by Sharon Sant
The woman barely looked into their faces as they approached but she showed no signs of wanting to stop them. Xavier made himself large and she shrank back in a gesture of surrender. She whispered something to Xavier who gave a curt nod. Then she pressed a number into the keypad. The door opened. Xavier glanced around and, seeing no other guards, nodded Elijah and Sadie out of the door. ‘We’ll be ok as long as we keep low and make our way behind the vans. Hang on, I’ve got to do something first.’ He stepped back inside and threw a half-hearted punch at the woman. She fell backwards into the keypad. The blow, though weak, was still enough to leave blood trickling from a split in her lip.
‘What did you do that for?’ Sadie asked, open-mouthed, as they scuttled out of the door.
‘She asked me to.’
‘What about Jimmy and Rosa?’ Elijah asked.
‘We’ll have to come back for them. We’re really up against it now. There’s the main gate to cope with yet. We need to get through before the alarm goes off.’
‘Well, that’s simple enough,’ Elijah groaned. ‘We might as well go back and get a dose of malaria now, save them the trouble of catching us and then giving us the Black Death.’
‘They were giving me malaria?’ Sadie asked weakly.
‘Don’t be stupid, Elijah. Why are you filling her head with that? We don’t know what it was, Sadie, it could have been nothing. You could have been the control specimen. Who knows?’
They fell silent. Xavier and Elijah weaved between rows of caravans and Sadie followed. Crouching down behind the last row before the administration block and the main gate beyond, Xavier shared an anxious glance with Elijah. Sadie leaned her head back against the metal and closed her eyes, breathing more rapidly than she ought to be. Her lucky escape had clearly shaken her more than she cared to admit.
‘The bus will be in soon, I think, bringing the outworkers back. The gates will have to be opened for that. We’ll have to be ready to go as soon as they do.’ Xavier wiped a sleeve across his damp forehead.
‘There’s no way we’ll get through without being seen,’ Elijah argued.
‘We can. If we sneak through the gate and sit right back beneath the wall of the guard huts until it gets darker we might be able to slip away then.’
‘I have a bike and a bag with some food not far from here. A map too. I left them when I got caught.’
‘That’ll help,’ Xavier paused, ‘but what were you doing here?’
‘Looking for you.’
Sadie gave a weary smile. ‘I knew it; you were the one that got caught trying to get in weren’t you?’
Elijah shrugged.
‘You shouldn’t have come.’ Xavier narrowed his eyes. ‘Where did you three go?’
‘Rowan hid. We didn’t even know the CMO had arrived until we heard the shouting after me and Sky…’ Elijah stopped, not sure how to communicate the story. Xavier raised his eyebrows.
‘You didn’t? Of all the times –’
‘No!’ Elijah interrupted. ‘It wasn’t like that… we sort of ended up somewhere that we hadn’t expected… there’s something in those woods, something weird going on. People are being taken.’
‘Taken? Where?’
‘It’s crazy… I’m not even sure… but there’s a sort of gateway to another place.’
‘Elijah, whatever you’re babbling about you’ll have to explain to me when I can think about it.’
‘You asked.’
‘I wish I hadn’t.’
‘This is so cool, Eli. I can’t believe I’ve found you, here of all places,’ Sadie butted in, partly to diffuse the argument that was brewing.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Long story. I’ll tell you another time.’ She paused. ‘You left without a word. I would have come with you. Why didn’t you tell me?’
Elijah opened his mouth to reply.
‘Never mind that now,’ Xavier cut in. ‘Here comes the bus. Get ready to go.’
As the gate opened, keeping low to the ground, they made a dash for the entrance. At the same time, a loud siren wail went up around the camp and guards poured out from their rest hut. The confusion turned out to be an advantage; with so much else going on, Xavier, Sadie and Elijah slipped out past the bus without detection. But their original plan was now out of the question; the place was now crawling with guards. The only option left open to them was to run from the camp. In the confusion, Elijah still headed for the wall as they had agreed. Sadie immediately understood the change of tactic and followed Xavier without question. Turning, she saw Elijah staring at them from beneath the shadow of the huts.
