The Weapon Within: A Paranormal Dystopian Adventure (The Unexplainables Book 1) (12 page)

‘
They’re called pods,’ Linda explained. ‘Each pod is identical on the outside and the inside, but some are larger than others. We all have the same possessions, negating the need for anyone to get jealous and attempt to take something that doesn’t belong to them. The pods are kept unlocked as our community is built on a basis of trust. We tend to put families into the pods and single people in the accommodation blocks inside the main building, but in your case we’ve given you one of the big ones.’

I looked at her in surprise.
‘Why?’

She rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.
‘Because you’re special.’

Feeling somewhat overwhelmed, I stared around me as we walked. The pods were circular in shape with flat roofs. Each had its own immaculate little garden around it and a post box outside.

‘We have a farming area over there.’ She pointed past the houses to the countryside beyond. ‘And that area over there has been put aside for new accommodation blocks to be built at some point in the future.’

‘
Where do the people come from?’

‘
Our founder, Nicholas, is travelling the country recruiting new, willing members who will then help us to expand into new areas and recruit even more people.’

‘
Will I get to meet Nicholas?’

‘
I’m sure you will at some point, although he doesn’t get back here all that often these days. Whilst he’s away we have a leader called Simeon who makes sure that everyone’s happy. You’ll meet him at dinner. Anyway, here’s your pod.’

My mouth dropped open. It was huge.
‘I get this all to myself?’

‘
Of course!’ She laughed. ‘Go ahead and have a look around. I’ll come back for you in fifteen minutes, ok?’

The pod was fabulous. Each room was decorated the same with beige floors and white walls. The circle shape had been segmented into four areas. Immediately as I walked through the door, I saw a lounge area to the left with an enormous TV screen and a lot of gadgets underneath, plus a big, squashy three-piece suite. To the right was a kitchen area fully stocked with a range of cooking equipment and a few basic food supplies. At the far end of the circle I found my bedroom which had a large sleigh bed with crisp white sheets and plump pillows and, on the opposite wall, to my delight, was a floor-to-ceiling bookcase.

Sitting
on a docking station in the middle of the books was a tiny MP3 player which had been programmed with many different styles of music. There was also a wardrobe containing a small selection of the sort of clothes I was used to wearing and a larger selection of the strange beige clothes I had seen the commune people wearing. Doubtfully, I put my hand out and touched one of the beige pieces. The fabric was almost fluid and incredibly soft. Taking out a pair of trousers and a top, I placed them on the bed and went to investigate the bathroom.

There was a walk
-in shower and a large circular bath. The cupboards were full of soaps, shampoos and body lotions, and there was a toothbrush and toothpaste sitting on top of the sink. Unable to resist, I grabbed a handful of bottles and turned the water on full blast.

Ten minutes later I
’d dried myself using fluffy white towels; dressed in the beige outfit – which fit me perfectly – and then slipped my feet into a pair of comfy white trainers. Linda knocked on the door just as I was coming back into my new lounge.

‘
Have you found everything you need?’

‘
This place is amazing!’ I gushed.

‘
This is just the start.’ She grinned. ‘Shall I take those for you?’ She gestured at the prison uniform in my hands. ‘We’ll get them sent back ASAP. I’m sure you don’t want any reminders of that place.’

‘
Definitely not!’

She pointed to a phone attached to the wall near the door.
‘That goes straight to the security room so if you’re ever worried about anything, just give them a call. Now, are you ready for the rest of your tour?’

‘
Sure,’ I grinned, ‘lead on.’

We walked up to the farm area fi
rst. In one field several huge barns had been built in a row. We entered the closest one to find people rushing around inside.

‘
What are they doing?’ I asked.

‘
They’re preparing some of the food that’s been produced here on the farm. Over there they’re making jam,’ I looked over and saw a group of people ladling hot liquid into small glass jars, ‘and over there they’re baking bread.’ Another group of people were standing at tables kneading dough, their arms covered in a fine floury powder. ‘We also have beekeepers who keep us supplied with honey, and we have a whole barn full of freezers where we keep meat we’ve raised here on the community farm for use later on in the year. There are some things that we have to rely on the outside world for, but not many.’

