Chapter Text
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March 21st – 5:05 p.m. – 1 hr. 55 minutes until Commencement
Sansa Stark breathed with relief when her boss finally said “Alright”.
“I think we covered everything we needed to,” Petyr Baelish said through his computer’s camera. “I wanted to end to give you all plenty of time to do what you needed to before commencement.”
Just under two hours, Sansa frowned to herself. Such a nice guy. Most offices closed at noon today to give their employees actual time to prepare but not Petyr Baelish. Confusing him for an actual nice and considerate boss was a mistake no one ever made.
Not that Sansa ever would but it always surprised her that none of Mr. Baelish’s employees had ever tried to go after him on this night. For as wealthy as he was, his security system was probably top notch and getting to him would be just about impossible but still, it surprised Sansa that no one had ever attempted it.
“I hope you all have a good purge tonight and stay safe,” Petyr finished.
Everyone else on the call echoed with “Thank you” and “Stay safe” and Sansa ended the call with a sigh.
“Finally!” Her roommate and best friend, Beth Cassel, exclaimed from the kitchen. “Does he keep you on that long on purpose? There’s less than two hours left!”
“I’m convinced he does,” Sansa nodded as she responded to one last email before she began shutting down. The office was closed tomorrow – it always was the day after the annual Purge – but Sansa hated leaving things in her “to do” pile if it was easier – and possible – to finish everything up in time.
“Your phone’s been going crazy and the chili is just about done,” Beth said.
“It smells amazing,” Sansa smiled. She had a small desk in the corner of the living room where she sometimes worked from and she stood up now once everything was off and went to her cell phone, charging on the counter in the kitchen.
A slew of text messages from her mom were waiting for her.
Ned and Catelyn Stark’s home was outside of the city and they had invested in a top-of-the-line security system. Cameras, motion detectors, thick steel that came down at the push of the button and covered every door and window. It was for that reason that both liked to have their children with them on Purge night and her parents’ house was the only place Sansa ever wanted to be on this night.
Sansa had never gone purging and she never would. She didn’t believe in it and honestly, she felt like this one night where people “cleansed” themselves and unleased the beast, as the government described it, only made people that much more violent and it didn’t solve anything no matter what the statistics claimed.
The messages from her mom were all about asking her where she was, if she was on her way, and so on and so on. Sansa looked to the time as she called her back. She would have time to pack a bag and eat one bowl of Beth’s delicious chili before getting on the road. Traffic was always a nightmare on this night – both with people fleeing and flooding into the city – and if she left closer to six, it might have died down a bit by then.
When she told Catelyn this, her mom seemed to – reluctantly – agree.
“Just don’t cut it too close, sweetheart,” Catelyn said, her mother’s voice tight as it always was this day. She hated the Purge just as much as Sansa.
The year before, two of her five children, Robb and Arya, had gone out this night. Ned and Catelyn hadn’t stopped them. It was their right but it was a silent agreement that no one in the family talked about it. None of them asked what Robb and Arya had done and Robb and Arya had offered no details. Catelyn didn’t speak to either of them for the following week though.
Sansa wondered if any of her siblings were going out this year. She almost didn’t want to know though. Even if it was her right to do anything tonight, it wasn’t a right she had to exercise.
“I won’t. I’ll be there soon. I love you,” Sansa said.
“I love you, too.”
Ending the call and seeing that her phone was completely charged, Sansa unplugged it and safely put it away into her purse on the dining table.
“Are you sure you just don’t want to stay here this year?” Beth asked, giving the chili one more stir. “I know it doesn’t sound like it but Margaery and Loras really do throw an awesome rooftop Purge party.”
Beth was right. It didn’t sound like anything that would be remotely awesome.
Margaery and Loras Tyrell were a sister and brother who lived across the hallway from Beth and Sansa and every year, they had a party on the roof of their apartment building for everyone not participating in the Purge and where they could watch anything happening in the streets below. Beth went every year. Sansa did not. It felt strange to have a party on this night and to actually watch it as a spectator watching a sport.
“Harry said he’s going to be out, purging, for an hour or two and then he was going to be coming by so I won’t be alone tonight,” Beth continued. She ladled a large helping into Sansa’s waiting bowl and Sansa was grateful for the timing as she went to get the bag of shredded cheese from their refrigerator.
Beth and her boyfriend, Harry, had been dating for two years now and it wasn’t as if Sansa hated him but she definitely thought that her best friend could do much, MUCH better than him. Again, Sansa would never participate in the Purge but silently, to herself, she had a list. She was sure plenty of people had a list. And Mr. Baelish and Harry were both on that list. There was just something about Harry. Sansa found him sometimes looking at her when he didn’t think that she or Beth would catch him doing so. He made her uncomfortable. And anytime he spent the night over here with Beth, Sansa made sure she was somewhere else – without making it so obvious that she was avoiding him.
“This is so good, Beth,” Sansa said after she took her first spoonful of chili, changing the subject.
Beth beamed, always pleased with a compliment over her chili.
Both girls leaned against the counter in the kitchen, eating their bowls of chili, quiet for a moment.