‘Come on!’ she hissed. ‘There’s no way we can stay here, the grounds will be overrun now that the alarm has gone off.’
Elijah picked himself up and they pelted off.
‘What about the bike and food?’ Elijah panted.
‘No time,’ Xavier replied.
‘But we need the map. I’ll get it and catch you up.’
‘No way –’
‘Just go!’ Elijah changed course and made for the shrubbery where he had abandoned his supplies.
As he drew near to the site, he was relieved to see the handlebars of the bike poking through the hedges, undisturbed, and his bags still on the ground beside it. He grabbed the bag and spun round to find Sadie and Xavier behind him.
‘Did you think I was going to leave you alone?’ Xavier said breathlessly. ‘Every time I do you get into trouble.’
Elijah grinned, despite their predicament.
‘The bike will have to stay here. Away from the road, this way.’ Xavier started to sprint again, cross country, heading for a knot of trees in the distance. Elijah and Sadie followed. Elijah was glad of Xavier’s leadership, he couldn’t think straight. His only thoughts were for Sadie as he glanced to his side and noted the look of terror on her face. He had never seen her look like that before. As they ran, they could hear the whine of the electric engines of jeeps out to look for them. No one looked back, no one spoke. The breath burned in their throats. Ankles were twisted on the uneven ground. The fine rain gradually soaked through their clothes, but still they ran with the sounds of pursuit in their ears, fixed on reaching the cover of the woods that never seemed to get any closer.
Sadie slowed. Her running became an exhausted jog.
‘Sadie? You ok?’
She glanced at him, clearly distressed, but didn’t reply.
As the cover of the trees finally closed in overhead, Sadie stopped and sank to the ground against an old trunk. In the distance they could still hear shouts and engines.
‘We can’t stop yet.’ Xavier halted and turned to Elijah with a frown.
‘She’s exhausted, Xavier,’ Elijah said holding his side, ‘and so am I.’
‘I don’t care. You want to get taken back, then stop here. Can’t you hear them coming for us? They won’t stop now, we’ve seen too much.’
Sadie’s eyes brimmed with tears. Elijah offered her a hand. ‘Come on.’
‘I can’t go any further.’
‘You have to. Come on.’
She shook her head.
Xavier strode over, grabbed her under the arms and pulled her roughly to her feet.
‘Xavier!’ Elijah pulled Xavier’s arm away and Sadie stumbled. ‘She can’t go on.’
Xavier turned his back on them. ‘She has to. Start running.’
Sadie did as she was told. Her feet moved sluggishly, one in front of the other. She glanced across at Elijah for a second, and the branch came from nowhere, smacking her solidly on the temple.
When Elijah looked back, she was motionless on the ground.
Thirty-Two: Separation
Xavier groaned as he looked back to see Elijah trying desperately to revive Sadie.
‘Great!’ Xavier raced back, grabbed Sadie under the arms and started to drag her over to a tree while Elijah looked on. ‘Help me out here, she doesn’t look like much but she weighs a ton.’
Elija
h wiped a sleeve over his eyes and bent down to help. Between them they managed to get Sadie propped up, each taking half the weight on a shoulder. They walked as fast as they could, bearing her between them.
‘Do you always pick friends on the basis of how much trouble they can cause?’ Xavier puffed.
‘I picked you.’ Elijah managed a weary grin as he caught Xavier’s eye.
Xavier grimaced. ‘She could be out for hours.’
‘Yeah, but she might come round in a few minutes.’
‘She might not. We’re going to have to leave her somewhere and get help.’
‘I’m not leaving her.’
Xavier paused and looked at her closely, then at Elijah, narrowing his eyes. ‘What’s the deal with you two?’
‘I’m not leaving her,’ he repeated.
Xavier straightened up and scanned the woods. The sounds of pursuit were still all around, but seemed, somehow, less frantic and terrifying than they had done at first. Xavier wondered vaguely whether it was just that they had become so used to hearing it.
‘I’ve no idea where we’re going to go. I was thinking maybe we’d head straight for the bridge and see if we could get across to the mainland underneath it somehow.’
