Author's Note - So as the chapters tumble onwards you'll be pleased to know that my proofreader and I have gone through all the remaining chapters and discussed at length. Took us several hours arguing over characters. Mainly because he was in denial at certain things. But we've worked our way through it. The plus side means we are on the last straight of chapters now. It may take a while editing before posting due to work obligations but we're nearly there. Sadly.

So in the meanwhile, here's the next chapter.

Chapter Twenty-One – Ghosts of the Past

"Aidan," Lem cautiously spoke, "It's me, Lem."

"I'm perfectly aware who it is," she calmly responded adjusting her grip on her weapon.

He noticed the blood dripping down her arm and the way she held it closer to her body in protection, he could easily overpower her if he wanted. But then, as his eyes drifted to her steely expression, he realised that she was more likely to fire at him at a single flinch, let alone a heroic tackle. It was easy to forget that this was the same girl who once sat by his bedside reading him bedtime stories to help ease his nightmares.

"We thought you were dead Aidan," he explained.

"You left me for dead you inconsiderate asshole,"

It surprised him how much she maintained her composure, the Aidan of old used to fly aggressively off the handle very quickly. He wondered how much of it was her training and how much was down to the presence of the children in the room.

"I had no choice,"

"There was a baby there Lem, you just left us in a cell full of Formers, I know you were pissed at me, but that was no way to seek revenge,"

"We make the decisions we make for the people we love," he stood by his choices, despite his regrets.

"So feeding me to the Formers would cure Angelo?" She scoffed.

"I would have freed you, if Angelo hadn't released the Formers I would have let you go when I had the chance,"

"Would that have been before or after you injected Wilks with the same poison you injected those women,"

The penny dropped as Lem realised Aidan had more reason than others to want to have him killed. It was time to find a way to negotiate out of her aggression.

"You can't shoot me Aidan. I'm the only thing that stands between Wilks and the cure,"

"Wrong, Angelo holds that key and you have no control over him anymore,"

"What's that supposed to mean," he frowned.

She lowered the gun slightly, still keeping it trained on him. Despite how much hostility she felt towards him, despite their history. She knew she needed an element of tact to break the news to Lem that the person he had spent his entire teenage years protecting was now beyond saving.

"Lem, there's something you need to know about Angelo, he's turned, I saw him leading the Formers into the village. Completely consumed by Lambency."

"What?" Lem frowned, "stop it, don't be ridiculous."

"You think I'd lie to you about that, me of all people?"

There was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, "I don't believe you."

"I'm afraid so, I witnessed it myself, saw him kill my people. You can't come back from that,"

"Shut up, Aidan, you always dismissed him. Angelo is stronger than that. We didn't go through all this hell just for him to…to…"

The sound of Formers scrabbling at the boarded up windows sent a chill up his spine. Was this what Angelo had become now, a brainless zombie with a thirst for blood? He refused to accept that it could happen to the person he had spent such a long time fighting for.

The three boys, huddled together in the corner of the room let out a collective squeal at the sound of the monsters. Lem frowned as he registered them for the first time, pathetic little humans scared of their shadows. And yet there was something about them that looked familiar, a distinctive likeness to a certain Sergeant.

"What the hell is this Aide?" he demanded as he gesticulated aggressively in their direction, his emotions swirled trying to fight back the confusing pain of losing Angelo, "who are they?"

The smallest, no older than three scampered out of his huddle and darted towards Aidie, clinging to her leg for protection. The other two shuffled closer although the sounds of the Formers drove them back into the corner. Lem couldn't understand the body language between her and the three boys, and it made him want to rage at the unjustness.

"So everything you told Frost was just a lie," he commented sharply astonished at her audacity.

"Lem stop," she interjected, lowering the weapon for the first time, "whatever's going through your head, stop."

"Is this why you left Port Farrell? To hide your dirty secret?" He wasn't even certain why he was so angry.