“You can always come to my parents with me,” Sansa then said. She told Beth this every year on this night.
“I know,” Beth gave her a small smile. “But I feel safe here. I really do. And… and I already hate the idea of you being out there, in your car, even if it’s before commencement. I wouldn’t be able to handle it myself.”
“You’re braver than you think,” Sansa gave her best friend a small smile.
Beth smiled and knocked Sansa gently with her elbow. “So are you.”
On annual Purge night, it was something they both had to be reminded of so they could both get through it.
…
6:22 p.m. – 38 minutes until Commencement
“You don’t have to come with me,” Jon said. His Northern Inuit dog, Ghost, stared at him and Jon gave a little smile. “I’ll be glad you’re with me.” Ghost swept his tail at that. “Let’s get you ready.”
Jon had already tested this vest on Ghost and Ghost now stood on all four legs as Jon went to get it from the closet. It was all black so Ghost would be able to meld into the darkness out there easier and there were pouches on either side. Once Jon had Ghost fastened into the vest, he made sure it wasn’t too tight on the dog’s body but tight enough where it didn’t loosen and fall off.
“Good boy.” Jon patted him and stood up again. “You let me know if it gets too heavy,” he then said. Ghost remained standing as Jon began to load magazine clips into the pouches of the vest. He didn’t know how many he would need tonight but too much ammunition would never be a bad thing. “Good?” He asked and Ghost’s tail swept back and forth to let him know that it was fine.
Jon then began to get himself ready. He had already had two cups of coffee and two cans of Red Bull that would keep his energy going until tomorrow morning and he could already feel it. He was jittery; anxious. Or maybe it was just because it was almost time and he was ready for it to get started.
He dressed himself in black jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. He tied his hair back to keep it from his face and sat down on his bed to tug and tie his boots on tightly. He was just putting on the bullet proof vest he had gotten for himself when someone knocked on his door.
“Yeah!” He called out, standing up again.
Sam Tarly, his roommate, opened the door and once he saw Jon, he stopped himself in the frame.
Jon didn’t say anything as he continued suiting himself up. He fastened the sheath to his thigh that would hold the hunting knife and on his belt, he had a holster that held a handgun. And then, on his back, he strapped one of the rifles to him.
“You don’t have to do this,” Sam finally spoke.
“My mind’s made up, Sam,” Jon told him – again. Sam had been trying to talk him out of this since Jon made the decision the month before. “I should have done it sooner and you know that.”
Sam didn’t say anything to that. He was quiet, watching Jon. He cleared his throat. “I know tonight, it’s everyone’s right to purge and do what they want but I think if you do this, Jon, you won’t come back from it.” Jon was silent, looking himself in the mirror he had hanging on his closet door. He began moving, seeing how all of his weapons helped – or hindered – his body’s movements. He heard Sam but he was making an effort to not listen. “I know this is your right and you have every reason in the world to want to do this but that doesn’t mean that you need to or should do this.”
Jon looked back to his roommate and closest friend and still didn’t say anything. The silence stretched for too long and Sam finally gave a soft sigh.
“I got you something. If I couldn’t talk you out of it, you could use it tonight but if I could talk you out of it, there was always Halloween where this could be useful.” From behind his back, he produce the arm he had kept behind there and when Jon saw what was in his hand, he finally gave the smallest smile.
“Thanks, Sam.” Jon took the skeleton face mask and turned back towards the mirror. He put it on his head and then pulled it down over his face.
Jon’s smile grew a little bit more. It was perfect.
“Jon, be safe tonight,” Sam said and Jon turned back to him, pushing the mask to the top of his head.
“I will,” he promised. “You be safe, too.”
“I will.”
And Sam couldn’t stop himself from striding forward and engulfing Jon in a tight hug.
Outside of his bedroom, Gilly, Sam’s girlfriend was in the kitchen, straightening up from their dinner. Gilly didn’t live with them but she was over enough for her to. She came over every Purge. Sam and Jon lived in a building much more secure than hers – their expensive rent explaining that – and Gilly came over to be safe.
She looked at Jon now and without a word, she came straight for him. She hugged him long and tight.
“Be safe,” she whispered.
“You, too,” Jon said, giving her a lasting squeeze.
Jon didn’t say anything else to either of them. There was nothing else to say. His mind was made up and he knew that Sam and Gilly didn’t necessarily agree with the Purge – Jon didn’t either – but they understood why he was going to go do this tonight.
And while Jon didn’t particularly agree with the Purge and the idea behind it, tonight, he was grateful for it.
“Come on, Ghost,” Jon said and without even looking back to Sam and Gilly, he headed for the front door, Sam following behind him.
And as soon as Jon was out in the hallway with Ghost, he heard Sam close the door behind them both followed by the turn of all of the locks and the steel bolt sliding into place.
…
There was still enough sunlight for Sansa to see. There was glass and nails all over the road and all of her tires were flat. Someone had put glass and nails all over the street for people to drive over.
