Different (24 page)

Oliver and Josh worked well together, Adam thought as they manhandled the thick PVC lid off the water tank. It was almost a half an inch thick and measured eight feet by four feet, which made it awkward to handle despite the fact that it wasn't very heavy. There was an eight-inch lip on its edges to prevent it from being blown off in high winds, and two more identical lids were being collected from the other two villages.

Turning on his heel, he walked to the hut where Callum was being held guarded by four of the other boys. His hands were tied behind his back and looked sullen as Adam entered the hut.

Adam said nothing until after he'd untied the boy's hands. “We're going to need your help Callum.” he said.

"What do you need me for? I thought you could do anything."

"We need you because you're a fighter Callum, and a leader. It's just that you've been concentrating on taking over the leadership of the tribes instead of using your natural skills to help them. But that's not your fault. You thought you had no choice but to accept that you were up against impossible odds, fighting against men with guns when all you had was sticks, and so you decided to make the best of it. Took what you could while you could, but now you can help lead the tribes to freedom, and so take your revenge on the men from the house.”

Squatting down next to Callum, Adam lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Look, escaping isn't going to be easy, and initially only three of us are getting out to find help. Josh, Oliver and me. But someone has to protect the tribes against any possible reprisals, and so I'd like you either to take my place and escape with Josh and Oliver, or to stay and help the others."

"I can take
your
place?"

"Yes, if that's what you want. We're having a meeting in five minutes you can decide what you want to do then, now let's get out of here and I'll tell you what's going on."

Callum followed him over to the hut and Adam explained how he planned to use the three tank lids as stepping-stones across the marshes. “We'll slide the first lid in first and the put the next one alongside it, two of us will climb onto the first one and use sticks to guide the second lid in front of us and then we'll get onto that one and the other two will get onto the one we've just moved off. The third lid will be guided until it's in front of us again and so on. It will take a long time but we should make it all right."

"It should work,” Callum said, “but have you worked out how to get over the electric fence and past the dogs and then over the outer fence?"

Oliver and Josh had wandered over to them and were standing listening and if they were surprised to see Callum was free, they were hiding it well, Adam thought.

"Yes, we'll lean one of the lids against the fences. It's made of PVC and should insulate us from the electricity, we'll probably have to cut toe and hand holds in it though. What I had in mind was fastening two of the lids together with rope, end to end and then sliding the first one up and over the top to protect us from the razor wire. We would need a couple of ropes to tie on both corners of the leading lid to hold it up in position until the second lid is flat against the fence. When the ropes are released the first lid should drop and span both fences and then we won't have to worry about the dogs."

"It's going to take four not three people,” Callum said thoughtfully, and then he laughed. “You crafty bastard Adam, you already knew that didn't you?"

Adam nodded. “Yes, we could have used someone else but to give ourselves the best chance we need to use the best people.” He held out his hand and Callum shook it and then Josh and Oliver's, all the boys were grinning broadly.

"Welcome to the team, Callum.” Josh said.

Adam stepped onto the lid and it started to tip and he leapt back onto the bank. “We're going to have to lash stabilisers to the lids,” he said. He pointed to the eight inch lip, if we cut some holes along here on both sides, we can thread some pole through and tie some floats to them."

Josh nodded, “I know where we can get the poles, we won't need the chicken pen any more, but finding floats could be a problem!”

"We'll use the tanks.” Adam said.

It was getting towards dusk when they finally stood back and admired their handiwork. The two lids had poles that ran width ways through the holes the boys had cut in the lips. The floats were triangular sections cut from each end of the water tanks. The poles from the lids were threaded through holes they'd cut into the two topmost edges of the V-shaped floats and lashed into place with rope. Now the lids on which they'd be standing were raised three feet above the surface of the marsh, supported by the floats.

"We'll wait until tomorrow!” Adam said. “It's too late now and we need to get some rest."

