The Fenton Saga: Never Say Goodbye / There Was No Body.

by Colin Griffiths

  Chapter 26

  Madison and Chantelle was sat in the car park of the old people’s homes. Madison had only seen the old man the day before but she had to see him again, have it out with him. She had thought about it a lot and she had decided that she would be honest and tell him the real reason she was there, and perhaps just perhaps she may get some answers. She was certainly hoping for something, she felt like she was going around in circles. Chantelle was sat behind the wheel she was holding Madison’s hand, gripping it tightly as Madison was trying to prepare herself. Madison had no idea why this man always made her feel this way, he made her feel vulnerable and she did not like that. She sat there for a moment, trying to work out what to say to the man that she felt could give her some answers.

  Her stomach was knotted and she was sweating profusely. She wandered back to that night on the mountain where she had challenged both Bill and William Fenton, she showed no fear that day, she showed no fear when her young brother plucked her from her home into a storm and landed her hundreds of miles away, she had no fear then. She wished she could feel the same as she did back then.

  “This is stupid.” She said to Chantelle, Chantelle raised her eyebrows, pulled her lips inside her mouth.

  “Want me to come with you?” She asked

  Madison took her hand from hers,

  “No I gotta do this.” And off she went determined.

  It was the same routine, she got to the reception, the receptionist not remotely interested in who she was or who she was going to see. She just nodded at Madison and Madison walked towards the communal lounge.

  I can do this.

  She could see Edith at the table now, but she was alone, Madison thought that Maybe William would be there soon. As she approached she noticed how sad Edith looked, her eyes lit up as she spotted Madison, and that made Madison think even more of this sweet elderly lady.

  “Hello dear,” she said,

  Madison kissed the elderly lady and sat down beside her, it looked like Edith had been crying, Madison had grown to like this old lady and felt concern for her, she held her hand,

  “What’s the matter Edith?” She asked,

  “He’s gone,” she cried, “he checked out yesterday after you left, he told me he had things to do.”

  A fear shivered through Madison’s body, somehow up until now everything seemed ok. William Fenton wasn’t a danger whilst he was in this home, she felt safe with him there, but to have him wandering about frightened her. She’s the only one who knew William Fenton was up there on that mountain, in his sons head telling him to push a girl over the cliff. She heard him, she spoke to him.

  “How can he do that?” Madison asked, her voice was croaky,

  “You leave here whenever you wish.” Edith simply said as if it’s the worst thing in the world.

  Madison talked to her for a few minutes trying to reassure her that she would soon find a new friend and that things would get back to normal, but inside Madison didn’t believe it, she could see that the old lady looked beaten, as if she had lost the will to live.

  Madison got up to leave. Kissed the old lady goodbye.

  “Oh before I forget,” said the old lady, she fiddled about in her handbag and handed Madison an envelope, “it’s for you he asked me to give you it.”

  An overwhelming feeling of anxiety shuddered through Madison as she took the envelope and opened it, it read,

  Madison

  I’ve told flying boy to stop taking the tablets.

  See you soon.

  It was signed Granddad.

  And all of a sudden Madison felt as alone as she had ever been, how she longed for the gift that once scared her. She only knew one boy who could fly.

  He’s alive, she thought, but Madison already believed that, this wasn’t news to her, she always said Todd didn’t die. ‘There was no body’

  What frightened her was William Fenton knew he was alive, and where the hell was William Fenton.

  She read the note again, looked at the part that read see you soon.

  I’ll look forward to it. She had a feeling that she had not seen the last of William Fenton and she would be seeing him again real soon, even though she couldn’t hear no more, she couldn’t read the minds of others, she knew that she was now getting somewhere, there were answers out there and she was going to find them.

  She walked out to the car to meet Chantelle.

  “So where do you think he went?” Chantelle was driving out of the car park, Madison was sat beside her.

  “I wish I knew,” she said, she licked her lips “let’s pop to the village see if he’s in a B & B or something.”

  “Why would he pay when he could have stopped there for nothing?”

  Madison slumped back in the passenger seat, void of ideas at that particular moment, she really wanted to go and ask her dad, but that was impossible, an overwhelming sense of solitude engulfed her insides.

  “What would you do?” She asked Chantelle, Chantelle indicated and pulled up to the side of the road, switched the engine off, turned to face Madison. She asked the question so Chantelle thought it was time to tell her.

  “As your best friend, I would go home, forget all about it, start living your life with me still as your best friend, when was the last time you had fun Madison?” She asked staring at her friend, demanding an answer.

  Madison thought about it, she couldn’t remember, she didn’t answer, it seemed such a long time ago. She knew the point Chantelle was trying to make, that didn’t mean she had to like it. She thought it was a spiteful question from Chantelle, she felt like asking her, when was the last time you lost a brother? She remained silent.

  “See what I mean,” said Chantelle “you can’t even remember.” She added in a raised voice.

  ”it’s over rated!” Was the sarcastic reply,

  “What is?”

