The Vanished (7 page)

“He says the alphabet over and over in his mind,” Hiro told us. “It’s like he doesn’t want me to know what’s in his head.”

“Maybe he’s just private. Having someone reading your mind is pretty unnerving,” I said.

“Yeah but he has this dank, mouldy scent to him,” Mike whispered. “It’s like a house with a rotten basement, as though there’s something festering deep down inside. I don’t trust him and I never have.”

“Has he always smelled like that?” I asked.

“When I first moved here I didn’t notice it. He tends to avoid us. In fact it was strange him coming here at all. Maybe it was just to check out the set up we’ve got going on, or to spy on our powers.” Mike shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

“He saw me use mine this morning,” I added.

“That could have gotten his imagination going. I bet he decided to come and inspect us.” Mike’s eyes glazed over as though he was talking to himself.

“Time for meditation, Mina.” Dad waved his hand to call me over. When I reached him, he handed me a cup of tea. The porcelain was hot, almost burning my palm. “Drink this, it will help you concentrate.

The thought of concentrating seemed laughable. How could I think about anything other than what I’d just heard? I was starting to think that Dr Woods wasn’t the sort of person who should be at the head of the Council. So much for settling into an easy life.

*

The rest of the day dragged on, and despite knowing how keen I was to see Daniel, my dad still made me train until it was almost sun down, telling me that I had to learn to focus on my powers if I wanted to succeed at anything. He thought me having a boyfriend was distracting and didn’t mind telling me so. I wanted to remind him that the distraction in my life was there for me when I needed him, which was more than my dad had been. But as always I kept my mouth shut and got on with things.

After training I hurried towards the castle gates, waving at Cam, who always seemed to be on guard. He was such a slip of a boy I wondered how much use he would be if there was an invasion. The Compound was a strange and confusing place. I had a lot to get used to.

Cam let me through with a wink and a smile, and I hurried through the castle to Ward 2. There were fewer patients as some of the women had given birth and left, taking their tiny screaming new-borns with them. It was quiet apart from my quick footsteps sounding along the floor and the nurse fussing over an elderly gentleman with a morphine drip. She turned around at the sound of my footsteps.

“You just missed him,” she said. I’d found out that her name was Susan over the course of the last few weeks and she had been a nurse in Area 6 before getting frustrated over the treatment of the Blemished and leaving. “Ali sorted out a tent for him.”

“Are you sure?” I replied, my heart sinking with disappointment. “I wanted to be here when he was discharged.” I mentally cursed my dad and his stupid discipline.

“No doubt about it. I took him the document to sign myself,” she said. “Find Ali, he was in charge of the relocation.”

It all sounded so clinical. I hated the thought of Daniel going through all of that on his own. But there was no point dwelling on the outcome, I had to find Ali and see Daniel. With quick thanks to Susan, I retraced my steps and followed the gravel path down to Ali’s trailer.

I’d been to Ali’s trailer twice before when helping him and Sebastian set up the market stall on the way to a training session. He didn’t live in the same steel contraptions that everyone else did, his trailer was wooden, on large wheels, with a rounded roof and steps leading to the doorway. In the daylight it was bright red with cream and green swirling patterns painted all over the wood; little birds and flowers twining together. The roof was covered with faded red tarpaulin. Ali told me that he’d found the old gypsy caravan abandoned on the outskirts of Dumfries. He fancied it for his home and tied it up to the Scavenger van to bring back. Knowing Reg’s driving it was a miracle it had made it back in one piece. I climbed the rickety wooden steps and knocked on the door.

Ali opened the door up wide releasing the aroma of cumin and spice. My mouth watered. “What’s up, kid?”

“Where’s Daniel?” I blurted out. “I mean… where did you find for him to stay?”

“Jesus, dispense with the pleasantries why don’t ye? Not even a hello.”

“Sorry.”

