by Lizzie Rose
Several things happened at once. Two groups of guards broke away from the crowd. One went into the house and the other towards the barn. Oscar followed the second group through the barn door and I was about to set off after him when someone inside the house let out a blood-curdling scream. A child wailed and the sound of a baby’s cry filled the air.
‘The children!’ Gwen was leaning heavily on Esther’s shoulder nearby, staring with wide eyes at the upstairs window. Leaving the whirlwind where it was, I sprinted into the kitchen.
Guards launched themselves at me from every direction, grabbing hold of any part of me they could reach. My body took their powers in, mixed them up, then spat them back out, connecting with each and every one of the hands holding me. There was an enormous flash of light and then the kitchen was empty.
Following the sound of Eliana’s cries, I leapt up the stairs and ran down the hallway to the bedroom at the furthest end of the house. Tommy was being held down by three guards whilst, at the opposite side of the room, Hugo stood in front of the large bay window with Brogan clutching his good leg and Eliana cradled in his arms.
Stalking slowly towards them was Linda, flanked by two more guards.
As I crashed through the doorway, Linda’s face contorted with rage.
‘You!’ she shrieked. The guards surrounding her leapt towards me. They fought hard, grabbing hold of anything in reach that could be used to hit me with. They worked together, taking turns to fight me whilst the others ensured I didn’t move far away from the doorway. The constant assault of powers and blows knocked me off balance.
As I struggled against them, I saw Linda bearing down on the children, her whole body lit up with her power.
‘Ava, help us!’ Hugo screamed as Linda bent towards Brogan. The baby let out a piercing scream and her tiny hands balled into fists. Behind them the window shattered, letting in a blast of cold air. The children fell forwards to the floor. Hugo landed awkwardly, trying to keep a hold on the baby, and let out a yell of pain. He looked as though he were going to try to stand up again.
Don’t! Stay where you are. Keep your head down and protect the babies. Trust me.
He nodded to let me know he understood and ducked down, covering the two little ones with his body.
I called the whirlwind to me and it responded instantly. It appeared outside the window, bent low and pushed its way through. Linda looked into the whirling tube in horror. Screaming, she tried to move away from it.
Grabbing hold of the guard who was standing behind her, she dragged him around, using him as a shield. The wind took hold of him and sucked him down. The other guards had stopped their assault on me now, and were trying to push past me to get out of the door. With a flick of my hand they whizzed across the room and fell head first into the mouth of the wind.
I ran at the guard who was wrestling with Tommy and jumped on his back, pressing my fingers into his skin. Leaping backwards, he tried to prise my arms away before falling to the ground, crushing me underneath him. The wind lifted him off me effortlessly but before I could move, Linda replaced him.
She lunged for my face but I grabbed her arms, struggling against the force of the shocks ripping through my body. Then her expression changed to one of sheer terror as she felt her feet leave the ground and move upwards.
She clung tightly to my arms, her feet waving wildly in mid-air. I tried to loosen her grip but she just held on tighter. Suddenly, her fingers slipped and she shot backwards through the air, into the wind. Confused, I sat up and looked around. Brogan stood at the side of the room, a scowl on his face and his hands on his hips.
‘Naughty lady fly,’ he told me seriously.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered. Jumping to my feet, I took a running leap out of the open window and landed softly on the ground below. The whirlwind followed me out of the house and into the barn.
A huge cloud of black smoke greeted me as I reached the door. A line of fire split the barn in two. On the side nearest me were several small groups of people. My heart sank as I recognised many faces amongst the fighters. In the middle of the crowd, with his back to the fire, was Simeon. The guard fighting Oscar hit him with a stunning blow, which sent him reeling backwards. Simeon looked me straight in the eye, grinned, bent down and took hold of Oscar’s t-shirt, then dragged him backwards through the flames into the far end of the barn. Several people went to run after them but were beaten back by the fire.
Placing my hand inside the wind, I pulled it across me so that I was standing in its centre. As I reached the line of fire, there was a sudden movement. Lissa was running full tilt towards the fire. I flicked my hand, sending her sliding backwards to safety then walked straight into the flames.
As soon as I’d crossed over to the other side of the barn, I stepped out of the wind. Something moved next to me and before I could react, a thick blue rope snaked towards me and coiled itself around my body. My knees buckled and I fell sideways to the floor. It tightened painfully, pinning my arms to my sides. Struggling against it I prised my eyes open. Oscar was lying unconscious in front of a huge stack of hay bales. Simeon was standing between us, his eyes glinting malevolently as he leered down at me. And then something strange happened to his face. The skin changed colour and the bones seemed to shift slightly until it was oval shaped and his lips were thin and pale.
‘You!’ I whispered. ‘You killed my father.’
He let out a bark of a laugh and his face changed again. It took a matter of seconds before it turned into the face of a man who had frightened me many years ago when I’d been waiting for my mother to finish work at the hotel.
Then Nicholas was standing in front of me. Letting out a scream of anger, I thrashed against the rope. The whirlwind surged forwards towards Nicholas but, as it reached him, he touched it with one finger. With a flash it exploded and collapsed.
