by Echo Freer
Angel slithered down the bank to Monkey’s side and spoke to Moni. ‘I’m so sorry - I didn’t mean to hurt...’
‘Don’t worry about that; it was her or us,’ Monkey interjected, matter of factly. ‘Now, we’ve got to get her away from here. Gimme your hose.’
Angel started.
‘To tie her up,’ Monkey explained.
She dodged behind a bush and took off her tights. She shivered as she handed them to Monkey and watched him use them to tie Moni’s hands behind her back. Taking Moni’s own scarf, he wrapped it round her head to cover her eyes, then hauled her to her feet.
‘Jane and Tom’ll know what to do,’ he said to Angel.
Angel, still shaken from the incident, nodded.
‘You’ll have to come with me: I can’t get her there on my own,’ he went on. Noting the look of apprehension in her eyes, he added, ‘But you don’t have to stay if you don’t want.’
The three of them set off along the disused track. Monkey and Angel walked either side of Moni, almost dragging her along the uneven surface. Moni stumbled and struggled, gagging on the scarf that was stuffed into her mouth as they guided her through the night. Monkey and Angel barely spoke; partly to avoid giving away anything that might reveal their destination and also because the events of the evening had shocked them both. Monkey’s head felt as though it was oozing with thick mud - there was no clarity about anything; all his thoughts were shrouded in a dark depression. None of this had been in his plan. Sure, when he’d left home that evening, it had been with the intention of going back to the village, but only to learn more about the movement - maybe even to find out how he could help. Now though, everything had changed. Their secret expeditions had been exposed by Alex, and he didn’t know who else Angel’s brother had seen fit to inform; Fuse was dead and Monkey’s prints were on a gun that was by his side. And, to make his situation even worse, now he’d taken hostage a T.R.E.A.C.L.E. assistant trainer.
All he’d wanted was to make it to graduation with a clean record but now he was a wanted criminal. He looked across at Angel and felt sick: her face was pale and pinched in the moonlight and he knew it was his fault. Any hopes he might have harboured about a future with her were gone. She’d be lucky to come out of this and have any sort of life outside The Sanctuary - and it was all down to him! He just hoped Tom and Jane and the rest of the resistance group could come up with some sort of plan.
With Moni in tow, reluctant and resisting, the journey took them far longer than usual. It was the middle of the night when they arrived, but Monkey had no compunction about waking Tragic’s family. He gave the coded knock that he’d heard Karl give the previous week and was relieved when Jane opened the door of the cottage. Tom and Tragic were at work, out in the fields, so it was Jane who took control of the situation, and it was clear to Monkey that she was less than pleased to see her night visitors.
She untied the blindfold and used Moni’s scarf to bind her feet. Then she carefully removed the ring-cam from Moni’s finger, threw it on the flagstone floor and stamped on it.
‘You should’ve done that before you brought her here,’ she chastised. ‘You have no idea who could be tracking her. You could have jeopardised our whole community.’
Monkey quickly turned off his own ring-cam and indicated for Angel to do the same. ‘I didn’t know what to do.’
‘This isn’t a game, you know, Mickey,’ Jane said agitated.
Moni writhed and thrashed as she lay on the floor of the cottage. Jane untied the gag and, immediately, Moni screamed, ‘I’ll get you for this!’ She lashed out with her tied feet, aiming at Monkey. ‘You are so busted when I get out of here.’
‘Be quiet!’ Jane spoke sharply. ‘You will not be getting out of here, so you can stop threatening - and, if you continue to shout, I will have to gag you again.’ Moni glowered at her but remained silent. Jane turned to Monkey and, taking in his slashed cheek and blood-stained appearance, shook her head. ‘Oh, Mickey, what on Earth have you done?’
Monkey filled her in on the events of the evening as she bathed his cheek and glued the wound shut. Angel sat, pale and silent throughout, trying to avoid eye contact with Moni.
She was shivering with cold and shock.
‘We want to stay here... at least, I want to stay here,’ Monkey corrected. ‘Is that OK?’