He laughed. “I’d be offended if I didn’t know ye better. But I do and I know what yer like, kid.” Ali pointed through the darkness. “See that purple tent under the floodlight?”

I squinted towards the large dome tent. It was spacious enough for at least five people, and I hoped that Daniel was able to make a home under there.

“He’s in there for now. I’m gonna have te get out Scavenging for more trailers come winter.”

“Thanks, Ali,” I said, turning on my heel and disappearing into the darkness.

I hardly heard his goodbye, probably a sarcastic one considering my rudeness, but I just couldn’t stand there and chat when Daniel was out of hospital and alone. I walked so fast that I almost tripped on tent ropes and when I got there I realised that I had no idea what to do next. Did I just unzip the cover and barge in? There was nowhere to knock. Instead, I kicked a tent peg and hissed “Daniel” as loud as I could without disturbing the people around us. It wasn’t so late at night that people were asleep. Some were still sat around their fires, warming their hands and cooking food, but I didn’t want to attract too much attention.

The cover unzipped and my heart skipped a beat as I caught a glimpse of ruffled blonde hair. “Mina? Is that you?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer before a hand caught my leg and almost dragged me into the tent. I tumbled to my knees and into Daniel’s arms. It was like he had four hands, they were everywhere – my face, hair, and waist. Our mouths found each other, hungry and urgent and his body pressed against mine. There was no way I was going to let him go now. My hands reached up into his hair and he gasped as I took hold, pulling him into me. He responded by wrapping his arms around my body and squeezing me against him. I could barely breathe. I didn’t want to breathe ever again if it meant I would have to stop kissing him. This was everything I’d wanted and more. When we broke from each other I had to pant to catch my breath.

“That was quite a hello,” I said, grinning.

“I missed you.” He leaned back into his sleeping bag and pulled me down with him.

Now that we’d broken apart I got a better look at his new living quarters, although it was difficult in the dim light of his torch. In our rush, I’d been pulled right through the tiny porch section where Daniel’s camping stove had been set up and into the back where Daniel’s clothes were folded on top of a tiny table and his sleeping bag was laid out on top of an air mattress.

“Hey, it’s not so bad in here,” I remarked.

“Ali helped me out. It’ll be great for the summer, but I’ll have to find something more permanent in winter. Ali told me that the population has grown so much this summer that they’re really short on trailers. They are planning a big Scavenger outing to recover some for winter.”

“Doesn’t all that sound strange when the army live in a castle and never help out?” I said.

“Yeah it does. Nurse Susan took me on a tour of the grounds once. There are loads of rooms and most soldiers had a room to themselves. If they doubled up people could live in here,” he said.

I thought about this for a moment. As much as I wanted to believe that the Compound and the Clans were the safe haven I was hoping for it was becoming more and more apparent every day that it wasn’t. There were things that didn’t fit right, things that reminded me of the kind of corruption that went on in the Areas. I sighed. I didn’t want to have these thoughts right now, not on Daniel’s first night out of the hospital.

“Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested. “I’ve been stuck in the barn all day and it stinks of mouldy straw. I need some fresh air.”

“Sure,” Daniel replied, almost jumping to his feet. It was amazing to see him moving around without cringing at his injury. “I need to build my strength up. You should have seen me getting out of breath just putting the tent up!”

I squeezed his hand. “I wish I’d been here to help.”

He laughed. “I’m not an invalid, Mina.”

There was something different about Daniel. It was as though someone had lifted a veil or polished him up to sparkle. He glowed. He was more talkative and less brooding. I liked it. I loved to see him happy.

He looked at me with a goofy grin. “What are you thinking about? I’ve never seen you smile so wide.”

“Oh, nothing.” I pulled at his hand. “Come on.”

We stepped out of the tent and Daniel turned back to zip the front. There was nowhere to hide any belongings in the Compound you just had to hope that no one would steal your things. Hand in hand the two of us dodged tents and hopped over guide ropes, hoping that it would be easy enough to find the tent on the way back. We decided to walk along the gravel path towards the castle; I thought I could introduce Daniel to Cam if he was still on gate watch.

