‘Oh Allie, thank you. I’m proud of you too.’ She drew her in for a hug, neither of them wanting to break the embrace. It was the first time Alice had recognised Terri for who she was, and a connection had formed.
They arrived at The Community in one piece, and it was different to what Alice had imagined. She’d expected mud huts with straw roofing, but there were tents, and stretchers for beds. It reminded her of the TV program, Mash.
Keith had already briefed them on the rules of The Community. None of them were allowed to mention their life in the outside world.
A middle-aged lady came out to greet them. She hugged both Josh and Terri, then held out her hand to Alice. ‘Hi, I’m Camilla, and you must be Alice.’
Alice shook her hand, surprised at the formality of meeting her mother for the first time.
‘Pleased to meet you, but please, everyone calls me Allie.’
‘I’m not just everyone, and I think the name Alice suits you fine.’
What the heck? Damion had warned her about Camilla, but the lady was plain rude. She didn’t know what she’d expected from her, but a hug, and a warm welcome at least.
‘Well it’s nice to meet you. I’ll let Josh show you around. I assume Keith has told you the rules?’
‘Yes ma’am.’
‘Okay good, I’ll see you at dinner time. Terri, come with me.’
Camilla took off, leaving Terri running to keep up with her.
‘Where’re they going?’
‘One of The Community members is sick, so Terri’s brought medicine for them.’
‘I guess they don’t have a pharmacy they can run around the corner to.’
‘Correct. Camilla keeps an emergency supply of antibiotics, but they’re not working.’
‘I’d have thought they’d use herbs and stuff, for healing.’
‘They do as a first option, but sometimes something stronger is needed. Thankfully nobody gets sick here very often. They’re a healthy bunch.’
Alice could see that, as a bronzed, muscular man strode towards them, glistening with sweat. His toned physique mesmerised her, and she didn’t hear Josh introducing him.
‘Allie?’ Josh raised his voice. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Um, yeah, sorry, just a little... distracted.’
‘That’s to be expected, this place is different to London. Allie, this is Scott, he’s a good friend of mine.’
‘Hi Scott.’ Alice held out her hand and he just looked at it.
‘They don’t shake hands here. No need to, they so rarely meet new people.’
Embarrassed, she dropped her hand by her side. ‘Pleased to meet you, Scott.’
He nodded then carried on chatting to Josh. She inhaled his musky, man smell; fresh sweat intermingled with something hot. Unable to take her eyes off him, she watched and listened as he talked in a formal tone, with words uninfluenced by slang. Men in London never had this effect on her.
A girl ran up to Josh and hugged him, interrupting her thoughts.
‘Josh, nice to see you.’ The girl then planted a kiss on Scott’s lips. A pang of jealousy hit Alice as she realised this was Scott’s girlfriend or partner, or whatever they called them here.
‘Hi Sofia. This is my good friend Allie.’
‘Hi Allie,’ she said. ‘Are you staying with us for a while?’
‘Not sure yet.’
‘Well, welcome. Hopefully we’ll see more of you. We’ve got to go now and get cleaned up, want to join us for a swim?’ she asked Josh.
‘Yeah, why not? Allie, you up for it?’
Alice was dripping in sweat, and a swim sounded like heaven.
They headed to the beach, and Alice stopped on the dune taking in the beauty. The sea glistened a deep blue, stretching out to eternity. White sand spread in a curve flanked by rocks, forming a sheltered bay. Alice followed the others to the water’s edge.
Scott and Sofia stripped off their leather garments and dived into the clear blue water, and Alice realised she didn’t have her bathing suit. Josh took off his clothes and said, ‘Try it Allie, you’ll love it.’
Oh well, when in Rome and all that. Alice stripped off her vest and skirt and followed Josh. The sand was hot on her naked feet, so she ran along yelling, ‘Ouch, hot, hot, ouch.’
Josh laughed at her then dived into the sea and Alice followed suit, pleased at the relief from the hot sand.