The fire was spreading now, inching around the edges of the barn, towards the hay.
‘How can you have more than one power?’ I breathed.
‘Ah, well, you see you’re not the only one who is different. One of my talents is that I am something of a chameleon. The other is a little more practical.’
‘But how come you’ve lived around all those people so long? What about Naomi?’
‘People only see what they want to see. They are naïve and gullible, which is why they need strong leaders to control them. Simeon was a trustable fellow and Naomi is a very good actress. She will be rewarded. It has taken a very long time to put everything in place and it has taken an awful lot of self-control not to show my powers while I’ve been waiting for you.’
His eyes suddenly gleamed, reflecting the flickering movement of the flames behind me.
The ones you are destroying are your true kin, Ava. We do not belong here in this place but we do belong together. You are the most powerful being ever to walk this planet and I have been searching for you for a very long time. Together we would be invincible. Our offspring would be rulers of all worlds. Join me, Ava.
‘Our what? Ew!’
I know that your heart lies elsewhere but what is the point, I ask you, in loving someone who you will have to spend an eternity – his lifespan at least, protecting? All of these beings around you will die and be replaced by new ones. Why waste time fighting for their rights when you could be utilising their abilities and living a comfortable eternal existence? We will be gods. People will worship us.
‘Um, no thanks.’
I can tell you where you come from, Ava. If you join me I will tell you everything.
‘Ok, let me make this perfectly clear for you. I DO NOT WANT TO JOIN YOU!’
Because of him? He glanced down at Oscar and sneered. Maybe we should take him out of the equation. Then perhaps you will see sense.
He bent down towards Oscar, his fingers outstretched, his eyes not leaving mine.
‘Noooooo!’ The harder I fought, the tighter the rope became.
‘Get your filthy hands off my grandson!’
Wielding a walking stick between his hands, Gramps rushed at Nicholas from behind the hay bales. Nicholas watched his approach with calm astonishment. As Gramps swung the stick down, Nicholas stepped forwards and touched a finger to the pale, bony wrist. The old man crumpled in a heap on the floor. As Nicholas bent down towards Oscar again, I felt my powers explode. The rope disintegrated and I was free but it was too late.
Nicholas’ fingers pressed down on Oscar’s face as I skidded to a stop beside them. The whole barn shook as I screamed. There was an explosion behind me and the heat stung my back. Something grabbed hold of my hand. I was about to wrench it free when I looked down into Oscar’s eyes. He blinked.
It took a moment for me to absorb what was happening. I stared at Oscar’s face as he blinked again, tears trickling down his cheeks. Nicholas looked just as shocked as I felt. With a shriek of rage I launched myself at him, throwing him to the ground.
‘If you kill me you will never know the truth. I know who and what you are.’
‘Bully for you,’ I retorted. As I absorbed his power inside me it repulsed me. It burned like acid. Joe’s face came into my mind and I realised with a shock that it was this power that had killed him and who knew how many others? Shuddering, I pressed my hands against Nicholas’ clammy skin until the breath left his lungs.
With my last scrap of energy, I lifted Gramps’ frail body up into my arms. The wall of flame parted slightly in the middle allowing Oscar and I to join the others. As we made it through the door, the barn collapsed behind us.
Epilogue
‘I’ll show you, look.’ Jamie limped across the pod to the bookshelf where the little MP3 player was still in its docking station. He fiddled with the back of it then suddenly wrenched the whole thing off the shelf and smashed it to the ground.
‘Paradise is the future,’ a voice said softly. ‘You are the true leader. All others will look up to you. Outsiders do not understand us. They wish us harm. You must not trust them or anything they say to you. Trust only Nicholas and Simeon. The future lies with them.’
‘It’s on a loop system,’ Jamie explained. ‘Some sort of hypnotic trance thing. All I know is that everyone’s been force fed this on a nightly basis. It goes on to say how we must use whatever force is necessary to protect our leaders and to stop the outsiders from damaging our community. Do you want to hear it all?’
‘No thanks. I can’t believe I never realised it was happening.’
‘None of us did. Come on, we’d better get out of here so they can get on with flattening it. Is there anything you need to get before we go?’
‘No, I have everything.’ Mother’s bag was safely tied around my waist. ‘Will the Paradise members be ok?’
‘Well, the docs reckon that they’re going to need some help to re-adjust to normal society. But once the new housing estates have been built here, I guess they’ll start to forget all about this place. It’s just going to take time.’
‘I guess so,’ I smiled. Behind me, the bulldozer’s engine started up and seconds later came a loud splintering sound. Without so much as a backwards glance, I followed Jamie to the waiting car and left the Paradise Community behind for good.
*
‘Oscar? Where are you going?’
‘Out.’
‘Out where?’
He sighed deeply. ‘Just out, Skye, ok?’
‘You’re going to see her aren’t you?’
He dropped his eyes to the ground and didn’t reply.
‘I don’t want you to go.’
‘I have to.’
‘Do you love her?’
‘I don’t know what to say, Skye. Ava and I have a connection. It’s different from what we have.’
‘Don’t you love me any more?’ Tears slid down her cheeks.
‘I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s just . . .’
‘You love her more?’
