3004

by Murray, Natasha

  ‘Yes,’ said Cornwall. ‘I’ll go and get the others.’

  ‘Do you think David will be able to help Zordar?’ Indigo asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Kayleb sadly. ‘I hope so.’

  Rowan climbed into the boat and tried not to look at Zordar’s face. Long ago a friend who had lived next door to him had fallen from his apartment window and had died. Rowan remembered seeing his friend hit the ground. He could remember seeing his friend’s lifeless eyes staring up at him. Rowan didn’t want to add another dead person’s face to his collection. He wondered why a body looked so alien and forbidding; it was almost as if the person who had died had become someone else. Rowan shivered. He would keep his distance from Zordar.

  ‘Rowan,’ said David. ‘Go and get some cuffs from the cabin or something to bind these two up. I can’t hold them for much longer.’

  Rowan easily found several pairs of wrist and ankle cuffs and took them out to David. David nodded towards the two patrolmen, gesturing Rowan to cuff them. Rowan could see that David was struggling to maintain the magnetic force field. Rowan clipped the cuffs onto each patrolman, and they glared at him with angry eyes. Their mouths were closed and fortunately frozen too. Rowan quickly cuffed their ankles.

  ‘I think the cuffs are operated using voice recognition,’ said Kayleb. ‘I’ve seen Conrad use them on someone before. We’ll have to gag them as well,’ he continued.

  Rowan ran back into the cabin and found some thick plaster in a first-aid box. As he approached the men again, he could see that their feet were now free from the deck and Rowan knew that it would only be moments before they could speak and order the cuffs to open. Rowan used Kayleb’s knife to cut the plaster and quickly stuck a piece over each of the two men’s mouths. Max barked furiously at the patrolman as David released them. They both lost their balance and fell onto the deck.

  Kayleb watched David stagger back gasping and realised how hard it had been for him to confine the men. David went over to Zordar, around whom everyone else had gathered. Rowan had decided to look in the cabin at the controls. He didn’t want to be anywhere near a dead body.

  ‘Is he dead?’ Indigo asked David. ‘Can you help him? Can you revive him like you helped your daughter?’

  David kneeled down by Zordar and touched his limp arm. ‘No,’ said David sadly. ‘It’s too late. Zordar’s spirit has left his body. It is best if you throw his body over the side of the boat.’

  Rowan watched everyone help lift Zordar up and watched them push his body over the side of the boat into the thirsty sea. Max joined Rowan in the cabin and sat silently by him. He seemed to be aware of the misery around him and needed to be away from its source.

  Rowan looked at the control panels of the boat. The engine had been left on and it was just as well as there was a handprint starting plate, compatible with the two patrolmen’s hands. Rowan had not been on a boat before and he wondered how a boat was steered. He guessed that it had something to do with the column in the centre of the cabin with a half-sunken sphere at the top of it. Rowan’s fingers itched to drive the boat. He wanted to move the sphere and see what would happen. He could almost taste home.

  ‘We’ve untied the boat, Rowan,’ called David, entering the cabin. ‘You seem to know what you’re doing. Try and steer the boat northwards. I need to rest a while.’

  Rowan smiled and gently moved the sphere forward. The boat began to move. The steering ball was easy to use. Rowan rolled it forward and to the left a little and took the boat out into the Channel away from France and towards the hazy dots of light scattered along the coast of London.

  24

  The cabin of the boat echoed with the sound of laughter. Kayleb had watched as everyone crowded around a digiscreen and all seemed unconcerned about Zordar’s murder. His death had been forgotten; it was almost as if he had never been there. Kayleb looked out at the sea. He could just see the waves, swelling and receding as they travelled towards London and he wondered if Zordar’s body was now lying at the bottom of the Channel.

  Prozac was scanning the computer for news from home. David had stopped him from sending a visual mail to his mentors as he thought that it would alert the authorities that they had control of a patrol boat. Kayleb was shocked to discover that everyone’s digi-mail was scanned for terrorist activity. Kayleb moved to the doorway and stood there looking out to sea. The cabin felt too crammed full of people and hot inside. The cool breeze from the sea refreshed him. The patrolmen were still outside on the deck; they had been tied back to back. Cornwall had taken pity on them and had covered them up with thermo sheets so they wouldn’t get cold. Kayleb looked over his shoulder at Cornwall. She was looking at one of the patrolmen’s jacket she had found in the cabin. She was fiddling with the temperature controls. Cornwall put the jacket on and walked over to Kayleb.