It was early the next morning when Adam inched off the platform and balanced himself on the top of the float to his left, expecting the raft to start tipping at any moment. Oliver was ready to jump onto the other float if it did, but the raft remained.

Oliver stepped onto the other float and grinned. “So far so good. Now let's see if we can paddle this thing.” He dipped his paddle into the mire and pulled, the raft started to move and then Adam used his paddle and with a clumsy twisting motion the raft slowly edged away from the bank.

The spectators on the shore gave a cheer as Callum and Josh's raft slowly edged out behind Adam's. After about ten minutes, the shore was almost hidden by the white rising mist, but Adam knew they had only moved about fifteen meters and despite the chill, Oliver was sweating and breathing heavily, soon he would have to rest.

He took the spare paddles and lashed them together and then repeated the operation with his and the paddle Oliver relinquished to him.

"I'm making a pair of extended oars,” Adam explained, “I'm going to try and row the raft from the platform."

He stood on the platform and bracing his legs, he pulled back on the oars and it surged forwards, it had been easier than Adam had thought and he repeated the operation. As the rafts forward momentum ended, he saw that the gap between the two rafts had widened by almost five meters.

"Callum!” He called. “Catch the rope and tie it to your raft and I'll try and give you a tow!”

He took the coil of blue nylon rope and holding firmly onto one end of it, he threw the other end towards Callum's out-stretched hands. Callum caught it, he and Josh secured their end to the central platform of the raft and Adam pulled in the slack before fastening it to his raft. Once again, he took the strain of the oars, pulled and he felt his muscles protesting against the strain. The rafts started to move and he quickly rowed again taking advantage of their momentum. Push ... lower ... pull ... lift ... push ... lower ... pull. It was like a litany in his head, everything except the rhythm was banished from his mind, push ... lower ... pull.

Jeremy Marchant tried to hide his nervousness as the doctors prepared him for the operation that was due to be performed in just under two hours time at 11 a.m.

"The keyhole surgery that we'll be using will cause you the minimum of discomfort during your recovery Prime Minister, but you really need to rest for about three months afterwards,” Sir Samuel Jaggart the surgeon said.

"Well, I think I can arrange to make a state visit somewhere where my body double can take over my public duties. Yes, I'll get my private secretary onto it as soon as the operations over. Now what about the girl?"

"I'm afraid she won't survive the operation Prime Minister, however her other organs will be removed and kept in storage. Professor Hardley of Cambridge University is confident he can successfully clone her."

"Good, but I think I would like to see her, you know see what she looks like."

"I would strongly advise against it Sir, it's better if you never know who she was."

"Perhaps, but that's my decision. Please have her brought to my room."

"She's undergoing preparation at the moment. I'll have her brought to you as soon as she's ready, perhaps ten or fifteen minutes, certainly no longer than that. We'll be giving you a pre-op injection at 10:30 a.m., so if you've no objections we can do the girls injection at the same time?"

"Splendid, I'll not forget this!” Jeremy said and as he picked up his copy of the Times he wondered what that fool Thompson, his deputy, would be getting up to during Jeremy's enforced absence. Finally being rid of Roger Thompson permanently was going to a real pleasure.

He was daydreaming when they wheeled the girl in. She was strapped onto a hospital trolley and he could see she was naked beneath the green sheet that covered her from the neck down.
She's a pretty little thing,
he thought and wondered if anybody had even bothered to find out her name?
Probably not,
he thought. It was 9:30 a.m. and in another hour they would both be wheeled into the theatre, but only he would be coming out alive. He supposed he ought to thank her for giving up her life for his, but not until they were alone.

"Leave her with me until we go to the theatre.” he said and the doctor merely shrugged and left the room.

"Now my dear, what do they call you?” he asked as he walked over to her and she stared at him with wide frightened eyes and he could see how her wrists were chafed and sore from struggling against her restraints. “Do you know what's going to happen to you?” he asked. “You're giving up one of your kidneys to save my life, to save the life of the Prime Minister. No, don't be frightened because my doctors have assured me that you can still lead a normal healthy life with just the one.” He saw the light of hope appear in her eyes and he gave her his most sincere smile, his vote-winning smile. “I'll see to it that you're very well looked after and you'll want for nothing for the rest of your life, I promise you that!” he said.

