“I know what’ll change that,” he says and launches into his version of the song, sending the melancholy melody across the clearing with his deep, clear voice and joining in with the invisible singers. Suddenly their song stops. Chale continues solo and there’s silence as if they’re listening to him. There’s so much raw pain and longing in his voice I’ll cry with him if someone doesn’t answer.
“What’s going on?” whispers Junius and the others lean forward to hear the answer.
“That’s his donor mother’s song. It’s in his hologram,” I say, watching Chale inch closer and closer to the Sanctuary. Soon some grey haired men and women filter out of the huts and into the clearing. Just as Junius described they’re all carrying heavy metal gardening tools.
“Don’t go any further,” I try to whisper and yell at the same time. He doesn’t take any notice and keeps going just as the grey army starts to move forward in a solid line.
“Where is she?” he shouts.
“Just git yer ass outta here,” shouts one old timer carrying a nasty looking pitchfork. “We don’t need your kind here.”
“I have to see her first – the woman who was singing,” says Chale standing his ground.
A big hulky man whose brown hair is streaked with grey stands shoulder to shoulder with the older man. “You heard Frankie - there’s nothin’ for you younguns here. Now git the hell outta here before we mess up your pretty faces.”
“I’m not here to cause trouble,” says Chale, “I just…”
The hulky man lunges forward with his shovel just as one of the women yells, “No Blair – wait.”
Meanwhile Chale hasn’t flinched. Even though the sharp edge of the shovel was less than a foot from his face. The woman steps forward and I know it’s her – Tania – older now, dressed in a shapeless grey tee shirt, her grey hair shaved close to her head and partly covered with a grey-blue scarf. Her eyes are still dark and haunting though lines are etched all around them. She stares at Chale, hands on her hips. “And how the hell do you know that song?” she asks, weighing him up with narrowed eyes. “The only man outside the Sanctuary who knows it is that worthless piece of crap Ray and you’re way too young to be him.”
Chale says nothing. He reaches under his shirt and pulls out a locket, opens it and there in the darkness is the bright little hologram of Ray and Tania singing their hearts out. The present-day Tania’s fist flies up to her mouth as she chokes back a sob.
“Mom?” asks Chale softly.
“I don’t have no kids,” she screams. “What the hell are you anyway? Some freak from a lab?”
Chale is shaking his head in disbelief. “No – it’s not true,” he says, moving towards her but she edges backwards and the men close ranks in front of her.
“You heard her,” says Blair. “Now beat it before we mess you up real bad.”
Junius and Sileas both grab Chale’s arm. He tries to shake them off but they have him in a tight grip. “I’m coming back for you,” Chale screams when they drag him away. “You know who I am.”
He’s still sobbing when they get him back to the scooters. By now the old people have disappeared back into their shelters. “It was her,” he says, grabbing onto my sleeve. “Paige, you know it was her.”
I pull him to me and hug him. “I know Chale, I know. Maybe if she has some time to think about it she’ll change her mind.”
“I’ll make her,” he says. “I’m not leaving here without her.”
Junius beckons me over to him. He looks edgy and impatient. “Just what we need now,” he says. “Total breakdown. I knew we shouldn’t have brought him. That guy’s trouble.”
“You don’t understand,” I say. “I mean haven’t you ever wondered about your parents?”
He seems to be stumbling for words. “Sure – I mean – of course I have.”
“Come to think of it,” I say. “You’ve never talked about your donor parents. Who were they?”
“Just ordinary – nothing special,” he says and I know he’s trying to brush me off. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt that Junius is lying to me or even covering up the truth and he’s acting really mean towards Chale. “Anyway – we have to leave now before someone comes after us or the warrior wars start up.”
I have to agree with him but I make a mental note to ask him later about his parents. There’s a nagging feeling in my head that something’s not quite right.