I watched a girl of around my age peeling oranges at a nearby table. She looked up and smiled shyly,
her cheeks flushing.

The next area we
visited was a large room inside the main building and full of craft tables. I walked around in awe, watching people knit, sew, arrange flowers, carve wood and make greetings cards.

‘
Do they have set jobs to do?’ I asked Linda as we observed a man sitting at a pottery wheel, creating a little vase out of a lump of clay.

‘
No, people are free to come and go as they please. They might want to knit a jumper today but have a go at sheering a sheep tomorrow. It really doesn’t matter as long as everyone does something and we don’t get too much of one type of item. It wouldn’t be much good if we ended up eating the same thing day in and day out, would it?’

‘
I did in prison,’ I grimaced, ‘exactly the same every day. It was horrid.’

She tilted her head and looked at me with sympathy.
‘That must have been terrible.’

‘
At least it was only ten days. I’m not sure how I’d have coped if it had been longer.’

‘
Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. Come on, there’s more to see.’

We went into
another wing of the building, which had a board outside declaring it to be the ‘Fun Zone’. Inside was a bowling alley, a cinema and a dance hall. Just as we were about to go back outside a gong sounded.

‘
That’s the dinner bell.’ Linda smiled at me. ‘Can you cope with a communal meal? Or I can have some food brought over to your pod if you’d prefer.’

‘
Actually, I’d like to eat with everyone else if that’s ok?’

‘
Of course it is,’ she beamed, ‘they’ll be thrilled!’

We headed back through the maze of buildings and corridors and entered a huge room.
A long service area at one end reminded me a little of the catering facilities at college. The rest of the room had dozens of round tables squeezed into every bit of space. People milled around, chatting and laughing. The food smelt delicious and my stomach churned with hunger. Linda had stopped to speak to someone so I joined the end of the queue, but a second later she reappeared, grabbed my hand, and pulled me past the line of waiting people.

‘
You get to go first.’

Embarrassed, I gl
anced at their faces, but every single one of them was beaming at me. At the top of the line, I found myself face to face with a man in a white uniform and a chef’s hat.

‘
Good evening, Miss Ava. May I serve you with roast chicken and trimmings?’

‘
Oh . . . sure,’ I replied, shocked that he knew my name. He busied himself filling a plate with food then placed it carefully on to a tray and passed it across to me. Linda took hold of a second tray of food and led me across to a vacant table.

I had literally just put the tray down when a voice rang across the room.

‘Ava! How wonderful! I’m so glad to meet you!’

A
tall, athletic man with tanned skin, short blond hair and incredibly shiny white teeth approached. He held out his arms and, as he reached me, pulled me into a hug. I looked across at Linda in alarm but she was relaxed and smiling.

‘
Ava, this is Simeon, our leader,’ she explained.

The man stepped back, his hands on my shoulders.
‘I’m sorry, I was just so excited to meet you at last. Welcome to Paradise Community. Your presence here is most welcome and I hope that you enjoy your time with us.’

‘
Thanks.’

‘
Do have a seat.’ He gestured to the chair I’d been about to take and promptly sat down in the one next to it. ‘Now, I know that you’ve been through an awful lot over the last few days and I don’t want to push you when you’ve only just arrived. So, if it’s all right with you, I’d like you to relax and enjoy yourself this evening and then come and have a chat with me tomorrow. Is that ok?’

He spoke fluidly and there was something charmi
ng about his manner.

‘
Sure, thank you.’

A lady came over and sat next to him, carrying a tray of food in each hand. She was exquisitely beautiful. Taller than Simeon by at least a couple of inches, she had an exotic look with light brown hair that fell in large curls to her waist
, deep brown eyes, and an amazing figure. ‘This is my wife, Naomi,’ Simeon introduced us. ‘We live in the next pod along from you.’

‘
I hope you find happiness here,’ Naomi said quietly, ‘it truly is a wonderful place.’

‘
It certainly seems to be.’ I replied.

