The Weapon Within: A Paranormal Dystopian Adventure (The Unexplainables Book 1) (20 page)

‘
What’s going on, Jamie?’

‘
I don’t know, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.’

‘
Me neither. Will you let me know if there are any further developments before morning?’

‘
Sure. If they let us out again before morning, that is.’

*

My feeling of agitation did not diminish overnight. Again I was convinced that there were people talking outside but there was no sign of anyone. For once, I took the long route around the pods, just to get some fresh air. A door opened up ahead and Beth’s parents left their pod and walked swiftly towards the main building.

I approached the middle
-aged guard standing outside. ‘I’d like to speak to Beth alone. Please ensure we are not disturbed.’

‘
Yes, ma’am,’ he replied, stepping to one side. I knocked briefly on the door and entered. The interior of the pod was identical to mine except that the back section had been divided into two bedrooms, one of which had its door firmly shut.

‘
Beth?’

‘
Go away!’

‘
Beth, it’s me. Can I come in?’

For a moment I thought she was just goi
ng to ignore me but then there was a shuffling noise and the door opened. Beth peered out of the crack at me. I was shocked at how she looked. There were deep, dark circles under her eyes and her skin was pale. She looked like she’d lost a fair bit of weight too. ‘Are you alone?’

‘
Yes, it’s just me.’

The door opened wider and she stepped back, letting me through. She went over to the single bed and sat on it, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

‘How are you?’ I asked.

‘
What do you care?’ Her voice was flat and emotionless.

‘
Of course I care.’

‘
Well, if you must know, I’m contemplating ending it all.’

‘
Beth! Don’t even joke about a thing like that!’

‘
Who says I’m joking?’

‘
Why on earth would you say something like that?’

‘
Well, let me see,’ she replied, sarcastically. ‘I’m being held here against my will and kept away from the man I love because
you
say that I’m not safe near him, despite the fact that before these stupid laws came in, we were all living perfectly happily alongside each other.’

‘
It’s for your own good. You have to look at the bigger picture . . .’

‘
What bigger picture?’ she interrupted. ‘You don’t have the right to choose what’s for my own good or not. It’s
my
choice how I live my life, not yours. If I choose to take the risk to be with Noah then it’s none of your damn business.’

‘
But I just wanted to help. Paradise is the future, Beth.’

‘
Oh, for crying out loud!’ She sprang to her feet, her fists clenched. ‘If you’re just going to stand there and spout the same rubbish they pipe into these horrible houses then you might as well leave. I’m not interested!’

‘
Please tell me you’re not going to say you’re hearing voices?’

‘
Not voices, no, they’re recorded messages. They play them late at night. I hear them every night because I can’t sleep. It works on some sort of sensor system – the minute you move they turn off. It’s the same stuff over and over again, every night.’

‘
I’m sure that whatever it is they send through is just inspirational messages or words of wisdom. If they’re repeating our motto then that’s a good thing. That’s what we believe.’

‘
And what makes you think that I have to believe it too?’ she hissed.

‘
It’s for your safety – for the Standards, I mean. Surely you can see that segregating the Nexes and Duds makes sense?’

‘
All it does is emphasize the differences. All you’ve done is cause panic.’

‘
But this is just a temporary measure. The plan is that once we have control then we’ll go back to co-existing.’

‘
Who’s plan?’

‘
Well, our plan of course. I mean, Nicholas first told me about the changes in law and we came up with the plan together.’

‘
And you just decided, like that,’ she snapped her fingers, ‘without bothering to ask anyone if they agreed, right? So, whose idea was it to use brute force to make sure people conform to your plan, whether they agree with it or not?’

My stomach clenched uncomforta
bly. ‘Had people just done what we asked, then no one would have been hurt.’

‘
Well, let me tell you something,’ she hissed, her eyes narrowed, ‘I do
not
agree with your point of view and I do
not
want to live in a world where innocent people have their lives torn apart just because
you
decided that it’s the right thing to do. It’s just an excuse to take over, that’s all it is. And it seems you’ll use any means necessary to do so.’

‘
No, you’re wrong! This was never about hurting people. It’s about protecting them.’

‘
You could have fooled me.’

I opened my mouth to retaliate but at that moment the alarms sounded. Hesitating, I glanced out of the window and saw guards running past.

‘Just go.’ Her lip curled as she spoke. ‘I really don’t know who you are any more, Ava. I thought you were nice.’

‘
I’m the same person. I haven’t changed.’

‘
Yes you have. All those powers have gone to your head. You seriously need to wake up and look around you. What you’re doing isn’t right. I hope you realise that before it’s too late.’

My heart in my mouth, I ran for the main building. Most people were in the dining room, their half-eaten meals left to go cold as they watched the activity around them. Spotting Simeon I sprinted across the room to him.

‘
I need to speak to you.’

‘
We’ve got a state of emergency right now, can it wait?’

‘
What’s happened?’

‘
There’s been an attempted break out at the prison. The governor has asked for assistance. The problem is that just before we got the call we had word that some of the guards have gone rogue in the town and are causing chaos.’