Sansa’s theory of leaving closer to commencement had proven to not be true. Traffic had still been such a mess and sitting on the expressway when the Purge started was the absolute last place she wanted to be. The year before, seven o’clock had struck and a man – so frustrated with the traffic – had gotten out and just started shooting and killing people right there in their cars.
Sansa had managed to get herself off an exit ramp and she decided to take back roads from the city.
But now, all of her tires were flat and someone had purposely made them that way.
This was, put simply enough, not good. This was as far from good as something could be. Calling a tow truck, a taxi or an Uber were completely out of the question. Like fire, police and ambulance, they did not respond to the calls. Either their employees were out purging or they were locked up in their homes.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sansa whispered to herself, about to start crying.
She was in the city, on Purge night. This was the absolute last place she would ever want to be tonight.
She had to get somewhere safe. Where that would be, she had no idea. Her mind was racing but no thought was taking root and holding. A safe place in the city to hide for the next twelve hours? She couldn’t go to a hospital. They locked down and allowed no one in. Same with police stations and firehouses. And she couldn’t hide in her car for the next twelve hours because whoever had put these all over the street, they would be nearby, ready for seven o’clock to strike before picking her off.
Sansa didn’t know where she was going but she had to leave this spot. Right now.
She reached into her car and grabbed her purse – more a messenger bag – and slung it across her chest. She made sure the doors were locked and the alarm was set – like that would matter – and then, she began to jog down the deserted street. At the moment, she was heading back towards hers and Beth’s apartment building. It was blocks and blocks away but maybe, she’d be able to find a spot to hide between here and there.
She jumped when the loudspeakers attached to most of the buildings suddenly screeched as they turned on.
“No, no, no,” Sansa’s eyes grew wetter and she pushed herself to run faster. Her heart was already pounding but it wasn’t from the exertion. It was from being terrified already. She was about to throw Beth’s chili up all over the street in front of her.
And then, the familiar female voice began broadcasting through the loudspeakers, echoing in the air.
“This is not a test. This is your Emergency Broadcast System. Announcing the commencement of the annual purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government. Weapons of class four and lower have been authorized for use during the purge. All other weapons are restricted. Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity and shall not be harmed. Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. when the purge concludes. Blessed be our new founding fathers and America… A nation reborn. May God be with you all.”
And then the sirens came, ear-splitting, blaring for all to hear them.
The Purge was starting.
Almost immediately, Sansa could hear people coming outside and she heard a vehicle behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that it was a pickup truck and she could see several men – all in masks – with guns, baseball bats and axes – standing up in the back bed, all shouting and hooting. She wondered if they were the ones responsible for her flat tires and if they had been watching her.
Sansa turned, cutting down another street, her eyes frantically searching for a place – any place to duck into.
She screamed when suddenly, a hand shot out from nowhere and yanked her into an alley. Her eyes widened as she saw that it was a man in a skeleton mask and a white dog and she was about to scream again – not that it would do her any good – but the man put his hand over her mouth to silence her.
She screamed again against his hand when the man suddenly fired his gun at someone coming up the alley towards them and the man’s body crumpled to the ground.
Sansa began to struggle. She didn’t know what she would do if she would break free – she couldn’t run forever – but she was a Stark and her parents had raised her to always put up a fight.
The man, though, was immovable and he kept his hand over her mouth, his body pressing hers against the brick wall, watching as the truck that had been following her slowly drove past the alley, clearly looking for her. Sansa’s heart was pounding, her breath so fast, her lungs ached. She was going to die tonight. If not by the people in that truck, maybe by this man in front of her or by someone else.
Why hadn’t she stayed home with Beth? Why had she stayed on that call with Mr. Baelish instead of just signing out and getting to her parents’ house that much earlier? Who cared if she had gotten into trouble with her boss for it? Why, why, why?
The truck was gone, the man’s hand slowly dropped from her mouth and he shoved the mask that he was wearing off his face to the top of his head. Sansa looked at him. He wasn’t at all what she was expecting beneath the skeleton mask he wore. He was… handsome.
“What the Hell are you doing out here?” He whispered harshly.
“I thought I had time…” Sansa began to answer, gasping for air. “My car… all of the tires are flat.”
The man looked up and down the alley before looking at her again. There was a sudden explosion – somewhere not too far away – and Sansa jumped. The white beast next to him – who seemed more wolf than dog – also seemed to be on the lookout and he growled at the noise.
Sansa saw the gun the man was holding and there was another strapped to his back and she didn’t know anything about guns but she knew enough to see that these were big; meant to do the most damage.
It was no secret as to what this man was doing out here tonight.
He was going to purge.
But then why had he saved her?
He stared at her, studying her, and then he took a step back, swinging his gun up into both hands.
“Please don’t leave me.”
The words fell from Sansa’s mouth because this man had come out here like so many others to exercise their right to purge but he had grabbed her and hid her from that truck of men instead of just letting God knows what happen to her and now, Sansa didn’t want to let this man out of her sight.
On this night, no one saved anyone but this man with the skeleton mask, guns and bulletproof vest had taken the time to save her.
…
- VIOLENCE warning in this clip but I wanted to give everyone an idea of commencement and the mood of the night I'm setting.