"Woah, hold up Lem, let me speak," she said eventually holstering her weapon and holding her hands out to stop him, the blood from her wound dripped from the tips of her fingers, "they are the reason we left Port Farrell, yes. But I'm not their mother. For Pete's sake, the eldest is seven. These boys needed our help. Their mother reached out to us, searching for Wilks' father. She and her children had escaped from a birthing farm, not long after Jacinto had sunk, and in the process her handler had been killed. Despite it being an accident both she and her boys were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. It transpired that Wilks' father and their mother had a history, he had protected her in return for fathering her children so he could train them as soldiers once they came of age. So, of course, her hopes of escaping her sentencing lay in finding him. Without him, there was no hope of an appeal, and unfortunately, despite his best approach, Ollyvar Wilks could not save her. We did not want to lose those children. We worked out our best options, regardless of what we did the boys would still have a price on their head leaving us with very few options."

Finally taking note of her injury, she lifted her arm up to help slow the bleeding and made her way to the medical box on the wall, fumbling around with the latch and retrieving a wad of dressing. Lem watched her fiddle with the packing one-handed until he decided to assist her. Roughly pulling her arm towards him and taking off the bloodied bandages. She flinched as he squirted an alcohol solution over the injury, giving them both a chance to assess the wound.

"Nothing changes," he tutted as he blotted the wound with a dressing and wrapped it up tightly. He watched Aidan wince each time he tightened the bandaging over her arm, a slight sense of satisfaction chilled him at her discomfort.

"Back at Port Farrell, I had also attracted the unwanted attention of one of the Lieutenants during my cadet training. He started making life difficult for Wilks, attempting to override his authority as my guardian. His men surrounded him one night, beat him up and threatened him if he dared stop him from taking me away. So we sat down that night, all of us, and made a decision that would change our lives forever. Before the sun rose the next morning Wilks and I wed in the grounds of a derelict church. Wilks knew that if anything happened to him once I had his name, I would be immune from any further danger, they couldn't take me away. Then as Wilks spent the afternoon answering for his actions, I entered the holding cells where the boys were being held and broke them out. I knocked out a guard, and we ran. It hadn't been an easy decision, but we had all made a choice as a family. We plotted out our next step to ensure that Wilks wasn't implicated in any of my actions. While he provided us with a diversion, I led the kids out of Port Farrell and headed as far as we could go. Wilks followed us shortly behind, under cover of darkness. We fled the COG for their safety, to save the lives of Wilks' half brothers."

Lem frowned, "You put your life on the line for some stranger's kids?"

"And how was that any different to what Wilks did for us?" She matched him with ferocity, "he never gave it a second thought coming to us at our Compound, or when that monster dragged you into the hollows. He saw it as his duty. Just as he saw these boys as his family, three scared kids with no father and their mother about to be executed just because she wanted a better life for her children."

The eldest boy quietly made his way to Aidie's side and placed a hand on her arm in reassurance.

"I know what's been going through your head all this time Lem. You keep wondering why I refused Frost only to take in these children for Wilks. I never wanted to be a birthing mule, not for Frost, not for anyone. I wanted to have control over my future. When I looked at Frost that day on the docks, I saw a man who had decided everything for me. He had already worked out how many children he wanted, it was like I had never known him, and it scared me. But then I saw the way Wilks responded to how his deceased father had planned his entire life for him. And I saw the lengths he took to protect the small boys that he should have shunned from his family name. It made me realise that I could only aspire to be as honourable as him. Wilks gave his career for these boys, the years he had spent building his reputation went the moment we fled Port Farrell. And he didn't think twice about it. There isn't anything I wouldn't give to help him."

Lem was unsure on the best response. He knew that Port Farrell held a lot of dark secrets and the mess he and Angelo had gone through had only been one of them. Lem had just assumed that Aidan had run off and forgotten her family as if they had meant nothing. But then as he looked at the three boys and the connection they seemed to have with her, it was evident that she was more than just their protector. She had looked after these kids like they were her own. Not an easy feat considering the promises Wilks had made her.