‘
That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Hugo – the boy we found, he never made it to the hospital.’

He stopped short and stared at me, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline.
‘How do you know?’

‘
Someone who works at the hospital told Jamie. I’m really worried about him, especially after the way he was treated by the guards.’

‘
Yes, their behaviour was deplorable. Do you think that the ones who took him have kidnapped him?’

‘
All I know is that he’s not at the hospital. This is all wrong, Simeon. I think we’ve made a mistake.’

H
e placed a hand on my arm and ducked his head down so that I could look him in the eye. ‘Don’t doubt yourself. Paradise is our future and you have made fantastic progress so far. Now, I’m on my way into town right now but we need someone to go to the prison. If that’s going to be too much for you under the circumstances then I can find someone else to assist.’

‘
No, I’ll go,’ I replied quickly. ‘Jamie can drive me. You’ll let me know if you hear anything about Hugo though, won’t you?’

‘
I give you my word.’ He nodded.

*

A matter of minutes later, Jamie and I were hurtling along the country lanes in one of the 4x4s. Looking out at the scenery around me I sighed deeply.

‘
What’s wrong?’ Jamie looked at me in alarm.

‘
Nothing. I was just thinking about the day I arrived at Paradise. Joe was driving and Linda sat in the front with him. It seems like a lifetime ago and yet it can only be a matter of months.’

‘
I guess so.’

‘
It’s like we live in our own little world there.’

‘
Yeah, that’s why my wife kept in touch with her brother. They don’t encourage that, you see. If a family member or a friend leaves the commune, they tell us we should cut them off completely. But she couldn’t do it. She said that the commune was stifling and without that outside contact she’d go crazy.

‘
What’s your wife’s name?’

‘
She’s called Andrea and we have two children: Teddy who’s six and Bertie who’s four.’

‘
What made you join Paradise?’

‘
Well, we wanted to live in the safest place for our kids. We liked the idea of an enclosed community where they could run around and play to their hearts’ content without us having to worry about them all the time. And the concept of it being non-materialistic appealed too. We didn’t have to worry about keeping up with the Jones’s or having to buy the latest computer games or clothing labels for the boys.’

‘
Don’t you feel the same about it now?’

‘
No.’

‘
Because of the troubles?’

‘
No, it’s not that. It’s because it’s not real.’

‘
What do you mean?’

‘
Well, the thing is that the world is a diverse place. There are people from all kinds of backgrounds, all muddling through together. Some of them are good and some aren’t. The problem with the commune is that it doesn’t teach the children how to deal with other people, it teaches them how to avoid them. And the problem with that is that people become so indoctrinated into the way our community works that they become scared of what’s on the outside. It’s not healthy.’

‘
Is that why you haven’t left? Are you scared?’

‘
No, we wanted to stay put until we knew what was happening on the outside and we had a definite place to move to. The thing is, our boys won’t be able to see their friends again once we go so we needed to be absolutely sure that the timing was right and we could support them through the changes. But we’ve been gearing up to going for some time now.’

‘
I had no idea that things were that bad.’

‘
Of course you didn’t. They don’t want you to see any of that – you’re a VIP. Everything has to be all shiny and happy for you.’ He laughed.

‘
That’s not funny,’ I reprimanded. ‘It’s exactly what Joe said.’

‘
Yeah, I heard what happened. He shouldn’t have attacked you the way he did. I think he was just desperate.’

‘
He said I was a weapon.’

‘
He did, huh? And what do you think of that?’

‘
I don’t want to be. To be honest, I’m not sure how I got sucked into all of this. When I escaped from my stepfather’s house I was just desperate to get away. Brock and the others were kind to me and their way of life seemed to make sense, but then I came to Paradise and things were totally different but still made sense. And now people are getting hurt because of me.’

‘
I think that when we’re at our lowest, the promise of happiness at the right time can make a huge amount of difference to the way we perceive a situation.’

‘
What do you mean?’

‘
Well, you arrived at Paradise broken and hurting. Now I’m not sure what his motive is, but Nicholas has been very keen to get you on board. It could be totally innocent of course, but I just wonder . . .’ He lapsed into silence.

‘
What? What do you wonder?’

‘
We’re here now. I’ll tell you on the way back, ok?’

*

We knew as soon as we entered the prison that something was wrong. The reception desk was unmanned and we were met with an eerie silence.

‘
Shall we call for backup?’ Jamie murmured to me.

‘
Who are we going to ask? They’ve all gone into town and even if there was someone available, by the time they get here we could have searched the place.’

‘
I suppose so. Let’s stick together though, ok?’

‘
I don’t have a problem with that.’

We walked down the corridor behind reception until we reached the
lift.

‘
What do we do now?’

‘
I think we should go and check things out downstairs.’

‘
I didn’t bring a weapon.’

I gave him a withering look.

‘Oh yeah, I guess I’m covered,’ he laughed, his eyes shining.