The water enveloped her like a cold shroud. It was liberating to swim in the sea, not wearing any clothes. Alice floated on her back, swirling her arms below her to keep afloat. This is the life, she thought, trying not to think about sharks and other scary sea creatures.
Feeling refreshed after her swim, she spent the afternoon with Josh as he took her on a tour. It amazed Alice how The Community lived self-sufficiently without the need for shops, or material possessions. Everyone had a job to do and they got on and did it without complaining, their sole purpose to survive.
As they walked passed the school, two children ran out. She did a double take, having seen nothing like it. They were identical.
‘Aw, how cute are they?’
The two boys ran towards them. Alice’s heart melted as they ran barefoot across the grass, their dark hair flopping in their eyes.
They hugged Josh’s legs, one each.
‘Hey there boys, I’d like you to meet Allie.’
They stared up at her shyly, both gone coy.
‘Allie, this is Harley and Triumph, they’re twins.’
‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said, and smiled at them.
The two boys hid behind Josh’s legs, unsure what to make of the stranger. Alice had never had an interest in children, but these two were adorable, she wanted to pick them up and take them home.
‘Okay boys, off you go now,’ Josh dismissed them, and they ran off.
‘How do you tell them apart?’
‘I can’t, but Shelly, their mother, somehow manages it. She was pregnant with them when she moved to The Community about six years ago.’
‘Oh, where did she come from?’
‘London, I think. They occasionally take in people from abused backgrounds, or people who are running from someone.’
‘Is that what’s happening with me? They’re not going to make me stay here are they?’
‘No, of course not. Why would Damion do that to you?’
‘Sorry, I’m being paranoid. A lot’s been happening lately and it’s getting to me. Also, I know my adopted parents are here somewhere. I’m not sure I want to run into them.’
‘Why don’t you meet them? It might be good to hear their version of events.’
‘I’m nervous as hell, Josh. How does anyone deal with this shit? I mean, my real mother gave me up. Then the parents who adopted me pretended to die to escape me. Now, twenty years later I find out they’re still alive, and living this community. My head’s bursting from it all.’
‘Well, they know you’re coming, and have been asked to keep out of your way in case you don’t want to meet them. But I reckon you should. Get it over and done with. Sometimes it’s best to face your fears, then they’re not so scary.’
‘Haha, easy for you to say, you’re not scared of anything.’
‘That’s not true. I was terrified when I first left The Community. Imagine living your whole life here, then suddenly being transported to London. It was like being fast-forwarded in time.’
Alice hadn’t ever thought about Josh and his past life here. It must’ve been a weird experience for him. She decided to stop being a wimp and meet the people who used to be her parents.
Chapter 30
Alice followed Josh to the creche where Fenella, her ex-mother worked.
‘Just wait here a moment, I’ll see if she’s free,’ Josh said.
Alice stood at the entrance to the tent, chewing her nails as she waited, wishing he would hurry up.
A few moments later, a middle-aged lady with a large midriff came out. Alice recognised her immediately a
s her mother from the first eleven years of her life. Alice’s lower lip wobbled, and she burst into tears, emotion running rampant through her body.
‘Oh Alice!’ Fenella took her in her arms.
Alice fell into them, enjoying the warm embrace and let her sobs flow free. She didn’t care who saw her as she cried through the gaping hole of the last twenty years.
Once the tears subsided, Josh patted her on the back. ‘Hey, let’s go somewhere private.’
Alice and Fenella followed him into the forest along a well-used track until they came to a trickling stream. Logs had been arranged in a circle as seats, and a used fire pit sat in the middle. The three of them sat down, and Fenella spoke.
‘I’m so sorry about leaving you all those years ago. Pete had planned an exotic holiday for the two of us and had arranged for you to stay at your friend’s place. Next thing I know, we’re on a plane and landing here. At first, I had no idea we were moving permanently. I wanted to ring you, see if you were okay, but he said there was no phone. Then I got suspicious when I realised we were never going back. Pete told me about the death threats the entire family had been receiving and said he had no choice but to fake our deaths.’