  ‘You look thoughtful, Kayleb. What are you thinking about? Are you looking forward to going back home? Have you decided if you’re going back to your mentors or are you going to stay with us?’

  Kayleb was thrown for a moment. He wasn’t far from London and he would soon be able to see Conrad and Helen again. He wondered if AIDS II had claimed yet another victim. Kayleb sighed. He didn’t want to leave everyone and be swallowed back into the system, to have all his tasker memories wiped clean. He wanted to remember everything.

  ‘I don’t want to leave everyone and I really want to help David, but I’m worried that if I don’t go back now then I won’t get to see Helen again,’ Kayleb said, trying not to look into Cornwall’s eyes.

  ‘I understand,’ said Cornwall sadly. ‘I miss my mother too. If you ...’

  The boat shuddered as the engine’s power cut, Kayleb held the door frame to stop himself from falling. All Kayleb could hear now were the waves lapping at the sides of the boat and a seagull cry out in the darkness.

  Desperately Rowan looked at the control panel. All the lights and screens were fading, the lights in the cabin went off and then everything was shrouded in darkness. The patrol boat drifted aimlessly along, buffeted by the waves and the currents.

  ‘The solar tank has lost its charge I think,’ said Rowan. ‘We’ll have to wait until sunrise before the cells charge up again. There must be a reserve tank on the boat but I’d doubt if the patrolmen will tell us.’

  ‘We’ll wait to morning,’ announced David. ‘Let’s hope we’re not spotted by another patrol boat. We should try to sleep so we have our wits about us at daybreak.’

  Rowan couldn’t sleep. He looked out of the cabin window and eagerly waited for the sun to rise. He was sure that at any moment he would see the sun’s rays breaking through the horizon and clear away the night sky. The Isle of Wight seemed to be getting larger.

  It was becoming obvious to Rowan that currents were pushing them towards its hostile shores. He grew more and more impatient. He couldn’t tolerate being delayed any longer from returning home. Soon he would have his normal life back. If that was what Ledbetter meant by swimming with the fishes, then so be it, he was quite happy to swim with them. He was more intelligent than Ledbetter and David knew.

  The first strands of daylight had woken Kayleb. He went out onto the deck to watch the sunrise. He stood by the patrolmen; they were asleep. Kayleb stared at the Isle of Wight with a heavy heart. It was an evil place. Kayleb found himself thinking about Zordar. He felt disturbed by Zordar’s final moments. David’s decision to throw Zordar’s body over the side of the boat seemed so clinical and uncaring. Kayleb couldn’t understand why David had not tried to save Zordar’s life before it was too late; surely he could have done something to help his loyal friend? They were now very close to the Isle of Wight. If they did end up on the island, he wondered how they would get across it without Zordar.

  Oddly the sun rays didn’t charge the boat’s battery cells and her engine didn’t spring back in to life. Finally, the rudder got stuck in the sand below and the boat groaned as it came to a stop. Rowan felt like the whole world had frozen,
and for a moment he felt secure. It was almost a pause button had been pressed and time was standing still. Reality hit Rowan squarely on his chest when he realised that everyone had jumped from the boat into the sea and were making their way to the shore. Rowan knew he wasn’t in his surreal world anymore; this was real life, raw and ugly.

  Everyone made their way to the beach. The sea was only waist deep but it was slow-going and everyone hoped that they wouldn’t be spotted by patrol boats or, for that matter, by the evil lifers on the island.

  Kayleb looked cautiously along the shore as he waded through the water. He did not want to be caught by a lifer, who, he knew, would show him no mercy. The lifers took pleasure in torturing each other; they would probably enjoy torturing innocent victims even more. Kayleb looked over to David as they stepped onto the shore. He looked so peaceful and unconcerned, despite the fact they were all facing probable death; his laid-back attitude was becoming infuriating. It had become obvious to Kayleb that David did not fear death at all. Perhaps he did not feel pain or remorse, thought Kayleb, and he wondered whether David might just be some sort of lunatic after all. Kayleb could feel himself shaking, not only from feeling cold but from fear. He did not want to be on this island; he could taste death and his stomach churned.