‘
Ok, let’s go.’ I pushed the call button and immediately the doors sprang open. We stepped in and I pressed the button for the floor below. As we felt ourselves move downwards, we both tensed, keeping flat against the sides of the car. Seconds later we came to a stop and the door opened. There was not a soul in sight. 

‘
What’s going on here?’ I whispered, stepping out into the corridor. When we reached the first branch in the path, we came across a control panel with several screens showing images from the cells and corridors on that floor. A mug of tepid coffee stood on top of a pile of files, which held brief details of each of the inmates on that particular wing. Walking across to the entrance of the nearest cell block, I pushed at the door and was shocked when it swung wide open.

‘
Something’s very wrong,’ I told Jamie who was following close behind.

‘
Yeah, I’ll say. Stay alert.’

 
The doors to the cells were still locked. We walked down the centre of the corridor, looking in through the one-way glass at the inmates inside. They were mostly awake and many of them seemed agitated. Some were standing right up against the glass whilst others were pacing their cells. None of them seemed to be aware of our presence. Once we’d walked the length of the corridor we went back to the control panel and tried the next one.

After checking
the entire floor, we went down a level in the lift and repeated the exercise. Every cell was occupied and not one of the prisoners appeared to be in the process of escaping. If it weren’t for the complete lack of guards, we’d have assumed it was a false alarm. But the quietness was unnatural and it unnerved me.

‘
Over here!’

Jamie had stopped several cells behind me and was staring at the prisoner inside. Backtracking, I joined him and peered through the glass.

‘Oh!’

‘
Hang on a second.’ He ran back to the control panel and a moment later the door in front of me slid open. I ran inside and knelt beside the little bed.

 
‘Hugo? Are you ok?’

Hearing my voice, he prised open his swollen eyes and peered at me.
‘Ava? Is that you?’

‘
Yes. What happened?’

‘
They hurt me.’ He coughed loudly, wincing as he clutched his ribs.

‘
Why didn’t they take you to the hospital?’

‘
I don’t know. I was told to get in the car and then they brought me here. I tried to escape but they beat me up. I don’t like it here, Ava. I want to go home.’

‘
I know, honey. I’m going to get you home, don’t worry. Can you stand?’

He tried to sit up but fell back down, crying out in pain.

‘I can carry him up to the car,’ Jamie offered, kneeling beside me. ‘As soon as we’re done here we can take him straight to the commune. Andrea will know what to do.’

‘
I need to check things out here,’ I told him. ‘It’s going to take a while. Do you think he can hold on?’

‘
I can,’ Hugo answered my question. ‘I’m all right. I just don’t think I can walk. They hurt my leg too.’

‘
Ok, I’ll take him to the car. You wait here and I’ll come back for you.’

‘
No, I’ll carry on with the search.’ I raised my hand to stop his protest, ‘I’ll be fine. Just come and find me when you’ve got Hugo to safety.’

‘
Ok,’ he sighed, ‘if you insist. Come on then.’ Crouching down, he lifted Hugo up gently and manoeuvred him out of the doorway. I continued to check the cells then made for the next corridor along. Halfway along, I found what I was looking for. Placing my hand against the glass, I willed it open and it gave way instantly, sliding across enough to let me into the cell.

 
Brock had been lying on his bed with his eyes shut. As I entered he jumped to his feet, staring at me in shock.

I expected him to be angry with me – to shout or throw something at me. But instead he crossed the cell in two strides and flung his arms around me, pulling me into a bear hug.

‘Thank God you’re ok. I thought . . .’ He pulled away slightly, gripping my arms lightly with his hands. ‘You must hate me.’

‘
Actually, I thought you hated me.’

‘
Of course not, you silly girl! How on earth could you think that?’

‘
I heard you talking to Tommy. You said that you’d made a mistake with me – that you couldn’t handle me.’

‘
Actually, you’re wrong there.’

I took a step back from him, confused.
‘No, I’m not. I heard you. You were sitting in the kitchen talking about me and I was coming down the stairs and I heard you say that you wished you’d let me keep running.’

‘
Oh, Ava.’ He broke away from me and leaned against the wall, his face in his hands. ‘I’m so sorry. It was a moment of self-doubt. What with everything that happened I just had a momentary lapse in faith. If Kenzie had waited just another few minutes before arriving, you would have heard me reprimand myself for being so weak when you needed me the most. But you have to understand, Ava, we’re not like you. For all we Nexes have a single power, it’s the only thing that differentiates us from the Standards. You, on the other hand, are not only a far more powerful being but you actually appear to be taking on other people’s powers too.’

‘
Excuse me?’

‘
Let me ask you something. Before you came here had you ever made anything move or thrown a fireball or read someone’s thoughts?’

‘
Not on purpose. I’ve never thrown a fireball before. And I can’t read people’s thoughts.’

‘
Yes you can. You see, I wasn’t talking out loud to Tommy the day you overheard us. We were communicating through our thoughts. I only realised what had happened when I heard Oscar’s thoughts later on. You had an encounter with him in town and he was on his way back to the village with his friends. He was thinking about the fact that you’d apparently shouted at him over something he’d been thinking but hadn’t actually said.’