‘Underneath? We’d never get a boat without being caught, the bridge will definitely be guarded now, and we certainly couldn’t swim it.’ Elijah shifted slightly, pulling Sadie’s arm more securely round his shoulder.
‘I know. But, in the absence of a better plan, we would have had to take our chances. We can’t even do that now, though, not with her like this.’ He paused, looking down at Sadie’s prone form. ‘Maybe we should head that way anyhow; perhaps we’ll see an opportunity when we get there.’
‘It’s too far, we’ll never make it carrying Sadie and, even if we do, we’ll be caught. They’ll expect us to go that way; it’s the only way off the island.’
‘Let’s at least carry on walking while we figure it out.’
Elijah nodded and they started again with stiff steps. They had barely gone a few metres when he stopped. ‘She’s getting heavier.’
Xavier nodded, ‘I think she’s pretty much out cold now.’ He came to a decision. ‘Get somewhere out of sight with her and I’ll try to get help.’
‘Where are you going to get help from? There are no houses for miles, even if there were, they’re not going to be interested in Runners –’
‘I know,’ Xavier cut in, ‘but I have to try.’ He gestured towards Sadie, silently weighing up the odds of his dad coming to their aid again. It would be a last resort, and he couldn’t be sure that his dad would help, even if he asked. ‘What else can we do?’
Elijah blew out a long breath. Xavier took this as acquiescence and began to study the terrain around them for a suitable place to hide. His gaze fell on a half-rotten, hollowed out tree trunk. It was such a perfect hiding place that it almost seemed too good to be true. ‘In there.’ He nodded towards the tree. Between them they dragged Sadie over.
Elijah crawled in first, then pulled as Xavier pushed Sadie in and propped her up against him. He circled her shoulders with a slender arm and drew her close.
‘She’s shivering.’ Elijah leaned his head against Sadie’s.
‘Watch it – you’ll get nits.’ Xavier gave what he thought was an encouraging smile. It looked like more of a grimace. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can. Just stay quiet and don’t show yourself until I come back – got it?’
Elijah waved him away. ‘It’s not like I’m going to tap dance is it?’
Xavier turned without reply, and strode into the green tinged gloom of the woods.
Xavier moved like a wraith through the trees, only breaking cover when he felt it was safe, still listening to the feverish activity of the guards deployed to look for them. He used the sounds to pinpoint their position. He was under no illusions. What he, Elijah, and Sadie had discovered going on at the camp was big, big enough to mean certain death if they were caught. He wondered, as he stole through the forest, how many other kids had stumbled on Mr Braithwaite’s secret and paid for that knowledge with their lives, how many had perished in the drug trials. The thought of Elijah and Sadie, hiding in the tree, spurred him on. He owed them nothing, hardly knew Sadie, spent most of his time arguing with Elijah, could walk away now, but that didn’t matter. Xavier knew that he had to follow his instincts, and his instincts told him that this was the right thing to do. However he felt about them, he was all they had. But where to go now? He turned over the question in his mind but came up with no answer.
He walked in the opposite direction from the road bridge, figuring that Elijah was right, and that the search for them would be concentrated there. Before an hour had passed, Xavier came to the end of the woods. Stretched out before him were rough fields, threaded by a lonely road. He followed, keeping a close eye on the landscape for trouble. Twilight was moving in, but at least the rain had eased off.
In the gathering gloom he could just make out a small jetty, jutting out into the sea alongside a compact, white house. Xavier drew close and spotted the tip of a concrete bollard, almost entirely hidden by long grass and weeds. He sat on it, resting his chin on a fist and staring at the house. All was quiet in this part of the island, even the sounds from the camp had faded; all Xavier was left with was the evening chatter of insects and birds and the gentle creep of waves over shingle. He stayed, still and silent, contemplating his surroundings, trying to formulate some sort of plan.
