by Lizzie Rose
‘Yes, you told me that already. But you haven’t said in what way.’
‘Well, the thing is, it isn’t real. None of this is real. We really are being brainwashed.’
‘Not you too!’
‘It’s true! Haven’t you heard the voices? They come on in the night when we’re asleep. Maybe you don’t have them in here but we do.’
Something deep inside my stomach tightened.
‘Our accommodation isn’t like this, you know,’ she continued, gazing around my room. ‘It’s much smaller and more basic. Anyway, the thing is, this whole place exists because of you. It was built for you.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ I laughed. ‘Paradise Community was built long before I arrived on the scene.’
‘Yes, but it was built on the basis that you would come. We were waiting for you.’
‘That’s crazy.’
‘It’s true! I don’t know the ins and outs of it all but I do know that we’re living under some sort of spell here. I’m not the only one who’s beginning to realise it. I’ve been asking questions about you and about the things that happen here, and they don’t like that. Once we became friends they started watching me all the time.’
‘Are you sure you’re not just being paranoid?’
‘I’m sure,’ she replied hotly. ‘They’ve been following me all the time and now suddenly I’m on the building team.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Not that again. Why don’t you just ask to change?’
‘Because then they’ll know they’re getting to me and I can’t let that happen. I’ve never felt so scared in my life.’
Sighing, I got up, went over to the wardrobe and pulled out a spare duvet and pillow set.
‘Ok, here are some covers. You can sleep on the sofa tonight and we’ll talk more in the morning. I really do need some sleep.’
Without another word, she stood, took the covers and walked into the lounge.
My pod was empty in the morning. If it weren’t for the neatly stacked pile of bedding on the sofa, I would have sworn that the whole thing had been a dream. Unable to face other people just yet, I grabbed a yogurt and a banana and took them back to bed.
With some classical music playing, I rested back against my pillows and was just starting to feel relaxed when there was a knock at the door. Groaning quietly, I climbed back out of bed.
‘Hi, I hope you don’t mind me popping round.’ Linda smiled. ‘It’s just you weren’t at breakfast. Are you ok?’ She glanced down at my nightclothes, her eyebrows raised.
‘I’m fine, I just decided to have a lazy morning.’
‘May I come in for a moment?’ she asked.
‘Sure,’ I replied, stepping back to let her in and gesturing to the sofa. She perched on the edge and waited for me to sit down at the other end before she spoke.
‘I believe you had a visitor last night.’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘Would you mind telling me who it was?’
‘It was Gracie.’
She nodded slowly. ‘I thought as much. We’re very worried about her. She seems so unhappy and we’ve tried talking to her but she just shuts everyone out. Her actions last night caused us great concern. I mean, it was just so unnecessary. Why on earth would she crawl all the way over here to talk to you in the middle of the night?’
‘She’s scared of the security guards.’
‘Why? The guards are here to protect us. There’s nothing to be afraid of.’
‘I know, but she seemed genuinely scared. She also said to me that this place isn’t what it seems and something about hearing voices. To be honest, the whole thing was a bit strange. I hadn’t realised how paranoid she was until last night.’
‘She told you she was hearing voices?’
‘Yes. She said something about hearing them at night.’
Linda shook her head sadly. ‘This is far worse than I imagined. You see, Gracie has suffered with depression in the past and she has a history of self-harming. Her mother was at her wits’ end. They tried all sorts of doctors and psychiatrists,’ she wrinkled her nose in distaste, ‘but then she met Nicholas and he persuaded her to move to the commune with Gracie. As soon as they got here, Gracie’s mother wanted to leave but Gracie didn’t want to go with her. Nicholas told her that she was welcome to stay and she accepted. We thought for a while that she was doing ok, but recently she’s shown signs that she’s struggling with things again.’
I sat back against the sofa and pulled my knees up, hugging them into myself. ‘I didn’t know that – about Gracie’s mother. I never really questioned why she never introduced us.’
‘I think Gracie was pretty crushed when her mother left her, even though she knew it was an option. I guess she never really thought she’d go and she sank into a bubble afterwards where she refused point blank to talk about her mum and carried on as if nothing had happened. Everyone’s been walking on eggshells around her. The guards didn’t approach her last night because they didn’t want to scare her.’
‘I’m afraid I wasn’t quite that thoughtful. I was annoyed at being woken up.’
‘Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have known that she was having problems.’
‘But I did know. She’s been quiet for a while and then recently she told me that she wasn’t happy about being on the building team. I tried to get her to talk to someone about it but she wouldn’t.’
‘It sounds like you did everything you could. And the thing is that now we know there’s a problem, we can look for a solution. I think maybe we need to have a conference with Gracie – Nicholas and the two of us if you’re happy to be involved. Then we can look at the options and see if we can come up with a strategy to make her feel happier.’
‘You would do that for her?’
‘Of course! We look after our own. Now, shall we go and organise a time with Nicholas? If you need some more time to rest I can talk to him.’
‘No, that’s fine, I’ll come.’ I stood, stretching my muscles. ‘Just give me a moment to get changed.’
