Wants of the Silent

by McPartlin, Moira;

‘Ishbel,’ she whispered as she clacked her reptilian nail on the communicator.

  ‘Where is she?’

  Vanora blinked her paper-thin eyelids a couple of times. She heard my question but instead of answering she squinted at Kenneth. Kenneth acted weird with Vanora. It was true he’d been brought up by his grandparents and had admitted to me she wasn’t much of a mother, but I assumed there would be some bond. I watched him gather his strength, pull back his shoulders, take a deep breath.

  ‘Aren’t you going to answer him, Vanora? Where’s Ishbel? We’re all dying to know.’ Agitation jigged in his newly-shorn features.

  ‘Oh, I suppose I might as well tell you.’ Vanora said. ‘Your beloved native stormed off in a huff when she discovered she had been stepped over in a promotion. I expected more from her. I assumed her emotional intelligence was stronger. Her behaviour proves I was right in my promotion assessment.

  Kenneth seemed to snap to. ‘Merj.’

  At the sound of his name I remembered the feel of Merj’s blood trickling over my wrist as I plunged my blade into his cheek. The fight on the beach that ended with Merj in a heap, hand blown off.

  ‘You sent Merj to fetch Sorlie.’ Kenneth stabbed his finger in the air with each word.

  ‘Don’t point, Kenneth, it’s rude.’

  He stuck his hand in his pocket and paced the room. Vanora watched him.

  ‘Anyway, I didn’t send Merj for Sorlie. He acted outwith my orders. My guess is he thought it would be best to move the child out of the way.’

  ‘How can you say that? He was kidnapping me.’ I could hear my voice rise. ‘You just said you did right not to promote Ishbel. Now you’re excusing Merj his insubordination.’

  ‘Thch,’ was all she said as she smoothed her hair and rubbed her teeth as if something lodged there; a lie perhaps. ‘Anyway, thanks to your skillful fighting I am now one very experienced man down.’ No, not a lie, but a platitude.

  ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish,’ Kenneth said.

  Vanora shrugged off an imaginary weight. ‘Come, we must prepare.’ She smiled and held out her hand to me. ‘Sorlie, I cannot believe you are actually here after all this nonsense of having to watch you grow up from afar through the eyes of Ishbel.’ She hugged me to her but the floral aroma I’d at first welcomed clawed at my throat. I wanted to push her off.

  ‘We must train you. We must make you a warrior. ‘

  ‘I don’t want to be a warrior.’

  ‘How so? You’ve made an excellent start. We were most impressed by the way you dealt with first Ridgeway and then Merj.’

  I spotted Ridgeway and Kenneth exchange a look. I’d nearly killed Ridgeway when I pushed him down the cliff, but that was before I knew he was on my side. Before he led the escape of the prisoners he had been guarding for years. He had totally earned the right to be my friend.

  Vanora was still speaking. ‘… and I don’t know what you said to that old bastard Davie, but persuading him to blow his brains out was a stroke of genius. Wasn’t it, boys?’

  The two old lovelies nodded – Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

  ‘I’d nothing to do with that. All I did was tell him Ishbel was his daughter.’ Her face turned grey. She grabbed the desk and sat down behind it.

  She wasn’t fazed for long and was soon clacking her finger on a comms pad. The ticker wall morphed into a map of Esperaneo. Small digits dotted the wall. In no time I could locate the Capital, blazing bright in the western side of Esperaneo Major. And there, near the middle of this island of Lesser Esperaneo, was Beckham City. The major cities of Stasiland and Oddessa were shining bright in the east, a conglomeration. The coastline of Lesser and Major sprinkled with lights as if a child had thrown beads on the sand and traced their finger around the edge to join the dots. The overall picture showed thousands of lights.

  Vanora beamed. ‘My kingdom. Every light one of my hidden cells.’

  As I took it all in, calculating how many, Kenneth shifted and walked to a solitary light in the middle of the dark ocean. Vanora’s smile spread as she watched. When he touched the light it peeped out.

  ‘How could you have been so cruel?’ Kenneth said.

  ‘Cruel? Why cruel?’

  He wiped his arm across the map. ‘Look at all these cells, these conglomerates, the networks, contact, human contact.’ His voice wavered. ‘Twenty years on that stinking island. Why couldn’t I have been here?’ He stabbed the wall. ‘Or here? Or here? Or here?’ He was frantically stabbing now. He would have broken his finger if Ridgeway hadn’t grabbed him and pulled him away. But he wasn’t finished. ‘The fertile land, Ridgeway’s home. We could have both gone, where it’s warm and dry.’