We regroup back at the warehouse where Carl’s been keeping a watch on Edelia. Right now she’s slumped over in her chair sleeping and Carl’s cooking up some kind of cheesy noodle dish. It smells so good we all sit around the table and kick our feet up. It’s been the craziest day ever. Chale hardly eats anything. Just sits quietly though when I tell them all about the feeder pod and the disposal unit I can see him chewing at his nails.
“We have to get those feeders out of there,” I say. “And shut those torture chambers down.”
“Agreed,” says Junius. “But we must do it right.”
“We need more of these,” says Sileas waving the silver gun in the air.
I jump up, my hands clenched into fists. “Put that fricking thing down,” I say. “Ever since you got that gadget in your hand you’ve become this trigger happy idiot.” Then I sit down immediately, regretting my words when I see Sileas’s face. He looks crushed as if I’d slapped him. “Sorry Sileas –I’ve seen so much today my nerves are – like short-circuiting.”
“Apology accepted,” he says. “you know I’ve got your back whenever you’re in danger.”
“OK – everyone just has to calm down,” says Junius. “Sileas is actually right. We need more fire power. We have no idea what we’re facing when the Crime Lords roll into town.”
“We don’t just need fire power,” I say. “We need reinforcements. Somehow we have to contact Kumaresh and get him to send more forevers.”
“How can we do that?” asks Carl. “I daren’t set foot anywhere near that place. Verna’s so mean she’ll hand me over to those robot security monsters.”
“And none of us can go back,” says Ida. “They’ll be onto us right away.”
My eyes settle on Edelia who’s now woken up and is blinking the sleep from her eyes. Carl jumps up and grabs a glass of water then holds it to her lips so gently I imagine for a moment he thinks she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. He’s like a wizened old gnome with the heart of a young prince – adoring the ruby-lipped princess. Then I shake my head to snap out of the daydream. I did it again. Tuned out and let my imagination run away with me. I open my eyes to reality and realize everyone’s looking at me waiting for me to speak.
“Any time you’re ready,” says Chale.
“Oh – yeah – I have a great idea. We’ll send Edelia down there with someone we can trust. And I’m going to talk to that person tonight.”
24
The streets of Realtown are so quiet tonight it’s like the place is holding its breath waiting for something to happen. Right now the skies are an intense dark blue, dotted with glittering stars. I look up at them and think nothing changes up there. They’ll still be shining even if we blow our selves to pieces.
Every now and again we hear a slight rumbling coming from the direction of the hills. Junius says it’s the big guns they’re rolling into place ready to welcome the Crime Lords. So we estimate we only have tonight and maybe part of tomorrow left to get a plan in place. We need to act quickly.
I send the others off to find food and any kind of weapon they can get their hands on while I head towards the Shoshu. There won’t be any dancing tonight but there’s a few brave stragglers left behind. Enough to force the doors to open for a couple of hours.
Inside the place is like an empty cave. No music or dancing – just a purplish glow from a low spotlight. Toby is bustling around behind the bar, mopping the already clean counter, his face set in a tight mask.
“Hey,” I say, slipping into a chair by the bar. “How come you didn’t ru
n away like the rest of them?”
He looks up and the worry falls away. “Hey you,” he says, smiling. “I didn’t wanna miss your cute face.”
“Really?” I say, shaking my head.
“OK – I’ve got big things happening tonight,” he says. “I’m meeting Edelia.”
“Do you know where she’s taking you?”
He puts both hands on the counter and glares at me. “Not exactly,” he says. “Why?”
“I just want to know what she told you.”
“Something about recruiting people to work up in the hills – with the ARP’s,” he says. “Why? What do you know?”
I look around to see that we’re alone before I take the little pendant out from under my shirt. “Before I tell you I have something I want you to see.”
His eyes are wide as I open the locket and the tiny glowing figures of Hilda and Johnny appear on the counter. Hilda doing her acrobatics and Johnny with his hands stuffed in his pockets reciting that one line,
That time ticks on is inescapable.
Toby breathes in so hard he almost chokes. “That’s Grandpa Johnny. How did you get this?” he gasps.