‘I don’t know.’ Jane ran her hand across her forehead. ‘For a while, maybe, then we’ll try to find another community away from here that you can go to.’ Monkey shot a look at Angel and felt sick. How far away? he wondered. And would he ever see her again? Jane turned to Angel. ‘But you must go back tonight.’ Angel nodded. ‘Pre-breeders disappear all the time, especially ones who’re wanted, but a missing pre-nurturer, especially one with such a bright future as you, will cause major repercussions.’
‘I know.’ Angel, still subdued, stood up to go.
‘It’s OK, I didn’t mean straight away,’ Jane said, indicating for her to sit down again. She put some wood on the dying embers of the fire and handed Angel a pair of Tragic’s trousers that were hanging from the clothes line that hung across the hearth. ‘Put these on; you must be frozen.’ She turned to Moni. ‘Come on. I’m going to take you to The Volte Face. The landlady there is a friend of mine and I’m sure she’ll make you very comfortable in her wine cellars until we can decide what to do with you.’
‘You are so going to regr...’ Moni began to protest.
But Jane was too quick for her. She wrapped the scarf around Moni’s face, once again gagging her.
‘We’ve got quite a few sympathisers in the town,’ she said to Angel, taking a scrap of paper and writing something down before pushing it into Angel’s hand. ‘This is the address of a safe house.’ She looked at her earnestly. ‘You must not go there except in extreme circumstances. Do you understand? You’ll be endangering the lives...’ She shot a guilty look at Moni and her voice trailed off, afraid that she might already have said too much. ‘I’m sure I don’t have to explain.’
Angel nodded and pushed the paper into her pocket.
‘Now,’ Jane said. ‘Mickey, you can sleep in Trevor’s room tonight. Angelina, I’ll give you a couple of minutes to say your goodbyes but you need to be gone by the time I get back.’
With that, she untied Moni’s feet, took her by the upper arm and led her, struggling, out of the door.
Monkey swallowed hard. He didn’t know what to say. This would probably be the last time he saw Angel and his chest felt as though it had been filled with lead.
‘I’m sorry...’ he began, but Angel put her finger across his lips.
‘Nothing to be sorry about,’ she said. ‘I really admire what you’re doing.’ She lowered her voice and spoke softly. ‘It was a privilege to be involved.’
Monkey stared at his feet to avoid meeting her eyes. Tears were welling and the last thing he wanted was for her to see him being weak. ‘You know, I really...’ The words choked him. ‘If things...’ he began again, but petered into silence.
Angel took his hand and laced her fingers through his. ‘If things had been different,’ she continued, as though reading his thoughts, ‘we’d have made a great couple.’
Monkey nodded. ‘I’ll never forget you,’ he whispered. He took her other hand and pulled her gently round to face him. Raising his head, he looked down into her eyes, then lowered his lips on to hers. They were so soft, softer than he’d imagined and he felt that familiar tingle of excitement run through his body. To his relief, Angel didn’t pull away. She responded, gently at first, then building in passion beyond Monkey’s wildest imagination. He moved his hands up her back, until he could feel the contours of her shoulder blades and he drew her closer, clasping her against his body, never wanting to let her go. Their lips moved against each other’s, hungrily. Their situation, the surroundings, the danger they were in, a
ll melted away. His lips opened instinctively and he felt an involuntary stirring in his crotch. At T.R.E.A.C.L.E., they’d been given the basics of the breeding process; told how to copulate as though they were factory animals reproducing for the State. No one had explained the overwhelming desire that would course through his entire being. He moved his mouth across hers, pressing harder and harder until his teeth caught her lip and she flinched.
He broke away, blushing awkwardly. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean...’ he mumbled. Then an uncontrollable grin spread across his face. ‘Wow!’
Angel managed a smile. ‘It’s OK. I enjoyed it.’ She looked down again, embarrassed. ‘Thank you.’