  “Fun,” she answered,

  “You’re not going to take my advice are you?” asked Chantelle.

  “Let’s go home.” Replied Madison.

  They drove home and as the Sam Smith CD played Madison thought about what her next move would be.

  He knows where Todd is, he must do.

  She closed her eyes and tried to capture the night that Todd came and clutched her from the skies, she tried to remember how she got to Wales because she thought if she could have remembered then she would be able to do it again. But nothing came, she could recall being plucked through the window and the next minute she was in Wales, only it wasn’t a minute, what happened during the time between? She opened her eyes.

  “I can’t be normal now.” She said, not really meaning to say it out loud, her own words astonished her.

  It also took Chantelle by surprise,

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “I need it back!” She sighed.

  Chantelle didn’t answer, she just felt concern for her best friend, the best friend that she was losing and could do nothing about it. Chantelle had supported her all through this, giving up her own life at times to help her, now she was tired, it seemed to be all take and no give with Madison. Chantelle need timeout, she needed fun.

  Five minutes later they pulled outside Madison’s home, they noticed Sue’s car was parked up but Morgan’s car wasn’t there. Madison was glad of that she wasn’t in the mood for hassle off her father. She said Goodbye to Chantelle and made her way into the kitchen. Her Mother, Sue was sat at the kitchen table reading on a kindle. She put it down when she saw Madison and her mother’s face lit up and that Made Madison feel a little better. They kissed and Madison poured herself a juice and sat at the table next to her mother. She wished she could ask her mother for help, for some advice but she knew she couldn’t. She held her mother’s hand from across the table. The affection Madison showed took Sue a bit by surprise as she held her daughters hand.

  “I love you mum,” Madison said,

  Sue smiled, it was words she loved hearing,

  “What’s bro
ught this on?” She asked,

  Madison let go of her hand, she needed her mother at that moment, just to comfort her, tell her it would all be ok,

  “I just don’t tell you enough.”

  Sue kissed her daughters head as she stood, she walked over to the sink with a cup and plate in her hand she had used earlier. Hope that’s not because you feel guilty about something, she thought.

  Madison’s expression changed, her eyes squinted showing frown lines,

  “That’s typical I tell you I love you and you think I’ve got something to feel guilty about,” her voice was raised and showed emotion.

  For a split second it seemed like the most natural conversation in the world, a simple mother and daughter bickering.

  “FUCK!” Shouted Madison, she could feel the butterflies emerging in her stomach, acid accrued in her mouth as she gulped,

  It wasn’t a conversation I heard it, she thought, Madison screamed as she involuntary waived her hands,

  “I just heard what you thought,” she got up from the chair hands all over the place, panic showing in her voice, she stood next to her mother face to face,

  “Tell me you thought it!” she shouted, “tell me!”

  “Don’t you swear and don’t you shout at me,” said her mother, who at this time was in a state of shock, had Madison heard her thoughts?

  “I’m sorry mum,” Madison calmed down a little, “I’m really sorry but please tell me that’s what you thought,” her words came out fast, excitedly.

  Sue looked at her daughter, her Beautiful daughter, who looked scared and vulnerable and all she wanted to do was hold her and hug her tight and tell her everything was going to be okay, but now all she could think about was what happened last year when her daughter was taken on some mad goose chase just to watch her brother die, at that minute Sue Morgan hated everything the Fenton’s stood for.

  “You’re frightening me Madison,”

  “Mum.” she pleaded.

  This time Sue did hug her daughter she hugged her tight as the tears flowed down her cheeks, and Madison accepted the hug and held her mother as if her life depended on it. She didn’t want to tell her daughter what she thought, she just wanted her to be normal like every other teenager.

  “Yes I did think that.” She reluctantly told her daughter, not wanting the words to come out of her mouth.

  Madison hugged her tighter and burst into tears,

  “Please don’t tell Dad.” She sobbed.

  Chapter 27

  Cathy Brown was sat at her kitchen table drinking her third cup of sweet coffee in an hour, she needed the Caffeine. She had been spending a lot of time at work lately and was due to go back in soon. She lived in the small Devon village of South Milton, a village that has existed over a thousand years. She liked the tranquillity and peacefulness, she adored the miles and miles of country side and loved the fact that it was only a ten minute drive to where she worked, to where Todd Fenton lay in his bed in a dreamy state. The sun was shining it was going to be another lovely day today. She had a bounce in her step, things were looking good.

  Her 4 years in the army were tough, she had never seen any action and she was thankful for that and she really thought she would still be there now if she hadn’t been recruited, to join ‘The Agency.’ The confidentiality and secrecy of it all excited her, there had been very little to do in the first years, until about a year ago when Todd Fenton was brought in, she remembers that day very well. She had been put on alert and was at the underground facility waiting for him to arrive, she remembers the commotion when he did arrive, the panic on people’s faces. She was working with some of the toughest people she had ever known, she will never forget the fear on their faces when they brought Todd in. She will never forget the days and weeks after when the corridors were still filled with fear. Some are still scared of him now, she would tell them not to be so stupid he was just a little mouse and as she sat at her table drinking coffee, that’s what was bothering her today.