I reach my hand out to cover his clenched ones. “It’s a long story,” I say.
By the time I’ve told him everything about the donor parents, the compound, the feeders and our plan he’s sitting on the bar stool in front of me, his tired eyes welling up with tears. I wait but he doesn’t say anything for a while. Just sits there shaking his head and muttering rotten, evil bastards. Finally he breaks the silence. “Then who the hell are you? My great auntie?” he says.
I feel the ghost of a smile spreading across my face. “I know it’s weird but I guess you could say that.”
Suddenly his face splits into the widest smile possible. “The cutest great-auntie I’ve ever seen,” he says holding his arms out to me. “Come here and hug your long-lost great-nephew.”
Then we’re suddenly together and he’s giving me the biggest, warmest bear hug ever. “Let’s drop the great-auntie thing and be brother and sister,” he says, stepping back to look at me. “besides you don’t have a hairy chin and jowls.”
“You’re the first family I’ve ever known,” I say. “I have so many questions to ask you but they’ll have to wait until all this trouble’s over.”
His face is so relieved I’m glad I chose to tell him. “Same here,” he says ruffling the back of his hair. “I can’t really take it all in.”
We stand there just looking at each other and smiling. No words are needed.
“It’s like I have something to look forward to now,” he says. “I have a real purpose – to get rid of those greedy, bloodsucking parasites that tried to ruin your life.”
“Good, because you have to do something really important for us tonight,” I say, chewing on my lip. A habit I’ve developed in the last few days since I left the compound.
“Anything,” he says. “Just fill me in on the details sis,” he says play-punching me on the shoulder.
“Hey watch out bro,” I say laughing, though inside I can’t believe I’m even using that word. “But let’s be serious. I have an important job for you.”
Toby and I decide not to say anything about our relationship until later. It would just make Chale feel even worse about his mother’s rejection if I came waltzing in with my long lost brother.
We all meet back at the warehouse. The others have rustled up quite a store of food but nothing in the way of weapons.
“Sorry but Realtown is a peaceful place,” says Toby. “No need for weapons because everyone’s content and there’s nothing to fight about.”
Junius takes a long look at Toby. “How on earth did they do it?” he asks. “I mean there’s always conflict anywhere humans live.”
“I guess everyone’s got enough to get by on here,” says Toby. “And we don’t want more. We all have a good time, keep active, stay happy.”
“Until you get old,” I say. “Then the happy stuff comes to an end.”
“That’s the problem,” he says. “It’s easy to be laid back and carefree when you’re young and healthy and beautiful.”
“Then there’s the answer to ending human conflict,” says Junius. “Never grow old.”
“Not as simple as that,” I say. “Look at the ARP’s. They’ve found a way to stay young but it’s just made them more determined to hang onto their money and power.”
“Easy to explain that,” says Toby. “Most of them were born at least fifty or sixty years ago in the 1970’s or 1980’s and from what I’ve read that was called the Me generation. People were so materialistic their favourite activity was shopping and collecting more and more things. The people from Realtown came along after all that.”
“Interesting,” says Sileas and I can almost hear the wheels turning in his brain.
“Makes me wonder what it’s like beyond those mountains,” I say. “Is it like Realtown or that Me generation?”
“I can’t answer that,” says Toby. “Since I’ve never been there. I’ve heard of a place called Vegas – or some call it Sin City. They say that’s where the Crime Lords have their headquarters.”
“Lynette told me about that place. Our compound was modeled after the massive hotels there,” I say, remembering all her stories about her honeymoon with Sam.
“Then what’s the connection?” says Sileas. “That means someone from Sin City must have been involved in the building of the compound.”
“And somehow there must have been some trouble and they split into two factions – Tinsel Town and Sin City,” I say, my mind rushing ahead again.
“OK – we’re getting way ahead of ourselves,” says Junius in an abrupt tone I’ve never heard from him before. “We need a plan of action.”
