloudy mistress. Makes one take risks and miss things. Explains why she thought I'd want revenge against Butcher for what happened but delayed pairing me up with a Hive member. If I didn't go along with her I'd be a potential threat given how much I know about her operation and plans. Still, it's possible she'd see the Hive members who got dumped the same way she viewed me and only take out ones that crossed her. Not a bad conclusion."

Freyja pursed her lips. Movement in the darkness behind Page caught her attention. A quick adjustment to her eyes revealed that it was only Odin leaving Kait's yard as he hopped the fence with a bowl in hand. Page turned to see him loudly snacking on the contents as he approached. The crunching sound was unmistakable.

"He's a cat, right?" Page asked.

"Yeah."

"Explains why he makes my nose itch," Page said.

"I'm surprised you can breathe through that thing," Freyja joked.

Page laughed. "Prison had only the best doctors."

Odin reached the porch steps and walked straight to Freyja, dented metal bowl in hand. "We need to talk."

"I'm all ears."

He shoved the bowl at her chest. "You haven't eaten all day."

"I had breakfast and I'm not eating cat food," she said, pushing the bowl back into his hands.

He glanced down at the bowl and chirped. "I should have brought something more fresh? Hmm. I can ask the Barn Hive if there are any rats available to hunt."

She shut her eyes. "No. No. I appreciate the thought. Do not bring me a rat. I'm good."

Page cracked up, doubling over laughing. They were able to compose themself after a few moments of Freyja and Odin mutually staring at them. As they wiped tears from their eyes they said, "That was adorable. I am so looking forward to finally becoming a Spark."