I find Ella where I expected to, right by the entrance but hidden from view behind the coffee kiosk. Marco is with her, but otherwise the place is eerily silent.
“Curtis, what the hell?” she whispers at me fiercely.
“I couldn’t leave you to stop a building collapsing by yourself, could I?”
“You should have. Why aren’t you outside with your parents?”
“The ATU just turned up. The police have surrounded the place. And to top it off, Cassie’s threatening people’s lives in exchange for you. I couldn’t risk letting you out of my sight.”
“That’s insane. I don’t know if I’ll make it better or worse at this point,” she says, looking worriedly at the ceiling. The largest crack is nearly half a foot wide, and veins of it run all the way up the wall. There’s always a risk that if she pushes it back together with her powers something else will fall apart.
“There’s no way I’m leaving you now,” I say, as a piece of concrete falls only a few inches from us.
“Curtis, please get to safety and stop trying to be a hero!”
“When you two have finished bickering, can we put some semblance of a plan together?” Marco interrupts.
“Of course. We’ll talk about how stupidly suicidal Curtis is later.” She shoots me a look which I ignore, and I peer over the counter to see Cassie, hands on hips, just on the other side of the automatic doors, which are no longer automatic now that the power is down. I pull my head back before she can spot me, but it’s a whole lot scarier being on the receiving end of her threats from here rather than being behind the crowds.
“Don’t think these doors are going to stop me for long!” Cassie calls out. I’m not sure if she knows where we’re hiding, but either way, we’re running out of time.
“She’s right by the door. What are we going to do?”
“We need a distraction so that I can push the cracks in the walls back together, which hopefully I can do without drawing their attention,” Ella says defiantly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. They’ll see what’s going on and will charge in here within seconds and grab you. Who’s stupidly suicidal now?”
“That’s enough,” Marco says firmly. “I’m going to create a distraction. Ella is going to push the biggest wall back together, and hopefully that will stop the whole building falling on top of our heads.”
“And me?”
“Curtis, you’re going to watch her back and beat the crap out of anyone that tries to come near her.” He smiles and slaps me on the arm, as if I’d stand a chance against a hoard of Augurs trying to get past me. I pat my jacket, grateful that I took the crowbar, and pull it out.
“Blimey. You mean business,” Marco says grinning.
“You better believe it.”
He gets up, hands raised, and yells at the top of his lungs so that all the Augurs in the front parking lot can hear him.
“Give it up guys. Thanks to all your faffing about, Ella is probably miles away by now.” He gives us a little wink before walking forward to face them head-on. Can he even use his abilities if the power is out?
“I hope he’s going to be okay,” I whisper, wondering how walking through walls could possibly help him if he ends up on the wrong side of that glass.
A bullhorn sounds from outside, and the muffled sound of Miss Banks telling everyone to cease and desist rings out across the car park and all the way into the lobby.
“You wanted a distraction, you got one,” Marco calls over to us before disappearing from view altogether.
Ella nods, crawling on her hands and knees over to the largest rupture in the hospital foundations. I follow her, carrying the crowbar awkwardly in one hand, and we position ourselves behind a pillar, shielded from view from the outside world. Without talking, she faces the wall and places her hands on either side of the crack, which is half a foot wide and runs all the way up to the ceiling. I put my back to hers, crowbar at the ready and on the lookout, while I let her work.
I don’t know how much time we have, but if Ella can fix up the hospital, and I can get her out of here and far away before the Magic Circle, the ATU or the police can get their hands on her, it will be a miracle.
I feel Ella’s body heat up, her warmth travelling through her back and into me. I watch out of the corner of my eye as sparks fly from her fingers, and a groaning, creaking sound erupts from between the walls as the two sides protest at being reunited. Another piece of rubble falls from the ceiling and narrowly misses us, but Ella keeps going until the crack is barely visible. Only when she stops, and the heat seeps out of her, do I allow myself to breathe again.
“Well done,” I whisper, looking around the hospital lobby. Unfortunately, there are far more where that came from, and I want to tell her that we should get out of there while we still can, but I also know that if we do, this hospital will be closed down, and no one will be able to use it, possibly for months. If she saves the structure now, then there’s a chance that what’s left will be pieced together, and it can go back to business as usual, which will save pain and chaos for hundreds if not thousands of patients and carers. I know this is her line of thinking, and it’s one of the reasons why I love her, as well as the reason why we are constantly risking our lives for the greater good. I can’t say this is how I thought I was going to live out my teenage years, I muse to myself, but right now is not the time to complain.
“Curtis, are you coming?” she says, snapping me into the present.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” I say, shuffling after her as she crawls over to some of the lesser cracks.
By the time we’re finished in the lobby, Marco is nowhere to be seen, but there are a lot of police outside the front of the building now too. There’s another sound too: helicopters.
“We have a problem,” I say as Ella does her best ninja impression and slides behind a pillar out of sight of the front doors, sliding down to the floor next to me. “There was a human barricade around the back before I got here. By the sounds of things, the building is surrounded, and there’s no chance we’re getting out unseen.”