It wasn’t a silent night; there was the sound of babies crying, some campfire singing and laughter. The breeze was crisp and when I shivered Daniel held me close. We sauntered at a casual pace, enjoying our bodies so close together. As we approached the castle, I noticed three dark figures around the gate. For some reason my instinct was to pull Daniel behind the tree closest to the castle so that we could see and hear them, but they couldn’t see us.

“What are you––”

“Shh!” I hissed.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” a voice interrupted us both. I recognised it straight away, it was Dr Woods and with him were two teenagers about fifteen or sixteen, one boy and one girl. “This is a
celebration
. You’ve been looking forward to this for years. Haven’t you?”

“Yes,” they both answered together.

“Does it hurt?” the girl said.

Dr Woods turned to the girl. He put his hand on her cheek in what seemed like a little too much familiarity. “No, Jane. It’s fine. If you use all of the equipment laid out in the room, it won’t hurt a bit. We’ve made it as comfortable as possible in there.”

“Okay,” said the girl. She was about my age, but she seemed younger. The moonlight lit up her face, and I saw a blank innocence there. She hadn’t had my tough upbringing and I wondered which of us were the better for it. Perhaps growing up like that made you nervous of everything. Or maybe something weird and wrong was going on.

Dr Woods acknowledged the guard. It wasn’t Cam but an older, taller soldier. Just as they were stepping through the gates the doctor said something I didn’t quite catch, but it sounded like something to do with becoming adults.

Daniel looked at me, his eyebrows creased. “That gave me a bad feeling.”

“Me too. That was weird.”

We moved away from the tree wondering what strange sight we’d just witnessed. Why did the doctor describe whatever it was the kids were going to do as a celebration? A celebration couldn’t be a bad thing. Could it? Dr Woods seemed like a decent man. I began to think that my experiences at Area 14 had left me suspicious and paranoid. But another feeling niggled at me, the feeling that something was very, very wrong in the Compound, and I would have to do something about it.

“Where’ve you been?” Kitty said with a raised eyebrow as though she knew where I’d been. “Making out with lover boy?”

I snorted and joke-punched her on the arm but couldn’t deny that my cheeks warmed at the thought of kissing Daniel again. “Just for a walk. Speaking of which, why aren’t you with Mike?” I hardly ever saw Kitty in the evenings.

She jumped up from my sofa bed and strode over to the stove to stir whatever was cooking. She made the distance in one large stride. It was a tiny space and my bed doubled as seating space next to a small Formica table which folded up or down depending on whether it was required.

“We had a row,” she said with a sigh.

I squeezed past her in the narrow space, trying to get to my bed so I could sit down and pull my boots off. “What was it about?”

“Your dad. Mike thinks that he’s training us for something, training us to fight someone. He thinks that your dad is just using us.” She scoffed but sounded nervous to tell me this. “I told him it was ridiculous and that Professor Hart would never do that.” Kitty stirred the contents of the saucepan. It smelled like baked beans… again.

“I think he’s right,” I said. “I’ve been training with him since I was this big.” I motioned something small with my hands. “At first it was just for self-defence, and then as I got older it was my powers too. I always thought it was for protection and because he loved me, but then he left and came here with you guys instead.” My voice caught in my throat. “I don’t know who he is anymore. But what I do know is that I don’t trust him.”

“Mina, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought this stuff up,” Kitty said.

“It’s fine.” I wiped a stray tear away. “As far as I’m concerned I’m an orphan now. We observe him. We train because it helps
us
. But we get prepared to use it against him if we need to.” I set my jaw. I meant my words.

“What about Hiro?” Kitty said. “Hiro lives with your dad because he trusts him.” She paused. “Hiro would hear what your dad’s intentions are.”