Despite their circumstances, Monkey couldn’t help beaming. He wanted the moment to last forever. More than anything in the world, he wanted her to stay. ‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance...’
She shook her head. ‘I have to go,’ she said.
His grin faded and Monkey once more felt as though his body was filled with concrete.
Angel opened the latch on the internal door and stood in the small hallway. ‘I’ll try and get word to you through Tragic.’
Monkey looked away and gave a melancholy nod. ‘Yeah. I’ll keep in touch. Look after yourself - OK?’
She had just raised her hand to open the front door of the cottage, when they both heard it: a female voice, harsh and clipped as though issuing orders. Monkey put out a hand and pulled Angel back into the hall. The cottage opened onto a side lane, and had no windows with a view of the village main street, so he opened the door slowly and peered out into the darkness.
It was a clear night and, through the gap between the cottages at the end of the lane, he could just make out shadowy figures in military uniform running in the direction of the village green. He went cold. It was a raid.
He dodged back into the cottage and grabbed Angel’s hand. ‘Come on,’ he whispered urgently. ‘We’ve gotta get outta here - fast!’
Together, they crept out into the lane, pulling the door to behind them. A large armoured stealth rumbled past. Monkey led Angel in the opposite direction, away from the main street. Having never seen the village in daylight, he had no idea where he was leading her, or how they were going to get out. They ran past half a dozen cottages until, after about one hundred metres, the lane trailed away and became a muddy track.
‘If we go across the fields we should be able to make it back to the loco line before dawn,’ Monkey assured Angel.
‘Monkey,’ Angel said, tugging on his hand to make him slow down. ‘If we don’t make it, I want you to know that everything I’ve done has been my choice. If I’m arrested, it’s not your fault. OK?’
‘Don’t even go there. Neither of us is going to get arrested. Trust me.’
But, before the words had left his lips, they stopped dead. A voice they both recognised drifted down the lane from the main road. ‘That’s the cottage. They’re in there!’
It was Moni. And she was obviously free, ungagged, and directing Security straight to them.
‘How the hell did they find her?’ Angel whispered.
‘Dunno. Probably tracked her ring-cam.’ Monkey shook his head. ‘How stupid! Why didn’t I think to throw it away?’
‘No time for that - let’s get out of here,’ Angel said, climbing a five-barred gate into a field that she hoped would lead them out of the village.
They could hear a commotion from the lane. There were orders and shouts of protest. It sounded like quite a crowd had gathered. Then a younger-sounding voice squealed above the others.
‘Moni! You’re safe! I rang Security like you told me.’
‘You did good, Pen. Real good,’ Moni replied.
‘Shiltz!’ Monkey swore. ‘It’s Penny - the snake!’
Danger Aloft!
‘That must’ve been who Moni was contacting by the bridge,’ Angel said.
‘The little traitor!’ Monkey banged his hand against the gate in anger. ‘How could she?’
‘Keep your voice down,’ Angel warned, tugging his sleeve. ‘Come on.’
They set off across the recently furrowed field, keeping close to the hedge and crouching low so that their heads wouldn’t be seen. Clods of earth clung to their feet making it heavy going. Then they heard the sound that they’d both been dreading: dogs!
‘Oh for...!’ Monkey kicked aimlessly at the earth, exasperated. ‘This is pointless! We might as well give ourselves up - we’ll never outrun dogs.’
‘Listen,’ Angel dropped her voice as she tried to control her breathing after the exertion of walking through the muddy, rutted soil.
Monkey held his breath and listened. He could hear yelping and, above that, the cries of the dog handlers but farther away, almost at the very edge of his hearing range was something else; faint but clear - running water.
‘They can’t track us through water,’ Angel said. ‘When we get to the river, they’ll assume we’re heading upstream back to town, so if we go the other way, it might throw them.’
Monkey looked at her: the moonlight reflected across her cheeks and the tip of her nose. He thought she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. ‘You’re...’ he started to voice his thoughts, but embarrassment overcame him. ‘...very clever, aren’t you?’ he finished, lamely.
