Cut to clip.
The camera is moving, entering a darkened room. There’s a brief click as a light is switched on, revealing a large, laboratory-like space with a long wooden table in the centre of the room. There are shelves on either side of the table and several counters in the background with glass bottles, beakers and other lab equipment on display.
A man is tied to the wooden table. His arms and legs are bound to the corners of the table by heavy-duty straps. He’s completely naked except for a pair of light grey boxer shorts that hang loosely around his waist.
The camera approaches four figures standing around the table. Each one is dressed as a classic video game character. Sonic the Hedgehog is already familiar to viewers, but now Super Mario, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong, have also joined the proceedings.
Electronic music plays softly in the background.
Sonic the Hedgehog turns towards the camera. Her voice is instantly recognisable.
THE LADY: Hello viewers. It’s an honour to be here on your favourite television channel today. I hope you’re ready for something a little bit different.
Behind her, Super Mario and Pac-man are wiping down the man’s body – sponging him and then drying him off slowly. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong is standing at one of the workspaces, placing something unseen into a pot of boiling water.
Super Mario and Pac-Man finish drying the man off. When that’s done they lather him with creamy foam and then using disposable razors, start to shave his body – his chest, shoulders, arms, legs – anything with a hint of hair is groomed.
Sonic the Hedgehog turns back to the camera.
THE LADY: There has been no official response to the request we made this morning. Neither the British government nor SKAM have deemed us worthy of their time. This is a pity. As you probably know we asked them to disable the phones in London. This is a simple operation that can be done immediately. You see the phones in London aren’t like the ones we carry outside the M25 – these phones are only hooked up between the host network and the SKAM Corporation. Disabling them is as straightforward as the flick of a switch. Once it’s done, there will be no more heart-wrenching or suicidal postcards to entertain us. No more GPS for their games, and no new downloads. It’s a simple operation.
Super Mario leans over Clarkie and uses clippers to cut off all the hair on his head. Thick black clumps are pushed off the table, onto the ceramic tiled floor.
THE LADY: Mrs Prime Minister. You should not have ignored us.
She nods to the others.
THE LADY: Begin.
Donkey Kong approaches the table. In one hand he’s carrying a small, buzzing needle and in the other, a white paper tissue. He leans over the man and slowly presses the needle against his freshly shaved chest. Super Mario and Pac-Man return from the workspaces with their own needles in hand.
They stand over the table, pressing their needles upon the helpless victim’s skin.
The sound of electric buzzing fills the room. The man screams – a hideous wailing scream. This wailing becomes a terrible, high-pitched noise – something barely recognisable as human.
Cut. The screen goes black.
Footage resumes.
The four video game characters are standing in front of the table. Their bodies block the view of the prisoner behind them. The prisoner – if he’s there – is silent and doesn’t seem to be moving.
THE LADY: Welcome back to this special GHC broadcast. What you’ve just been watching was a pre-recorded segment that we made earlier. Now we’re live, not only on Postcards from London, but we’re broadcasting on I-9 too. And now that you’re all here, we’d like to show you how our work today is progressing.
The four characters scatter to the sides of the table, two to each side. The camera slowly zooms in as they raise the half-conscious man up, pointing his body towards the screen.
Clarkie is completely unrecognisable. His entire body is covered in a sea of black ink, stretching from head to toe. Dark rivers of blood seep from every smudge on his body. As the camera zooms in on his face, Clarkie’s eyes roll back and forth in their sockets. He groans and in that moment at least, appears mercifully unaware of what’s going on.
The camera stops just inches from the man’s vandalised skin. Upon closer inspection it becomes clear that the smudges are in fact tiny words. Zooming in even further, the camera skims over these words: Magic Birds, JoyRiding, 3D Fishing Expedition, Monsters and Demons, Wild Bill’s Car Racing Adventures – and many more. All of these titles have been tattooed onto Clarkie’s skin dozens of times over, distorting his natural colour and turning him black, except for the small gaps of pink that remain in between the words.
Sonic the Hedgehog addresses the camera.
THE LADY: You must still think of this as a commercial. What we’re selling now is the chance for you to make sure this never happens again. Don’t keep us waiting Mrs Prime Minister. If you want Clarkie back in one heavily tattooed piece, then disable all of the phones in London. This is the last time I will say it. Block the signal, cut the games off, and render them useless.
Chapter 24
Immersion 9 – Live Chat Forums
#PostcardsfromLondon #WhereisClarkie
SmokeyBalls: OMG!!
The Hairy-X: Is that all? I’m a bit disappointed to be honest. They blew up a ton of people on TV last time. I was expecting something bigger. Let’s face it, all they did was put some ink on Clarkie.
SmokeyBalls: Put SOME ink on Clarkie? They’ve just painted the man from head to toe and ruined his life.
AquaMom: LMFAO! @SmokeyBalls – Troll alert.
SmokeyBalls: So what happens now? Does the PM respond? No more Postcards?
AquaMom: Nah! She can’t let the GHC push her around. Makes her look weak eh? She needs to flush them out, sadistic scumbags. Poor Clarkie BTW.