"How did you manage it?" His asked quietly.

"For a long while we struggled, no one wanted to take us in. The Stranded saw our armour and spat in our direction. We were desperate. Then Miles managed to gain contact with a woman from this village. They knew one another from a past life, one that surpassed the animosity between Gears and Stranded. She had children herself and offered to take the boys, house, clothe and feed them. In exchange, we presented ourselves as security to the town. It wasn't easy, the leader was notoriously aggressive and hated the COG, so we spent our lives trying to prove our loyalty to them. But together we survived and adapted."

She stretched and flexed her hand, testing the dexterity of her fingers now she was half bandaged. Lem thoughtfully watched her as she pulled out a handful of bullets and slotted them into the pistol.

"I'm trying to get my head around why you'd still play the married game now that you're no longer with the COG," he said.

"Well, I thought you of all people would have understood that," she responded frankly, her blue eyes flicking briefly to him, "I'm also surprised that my brother never said anything to you. Wilks found him at Port Farrell, explained everything to him and asked him to be a witness to our union."

"Eli knew?" the feeling of betrayal cut him deep, "he never said a word."

"He and Wilks talked for a long while beforehand, I don't even know what they discussed,"

She lined each of the boys up to assess if any were injured, despite shallow cuts and scratches they were okay. She told them to stay put, making them each link hands with one another, as she went to check the rest of the building in preparation for their escape, leaving Lem alone with them. He stood awkwardly, staring back at them with no idea as to what to say. He still found it hard to understand that these humans were the reason she had ditched the COG.

The sound of Formers echoed somewhere through the building, Lem leapt backwards as they scrabbled again at the boarded windows. They hissed and screeched, snapping back splinters of wood as they tried to get in. Instinct made Lem stand protectively in front of the boys as he spread his hands outwards to make sure they stayed behind him. He braced himself as a Former struggled against the boarding, ripping it quickly apart and wriggling its lambent body through the small human sized gap. It caught sight of Lem and screamed, the other Formers nearby squeezing beside it to get to him.

The boys to their credit kept silent, assuming their tight huddle behind him. It was down to him to protect the children from the monsters he had created.

"It's okay," he half tried to convince himself as he squeezed the trigger on the Gorgon, hitting the Former in the face, "they aren't that scary are they?"

For every Former he hit another three appeared in its place, snapping and cracking at the wood that kept them at bay. Lem fired at them again just as one managed to wriggle free lunged at him, knocking his weapon from his hands. He let out a panicked yelp, this time backing the boys against the wall.

"Hey!" Aidan's voice sounded from the adjacent room, drawing the Formers attention as she fired at them, her pistol blew the creature back as she rushed towards them, kicking the Gorgon towards Lem. He bent down to pick up the weapon as she grabbed the youngest boy, hoisting him into her arms and ushering the others along with her. Lem sprinted behind as the Formers finally smashed the window open and surged through after them. A turbulent sea of Lambent dead.

"Go go go!" she urged, darting around tables and chairs as they sprinted through the school rooms.

The main door burst open as more Formers charged inside, blocking off their only exit. Aidan let out a gasp as she stopped herself from stumbling into them, twisting the child away from the brunt of the creatures and indicated to the corridor. Lem stopped a moment as a Former reeled backwards at the sight of him. Before it could lunge, Lem fired at it, letting it explode into a puff of ash.

"Aide it knew me," he called to her, "I think it remembered me."

"Your point?" she responded back sharply, as she turned to fire again to slow the steady sea of Formers from swallowing them whole.

"I'm your diversion,"

"No way,"

"I have a plan," he said, "I can provide a diversion while you get the kids to safety."

"You don't need to put your life on the line, Lem. I have an idea which doesn't involve either of us sacrificing ourselves. There's a storage basement, we get there and blow the bastards up," she panted, hoisting the slipping child further up her hip.

"Where's the basement?"