  The benevolent buffoon I’d met on the beach had seemed content in his cave, with his Mash still, his garden and his wall paintings, but now I could see he had made the best of a bad job. Vanora had cast him adrift on an island – detached from a thousand prisoners and totally alone. He was right, it was cruel. He could easily have been one of the many networks visible on the mainland.

  ‘Why?’ his voice choked.

  Vanora’s expression remained fixed. ‘You needed protecting.’

  ‘From whom? Not Davie? Even though he knew I was there he never bothered to even swat me like a fly.’

  She sighed and gave him the same disappointed look he gave to me the first time we met. ‘The State, of course.’

  He pointed to the wall again. ‘And these operatives? Look at them, millions of them, aren’t they protected?’

  He whirled round and grabbed me by the wrist, tapping my communicator. ‘And what about this contraption?’ He was meaning the plug-in provided by Vanora to release the prisoners. ‘This was supposed to protect him when you more or less welded him to the control panel during the escape. Did it never occur to you that with this seemingly foolproof protection you put him in danger?’

  ‘Thch.’

  ‘Don’t tut me. Davie nearly killed him and he couldn’t get away because of your ingenious control devices.’

  He turned to me. ‘I told you she was a control freak.’

  ‘Don’t call me that.’ An edge of steel wire threaded her words. But there was a slight flush on her face.

  ‘The prison was too dangerous for him.’

  Kenneth dropped my hand.

  ‘The prisoners were under control.’

  Vanora batted his words. ‘I don’t think I like your tone of voice, Kenneth.’

  He raked his hands through his hair. ‘And I don’t think I like your control decisions,’ he said as he slammed past Ridgeway and left the room

  Vanora clucked her teeth. ‘Oh dear, such an impulsive boy. He always was.’

  This statement amazed me. Kenneth was a senior, Vanora an oldie. They were both acting like children.

  ‘Ridgeway, go and see he’s alright, he might do himself some damage.’ She turned from him and hooked her arm through mine.

  Ridgeway coughed and his voice croaked as he said, ‘Vanora, don’t you think you owe him an explanation?’

  Her eyes widened. ‘There is no explanation. He needed taken out of the equation. His knowledge of the original DNA project was too useful to the DNA experiment. If he had been captured the dilution would have happened sooner.’

  Ridgeway opened his mouth to say something but she turned her back on him. Dismissed.

  ‘Now Sorlie, you see here and here.’ She pointed to the map.

  But I wasn’t going to let her away with it. ‘Why didn’t you give that explanation to Kenneth? Why treat him like a child?’

  ‘Enough! We have work to do.’

  She stretched up and patted my shoulders.

  ‘You see on the map how close we are to the Capital? We are almost ready to complete our tests and I want you involved at every stage.’ She smoothed her hand down my arm. ‘You know I l
ove you very much, Sorlie.’

  Whoa, that freaked me somewhat. No one said they loved me. What was love anyway, and what was kin?

  ‘When’s Ishbel coming back?’

  ‘Why do you persist in this? Ishbel, Ishbel, always Ishbel.’ Vanora sighed and looked at her nails as if the answer was there. ‘She will need to be punished, you will not see her when she comes back.’

  ‘Why does she need to be punished?’

  ‘I told you, she disobeyed me.’

  ‘She must have had her reasons.’ Based on what I had witnessed so far, I’m sure she had many.

  Those lips pursed into dried fruit again. ‘I know the reason but it is ignoble. Not to our cause. That girl has a different agenda and you are not to forget that.’ She gave me another chummy arm pat. ‘We have bigger and better plans. You don’t need to bother about her again.’

  ‘You’re jealous of her.’ I said.

  ‘Don’t be silly. Why would I be jealous of her?’

  I didn’t answer. In her youth she would have been like Ishbel, who had her life ahead of her and was strong and, judging from the fact Ishbel disobeyed her mother to no regard, it seemed Vanora might also be jealous of her courage.

  ‘What if I don’t want to be trained as a warrior? I might choose to go along with Ishbel.’

  ‘Now you’re being silly. I’ll hear no more nonsense. I’m your grandmother and your only guardian now. You do as I say.’