SmokeyBalls: She has to do something yeah? Clarkie’s life is on the line – he ain’t out the woods yet.
AquaMom: The man’s a walking billboard now. Jesus!
The Hairy-X: Serves him right – he’s a freak show! I’ll tell you this – the only person I hate more than Clarkie right now is that thieving murderer, Mr Apocalypse. Now there’s a sadistic scumbag. Wonder what he’s going to do next, eh?
Chapter 25
Walker’s eyes drifted towards the rotting white ceiling. His eyes lingered there, taking in the ugly medley of dark patches and peeling paint spots.
The silence in the classroom was killing him. Literally. For a man who’d grown accustomed to not speaking over the past nine years, Walker knew that conversation was his only chance of staying out of the Farm.
Pearl was sitting behind the teacher’s desk, doing her best to avoid Walker’s eye. A lot of time had passed since their first exchange and now her shift was nearly over.
Then what? Who was on the third shift? Pax?
Walker let out a long sigh; it came out louder than he’d intended.
“Are you alright?” Pearl asked, looking over at him. “Can I get you something? Something to drink maybe?”
Right then, a light went on in Walker’s head. It was a faint light, and one that his grasping fingers probably couldn’t reach. But it was a light nonetheless and for the love of God, he had to try.
Walker looked at Pearl. He felt a resurgence of hope in his heart.
“Aye,” he said. “Maybe a drink or something. I’m fine otherwise though.”
“Really?” she said. “You don’t have to say that. I don’t think I’d be fine with this man.”
He shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Pearl. She was leaning forward in her seat, staring at him like he was an experiment unfolding before her eyes.
“I mean it,” he said. “Shit happens, right? I’m too tired to fight anymore. I’ve been fighting to stay alive for the past nine years. I’m glad in a way, you know? I just hope they kill me quick when my time comes.”
Pearl shifted back in her seat, her shoulders drooping a little.
Walker looked at her. “Aye,” he said. “I think so. Even if it’s just a blank void. Maybe that’d be best, considering some of the things I’ve done.”
“Yeah,” she said. “You know something, I think a lot of people in London died of a broken heart. In fact I’m sure of it. It wasn’t just Piccadilly or starvation or disease. Think about it; one minute you’re living a normal life and the next you’re a prisoner. North and south of the river, I think a lot of people couldn’t believe what happened to them. Their loved ones were gone or dead. They didn’t want to stay alive. Why waste your life on this place, right? I mean, what is this anyway? Why don’t they let us out? Yeah, it’s easier to give up and just die. And yet here we are, still breathing. Go figure.”
Walker nodded. “I think that’s what worries me the most,” he said. “That the Ghosts will try to keep me alive.”
“Don’t think about it Walker,” Pearl said.
Walker let out a rasping laugh. “What else is there to do?” he said.
Pearl glanced towards the dirty white ceiling. Walker couldn’t tell whether she was actually looking at something up there or if she was weighing up a decision in her head.
“You’ve got a point,” she said, turning back to him. “There’s no reason you have to sit like this, torturing yourself for the next few hours or whatever. How about that drink? Some food?”
“There is something I’d like,” Walker said.
“Name it.”
“How about some of that mushroom tea of yours?” he said. “A strong dose if you please. It’s the only thing I can think of that might work, aye? The only thing that might stop my brain.”
Pearl ran a slow hand through her braided hair.
“Gee, I don’t know Walker,” she said, laughing nervously. “I was thinking more along the lines of a glass of water, you know? A biscuit, something like that.”
Walker’s eyes wandered towards the large window. There was no sound out there, nothing at all. Not even the birds sang. It felt like something bad was coming and the universe knew it.
“Aye,” Walker said. “But that won’t let me forget. Will it?”
A short silence floated around the room. Walker kept his eyes focused on the window but he knew that Pearl was looking at him – he could feel it.
Still, the clock was ticking. There wasn’t time even for a short pause like that one.
Please. Hurry up.
“Shit,” Pearl said.
Walker heard a sudden, high-pitched scraping sound. He looked over and saw Pearl pushing her chair back against the floor. She got to her feet and started towards the door. Before she opened it, she stopped.
“Tell you what,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “I’ll go talk to Achilles. No matter what else happened, you did fight for us yesterday and that’s gotta count for something.”
Walker smiled. “Thanks Pearl,” he said.
She left the room and Walker listened to the sound of her footsteps slapping off the corridor floor. Soon they’d faded into the distance.
Silence.
Walker took a few, frantic gulps of air. He felt like a man resurfacing after being underwater for too long. He knew this was the last throw of the dice.
Damn it, he was scared.
Hope was a dangerous animal compared to apathy. If this crackpot idea forming in the back of his head didn’t work then its failure would crush him. But considering the fate that awaited him, he had to try.
It wasn’t long until Walker heard the sound of footsteps coming back down the corridor. He heard hushed voices too. Muted conversation. They were walking at a leisurely pace, the bastards, bringing news of his fate with them.
He took one more deep breath.
The classroom door swung open and Achilles walked into the room like a cowboy swaggering into a saloon. His eyes fell upon Walker immediately. Pearl and Pax came in a few paces behind their leader.
