The Unleashed

by Sarah Dalton

  I hiccupped. “I think I’ve had too much wine. I’m sleepy.”

  “Come on, Mina. You need to help me. The fresh air will do you good. Come on.” She stood and held out a hand to me.

  I took it. “Oh, all right. If you think it will help.”

  We stepped out into the summer night. A warm breeze caressed my neck and cooled my forehead. It was almost pitch dark and Dave flicked the switch on his torch, lighting the way. He sang a song in a surprisingly mellow and smooth voice. Unfortunately, he sang about girls in a club “shaking their booty” – whatever that meant. Maybe it was by one of those awful GEM pop groups.

  “What are we getting for Mary?” I asked.

  “Just some food for the Compounders,” she answered, slipping her arm inside mine as though we were conspirators. “I thought it would be nice for them to have a little something extra for breakfast.”

  “That’s so thoughtful.” How could anyone think her evil?

  Because she works for the GEM and the GEM are evil.

  No, I wouldn’t think like that. I couldn’t – it would drive me insane. I had to get to know her first, putting all those thoughts aside, and then make my decision. If she left the GEM then maybe things would be better. Daniel could get to know her, and everything would be all right.

  “Mum,” I asked.

  “Yes darling.”

  We approached the car. “Do you like Daniel? I know you said about how young love is fleeting and everything… I just want to know if you like him. It’s important to me.”

  “Of course I do. He’s a lovely boy. He’s just…” she trailed off.

  “What is it?” We stopped next to the car, and she let go of my arm.

  “It’s just that he’s very intense, sweetheart. The way he left the table came across as very dramatic. I love you so much. I don’t want to have to worry about you getting involved with someone whose emotions run so high.”

  “He’s not always like that,” I said. I wanted to tell her about all the good things about Daniel: like how shyly he showcased his carpentry, or how he let me make my own decisions; his generosity. My hand rose to my throat where the necklace lay against my skin.

  “Well, what do I know?” she said. “I don’t know the boy. All I know is that you’re both terribly young.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key fob. The car made a clunk sound as the doors unlocked. She opened the trunk of the car and began lifting boxes for Dave to hold. He carried on singing about girls with “junk and jelly” as she piled the boxes high. “Thank you very much, Dave. Now, I think you should have a little rest. That would serve you exceedingly well.” Mum rummaged in the trunk for something. Then, moving quickly, she approached Dave and patted him on the arm with her left hand. But in her right hand I noticed something small and tube-like. She moved quick, jabbing him in the side with whatever that tube was. He fell backwards with the boxes tumbling from his hands and landed on the soft gravel with a crunch.

  “What happened?” I said. My mouth hung open in surprise. “What did you do to him?”

  “He’s had too much to drink. Get in the car.”

  “Why, where are we going?” I asked. The warm feeling from the wine disappeared; replaced with something cold running through my veins. My head still felt fogged from the wine, and I had to force myself to think clearly. “Did you do something to him?”

  “We’re going home, and no, I didn’t. He drank too much wine. That’s all. Now, I won’t tell you again. Get in the car.” She slammed the door to the boot.

  “No,” I said, backing away. My foot caught on a stone and I stumbled. She was too quick for me. As I tried to straighten up, I felt a short sharp pain in my arm. The world blurred into nothing and I fell backwards.

  9 ~ Angela ~

  Angela opened her eyes with a start and rolled over to find Cam sitting up in his sleeping bag. Aside from the usual noises in the barn, she’d heard something.

  “What was that?” she whispered. She had to blink the sleep out of her eyes and strain through the pitch black of the barn to see his face.

  “Aye, ah think ah saw Sebastian sneaking out,” he replied in a hushed tone.

  Angela scrambled into an upright position. “You don’t think he’s trying to escape?”

  “We’d better find out, eh?”

  Cam stood and helped Angela to her feet. They picked their way through the sleeping bodies until they were in the open air and under the stars. Only one spotlight remained from the Compound’s old lighting system, and it flashed on and off every ten minutes to save electricity.

  “Look!” Angela pointed to a slow figure moving along the gravel path carrying a backpack.

  They rushed forward and Angela spun him around by his shoulder.

