JONATHAN

Guy was a strange sort of unpredictable. So far, the most dangerous thing about him seemed to be his rebellious, anti-establishment, punk rock attitude and maybe the fact that he could inhale a cliff bar faster than any normal person should ever consume food. The moment Jonathan had fished the bar out of the machine, Guy had pounced and devoured it like a cartoon lion. Since then, he'd been about as docile as a Bengal cat. That was to say, a little edgy like one pet too many and maybe he'd scratch but if you kept your distance, he seemed generally friendly or at least tolerant of your presence.

The more time Jonathan spent with Guy, the more he realized that Guy was an all-around walking stereotype of every tin-foil-hat-wearing, gun-toting, hermit that lived in a cabin in the woods blaming things on the government. It was almost as if he had seen it in a movie and then decided that's what he wanted to be when he grew up except for the fact that, as he frequently liked to remind Jonathan, he never watched TV so that would have been impossible.

Guy said he'd last seen Evelyn entering the Serenity Society compound in the company of one of the members and a Lost Soul but convinced him it would be no use trying to track her down in the rain. As much as Jonathan wanted to argue, he could already feel exhaustion catching up with him. He hadn't eaten since he'd first arrived in River District (had that really been just last night? So much had happened it felt like weeks ago.) Aside from a drug induced nap courtesy of Cameron Kells, he'd barely slept. He'd be no use to Evelyn in his current state if she needed rescuing, and he had no plan of action so she'd have to wait until the next morning at least.

He and Guy set up a makeshift camp, blockading themselves in the room that probably one served as a break room for the rec center's lifeguards.

"How'd you know that was there?" Guy asked, pausing his rant about Sigma being an alien virus, and the fact that he was immune because he'd been abducted in his teens, to watch as Jonathan shook loose one of the ceiling tiles and pulled out a pillowcase of extra supplies.

Jonathan shook his head as he freed a can of tomato soup from his makeshift bag, "back when I scavenged, sometimes I needed a place to lay low for a while."

"River District Scavengers don't use the sewer systems."

Jonathan stared at him blankly, "How did you know—"

Guy shrugged, dismissing the question as he took the can from Jonathan and pried it open with a pair of pliers that he produced from somewhere in the depths of his cargo shorts. "Like I said, I spend a lot of time watching. Been watching them, the Society... everyone. If the Martians are going to grant me immunity, you bet I'm going to do my job right and keep an eye on humanity for them..."

"Wait... were you watching us then?"

"Who? You and Backpack?"

Guy had rambled on about so many of his theories, that Jonathan was starting to worry that his sighting of Evelyn was just another one of the tall tales he kept telling.

"Not watching you specifically, you narcissist! It's my job. I only saw you whenever you left your little compound out there. I was thinking it was a bit curious when you didn't come back from your run in a few days. It was getting a bit boring, a guy can only watch so many supply deliveries without wanting to put a bullet in his own brain, if you know what I mean. I went to go visit those Serenity guys for a while and lucky I came back when I did 'cause I almost missed the soulless lady murdering action and all!"

Jonathan cringed remembering Martha's death. It was disturbing hearing Guy speak so cavalierly about murder but then again this was the apocalypse. As harmless as Guy seemed, it was disconcerting to say the least knowing that someone had been spying on his whole community and treating it like watching his favourite reality tv show.

"After that you both disappeared for so long, I got bored again so I thought maybe I'd go check on the Society guys again and lo and behold, backpack girl shows up again! So, what's this important information, you're so desperate to tell this girl huh?"

Jonathan shook his head, "You're testing me again. You already know so much more information than me, it's not fair."

Guy held up his hands all innocence, or as much innocence as he could manage while licking tomato juice off the pliers he was brandishing. They'd both agreed at the beginning of their partnership to keep their weapons on their person. That hadn't fazed Jonathan much considering Guy's main weapon of choice appeared to be his guitar.

"No, no I'm really curious. Why she's so important? The way you're acting, with the weight of the world on your shoulders..." There was a glint in Guy's eye,  "Oh no, you were going to tell her you love her weren't you?"

"What? No!" Jonathan said backpedaling, "I just met her. I'm just helping her find her family."

"Lame... That's boring, unless her family is a bunch of scientists, and you have the map to the cure or something!" Guy let out a loud chortling laugh that had Jonathan quickly scanning their surroundings searching for soulless even though they'd done their best to secure the room. Thankfully the moment passed with no incident, but he must have been too shocked to keep the expression off his face because Guy raised what Jonathan assumed was an eyebrow under the mass of hair. "Wait! So, it does have something to do with the cure?"

Jonathan looked away but took a sip of soup. It was uncomfortable how easily Guy seemed to be able to discern information from him. He'd never been an open book but between this guy and Evelyn, he was beginning to wonder if all his thoughts were tattooed on his forehead.

"Nothing that crazy," Jonathan said, "more like I just have confirmation that her dad might have been a NeuroGen employee."