"The old boiler room, follow the hallway and to the left,"

They ran as fast as they could, the children hanging onto them for dear life as the wave of Former Humans pursued them. Aidie reached the door, ushering Lem and the boys in, dropping the smallest to his feet while she wedged a block of wood through the looped handles. She sent him an exhausted look.

"Why the hell did you make so many monsters?"

"I didn't make all these!" He yelled in an attempt to defend himself, "they must have found more."

"Well you certainly helped it along," she snapped, making her way to the hatchway in the floor and heaved the metal panel upwards. She ushered the boys to her as they hesitated beside the boiler room door, just at the Formers slammed hard against it. Realising their caution she took the plunge first, stepping into the darkness and reaching out to them from the bunker, "it's okay, I promise it's okay."

Lem picked up a canister that rested on a table beside the boiler, sniffing to identify the contents, then started tipping the fuel over the floor. Aidan meanwhile had managed to negotiate the boys into the bunker and returned to assist him in laying the trap. She loaded kindling and fuel into the boiler and hunted around for a lighter. The Formers smashed hard to get to them as the wooden block broke apart and thrust the door open.

"Get in!" she yelled, finally grabbing a lighter and sprinting after Lem to the bunker.

They leapt downwards into the dark as Aidie flipped the lighter and thrust it towards the oncoming surge of Formers. Lem heaved the hatch down, using all his might to keep it shut as Aidie threw herself over the boys in protection. The room above them filled with a bright blinding light as the Formers exploded outwards, taking the rest of the building down with them.

Lem hung pathetically to the handle of the hatch, panting in exhaustion, listening to the sound of the building collapsing on top of them.

"Can you say overkill?" he wobbled a witty retort, feeling his limbs start to shake as the adrenaline that had kept him alive slowly ebbed from him.

"Well that's certainly one way to kill a few Formers," she responded from the darkness, the blue indicator lights from her armour the only give away to her location.

"I suppose we've all wanted to blow up a school at some point in our educational lives,"

He could hear her chuckle to herself, "Oh hell, the one time Wilks trusted me to be careful."

"I'm scared," one of the boys squeaked nearby.

"It's okay," Aidie soothed him, her tone of voice turning gentle in response, "it's like a huge game of hide-and-seek and right now we're doing an excellent job of hiding."

Lem could hear her scuffle around in the darkness until a lamp illuminated the room, revealing a small bunker-like room with random weapons on the wall and a shelf of food rations. The boys scurried further into the room, patiently waiting for Aidie to hand them something to eat. Lem eventually plonked himself beside them as the smallest child picked his moment to curl up on his lap while he munched on his ration bar.

They were silent for a while, an unspoken tension between them as Aidie busied herself poking around the bunker until she eventually slumped herself down to finally face him.

"So what happened back at the Rendez-Vous?" she asked, resting her bandaged arm upright against her chest. She looked pale and completely exhausted.

Lem stared back at her as the smallest child wriggled further into the comfort of his lap.

"So much happened at Port Farrell that the COG turned a blind eye to most of it." Lem murmured, his mind casting back as if it were yesterday, "For a while, we stayed within the confines of the infirmary, they started to treat Angelo with the same medication they had used on Frost, as he had shown so much improvement. It was tough, but we were getting along just fine. Then things started to change the day the Lieutenant died."

"What?"

"A freak accident, unfortunately, he was hit by a patrol vehicle one night. It had been raining. The car spun out of control in the wet conditions and pinned him under the tyres. He was crushed to death before they could pull him out,"

"Oh my god Lem. I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"You weren't the only one with problems it seems," he sighed, "without the Lieutenant, things just spiralled for us. The kid, David was sucked into the civilian masses, and we never saw much of him again. Frost stayed with us a little longer, but that was mostly because he was so stubbornly protective of the part of his family he had left. You leaving him had crushed him, and he took a lot of his anger out on Eli, shouting and screaming at him for no reason, poor Eli just stood there and accepted it. Then one night Frost just disappeared, no note, no answers from anyone, nothing. Eli spent a while investigating his whereabouts, but I think he dug too far because he caught the attention of a few high ranking officials and before he knew it they had recruited him into a squad and was shipped off to Vectes."