  “What are you doing?” she said. “It’s the middle of the night! You’re not seriously thinking of leaving to go to Area 14 now are you?”

  Sebastian straightened his back to full height, and the spotlight fell on his face to show half narrowed eyes. “It’s my decision. I’m old enough to go if I want to.”

  “You’re not well enough, though,” Angela pointed out.

  “She’s right, pal. Yer not well. Yer not even movin’ fast. It’ll take yer months te get te Area 14 at this rate.” Cam placed a hand on Sebastian’s arm. “Come back te the barn an’ we’ll figure it out tomorrow, ey?”

  Sebastian shook him off. “I need to go tonight. I just need to see him. You don’t understand what it’s like not knowing if my family are okay.”

  Angela felt Cam tense next to her. She tried to examine his expression, but the darkness cloaked it from her gaze.

  “Ah know exactly what that feels like, mate. An’ ah’ve seen ma dad die right in front o’ma eyes. If ye want a pity party, ye’ll no’ get one from me. If ye want te be sensible an’ make a plan, then ye’ll get all the time ye need.”

  Sebastian hung his head. “I didn’t know where they were, and that was okay, you know. I could ignore it; pretend they were just living on the farm in Area 14 without anything bad happening to them. Now I know where my dad is, and it’s killing me. I just want to make sure my mum’s alive. I need to know.” He let out a sob and Angela realised he was crying. She rushed forwards and pulled him into a hug.

  “What’s goin’ on?”

  Angela moved back and spun around. Ginge approached, her mass of red hair poking out at all angles.

  “Are ye leavin’ us?” she demanded. “Ye goin’ without sayin’ goodbye, eh?”

  “I left you a note,” Sebastian said in a quiet voice. “I just wanted to slip away so I could find my parents.”

  “After everythin’ we said? Ye’ve barely recovered––”

  “I’m all right.” He seized her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. “I need to do this.”

  “Then ah’m comin’ with ye,” said Ginge. “There’s nae way ye goin’ without me.” Sebastian tried to speak. “Ah said, nae way.”

  “Are you serious?” he asked.

  “Aye, serious as bloody cancer.”

  “It could be dangerous.”

  “Nae more than the Scavenger runs. Ah can take care of meself,” she said. “Ye know that.”

  Sebastian kissed her. When the kiss went on for too long Angela’s cheeks warmed, and Cam cleared his throat.

  “Even with the both of yer, it’s gunnae take too long on foot. Ye need a car,” said Cam.

  Ginge and Sebastian came out of their clinch.

  “You mean… steal one from the Compound?” asked Sebastian.

  “That’s pretty bad,” Ginge said. “Ah dunnae know if we should.”

  “It’s over a hundred miles te Area 14, days by foot, an’ a few hours in a car.”

  Sebastian rubbed his chin and glanced from Ginge to Cam. “He’s right. If you’re coming with me, I need you to be safe, and the safest way is to steal a car. It’s not really stealing anyway; we’ll bring it back when I’ve seen my parents.”

  “Then why not
wait ‘til the morning and ask Mary if we can take a car,” said Angela. “That way you can leave with some supplies.”

  “Och, she’ll never agree te that.” Ginge shook her head. “Nae chance in hell, lass. Mary wouldnae let him travel when Nurse Susan wants him in bed.” She jabbed her thumb at Sebastian. “It’s probably best te go nae if we’re gonnae. Come on – ah know where the soldiers keep their keys fer the trucks.”

  They changed course towards the ruins of the castle. Angela’s fists clenched at her sides watching them go. A desperate feeling crept up from her stomach. This was her one chance. She had to do something.

  “Wait,” she called after them. “I want to come too. I want to see if my mum is okay in the nursing home I sent her.” She faced Cam and his mouth gaped open in shock. “All this talk has made me realise something. I have a mother and I’ve been pretending I haven’t. When Sebastian said he needed to see his family it made me realise that I need to see mine too. I’m so sorry about what happened to your dad, and I’m sorry if this seems selfish. I just really want to see her. You know? And… well, I was wondering if you wanted to come to.”

  Angela pulled at a loose thread in her jumper as she waited for Cam to answer. His face remained an unreadable mask in the darkness.