“There are probably reporters and TV crews out there too now,” she adds. The sound of chaos outside filters through the glass frontage all the way to the back of the foyer where we hide. I hope that with the power cut the ATU is able to do something useful. I never thought I’d actually want the police to catch a group of Augurs so much.
I rest my head against the cold concrete behind us, and Ella threads her fingers through mine, sending a comforting rush of warmth up my arm. It’s just the thing I need to get the cog wheels in my head turning enough for me to come up with a decent idea. Hospitals have fire exits and probably waste disposal exits too for all the stuff that needs to be gotten rid of out of the public eye.
“What do you reckon? Hidden exit in the basement?”
“That’s optimistic of you,” she says dubiously. “But we could give it a go. There’s no way we’re leaving through a normal door now anyway.”
I look at the hospital signage around us and point to a corridor that, although dark, might lead us somewhere useful, and we make a break for it in the hopes that everyone outside is sufficiently distracted not to notice.
We jog down a dimly lit passage and I feel a surge of hope when I see a fire exit sign that indicates a little man running downstairs will lead us out.
“There it is - the hidden exit in the basement,” I exclaim excitedly.
“Should have figured that the stairwell was the way to go.”
She stops abruptly before a door, and I walk straight past her, leading the way. “Hold on, Curtis, there’s someone here,” she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me back just as I’m about to dive through the doors to the stairwell.
“Wha—?” I stop short. In a tiny ward hidden from the main hospital thoroughfare is a row of beds, some of which are occupied. We stare into the small oblong of glass in the door and I count off four people in total, no bigger than children. A nurse stands a
t the end of the room with her back to us, staring out of the grey window, before pulling the curtains shut. When she turns and spots us, she gives a little gasp of shock, but Ella’s frantic motions beckoning her towards us eventually convince her to come over.
I try the door and find it locked, and looking to the left, I see a panel for a keycard.
“Can you let us in?” Ella asks.
The nurse frowns, debating for a moment before eventually nodding and pressing a buzzer that allows us to enter. She holds her finger up to her lips first to indicate that we need to be silent and looks up and down the corridor after we enter, I suppose to check the coast is clear. I wonder if she’s completely oblivious to what’s going on outside or if she chose to lock herself in.
“The hospital has been evacuated,” Ella whispers. The nurse doesn’t look surprised and simply nods.
“Can we help get you to safety?” I ask, also keeping my voice low. She looks at the row of patients, then back at us and shakes her head. I notice that none of them look older than maybe thirteen or so, all children.
“I can’t leave them,” she says, so quietly I strain to hear. She looks tired and a little nervous. I put my hand out and introduce myself in as friendly a manner as possible in an attempt to put her at ease.
“I’m Curtis, and this is Ella,” I say, and she takes my hand gingerly.
“I’m Nurse Gale, but you can just call me Gale,” she smiles wanly. “How did you get into this part of the hospital?”
I look at Ella, who shrugs. “We came through the doors, why?”
“It’s blocked usually. The only way in is with a key card.”
“Ah, but there’s been a power cut and the fire alarm went off, so maybe it disabled the lock.”
“But there’s no fire? I thought I felt something odd, like an earthquake,” she replies, still whispering.
“There are people outside trying to get— someone to come out,” I say stopping myself from putting my foot in it and revealing that Ella is the hostage here. “They were using powers, and we got ourselves stuck in here, but we’re hoping there’s basement fire exit.”
“Oh my God,” Gale says, looking pale, “they’ve come for them!”
“Come for who?” Ella and I ask in unison.
“For the Augurs, of course. I don’t know how, but they must have found out we were keeping them here.” Nurse Gale looks at her slumbering patients, and it dawns on me that maybe they’re not asleep after all. Perhaps they’re in induced comas and being kept against their will.
“Why have you got them hooked up to those machines?” I ask sharply.
“Sshh! Keep your voice down,” she says urgently. “They’re under my protection. Someone must have found out and is trying to take them away.”
“The people outside aren’t here for the kids. They’re here for me,” Ella says, and I look at her in shock, but she waves a hand at me to keep me quiet. “I’m an Augur too.”
Gale’s eyes widen in surprise, and she looks between the two of us. “You too?”
I shake my head. “I’m her boyfriend. The people outside mean business, but you don’t need to worry. If you can show us a way out, we can help you and your patients to safety.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible. Even if I were to wake them up, it’s too risky for them.” She looks away and adds, “and for everyone else.”
I try to argue, but she holds up a firm hand and shuts me up. “I appreciate your offer, Curtis, but there are too many people who would want to hurt these boys and girls.“
“What can they do?” Ella asks coaxingly. Gale looks like she’s not going to answer but seems to change her mind when she sees the sincerity in Ella’s expression.
“They’re all siblings. They were in an accident, and their parents didn’t make it.” I hear Ella’s breathing change almost imperceptibly. As an orphan herself, I know she can relate.