“You’re right. We should talk to him and see if he knows what Dad wants us to do with our powers. I can’t believe I never thought about it before.”

*

Hiro hid behind my leg with his hands over his ears. Members of the crowd turned and stared at us and I tried to stroke his hair to soothe him. We were in the crowd for the big announcement by Mary and Dr Woods. I’d suggested that Hiro needed some crowd practice, but really I just wanted to get him away from my dad. Daniel stood on my left and yawned.

I elbowed him in the ribs. “Have you got no decorum?”

“Nope.” He grinned at me and pulled me over to him to kiss me on the cheek.

“You two are gross,” Hiro said from behind my leg. “You’re worse than the rest of the crowd.”

Daniel looked at Hiro again. It was the first time the two of them had met. “He can read my mind?” he whispered to me.

“Yes,” Hiro replied, more than a little exasperated, “which is why you don’t need to whisper.”

I giggled and patted Hiro on the head. To Daniel I said, “You’ll get used to it. I don’t mind Hiro hearing all my thoughts anymore.”

“Even when you think about punching Mike in the face or taking Daniel’s clothes off?” Hiro said.

Daniel stared at me wide eyed with the biggest smile on his face. “My clothes… really? Hiro can you tell me more about this?”

“No, Hiro don’t!” I shrieked.
My hands went to my face which was burning up.

“I wouldn’t want to,” Hiro said. “All that naked stuff is weird and wrong.”

Daniel continued to stare at me with his big grinning face. I longed for the ground to swallow me up.

“I think I got the wrong power,” Daniel said. “Yours is much more fun, Hiro.”

“Trust me, it isn’t,” Hiro replied.

Thankfully, Dr Woods and Mary appeared, which gave us an excuse to stop talking about my thoughts. We were in a clearing between the crèche and the market. There was a small stage with a microphone set up which I discovered from the crowd only comes out when there is an announcement from the Council. It was like their equivalent of the screens back in Area 14. Dr Woods approached the microphone and tapped it with his finger. That was when I realised that there were speakers set up around the Compound. The sound echoed much farther than I’d imagined. Even the farmers would be able to hear.

As I thought about the farm I thought about Angela, and I looked around to see if she was in the crowd. I saw Ali leaning against his gypsy caravan. Sebastian and Ginge were stood side by side a few feet away from me. I tried to wave, but he was staring at Ginge’s hair very intently. I made a mental note to ask him if anything was going on between them. Angela was nowhere to be seen, and my heart sank. I thought about telling Daniel of my hopes to see her but Dr Woods began to speak. Hiro reached around and squeezed my and I realised he knew how much I missed my friend.

“Compounders,” Dr Woods began in his usual dramatic style, “thank you for joining us this morning. At least it isn’t raining.” There was a murmur of unenthusiastic laughter. I thought I saw Mary roll her eyes. “The Council have an exciting announcement to make, one which is designed to be enjoyed by all, no matter how young or old. No matter if you are a man or a woman.” He clasped his hands. “I’m sure you will have noticed the recent arrivals in the Compound.” It felt as though the entire crowd turned around to stare at us. Hiro shrank back against my leg. “And here in the Clans we want to show our new arrivals just how welcoming we can be.” Dr Woods paused as though he expected a cheer. There was silence. “Which is why we’ll be putting on a summer fete.” He paused again but the crowd failed to react. “Council-woman Mary Macdonald has the details.”

“Well, guys, the fete is set fer two weeks’ time and we’re gonnae need volunteers. We’ll be clearing out the market stalls and settin’ up trestle tables, a pig roast and so on. If anyone’s old enough to remember yer school fete, we’ll need ye on the planning committee. Farmers – we’re gonnae need a pig slaughtered and hay bales fer sittin’ on. There’s decorations te be made.” Mary sighed. I almost laughed at her lack of enthusiasm. She echoed how the crowd felt. “I’ve a sign-up sheet fer yers. Come to the stage. Line up. C’mon. Ye’ve got te help out here, it’s compulsory.”