  ‘Follow closely behind me,’ whispered David. ‘Be ready to link up if you see anyone. Remember, you must not let go of each other or there will be nothing I can do to help you. There is a bolthole not far from here. We’ll stay there for today; it will be better to go across the island at night.’

  Rowan looked again at the sky. The sun was above the horizon. He could see clearly now and what he saw disgusted him. Along the coastline were piles of bones, both human and animal. Some of the piles formed tall symmetrical towers, while others were just thrown together in heaps. Rowan weaved his way through the towers amazed by the sheer numbers of bones and the height of the structures. He shivered. There was a smell of decay in the air. If you died in London, then you went to the Ashes Centre and were put into a furnace. After you were cremated, your remains were scattered onto the fields as fertiliser to help the crop production. Nothing was left. This, though, was perplexing and sickening.

  Eventually, David stopped at one of the tower of bones. Rowan could see that he was looking for something in particular. One of the skulls in the centre of the tower had a pebble placed in one of its eye sockets, David stuck his finger in the empty socket, which made Rowan feel even sicker; he imagined what it would be like to touch a decaying brain. Slowly a rectangular slab of piled bones slid forward and David then pushed this aside to reveal an opening within the bone tower. David looked behind him to see if anyone was watching and then urged the group to enter the tower. Rowan waited until last and paused before entering, he couldn’t see where the passageway led to; it was too dark.

  David looked calmly into Rowan’s frightened eyes. ‘Trust me,’ he said to Rowan. ‘Bones are nothing to fear; they’re only skin deep – there is more to man than skin and bones.’

  Rowan looked at the bones around the doorway and then at David. He did not like being treated like an idiot.

  ‘Soon that’s all you’ll all be, is bones,’ snarled a voice behind Rowan.

  Rowan whipped his head around to see who had spoken and saw a dwarf-sized man step out from behind an adjacent bone tower. The man grinned with an evil smile and showed a row of gnarled teeth. His fair hair hung in greasy strands around his scarred face. In front of him he held a huge laser gun and pointed it directly at David and Rowan. His finger twitched threateningly on the trigger.

  Rowan looked at David for direction but David looked at the man in shocked silence. He had been so preoccupied with Rowan he hadn’t heard the man approach.

  Rowan looked with despair at David, waiting for him to hold on to him and protect him from the monster that stood before them.

  David shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Rowan,’ he replied. I cannot protect you from Staan. I know this man. He is from my planet. He can break through my force field.’

  ‘I’ve been waiting a long time to kill you, David, and here you are. You’ve just walked straight into my lair. It will be a pleasure to peel you and add your bones to my collection. You!’ Staan pointed his gun at Rowan. ‘Go down into that stinking rat hole and get everyone out, or I’ll shoot your arm off ... Don’t want to waste too much fresh meat.’

  Rowan looked at David in terror. David nodded. ‘You’d better get them all.’

  ‘That’s right, off you go!’ snarled Staan.

  Rowan stumbled clumsily into the tower of bones and disappeared into the darkness. He wished he had the strength in his legs to run away from David and Staan, away from the madness, but it was too late now. He made his way down a corridor and staggered into a torch-lit cave and looked at everyone’s concerned faces.

  25

  Rowan scanned the cave. He needed to find Kayleb, Indigo and Cornwall. He had to tell them first, tell them what had happened. Kayleb and Cornwall were talking quietly in the far corner. Indigo was nearer and was looking in his rucksack for something to put on. The tower felt eerily cold inside. Rowan ran up to Indigo and grabbed his rucksack from him. ‘You’ve got to come back with me! You’ve all got to come out of here, all of you!’ Rowan shouted. Everyone looked at Rowan. ‘Staan’s got David. He’s going to kill us all ... Eat us all!’

  David appeared with Staan, who held a gun stuck in the small of David’s back.