  He’s just a little mouse, she thought I’ve turned him into a mouse.

  It was just her job at first, to neutralise him, make him safe, take away the man that he is. Cathy Brown was good at that. She had done her job well. She had taken a human being and turned him into someone else, not someone else, she thought, something else.

  Maybe history will say that all that Todd Fenton had was an animal magnetism, people liked the harmless ‘cheeky chappy’ type lad. But Cathy Brown would think different, later on she will say ‘he just drew me in’.

  She put her cup in the sink, she grabbed her car keys off the table and headed for work. In less than fifteen minutes she arrived at the base which was sign posted in the guise of an army training camp instead of the brainwashing facility it really was. There were two gates to get through, one manned by regular soldiers at the beginning of the woods and another more secured gate manned by black dressed militaries on the complex.

  She done the necessary registering and takeover and was now making a cup of tea, she got another cup thinking she would make one for her favourite patient.

  My only patient she told herself.

  She now sat on the edge of the bed that Todd lay on, he took the tea off her but didn’t thank her, he knew he wasn’t supposed to talk in here, it was okay to talk out in the yard when no one was around. He hoped Cathy would take him out soon as he had something he wanted to ask her. He was already showered and dressed, he had learned how to do that now, he wasn’t sure if he had ever forgotten how to and that they had just taken it away from him. During the last few days he had, had the feeling that there was so much more they had taken away.

  He can remember someone telling him to stop taking the tablets but he could not remember seeing or meeting them, but he thought it seemed a good idea so he hadn’t taken any since. There didn’t seem to be any difference, he still felt drowsy a lot and still found it hard to remember things, but he felt he was getting there. Life was so much better now, he had a Friend in Cathy and he knew Cathy would help him, he didn’t know why he thought that, it just seemed Cathy would have no choice. He had started to feel that there was something more out there beyond that cliff and barbed wired fence, that there was another place, another world. He didn’t know if it would be just like the world he lived in, but now he was beginning to realise there must be something else, somewhere else.

  They were outside now lovely sunshine with a gentle breeze, they were the only ones in the yard. Todd had never seen another patient, but occasionally some men in black would be there, and when they were all they would do is stare at him from a distance, they never got to close. Todd and Cathy sat on the only bench, and this was Cathy’s favourite part of the day being with Todd. At 39 years of age she had never been married, her job didn’t really allow her to cater for relationships, she had had a couple of jump ups with colleagues but that was just sex to her. With Todd she felt like she was with someone special, she liked the lad and she had seen him naked and she liked what she saw. She always told herself he was too young, but she always had a glint in her eye when she told herself it. She guessed she was falling in love with him. She was taken with him, he was drawing her in.

  “Can I tell you something,” said Todd as they sat on the bench, he didn’t look at Cathy he just stared at the skies, he wasn’t comfortable with eye contact yet, and Cathy put it down to no more than that.

  “Of course you can,” said Cathy, it seemed serious, and concern grew on her face. Truth be known Todd could have told her anything.

  “Do you think I could have coffee instead of tea? I hate tea.” He said straight faced.

  Cathy looked at the young man sat beside her, he glanced at her and she would swear that she seen him smile, she put her arm through his and nudged him before bursting into laughter.

  “Why didn’t you say?” she said through her giggles,

  “I can’t talk, remember!” he replied.

  Cathy laughed some more, she put her arm through his
as they stood up to walk, it seemed unprofessional but it felt natural, and she just wanted to feel natural for just once with this young man. She didn’t know where the feeling had come from, but Todd had seemed different today, not so much a patient but more as a friend and as she walked around the yard she thought to herself, he’s 18 he’s old enough I’m going to fuck his brains out later.

  Todd, well he was just straight faced but he was smiling inside. He was feeling good. Cathy Brown was indeed a good friend and Todd had the feeling he was getting her just where he wanted her, that unfortunately for Cathy wasn’t in his bed.

  They walked for about 5 minutes around the perimeter when Todd pulled his arm out of hers and started walking at pace towards the fence. It startled her a bit and Todd had got a few yards head start before she realised.

  “Todd stop!” she shouted as he headed towards the fence, but he didn’t stop, she thought he was trying to make a run for it and for one moment she hoped he would make a run for it, and get away. Then she realised there was no escape, nowhere to run to, the fence was high, the heavy gates were closed. Todd got to the fence and grabbed it with both hands then let go, he turned around and Cathy was there now,

  “What are you doing?” She said,

  “You lied,” answered Todd,

  “How did I lie?”

  “You said it was electrified.”

  She laughed, now she had got it,

  “It’s a good job it wasn’t or you’d be fried now.” She smirked,

  “Is that what you want?”

  They were both leant with their backs against the fence now, both staring ahead. Cathy held his hand she wasn’t sure why, it was all coming natural to her.