*
It was quite a nice day really. A butterfly with delicate cream-coloured wings fluttered past as we walked, its antennae wriggling as it searched for somewhere to land. Flowers were budding all around the pods, their scent filling the air with a pleasant fragrance, and somewhere up above me, a bird chirped merrily. I was just thinking how surreal it was that such tiny pieces of tranquillity could be mixed up in a world full of chaos when an enormous bang echoed all around us, followed by a scream.
‘What was that?’ Linda whispered.
‘There’s only one way to find out.’ I set off, sprinting around the perimeter of the main building until the new accommodation project came into sight. The entire end of one of the new blocks had collapsed. A huge cloud of dust was falling slowly down to the ground and several people were standing around a mound of rubble, frantically trying to lift planks of wood and bricks off the pile.
‘What happened?’ I gasped, racing up to the nearest person.
‘I don’t know,’ he panted, ‘one minute we were working and the next minute it just went.’
‘Is everyone all right?’
‘There were three workers down this end. We’re trying to get to them now.’
‘They’re under there?’ I looked down in horror. The pile of rubble was huge. It would take hours to shift it at this rate.
‘Ok, everybody stop.’ My voice cut through the noise. The workers paused, their faces turned towards me. Somewhere in the distance I heard sirens. ‘Can everyone take a few steps back please?’
They did as they were instructed, exchanging wary glances with each other as they moved. Crouching down, I blocked them out, focusing my attention on the mess in front of me and willing the rubble to move. It obeyed me instantly – the entire mound rising slowly into the air before my eyes. I knew that the people around me were reacting to what was happening but I couldn’t afford to break my concentration. When the rubble
was high enough to reveal the bodies underneath, I stood and walked away; far enough to ensure that no one else could get hurt then moved my focus to what was left of the accommodation building. Bit by bit, the rubble flew back up towards the ragged end of the block, until the damage was completely repaired and the building was back in the same state it had been in before the explosion. As soon as I was satisfied it was secure, I ran back to where the people were gathered. Three bodies lay crumpled on the floor. My heart sank when I realised that one of them was Gracie.
Two ambulances screeched to a halt, their blue lights flashing and sirens blaring. The injured workers were lifted carefully on to stretchers and moved over to the vehicles. Gracie had an oxygen mask covering her mouth and her were eyes filled with pain.
‘Ava,’ she murmured.
‘I’m here.’ I squeezed her hand gently.
‘They did it.’ She was struggling to breathe, her chest rising and falling rapidly. ‘I told you they would.’
‘Did what?’
‘Tried to kill me.’
‘Oh, Gracie no! It was a terrible accident. You weren’t the only one to get hurt – there were two others. You’re going to be ok though, they’re going to take you to the hospital.’
‘I can’t feel my legs.’
‘They’ll look after you. They’ll see what they can do.’
‘Can’t you use your powers to make them ok?’
‘No, I’m sorry. It doesn’t work like that. But the doctors will help you. Try not to worry. Do you want me to try and contact your mother?’
Her eyes widened and then she closed them completely. ‘Remember what I said,’ she whispered, ‘they’ve got me now. Don’t let them get you too.’
A paramedic approached and took hold of the end of the stretcher. Within minutes the doors were shut and they were gone. A shiver ran down my spine. Turning, my gaze landed on the main building. Nicholas was standing at his office window, watching the scene. When he realised that I’d seen him, he beckoned to me to join him. The people around me were clapping. Linda linked her arm with mine and pulled me all the way into the office.
‘How are you feeling?’ Nicholas regarded me through his dark glasses. I took a long drink of hot tea from the mug in front of me.
‘I’m ok, I think.’ My hand shook slightly as I placed the mug back on the table.
‘That must have been very difficult for you to deal with,’ he said softly. ‘I know Gracie is your friend.’
‘She said it wasn’t an accident.’ I looked over at the fish tank. The yellow fish was there at the front of the tank. It seemed to be looking out at me, through the glass.
‘Ava?’
Tearing my gaze away, I looked at him. He hadn’t moved and his expression remained the same.
‘Is that what you think? That one of our Paradise members attempted to hurt Gracie and put several other lives at risk at the same time?’
He didn’t sound angry but it felt as though I were being reprimanded. When he put it like that I could see why.
‘No. I know that no one would do that.’
‘Gracie is not well. When she arrived at work this morning she was showing signs of distress. She was asked if she would like to take the day off but refused.’
‘She’d come from my pod. She stayed the night.’
He raised an eyebrow and gave a small nod. ‘Paradise Community is a wonderful place. However our way of life is not suitable for everyone. For someone like Gracie, who came to us already lost and damaged, it was always going to be difficult. We were hoping that she would embrace our ways and find happiness here, but alas, she has fought us all the way.’
‘What will happen to her?’
‘She’ll be treated in hospital, as will the other poor unfortunate casualties, and then she will have a choice as to whether she wishes to come back and try again, or move on. Either way we will offer her our full support. I’m just glad I happened to be here when it happened. I fear that if it weren’t for the ambulances arriving so quickly, and you of course, the outcome could have been far more serious.’