“They came in to us after their caravan was rammed off the motorway last week. The police came, sniffed around, determined they were Augurs within an hour and ordered us to admit them into custody once they were healed. Dr Slater and I had our misgivings, and rightly so. Just when Jenny over there looked like she might be able to be discharged, a policeman showed up and said he was going to take her to a special foster home, a facility for kids just like her.”
My blood chills, and I look at Ella, who says nothing but has gone rigid at the mention of the ‘f’ word.
“I had a bad feeling about it, and... well, I tampered with her final tests and told them she wasn’t actually able to leave. Dr Slater was completely on board with it, and set us up here in the quarantine ward, but I can’t let them be found. Not until they can fend for themselves.”
“Do the police know they’re still here?” I ask.
“We, um, may have told them we were transferring them to a bigger hospital, but the paperwork was so confusing that they won’t be able to track them down for at least a few months,” she admits.
“So, the only people that really know of their existence are you and Dr Slater?”
She nods in reply.
“Where’s he?”
“Probably evacuated with everyone else. But please, I don’t want to make them leave only to have them caught up in whatever weird Augur laws are currently being enforced. I’ve seen how they treat patients in A&E now, and I’m worried for them. They’re amazing children.” She walks over to the nearest bed and adjusts something absentmindedly, as if giving herself something to do.
“Why didn’t they wake up with the sound of the alarm?”
“It’s not that loud down here, and the twins are in a coma.” She nods to the two beds furthest from us. “Milo is deaf, but he signs with Jenny and me. He’s just on heavy pain meds, so nothing will wake him up once he’s asleep.”
“And Jenny?” Ella asks, looking over to the girl nearest us.
“Jenny is pretending to be asleep but has probably been listening to everything since the moment you arrived, haven’t you?” Gale says, and the girl with red hair and freckles suddenly lets out a giggle.
“She’s a cheeky one.” Gale smiles as Jenny opens her blue eyes and looks at us.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.” She smiles, and I immediately like her. She must be no older than thirteen and has a nasty cut stitched up on her forehead and her arm in a cast, but otherwise looks to be okay.
“I didn’t want to be nosy, but I heard you’re an Augur too,” she says to Ella, holding out her good hand for each of us to shake.
“That I am, and I’m afraid that you’re in terrible danger because of me,” Ella says. Now isn’t the time to point out that everyone in London is in terrible danger because of me not getting her out of town at the first available opportunity.
“And now we’re going to get you out of danger by getting out of here. Don’t worry, Gale, your secret is safe with us,” I say, giving Jenny a wink, to which she falls about in another fit of giggles.
It’s only then that something dawns on me. Something that I should have noticed the minute we walked in the door.
“Ella, the power is on in here!”
“But how can that be? You tripped the main switch, didn’t you?”
“We’re on a back-up generator. The whole hospital should be really, so I’m not sure why we’re the only ones up and running,” Gale interjects.
“That means we’re about to run out of time. Gale, we’ll get out of your hair, and like Curtis said, these kids are safer with you than with anyone else. Thank you for what you’re doing,” Ella says before pulling me towards the door and buzzing us out, both of us giving them a wave as we go.
“I can’t believe how stupid I was. How did I not spot that they had machines beeping and lights on and everything?” I slap my forehead at my stupidity as we jog towards the fire escape we had been aiming for before being sidetracked.
“We were a bit caught up finding a secret ward of Augur children hiding out in here,” Ell
a says, keeping pace with me. “Curtis, do you think it’s happening again?”
“What?”
“The facility... The police wanted to take Jenny away. I just wonder what foster home they might be talking about.” I see her worried expression and try to appease her.
“I’m sure it isn’t anything like what you went through, but regardless, with people like Gale around, those kids will be just fine.” She nods, but I can see that it’s going to eat away at her. Just another mystery to be solved, I think.
I only hope no one outside has noticed that there’s power coming from somewhere inside the building, or more specifically, no Augurs. We burst through a set of double doors and into the stairwell that leads to the basement, following the signs to the fire exit which ends up being a tiny door that I have to use the crowbar on to open, ducking through to get back outside.
Emerging from the basement door with a set of metal steps leading up to street level, we find ourselves on the east side of the hospital, thankfully at a distance from the crowds of patients, spectators and wall of police officers at the back and front of the building.
“What would you say if I suggested we grab Mum, Dad and the others and get the hell out of here?” I say, trying to make out my parents in the crowds.
“I’d say that’s a fantastic idea, but I have no idea where they are. Shall we start with your parents and see who else we can pick up along the way?” she suggests. I nod, and we make our way to where I last saw them as stealthily as we can, attempting to look like casual onlookers as we get nearer.
Just as I think I spot Mum’s mass of hair across the large crowd that has formed, the earth shakes, and I hear several gasps from people crying out in surprise.
“Dammit! I think Kai’s just found out the power is back on,” Ella says, grabbing my arm and yanking me through the masses to the front. We elbow our way through the hoards until we reach the line of police barricading the hospital, shoulder to shoulder with weapons in their hands and some with riot shields.
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