  “Ah’m so glad ye said that. Because all ah see when in the place that’s been ma home fer years, is the look on ma da’s face as he died. Ah need te get out o’ here an’ ah need to do it nae.” He stepped forward and put his arms around Angela, pulling her into an embrace. “Besides, ah’d go anywhere with ye. Ah’d follow yer te Land’s End an’ back if ye wanted. Yer ma girl, Ange.”

  Tears pricked at her eyes and she held him tight, balling the back of his shirt into her fists. Her emotions ran so high she opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t form the words and instead made little more than a croaking sound in her throat. She nestled into his neck, inhaling his scent – musky and earthy from the long days working on the Compound. He was so warm and soft that she wanted to be in his arms forever.

  Cam pushed his nose towards hers, reaching her lips. They’d kissed before; small pecks and awkward, bumpy kisses. This was different. This had some deeper meaning that she’d never experienced before. A warm feeling ran through her body, sending little electric pulses to her fingers as they traced the nape of his neck. Something grew in that moment, forming a new connection between the two of them. His soft lips moved against hers, quickening as the urgency increased.

  When he broke away, her eyes remained on his. She couldn’t look away.

  “I love you,” she whispered. The words just slipped out, and she clamped her hand over her mouth.

  Cam’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened to speak––

  “Would you two stop mooning at each other and get a move on?” Sebastian said in a loud whisper. “We have to leave.”

  The spell was broken. Cam blushed and followed Ginge. Angela’s palms sweated, and she brushed them against her trousers. Her muscles tingled with nervous energy, yet there was a heavy, sinking feeling in her stomach. She’d said it first. What an idiot! What if he didn’t love her back? Oh, why did she have to blurt it out like that?

  *

  Ginge pointed to a small metal box with a padlock. “The keys te the trucks are in here.”

  They’d crept past the barn and behind the ruins of the castle where the trucks were stored by the army. Most of the storage barns had been obliterated by the bombs, and many of the trucks were out of use. Ginge said she knew which would work. She’d been helping the soldiers by tinkering with engines.

  “That’s great and everything, but how are we going to get in the box?” Sebastian said, folding his arms.

  Ginge glared at him and walked off.

  “Did you have to sound so obnoxious?” Angela pointed at Sebastian. “You’ve scared her off now.”

  “No, I haven’t,” he argued. “She does this sort of thing all the time.”

  Sure enough Ginge strolled back a few minutes later with a rucksack, her rifle and a large pair of pliers. She lined them up to the padlock and snapped the metal. The hinge squeaked as Ginge opened the box lid, and Angela held her breath, half expecting Mary to bustle around the corner. No one came. Ginge picked a key from those lined up on little hooks inside the lid.

  “Ah feel funny about this,” Cam said. “It’s wrong te steal.”

  “What choice de we have?” replied Ginge.

  “We have the choice te wait. It’s just that no one seems te want te take it.”

  Angela knew Cam was right. Yet at the same time there was a part of her who just wanted to go, right then and there. She thought of Mina and Daniel, and the heavy feeling grew stronger. She’d be abandoning them without any warning.

  “Are you sure you can’t wait?” Angela asked Sebastian one more time. “We could get Mina and Daniel––”

  “Have you even seen them today? Mina is with her mum and Daniel’s off brooding about her.” Sebastian sighed and softened his voice. “I’d like to involve them. They have the other Freaks now though. They wouldn’t leave without them. You know it. I can’t wait. I just can’t…”

  “Okay,” she said. “Let’s do this. I don’t get how we’re going to get out of the Compound without waking everyone up, though. We can’t just drive out of here.”

  “We’ll just have to drive really fast,” said Sebastian. “It’ll take them ages to catch up. Ginge is a great driver.”

  Ginge stayed quiet, staring at the key in her hand.

  “If ye think ye can outdrive the soldiers, men who’ve trained fer years, then yer a fool, lad.” Cam shook his head.

  Angela held her breath, expecting Sebastian to lose his head at being called a fool. Sebastian’s cheeks flushed and his fists clenched; he seemed to force the anger away and relax his hands.

  “Then what should we do?”

  “We roll it,” Ginge said.

  Cam’s eyes flashed. “Aye.”