*

The following day I awoke feeling refreshed. It hadn’t been the best night’s sleep I’d ever had but at least I hadn’t had any nightmares. After washing and dressing, I spent a little while exploring my pod again. I was just going through the packets of food in one of the cupboards when there was a knock at the door.

‘
Morning,’ Linda called through, ‘are you coming for breakfast?’

‘
Ok.’ I pushed the tin of peaches I was holding right to the back of the cupboard. I’d had quite enough of those recently. We walked over to the canteen and once again headed to the front of the queue. I chose a bowl of porridge with fresh blueberries stirred into it and a spoonful of honey drizzled over the top. No sooner had I sat down on my chair than Simeon joined me.

‘
Good morning. Did you sleep well?’ He seemed full of energy and just as bubbly as yesterday.

‘
Yes, thank you.’

‘
That’s wonderful. Are you still ok to come and have a chat in a bit?’

I nodded.

‘Great. Well, I’ve already had my breakfast so I’ll leave you to enjoy yours. Linda will show you the way to my office when you’re ready. No hurry though.’ Squeezing my arm, he pushed his chair back and hurried out of the room.

*

Simeon’s office was very traditional. An enormous tropical fish tank stood against the outer wall and a large oak desk was positioned in the middle with two comfy chairs placed on either side. A log fire had been built in the grate but no one had lit it.

‘
Have a seat.’ Simeon gestured to the empty chair opposite him. ‘Would you like a drink?’

‘
Some water, please.’

He stood and walked over to a small water fountain where he filled two plastic cups and brought them back over to the desk.

‘Now, Ava,’ he sat back in his chair and regarded me carefully, ‘I wanted to have a talk to you about what’s been happening. I’m aware that this might be difficult for you but I think it would help us work out how best to support you. Would it be ok if I asked you some questions?’

I nodded.

‘Good. Can you tell me the circumstances which led to you being incarcerated?’

‘
I got in trouble for attacking someone,’ I mumbled.

‘
Who?’

‘
The son of the security manager.’

‘
Why did you attack him?’

‘
Because he attacked my friend. Well, he was responsible for her being attacked, anyway.’

‘
I see. And why did he do that?’

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.
‘Well, you see my stepfather kidnapped me and we were supposed to take my friend Beth home but with everything that happened she ended up walking home. Connor got his girlfriend to beat her up with three of her friends because he said that I’d been coming on to him but I can’t stand him. He was laughing with his mates about it and I lost my temper.’

I inhaled deeply, waiting for him to laugh or pour scorn on such childishness, but he didn
’t. Instead he nodded his head slowly, his expression unchanged.

‘
So, they sent you to prison because you used your powers in public, is that right?’

‘
No one actually told me why. It’s not the first time it’s happened though so I guess that didn’t help matters.’

‘
You used your powers previously?’

‘
Yes, when I first arrived but not on purpose. I didn’t know it was against the law. And then I used them a little while before the whole Connor incident too.’

‘
What happened then?’

Looking
away from him, I watched a bright yellow fish swimming slowly around the edge of the tank.

‘
My stepfather was attacking me,’ I explained quietly, ‘and there was this panther. He was trying to protect me but one of the security guards shot him. She was real nasty about it and I lost my temper again.’

‘
I see.’

‘
Everyone said that the panther deserved to die but he didn’t. He was a hero.’

‘
How so?’

‘
Well, you see there’s this boy called Oscar and I thought he was going to try and kill my stepfather to protect me. I didn’t want to get him into trouble. Anyway, the panther took over and killed Gareth. I’m glad he’s dead. Gareth I mean, not the panther. He deserved everything he got.’

‘
Can you tell me why?’

My eyes widened and my pulse quickened. Taking a long drink of water, I tried to calm myself.

‘You really want to know?’

‘
Yes, I do.’

‘
Well, my stepfather is responsible for the death of my mother.’

His eyes did not leave mine but his expression wasn
’t hostile. Pulling my knees up, I curled up in a ball and stared at the yellow fish while I spoke.

‘
When Mother and I first came to live with other people around us we started off quite well, just the two of us. But there were people looking for us and the constant stress and moving about meant that we both felt depressed.’