The pathetic creature smiled her thanks at him and he marvelled at how the lower orders still believed everything they were told, but then when it came to mixing truths or half truths with lies he was a master! This of course was why he was the Prime Minister.

"Thank you!” she said.

Jeremy shrugged in a gesture of self depreciation. “Now, tell me about yourself, what's your name my dear?"

"Emma, I'm seventeen and I was fifteen when I was brought here to mate for the Lands, and have born two children by my given mate for the Doctors to sell. Will I really be allowed to return to the tribe?"

She's mad
, Jeremy decided
. Tribe? Children for sale
? What on earth could she mean? He felt a little sickened as the realisation of what she meant sank in. So that's how he was getting her kidneys, she'd been kept a prisoner breeding children for sale! But he could do nothing if he wanted to live and both kidneys would ensure his survival and by God, he wanted very much to survive

"Of course you will my dear,” He said patting her arm. “Now you rest and don't worry because I'll see that you're taken care of personally."

Patting her on the arm again, he left her and lay down on his bed he was feeling ill again but after today he would soon regain his health. He really ought to think about investing some money into this place, but not in his own name of course.

Rebecca was jogging past the entrance to Greystone Manor when she noticed a man walking towards the huge double doors. It was a man she'd met once at a reception, Drew Saunders!
What the hell was the Prime Minister's personal bodyguard doing here?
Turning her head away so he wouldn't recognise her, Rebecca increased her pace and jogged back to the White Lion. She'd have breakfast and then take a look at the Devil's Footprint from Catherstone Chase.

The chain link fence topped with razor wire stood eight feet high and looked well maintained, Rebecca thought as she approached it and frowned when she saw an electrified inner fence six feet beyond the outer one.
This is weird it is as though they are trying to keep people inside the perimeter instead of out.

The dog hit the fence inches from her face making her cry out in alarm as she leapt backwards and away from it. The dog was huge ... one of the largest Dobermans she'd ever seen. Then it was joined by two more and then another and they all stared at her, growling low and deep in their throats.
They're killers
, she thought in horror, they had given no warning of their attack, and not one of them made a sound except for their threatening growls. Someone had trained them to attack and kill silently, and it was only the chain link fence that had saved her.

She was shaking in shock but now Rebecca's temper was aroused,
how dare some idiot allow these dangerous animals to run free and what if a child had poked a small arm through the fence? The bastards would have torn it off!
She was about to turn away when a movement to her left caught her eye. At first, she thought it was some kind of monstrous creature making its way unsteadily across the marshes but then she realised what it was. A boy stripped to the waist was hauling on two extra long oars rowing some kind of raft slowly towards her, and behind him was another one with two young men paddling it. There was a line running between the two craft and she gaped in incredulity as she grasped the fact that the boy who was rowing was actually towing the other raft.

Delving into her bag, she grabbed her binoculars and focussed on the boys. But it was the boy on the first raft who was straining on the oars who caught her attention. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen and his green eyes were fixed ahead as he concentrated on his rhythm. She could actually see small lumps of rippling muscle flowing into his arms and shoulders as he heaved, moving the raft another few feet towards her. It was almost hypnotic watching him but she turned her attention to another boy who was sitting on the platform behind his companion.

His blonde hair was wet with sweat and he too was stripped to the waist and she watched him climb wearily to his feet and step onto one of the triangular floats and start to haul on the rope that was towing the raft behind him.

On the other raft, a large boy with red hair and a smaller dark haired one, had both stopped paddling, and were obviously having a rest, yet still their craft moved slowly on, towed by the boy with the oars. Rebecca was sure of one thing, whoever those boys were, they were desperate and were going to need her help.