The crowd started to shift into a line, and I grabbed hold of Hiro’s hand.

“Come on, let’s go sign up for decoration making,” I said. “Mary needs our help, and it’s not like she’s not helped us.” I manoeuvred Hiro through the crowd to the queue. Daniel followed behind.

“What can we make?” Daniel asked with a frown.

I poked him in the chest. “You are a talented carpenter and you should tell them that. They might need help with tables or something.”

“I guess so,” he replied.

“Daniel, look.” I grabbed his arm. A few places in front of me stood Angela. She was with Cam. The two of them laughed as though they’d just heard a funny joke. “Do you think we should talk to her?”

It was Hiro who answered. “She’s thinking about not wanting to talk to you. In fact she’s thinking about running away right now in case you do talk to her.”

“I guess that’s a no then,” I said.

Daniel looked at me and I saw the hurt in his eyes. We both missed Angela. We’d been through so much together.

“Hey guys.” I turned around to see Sebastian behind us. “What are you signing up for?” He stood next to Ginge and looked flushed. He was smiling, and his brown eyes were wide and animated. It was obvious that he had a major crush on Ginge who was an extremely beautiful, albeit frightening, girl with wild red hair which hung in her eyes and whipped up in the breeze. Ali told me that she was his best rifle with the best shot in the Scavengers. She wasn’t the chatty type and would stand around snap her gum instead whilst eyeing you up as a threat.

“Decorations,” I said. “What about you?”

“The Scavengers are going to clear the market and I’m going to help.”

“What about you, Ginge?” I asked.

“I’m singin’.” She blew a bubble with her gum and it popped with a crack.

“I didn’t know you were a singer,” I said.

“I dunnae like te most of the time.” She talked at speed with a thick Scottish accent. I had to concentrate to understand her. “Just special occasions an’that.”

“She has a beautiful voice,” Sebastian gushed. “Hey, isn’t that Angela? I’ve not spoken to her for ages. Is she all right?”

I shared a glance with Daniel. We had no idea. I shrugged. Sebastian saw my expression and changed the subject, launching into a detailed retelling of the last few days on the market. I listened with a smile, holding Daniel’s hand on the left and Hiro’s on the right. We moved up the queue as people signed up for their tasks – slaughtering the pig, gathering table cloths, baking bread, finding garden games for the children.

“What have you got left?” I asked Mary when we reached the stage.

Mary leaned over to ruffle Hiro’s hair. “All right, laddie?”

“Yes,” Hiro answered.

She laughed at his shyness and then turned to me. “Ye can make bunting out of old tents?”

I wrinkled my nose.

“We need someone te climb trees to hang the decorations?”

Climbing trees sounded fun. “I can help with that.”

Mary thrust the sheet under my nose and I signed it. “What about ye, Danny-boy?”

“I’m a carpenter.”

“Stick yer name down here then.” Mary passed him the paper and pen.

Daniel’s face turned scarlet and I remembered why. Trying not to make it too obvious I took the pen and paper from him and scrawled his name down. Mary noticed but didn’t say anything. I took hold of Daniel’s hand and squeezed. His eyes were back to thunderstorms.

“What about ye?” Mary said to Sebastian.

“I can help dismantle the market stall.”

“All right then––”

“I ain’t havin’ a clone touchin’ my stuff,” a man interrupted us. He pushed past us towards Mary, his fists clenched. He was young, in his twenties, with platinum blond hair.

“Dunnae be an idiot, Glen. We need the boy’s help,” Mary said. She folded her arms and glared at the man.

Glen turned to Sebastian with a disgusted look on his face. Then he noticed Ginge and that disgusted look turned to rage.

“He’s with one of us? He’s with her?” he said in disbelief. “You should stick to your own, love.”

That was too much for Sebastian. He punched the man in the face.