‘I’m sorry.’ He turned to walk away.
‘I’m pregnant.’
He froze then turned back very slowly. ‘Say that again?’
She covered her eyes with her hands, sobbing into them. ‘I honestly don’t know how it happened but it has and I’m going to keep it. I’m having your baby, Oscar.’
‘Well, that changes things,’ he muttered.
The sobs increased and she crouched down, curling in on herself. Feeling as though his heart were about to be ripped in two he walked over to her and knelt down beside her. ‘Shhh, come on. It’s going to be ok. We’ll work something out.’
*
‘Is about here ok?’ Brock pointed the tip of his spade to a patch of earth. I nodded. Slamming the blade into the ground, he set about digging a hole. Beads of sweat glistened on his brow but I knew there was no point in offering to help. He’d been adamant that this was something he wanted to do himself.
It had been a tough few weeks. The building work had started and everybody was helping, making the process more pleasant and bringing the community together. The government had announced that they were replacing the prime minister and would be having emergency meetings to discuss equal rights for Nexes and Standards. I had seen all my surviving friends and was happy that they were all alive and being well cared for.
Unfortunately I had also attended a mass funeral for those who had not survived the troubles. It had been an incredibly sad and difficult experience, but it was right that they were given a fitting send off. An area of the park had been sectioned off in order to make a special garden in their memory. Everything was slowly getting back to normal and yet I felt empty inside.
‘There, what do you think?’
Brock was kneeling behind the sapling he’d just planted and was now patting soil down around its roots to steady it.
‘Perfect,’ I replied, ‘although I’m guessing not many people will see it here.’
‘Exactly,’ he beamed, apparently proud of himself. ‘That’s for two reasons – firstly to make sure no one knocks it over by mistake and secondly I thought it was fitting that it would be a bit hidden away, like the panther was – always there in the shadows, proud and beautiful.’
Tears stung my eyes. With the amount I had cried recently I was surprised there was any more moisture left in my body.
‘I know.’ Brock came and sat next to me, pulling me into a hug. ‘It’s been a hard time for all of us. But it’s over now.’
‘For you.’
‘What do you mean?’ He pushed me away and frowned down at me.
I shrugged. ‘I’m not sure what to do with myself any more.’
‘You could come back to our house. We’d love to have you back, you know that. Things are changing now – there’ll be all sorts of opportunities for our kind.’
‘I appreciate the offer.’
‘But?’
‘But I just feel as though it isn’t time for me to settle down yet.’
He kissed me gently on the forehead. ‘I understand. We’ll still be here when you’re ready. You know that, don’t you?’
I nodded, unable to speak. He pulled me back into his arms and we sat there, watching as the tiny leaves on the sapling fluttered gently in the breeze.
*
‘Don’t go. Please.’
‘I have to.’
‘No you don’t. You don’t have to go anywhere.’
Tying the cloth bag around my waist once more, I sighed. ‘I just need some space. There are so many things I need to learn to cope with.’
‘Like what?’ he scowled, sulkily.
‘Like the fact that I’ve killed people. And then there are my powers – I need to work out just exactly what they do without putting anyone at risk. Not to mention trying to figure out where I came from.’
‘You really don’t know why I didn’t die?’
‘I have no idea, I’m just glad it didn’t happen. I’m sure Skye is pleased too.’
I looked away from him and suddenly he was there, one hand turning my face towards his, the other wound aroun
d my back, pulling me into him.
‘You would have stayed if it weren’t for that, wouldn’t you?’ he murmured. ‘I want to be with you, Ava. Let me come with you.’
‘And run away from your responsibilities?’
He exhaled sharply and touched his forehead to mine. ‘It’s so unfair. Of all the things to happen.’
‘I know,’ I whispered. ‘But you have to stay for Skye’s sake. For the sake of your child.’
‘Will you come back?’
‘I don’t know.’
His lips met mine and for a moment we stood there in each other arms. I could taste salt and wasn’t sure if it was from my own tears or from his. Then he broke the contact.
‘Take care,’ he murmured into my hair. He touched his finger to the heart pendant hanging from my neck and then walked away. I almost called him back. I pictured us running away together and spending endless days wrapped in each other’s embrace. But then my thoughts turned to his unborn child and of my own childhood without my father around and I couldn’t do it.
Stuffing the last few items in my bag I fastened it up and ran outside. Venus was waiting for me, stamping her hooves impatiently. I vaulted on to her back, leaned forwards and let the tears fall into her mane. She set off slowly, taking care not to jolt me until I regained control. Finally, when I was able to sit, she picked up speed.
We passed through the village and then the town. Skirting around what was left of the commune, we headed out into the countryside. The prison was no more than a pile of rubble now. The government was still deciding what to do with it so, for the time being, it was cordoned off with safety signs in every direction as you approached. We didn’t get too close – it seemed that Venus, like me, had no desire to see the place again. With one last look at what I was leaving behind, I urged Venus on and we galloped off into the night.
*
‘Can’t we go home now? It’s freezing!’
‘Be quiet!’ she snapped. ‘I’m not ready to leave yet.’
‘But we’ve been here ages. There’s nothing to see.’