‘But why didn’t you take me with you?’
‘Pete said it wouldn’t be fair on you.’
‘Do you have any idea what I went through? His cousin, Nat, was horrible. I had to deal with the loss of my parents and a family who hated me.’
‘Oh Alice, I’m so sorry, but there was nothing I could have done.’
‘But you got on a flight with him. You didn’t even say goodbye.’ Alice didn’t like the whining tone creeping into her voice, but she needed to know these things.
‘I was stupid. Pete had been ignoring me for months and I thought a week away was a romantic notion. However, I had no choice. If I had resisted, Pete would have forced me to go with him.’
‘Really? Why?’
‘He was a good man but misguided at times; said he couldn’t bear to be without me. Can you forgive me?’
‘It makes no difference now, what’s done is done. No point holding a grudge; that takes too much effort as far as I’m concerned.’
‘Well, it’s nice to see you’ve grown into a lovely young lady, despite your horrible upbringing.’
‘Yeah, I might have grown up a spoilt brat otherwise.’ Alice smiled.
‘Admittedly, we spoiled you rotten, but I’d wanted you for so long. When Pete said a business associate could get us a baby, I was over the moon. I’ve never been able to have a baby myself as I’d had a hysterectomy.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ Alice watched Fenella blink back the tears, so she changed the subject. ‘So, what happened to Dad?’
‘He’s away on a hunting trip. When he heard you were coming, he couldn’t bear to look you in the eye after what he did. He truly feels bad about it.’
‘So what business was he involved in?’
‘I’ve no idea, but it was something to do with a surgeon. The same man who told us about you.’
‘Martin Bickford-Smith?’ Alice asked.
‘Yes. How do you know?’
‘I found out he’d once been married to my mother.’
‘They caught Pete downloading Martin’s brain into one of the younger community members about six years ago. Then the lad disappeared.’
‘So, it’s true?’
‘You know about that?’
‘Yes, but I didn’t want to believe it. I met a man in London, Ethan Smith, and he helped me stop drinking.’
‘Ethan! That was his name. Do you think it’s the same person?’
‘Damion thinks so. He’s had a facelift, so it’s impossible to confirm for sure, but it’s too much of a coincidence.’
‘Poor chap, and such a nice lad until they poisoned his mind. Then he lashed out at his wife, Matty. Lovely girl. Used to help me out in the creche, but her son is sick at the moment, so she’s busy looking after him.’
‘Is that the boy Terri’s come to treat?’ Alice looked at Josh.
‘Yes, they’re not sure what’s wrong with him.’
‘How old is he?’
‘Eleven,’ Fenella replied.
‘So Matty was married to Ethan? Does that mean this boy is Ethan’s son?’
‘It does indeed,’ Fenella said.
Chapter 31
‘Somebody should tell Ethan,’ Alice said. ‘They should also tell Matty he’s still alive.’
‘Allie, we need to talk to Camilla about this, it’s not our decision to make,’ Josh said.
‘Whatever.’ Alice wasn’t convinced. Ethan had done some terrible things, but he needed to know his son was sick.
‘Anyway, it’s time to go, dinner will be served shortly,’ Josh said.
Back at the camp, banquet tables had been set and an excited chatter bounced around its members.
As a guest, Alice sat at the head of the table between Camilla and Josh, and opposite Keith and Terri.
Alice noticed how Damion had modelled his restaurant in France on The Community. They dined on delicacies of the sea caught that day and Alice thought the food rivalled that of her father’s restaurant.
After dinner, Josh took her to the entertainment tent, where everyone kicked up their heels, dancing to the music. Alice couldn’t remember having so much fun sober. Normally she’d drink a lot of alcohol before dancing.
She was surprised at how Terri danced with no inhibitions. She didn’t know her sister well at all and made a mental note to change that.
At the end of the night, Alice fell into her bed, exhausted but happy.