The house looked to be in darkness. Xavier figured that, living so close to the jetty, the occupier must have a boat of some description. He wondered about the possibility of manoeuvring it round to the other side of the island. He had never steered a boat before. Even then, it would still mean getting Sadie across country and onto the boat. If only he could know her progress, if she had recovered already it would make life easier. But there was no way to know. The alternative was to go for help alone, leaving Elijah and Sadie where they were until he could get back to them.
A light flicked on in the porch of the house, and a tiny, hunched old lady appeared at the door, shooing out a cat. Xavier looked up, and in a second, his decision was made. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up from his seat and began to pick his way slowly through the grass towards the house, stooping his shoulders a little to make himself look smaller than he was. From a few feet away he hailed, so as not to make her jump. She looked as though one good scare would be the end of her. The old lady searched for the source of the voice through clouded eyes.
‘Mark? Is that you?’
Xavier stopped dead. He had anticipated many reactions, but this was not one of them. ‘Um… no, sorry.’ He quickly surmised that the lady’s eyesight was not good and, with relief, realised there was a chance that she would not be able to tell he was under age. Feeling more confident, he decided to take a more direct approach. ‘I’m sorry to bother you, I know it’s late, but I wondered if you had a working telephone… or some other way of contacting the mainland.’ He spoke in the deepest voice he could muster.The lady eyed him with a hint of suspicion etched into her shrewish features. Xavier thought quickly. ‘I arranged to meet my brother, for a fishing trip, you know; only he hasn’t turned up and I’m a little worried about him. He lives in Portsmouth; I thought perhaps he had run into problems on the bridge…’ He went for broke. ‘Only, I heard the alarms from that pesky kid’s camp, sounds like trouble there and he may have got stuck.’
The woman’s features seemed to relax. ‘Oh yes, Mr Flynn did tell me about it earlier this evening. I don’t hear much on this side of the island, it’s really rather quiet. I believe they’re still out looking for the troublemakers.’
Xavier nodded, wondering how she could not have heard the screeching of the sirens sounding their escape. ‘I think so. I haven’t seen anything, though, they’re probably long gone by now. I don’t know why the residents here don’t petition for that camp to be shut. It must be such a worry for you to have it right on
your doorstep.’ Xavier knew he had only to say the right words to gain her trust, and he could see her softening as he spoke them.
‘Well, yes it is really,’ she paused for a moment. ‘The phone you say? You’d better come in.’ She stepped aside and gestured towards the front door. Xavier went in ahead and waited in the hallway for her to follow. She appeared in the porch and, from a corner behind the outer door, Xavier watched her pull a long stick, which whined into life as she flicked the switch on the handle. Xavier caught his breath. ‘I know it must seem terribly rude to be waving this at you. But really, my grandson would be very angry if he knew I was letting you in. Besides, you can’t be too careful these days, can you?’
‘Of course not, quite right,’ Xavier replied in a thick voice. His mouth suddenly felt dry as he glanced at the prod. Though he knew there was no real, mortal danger from the lady or the prod, he still had no desire to come into contact with it. He wondered if he was still allowed to use the phone, or whether this old lady was trying to make a citizen’s arrest. He stood, hesitant, hemmed in on all sides by old clutter in the dusty hallway.
‘Phone is just through the end door.’ The old lady smiled and gestured with her free hand. Xavier breathed more easily and made his way into the room she had pointed out. As he entered, he stopped for a moment, trying to comprehend the bizarre sight that greeted him. He vaguely wondered if he had been slipped a dose of whatever was in Sadie’s syringe in the testing shed. Half the room was filled by the most enormous rubber plant Xavier had ever seen, stretching up to the ceiling and bending back on itself towards the floor, so that the window beyond was almost completely obscured. Every corner of the room was filled with dusty magazines, piled practically shoulder height. Shelves and shelves crammed full of twee ornaments - cute cats, dewy-eyed dogs, old fashioned children with balloons and lollipops - ranged up any available wall space. But even more strange than all this, was that Xavier found himself in a room with not just one phone in it, but a room with phones of all shapes and sizes on almost every surface. On first reckoning, he thought there must be more than fifty. His mouth fell open and he turned to the old woman, who simply smiled. ‘There you go, young man. Be quick, mind, I don’t want a huge bill.’