Everyone looks up at him as if they’re disappointed he’s interrupted our speculation. Even Chale speaks up. The first time I’ve heard him say anything for hours. “Take it easy, man. There’s nothing wrong with trying to figure things out. It doesn’t always have to be now, now, now.”
Junius’ cheeks flush and he looks down at his feet. “Sorry – I’m just worried that if there’s some big gun battle we won’t be able to get those poor kids out of the pods.”
“He’s right,” says Toby. “That’s why I’m taking the beautiful Edelia down to the compound to get Kumaresh and some reinforcements.”
“You’ll tell security down there that you have a big order for more feeders in case they’re needed to pay off the Crime Lords,” says Junius looking at Edelia. “Will they buy that explanation?”
Carl gently takes the gag from Edelia’s mouth and she starts to cough. He brings her more water. “Maybe,” she croaks. “And maybe not. Especially when the request hasn’t gone through the regular channels.”
“Then what do we do to make it work?” I ask, feeling distinctly edgy now.
“It’s possible Iduna Central has already gone into emergency mode because of the Crime Lords threat. That means security forces are all concentrated up in the hills and things are loose around the compound. Nobody outside you and Iduna Corp knows the compound even exists.”
“Are you saying the CEO and central control are up there in ARP territory?” I ask. If that’s so I just want to get up there and shut down their entire operation.
“I believe so,” says Edelia. “At the highest point on the mountain.”
“OK, so it’s a go,” says Junius. “Kumaresh is ready and waiting for you. He’s been planning for this moment a long time.”
“And while you’re doing that we’re going back to ARP territory to do some more snooping around and find some weapons,” I say. “We took a cell phone from that dealer so Toby, you’ll use Edelia’s cell to keep in touch with us.”
The tension is so heavy it’s almost visible in the air as we take time to get ready and I wonder if everyone has the same feeling as I do – that this is the lead up to the big moment when we might finally come face to face with the
CEO and discover who or what has been running our lives for so long. I’m just burning for that time.
I glance over by the door and see Toby chatting to Ida. He smiles and she blushes and I suddenly realize he’s attracted to her. The only trouble is that she’s a forever and he isn’t. How’s that going to work? He’ll grow old and she’ll lose him. I’ll lose him. My new brother. My head starts to whirl again with all the complications of this situation. Why did those people screw around with human life in the first place? Nobody really wins in this situation. The regular people waste their lives wishing they could live forever and we have to deal with the grief of losing those we love over and over again. I’ve never experienced the pain of loss before. Except for Lynette.
Lynette told me about loss. How it hurts. How it spreads like an ache all over your body. Before she got married she took her grandma to Vegas. Lynette loved Vegas with all its hotels and lights and crowds of people walking up and down something called The Strip. She said her grandma had a thing for gambling and would sit for hours at a machine pressing buttons, enjoying the lights and music that went along with it. One evening after a long walk they were crossing through the casino and her grandma just stopped dead at this place they called the Sin Pit – where dancers clad in tiny sparkly bikinis stood on tables above the poker and roulette players. The young girls were grinding their hips and thrusting out jeweled breasts for the entertainment of men who crowded around ogling them as if they were living dolls. Lynette watched her grandma gazing up at the dancer’s perfect velvety chocolate skin, her glistening pouty lips and her graceful slender arms. Then she looked at the old lady’s shapeless polka dotted dress, the thick legs covered in ropy veins and the wispy grey hair under its silly yellow straw hat. She wanted to rip that stupid hat off but the sight of teardrops rolling down her grandma’s face as she watched the shiny, flawless dancer was enough to stop her. She simply grabbed her grandma’s elbow and pulled her away. That night the old lady had a heart attack while she was in the bath. Lynette found her. All she could remember were grandma’s staring eyes. The same expression she’d fixed on the dancer except now they were six inches under water. Lynette said the feeling of loss was like a constant pain gnawing at her from morning until night. It never went away. Just dulled a bit. Is that how it would be with Toby?
The Forever Ones (The Iduna Project) Page 14