"If only I'd known,"

"There would have been nothing to stop it. In all honesty, our fate had been dealt to us the moment we reached Jacinto. You were always going to leave us, whether it was with Wilks or to the highest bidder. Eli was always going to get recruited, someone with those brains would have caught the attention of a someone rather quickly. The only thing we had no control over was the Lieutenant. Without him, there was no reason to keep us together. Even Angelo spiralled, his aggression spiked out of control to the point that he started hurting people. Then one day a nurse tried to take his blood, he saw the needle and snapped. He killed the nurse and severely injured several others, he only calmed down because I managed to corner him and talk him down. But it was enough for the COG. They had him arrested, dragged him away kicking and screaming as they sentenced him to death. I begged them to give him a chance, I have never pleaded so much in my life before, but they just stared at me and held me back as they tied him up and beat him senseless. I can still hear his screams in my head when I go to sleep."

The look on her face was enough for him. She had no words to offer as consolation.

"Then when he was bloodied and blue they heaved him to his feet to execute him. That was it. I braced myself for the inevitable. And then it happened, the sound of guns going off and the men that had restrained me dropped to the ground. I remember looking up to see this horrifically disfigured guy standing above me offering a hand. His face was an absolute mess, and I hardly recognised him but he was there when I needed him, and that was all that mattered. He had found a group of people just as disfigured as him, they became unwanted soulless creatures and fled the cruelty of the COG. He helped me untie Angelo's badly battered body, and we ran with him. He saved my life, and I promised my loyalty in return. I'm assuming you've already guessed who I'm talking about,"

She slowly nodded in response, the look on her face showed just how much it had broken her heart, "I don't understand how it could have changed him so much. When he captured us back at the church, I would never have known."

"The cruelty of humanity can change a man,"

She leaned back a bit, one hand placed over her eyes as she processed the whole series of events through her head. At the same time her other hand dropped subconsciously to rest over her stomach, Lem watched her carefully. She let out a heavy sigh with a slight stutter of emotion laced into it.

"I am sorry about Angelo, Lem, you guys have been through so much cruelty that you deserved better,"

"I don't know where I belong anymore, Aide. We fought so hard to keep him human, I hurt so many people, alienated myself from so many chances to start again. So many young desperate women pleading to me for mercy and all I thought of was Angelo. After all that, the monster I have become, and he still turns. I thought I could save him," All the suppressed pain and emotion rose to a head. The lump in his throat was almost too much to bear, "oh god and then I let the Professor inject Wilks, the guy that just wanted to help. I willingly let him. And your squad were just so angry and protective and supportive. They fought to keep him going, they never gave up, even when they thought you were dead. They told him stories of his parents, secrets he had never heard before. I even overheard Cam tell him that you were expecting, just to keep him going. I've never seen a more broken man."

As he glanced back at Aidan's destroyed expression, a tear escaped down her cheek as she tried to wipe it away before he noticed, and the realisation dawned.

"Oh shit," he said doing the sums in his head, "you aren't are you?"

She nodded slowly, dropping her hand from her stomach and rising to her feet to continue hunting around for something, making it clear that she'd rather not discuss it further.

"I locked you in a cage full of monsters," he gasped, "and I poisoned the father of your unborn child. Shit, what the hell have I done?"

"You did exactly what was expected of you, considering all the betrayal you have been through," she commented dryly, the walls of emotion coming back up, "look, just promise me, no matter what happens to this village. Whoever's side you're on, please honour your word and get that cure to Wilks."

He stared back at her and nodded.

The sound of voices overhead drew their attention, Lem untangled himself from the youngest child and rushed to the hatch, bashing on the metal to alert them to their location. After a few minutes, the doorway drew open to reveal Freja standing above them with her Torque Bow aimed in their direction.