  ‘You may be my grandmother but I owe you nothing and I doubt if you’ll go to the authorities to claim legal guardianship.’

  ‘You owe me your freedom.’

  ‘I would have found it eventually. Anyway, this is not freedom. Yes, I want freedom but not your kind.’ I expected her to chide me but she was frowning at the ticker wall. Maybe it was my imagination, but I swore a cluster of lights in the southern quadrant had just vanished right before our eyes.

  Ishbel

  Scud’s eyes flickered at the sound of Reinya’s voice. He cocked his head her way but it was obvious from the wrinkles on his brow and his innocent gape that he had no idea what he was trying to focus on. Reinya backed away.

  ‘Eugch, make ‘im stop gawking at me. What’s wrong with ‘im?’ She held her hand up to her mouth. ‘Repulsive or what?’

  Ishbel wished the girl’s tone would soften. This waif was Scud’s granddaughter, why was she so neddish? Scud was an old-educated native, this girl sounded as though she had been brought up in a gutter. Maybe she had. She placed her hand on the girl’s back to guide her into the cabin but Reinya pushed her off and stared as if her hand burned.

  Ishbel shrugged. ‘He’s been through an experiment. It isn’t his fault he is like this.’

  ‘What you going to do with ‘im?’

  ‘We are taking him for help.’

  ‘We?’ the girl sneered.

  ‘What would you prefer, Miss? To have been left on the prison ship to hell’s future? If it wasn’t for him you’d have perished long ago.’ The girl slunk into the corner and flounced down. Ishbel almost laughed, it had been many months since she had seen such a stroppy flounce. She clenched her fist and stowed the desire to punch the little brat. Thankfully Dawdle chose that moment to appear with a tray of brew.

  ‘Right, let’s be havin ye. Yous lot need tae lighten up. We’ve a while tae go afore we surface, so chill.’ He winked at Reinya. ‘A wee cuppa wouldnae go amiss, warm yous up eh?’

  The girl glowered at him.

  He handed two mugs to Ishbel then hunkered down to help Scud sit. ‘Hand me one o’ they brews would ye, hen?’ he clicked his fingers at Ishbel. She flinched but obliged.

  ‘Come on wee man, huv a wee sip.’ Scud opened his cracked mouth and eased his lips round the rim, he sipped then blushed.

  ‘There,’ Dawdle hushed, ‘now isn’t that just the job?’

  The focus in Scud’s eyes wavered in and out. ‘Where...?’ he licked his lips and tried again. ‘Where … girl?’

  ‘She’s right here, now dinnae fash. She’s huvin a cuppa jist like you.’ Dawdle clicked his finger, this time in the direction of the girl. ‘Come say hiya tae yer granda.’ Reinya shrank, flattened her back to the wall and stared at her feet.

  Dawdle snapped his fingers in quick succession. ‘Come, come, he disnae bite and naither dae ah.’ His voice was light but the clench of his teeth and hard eyes seemed to work on the girl. She began to move towards the crouching pair. ‘That’s it wee hen, oan ye come.’

  He held the cup for Scud and gave him another sip. Then Dawdle sat back on his heels and grabbed the girl’s wrist as she loitered near him. He drew her into the circle. ‘Ma maw used tae reckon a cup o’ brew would put aw the world’s wrongs tae rights. If only it were that easy. But it’ll sure make ye feel better. No?’

  Ishbel sipped her own brew and had to agree.

  ‘Look, Scud,’ Dawdle said pointing to the girl. ‘She hus your chin and mouth. We’ll no mention the eyes and hair, eh? Ah’m sure there wis a resemblance once upon a time.’

  A slight puzzle passed Scud’s face. ‘Ah forgot ah’d been diluted. Ah used tae huv red hair, and green eyes once upon a time.’

  Ishbel smiled. Scud’s native accent was growing stronger in the company of Dawdle. It was a start.

  Dawdle signalled for the girl to crouch down. When she hesitated, he jerked her arm and tugged her down beside him. Scud held out a shaky hand.

  ‘Tig.’

  The hard expression on the girl’s face fell away, she looked confused. Her eyes darted to Ishbel, to the hatch, back to Dawdle, never once looking at Scud. Tears stood on her lids though her mouth remained tight.

  ‘Goan, speak tae him,’ Dawdle coaxed.

  She swallowed. ‘‘lo Granda, it’s no Tig, it’s Reinya.’ As she pushed her red hair back from her face Ishbel saw for the first time a softness, a little girl beneath that hard exterior.