"No way, so was I! What was his name?"

"No way, this is too much of a coincidence. Like way too much of a coincidence."

"Suit yourself, crazier things have happened, and I should know, I was abducted by aliens! But back to the good stuff, so do you think she likes you back?"

Jonathan shook his head at Guy's nonsense, "I told you, I just met her."

"That's not a no, my guy. But I get it, you're not ready to recognize your feelings. Take your time whatever. But life's too short for cliff hangers, I might just check girlie's secret diary. It gets so boring out here watching, and the aliens love a good romance sub-plot!"

"What?" Jonathan asked, unable to mask his shock as Guy somehow summoned Evelyn's father's journal from yet another pocket of his cargo shorts, "How did you get that?"

"Saved it from the burning pile!" Guy said, holding the book up triumphantly, "Those Serenity Society guys are always burning the good stuff!"

"Give that back! It doesn't belong to you!" Jonathan's hand inched towards his gun again.

"I'll trade!" Guy said quickly, "I'm big on the barter system. You save my hide; I refrain from killing you. You get me my Cliff bar; I show you where the girl went. You answer my questions; I'll answer yours."

"And you'll give me the journal?"

"It's a deal then."

"What is it with people and these games!" Jonathan complained into the cold can of tomato soup.

"Honestly, I think it's because you're so bad about opening up. Communication is key my dude."

Jonathan sighed, "fine, what do you want to know?"

"Tell me about the scavenging. You ain't a scavenger, kid, so what gives?"

"I guess I was a smuggler of sorts, before I worked in the records room, I worked in inventory. We were always short so many things, but they always ignored the lists I spent hours making. Just regular medicines stuff like that. People were dying— kids even and of stupid things. But all they did was place us all under lockdown. No one in or out. I don't know. I was worried they were trying to cull the weakest of us or something— wouldn't be the first time. So I decided it was worth the risk, if no one else was going to do something about it, I could."

"Why'd you stop?"

"They opened the gates again; let people leave again, though no one really tried after that."

"Except you?"

"Except me, I guess. We had less deaths though. Some spontaneous conversions but less death than outside the walls. I guess that was enough to keep people in. I guess my father must have found out too somehow and had me re-sanctioned to records. Keep me out of trouble, I suppose."

Guy nodded, "Less exciting of a story than I'd hoped but alright. So what you wanna know about old Guy?"

Jonathan shrugged, he'd had so many questions before but now that Guy had forced something out of him, he felt vulnerable and raw. He passed him the soup can.

Guy took a long sip of soup then licked the red stains off his lips like a vampire. "How 'bout I tell you how I'm also a NeuroGen employee."

"I thought you said you were a cop?" Jonathan said, suddenly remembering one of the few realistic sounding bits of information he knew about Guy.

"Head Security Guard at NeuroGen Corp."

"Head Security Guard?"

"Night Guard, I said Night guard at NeuroGen Corp."

"You were—"

"Oh yeah buddy boy, I was there when it blew. But I'll tell you something kid, it might've knocked me real good on the melon that day, but I know that bomb went off from the inside."

"No, but I heard the Serenity Society infiltrated—"

"No, no kid, it was an inside job." Jonathan looked the older boy in the eyes, now that he'd removed his sunglasses, Jonathan could tell they were wild as a rabid dog's.

"It was the aliens, man, they possessed the staff. Ain't no one getting past me. Only possibility is that the Martians took the form of the employees and blew it from the inside."

Jonathan smiled thinly, remembering why he didn't trust people. "Right and why would the aliens want to do that?"

"To save us from the machines obviously! Those little pills they were making are made to control us! Sure yeah, it started with anti-saddness, anti-stress, anti-emotions but then think about the compliance, the productivity you can get from people that don't feel any particular which way about anything! I mean think about it, when was the last time you saw a screen not plastered with the words 'Ask your doctor about Tranquilose'? The military's in on it you know, those supply shipments they keep sending to River District with those little pills."

"...What?"

Guy narrowed his eyes at Jonathan, "You okay, Jonny boy? Look like you've seen a ghost."

Jonathan shook his head, "Are you telling me that you've seen them shipping in Tranquilose or whatever to River District to make us more compliant?" the gears in Jonathan's mind were turning so fast he worried his head might explode as he thought back to Singh's words and Sadie setting the pills down in front of him.

"You are not required nor asked to think of something different."

Guy studied Jonathan gravely then held out the can of soup to him, "They started showing up a couple months ago."

Jonathan nodded slowly. His brain was too tired, too God damn sluggish to process all the information. He glanced out the window, through the swamp-like pool area and back out at the downpour that continued to beat against the glass. Evelyn was some kind of genius, right? She could make sense of all this because if he was right in what he was thinking: things about the virus, about Evelyn's family... about River District and his past... everything was a lot more complicated and dangerous than he could have ever imagined.

He decided he'd get some sleep, make a plan and then as soon as he had the energy, he'd find Evelyn.