‘Yes,’ she replied, with no hint of conceit. ‘Now, come on!’
They made it to the stream and, just as Angel had predicted, the dogs lost the scent and their handlers made the erroneous assumption that they would make their way back to town. They waded through the freezing water, sometimes thigh deep, until dawn broke, grey and hazy. Only then, when they could see their surroundings, did they leave the stream and seek refuge in a disused watermill.
Cold, tired and wet, they collapsed onto a pile of old paper sacks on the floor of the mill. It was too dangerous even to attempt to light a fire and their clothes clung to them, chilling them to the core.
‘We should take it in turns to sleep while the other keeps guard,’ Monkey said. He put his arm round Angel’s shoulder and pulled some of the sacks over her knees. ‘You go first.’ He put his other arm across her, pulling her to him, protectively and she fell into a deep, immediate sleep with her head on his chest. Try as he might to stop his eyelids from closing, within minutes, Monkey had joined her.
It was dusk again when they woke and their clothes, although still damp, had almost dried from their body heat. Monkey stood up and stretched. His stomach rumbled.
‘I’m starving.’
‘Me too, but we need to get back.’ Angel took the paper Jane had given her from her pocket. It was damp and crumpled but the address of the safe house was still visible - just. ‘I know Jane said only to use this in an emergency, but I think this qualifies.’
Monkey agreed and they headed back to town and the safe house Jane had suggested. Under cover of night, they followed the river upstream as it meandered back towards town. A field of late Brussels sprouts and a store of turnips provided them with the worst meal Monkey had ever tasted - or ever hoped to taste again. He consoled himself with the thought that, even if he got caught, the food on The Farm couldn’t be any worse than that.
It was still Energy Conservation Shut Down when they entered the town from the west, along the north bank of the river, by the Uplands Lunar Park.
‘Where is this safe house, anyway?’ Monkey asked.
Angel retrieved the paper and handed it to him. He stopped. ‘No way!’
‘What’s the problem?’ There was irritation in her voice. She was tired and anxious, and just wanted to reach safety.
‘This is Danger’s address.’
‘Jordan Grainger?’ Angel queried. ‘You sure?’
‘I should know - I’ve been there enough times.’ He paused, thinking aloud. ‘I’m just hoping this isn’t
some sort of stitch-up. I mean, Danger’s hardcore hood. And his nurturer’s a teacher - pro-Assembly through and through.’
Angel gnawed at her bottom lip. ‘What should we do?’
Monkey sighed. ‘What choice do we have? They’ll be looking for us at our own homes and there’s no way we can go back to the village. Short of living off raw sprouts for the rest of our lives, this is all we’ve got.’
Angel nodded wearily and, once again, they set off through the suburbs.
The fact that Monkey knew the house made it easier for them to make their way through the rear sustenance patches to the back door, thus avoiding any cameras that might have been trained on Danger’s street.
Monkey buzzed the voice-com several times before a sleepy female voice responded.
‘I’ve been given this address by some people in Combe Magna.’ Monkey said simply, without identifying himself.
There was silence before the voice replied, ‘There are several ways to care for offspring.’
Monkey narrowed his eyes and looked to Angel for some sort of guidance. She moved closer to the grille on the voice-com and spoke quietly. ‘Mov Grainger, if that’s part of some sort of password, we don’t know the rest of it, but we’ve been given this address by Jane Patterson.’
The voice-com clicked silent, leaving them standing at the back door for several minutes before Danger’s nurturer opened the door a fraction and, with the security bar in place, spoke to them through a narrow crack.
‘Security has your picture plastered all over town, Mickey.’ She looked at Angel. ‘And yours too, if you’re Angelina.’ She was still in her nightclothes and Monkey noticed her pull her dressing gown closer.
‘Can we come in - please?’ Monkey asked.
Mov Grainger hesitated. ‘Why have you come here?’
‘We were told this was a safe house,’ Angel explained.
The nurturer seemed reluctant. ‘I’m not expecting any visitors.’