Pax doubled over and laughed hysterically at the sight of Walker tied up.
“Hey Walker,” he said, strutting towards him like a chimpanzee. “How ya doing buddy? I didn’t tape you up too tight, did I?”
Although Pax was laughing, Walker saw pain, rage and despair in his eyes. It was all in there, bubbling up into a hot, murderous stew.
“So you want to get high?” Achilles said, standing in the middle of the classroom. “Is that it?”
Walker looked up at Achilles. He bowed his head meekly.
“Yes,” he said. “No, I don’t want to get high. Look I get it man. I’m fucked. I’m not trying to scam you or anything like that. I just want to forget one last time before they come. You can keep me locked up in this room, you can have as many people standing guard as you like. You can get high too if you want. But please Achilles, just give me something to take the bad dreams away.”
Achilles was as calm and serene as Walker had ever seen him. Walker had no doubt that the Giants leader was savouring every minute of this. He’d won – Walker was pathetic and subservient and Achilles was loving it. What was there left to be angry about? Achilles’ authority had been established beyond all doubt.
“You want to forget?” Pax said. “After what you did to Sooper? Fuck you.”
“He fought for us,” Pearl said, looking at Pax. “How many Obituaries did you kill yesterday? C’mon Achilles, that’s got to be worth something.”
“Interesting,” Achilles said, keeping his eyes on Walker. “She has a point. But if I let you drink mushroom tea, I can’t let you out of that tape. You’d need to be tied up, which might lead to a bad trip. A very bad trip, all things considering. Still want it?”
“C’mon Achilles,” Pearl said. “You don’t need to keep him tied up. We just stay here and watch him. Where the hell’s he going to go?”
“It’s not a trick,” Walker said, looking at Achilles with pleading eyes. “Lock the door, stand guard with all your swords ready to go. But don’t leave me tied up like this. Please. I don’t think my brain can handle that, not today.”
“Who gives a fuck what you want cocksucker?” Pax said. “Achilles! You ain’t seriously considering giving this prick what he wants are you?”
“Shut up Pax,” Achilles said. He glanced over his shoulder at Pearl.
“Be a shame to brew up just for one wouldn’t it?” he said, grinning. “Know what I mean?”
She nodded and smiled back. Walker saw a glimmer of relief in her eyes but he wasn’t sure if that was because she’d succeeded in helping him or if because Achilles had just ordered mushroom tea for everyone.
It was like Walker had suspected – they all wanted to get high. Any excuse.
Yeah,” she said to Achilles. “Damn right it’d be a shame. And you know if Walker’s still a little out of it when the Ghosts come, it might make the handover a little easier. Right? More tranquil. Easier for all of us.”
“In that case,” Achilles said, “Fuck it. We all brew up, but we do it in here together. You hear that Walker? We’re throwing you a goodbye party after all.”
“Aye,” Walker said. “Thank you Achilles.”
Walker looked at Pax. There was a curious, almost child-like look in the man’s eyes.
“We’re getting high?” he said, turning to Achilles.
“Yeah,” Achilles said. “We need it mate. You need it more than any of us.”
“Right,” Pax said. “C’mon then, let’s do it. Let’s do it now.”
Achilles nodded, then turned back to Pearl.
“Go brew up,” he said. “And while you’re at it, tell Nadia to limp down the corridor if she wants a hit will you? For medicinal purposes of course.”
Walker looked up at the leader of the Sleeping Giants. Then slowly, he bowed his head in gratitude.
But he was also hiding his face.
The satisfied smile forming on his lips was not for their eyes.
Chapter 26
Press Statement (For Immediate
Release)
The Cancellation of ‘Operation Reach Out’
Aileen Ure, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Rudyard Campbell, CEO of SKAM Media
As of today, December 22nd, all mobile phones distributed across London as part of ‘Operation Reach Out’ will be disconnected. SMS/Video messages will no longer be sent or broadcast from behind the M25. All updates to these phones are suspended and GPS access over the city will be blocked with immediate effect.
We very much regret that the families and individuals who have benefitted from ‘Operation Reach Out’ will be deprived further contact with their loved ones. As you know, our humanitarian efforts were dedicated to building a bridge between the people inside and outside the M25 – to bring families and friends closer together. For the people of London, we wanted to offer hope, as well as provide some form of recreational entertainment to ease their hardship.
These efforts have been brutally sabotaged. It is an unfortunate turn of events but the important thing now is to ensure the safe return of Clarkie. His family is depending on us to bring him home and that’s what we’re going to do.
We are taking a step back, but we are not defeated.
Chapter 27
Walker cradled the mug of mushroom tea, bringing it closer to his lips.
Everyone else in the room was watching him. He could feel the weight of their eyes upon him, knowing that they wouldn’t touch their own drinks until he’d sampled his first.
He was ready for this.
Walker tipped his head back and let a few drops of the brown liquid slide into his mouth. Shit. It tasted like ashtray juice. He allowed a few drops to dribble down his chin. Then he drank again. Walker hammed it up to the best of his abilities, making a ferocious slurping noise; it was the sort of thing he’d only ever heard before in films and cartoons. It was the sound of desperation.
The Future of London Box Set Page 68