  “Roll it?” Sebastian said. “But there’s no way––”

  “It’s a smooth incline down te the gates,” Ginge said with a shrug. She placed the key back and picked up another, smaller this time. “Ye’ll see. Come on.”

  She walked out of the dwindling light and into darkness. As Angela followed them, she avoided Cam’s eyes, not wanting to see his face in case it mocked her or snubbed her. Sebastian followed ahead, tracing Ginge’s footsteps. The others stopped abruptly, causing Angela to bump into Cam’s broad back.

  “No way,” Sebastian said.

  Cam moved to let Angela through to the front. She found herself in front of the tiniest car she’d ever seen. It had large tyres with deep grips designed for rough terrain. There was a light roof with no windows and four narrow seats. At the back of the cart was a small shelf where belongings could be stored. Angela knew the vehicle well as they often used it on the farm.

  “We’re using the farm cart? It only travels thirty miles per hour,” she said.

  “Aye,” Ginge leaned into the cart and released the handbrake. “But we can push it.”

  Angela finally caught on. “You’re a genius.”

  With the three of them, it didn’t take long to push the cart soundlessly through the Compound, even when they struggled to steer it around the rubble and debris. When the cart rolled onto the gravel Angela expected someone to wake and stop them; maybe Ali in nothing but a silk dressing gown and slippers. No one came. With relief, she wiped her forehead after they reached the gates and took time to catch their breath.

  “We’ll push it half a mile an’ then start the engine,” said Ginge.

  “Half a mile?” Angela complained. She pushed her hands into her knees and took another deep breath. “That thing’s heavy!”

  Sebastian leaned against the roof of the cart. “Ginge is right––”

  “Wait, what’s that?” The moonlight fell onto the face of a body lying on the gravel path by the border. Angela moved closer to him and saw the random boxes strewn
around him, boxes of fruit, vegetables, and loaves of bread. “It’s one of the soldiers. What’s he doing with all that food?”

  Ginge crouched by the man and felt for a pulse. “He’s just unconscious.” She slapped his face a few times.

  “Don’t wake him!” Sebastian hissed. “He’ll get Mary and the others. They’ll stop us leaving.”

  “Isn’t that the guy meant to be guarding Mina’s mum?” Angela squinted through the dark.

  “Ah dunno an’ ah dunnae care. We need te leave.” Ginge stood up and walked away from the collapsed soldier. “It’ll be light in a few hours an’ they’ll find ‘im soon enough. Probably won’t be the first time he’s woken up on the gravel. Could’ve passed out drunk fer all we know.”

  “Didn’t they have the meal to welcome Mina’s mother to the Compound?” Sebastian noted.

  “The one we weren’t invited te,” Ginge added.

  Angela shared a glance with Cam. She could tell from the thin line of his lips that he thought something was amiss. It was just that Ginge and Sebastian were so desperate to leave. “Yeah but… why the boxes? It seems weird.”

  “We need to go tonight. I know you’re worried, but Mary will sort this out in the morning. Mina has more than enough people looking out for her. You and I don’t. We need to find the people who care about us back in Area 14, not get dragged into problems that don’t involve us,” Sebastian said.

  “All right, I guess so,” Angela replied.

  The four of them moved on through the dark, leaving the Compound as little more than a shadow behind them. Angela’s heart beat faster, and she wondered what lay ahead for them on the road to Area 14.

  10 ~ Daniel ~

  He didn’t remember his dream when he woke. Instead, it left an echo. A cold feeling of dread ran through his veins, and he knew something was wrong. He jumped up from his sleeping bag too quickly and staggered back after a dizzy spell. His head throbbed. It was almost as though he had a hangover.

  After leaving the farmhouse, he’d ended up carrying Hiro to the Professor’s trailer, and the little boy fell asleep in his arms. There, he’d found Jonathon sipping whiskey and reading from a notebook. The old man quizzed him on the events of the evening, but when Daniel relayed that it had been a night without so much as a hiccup, he seemed disappointed. When leaving he’d thought about sharing his vision with the Professor, yet something stopped him. The time they’d spent together in Area 14 had made them close, and now the recent revelations sullied those memories. It made him hesitate to confide in him.