  ‘Yes,’ growled Staan. ‘Everyone out! It’s party time! Move, you lot, or this toad gets it,’ he shouted, shoving his gun hard into David’s back. David winced in pain. Max whined and hid behind Kayleb.

  Dismayed, Kayleb looked at Cornwall and Indigo. ‘I don’t believe it! What’s happened? David can defend himself. Why is he letting this man hold him hostage? Why isn’t he using his shield?’

  Rowan could hear Kayleb. ‘He can’t defend himself,’ called Rowan. ‘He’s like David; they’re from the same place. There’s no hope for us now.’

  Kayleb, Rowan and Cornwall were last to leave the cave; Max skulked behind Kayleb and tried to remain invisible, he was obviously disturbed by Staan’s presence. As they walked onto the beach, they were alarmed to find a whole army of lifers waiting for them. They were surprisingly well dressed and wore uniforms. They carried various sophisticated-looking guns and looked like they had been military-trained. As the lifers disarmed those that had knives, Kayleb looked at the lifers’ faces. They were expressionless. Only their eyes revealed their wickedness – they were cold and bloodthirsty.

  Dread and fear spread like an infection to everyone as they marched along to their unknown destination. Rowan cursed himself for not trying to escape in France when he had the chance to. He hoped that he might get a chance to escape as they walked along and he waited for an opportunity to flee. He could run very fast; he could run for his life. He knew that wherever the lifers were taking them it would be the end for him. He was sure to be killed, so he might as well take a chance and run. His heart pounded as he waited for the right moment.

  Kayleb looked ahead and squinted to see properly. They were approaching a city dominated by crystalline buildings with triangular turrets protruding from their summits.

  Max refused to enter the city and sat down on the ground. The lifers marched by unconcerned. Kayleb looked back anxiously; he couldn’t go back to get him. He could see Max looking at him with a worried expression. Kayleb knew that he would have difficulty asking him to come with him. He wondered what was so terrible that Max would not enter the city and he wondered what would become of him. Kayleb marched sadly on into the city without him.

  Kayleb looked up at the buildings. They looked like rows of prisms standing on end, with rainbow rays of light that escaped from within them. The splendour of this spectacle was spoiled by a sea of rubbish at the foot of the buildings. Everyone coughed and complained as they waded through the filth. Seemingly undisturbed by the stinking refuse, the lifers pushed any str
agglers on.

  Finally, they stopped by one of the gleaming buildings, next to a pair of huge fortified metal doors. A lifer with stripes on his sleeve placed his hand on a digi-plate on the wall and the doors swung open. Staan’s men quickly ushered everybody into a brightly lit hall. Just as the doors closed a bomb exploded outside. It shook the building but no damage was done. The vibration of the blast sent shock waves through everyone’s bones and the sound of the explosion rang in their ears.

  Unfazed by the bomb blast, more lifers now appeared in the vast atrium in which they now stood. Staan ordered the lifers to take up their positions by the open gun slots within the walls and return fire. His whole head was red with fury.

  ‘How dare they defy my orders and break the ceasefire! They’ll pay! When I catch that filth, I’ll decapitate them personally and strip their flesh off myself. Get on with it, you imbeciles,’ Staan bellowed at his men.

  Staan’s men sprang into action. Only the troops surrounding the prisoners stood their ground. Staan’s attention turned to these guards.

  ‘Take them up to the storeroom,’ Staan ordered. The fury had gone from his voice. ‘We’ll be fine for supplies for a while now. Save David for me to do ... Yes, I’ll enjoy that. Things are a bit different here on Earth. The boot’s on the other foot now, isn’t it, David? Not so important now, are we? Get him out of my sight!’ Staan snapped.

  Rowan was behind Cornwall as they climbed the stairs to the store. He could see from her face that she had been crying and he didn’t know what to do. Rowan didn’t like to see her distressed. He wanted to promise to get her out of this madness but he knew that was impossible.

  They were led to a storeroom in a turret. There were many stairs to climb and little chance to escape. Staan’s men shoved them into a small room and shut the door firmly behind them. The room wasn’t empty: two men lay on the far side and stared at the newcomers. One of the men had a leg missing and the other man had no limbs at all. Both seemed to be in great pain.