  ‘Reinya.’ Scud squinted and smiled. ‘Ah forgot, what a pretty name.’

  Ishbel’s communicator buzzed twice. Scud clamped his wrist and shrank into a quivering ball.

  ‘What’s wrong, what’s ‘appening to ‘im?’

  ‘He thought he was going to be zapped.’

  ‘S’OK wee man.’ Dawdle took the mutant’s hands and placed the cup in them. ‘No zaps here Scud.’

  Reinya’s brows pringled so Dawdle filled in the detail. ‘Ye see, the prison ships don’t have them but at Black Rock that wis a form o’ control. Zap.’ Dawdle clamped his wrist and started to shake, rattling his head and rolling his eyes into their sockets, he fell to the ground and writhed. Scud looked on horrified.

  ‘Alright, Dawdle, I think she gets the message. You’re scaring Scud.’ Ishbel pushed her toe at Dawdle and urged him to his feet. Sometimes Noiri ops go so OTT. ‘Rather than ham it up, why don’t you try to take his command band off?’

  ‘Ah already did, Ish, and disabled his chip, but he’s had it on so long he’s suffering fae phantom pangs.’ He shook his head like an oldie. ‘Yep, it’s like losing a leg and needing tae scratch the itch in yer toes. It’ll take a while.’ He pointed to Ishbel’s wrist. ‘What was the comms that came through anyway?’

  ‘Nothing – Vanora – nothing.’ Ishbel was thankful Dawdle let it go at that.

  Reinya looked around the sub. Her lips slightly curled then she turned and sat in the corner at the opposite side from Scud. The look was indifferent but Ishbel could see fear in her eyes.

  ‘Reinya.’ Ishbel tried to soften her voice but the name still came out hard. ‘You’re free from that hell now. We’ll get you sorted.’ Although the Noiri op who rescued Reinya had cleaned her up, a haunted look hung on her, her nails were filthy, scabs crusted on her skin and she constantly scratched at her right leg just below the knee. Even so, the brew continued to have a miraculous effect on Scud and Reinya. They both looked more relaxed
than before.

  ‘What did you put in it?’ Ishbel asked with narrowed eyes. Dawdle stood back in shock and held out his innocent hands.

  ‘Ish, how could ye even ask?’

  Scud’s putty colour hung around the edges of his skin. He tried to smile over at Reinya but she found the dirt under her nails more interesting.

  ‘Tell me about Tig?’ he asked across the space between them.

  She ignored him, turning her shoulder into the wall, placing her grubby thumb in her mouth.

  ‘She was a lovely child, you know,’ he said. ‘Although ah can’t tell whether you resemble her like or not.’

  The engine stuttered to life. Dawdle checked the instruments before releasing a lever. A smell of fuel filled the space. Scud held his ears but Dawdle shouted over his shoulder, ‘It’s OK for a bit, we’ll stay above until we are out the bay, and as long as ah safely can. Ah’ll knock ye out afore we go under.’

  Ishbel hunkered beside Reinya who sidled horrified looks towards Scud. ‘What’s wrong with ‘im? Why does ‘e need knocked out?’ she said through her teeth.

  ‘It’s his ears.’ Ishbel looked at the girl. ‘Are you OK, your ears, I mean?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she said as if Ishbel were a daftie.

  ‘The prisoners of the island penitentiary have part of their brains removed to prevent them swimming, escaping. So you’re OK?’

  ‘Said uh was didn’t uh?’

  ‘Good. He’s about to be in a lot of pain.’ Ishbel saw Scud relax slightly with the movement of the sub. His gentle humorous face fell into repose. When he caught her looking at him he winked. Yes, she was right to rescue him, he deserved to have some sort of life, although she had no idea what that life might be, he truly was a mutant.

  ‘Why don’t you tell us about Tig, Scud? To pass the time.’ His grin took her by surprise. She was definitely glad she rescued him.

  ‘She was a chubby child. Wouldn’t stop eating. Always stealing food, packets o’ cereal, oats, she loved oats. One day she eats the washing solution,’ – Reinya frowned – ‘before it’s banned,’ Scud qualified. ‘She blew bubbles for weeks afterwards.’ He chuckled. ‘Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. It’s the story ah’ve been telling them inside for years.’ His eyes filmed over with sadness. ‘You start tae believe your own stories after a while.’