The next morning Terri woke her. ‘Hey Allie, you need to get up, it’s time for breakfast.’
She sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. ‘What? Why? Where am I?’
‘You’re in The Community, silly.’
Alice followed Terri to the banquet area laid out with a smorgasbord of breads, cheeses, and meats. Alice’s stomach grumbled with anticipation as she sat down.
She helped herself to a bit of everything and ate until she was stuffed.
‘What do you want to do today?’ Josh asked her.
‘A shower would be great to start with.’ Alice was hot and sticky from the dancing the night before.
Josh laughed. ‘No showers here I’m afraid. But I can take you somewhere for a nice warm bath.’
‘Sounds wonderful.’
***
They’d been walking through the forest for an hour, and Alice hoped Josh knew where he was going. She wouldn’t have been able to find her way back if she got lost out here.
‘Not far now,’ he said, as if reading her thoughts.
They came across a clear stream trickling over a rocky bed. ‘Stick your foot in the water,’ Josh said.
Alice stepped down towards the water and did so, but quickly retracted her foot. ‘Ouch, it’s hot!’
Josh laughed. ‘It’s thermal, comes from the ground. I should have warned you, it can be scolding.’
They followed the stream until they came to a swimming hole. Josh took off his leather sandals and tested the water. ‘This is just right, Come on, strip.’ He whipped off his garments, waded into the dark water, and sat down. ‘Aaah, soooo nice.’
Alice stood on the side, wondering what Terri would think about her skinny dipping with Josh out in the middle of nowhere.
‘Come on, don’t be shy.’
‘It’s just... I feel weird, the two of us, naked in a hot pool.’
Josh looked hurt. ‘Allie, don’t you trust me?’
‘Of course I do, you’re like a brother to me.’
‘Then stop over thinking it and hop in. Look, I’ll turn my head so I can’t see you.’ He turned away from her.
Alice dropped her leather garments on the ground and stepped into the pool. The warm water shrouded her body, and she sat back and luxuriated in it.
‘Told ya, it’s nice, huh?’
‘Oh yeah, it’s amazing.’
‘Your skin will feel great afterwards too, the mineral properties in the water are good for you.’
‘It’s hard getting my head around being naked in front of other people.’
‘That’s society for you, screws you up, too many rules. You can’t get more natural than your own skin. To be honest, I find women are sexier in a bikini than in the nude.’
Alice didn’t like the direction of the conversation, so changed the subject. ‘Why can’t we tell The Community members where we come from?’
‘They wouldn’t understand. And they’d all want to go experience it, and we can’t afford that. It’s expensive hiring a private plane to fly in and out.’
‘But shouldn’t they have a choice? You and Terri got to choose.’
‘Yeah, but we were thrown into that life. I loved The Community, but came to hate what it represented. Both Terri and I found there was more for us in the outside world.’
‘So, what does it represent?’
‘Allie, do you mind if we change the subject? I don’t mean to sound rude, but I’d like to relax, and I don’t want to get caught up in a heavy conversation. Sorry.’
There were so many questions and nobody answering them. Alice was tired of being kept in the dark.
‘No Josh, tell me. What’re you hiding? It seems like everyone is trying to protect me, but all it’s doing is causing me to mistrust the people I love. Now please, tell me what happened to you and Terri that forced you to move to London.’
‘Okay, but I’ll get into trouble for telling you this so you can’t repeat it to anyone.’
Josh told her about the original purpose of The Community and how most of them are clones.
‘Clones? What do you mean?’
‘It means we were cloned from the DNA of someone else. We weren’t conceived in the traditional manner.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
‘Sadly, I’m not.’
Alice struggled to get her head around it. She knew they could clone sheep, but humans? Sure, it would be possible, but not exactly ethical. Had she just landed in a movie? Or a reality TV program? Surely this couldn’t be happening.
‘So, you’re telling me that you are Terri are clones?’
The Ultimate Community Page 11