‘You called the ambulances?’
‘I did, yes.’
Finishing the last of my tea I sat back in my chair and crossed my legs.
‘I wish I could have done more.’
‘You reacted as soon as you heard the commotion. You assessed the situation, took control of it, then lifted the entire heap of rubble off the victims. How could you possibly have done more?’
‘I hadn’t thought about it like that.’
‘You proved that you are a true leader today. Those people out there will do anything for you now. You have their allegiance and should be very proud of yourself.’
‘I should?’
‘Yes! Don’t you see? This is your rightful place. These people need you to fight for them and to protect them. Think about it, and when you’re ready I’ll be waiting. Ok?’
*
There were a lot of people around when I left the office. Not wanting to talk just yet, I made for the door but bumped into someone on my way through.
‘Sorry,’ I muttered.
‘Hi, Ava,’ a voice cut through my thoughts.
‘Oh, hi Joe. How are you?’
‘To be honest I’m upset about what happened today.’
‘You’re not the only one. It was a terrible accident.’
‘Have you heard how Gracie is doing?’
‘No, all I know is that she and the other two were transferred to hospital. It’s lucky that Nicholas called for the ambulances when he did.’
Joe frowned. ‘Strange really, isn’t it?’
‘What’s strange?’
‘Oh, just that he must have called them at almost the exact time the accident happened in order for them to come so fast.’
I shrugged. ‘He must have quick reactions.’
‘Maybe. Did well to be standing in the window so long too, considering how the light affects him.’
‘I’m sure that anyone would have made an exception under those circumstances.’
‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right. Oh well, I’ll let you get on. You take care now, won’t you?’ He tipped an imaginary cap at me and walked away. Shaking my head I made a run for it, hoping that I could get home without meeting anyone else.
*
I spent a lot of time in my pod over the following week. Nicholas’s words repeated in my mind over and over. The image of Gracie broken and in pain was permanently imprinted on my memory. The thought that I could have done something to help the poor, frightened creature who had crept into my home haunted me. If only I could turn back time and do things differently.
Then it dawned on me that although things had gone wrong with Gracie, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t protect other people. Nicholas was right. If my powers could stop any other innocents getting hurt then surely that was my calling?
With a new bounce in my step I left my pod, slamming the door shut behind me, and marched straight in to Nicholas’s office without knocking. He was sitting in his usual seat, papers strewn across the desk. He looked up as I entered but his face gave no hint of surprise.
‘I’m ready.’
‘Wonderful.’ He nodded at the chair opposite. ‘We have work to do.’
Chapter Nineteen
Standing, looking down over the sea of faces, my stomach twisted into a knot. My new uniform felt itchy and uncomfortable compared to the soft, flowing fabric of my community clothes. It was red in colour and consisted of trousers, a starched jacket, a cap and clumpy black boots. Above the left pocket on my jacket was a small, metal badge which had a P for Paradise engraved in gold above four thin lines. I was the only one with four lines and that meant I was in charge.
‘Can I have your attention please?’
The entire group of guards clicked their heels to attention and looked at me. Their uniforms matched mine except for the fact that the highest ranking guards had just two lines on their badges. Nicholas, Simeon and
Linda all had three lines on theirs. That they had given me a higher level of importance than themselves humbled me greatly.
The guards were a real mixed bunch. Mostly volunteers, they came from all sorts of backgrounds and had all committed themselves to protect Paradise Community. They’d been given basic training, along with some fairly hefty weapons.
‘Today, our government admitted that they have lost control and they have lost hope. We knew this time would come and we have spent the last few months preparing for it. This afternoon the government transferred the responsibility for law enforcement to us. Thanks to Nicholas’s hard work and dedication, he has been able to persuade them that the time has come for changes to be made. The new laws have been written with protection in mind. They may seem harsh but we all know they are necessary. For the time being the priority is to bring peace, control and security to the community outside Paradise. In order to do this, we must ensure that all Nexes be kept apart from Standards. We will begin with the surrounding areas then work our way across the country. Phase one of our plan is to go into the town of Betnor and create a border which signifies where each community may live. The Standards will be given the town and the Nexes the village. We are bound to face opposition from both sides but I trust that you will deal with such issues with sympathy and compassion. We are privileged to be in a situation where we can see the truth – that Paradise is the future. We must protect those who cannot protect themselves and we must gain control. Are you all ready?’
‘Yes ma’am.’
‘Ok, let’s go!’
*
Simeon arrived at my side, his usual grin fixed in place.
‘Hey,’ I grinned back, ‘I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been?’
‘Great, thank you. I heard about the accident. How’s everyone doing?’
‘They’re all pretty badly hurt. Phil has internal injuries and is still in intensive care. Chon has been moved on to a ward and is recovering slowly but has to stay in a while longer for observations, and Gracie damaged her back. They’re not sure at the moment whether she’ll walk again.’ The words choked in my throat as tears sprang to my eyes. Simeon placed his hand on my arm and squeezed gently.